Forest of Broken Corpses (1)

"But it's still better to have assurance. Besides, isn't that royal pain in the ass proud of her talent? With what I saw, she should be around the same age as me, maybe a bit older, 15 or so. If I, who made her angry and is younger than her, exceeded her level in cultivation, wouldn't her arrogant pride be in shambles?" Shen Tianyu replied righteously.

"Why do I have a feeling the second reason is the main reason you're deciding to do this?" Rong Jian asked. Shen Tianyu just giggled in reply.

"Well, since that's the case, I guess I'll join wifey." Rong Jian decided.

"I'll shop for some more medicinal herbs and fruits and join you guys later. My talent isn't that great anyways so there's no need to rush." Luo Shue answered.

With that decided, Luo Shue was again led to Medicinal Hall while Shen Tianyu and Rong Jian told Long Zichen of their decision. Conveniently, beneath the Jing City's Lavender Palace is a training ground. The training ground was reserved for Yaodu members and normally does not allow outsiders in, even if they work in Lavender Palace also. However, since Rong Jian was Shen Tianyu, the Palace Master's fiancee, he can be considered half of a member so he was let in.

The underground training field was marked with a Spirit Gathering Array, drawn by an Elder of Yaodu, who had the most extensive knowledge on arrays in the organization. It was the ideal place for secluded cultivation. However...

"Mmm... not the underground training field." Shen Tianyu rejected it when Long Zichen brought it up. "I was thinking it's time to acquire a spiritual beast. Is there a forest containing spiritual beasts nearby?"

"Miss, that might be... dangerous." Long Zichen tried to dissuade her.

"But one can not grow without experiencing dangers." Shen Tianyu retorted.

Long Zichen sighed. Though his Miss looked amicable, in fact, she was very stubborn once a decision has been made. There would be no use in trying to dissuade her, she might even look for one on her own without telling them.

"Alright... Coincidentally, there is a dangerous forest inhabited by demonic beasts near here." Long Zichen gave in.

"Oh? Where?"

"30 li (1) outside of Jing City is the Forest of Broken Corpses, inhabited by a demonic fox race."

"Woah... What's with that deadly sounding name? Anyways, why is Jing City and the Imperial Palace so close to such a dangerous place anyways?"

"The Imperial Palace and Jing City were originally set up here to keep watch over the demonic foxes. Being the Capital, it would naturally have more guards so they could ward off the demonic foxes if they ever attacked. However, since Jing Qie was established, the demonic foxes have never come out of the forest. Anyone that went in, however, would die. The only reason anyone knows it's inhabited by demonic foxes is because, in the old days, people saw foxes on the outskirts of the forest from afar who would run back into it if it ever saw anyone."

"And? How did the name come about?"

"It's not that big of a story. All the people that went in were chomped to death and their corpses were broken and scattered all over the place. You know cultivators have better senses than people, they could stand outside the premises of the Forest and see inside."

"Hm... how fun." Shen Tianyu smiled. "I'll go there." She turned to look at Rong Jian. "What about you?"

"I'll follow wifey wherever you go." Rong Jian replied simply.

"Okay then, let's go!" Shen Tianyu announced.

"Wait, Miss. I'll prepare some guards-" Long Zichen started.

"No need." Shen Tianyu interrupted him. "A big group would alarm the foxes even more. Besides, you don't need to worry, I have him." Shen Tianyu pointed at Rong Jian.

Long Zichen gave up and bid them a safe journey, making sure to lecture her to be careful and not to charge into danger. He didn't mention if she would be able to make it back in time for the Goodwill Tournament. If she did, everything would be good, but if she didn't she had him and Yaodu behind her. That pain in the ass, Princess Wenya, would never be able to get to their Miss.

...

The Forest of Broken Corpses was only 30 li away. With the speed of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, they reached the outskirts of it after running for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. Shen Tianyu found a tree nearby and jumped onto it's lowest branch.

Noticing Rong Jian look up at her, she answered the question in his eyes. "We ran all the way here and depleted some of our spiritual energy. You may be fine, but I need to be in top shape before I go in there in case any danger jumps at me. I'm just going to rest here until my spiritual power is filled again."

Rong Jian nodded at her and sat down, leaning back against the tree trunk.

'But really. I'm on the edge of a breakthrough but I've been running around and haven't managed to actually break through. Hopefully, I'll be able to break through with this trip.' Shen Tianyu thought to herself. Shen Tianyu wasn't one to mindlessly risk her life. Honestly, she could have easily broken through if she used the underground training field at Lavender Palace, but she also wanted to get a demonic beast contracted to her soon. Now that she was almost breaking through, it could be considered two birds with one stone if she did both at the same time. In addition, she couldn't gauge Rong Jian's strength. She was sure he was much more powerful than her so as long as he stayed by her and protected her, she didn't have to worry. Of course, that only applies when she's in absolute danger she couldn't get out of. Even if she valued her life, she also valued her own strength. If she could get rid of a trouble on her own, she would rather do it herself, even if she became injured. She never wants to be a pampered princess protected and shielded from the dangers of the world. There are things in the world you can only learn through experience, otherwise, you will always have the same mental age as a child. Besides, she was one to learn better through "doing" and not "lecture".