Chapter 654 - 261: Spirit Monster Forest: Fellow Daoist, Save Me
Chapter 654: Chapter 261: Spirit Monster Forest: Fellow Daoist, Save Me
Upon seeing this, Xiao Chen immediately understood that the emerald-green Talisman Array could teleport people.
The other cultivators took out their secret tokens and entered the Talisman Array one after another.
In a flash of light, they all vanished without a trace.
"Xiao, hold on!"
Just as Xiao Chen was about to enter the Secret Realm, a cultivator at his side called out, "This must be your first time exploring the Cangran Secret Realm, right?"
"I have here some secret information about the Secret Realm, passed down from my ancestors."
"I also have a collection of intelligence from the most recent expeditions into the Secret Realm, including a rough map of the terrain."
The cultivator spoke rapidly, taking out a brand-new booklet and holding it out to him.
To prove the booklet’s value, he deliberately flipped open the cover to reveal part of the Secret Realm’s map on the frontispiece. "Only one hundred Spirit Stones. I guarantee it’s worth every one."
The scent of fresh ink immediately wafted from it.
It was obviously copied within the last few days, prepared specifically for this opening of the Secret Realm.
’To think someone would actually set up shop at the Secret Realm’s entrance. They really won’t miss any chance to make a profit.’
’Still, this is actually pretty interesting.’
’For me, it’s far more useful than that Golden Talisman I ran into earlier, and the price isn’t too steep.’
So he didn’t hesitate. He took out a hundred Spirit Stones and made the trade on the spot—one hand for the payment, the other for the goods.
Without any further delay, he copied the others, took out his secret token, and stepped into the Talisman Array.
An emerald-green light flashed. Xiao Chen felt the world drop out from under him, as if he were falling off a cliff.
But the sensation lasted only for a moment before he felt solid ground beneath his feet again.
A moment later, a wave of dizziness washed over his Sea of Consciousness.
’Oof... this Teleportation Array’s user experience is a bit rough.’
Xiao Chen frowned. Compared to the nearly seamless spatial transfer of the Profound Celestial Immortal Palace, this Talisman Array was clearly inferior.
He rubbed his temples while extending his Divine Sense to survey the area.
Before him stretched a vast, lush forest.
The landscape for nearly a hundred li in every direction was almost entirely covered in trees.
Strangely, however, as Xiao Chen’s Divine Sense swept across the area, he detected no birds or beasts—not even an insect.
At the same time, a strange sense of absence washed over him.
Thinking it over, he quickly identified the source of this feeling: the forest had sparse weeds, but no wildflowers.
This was an area nearly a hundred li in every direction—a massive region.
Furthermore, he couldn’t see any sign of the other cultivators. He was completely alone for a hundred li around.
’Where in the world did it send me?’
Xiao Chen put the secret token back in his Storage Ring, took out the booklet he’d just bought, and began to read.
In just a short quarter hour, he had gained a basic understanding of the Cangran Secret Realm.
Overall, the Secret Realm was divided into four areas.
They were the Spirit Monster Forest, the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, the Miasma Swamp, and the Blood Vine Forest.
This order also corresponded to the relative size of each area.
The Spirit Monster Forest was the largest and the most common destination for random teleportation.
The Blood Vine Forest was the smallest, but it was the best place to find Dao Crystals.
’In that case, I must be in the Spirit Monster Forest, the bottom-left section of the Secret Realm.’
Xiao Chen immediately pinpointed his location.
According to the booklet’s sketch, the Cangran Secret Realm was laid out like an inverted triangle.
The Spirit Monster Forest was at the bottom left, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest was at the bottom right.
A long but relatively narrow Miasma Swamp ran between them, with the Blood Vine Forest located at its deepest point.
This explained why there were no birds or beasts in the vicinity.
The greatest danger here came from the Spirit Monsters.
So-called Spirit Monsters were a unique life-form born from absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi over countless years.
Strictly speaking, Spirit Monsters were beings that achieved sentience through cultivation. They were adept at camouflage, loved to show off, and held grudges.
In special cases, some birds and beasts could also become Spirit Monsters, making them a completely different species from the more common Demon Race.
However, such cases were rare.
Thus, for the most part, one could simplify it as: creatures that cultivated from birds and beasts were demons, while those that transformed from plants and trees were Spirit Monsters.
With this in mind, Xiao Chen scanned his surroundings again.
This time, he retracted his Divine Sense, relying only on his eyes.
Spirit Monsters were natural masters of disguise; shielding themselves from the probing of Divine Sense was practically an innate skill for them.
This meant that any cultivator who ended up alone in the Spirit Monster Forest had to be exceptionally vigilant.
They had to watch every tree, even every blade of grass, lest it be a Spirit Monster in disguise, ready to launch a sneak attack.
Xiao Chen, however, wasn’t worried.
As far as he was concerned, any Spirit Monster below Tier Four was just serving itself up on a platter.
’Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen a Spirit Monster before.’
Xiao Chen walked over to the nearest fir tree and knocked on its trunk. "Hey, hey, are you a Spirit Monster?"
The fir tree remained silent.
He simply turned, sat down with his back against the tree, and went back to studying the booklet.
Such a move would be extremely dangerous for anyone else, but it didn’t matter. Body Cultivators were just that confident.
Xiao Chen was fully confident he could smash any Spirit Monster that dared to appear into pulp.
So, while he appeared careless, he was actually baiting them, deliberately leaving an opening.
The middle of the booklet detailed the casualties and rewards from the past thirteen times the Cangran Secret Realm had opened.