On the third day after meeting Xiao Wu, Lin Yang finally entered the range of the Calamity Mountains and reached Calamity Town, the settlement closest to the mountain range.
"Closest" still meant twenty to thirty kilometers from the edge of the range.
The Calamity Mountains were far less famous than the Star Dou Great Forest, but many powerful soul beasts still lived within.
This small town existed precisely because of the Calamity Mountains.
If a beast tide ever broke out, this town would be the first line of defense.
The town was small, but fully functional, with all types of shops lining the streets; basically, anything you could want could be found here.
Of course, the prices were correspondingly "memorable."
Lin Yang left the carriage at a carriage-yard, then found a fairly clean tavern to stay in.
After a simple meal, the two of them each returned to their own rooms.
Over ten days of rushing on the road had left Lin Yang longing for a proper hot bath.
In the room next to Lin Yang's, Xiao Wu's entire body was submerged in a wooden tub.
Steam filled the air, and colorful flower petals floated on the surface of the water.
Xiao Wu raised her head to stare at the ceiling. Her waterfall-like hair, damp and heavy, clung to her round shoulders and spread out in the water, drifting with the ripples.
Splash.
A slender white arm emerged from under the water. Looking at the petals in her palm, a trace of longing appeared in her eyes.
She had been away for so long and gone through so much that she had started to miss Da Ming and Er Ming.
The next morning, Lin Yang walked out of his room feeling refreshed, just in time to run into Xiao Wu coming out of the room next door.
"Morning."
"You too."
They casually greeted each other, then went downstairs to eat breakfast together.
The food tasted average, but the portions were generous.
After they had eaten, Lin Yang wiped his mouth and said,
"You stay here. I'm going into the Calamity Mountains."
Xiao Wu wrinkled her nose. "Then I'm going too."
Over the last few days spent by Lin Yang's side, she had finally felt a sense of peace she hadn't had for a long time. Naturally, she didn't want to part.
Lin Yang didn't argue. Since she wanted to follow, he would let her.
Besides, leaving this little rabbit alone in a town like this wasn't very thoughtful either.
After all, soul masters were the last thing this town lacked. A one-ring Soul Master wasn't much.
They didn't have much to pack, so after breakfast they headed straight to the Calamity Mountains.
Rushing at full speed, they quickly reached the outskirts of the range.
Lin Yang took out a map from his storage ring and compared it briefly before picking a direction and moving at full speed.
By that same afternoon, they had already arrived at their destination.
Stretching before their eyes was a vast sea of bamboo. When the wind blew, the leaves rustled in waves.
"So much bamboo." Xiao Wu looked around in amazement, then couldn't help asking,
"Is this the soul beast you're looking for?"
"Not these." Lin Yang slowly shook his head and explained,
"These are Gengxin Bamboo, a secondary derivative soul beast of Gengjin Sword Bamboo.
"Gengjin Sword Bamboo is extremely domineering. Normally, in a grove of Gengxin Bamboo, there will only be a single stalk of true Gengjin Sword Bamboo.
"Only when that stalk dies will the other Gengxin Bamboo have a chance of growing into Gengjin Sword Bamboo."
"Then how are we supposed to go in?"
Looking at the dense forest of bamboo in front of her, Xiao Wu had a bit of a headache.
Gengxin Bamboo had a very simple attack method: it shot its leaves like throwing knives. A single leaf didn't have much power.
But if the entire grove attacked at once, quantity would become quality. The power would be terrifying.
Especially with such a huge forest.
A single strand moved and the whole grove responded. If an ordinary Soul King broke in by force, he might be planting his face right here.
However, Lin Yang had never even considered barging in.
The soul rings at his feet lit up.
Blindfold could hide his aura and distort the five senses, making it absolutely perfect in this situation.
After concealing their auras, the two of them were like a clump of "air," slipping into the Gengxin Bamboo forest with ease.
Low-year Gengjin Sword Bamboo and Gengxin Bamboo were extremely similar and hard to distinguish.
But as the years increased, they became easier to tell apart.
That was because their bodies gradually became more and more metallic. Calling them metal-attribute soul beasts wouldn't be wrong.
Finally, in this endless sea of bamboo, Lin Yang found the Gengjin Sword Bamboo.
The years were just right—about five thousand five hundred years.
Right now, the Gengjin Sword Bamboo stood like a king surrounded by Gengxin Bamboo.
Its joints were straight as a spear, its entire body like poured gold, and its narrow leaves shone with a golden light.
As it swayed gently, it gave off faint hissing sounds like blades cutting through the air.
"Are you crazy? That's a five-thousand-year soul beast."
Xiao Wu immediately realized what Lin Yang intended to do and hurriedly tried to stop him in a low voice.
"Relax. I'm special, and I'm very confident."
Lin Yang replied casually, then told Xiao Wu to stand well back.
He then opened Transparent World, completely suppressing his aura as he silently approached the Gengjin Sword Bamboo.
Blindfold could conceal them from the perception of Gengxin Bamboo, but it might startle the Gengjin Sword Bamboo itself.
However, with Transparent World, there would be no problem.
In the perception of these plant-type soul beasts, Lin Yang in his Transparent state was a blank "void," completely gone.
He was like a shadow, gliding soundlessly through the bamboo until he stood before the proudly erect Gengjin Sword Bamboo.
He could even clearly see the golden lines on the bamboo.
The moment would pass in a flash. Lin Yang's eyes narrowed, and he took a deep breath.
"Marks—open!"
"Hilt—open!"
"First soul skill—open!"
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance!"
He roared inwardly. The Nichirin Blade in his hand—Hizama—slashed forth, unleashing a blazing arc of light refined to the extreme.
Ssst—!
With a soft hiss, the arc zipped across the base of the sword bamboo with pinpoint precision.
The sword bamboo shuddered briefly, and a straight, clean cut instantly severed its connection with the earth.
Before the soul ring had fully condensed, Lin Yang had already hoisted the Gengjin Sword Bamboo onto his shoulder and bolted.
"Go!"
Lin Yang's shout snapped Xiao Wu—waiting on edge in the distance—out of her trance.
They reacted almost instantly. One in front, one behind, they dashed at full speed, not caring about soul power consumption, racing toward the edge of the bamboo forest.
But Lin Yang's "dishonorable" method of directly decapitating the Gengjin Sword Bamboo was like thrusting a stick into a hornet's nest, completely enraging the entire field of Gengxin Bamboo.
"Ssshhh—!"
The instant they turned to flee, the entire bamboo forest seemed to come alive.
Countless Gengxin stalks thrashed wildly, and all of their leaves fell from their branches at the same moment.
Like ten thousand arrows loosed at once, they whirled into a storm of blades that blotted out the sky, roaring toward the direction in which Lin Yang and Xiao Wu were fleeing.
The sharp whistling behind them came ever closer.
With the heavy Gengjin Sword Bamboo on his shoulder, Lin Yang forced his speed to the limit. Every step left deep craters in the ground.
Xiao Wu's soul power couldn't compare to Lin Yang's, but she was light and agile.
The two of them were like runners racing death itself, not daring to pause for a second.
Bang, bang, bang—!
The dense bamboo leaves poured down, sounding like a rainstorm hammering on banana leaves, embedding deeply into soil and stone.
A few leaves struck Lin Yang, carving bloody gashes in his flesh—but they healed in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Wu, meanwhile, was like a butterfly dancing among flowers, her supple waist twisting and turning in endlessly shifting patterns.
At each crucial moment, she would avoid the cutting leaves by the narrowest possible margin.
No one knew how long they ran before the scenery before them suddenly opened up.
The endless bamboo sea vanished, replaced by a deep chasm—a ravine nearly a hundred meters across.
Rather than being alarmed, Lin Yang was delighted. At last, he could shake off this annoying pursuit.
Gripping the Gengjin Sword Bamboo in one hand, he wrapped his other arm around Xiao Wu's waist and tucked her under his arm.
"Hold on tight."
With a low shout, the muscles in his legs tensed and bulged, releasing incredible power as he stomped the ground.
Boom!
The rocky earth beneath his feet splintered with spiderweb-like cracks.
A heartbeat later, he shot toward the opposite side of the ravine like a launched cannonball.
The raging wind pounded against them, stinging their skin.
Below their feet was a bottomless abyss. Falling would mean certain death, with not even bones left behind.
Mid-leap, just as their upward force was spent and they began to fall—
Xiao Wu suddenly wrapped both arms around Lin Yang's neck, bent her knees, and pressed them against his abdomen as a pivot.
Under Lin Yang's slightly stunned gaze, her first soul ring lit up with a soft glow.
"First soul skill—Waist Bow!"