I am just a mortal, why do you all worship me as a saint?

Chapter 148: Deep in the Forest

Regardless of what Emperor Riyan thinks.

Anyway, I'm not in the mood to continue writing this lousy stuff today.

A gust of wind swept through the imperial study, and a man slowly emerged from the shadows.

He was dressed in black, with a handsome face and a cold, sharp glint in his eyes.

His mere presence exuded a sense of oppression.

"Your Majesty, are you so worried because you fear that someone might be connected to that unknown hermit?" The man's voice was icy. "I am willing to go to Kuyun Prefecture to investigate."

His tone was respectful.

Emperor Sunfire glanced at him and said, "Yanren, as the leader of the Dark Guard, do you think you are capable?" "Your subject dares not speak presumptuously."

The man called Flameblade lowered his head in humility.

But Emperor Riyan knew that this was not modesty, but the truth. He had done a very good job. Although he only had the cultivation of the tenth level of the Integration Stage, Emperor Riyan trusted him more than his own younger brother, King Yanxuan.

"Then go ahead, but remember, you are only allowed to investigate, and do not do anything that might incite...malice."

"Yes."

Yanren acknowledged the order, turned and retreated, quickly disappearing from sight.

Emperor Sunfire sat back in his chair, staring into the distance, his gaze lingering for a long time.

……

The Cloud Spirit Forest is enormous.

This time, Gu Heng deliberately didn't use his Swift Boots to travel, relying solely on his two legs to walk slowly. He also took in the scenery along the way. Although it wasn't particularly leisurely or carefree, it did improve his mood.

And the forest and jade mountains are not too far away now.

But this is still a main road, so you can hardly see any wild animals.

As Gu Heng was about to enter the outer edge of the Cloud Spirit Forest, he found that there were no villagers or hunters who should have made a living by hunting, but there was an old hunter who looked quite old and was hurrying back.

"Old man, it's not even night yet, aren't you all off hunting?"

Gu Heng stepped forward, stopped the old hunter, and asked.

"Ugh……"

The old hunter sighed.

"We want to hunt too, but... this forest is too dangerous now! Look at these days... those monsters are coming out and killing people!"

He pointed to a fallen tree trunk not far away, the trunk of which had been gnawed away in countless places, with sharp teeth still visible at the broken ends.

"I don't know what's wrong with those beasts in this forest. Young man, be careful and don't go too deep, or else..."

After saying that, the old hunter hurriedly walked back, as if afraid that if he was even a fraction of a second too slow, the monster would suddenly rush out.

Gu Heng remained silent.

Monsters causing chaos?

The Cloud Spirit Forest is very dangerous, but he came here specifically to hunt, so the old hunter's words did not deter Gu Heng from continuing his journey.

However, Gu Heng became even more cautious.

Never go too far.

Otherwise, if I attract monsters, I won't be able to deal with them with my broken bow and a bunch of broken arrows.

However, Gu Heng had brought a lot of medicine, including insect and animal repellents as well as highly toxic ones, all for self-defense. Furthermore, he wasn't completely defenseless, so Gu Heng was quite confident about venturing into the forest this time.

He's not fast.

Gu Heng relaxed his brows, inhaling the natural scents of the forest. The environment here could be described as an unpolluted oasis.

The vegetation is lush, and the ancient trees reach for the sky.

Many of the large trees have trunks that are so thick that it would take several people to hug them.

Gu Heng walked through the forest, drawing his arrow and nocking his bow. His steps became steady as he remained vigilant. He observed his surroundings and occasionally picked some pretty flowers and plants to take back to the clinic as potted plants.

However, he did not encounter a single beast.

Neither the demonic beasts nor the ordinary wild animals were to be found. This didn't match what the old hunter had said at all... He said that the demonic beasts in the Cloud Spirit Forest had started causing trouble and had even gone to the outer areas, but now, there wasn't a single wild animal to be seen, let alone any demonic beasts.

However, Gu Heng didn't think much of it, assuming that the person was old and might have been frightened, making their thoughts unclear.

They walked for two hours.

It was already night.

……

Deep within the Cloud Spirit Forest.

Deep within a solitary mountain surrounded by forests, in that vast underground palace.

In the darkness, three beastly figures sat cross-legged.

A large blue tortoise, a white bear, and an earth-colored python.

The Cloud Spirit Forest is enormous.

As one of the few large and dangerous places for monsters within the territory of the Sunfire Dynasty, the Cloud Spirit Forest is also very good at nurturing monsters, and has nurtured a total of four monster kings!

The strongest of them, the Xuan Gu Demon King, even possesses the cultivation level of the third stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm!

However, only the Black Falcon Demon King, the White Bear Demon King, and the Earth Python Demon King are known to humans. Almost no one outside knows about the existence of this Xuan Gu Demon King, mainly because it is good at hiding, after all, the true form of this Xuan Gu Demon King is a Green Xuan Turtle.

Its cultivation level was achieved through sheer hard work and surviving.

Moreover, the Xuan Gu Demon King only stayed in a small pool of water in the deepest part of the Yunling Forest, never leaving and never hunting any weak demon beasts.

That's why it's so mysterious.

However mysterious it may be, it could not be kept from the demon race.

There was another figure standing in the middle of the palace.

He had a human-like appearance, but his face bore some demonic features. This was a demon who had manifested a human form, and the aura he exuded made the chill in the palace cave even more intense. "...Envoy Suluo, the demon beast kings of the Cloud Spirit Forest have all arrived."

"The Ancient Demon King said."

"Now, can you tell me why you came here?"