237: Chapter 237 The demonic bird took flight in fright, its sword intent sharp and fierce.

Dust and sand swirled with withered leaves along the forest path, while the dense forest three hundred paces away remained deathly silent.

Chen Wuwang did not stop; his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flashed with a faint blue light, scanning the Spiritual Qi fluctuations of every inch of land ahead.

Behind him, Chen Xiaodao carried his sword on his back, his steps so light that they barely disturbed the gravel beneath his feet.

The two moved forward in silence, one behind the other.

The earlier discussion about the energy consumption of the mech hung in the air like a stone, heavy enough to make one breathless.

Yet, neither of them spoke again.

Everything that needed to be said had been said, and what could be done had been decided—conserve energy, strike accurately, and return alive.

Just then, Chen Xiaodao suddenly stopped.

"Head of the Chen Family," he said, his voice not loud, but carrying the keen edge of a blade drawn from its sheath, "let me practice."

Chen Wuwang did not turn back; he merely raised his hand to signal his assent.

The next instant, the sound of a sword ringing out exploded.

Chen Xiaodao's action of drawing his sword was so crisp it was almost violent; with a flash of cold light, the long sword had already traced three arcs in the air.

Wherever the sword edge passed, the air was torn into tiny fissures, and Spiritual Qi rippled outward like water waves.

First sword: horizontal slash. Second sword: diagonal lift. Third sword: straight thrust.

The three sword strikes were consecutive and unadorned, yet so sharp it seemed as if they would split the entire heaven and earth in two.

"Shhh—!"

A sharp sound of piercing the air rang out, followed immediately by the flapping of wings.

The flock of black-feathered birds originally perched on the old trees at the edge of the forest was suddenly startled into flight, descending into chaos as they screamed and rushed toward the grey, murky sky.

Those birds were not ordinary fowl, but the "Shadow Beak Crows" common in the Eastern Wasteland; they were gloomy by nature, fond of carrion, and often lived accompanied by mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

On a normal day, you wouldn't necessarily be able to startle even one, let alone have them explode from their nest in a flock like this.

But now, they were scattering and fleeing like mad, regardless of direction; some crashed into branches, feathers flying everywhere, while others fell directly to the ground, twitching a few times before failing to get back up.

Chen Xiaodao sheathed his sword with a clean motion.

The moment the sword returned to its sheath, a hint of a smile curled his lips, his eyes clear and bright, as if that strike just now wasn't just for practice, but more like a declaration to this deathly silence: I am here.

"Head of the Chen Family," he said, looking at Chen Wuwang's back, his voice steady, unlike that of a nineteen-year-old youth, "with me here, the Yao Beast nest is nothing to fear."

Chen Wuwang finally turned around.

He did not speak, only watching the direction in which the startled crow flock had fled, then slowly swept his gaze over the entrance to the forest.

The data stream of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye slid silently across his vision—the peak of the Spiritual Pressure oscillation triggered by that sword strike had reached the Early Stage of Golden Core; although the duration was short, it was precise, condensed, and devoid of any distracting thoughts.

This was pure Sword Intent.

It was not amplified by a mech, nor supported by a talisman array; it was simply the explosion of the moment when man and sword became one.

In the past, this level of Sword Intent would have been enough to deter low-level Yao Beasts, or even force back rogue cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage.

But now... Chen Wuwang's gaze fell upon the Shadow Beak Crow on the ground that had not yet breathed its last.

Its wings were broken, its neck twisted; before death, there was no fear in its pupils, but rather an eerie dullness, as if its consciousness had been controlled by something beforehand.

Something was wrong. These birds shouldn't be here.

Shadow Beak Crows never easily approached places rich in Demonic Qi, because it would interfere with their perception of the scent of death.

Yet they had gathered at the edge of this forest, as if attracted by some power, or perhaps... deliberately left behind as sentries.

And this sword strike from Chen Xiaodao hadn't just startled them into flight. It was more like poking a hole through a thin sheet of paper.

Chen Wuwang nodded lightly, a trace of a smile appearing on his face, looking like approval, or perhaps reassurance.

"Not bad," he said, "your Sword Intent is three parts steadier than last month."

When these words were spoken, his tone was calm, even carrying a hint of the gratification of an elder watching a Junior grow.

But only he knew that his heart had already sunk to the bottom.

Yao birds startled by Sword Intent? On the surface, it seemed the youth's edge was too sharp, scaring off the beasts. But looking at it from another angle—why would these evil birds, which should have avoided the place, appear on the periphery of the Yao Beast nest? Were they not afraid of the Demonic Qi inside? Or was it that... the thing inside had not yet truly awakened?

He narrowed his eyes, switching his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye to thermal scanning mode.

The depths of the forest were ice-cold, with no fluctuations of any life signs.

But just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, his peripheral vision caught a trace of anomaly—at the base of a giant tree closest to the heart of the forest, there was a ring of extremely faint purple-black moss, slowly spreading at a speed difficult for the naked eye to detect.

The area covered by that moss had a temperature reading a full seven degrees lower than the surroundings. The low temperature wasn't the problem. The problem was that the Spiritual Qi reading in that area was zero. Not thin, not chaotic, but completely zero. It was as if it had been sucked dry by something, or... shielded.

Chen Wuwang unconsciously tapped the handle of his dagger, the rhythm very slow, tap, tap, as if calculating something.

He didn't tell Chen Xiaodao. And he couldn't say it. The young man had just displayed his edge, and his confidence was high. Pouring cold water at this moment would only dampen morale. But as the Head of the Chen Family, he had to look further ahead.

A single sword strike startling the flock of birds seemed impressive, but in reality, it exposed their tracks. If there was truly something waiting in the Yao Beast nest, it now knew—someone had arrived. Moreover, the one who arrived was a sword user.

"Let's go." Chen Wuwang turned and continued forward, his steps heavier than before.

Chen Xiaodao followed closely behind, his shoulders and back straight, his steps firm. He thought the Head of the Chen Family's approval was because that sword strike was fast and ruthless enough, not knowing that what really concerned Chen Wuwang was that after that strike, there was no movement at all in the forest.

No roaring, no howling, no surging of Demonic Qi. Not even a trace of a counterattack fluctuation had appeared. It was too quiet. Quiet not like a place hiding a Yao Beast nest, but more like... a trap waiting for people to walk into.

But could they retreat? No. Behind them was the Chen Family Main Peak, and the lives of countless clansmen. He could hesitate, but he could not stop.

"Head of the Chen Family," Chen Xiaodao suddenly asked in a low voice, "what level of Yao do you think is inside?"

Chen Wuwang's steps paused. "Hard to say," he answered candidly, "but judging from the behavior of these birds, it is at least not an ordinary Essence Spirit."

"Then what if we encounter a shapeshifted Yao King?" Chen Xiaodao gripped his sword hilt, a flash of Battle Intent in his eyes, "I might not be unable to block it."

"You can block it," Chen Wuwang nodded, "but you must think clearly: why does it not attack? Why does it not flee? Why does it let us approach step by step?"

Chen Xiaodao was stunned. He hadn't thought about this question. In his eyes, a Yao was just a Yao; the strong were to be killed, the weak were to be executed—where were all these twists and turns? But with the Head of the Chen Family asking like this, he instead felt a bit creeped out. Yes, if it were a ferocious Yao King, it should have rushed out to fight for its life long ago. But this forest was as quiet as a graveyard.

"Perhaps... it is waiting for more prey?" Chen Xiaodao probed.

"Perhaps." Chen Wuwang responded indifferently, not saying anything more. The two fell into silence again.

The dust and sand gradually lessened, and sunlight barely managed to spill through the clouds, casting mottled light and shadows on the forest path. The dense forest in the distance was like a wide-open mouth, quietly waiting for them to walk into it.

Chen Wuwang walked in the lead, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye constantly refreshing the surrounding data. His breathing was steady, and his heartbeat was not fast, but his right fingertips were slightly numb—that was his body's reaction when in a state of high alert. He knew that the real battle was often not in the clash of blades. It was in the moment you didn't even realize you had stepped into a trap.

"Xiao Dao." He suddenly spoke. "Yes." "When we enter the forest later, don't stray more than ten paces from me." "Understood." "Also—" He paused, his voice lowering, "If you see those birds again, don't be in a hurry to startle them. Observe first, then act." "...Okay."

Although Chen Xiaodao agreed, he was somewhat puzzled in his heart. That sword strike just now had clearly deterred everything, so how did it turn into being rash? But he didn't ask. He knew the Head of the Chen Family never gave meaningless reminders. The more understated the words, the more they hid life-or-death judgments.

The two continued forward, with only fifty paces left to the forest entrance. Chen Wuwang suddenly stopped. He stared at the ground.

There was a string of extremely shallow claw prints there, irregular in shape, with tiny cracks at the edges, like traces left by some multi-legged creature crawling. But strangely, these claw prints only appeared for a short segment before suddenly cutting off, as if the thing had vanished into thin air. Even more bizarre was that the grass and leaves around the claw prints all displayed a sickly purple-gray color, as if they had been corroded.

Chen Xiaodao also saw them, his brow furrowing: "These were not left by Shadow Beak Crows."

"No." Chen Wuwang squatted down, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye scanning the bottom of the claw prints at close range, "And it didn't walk past either. It... crawled out."

"Crawled out?"

"Yes." Chen Wuwang stood up, his gaze cast toward the depths of the forest, "And it was from underground. Underneath this forest, I fear there is more than one layer of space."

Chen Xiaodao's hand gripping the sword tightened. He finally understood why the Head of the Chen Family was so cautious. This was not a simple clearing mission. It was a path-finding mission deep into the unknown.

"Are you ready?" Chen Wuwang looked back at him.

"At any time." Chen Xiaodao straightened his back, his Battle Intent undiminished, with a few more parts of gravity added.

Chen Wuwang nodded, saying no more. He raised his right hand, switching his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye to full-spectrum detection mode, while his left hand pressed against the dagger at his waist, and he walked slowly toward the forest entrance.

The distance of fifty paces felt as long as five hundred years. The wind stopped. Even the dust and sand no longer flew. At the edge of the forest, a withered branch snapped quietly and fell to the ground.