A day later, when the first spirit stone in the boat was depleted, Feng Yan put away the Windrider Sail. The three of them landed on a mountain peak. It was dusk, and in the distance, the setting sun was just barely visible on the horizon. Darkness gradually fell over the land.
Below the mountain stretched a dense forest, with the occasional cries of birds and beasts echoing. The air was heavy with moisture.
"Once we get through this forest, let's rest. What do you two think?" Feng Yan asked calmly, glancing at Du Lingfei and Bai Xiaochun.
"It's already getting dark, and there might be dangerous beasts in that forest. Why don't we just fly through it with the Windrider Sail?" Bai Xiaochun suggested.
"If you want to rest, rest by yourself. It's just a forest," Du Lingfei snorted coldly. She couldn't stand Bai Xiaochun's cowardly behavior. With a flash of her figure, she charged ahead.
A trace of disdain also flickered deep in Feng Yan's eyes, but outwardly he simply smiled at Bai Xiaochun before dashing down the mountain after her.
Bai Xiaochun frowned tightly. Seeing the two rush in, he sighed and became even more cautious, following them into the forest.
The forest was even more humid inside. There were even marshes scattered about, and the sounds of wild animals echoed from time to time. However, the three were all Qi Condensation cultivators—agile and fast—as they moved quickly through the forest's depths.
Time passed, and the sky grew darker. When the moon rose high in the sky, they had already traversed a good distance without encountering any danger. Everything had gone smoothly. Seeing Bai Xiaochun trailing behind, flinching at every noise, Du Lingfei's disdain only grew.
"Watch out!" Bai Xiaochun suddenly shouted, stopping in his tracks, a look of unease on his face.
Du Lingfei sneered, just about to mock him.
But at that exact moment, gusts of wind suddenly swept through the forest. A foul stench rode on the wind. Du Lingfei's expression changed. Looking up, she immediately saw countless red eyes appear in the darkness between the trees.
In the blink of an eye, the flapping of wings echoed out. Swarms of palm-sized, two-headed bats shot out from the trees.
"Two-headed bats! Their claws and fangs are venomous—dissolve blood and paralyze the body!"
"Split up! We'll regroup on the mountain peak at the forest's far end!" Feng Yan's expression shifted dramatically. He immediately altered course and erupted in speed.
Du Lingfei's eyes narrowed. With a wave of her hand, a talisman ignited in front of her, glowing blue as it turned into a protective barrier around her body. She also changed direction and moved faster. When she looked back, she froze for a moment—Bai Xiaochun, who had been behind them, had already vanished without a trace.
Bai Xiaochun, at the first sound of the wind, had instinctively retreated. His cautious personality and keen sensitivity to danger gave him a heightened awareness others lacked.
As he backed away, the bats split into three swarms and pursued each of them.
Inside the forest, Feng Yan smiled coldly, quickly pocketing a fragment of incense. The bats had been drawn here by that incense. He had chosen to stop at this forest on purpose. On a previous mission, he had discovered that two-headed bats lived here.
"Each one of them has strength equivalent to a Qi Condensation level three cultivator. Bai Xiaochun, don't blame me—it's someone else who wants you dead." Feng Yan chuckled. With a pat to his storage pouch, he pulled out a piece of black wood and gently blew on it. The wood caught fire, releasing black smoke.
The bats chasing him screamed sharply and scattered in all directions, clearly repelled by the smoke.
Feng Yan smiled casually and strolled away, soon disappearing into the forest.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was sprinting rapidly through the woods. The bats were chasing after him, but no matter how fast they flew, they couldn't catch up. Before long, Bai Xiaochun had completely outpaced them. Occasionally, his flying sword flashed through the air, taking down a bat with a screech.
After running for a while, Bai Xiaochun stopped to catch his breath. Frowning, he glanced behind him.
"These bats showed up way too conveniently…" he muttered. Suspicious, he retraced his steps and picked up a bat he had slain with his flying sword. After examining it carefully, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"These aren't two-headed bats—they're **purple-striped bats**! They're venomous, sure, but their fangs are a primary ingredient in refining Tier 2 spiritual medicine—**Blood Ignition Incense**!"
"In the sect, this material costs fifty contribution points per set!" Bai Xiaochun's eyes gleamed with excitement. This was something from the fifth volume of the *Spirit Beast Compendium*, and not many people could recognize it.
Heart racing, he began collecting the corpses of the bats. In no time, he'd found more than ten and carefully extracted their fangs.
"These bats are pretty weak…" Bai Xiaochun chuckled. A defensive light shield appeared around him, and he ventured deeper into the forest. Before long, another swarm of purple-striped bats spotted him and came shrieking his way.
Bai Xiaochun formed a hand seal, and his flying sword suddenly surged in speed. Before the bats could reach him, they were pierced one by one, their shrieks echoing as they dropped to the ground. Even the few that got close slammed into his light barrier and bounced away.
He stepped forward and gathered the corpses. Finding no real danger, he grew more confident. With his chest puffed out, he resumed the hunt.
And so, alone in the forest, Bai Xiaochun searched tirelessly, collecting more and more bat fangs…
Two hours later, Feng Yan emerged from the forest and reached the designated mountain peak. He sat down cross-legged, a faint smile on his lips as he waited patiently.
Another hour passed, and Du Lingfei stumbled out of the forest, looking disheveled and shaken. She glanced back at the dark woods with lingering fear, then hurried up the mountain. When she saw Feng Yan, she quickly scanned the area.
"Bai Xiaochun's not here yet?" she asked.
"Junior Brother Bai will have to rely on his own luck. Unfortunately, these two-headed bats are most active at night. If we go back in, we might not make it out ourselves," Feng Yan said with a heavy sigh, shaking his head in regret. To make it more convincing, he hadn't rested either and now appeared tense and worried as he gazed toward the forest.
Du Lingfei stayed silent. While she didn't like Bai Xiaochun, she hadn't wanted him dead. After all, they were fellow disciples. Sitting cross-legged, she looked down at the forest below and, after a long while, sighed softly.
Time passed, and dawn approached.
They had waited all night, and still there was no sign of Bai Xiaochun. A sense of foreboding crept into Du Lingfei's heart.
"If he's still not out by now… Bai Xiaochun is probably…"
"It's my fault. If I hadn't insisted on going through that forest, he wouldn't have…" Feng Yan stood up, his eyes bloodshot after a sleepless night. His face was filled with grief as he gazed solemnly into the woods.
"Don't blame yourself, Senior Brother Feng. None of us expected there would be two-headed bats. Maybe Bai Xiaochun isn't dead. Even if he is, we should bring his body back as fellow disciples," Du Lingfei said quietly. Her emotions were complicated. She still found Bai Xiaochun annoying, but now also felt pity. After all, they had no deep grudges.
"You're right, Junior Sister Du. No matter what, we can't give up." Feng Yan nodded gravely and took a deep breath. Just as the two were about to descend the mountain to search—
Suddenly, they saw Bai Xiaochun yawning as he strolled leisurely out of the forest. As he walked, he stretched comfortably.
Du Lingfei's eyes widened in disbelief. Beside her, Feng Yan was dumbfounded, staring at Bai Xiaochun as he casually made his way up the mountain path.
Bai Xiaochun looked like he'd had a full night's rest—refreshed and energetic—while the two of them, after a sleepless night, looked completely exhausted.
Soon, Bai Xiaochun arrived and cheerfully greeted them.
"Good morning, Senior Brother Feng, Senior Sister Du. That forest was terrifying—I almost lost my life in there." In truth, he had slept quite well. After wiping out nearly all the bats and collecting a fortune in materials, he had found a bat cave and napped peacefully inside.
Du Lingfei's face darkened. She glared at him and snorted coldly. Thinking back to her earlier complicated feelings, she now found Bai Xiaochun even more hateful.
A cold glint flashed in Feng Yan's eyes, but his face showed joy.
"I'm just glad you're alright, Junior Brother Bai. We were worried about you all night."
Bai Xiaochun chuckled, seemingly carefree. But deep in his eyes, a cold gleam flickered as well.
Soon after, the trio resumed their journey. This time, they didn't use the flying boat. After what happened, Bai Xiaochun suggested flying at night and traveling on foot by day. Du Lingfei, for once, didn't object. Feng Yan thought it over and nodded.
The three continued on their way, following the Heavenspan River downstream.
Time passed, and before long, a whole month had gone by.
This month had been the longest Bai Xiaochun had ever traveled in his life. He had passed mountain after mountain, forest after forest. The surroundings were desolate and wild, the world vast and savage.
Once, as they were traveling, the ground suddenly trembled. Bai Xiaochun was shocked to see, between the distant mountains, a giant—covered in hair—slowly walking across the land. Every step it took made the ground shake.
Bai Xiaochun gasped in horror.
Another time, during a night flight, lightning suddenly lit up the sky. In the distance, a bird as large as Fragrant Cloud Peak streaked through the air, lightning crackling across its feathers. The sight in the night sky was absolutely terrifying.
But the most unforgettable moment came during the day, when they saw a ferocious beast on the banks of the Heavenspan River. It had short limbs but a head the size of a small mountain. Then, out of the river, a colossal golden crocodile—tens of thousands of feet long—leapt out and swallowed the beast in a single bite. Its cold eyes then glanced toward the terrified trio, who had been hiding nearby.
Just that one glance made their minds buzz. Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths, and they suffered splitting headaches for days before they finally recovered.
"Too scary… the outside world is too scary!" Bai Xiaochun shivered and muttered repeatedly for a long time.