Chapter Four: Entering the Forest of Spirits

Chapter Four: First Steps into the Ghostwood

After leaving the city, Ye Bai made straight for the Guard Post. Guard Posts of various sizes ringed the city in every direction, acting as satellites and forming the first line of defense for Muyang City. The further from the city, the smaller the posts became—one could call them observation outposts without exaggeration. Their primary task was to monitor the movements of the mutant beasts in the Ghostwood Mountains. Additionally, anyone entering or leaving Muyang City had to provide information from a Guard Post; this both prevented the entry of the Fallen and offered sanctuary to those traveling outside.

"Name? Purpose for leaving the city?" The staff member on duty was a young woman with a fine face and a cold, crisp voice. The sternness of her demeanor quickly diminished Ye Bai’s fleeting appreciation.

"Ye Bai, going out to hunt mutant beasts," he replied, then sat down to wait for his identification card.

Soon, the staff member handed him the card and said, "All Guard Posts close at ten o'clock at night and reopen at three in the morning. I won’t explain why—just remember it."

Ye Bai pressed the card to his arm. It sank into his skin and vanished. Each card could remain in the body for up to a month, during which it tracked one’s life signs. After a month, re-entry to the city required a new card. Between ten at night and three in the morning, mutant beasts were at their most active—there was even a high chance of supernatural beasts from the mountain's middle reaches appearing. During these hours, the Guard Posts submerged into underground elemental isolation layers to avoid destruction.

Ye Bai took out his map to confirm his destination—a place called Goldmole Fortress. He headed for the nearest Guard Post to the fortress, as it was late and he planned to begin his training the next morning. Besides, he was hungry.

This Guard Post was a modest one. With his identification card, Ye Bai went straight to his assigned room, hastily ate a simple dinner, and lay down to sleep.

After the wildest hours of the night had passed, and as the Guard Post once more surfaced above ground, Ye Bai opened his eyes. He rose swiftly, washed, and checked his gear and provisions before stepping outside.

The dampness of dawn banished any lingering drowsiness. Ye Bai’s usual easy smile was gone; instead, his face was grave and vigilant. It was just past three in the morning, the world still shrouded in darkness, visibility low. Perhaps because the beasts’ most active period had just ended, or because he was close to the Guard Post, the area was utterly silent as he walked toward his destination.

The Ghostwood Mountains loomed ahead, stretching endlessly like a slumbering dragon beneath the night sky. From deep within the range, occasional roars echoed, enough to send chills down one’s spine.

At last, when the sky began to lighten, Ye Bai reached his destination. His caution only deepened—here, he could rely only on himself and the weapon in his hand, his most trusted companion. As he ventured deeper, the forest grew even more silent; only his footsteps and the sound of his own swallowing disturbed the stillness.

Suddenly, a noise sounded behind him. Ye Bai drew his particle blade and gripped it tightly, spinning around—there was nothing. He followed the sound for a distance and, unexpectedly, made a discovery.

He found wormwood, a plant he had read about in "Anatomical Studies." When boiled and applied to wounds, it could treat external injuries—never use it raw, as it had a numbing effect. Hot water could break down its toxic proteins. Its juice could be smeared on a blade or, when boiled, used for treating wounds.

Ye Bai collected some, squeezing the juice onto his blade and storing the rest in a pouch for later. The find brought a flicker of joy to his face, dispelling his earlier tension.

With no clear sense of direction in this forest of towering trees, and only faint sunlight filtering through despite the hour nearing nine, Ye Bai pressed on in the direction of the earlier sound, hoping for more luck.

Indeed, fortune favored him. Soon, he heard scratching and squeaking—earthmoles, as expected. Goldmole Fortress was named for these infamous rodents. They burrowed through soil and stone with ease and lived in groups: a dominant female with her young in a fixed area. When the males matured, they had to leave and live alone.

The earthmole before Ye Bai was clearly a mature male, busily clawing at something beneath a giant tree, its nose twitching.

Ye Bai crept closer under the shadows, hoping for a fatal strike from behind. But the mole’s ears twitched, and it stopped digging, turning to face him.

Seeing Ye Bai approach, the earthmole began to squeak, its eyes streaked with red—whether warning or preparing an attack, Ye Bai couldn’t tell.

Realizing his ambush had failed, Ye Bai activated his particle blade. The blade glowed with a greenish light and vibrated at high frequency.

With a shout, Ye Bai launched the first attack—he knew the importance of striking first.

He didn’t charge straight at the earthmole but attacked from the side, noticing its increasingly bloodshot eyes and golden glint on its claws. He wasn’t foolish enough to take on both claws head on.

Claw and blade met with a sharp crack. With the force of 815 kilograms behind him, Ye Bai heard the mole’s claws creak and splinter—the first exchange went in his favor.

But the pain only enraged the beast. The earthmole reared onto its hind legs, emitting a piercing cry, both claws now gleaming gold. It charged on its hind legs, one claw slashing at Ye Bai’s face.

Ye Bai blocked with his blade, but the mole’s other claw raked for his left arm. In the nick of time, he retreated, pulling back the blade and stepping away, but not before the beast’s claw left gouges across his chest.

Blood welled from the wounds. Ye Bai hadn’t expected such cunning from the earthmole—but there was no time to dwell on it. The creature was already circling, waiting for him to let his guard down.

Ye Bai forced himself to calm, recalling what he’d read—their natural gold affinity made their backs and limbs impervious to blades and bullets; the eyes and soft underbelly were their weak points. But the eyes were too small a target—he abandoned that idea.

How to make it stand upright again? Suddenly, inspiration struck.

He remembered a technique from "Essence Integration Manual": feet shoulder-width apart, heels as pivot, power driven from the waist to the punching arm, to unleash maximum force.

Unable to wait, the earthmole attacked first, lunging low for Ye Bai’s legs. But Ye Bai was ready. With a thunderous motion, he tossed the beast aside. It scrambled up, enraged, and again attacked upright.

This time, Ye Bai dodged the first swipe, then slashed at the beast’s belly. After several exchanges, wounds crisscrossed the earthmole’s abdomen. By the time it tried to flee, the wormwood’s toxin had taken effect—it collapsed, helpless.

Breathing a long sigh of relief, Ye Bai collected the valuable pelt and claws, reflecting on his shortcomings. A mature earthmole was only as strong as a high-level body-refiner, while he was nearly at the peak of that stage. He shouldn’t have been so hard-pressed, or even wounded. His lack of battle experience and composure had cost him—he’d focused too much on a head-on attack, without thinking strategically.

As dusk approached, Ye Bai gathered his things and headed back to the Guard Post.

There, he prepared himself a hearty meal, boiled the remaining wormwood to treat his wounds, and soon after, fell into a deep sleep.