Chapter 57: Back to the Corinth Forest!

This forest was vast, with no end in sight—at least that’s what Rod felt. Walking along the forest paths, it was clear that this place was deserted; it seemed no one had been here for decades.
Thick layers of leaves covered the ground, blocking out the entire sky, so there were leaves above and below! The only difference was in color.
Even during the bright daylight, a sense of gloom persisted. The air was filled with a faint, foul smell of decay and mold. It was extremely humid, and after walking for a short distance, Rod felt his hair become completely wet.
Every step left deep footprints, sinking deeply into the piled-up dead leaves.
After walking for so long, Rod didn’t dare relax his mental focus at all. As soon as he entered this forest and the area designated by the man in black, he sensed something was wrong. He felt several extremely powerful auras in this place, each one beyond his ability to confront! There were three such auras coming from three different directions! As for the rest, he hadn’t detected any, but he believed there couldn’t be only those three auras here. The others might not be as strong, but they probably weren’t much weaker either.
It was just that he hadn’t discovered them yet. So even though everything seemed quiet, Rod still didn’t dare relax in the slightest! Sometimes, the quieter it is, the greater the hidden danger—after all, dogs that bark usually don’t bite; those that bite are the ones that don’t bark!
He moved forward cautiously step by step, gripping Dark Dragon tightly in his hand. Sweat had begun to appear on his palms without him even realizing it! Rod felt that one of those three auras seemed to have targeted him. When he first sensed those auras, he deliberately chose this direction, moving toward where there were no auras. Yet, he still disturbed them. Now, his only hope was that these guys wouldn’t pay attention to him—after all, he didn’t yet have the strength or ability to confront them.
The further he went, the more Rod realized how extraordinary this forest was. It gave him a familiar feeling, as if he had experienced something like this somewhere before!

“Collins Forest!” Suddenly, an idea popped into Rod’s mind, causing him to exclaim in surprise. Yes, it was Collins Forest—the place he had visited before. Other than Collins Forest, he really couldn’t think of any other place with such an atmosphere.

Although he had only stayed in Collins Forest for a short time, he couldn’t forget that feeling. It was exactly the same as what he was experiencing now, if not worse. This made Rod’s head ache even more.

Footsteps behind him startled Rod, who quickly turned around. However, there was nothing there but emptiness. Yet, he felt as if he were being watched, just like a lamb hunted by a gray wolf—the deep-seated chill was unmistakable.

A gust of cold wind passed by, bringing a sense of chill, a chill that came from within. Shivering, Rod gave a bitter smile. It seemed this place was indeed dangerous. No wonder the man in black had told him to stay here and not go further. If he couldn’t even handle things here, what would happen if he went deeper? Wouldn’t that be seeking death?

With his mind in high tension and his combat energy body forming, his combat energy was being consumed rapidly. Rod grumbled inwardly, keeping his attention on his back. A faint cold smile appeared on his lips. He knew he was being watched, that someone was hiding in the shadows, eyeing him closely.

Fen Tian, hovering around him, showed signs of unease, growling softly and circling anxiously, as if trying to convey something to Rod. Sensing Fen Tian’s agitation, Rod knew it must have detected something wrong too. So, he smiled slightly and gestured for it to calm down.

Spreading his mental energy, Rod moved forward cautiously, sneering inwardly. That guy better not make a move—or else he’d never leave today!

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!” Suddenly, Rod let out a fierce shout. He turned sharply, and his Dark Dragon, with a howling sound, transformed into a strange black arc before slashing toward his back.

At the same time, the armor formed from the martial qi essence in his body emitted a brilliant red glow that was extremely dazzling. Fen Tian, who had been holding back for a long time beside Rod, let out a long howl, suddenly turned, and launched a spell in the direction Rod was being attacked from. Having spent so much time with Rod, it naturally understood its master’s intentions, especially since they had signed the strongest contract possible.

A dark shadow swiftly rushed toward Rod. Clearly unexpecting Rod to detect its presence, it paused mid-air for a moment before seemingly giving up and charging headlong at him.

Boom… A dull explosion sound came. Rod felt a numbness in his hand before hearing the sound of metal colliding.

Under the immense force of the impact, he couldn’t help but take several steps back before finally managing to stabilize himself with the help of the Dark Dragon.

At this moment, Fen Tian once again attacked that creature! It was only then that Rod finally saw clearly what the creature that had ambushed him was—it was a dark leopard, a black panther, indeed, a rare species of black panther.

Its speed was astonishing, and its strength was no less formidable. Even after the fierce collision with Rod earlier, it remained completely unfazed by Fen Tian’s attacks. It was a magical beast at the early stage of the Sacred level—a Black Rock Panther! To encounter such a creature here!

“It’s indeed the Collins Forest!” Rod frowned and muttered to himself. Yes, it was the Collins Forest. This confirmed his location.

The atmosphere, the environment, the forest—all matched the characteristics of the Collins Forest. He had only thought it was similar before, but with the appearance of the Black Rock Panther, he could be certain now.

Such physically monstrous beasts with insane speed and terrifying strength could only be found in the Magical Beast Forest; they would never appear elsewhere, unless one went deep into the Source of Darkness!

As for the Source of Darkness, Rod was still confident he wasn’t inside it. After all, it wasn’t a place someone of his strength could enter—probably requiring at least the middle stage of the Sacred level.

Rod never expected that during over two months of running and pursuit, he had unknowingly been led by the man in black into the Corinth Forest. He also had no idea which path the man had used to bring him there. Thinking of this, Rod couldn’t help but smile bitterly inwardly—he had been too careless. Fortunately, the Corinth Forest was now much safer compared to half a year ago. Half a year ago, it was the real Corinth Forest; now it had completely changed. Some of the magical beasts inside were gathered in front of Iron Bar Town to draw human defensive forces, while others were sent to Huaye City to attack humans. As a result, the strength inside the forest had dropped to less than one-fifth of what it used to be! Otherwise, Rod believed he might have already been surrounded and killed by those beasts just now. In any case, he definitely wouldn’t have encountered just one Black Rock Leopard like now.

There was no time for further thought. The Black Rock Leopard ahead stared at him with fierce intent, seemingly determined to succeed. Facing this human, it bared its fangs—it definitely couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity after following him for nearly half a day! Relying on its terrifying speed and strength, it had to end the battle quickly to avoid being discovered by the others, which would surely lead to conflict.

Watching the Black Rock Leopard fighting fiercely against Fen Tian, Rod smirked coldly. It was just a magical beast at the early stage of the Saint level. Even without Fen Tian’s help, he alone could easily handle it. So Rod wasn’t worried about this Black Rock Leopard.

He wielded Dark Dragon’s Move: Shadow Sword, unleashing it. Seeming to understand what Rod was doing, Fen Tian also helped block the few possible escape routes of the Black Rock Leopard, sealing them all off.

One figure split into two, then into four… In an instant, eighteen figures appeared around the Black Rock Leopard. As his strength grew, Rod’s Shadow Sword could now create eighteen illusions.

Seeing this, the Black Rock Leopard finally realized it had made a mistake—this human was not someone it could resist. But it was clearly too late. All its escape routes were blocked, and behind it, that annoying red serpent was watching closely. That creature, despite only being at the early stage of the Emperor level, had managed to hold its own against it for so long without losing. Moreover, it could sense the presence of a dragon lord from it. All this made the Black Rock Leopard’s heart panic.

“Break!” Seeing the Black Rock Leopard intimidated by his move, Rod smiled in satisfaction. Then a fierce shout was heard. This tactic was indeed effective against opponents of similar strength, especially against creatures like magical beasts with limited thinking abilities! With that shout, the Dark Dragon created a whirlwind, and with terrifying force, eighteen figures rushed at the Black Rock Leopard all at once. At the same time, Furnace Sky also dived down from the sky to join Rod in this fierce attack.