MTLNOVEL Chapter 384: Split Into Groups
"Eyes forward," He Xing whispered harshly from beside him. The bulky disciple had noticed Han Yu's sidelong glances. "This isn't a stroll in the courtyard. Stay sharp."
Han Yu simply nodded, not bothering to argue. He kept walking, though his mind refused to let go of the thought. If the scouting mission split, that might be his chance.
The group pressed deeper into the forest.
The air grew heavier, damp with a faintly metallic tang. Now and then, a low growl reverberated from unseen shadows, making the weaker disciples tense and grip their weapons. But Elder Yue gave no signal to stop. She pressed on with the calm confidence of someone who had walked through countless dangers before.
"Form tighter lines," she commanded after another hour passed. "The beasts here are solitary hunters. They may stalk us. Pay attention to your senses... qi fluctuations, distorted sounds, unusual silence. They all mean danger."
Han Yu listened carefully, his spiritual sense spread just enough to feel the brush of the forest's latent hostility. In his time on the expedition, he had learned the utter need of having a good spirit sense.
As such, he had spent extra time in refining it further, and had managed to expand it to twenty meters now. It was something he found difficult before, but perhaps the pressure of impending danger had helped him overcome that bottleneck.
Beasts lurked at the edge of his perception... always watching, but not yet moving. Since these were solitary hunters, they would not dare to attack a group this big, especially with strong cultivators and elder among them.
Han Yu could tell they were strong, their presence heavy with pressure, but scattered. Elder Yue's instructions were clear: to avoid conflict at all costs.
For most, this rule was a shield against danger. For Han Yu, it was also an opportunity.
His heart beat faster as the thought took hold. If the group divided to scout, he could slip away for a short span of time, enough to find an isolated crag or hollow suitable for anchoring his charm. The forest was vast; no one would miss him if he was careful.
Yet a part of him hesitated.
Breaking orders here was not like sneaking around the sect grounds or infiltrating an enemy camp. The beasts here were lethal, and one mistake would not only doom him but possibly the others. Still, the charm was his lifeline. Without it, every battle ahead was a gamble with his existence.
He clenched his fists inside his sleeves, forcing his thoughts to still. Patience. He had to wait for the right moment.
They continued on for several more hours, the forest swallowing them whole.
Occasionally, they spotted beasts... A hulking, tusked reptilian brute rooting near a fallen tree, a sleek panther-like creature with glowing crimson eyes perched silently in the branches above, a massive serpent slithering across a stream. Each time, Elder Yue motioned for silence, guiding the group carefully around, avoiding confrontation.
It was tense, nerve-wracking work, but also strangely exhilarating. Every step felt like walking the edge of a blade.
And through it all, Han Yu's gaze never stopped measuring the land, never stopped searching for the place that could house the charm that might one day save his life.
.
.
.
Soon the large group split up under the orders of Elder Yue, different paths assigned to them.
One of the groups, a trio moved like shadows through the dense, damp forest. Every step measured, every breath kept soft. The inner ring was unnervingly quiet compared to the chaos of the outer marshes.
No swarming hordes, no sudden stampedes, only the distant rustling of leaves, the croak of hidden swamp-toads, and the occasional distant roar that reminded them that danger had not left, only slumbered.
They were one of three scouting groups now.
Elder Yue had taken the most perilous zone herself: closer to where a Nascent Soul realm beasts had been sighted. The second group was led by another core disciple, heading deeper east.
Han Yu's group, meanwhile, was assigned to the western quadrant, where the forest thickened and the land rose slightly, giving them better vantage points but also more uneven terrain.
He Xing moved confidently at the front, the weight of his muscled frame barely slowing him despite the tangled roots underfoot. He would pause every now and then to add notes onto a jade slip: recording elevation changes, landmarks, or signs of beast presence.
Han Yu followed in the middle, his eyes not only watching the undergrowth but also sweeping for medicinal herbs, mineral veins, and... of course, any promising place for his secret plan.
Zhang Rulan took up the rear. He moved in complete silence, almost unnervingly so. Even when they paused, he spoke little, only offering short observations when necessary.
"There are claw marks on that trunk," he'd say in a soft, detached voice.
"Three different beast trails converge here," he'd murmur after kneeling down and inspecting the mud.
Han Yu couldn't help but feel that the man was sharper than his quiet demeanor let on. His thin frame and narrow hands gave him the appearance of a scholar or alchemist, but the way he gripped his saber, the casual precision of his footwork, told a different story.
Zhang Rulan was no weakling. And from what Han Yu knew, he had a reputation for being cold but utterly dependable.
Hours passed.
The forest grew denser. The air was thick, heavy with the smell of rotting leaves and fungal growth. Shafts of light rarely pierced the canopy, and those that did painted shifting patches of gold on the mossy floor.
They encountered a few stray beasts, nothing above the late Qi Refining realm. He Xing dispatched them efficiently, though Han Yu and Zhang Rulan helped when necessary. They didn't linger at the corpses. That wasn't their mission.
Each sighting was marked, each danger recorded. The trio was efficient. They worked well together, if not warmly, then at least professionally.
It was during one of these quiet stretches that Han Yu spotted it.