When system cheat becomes rampant!

The desolate beasts on the list posed no difficulty for Xiang Beifei; he killed most of them directly. For the relatively weaker desolate beasts, Xiang Beifei would stand aside and let Long Guocheng and the others deal with them. After all, even his energy was limited and he needed to rest and recover.

As things stood, they were very likely to become the first team to gather twenty kinds of desolate beasts. The students from other schools, even those who were SSR, could hardly handle these desolate beasts as easily, lacking far behind Xiang Beifei in actual combat experience.

"Rest for ten minutes, and then let's move on," Xiang Beifei said.

"Do we have to be in such a rush?" Ma Ziqian asked.

They had been walking for an entire day, often proceeding immediately after hunting a desolate beast, and never staying in one place for more than ten minutes.

"For safety," Xiang Beifei said.

Since the Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage had actually managed to find them, Xiang Beifei had to take it seriously.

Being found once while out with Ye Changfeng could be considered a fluke, but this time it made Xiang Beifei vigilant.

If the Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage truly were tracking them by consuming the brains of other desolate beasts, then they couldn't stay in one place for too long.

"That being said, if, as you suggest, this type of desolate beast is so cunning, why haven't the God Refining judges here discovered it?" Long Guocheng didn't quite understand.

Xiang Beifei said in a grave voice, "You should think about it from a different angle. What does it mean for a desolate beast to go undetected by God Refining judges?"

Long Guocheng's face paled slightly.

Everyone else also grasped Xiang Beifei's implication.

Desolate beasts are generally very simple and violent creatures; most of them are vicious by nature and would attack martial artists as soon as they see them, trying to tear the martial artists to shreds. Read latest stories on empire

But among the desolate beasts, there are also those with very high intelligence. Those beasts wouldn't be rash, they would assess their own strength relative to a martial artist's, and if they couldn't win, they would not act recklessly and would instead choose to avoid confrontation.

The fact that the Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage destroyed its host's body before death indicated that it didn't want to leave more traces for the humans here.

Dealing with such desolate beasts was very troubling.

They lived in the wilderness outside the domain, knew the area better than all humans, and had a natural advantage on this battlefield.

"Captain, are you really sure about this?" Ma Ziqian asked.

"I hope it's just my conjecture," Xiang Beifei said.

Everyone wasn't sure what to say.

Li Zimu had already extracted the inner core of the desolate beast, and Xiang Beifei had erased the traces nearby, and only then did they continue to move forward.

About ten minutes later, they moved from a valley to the outside of a forest, but at that moment, Xiang Beifei felt a surge of unease again.

"Here it comes."

Xiang Beifei cautiously eyed the forest ahead.

"Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage?" Ma Ziqian asked.

"Yes."

Xiang Beifei was very sensitive to this strange aura.

"How do we recognize this kind of aura? Why can't the rest of us sense it?" Long Guocheng frowned.

They had also seen the Ghost Mustache but had not noticed any special fluctuations from it, and to some extent, if it weren't for the black tentacles stretched out by that eyeless man, it would hardly be distinguishable from a human.

"I can't explain it well."

Xiang Beifei couldn't clearly articulate this feeling; it was purely an intuition.

It wasn't just Long Guocheng and the others; even during training last time, Ye Changfeng hadn't perceived it.

"Are they tracking us?" Li Zimu asked.

Xiang Beifei looked back and then gazed towards the dense forest to the left, saying, "It doesn't seem like it this time. They are ahead, and it seems they are moving forward."

What he could confirm at this moment was that there were three or four such auras inside the forest ahead, roughly five miles away.

"Shall we go and check it out? Drive off the tentacles this time, save the body of the pioneer, and then report it?" Ma Ziqian asked.

"No," Xiang Beifei shook his head.

If he were alone, he would definitely try to investigate, but with teammates in tow, in the wilderness outside the domain, it was best to avoid trouble whenever possible. After all, Sun Yushan and Fan Kai were also at Meridian Opening level, but they hadn't fared well against the weaker Crybaby Ghost they had encountered.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the group knew it was best to just take care of their own matters for now.

The party turned towards a depression in the northern hills, where a withered forest stood, its yellow leaves still clinging to the branches, and the ground shone golden as if sprinkled with shattered gold.

"What kind of desolate beasts usually live in a withered forest like this?" Ma Ziqian asked.

In the wilderness outside the domain, any kind of landscape might be encountered; although it was their first time seeing such a withered forest, it seemed normal to them, and they weren't particularly concerned about anything.

"Hard to say: Ebony Ungulates, Withered Leaf Jackals, Autumn Locusts, there are many possibilities."

Xiang Beifei continued to walk toward the forest.

But for some reason, as they stepped into the withered forest, he vaguely felt something ripple.

Xiang Beifei turned his head, but it seemed as though nothing had happened.

He pondered for a moment, then moved forward again.

The trees here were strange, all of the leaves were clearly withered and yellow, yet they still clung to the branches without falling off. However, as they walked into the withered forest, they suddenly found that the surrounding trees began to revive.

As they passed each tree, its leaves actually began to turn back to green, as if coming back to life.

And after they moved away, those trees began to pale and wither once more.

"Doesn't this look a bit eerie?" Xi Keyao murmured.

Xiang Beifei also stopped in his tracks, looking at the trees with some surprise. The trees here seemed to be recognizing them, coming back to life as they approached and withering away as they left.

"Is there anything about these strange plants in the books?" Long Guocheng asked.

"I don't recall."

Xiang Beifei also couldn't remember what these trees were called at that moment. He approached one of the trees and found that it was a very common pagoda tree, not some other rare plant.

"Just a pagoda tree?"

This made everyone feel even more uneasy. If it wasn't the trees, then what was it?

"Do you get the feeling," Xi Keyao said softly, "that as we walk in this forest, passing by a place changes its color, as if we're under surveillance?"

Once she mentioned this, everyone suddenly became aware. The withered forest was vast, looking like a yellow carpet from high above.

Yet, as they passed through, their location turned green, with the revived trees standing out as a conspicuous landmark among the yellow, creating a spot of green. At this point, if someone were to watch over this forest from a high place, they could easily track the movements of this group of people within.

"Be careful, stay alert."

After all, the wilderness beyond civilization was filled with bizarre things at every turn. Suddenly coming into such a strange forest, in unfamiliar terrain, they had to be cautious.

Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and then said, "Let's go up."

They quickly climbed to the top of a pagoda tree. Xiang Beifei performed Sword Flight at a high altitude, observing the forest below. The forest was vast, stretching to the horizon, yet its limits remained out of sight. At its edge, darkness loomed.

He could only vaguely see huge bolts of purple lightning striking across the void in the high sky.

Xiang Beifei returned to the treetop and explained to the others, "Over there, there are many purple thunderbolts, that must be the Thunder Sea; the Landmine Dragon lies beyond that. To find the Landmine Dragon, we must cross this forest."

"So we have to pass through this forest?" Long Guocheng asked.

Xiang Beifei weighed the options and said, "Yes, according to the speed at which we travel, it should take about three or four hours to cross this withered forest, but to prevent accidents, we'll travel directly from treetop to treetop."

Since they weren't clear on what strange things might be in the forest, and knowing that if someone were watching them from below, they wouldn't be detected, but by traveling through the treetops, they could respond promptly to any situation.

"I can travel with the wind."

Li Zimu's abilities were wide-ranging; he could use the wind to carry the team forward in the air. Usually, the one responsible for mobility was Ma Ziqian, but Ma Ziqian could only race on the ground and wasn't able to carry everyone through the air.

In the outer wilderness, it's best not to fly whenever possible, because being airborne makes a target too obvious and could easily attract desolate beasts capable of flight. However, at this point, it didn't matter anymore; the greening of their path already made them conspicuous.

Li Zimu stirred up a gust of wind under his feet, lifting everyone up, and then swiftly headed toward the direction of the Thunder Sea.

The trees below still changed as they moved; the vast forest in the distance was shrouded with a thin layer of dense fog, and from time to time, towering mountains could be seen.

The mountains were also filled with withered trees, devoid of any greenery. Passing each peak within the withered forest, Xiang Beifei paid close attention, because if he wanted to survey the forest, he would definitely have to hide in the mountains. From such a vantage point, the green spots would surely indicate targets.

Xiang Beifei traveled on his sword, flying at the highest point. After about an hour, they encountered no odd occurrences, and they didn't even see any desolate beasts, nor other birds in the sky. The journey seemed unusually smooth.

So smooth, in fact, that it made Xiang Beifei uneasy.

You should know, ever since they entered the wildlands, they faced various desolate beasts at all times: small beasts every ten meters, larger beasts every hundred meters, Killer Bees, butterflies, ants... all kinds of mutated desolate beasts.

Yet inexplicably, in this withered forest, not a single small insect could be seen!

But just then, Xiang Beifei lightly exclaimed, as he spotted a patch of green moving several kilometers away.

"There are people over there," Xiang Beifei said in surprise.

The others also saw the green patch, moving at great speed towards them.

"Are they students from other schools?" Ma Ziqian asked.

"Should be. Thunder Sea is on the other side of this withered forest; they need to hunt the Landmine Dragon there too," Long Guocheng said.

Xi Keyao reflected with confusion, "Then why are they heading our way? Have they finished their hunt and are preparing to go back?"

Based on the direction of the greening in the withered forest, they could accurately discern the movement of the green spots; they were headed straight for them.

Xiang Beifei was unable to decide what to do, but at that moment, the green patch suddenly split in the middle, dividing into three separate green spots, each moving in different directions.

(There will be another update later!)