Chapter 28: Falling into the Black Forest, I'm afraid I'll become someone else's dish...
Two days later, several more teams appeared at the entrance of the Strange Fire Secret Realm in Yaowang City.
These people are all the alchemists who have passed the alchemist level.
Many people had irrepressible joy on their faces. Using strange fire to refine pills and not having strange fire were two completely different worlds.
Nan Si Ning roughly counted the number of people and said with some surprise, "Medicine King City allows alchemists to bring two helpers in, but why does my count seem wrong? Is it still too many?"
Qin Xueyang, who had come to see them off, explained, "Some disciples who return empty-handed from their first entry into the Strange Fire Secret Realm must complete disciple missions in exchange for a chance to reenter. A few failed the first time and are here for a second try."
Nan Si Ning finally understood and praised, "Then the rules of Medicine King City are quite humane."
Although the small secret realm of strange fire was artificially opened up by Yaowang City and is much safer than those large secret realms, strange fire is, after all, a treasure created by heaven and earth. The powerful ones even have their own intelligence. No matter how easy it is, there will always be some unlucky people who will fail.
Qin Xueyang's smile deepened immediately: "Although Junior Sister Nan's words are novel, her praise is quite accurate."
Just as everyone was waiting with nervousness and excitement, the arrival of two people immediately attracted the attention of most people.
Qin Xueyang's smile faded, becoming almost invisible. He said, "Hello, Second Senior Brother. What's this?"
The people who came were Hu Yan and Luo Qingyao.
Before Hu Yan could speak, Luo Qingyao said softly, "Senior Sister Qin, Second Senior Brother is here to accompany me into the secret realm."
Qin Xueyang widened his eyes in surprise, his gaze moving back and forth between the two people in disbelief.
As the direct disciples of the King of Medicine, they have the privilege of recommending others to enter the secret realm, but each person can recommend at most five people. If one opportunity is used up, there will be one less, so they will choose their candidates very carefully.
Qin Xueyang herself had already used the opportunity twice, but the people she recommended were all fellow students with whom she had a very close relationship.
Hu Yan had never used this privilege, and Qin Xueyang thought that his second senior brother had high requirements. He didn't expect that the first person he recommended was not from Yaowang City, or even a pill cultivator.
Not only Qin Xueyang, but everyone else who heard this also had strange expressions on their faces and seemed surprised.
Nan Sining was probably the least upset one. When Luo Qingyao appeared, she felt relieved instead. Everything was still on track as she knew.
If Luo Qingyao hadn't come this time, she would have to spend effort to find out Luo Qingyao's schedule and find ways to ruin her plans, which would be quite troublesome. It would be better if Luo Qingyao came by herself.
In the original novel, it was Xiao Jingwen who served her wholeheartedly, brought her into the secret realm, and helped her obtain the Ziwei Heavenly Fire. This time, the guide was changed to Hu Yan, and the result was no different.
However, Hu Yan should not be as licking the boot as Xiao Jingwen.
Then what happens in the secret realm will definitely be different from what is in the book.
As Nan Si Ning was pondering, Luo Qingyao said with a hint of grievance, "Senior Sister Qin, why do you look at me and Second Senior Brother like this? It's as if... as if you suspect that there's something shameful going on between me and Second Senior Brother."
The aggrieved look and the slightly gentle crying tone were just right, and sure enough, it attracted the concerned and worried gazes of some male cultivators, and some even looked at Qin Xueyang with unfriendly eyes.
As expected of an actor! Nan Si Ning praised in his heart.
Qin Xueyang was also a straightforward person, and he said directly: "I didn't know that such a distinguished guest had come to our Yaowang City. He is so distinguished that we can't even take a second look at him."
As she spoke, Qin Xueyang rolled her eyes, and her bright and gorgeous appearance seemed even more aggressive.
Hu Yan seemed to be unable to bear it any longer and said unhappily, "Well, the secret realm is about to open, and business is urgent."
Although Hu Yan agreed to help Luo Qingyao, his attitude was far different from that of the bootlickers. This made Luo Qingyao feel a little dissatisfied, but she didn't dare to say anything.
After a moment of silence, Luo Qingyao suddenly came to Nan Si Ning and his group, and said in a familiar tone, "We are all from the same Canglan Sect. Would you like to go to the secret realm together so that we can look after each other?"
Before Nan Si Ning could say anything, Hua Shengqing fiercely objected, "Who wants to join you? When we were on the flying boat, you were trying every possible way to harm my junior sister. Are you looking for another opportunity to harm her this time?"
Luo Qingyao looked extremely hurt, but she still tried to be strong and said, "My brothers and sisters from Cijian Peak have misunderstood me deeply. I was too tactless."
Having said that, she turned and walked away again.
Luo Qingyao left so quickly and decisively that Hua Shengqing and the others were still a little confused: "Why would she come up to me and get scolded out of nowhere?"
The relationship between the two sides is so tense that they will definitely not travel together.
Moreover, with Hu Yan by her side, going to the secret realm to collect a strange fire would be as easy as picking vegetables from her own garden. Why would she need to travel with Ci Jianfeng and his group?
Nan Sining guessed that Luo Qingyao was going for the Ziwei Sky Fire. The strange fire formed by the power of the stars was very different from ordinary strange fires. It was normal for Luo Qingyao to feel insecure.
However, this wasn't the reason why she suddenly came up to him.
"Seventh Senior Sister, don't pay attention to her, just let her be!" Nan Si Ning said in a flat tone.
Nan Sining had some guesses as to what Luo Qingyao was planning. After all, they regarded each other as their mortal enemy, so it was not surprising that they thought the same thing.
After Luo Qingyao left, some male cultivators bravely came forward and said they wanted to team up with Luo Qingyao, but they were all politely rejected by Luo Qingyao.
Hua Shengqing looked at the scene of several male cultivators surrounding Luo Qingyao and said it was an eyesore.
Fortunately, the secret realm was opened not long after.
Above the empty ground, the air suddenly vibrated like water waves, and ripples appeared. Then the places where the ripples appeared gradually expanded and emitted a faint light.
While everyone was still in amazement, Hu Yan was the first to move: "Let's go!"
Luo Qingyao glanced at Nan Si Ning and replied, "Okay!"
So, Hu Yan took the lead and flew towards the entrance of the secret realm, and the others also started to move.
Hua Shengqing said to Nan Si Ning: "Junior sister, let me take you!"
Nan Si Ning took out his flying magic weapon and said, "That's not necessary. We just need to pull each other."
Hua Shengqing agreed.
Nan Sining, Hua Shengqing and Zhou Lixing held the same rope. Nan Sining quietly took out a sword with his other hand, and the three of them flew towards the entrance of the secret realm together.
After the person in front hit the water ripples, he went straight in. Nan Si Ning followed suit and rushed in with his head down.
As a result, when she lowered her head slightly, she noticed that a white sleeve had fallen on her forearm. Without thinking, she swung her sword and stabbed it. When she retracted the sword, she lost her balance and fell directly to the ground.
Glancing at a trace of blood on the sword, Nan Sining used the cleaning technique to remove it without thinking.
The smell of blood is the most likely to attract dangerous things, so Nan Sining pays special attention to this.
After cleaning the sword, Nan Sining did not put it away, but held it in his hand and looked around.
The small secret realm filled with strange fire was just as Nan Sining had imagined, with violent fire spiritual power everywhere, making people feel hot all over.
The difference is that Nan Si Ning thought he would fall into the hot yellow sand, but unexpectedly he fell into a forest.
The forest was pitch black everywhere. The ground was black, and the burnt trees were also black, just like a forest that had just experienced a big fire.
"I didn't expect that I would end up in the most mysterious Black Forest." Nan Si Ning said to himself.
Chen Tangyuan had already explained the situation in the secret realm to the three of them in detail. Although the Black Forest was the smallest in area, it was much more dangerous than the barren desert and the river filled with magma.
Nan Sining was extremely alert, paying close attention to all the movements around him - but there was nothing.
The Dark Forest was dead silent, as if there were no other living things except her.
But Nan Sining did not dare to let his guard down. He still held the sword carefully, identifying the direction while trying to leave the forest.
Behind Nan Sining, she didn't notice that the branches of the dark and lifeless trees were secretly stretching towards her, as if trying to keep her.
Nan Sining walked cautiously for a while, and slowly discovered that the Black Forest was indeed not that simple.
Hidden in the dark ground were many black insects, their shells glistening black. Sometimes, from beneath the black ash, a long, pitch-black centipede-like worm would suddenly leap out, sweeping up the black insects and swallowing them whole in the ash pile...
I thought these creatures would have difficulty surviving in a place full of strange fire, but I didn't expect that they not only survived, but also seemed to be living well.
After walking for a while, Nan Sining felt that the Black Forest was not as small as the people in Yaowang City said. He had been walking for so long but still hadn't gotten out.
As for the reason for not using flying magic tools, it was because Shen Tangyuan had emphasized that the birds in the Black Forest were very dangerous and would attack monks flying in the air. Flying over the forest was simply a huge conspicuous bag, provoking the birds in the Black Forest.
Tired from walking, Nan Si Ning found an open area away from the strange trees, sprinkled some insect repellent powder, and then found a recliner. Lying down on the chair, she pulled out a homemade milk tea in one hand and a plate of fried chicken in the other. After a moment's thought, she stuffed the two back in and ate a bowl of cold noodles instead.
The smell of fried chicken is too strong and could be dangerous, so it’s better to bear with it for now.
Nan Sining took a mouthful of cold noodles and a sip of cool milk tea before he felt his fatigue ease a little.
I felt tired after walking for just a short while. This was a sign of a massive loss of spiritual energy. It seemed that this secret realm of strange fire really consumed a lot of spiritual energy.
After Nan Sining finished eating, he was clearing the dishes when he suddenly heard a sound of breaking air behind him. He immediately felt danger and without turning around, he raised his sword and slashed behind him.
After the attack, Nan Sining retreated several steps and left the spot.
Only after she stood still did she have time to see clearly that there was a black snake lying on the ground, cut in half! The two halves of the snake were still twisting desperately on the ground, and not only bright red blood was flowing out of the wound, but also clusters of small flames.
After the small flame went out, it turned into black ash that could be seen everywhere on the ground.
Nan Si Ning felt a chill in his heart. This snake was actually ambushing him. If he hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been bitten and it was hard to say whether he could have saved his life.
Nan Si Ning was just feeling relieved when suddenly several more black snakes jumped out, pounced on the body of the black snake, and quickly tore off large chunks of meat and ate them.
Nan Si Ning was stunned by this scene. She had seen some videos of snakes eating, and they wouldn't tear flesh like this. They would just swallow it in one gulp! What was going on with the snakes here?
However, Nan Sining was not in the mood to explore further, so he turned around and ran away from here first.
As a result, she had not run far when she found that the snakes had actually followed her!
They were completely black, almost blending in with the black and gray. If it weren't for the hissing sound from their tongues, Nan Sining wouldn't have been able to detect their presence at once!
I’ve heard of wild animals chasing people, but I’ve never seen a snake chasing people!
Nan Si Ning resisted the urge to scream and ran forward desperately, not caring whether he would alarm other living creatures in the dark forest.
After chasing for a while, the anxious snake saw that Nan Si Ning was really difficult to catch, so it simply jumped up and pounced on Nan Si Ning.
Nan Sining had seen the catapult ability of the first snake and had been paying attention to whether the other snakes would use this trick.
This snake was even faster than the previous one. After Nan Si Ning swung her sword, she was unable to prevent the snake's hot blood from splashing onto her body. It actually bit several small holes on the back of her hand.
Nan Si Ning took a breath of cold air. This was more painful than being splashed with lava!
The wound on his back looked like a burn.
There was no time to study these things. With the first snake taking the lead, the other snakes could not hold back and wanted to capture Nan Si Ning one after another.
Nan Sining drew his sword and fought with them.
Although Nan Si Ning is no longer a pill cultivator, he still needs to learn some sword techniques, after all, his master is a sword cultivator.
These snakes were not difficult to kill, but Nan Sining felt that his spiritual power was being lost extremely quickly, as if it was being sucked away by something.
What is going on?
Nan Si Ning was thinking while responding to the snake's attack.
Before Nan Sining could figure it out, another black figure crawled on the ground and rushed towards him quickly.
Nan Si Ning was startled. He hadn't even finished dealing with the snake yet, and now there seemed to be something even more formidable?!
Just as Nan Sining was thinking about how to respond, he saw the crocodile-like little beast pounce directly on the snakes, grab a snake, bite its head like eating spicy strips, take a bite and eat it, then slurp the whole snake into its stomach like eating noodles.
While eating, its claws kept stopping the snakes that were trying to escape.
Nan Si Ning's pressure suddenly eased. After thinking for a while, she used her sword to pick up all the snakes and brought them to the little beast, telling him to eat more. Once he was full, he would not attack her anymore.
After Nan Sining pushed the last snake away, he slowly retreated.
The little animal was eating intently. After Nan Sining made sure he was at a safe distance, he ran away.
After running for a distance, Nan Si Ning slowed down his pace and gave himself a thumbs up in his heart. He was so polite for not disturbing others while they were eating!
After all this trouble, the sky seems to have become a little darker. Is it going to be dark?
It is said that it gets dark earlier in the Black Forest than in other places in the secret realm, and the length of the night is much longer than the length of the day.
Nan Sining couldn't help but sigh. The night in the Black Forest was the most terrifying. What he had just encountered was just the appetizer.
If I can't get out before dark, I'm afraid I'll become someone's dish in this forest.
Without taking a rest, Nan Sining identified the direction and continued on his way.
Not long after walking, she suddenly realized that something seemed to be following her!
Nan Si Ning's heart trembled. He was being targeted again?!
She cautiously turned around and observed for a while before she realized it was the little beast from before. It was now on its hind legs, its front paws grasping at a pile of snakes and gnawing on them. It was already pitch black, with a strangely shaped head. Add to that the red blood stains, and it was even scarier than a hellhound!
Nan Si Ning pretended not to notice, walked forward for a while, and even turned a few times to make sure that the little beast was really following him.
Nan Sining's heart suddenly felt like it had fallen into an ice cave, and it was completely cold. Could it be that this little beast was going to treat him as its dinner?
After trying several times to get rid of the little beast without success, Nan Si Ning simply gave up. Forget it, the little beast was the native of the Black Forest and knew it much better than he did. He couldn't escape even if he wanted to, so let it be.
As the sky darkened, Nan Si Ning couldn't find a way out of the Black Forest. The ugly little beast was following him closely. So he simply found a dry place sheltered from the wind, cleaned up the black ash with cleaning magic, and decided to rest there.
After sitting down, Nan Si Ning said to himself, "The most tragic thing in life is dying before spending all your money. I have no more spiritual stones to spend now, but I can't waste food. Even if I die, it would be more decent to die with a full stomach."
As he said this, Nan Si Ning took out a table and put all the delicious food that his third senior brother had prepared in advance on it.
He took out a special jade slip and tried to receive messages from his senior brothers and sisters. The jade slip was quieter than a stone. He tried it with a water mirror, but the water mirror was also as dull as an ordinary mirror.
Nan Sining stuffed the food back into the storage ring and started eating.
I have to eat fried chicken. Anyway, I am about to die, so I don’t have to worry about so many things.
Nan Si Ning, who was chewing fried chicken and sipping milk tea, didn't notice that the little beast smelled the fragrance of her food and chewed the snake slower and slower. Its pair of black eyes looked at her, becoming brighter and brighter.
After a while, Nan Sining, who had finished a box of fried chicken, burped lightly and was about to start eating the cake when he heard a rustling sound.
When Nan Sining stood up, he saw that he had accidentally dropped a chicken bone, which had been picked up by the little beast and was chewing it with relish.
Nan Si Ning was stunned. How could there be such innocence on this little beast's rugged face? The way he squinted his eyes and gnawed on the chicken bone looked like he was savoring a rare delicacy.
Nan Si Ning's eyes were sore, and long-forgotten memories came to her mind: when she was a child, she also coveted other people's fried chicken legs, and lingered at other people's doorsteps, eager to pick up the bones thrown away by others to chew on and taste the flavor. After being discovered by her grandmother, her grandmother picked up garbage for two more hours every day. Half a month later, she also ate fried chicken legs.
Nan Si Ning wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, took out another box of fried chicken, handed it to the little beast, and said, "You can eat this. The bones are not very chewy."
The little beast was puzzled for a moment before stretching out its claws and taking the box of fried chicken.
Seeing it intoxicated by the fragrance, Nan Sining couldn't help laughing out loud. It was just like himself when he was a child!
The little animal twitched its black nose, and after a while, it carefully picked up a piece of fried chicken and slowly put it into its mouth.
After taking the first bite, it was stunned at first, as if surprised that there was such a delicious thing in the world.
Then, it suddenly stuffed the fried chicken into its mouth quickly. After moving its mouth for a while, it spat out a clean bone with a "puff" sound.
Even though it looked weird and not very good-looking, Nan Sining could still see some satisfaction and excitement in its expression.
This little beast is quite intelligent, Nan Si Ning thought to himself.
After the little beast finished eating the first piece of fried chicken, he quickly ate the second piece, the third piece... His speed became faster and faster, and the sound of spitting out bones became louder and louder.
Seeing it eating happily, Nan Sining actually felt some of the joy of feeding it. He took out a cup of milk tea and handed it to it. After thinking about it, he gave it a portion of cake as well.
At first the little animal didn't know how to start eating, but after secretly observing Nan Si Ning's way of eating, it quickly imitated him.
As the man and the beast ate, Nan Si Ning gradually relaxed.
After eating, there was only a little light left in the sky.
Somehow, Nan Si Ning felt a little dizzy. It was no use taking the spiritual pill. Although his whole body was full of spiritual power, he still couldn't resist the feeling of sleepiness.
Nan Si Ning yawned, released two formation plates to protect himself, and said to the little beast, "I'm going to sleep, you can do whatever you want!"
The little animal looked at her with its bright black eyes, somewhat confused and puzzled. Nan Sining thought for a moment, then took out a blanket and threw it to it.
As for entering the formation, Nan Sining didn't even think about it. This little beast had a crushing attitude towards those snakes. It was a tough guy who chewed those snakes like spicy strips. No one dared to stay in the same area with it.
After taking all kinds of precautions and making his bedding, Nan Si Ning crawled into his bed. Unable to resist the heavy sleepiness, he soon fell asleep.
She didn't realize that the moment she closed her eyes, the whole sky turned completely dark, so dark that she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. In the darkness, like an ink painting, many black shadows appeared, from vague to solid.
Only the little animal still had its bright black eyes open, hugging the soft blanket, looking a little dazed.
As the night fell, black shadows gradually solidified and appeared, as if attracted and inspired, gathering towards the area where Nan Sining was.
When the little beast noticed those black shadows, it immediately made a "huh!" sound. Those black shadows that were coming so fiercely that they almost covered the sky and the sun suddenly froze, and finally retreated slowly with reluctance.
After the black shadows disappeared, the snake corpses and bloodstains that the little beast had not finished eating also disappeared completely.
But the little beast didn’t care, because it now had something more delicious!
After the black shadows faded away, the sky gradually turned from dark black to dark blue, and stars emerged, looking peaceful and beautiful.
The little beast came to the edge of the formation, looked at Nan Si Ning's peaceful sleeping face, and then followed Nan Si Ning's example, wrapped himself in a blanket, and finally closed his eyes...
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