A silver flash flew in front of Fang Mo. Three wolves' heads rolled to his feet as blood gushed from their severed necks, splattering his face.
"Are you okay, Doctor Mo?" Yang Bo asked, his immaculate robes fluttering in the strong wind; not a drop of blood had touched his body.
Fang Mo was taken aback. He hadn't expected Yang Bo to be so strong. Based on the move he had just witnessed, if Yang Bo had fought the five cultivators from the Green Mountain Sect whom Fang Mo had killed nearly a year ago, he would have easily beheaded all five of them.
"Thank you for your help, Young Master."
Yang Bo sheathed his sword with a smile. "It was a small matter. Since your horse escaped, ride with me so we can resume our journey."
Fang Mo nodded and did as instructed. He glanced at the others, who seemed unfazed by the events that had just unfolded. Among all six, only he was injured. As they continued along the trail toward Storm Forest, Fang Mo tended to his wounds, applying disinfectant and bandaging them.
Before they reached Storm Forest, they suffered two more attacks—one from another pack of wolves, and another from a few bears. Fang Mo found these events strange. Wild beasts usually didn't attack humans unprovoked, and bears were solitary creatures, not ones to travel in groups. Still, Fang Mo chose not to say anything and eventually arrived safely at their destination.
A black tapestry stretched as far as the eye could see, adorning the sky while blue flashes of lightning danced across it, forming a beautiful yet ominous natural spectacle. This was the Storm Forest—a place where lightning and wind raged all year long.
"Let's set up camp here before searching for the Thunder Spiritual Ginseng," Yang Bo said, dismounting from his horse.
The others, including Fang Mo, followed suit and helped set up the camp. After everything was properly arranged, they moved toward the forest together. All the guards walked in formation while Yang Bo stood at the center. Though Yang Bo was the strongest, the guards were still responsible for his protection. In this situation, one could say they acted more like sacrificial lambs than proper guards.
Despite his good-natured appearance, this Yang Bo is ruthless. He doesn't care about the lives of his guards, as long as he can get what he wants.
But this wasn't something only Fang Mo noticed. Everyone here understood the truth. The only reason they came was the promised chance to join an immortal sect and cultivate immortality. Protecting Yang Bo with their lives was the price they were willing to pay for that chance.
They moved around the outskirts, searching carefully for the Thunder Spiritual Ginseng. But after an hour of searching, not only had they not found the herb they came for, they hadn't even found a single Tier 1 spiritual herb. Yang Bo's face began to darken.
If it were easy to find spiritual plants, they wouldn't be worth much. I'm sure many people come here to try their luck on the outskirts, hoping to strike it rich like Yang Bo.
"Young Master, I'm afraid we won't find the Thunder Spiritual Ginseng here. Should we return?" Bai Cheng spoke his mind, choosing his words carefully so as not to anger Yang Bo.
But his caution had the opposite effect. Yang Bo's expression hardened as he looked around. "Let's go into the forest!"
The expressions of the five guards darkened. For mortals, entering the Storm Forest was the same as suicide. Yang Bo's decision made it clear he was willing to completely disregard their lives for the chance to obtain the Thunder Spiritual Ginseng.
Despite their willingness, no one here dared to go against Yang Bo's orders. They walked into the forest, their awareness heightened to the maximum.
They hadn't gone far when a scream rang out from their group of six. "AAAAH!" Fang Mo looked to his left, where Bai Cheng was located. Three spiders had jumped from a tree and attacked Bai Cheng before he could react.
Deathweavers. A shiver ran down Fang Mo's spine as he recognized the beasts sinking their teeth into Bai Cheng's body. The spiders were jet black and had vivid red hourglass-shaped marks on their abdomens, similar in appearance to black widows from Earth—but each one was the size of a twenty-kilo dog.
The worst part was their potent venom, strong enough to kill a human within minutes. Fang Mo had no way to counteract it, which meant that a single bite was fatal.
"From above!" Yang Bo shouted, slashing upward in a single motion and tearing apart two deathweavers that lunged at him.
"H-Help!" Despite Bai Cheng's cries, no one moved to help. Everyone understood he was as good as dead.
From the trees and ground, dozens of spiders crawled toward them. Individually, deathweavers weren't strong, but a pack of them spelled death even for a powerful cultivator like Yang Bo.
"Retreat!" With no other choice, Yang Bo gritted his teeth and gave the order.
But how could it be easy? Their escape route was blocked by more deathweavers. Fang Mo slashed his way forward, cutting down spiders as he approached Yang Bo. In this situation, only by staying close to Yang Bo could he hope to survive.
Yang Bo narrowed his eyes at the spiders blocking the path and circulated his cultivation technique to its peak. Even though Fang Mo had never cultivated, he felt a strong, suffocating pressure radiating from Yang Bo's body.
With a powerful kick against the ground, Yang Bo dashed forward. Each time his sword moved, another spider's corpse hit the earth. The others ran after him as if their lives depended on it—because they did.
Bai Cheng remained behind, his screams already silenced by death.
Just as Fang Mo sighed in relief after escaping the deathweavers' ambush, a strong force slammed into his side. His pupils shrank when he saw Qian Qi grinning at him.
Fang Mo's lips kissed the ground, and his injured body screamed in pain. Except for Qian Qi, the others didn't so much as glance at him. They just kept running.
Bastard! Fang Mo gritted his teeth and rose from the ground as fast as he could. The situation didn't allow him time to process Qian Qi's betrayal—more spiders were already closing in on him.
That wasted moment had allowed the spiders to block the escape route Yang Bo created. Fang Mo knew he wasn't strong enough to carve a path out. So he did the only thing he could: he threw his sword away to lighten his weight and ran deeper into the forest.
Eventually, he managed to shake off the spiders' pursuit. That bastard Qian Qi. He must've been trying to kill everyone from the start. Yang Bo was likely his main target, but since he couldn't kill him, he chose to get rid of me first.
Fang Mo was furious with his own carelessness. He had let his guard down, giving Qian Qi the perfect opportunity to strike. Right now, I need to focus on leaving Storm Forest. Everything else can be dealt with later.
He thought about the direction he'd taken since entering the forest. Fang Mo more or less still knew the way out. But he had to be careful. This forest wasn't a place for mortals. Even an ant here might be stronger than him.
A thunderous roar echoed nearby, making Fang Mo nearly jump from fright. Not far from him, a beast resembling a lion and another resembling a deer—but each three times the size—were engaged in a brutal fight. Their movements were even faster than Yang Bo's. To Fang Mo's eyes, they were nothing more than a blur.
This is why the spiders stopped chasing me. He had stepped into a powerful beast's territory, one that the spiders didn't dare enter. Fang Mo couldn't go back the way he came, in case the spiders were still waiting.
He circled around the fighting beasts while they weren't paying attention to him. Before the battle ended, he needed to get away or risk being killed by the victor.
Surprisingly, as he moved away, Fang Mo discovered two stalks of Thunder Spiritual Ginseng. He quickly gathered the herbs and placed them inside his satchel.
Once he left the beasts' territory, a hissing sound came from a few meters away. His face darkened as he spotted a white snake slithering toward him. Even if he had a weapon, he wouldn't have dared fight the creature, much less now, weaponless. He kicked off the ground and ran, trying to put distance between them.
But the snake had already locked onto him as prey. Like a predator playing with its meal, it continued the chase, closing the gap with every passing second. Fang Mo's heart sank; he realized he wouldn't be able to escape just by running at his current speed.
And realization wasn't the only thing that struck him.
As he fled, a blast of energy slammed into his back, electrocuting him. The white snake wasn't ordinary. It was a thunder snake, capable of attacking its prey with lightning rather than venom.
Lying sprawled on the ground, Fang Mo glared at the snake, hatred burning in his eyes. Despite the pain and lightning coursing through his body, he forced his hand to move toward his satchel.