As daylight seeped through the twisted canopy of the Devil Forest, the group resud their journey. The artifact compass in Lady Li Yang's hand continued to thrum, guiding them deeper into the unknown.
They walked for hours, avoiding twisted roots that seed to slither, hollow-eyed creatures that watched from the fog, and patches of cursed land that emitted strange whispers.
Then, just when they thought they were alone, they stumbled upon a group of cultivators.
Victor's grip on his sword tightened instinctively.
These cultivators were haggard-looking with torn and dirty robes as though they had been wandering through the forest for weeks.
There were four of them, clad in matching dark green sect robes. Their leader was a tall man with narrow eyes and a scar across his nose.
He stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.
"Fellow cultivators," he called out. "We are from the Jade Serpent Sect. We've been searching for the Pond of Dragon Tears but… as you can imagine, the Devil Forest is not kind to outsiders."
Victor studied their expressions carefully with a look of caution.
Lady Li Yang stepped forward while her eyes flicked toward Qin Lan, who had his arms crossed but his usual smile was missing.
One of the Jade Serpent cultivators eyes widened as he suddenly spotted the compass in Lady Li Yang's hands. "You… you have an artifact compass?"
Lady Li's grip tightened slightly on the compass. "And so what?"
Unlike Qin Lan who had appeared to them at a ti of need, these cultivators were different so they had to be cautious.
The leader of the group smiled. "I don't an to be blunt, but… you could use so extra hands, don't you think?"
Qin Lan scoffed. "Oh, yeah?" he said lazily whike flipping a poison dart between his fingers. "And what exactly makes you useful?"
"We have been here for days, but we have knowledge of the forest that might be useful to you and in exchange we could all get to the pond together... a win win, don't you think?" The leader responded.
Lady Li Yang hesitated while looking between Victor and Qin Lan.
Victor could tell what she was thinking. They had no reason to trust these people. But at the sa ti, the Devil Forest was unpredictable, and having more allies could be beneficial.
After a long pause, Lady Li Yang finally nodded.
"Fine," she said. "You may accompany us."
Qin Lan's expression darkened slightly, but he didn't argue.
As Victor's and the group moved through Devil forest together he observed the four cultivators closely. Despite their haggard appearance, there was sothing about them that demanded caution.
The leader dark green robes were decorated with serpent motifs with embroidery nearly torn from wear and battle. He exuded a sense of calculating intelligence, the type of man who gauged every move before making it.
"My na is Zhao Feng," he introduced himself to Lady Li.
'A true scher,' Victor thought.
Zhao Feng seed like soone who always had contingency plans in motion.
Behind him stood three others, each with distinct appearances:
Xu Jian, a broad-shouldered brute with a shaven head and a thick scar on his forearm. His sleeveless robes revealed well-defined muscles, and his weapon of choice was an iron staff strapped across his back.
His posture was that of soone who could crush bones with a single strike.
On the side was Xiao i, a short-haired woman with blue eyes and a sly expression. Her robes were tight-fitting, allowing for better agility, and she carried a bow strapped to her back.
And finally, the fourth was Yan Rui, a mysterious beauty with long yellow hair and a dangerously seductive air. Although her robes were torn in multiple areas, it didn't make her look like any less of a beauty.
In fact, it increased her attractiveness, since various areas of her smooth skin was exposed.
As Zhao Feng introduced his team, Lady Li also introduced herself as a daughter of the Li clan and introduced Fang Chen(Victor and Qin Lan as well.
After the introduction, Yan Rui's eyes lingered on Victor, studying him with thinly veiled curiosity.
"Well, well," she mused. "It's rare to see a young cultivator traveling with a Lady of the Li Sect. What exactly is your story, Fang Chen?"
Victor didn't like her tone, nor did he like the hungry look in her eyes—as if she was gauging his worth.
Before he could respond, Xiao i let out a chuckle.
"Why are you interested, Yan Rui?" she teased. "Don't tell you want to toy with another man's heart?"
Yan Rui smirked but quickly displayed a look of innocence. "I would never do that to one of our saviours."
"I'm sure you wouldn't," Xiao i shook her head.
Victor kept his expression neutral, but inwardly, he made a note—this group could not be trusted.
For the next two days, the group traveled together.
At first, things seed uneventful since the Jade Cultivators were always pointing out areas to avoid saying they had been there before.
They helped the group avoid a lot of hurdles and difficult terrains, taking detours around dangerous environnts but Victor couldn't shake off the feeling of unease.
Despite his carefree mannerisms, Qin Lan watched the Jade Serpent cultivators closely. Lady Li, on the other hand, tried to remain neutral, though it was obvious she was being cautious as well.
However, as they progressed, they began noticing sothing strange.
The artifact compass, which had been a steady guide, was starting to flicker erratically.
Then, after one final pulse—
It stopped completely.
Lady Li held her breath.
"We're here."
Victor looked around.
They were in a completely unremarkable part of the Devil Forest. The trees were the sa twisted, lifeless husks, the ground was covered in a thick layer of fog, and there was nothing that resembled a pond.
One of the Jade Serpent cultivators scowled. "This is it?"
Lady Li furrowed her brows. "The Pond of Dragon Tears only appears once every two thousand years. The artifact compass led us here—which ans…"
She trailed off.
Victor exhaled. "Which ans the pond will appear here soon."
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