Chapter 15: The Road We Used to Travel (part 1)
The next morning.
The sun slowly rose from the east, its early morning light casting a shadow over the Star Dou Great Forest. Peering through the dense branches and leaves, it formed tiny beams of light, illuminating the misty, swirling forest.
A gentle breeze blew by, only to stop abruptly in a deadly silence.
The earth's color gradually deepened from muddy yellow, and the trees began to take on a strange appearance, their branches twisted and devoid of life.
The air was filled with the smell of decay, like hell. This place was completely different from the forest; it was hard to imagine such a scene within the forest; it was truly terrifying.
Amidst the mist, a figure slowly walked through the enchanting mist, its footsteps making a gentle sound as they drifted through the fog.
There were no birds singing, no beasts visible, only traces left by the hastily fleeing spirit beasts nearby, foreshadowing the urgency of the events that had occurred.
He was used to it, long used to it. Living alone, walking alone, cultivating alone. Though this life was dull, it taught him the true meaning of the freedom of solitude.
Life was simply about being born and surviving. Although life in the forest was difficult, when the seasonings ran out and the clothes wore out, so what?
Without seasonings, he could find plants to replace them. When clothes became worn and unwearable, he could sew animal skins together and wear them as clothing. It didn't matter. After all, the forest was deserted, so he could even go naked.
But his sliver of shame held him back.
The path he was taking was the one he had explored before, the one where he had encountered the Explosive Owlbear.
By now, he no longer feared it. With his current strength, if he encountered that thousand-year-old soul beast again, he would have a certain ability to fight back, rather than relying solely on nuclear radiation to wear him down.
Although his current soul power of level 20 was still very weak, three years of cultivation were more than just for show. He had mastered the power of self-preservation.
His reason for taking this route was simple: he wanted to see the remains of the corpse from earlier.
He wanted to understand what had happened, why someone had ventured into the forest alone. While the forest was teeming with spirit beasts and close to the city, that wasn't the right place for a single person to come and retrieve spirit rings.
Perhaps he'd misjudged himself, and he wasn't alone, but that didn't matter. Given the strength of the Exploding Owlbear, encountering it would be a death sentence for anyone without a certain level of spirit power. And there were plenty of spirit beasts stronger than the Exploding Owlbear.
He'd considered exploring the depths of the forest, but at the time, he'd decided the dangers of the deep forest were too great.
But now, the time had come. If he didn't venture deeper to retrieve the spirit rings, he'd probably have to drink the water from the forest lake for days.
The nuclear radiation wasn't a concern for him, after all; he was the source of the radiation, so how could the radiation from his body harm him?
The main problem was that it was too dirty. He'd blocked the tributary, turning the forest lake into a stagnant pool with nowhere to circulate. Tsk, tsk, after just a few days of drinking, the smell would linger for over a month.
And as for the water he'd been drinking?
Don't ask about things like that; it hurts feelings.
"How long will it take? Why won't this fog dissipate? If I take the wrong path, I'm doomed." Uchiha Uranium glanced at the light mist around him, feeling a moment of irritation.
The forest posed no threat to him; he was only afraid of wasting time by taking the wrong path, and then having to turn back. The thought of it made him furious.
There was no way around it; his radiation couldn't dispel the aura, and he just had to keep going. The last thing he had was time; he could just take his time.
After figuring this out and consoling himself, the boy continued on his way.
Soon, he came to a huge rock, surrounded by rotting vegetation and a large, black patch of earth, darker than the surroundings and looking quite eerie.
"Is this where I nearly died?"
Uchiha Uranium placed his hand on the rock and traced his way down, lingering for a moment at the spot where he had hit the rock.
He could still recall the terrifying scene: the sudden attack, the blow that sent him flying over ten meters, tumbling onto the rock, and finally passing out in pain.
If the Explosive Owlbear hadn't succumbed to the radiation first, he probably wouldn't have seen the next day's sunrise.
If he hadn't, on a whim, used the side of the machete to protect his neck and head, the blow wouldn't have simply sent him flying, but would have shattered his head and torn his neck, killing him instantly.
"My intuition saved my life. Even though there are still so many suspicious things about that bear, I have nowhere to verify them now. Sigh~"
With a sigh, the young man continued to gaze at the dark patch of ground where the Exploding Owlbear had fallen.
"There's nothing to see now. I'm lucky to be alive."
After a moment, the young man continued on his journey.
This place was where he had transcended life and death; it was his past, his past.
Continuing forward meant he was no longer bound by the past, saying goodbye to it. He wanted to move forward, to go further!
Soon, an hour and a half later, he arrived at the tree hole.
With the arrival of noon, the surrounding fog had dissipated without a trace, leaving only a hazy, damp atmosphere lingering on the surrounding vegetation, a sign that he had been there before.
After three years, the tree hole was more dilapidated than any he had seen before, but the gaping hole was large, as if some spirit beast had tried to pry it open. If nothing went as expected, it was for the meat within.
This meant he might find nothing.
With this question in mind, the young man first set three traps around the tree hole, fearing another surprise attack. He then used a torch to illuminate the situation inside.
The remains of a half-human skeleton, scattered around with shredded leather armor and a long-bent sword, all seemed normal, as if a spirit master had died here.
Soon, the young man dragged the skeleton out. The bones were very loose, leaving a dent when pinched. This was very different from normal human bones. Even after ten years of death, bones wouldn't be like this; they'd always be rock solid.
"Is there something hidden?" He muttered to himself. He continued to search around, trying to find some clues, such as documents, letters, badges, clothing, etc. He even looked at the end of the sword to see if there were any marks.
Unfortunately, the surroundings were too damaged, and there was nothing useful for him to figure out what had happened. The leather armor had rotted under the erosion of nature, and the long sword was rusty.
There was nothing left of the lower body, which was cut off at the waist. Judging from the gap, it should be some kind of large creature. The waist was gone in one bite. But it was strange, why only half was eaten?
If half of the body can be swallowed, then the other half would not be easy to swallow?
The boy suddenly found something abnormal!
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(End of this chapter)