Chapter 81

......

Nan Ye and the others discovered the demonic spirit in the western area, at the edge of a vast forest, where they found a group of monsters that had devoured the laborers of a logging camp, not too far from the Red Lotus City.

Since he was the resident teacher here, he could not ignore this matter, especially since some of the laborers seemed to have a chance of survival.

Guided by Nan Ye and the Nan clan's young disciples, Zhi Minglang, in his capacity as a teacher, went to the logging camp that the students had mentioned.

At the edge of the vast forest, there was not much greenery; withered trees stood on the flat ground, their dry branches intertwining under the gray sky. Loggers usually chose this season for large-scale logging, as they did not have to deal with the complicated branches and leaves.

The logging camp belonged to the three major cities of Red Lotus, Dwarf Mountain, and Clear Stream, and was a large-scale logging forest. The so-called laborers were not ordinary civilians but rather people who had committed serious crimes and were sent here for labor, or prisoners from the three major cities who were concentrated here for labor.

Therefore, there were soldiers guarding this place. If hundreds of laborers were to unite, they could cause a significant riot.

"Only a demon with over a thousand years of cultivation could wreak havoc in such a large logging camp," Zhi Minglang said.

With hundreds of laborers and many soldiers armed with weapons, even if some demons with several hundred years of cultivation appeared, they would likely be killed by these people.

The demonic spirit was powerful, far surpassing the physical limitations of humans, and was impervious to blades, which is why it was not afraid of the laborers with their machetes.

"That demon invaded here, started killing people, and the soldiers and laborers were terrified, scattering in all directions. Especially those laborers who were already criminals, even though they were in chains, many of them took the opportunity to escape, and the result..." Nan Ye pointed to the bloodstains that spread along the forest.

The result was that they were devoured by other lesser demons.

The demonic spirit was clearly not acting alone; it was often accompanied by a group of lesser demons. When hunting together, the demonic spirit would eat the meat, and the lesser demons would drink the broth.

"Didn't you say you knew where they were hiding?" Zhi Minglang asked.

Nan Zhao Bing coldly snorted, unwilling to answer.

Zhi Minglang glanced at the young man whose face was full of disdain.

What kind of arrogance is this? If you have the ability, go deal with the man-eating demonic spirit yourself, why come to me for help?

After being repeatedly given cold looks, Zhi Minglang, who had a temper, was also annoyed. Besides, he was a substitute teacher, and students shouldn't act so high and mighty in front of their teacher.

Suppressing the urge to kick this person's smug face, Zhi Minglang focused his gaze on Nan Ye and the young Nan clan member, who seemed more normal.

However, they did not speak, and instead, the long-haired young woman of the Nan clan spoke up.

"I found some scales. They are indeed hiding in the vast forest, and these demons are not good at hiding. Considering the strength of the lesser demons and the demonic spirit, we did not dare to pursue them further. We marked the area and then went to Red Lotus City to inform the resident teacher," the long-haired woman said.

"Will we lose them if we go now?" Zhi Minglang nodded and asked.

These young Nan clan members were trained and acted more cautiously than Jin Shixiong and the others. After all, they came from a prominent family and had experienced elders who had taken them on trips and taught them things.

While the school also had teachers leading trips, the number of students was too large to cultivate such awareness in each one.

"No, I can find them," the long-haired woman said.

"Good."

......

On the way to the vast forest, the long-haired woman was constantly searching for the scales and excrement left by the demons, using bamboo sticks to examine them...

Seeing this, Zhi Minglang frowned.

Why let a girl do such dirty and tiring work? What are these well-dressed young Nan clan members doing??

"Liu Wenyeh, didn't you mark the area?" Nan Zhao Bing asked with disdain.

"They are human teeth... they seem to have eaten more people," Liu Wenyeh replied calmly.

This was the difference between those with the Nan surname and those without. Zhi Minglang noticed that Liu Wenyeh's clothing was much simpler and plainer, suggesting that her family was not particularly well-off.

She was likely a collateral descendant, with a much lower status among the Nan clan members. The other two Nan clan women were especially repulsed by Liu Wenyeh's actions.

Zhi Minglang handed her some water to wash her hands and said, "So our tracking direction is correct. We need to deal with them as soon as possible, or more people will suffer."

"They are just a bunch of prisoners, trying to escape in the chaos. Why should we care if they die?" Nan Zhao Bing said.

No matter what Zhi Minglang said, Nan Zhao Bing would always contradict him.

......

Liu Wenyeh was skilled at tracking and would not overlook any detail. When she activated her spiritual power, she seemed to see traces that others could not detect.

This made Zhi Minglang look at the girl with new respect. If she had been in his team, his junior sister Yang might have been spared.

"Strange, there are signs of a struggle. Could there be other dragon masters?" Liu Wenyeh saw some broken scales on the ground and picked them up, placing them in her small box.

"The trees here are broken, as if by a large creature," Nan Ye said, running over.

Zhi Minglang moved forward and saw that the soil had been churned up, with deep scratch marks.

The blood was still fresh, indicating that the struggle had occurred recently, which would help them find the target in the pine forest more quickly.

But what was fighting those demons?

"Follow me," Liu Wenyeh said.

Everyone followed Liu Wenyeh. With so many pines, the pseudo-dragons were no longer suitable for riding and had to follow behind, with one person managing them.

The others increased their pace, and some of the Nan clan members had already summoned several young Green Forest Dragons. These dragons were not yet at the dragon offspring level, and their dragon aura was not strong, so there was no need to worry about alarming the demons. They could also provide some protection.

There were more ancient pines, and the trunks could obscure the view. Gradually, some low shrubs began to block the way.

The Green Forest Dragons knew the Green Forest magic, and the plants moved away under their control...

"Roar!!!!!!!"

Suddenly, a loud roar shook the ancient forest, and a strong wind blew. The young Green Forest Dragons were frightened and retreated, lacking the courage to move forward.

"Liu Wenyeh, go check the situation ahead. We will summon our dragon beasts," the elaborately dressed woman with a gold ornament on her forehead said.

"I'll go. You wait here," Zhi Minglang stopped Liu Wenyeh.

As a substitute teacher, he could not let the students take such risks, especially after thinking about the reckless actions of Jin Shixiong, Yang, and the others. Zhi Minglang did not want to see another girl die.

"Let him go," Nan Zhao Bing said.

"I'll go with Teacher Zhi. If there's any situation, I can inform everyone to surround the demons," Liu Wenyeh said.

"I'll go too. I can use my flute to signal everyone," Nan Ye added.

......

Zhi Minglang had not yet summoned his dragon pet. Bai Qi was sleeping, and after each battle, it needed a long rest, as it was still in the growth stage and needed plenty of rest.

Da Hei Ya was not suitable either, as its size might get stuck between the trees. It could be summoned if needed.

However, the Divine Green Holy Dragon was digesting the magic pearl at an astonishing speed and was showing signs of waking up, with significant changes in its body, indicating that it had fully entered the growth stage.

Was it due to the attribute compatibility?

When Da Hei Ya digested the catfish demon pearl, it took some time. How could the Divine Green Holy Dragon advance in just a few days?

"Roar~~~~~~~~~!!!"

Another roar echoed, and the Divine Green Holy Dragon in the spirit realm opened its eyes, seemingly awakened by the noise. It slowly spread its wings, which were like iron leaves.

"Wait a moment, let's see the situation," Zhi Minglang said to Little Qingzhuo.

Passing through the rows of ancient pines like a forest wall, Zhi Minglang, Liu Wenyeh, and Nan Ye finally saw the source of the bloodstains.

The struggle they had been tracking had not ended. Under the thick ancient pines, there was a terrifying Ghost Widow Spider, facing off against a large creature.

The Ghost Widow Spider had long, sharp claws that pierced the soil like blood-red spears. Its body resembled a crawling giant woman, covered in black scales, with a swollen, writhing abdomen, as if it contained a large fetus!

"Ugh!"

The Ghost Widow Spider suddenly vomited, and a red spider emerged, wrapped in a sticky egg. In just a few seconds, it broke free, and what was horrifying was that the red spider's head was a disfigured human head.

It looked as if it had been partially digested and then combined with the spider fetus in the Ghost Widow Spider's abdomen. As the red spider crawled out, facing Zhi Minglang and the others, they could clearly see that it was missing a front tooth!

Liu Wenyeh's face turned pale, and she immediately thought of the human tooth...

Fortunately, the red spider seemed to have low intelligence and was controlled by the Ghost Widow Spider, turning to face its true enemy, the large creature that had roared.

A dragon!

The creature fighting the Ghost Widow Spider was a dragon.

There was no dragon master nearby; it was a wild dragon.

The demonic spirit was eating the dragon, and the Ghost Widow Spider was hunting a dragon!

The dragon was green, with scales like iron leaves, and its wings were half flesh and half wood. What surprised Zhi Minglang the most were the dragon's pair of green vertical pupils!

A Forest Dragon!!!

Zhi Minglang then noticed that he was in a forest of ancient pines, which was part of the same vast forest he had visited before, near the Dragon Cliff. The Forest Dragon being attacked by the demonic spider and the demons was none other than Little Qingzhuo's mother!

Zhi Minglang looked further.

Sure enough, behind the Forest Dragon, there was a smaller Forest Dragon with a large scar on its forehead, which had not faded even after reaching the growth stage!