In the depths of the blood-red forest.
There, a massive, toad-like monster with a snake for a tongue leaped from tree to tree.
Each tree it landed on was crushed under its immense weight as it moved.
This is the Black Serpent-Toad.
One of the many exotic monsters of the Red Snake Mountains.
Yang Wei, Liu Yan, and Bai Suzhen peeked out from behind a nearby tree. "So, who's going to take it on this time?" Yang Wei asked.
Liu Yan volunteered, "I'll handle it quickly."
Yang Wei and Bai Suzhen nodded in agreement.
This monster was even stronger than the previous ones they'd encountered earlier. It was at least at the 3rd level of Core Formation.
Stepping out from behind the tree, Liu Yan assumed a sword stance and condensed a dragon sword in her hand. The Black Serpent-Toad turned its attention towards her.
GAAARRRR!!
It lunged forward, aiming to crush her with its bulk.
But in a split second, Liu Yan dodged, leaving behind only an afterimage. Confused, the toad scanned its surroundings, unable to find its target. Suddenly, small cutting lines appeared at the center of its body, and it split in half with blood spraying everywhere.
As the toad's dissected body hit the ground, Yang Wei and Bai Suzhen emerged from hiding. "Nice cut," Yang Wei complimented Liu Yan with a smile as he approached, fanning himself.
Liu Yan dispelled her dragon sword and replied flatly, "Thank you."
Yang Wei snapped his fingers. "Suzhen, your turn," he instructed.
Bai Suzhen, with a hungry look in her eyes, transformed into her White Serpent form. Now, she resembled a massive behemoth, with huge spikes running from her back all the way to her tail. Fins adorned both sides of her head. When she opened her mouth, her fangs were as large as average trees, eagerly protruding out.
Yang Wei reminded her, "Remember, leave the corpse and all its body parts. Only the beast core is for you."
Rolling her eyes, Bai Suzhen retorted, "I know. You would dare call me slow-witted?"
He simply shrugged. "I didn't. But that's not a bad assumption."
...
It was a downright terrifying week for the monsters in the blood-red forest. Wherever Yang Wei and his female companions went, they left behind a trail of blood. Of course, there were no corpses to be found, because Yang Wei stashed them all in his storage pouch.
In just seven days, they'd managed to take down over 120 monsters. And there were only three days left in the week.
Thanks to all the beast cores Bai Suzhen had consumed, she managed to boost her cultivation level to the 3rd level of the Core Formation Realm; Qi Condenser stage.
Even the monsters in the forest seemed to sense this impending danger and ran into hiding.
Lu Lin shook her head, unable to move or even breathe. "Something big is coming," she muttered with a low, scared tone.
Before long, even the monsters in the forest had vanished into hiding. Every monster and female disciple across the Red Snake Mountains could sense it, and they either went into hiding or started to panic.
...
Yang Wei, Bai Suzhen, and Liu Yan strolled through the red forest.
Bai Suzhen's eyes maintained their snake-like form. They were now azure blue instead of their usual golden glow since her most recent evolutions.
Meanwhile, Yang Wei sauntered along, cool as a cucumber, his eyes shut as he fanned himself with one hand tucked behind his back.
Lagging a bit behind, Liu Yan couldn't help but fixate on Yang Wei's back as they walked.
I can't shake off what he said a few days back about that special someone. I wouldn't call it jealousy, but I'm definitely curious. It's weird for me to feel this way, I usually don't. But why now? Could that special someone he mentioned be Junior Sister Lingxi, perhaps? I mean, that's what Meiyan told me...
not that I asked, Meiyan just loves gossip.
Suddenly, Yang Wei halted and turned to Liu Yan, asking, "Hey, everything alright?"
Liu Yan hesitated for a moment before replying, "Uh, oh, yes everything's fine..."
"Mmm, okay." Yang Wei gave a single nod before resuming his stride.
Liu Yan continued to watch him, her hand instinctively drifting to her breast.
He touched me here, and also on my buttocks... and each time my tight seal bottleneck seems to loosen more and more. Why does that happen he touches me that way?
She squeezed her breast a bit which made her bite her lower lip. Then, she pondered silently for a moment, and muttered to herself, "Maybe I should open up to him about it."
With a sigh, she clasped her hands together over her heart and trailed behind the others, lost in her thoughts.
...
Meanwhile, in another part of the Red Snake Mountains...
Three men wearing purple, red and blue stood at the edge of a cliff.
Ji Wu stepped forward, and then said, "Remember brothers, our target is Yang Wei, we'll kill him in the name of Emperor Cloudcrest.." he held out a fist and tighten it.
Ji Chang and Ji Ming who stood behind their eldest brother, bowed their heads.
"Yes!"