Chapter 35: Blocking the Door

Shi Yan slowly opened his eyes, smiling as he looked at Deyalan, who was immersed in the joy and surprise, "Congratulations, Sister Lan."

Having figured out the mysterious soul's peculiar use, Shi Yan was also very excited. Deyalan had only messed around with him for a few days and gained some benefits, yet she had miraculously broken through to the Human Rank. It was evident that this mysterious soul was indeed incredibly useful.

"Thank you."

Deyalan's beautiful eyes were brimming with gratitude.

She, of course, knew that all the changes in her body were due to Shi Yan. She had truly felt the benefits over these few days.

"Um, it might be related to the medicinal power in my body, but it's also the result of Sister Lan's hard cultivation." Shi Yan's expression was calm as he said, "Sister Lan, now that you've reached the Human Rank, why don't you check if your 'Blue Demon Flame' soul has changed?"

Deyalan smiled, like a blooming flower, and slowly extended her left hand. A blue, hazy flame suddenly rose from her palm.

This flame was about the size of a watermelon and gradually covered her entire left hand.

The blue, hazy flame seemed to have a spirit, transforming into fire snakes that wriggled around her smooth wrist.

As Deyalan's thoughts changed, the wondrous 'Blue Demon Flame' transformed into various shapes. The flame would sometimes turn into a spirit snake, and at other times, it would become a flying bird, vivid and lifelike, as if it could fly out of her palm at any moment.

"At the moment I broke through to the Human Rank, I felt the 'Blue Demon Flame' change. The soul has become stronger..." Deyalan's lips were full of smiles, "It not only grew from the size of a fist to the size of a human head, but it also gained the ability to materialize. This is its second stage."

Soul materialization?

Shi Yan nodded, immediately realizing that Deyalan's 'Blue Demon Flame' soul was also quite extraordinary. He praised, "Then I must congratulate Sister Lan even more."

"It's all thanks to you." Deyalan's eyes shimmered with gratitude, her smile warm, and a hint of affection seemed to well up in her lips.

"How, how is this possible?"

Mu Yudie, perched on a tree, had a face full of disbelief, "It's only been ten days. How could Sister Lan break through to the Human Rank so quickly? Sister Lan, I remember, you seemed to have stayed at the Third Heaven of the Innate Realm for only half a year, right?"

"Yes." Deyalan was very happy and said with pride, "I indeed only entered the Third Heaven of the Innate Realm half a year ago. Even I didn't expect to break through to the Human Rank so quickly. I thought it would take at least three to five years of hard cultivation to reach the Human Rank, hehe."

Mu Yudie rolled her eyes, almost speechless.

Could it be that... that guy's thing really has the miraculous effects of a divine-grade medicinal juice?

Thinking of this, Mu Yudie blushed again, scolding herself, and dared not think further.

...

Another five days passed.

Shi Yan and the other two continued to move cautiously through the Dark Forest.

Over these five days, every night, the Dark Forest would be very lively. The roars of beastmen and the screams of human warriors and mercenaries would often be heard, making one's heart race with fear.

Shi Yan realized that someone must have provoked a high-level beastman. Every night, he would find a quiet and safe area to rest, firmly refusing to go out at night.

Avoiding beastmen and avoiding passing mercenaries, they adopted a policy of evasion.

It was precisely because of this caution that, over these five days, the three of them, though they didn't travel much, did not encounter any major threats.

In addition, Shi Yan was lucky enough to encounter some human warriors killed by beastmen. Once the beastmen left, Shi Yan would go to collect the residual essence left by those people.

For safety, he would always wait for the beastmen to leave for a while before showing up.

Although each harvest was not significant, the accumulation over time gradually strengthened his 'Petrified Soul.'

By now, his body could petrify entirely in an instant, with his skin turning a dark brown, and his physical defense was slowly increasing.

During these days, he never forgot to practice 'Rage.'

However, the last stage was indeed difficult to cultivate. Whenever he tried to activate the negative energy in the acupoints on his head, he would suffer from intense headaches. When the essence reversed, the pain would cause him to faint instantly.

After several days of cultivation, he still had not broken through the final stage of 'Rage.'

After fainting several times in a row, he secretly guessed that the method might be incorrect, so he abandoned the brute force approach and decided to think of a new method to continue trying.

...

It was another late night.

Shi Yan and the others were hiding in a dim cave in a valley, covering the cave entrance with shrub leaves, and speaking in low voices.

Outside the cave, the sounds of beastmen passing by came one after another. The low roars and cries of the beastmen seemed to fill the surroundings, and it was unclear how many beastmen were out.

"This night seems a bit unusual. It's as if all the beastmen in the Dark Forest are out and about." Deyalan frowned, "This is very strange. Usually, even if the mercenaries and warriors are too active, the beastmen would only cause trouble for two or three days. It's impossible for so many beastmen to be out and about. I wonder what's really happening."

"Such a big commotion must be orchestrated by a high-level beastman." Shi Yan's face was solemn, "The 'Thunder-Winged Silver Wolf' is a Level 7 beastman, equivalent to a Heaven Rank warrior. It not only has a beast crystal in its body but also possesses intelligence not inferior to ours. If it's leading the charge, the matter must be significant."

"Fortunately, we've been very careful these past few days, not seeking to travel far but only to stay safe. Otherwise, we would have been in trouble." Deyalan nodded.

"Tap tap!" "Tap tap!"

Scattered footsteps suddenly came from outside. From the sound, it seemed to be human warriors moving around.

With the frequent appearance of beastmen outside, if there were human warriors active at this time, it was likely that something was amiss. They were probably being chased by beastmen.

"Should we go out and take a look? Maybe we can help?" Mu Yudie, being kind-hearted, asked the two in a low voice.

Shi Yan and Deyalan exchanged a glance but remained silent.

"What? Are you going to let them die without helping?" Mu Yudie's eyebrows furrowed, seemingly a bit unhappy.

"Outside, the beastmen are rampant. We've barely managed to hide. If we reveal the location of the cave, we'll likely be in grave danger. Besides, how can you be sure that the warriors outside won't be a disaster? If they lust after your beauty, it could lead to many problems. It's best not to meddle in other people's affairs." Shi Yan snorted, not being polite at all.

Mu Yudie wasn't stupid; she understood the situation. She just couldn't bear to see others being killed by beastmen. However, being scolded by Shi Yan in such a stern manner, she felt a bit embarrassed, raised her head, and muttered, "Cold-blooded! No sense of humanity, you're just afraid of dying, I thought..."

"That's not being afraid of dying, that's courting death!"

Shi Yan smiled coldly and said, "Miss Mu, you've saved me twice, but I think I've repaid your kindness. Please remember, the reason I'm still here is no longer because of you, but because of Uncle Luo's instructions."

Pausing for a moment, Shi Yan continued in a solemn voice, "I'm not your servant, so don't use your Miss attitude on me! If you really make me unhappy, I'll just leave, and you can do whatever you want."

"You!" Mu Yudie felt wronged, her eyes misty, and she choked, "You, you just know how to bully me!"

"Alright, alright, we should be united now. We're all heading to the Merchant Alliance, and it's good to have each other's support. Don't throw a tantrum." Deyalan tried to mediate.

"Bad!"

Shi Yan suddenly stood up, his face not looking good, "Those guys seem to know there's a cave here. They're coming!"

"Can't be!" Deyalan was startled, quickly drawing her short sword and standing shoulder to shoulder with Shi Yan at the cave entrance, "What should we do?"

"Roar!" "Howl!"

The roars of beastmen came from outside the cave, and it seemed that more and more beastmen were gathering in this direction.

"Block the cave entrance!"

Shi Yan's face changed, and he reached out to press a rock blocking the cave entrance, shouting, "Help me hold it down! No one must enter the cave! If anyone gets in, the beastmen will definitely know there's something fishy here and will keep an eye on it. We'll be in trouble then!"

When Shi Yan entered the cave, he not only covered the entrance with leaves and shrubs but also moved a rock to block the entrance from the inside, just to prevent such a situation. He didn't expect it to actually come in handy.

"Okay!" Deyalan was startled and quickly reached out to help Shi Yan hold the rock blocking the cave entrance.