Chapter 95

Deng Yuantong controlled the Monkey King with soul-binding technique, returned to the fire pit, and sat cross-legged. The Monkey King's eyes were vacant, and it obediently squatted beside him.

Deng Yuantong patted its head and said, "This group of monkeys has interacted with Junior Brother Yaos Jiang for some time. Yaos Jiang asked the monkeys to help him find a vine that grows on treetops. After obtaining it, he parted ways with the monkeys. After a while, the monkeys returned to the place where they had parted and found his corpse. The Monkey King took the green-rusted sword and played with it all the way out of the Miasma Leaf Forest, where it was discovered by the caravan's porters. The Monkey King knows the way and can lead us to Junior Brother Yaos Jiang's corpse."

Song Yun asked a detail, "Vine? What kind of vine?"

Deng Yuantong recalled the scene he had seen and described the vine's shape: as thick as a little finger, with long, narrow leaves, deep green in color, and small purple flowers. It bore clusters of black berries, about the size of pomegranate seeds. The monkeys liked to pick these berries and eat them, staining their mouths purple.

"That is the Heavenly Net Vine, the most important auxiliary ingredient for the Five Hemp Powder."

"It seems there's no mistake."

"Yes, it turns out the Heavenly Net Vine grows in the Miasma Leaf Forest. If possible, I would be grateful if Junior Brother could have the monkeys help collect some."

"Alright, then we'll set out early tomorrow and find Junior Brother Yao's remains first."

Song Yun nodded, her brows furrowed with worry. Given Yaos Jiang's cultivation, plus the green-rusted sword and Five Hemp Powder, he had still lost his life in the Miasma Leaf Forest. The dangers of this journey were evident. However, the matter entrusted by the sect leader must be investigated, even if they were overmatched, they needed to know who the murderer was. But... she glanced at Yu Yao, who was sitting with her knees hugged, wondering why the sect leader had sent Yu Yao on this long journey.

Since they were relying on the Monkey King, they should also take care of its troop. Deng Yuantong took a Tranquility Pill and gave it to Wei Shiqi, instructing him to dissolve it in water and feed it to the injured monkeys. Wei Shiqi, lacking a suitable container, hesitated for a moment, then dug out a section of a tree trunk as thick as a bowl from the shrubs, quickly carved out a depression, fetched stream water to dissolve the pill, and handed it to the monkeys. The monkeys, which were quite intelligent, limped forward to drink a few sips, then fell asleep in the grass.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Yu Yao's mouth.

As the night gradually faded and the east turned white, the four set off for the Miasma Leaf Forest. The Monkey King led the way, followed closely by the troop, all of them energetic, their wounds fully healed, leaving only faint scars.

As they delved deeper into the Miasma Leaf Forest, the decaying leaves on the ground grew thicker, reaching up to their thighs. The pungent miasma hit them in the face, and although the Detoxification Pill mitigated the toxicity, the smell was still nauseating. The monkeys climbed and leaped on the treetops without any effect, but the four humans had to slow down, as if wading through snow.

Song Yun, who was always clean, found the dense trees in the Miasma Leaf Forest unsuitable for flying on a sword. She tried to follow the Monkey King's example and jump onto the treetops, but the bark was slippery and wet from the mist, making it impossible to stand steadily. She had to jump down and walk through the decaying leaves.

Wei Shiqi secretly found it amusing. Monkeys, with their long upper bodies and short lower bodies, could climb trees with all four limbs, as if walking on flat ground. Their agile tails could wrap around branches, giving them an extra limb. How could humans compare to monkeys?

The monkeys walked and stopped, and by noon, they finally halted. The Monkey King pointed ahead and made a "chirping" sound, refusing to go forward. Song Yun looked up and saw that the Miasma Leaf Forest had become sparse, revealing a large open area. Not far away, a corpse was sitting against a tree trunk, buried in the decaying leaves, with most of the flesh rotted away, and maggots crawling between the bones, looking quite disgusting.

Song Yun held her breath and approached, using the sword scabbard to lift the decayed clothing and carefully examined the body. The deceased was leaning against the tree trunk, legs stretched out, arms hanging by his sides, bones blackened, seemingly poisoned. His right hand was tightly gripping something, and his legs were broken into two pieces, the fracture rough and uneven, as if struck by a powerful force.

She used the sword scabbard to pry open his right hand, revealing a black pill, pitted and uneven. She hesitated for a moment, then took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, placed it on her hand, and carefully wrapped the pill, holding it with two fingers, and quickly retreated.

Deng Yuantong asked, "How is it?"

Song Yun took a deep breath and said, "It is indeed Junior Brother Yao. His legs were broken, and his bones are black, indicating he was poisoned. He must have used his sword to escape to this place and died from the poison."

She threw the handkerchief on the ground and crushed the pill with the sword scabbard, revealing a light yellow powder. "This is the Five Hemp Powder. From the quantities of the main ingredients, it seems Junior Brother Yao only managed to synthesize this one pill and didn't have time to use it before suffering a great loss."

"The forest ahead is much sparser, and we can fly on our swords. Shall we go take a look?"

Song Yun nodded slightly and glanced back at Wei Shiqi, "What about this nephew of yours?"

"Let him stay here and guard."

As he spoke, Deng Yuantong activated his Green Bee Sword, flying three feet off the ground. Song Yun and Yu Yao each flew on a flying scythe, heading deeper into the Miasma Leaf Forest, leaving Wei Shiqi alone to guard Yaos Jiang's remains.

In a quick glance, Wei Shiqi noticed that Yu Yao's flying scythe had a red-copper pattern on its surface, shaped like a phoenix.

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