Chapter 35

Gu Xuyao became even more anxious upon hearing this. According to Ling Sanshi's account, if the Daye Forest was so difficult to enter, how could Zibi be rescued?

Ling Sanshi knew Gu Xuyao was anxious and raised his hand to pat Gu Xuyao's shoulder.

"You don't need to worry too much. You should have read about the habits of the Black-eyed Apes in books, but there are some deeper aspects you don't understand yet." As he spoke, Ling Sanshi stroked his beard. "The Black-eyed Apes' population is actually very large. The Ape King you saw that day was just the leader of one tribe. The Black-eyed Apes lead most of the adult apes to the clan's holy site every cycle. What they do there, I don't know."

Gu Xuyao had seen such mass migrations of animals before and was not surprised. "So, according to the Master, is it the time for the cycle to come in a few days? Then we can take advantage of the Black-eyed Apes leaving their clan to sneak into the Daye Forest and rescue Zibi?"

Ling Sanshi smiled and nodded slowly, then looked at Yixia.

"Yixia, in five days, you and Yang Xi, Gu Cheng will take Gu Xuyao and Li Shuisheng into the Daye Forest. You must bring Zibi back to Taiheng Sect. This is the Master's order, and it must not be disobeyed!"

Although he was giving an order, Ling Sanshi was in a very good mood today, especially when speaking to his beautiful granddaughter. His words were stern, but his tone was very gentle.

Yixia showed no emotion, just bowed her head to accept the order. Gu Xuyao glanced at Yixia, deep in thought.

"Alright, you can go back now. Prepare for the mission in five days. Especially you, Gu Xuyao. Your injuries are not yet fully healed, but I believe five days will be enough for you to recover to about 90% of your strength, provided you don't slack off and focus on healing!" Ling Sanshi's gaze naturally fell on Gu Xuyao, and this was why he emphasized his words.

Gu Xuyao was startled and quickly bowed in agreement.

Everything was arranged, and the three left Ling Sanshi's room, continuing to follow Yixia. Li Shuisheng, who was with Gu Xuyao, looked somewhat uneasy.

The moonlight evenly spread over the ancient path of the upper level of Taiheng Sect, and the footsteps of the three echoed softly, like the ticking of a midnight clock.

Finally, they left the maze area. Yixia glanced at Gu Xuyao, then disappeared from their sight in a few quick movements. It was only then that Li Shuisheng dared to shout out the words he had been holding back.

"Brother Gu! We're going to the Daye Forest! Oh my God! I've only been practicing for a short time! I'm only at the second level of Root Birth, and the Daye Forest is a place that our seniors have repeatedly warned us not to approach!" Li Shuisheng's eyes were filled with longing.

Gu Xuyao had noticed Li Shuisheng's unease earlier, thinking he was afraid of going to such a dangerous place. Now, hearing Li Shuisheng's words, he was somewhat surprised.

"Aren't you afraid? I've seen the Black-eyed Apes with my own eyes. You know I used to be a hunter. I can say that they are prey I've never seen before." As he spoke, the two arrived at the array leading to the lower level.

Hearing Gu Xuyao's words, Li Shuisheng was stunned for a moment, clearly not having considered this.

"I don't think I should be afraid. Aren't there three powerful seniors with us? And the Master said that only weak baby apes will be left in the nest. Besides, we're just going to rescue Zibi and come back. The process will be quick, so I don't think anything will happen. Don't worry, Brother Gu."

With that, Li Shuisheng entered the array.

Optimism is a good thing, but Gu Xuyao couldn't be optimistic at the moment. However, he didn't say anything more. Seeing Li Shuisheng like this was not a bad thing. He smiled and followed Li Shuisheng into the array, leaving the upper level of Taiheng Sect.

The next five days passed very quickly, and what Gu Xuyao had to do was very simple: repeatedly absorb essence energy to heal himself.

This is how cultivators usually treat injuries. Essence energy is more effective in healing wounds than the so-called elixirs used by ordinary people.

Of course, there are also elixirs in the world of cultivators. For example, Gu Xuyao had used elixirs to aid his cultivation before. However, for his minor injuries, elixirs were not necessary. The production of elixirs, like magical treasures, is very complex, so elixirs, magical treasures, and cultivation techniques have always been the main pursuits of cultivators.

When dawn came again, five days had passed. When Gu Xuyao opened his eyes, his injuries were almost fully healed.

"Zibi, I'm coming..." He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

With an excited heart, Li Shuisheng had been waiting at Gu Xuyao's door. Seeing him come out, he hurriedly began to express his trivial feelings.

Although it sounded trivial, seeing such a positive Li Shuisheng before entering the Daye Forest made Gu Xuyao feel much more relaxed. He smiled and went with Li Shuisheng to the west gate of Taiheng Sect. From a distance, they saw Yixia and the other two cultivators already waiting there.

"Everyone is here, let's go." When Gu Xuyao arrived, Yixia used her mind to check his injuries and, confirming there were no major issues, led the way out of Taiheng Sect.

Gu Xuyao had already met Yang Xi, and the other upper-level cultivator, Gu Cheng, was the first time he saw. However, the upper level of Taiheng Sect required cultivators to reach the second level of Root Birth to enter, so there were many cultivators Gu Xuyao had not met.

The journey was silent, with the group taking care of Li Shuisheng, who had the lowest cultivation, and moving very slowly. However, they arrived at the place where Gu Xuyao was attacked about half an hour later. Yixia, however, stopped and did not continue forward.

The small hill seemed to still have Zibi's figure. Gu Xuyao收回目光，看向苡霞。

“苡霞师姐，我们为何在此停留不前？这黑目猿举族离开巢穴的时间应该不会太长吧，我们还要寻找紫碧的下落，时间不要浪费是最好。”虽说苡霞乃是师姐，但古旭尧自认在森林中，以及对待野兽的认知不会比苡霞差。

杨奚闻言嗤笑一声。

“小子，你不知道就不要装懂，你以为这大野林里就只有黑目猿这一种凶兽吗？除了黑目猿外，白日最可怕的杀手还有熊豹，它们可是单独猎杀的好手，一只成年熊豹便能将我们五人一网打尽。”

古旭尧闻言脸上一红，正所谓关心则乱，越是靠近大野林，心中对于紫碧的担忧便越是严重，一时间竟是忘记了书中记载的大野林生态。

“是旭尧太过鲁莽了，师兄教训得是，那我们便待得入夜后再潜入大野林。”古旭尧说完，不再言语，五人便在那古旭尧曾与紫碧看日落的山丘下静静打坐，等待着时光的流逝。

大野林占地多少里书中没有记载，古旭尧所知的便是，它非常大，比起自己曾经驰骋的红泥区树林，要大了不知道多少倍。

前方便是大野林最外层，树木间没有明亮的光斑，树叶也不是充满朝气的翠绿，阴沉，危险，是远观大野林给古旭尧最大的感受，它就像一头沉睡的巨兽，等待着来人，进入自己的胃中。

在大野林三十里外都有这样的感觉，可想而知，大野林的内部，究竟会是怎样。

它仿佛有一张巨口，能够吞噬人们的希望，就连古旭尧身旁那激动的李水生，此时也不忍再看下去，只能闭目让自己入定。

风沙偶起，日落月升，夜晚来临，苡霞睁开双眸，站起身来。

“是时候了，我们的时间非常紧，由于大野林内部的讯息实在太难获取，我只能确定在黑目猿离开巢穴前往其它地方的第一日是绝对安全的，而在太阳升起后，为了躲避有可能出现的熊豹，我们必须要离开大野林，回到这里。”苡霞面铺寒霜，扫了在场四人一眼。“此次的目的为的便是救出紫碧，其它的事情，一概不要管。”说完，苡霞首当其冲，向着大野林方向疾飞。

杨奚与顾成也不是第一天修炼的主儿，见此自然不会有什么动容，与苡霞一样，一言不发的向着大野林飞去。

古旭尧与李水生见此，自然也不甘落后，同样翔入空中，飞向那巨兽的腹中。

三十里地在五人的疾飞下很快便完成，近距离看下，大野林的树每一棵都至少有八丈高，树皮上粗糙的纹路好似年迈老者的脸皮，毫无生气。

“不要说话，所有的联系通过传音来实现。”苡霞以传音叮嘱一句，向大野林深处移动。

这一点古旭尧自然是深知的，即便是李水生，在这传说中的大野林中，也闭起了嘴巴。

这样的环境无疑令李水生心中的期待几乎消失殆尽，深夜的大野林并不安静，各种奇怪的声响，接连响起。

“不要大惊小怪，这大野林中的凶兽种类繁多，日间与夜间行动的都有，我们只需要小心行事，不会有问题的。”古旭尧见李水生表情有些僵硬，不禁传音安慰道。

李水生闻讯后勉强挤出一个难看的微笑，此时若是有灯光，不难看出他的面色早已铁青。

不过李水生是如此，古旭尧却是另外的心情，至少在这里，他看见了熟悉的东西，那便是刃草，在红泥区只到人膝盖高的刃草，在外界元力的滋养下，居然与人齐高，而且锋利的程度也增加了不少，若不是五人一直沿着林间小道飞行的话，必然会受伤。

“停！”走在最前面的苡霞忽然停止了行动，她伸出玉手，在刃草间搜寻着什么。

不多时，苡霞抬手左手，虽说在夜间，但古旭尧却清晰的看见，她的手指间有干掉的血迹！

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"Stop!" Yixia, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and extended her hand, searching through the blade grass.

After a moment, Yixia raised her left hand. Although it was night, Gu Xuyao clearly saw dried blood on her fingers!