Chapter 392: Forest of Slumber!

Within a dense forested area, a blue teleportation portal suddenly appeared as it cuts through the air and spooked the surrounding wild animals into escape.

Wengg!!

From it, quite a few people stepped out of the portal as they looked around, analyzing the new area they were in with astonishment and awe as if a bunch of explorer discovering a new piece of virgin land, ripe for exploitation!

This was especially so for Wang Dong.

"Wow.. teleportation sure is convenient! Is there any chance that I could learn this, your Excellency?" Wang Dong excitedly asked with hopes and dreams sparkling in his eyes as he rubbed both of his hands together.

It was no wonder why many experts would die fighting each other in order to learn the secrets of this teleportation technique!

After all, not only that it would allow its user to cover vast distances that would usually take hours to traverse in an instant, it could also be used in combat and for escaping powerful enemies!

You can't kill what you can't touch!

Therefore, the rest of them also became interested to know the answer to Wang Dong's question!

"Hmm.. teleportation technique requires its user to be familiar with spatial law, and this field, while very complex and difficult to master, is still quite possible for one to acquire if they dedicate their life into it." Duan Li answered.

"However, learning the technique itself.. well.. personally its not really a big deal for me, but suffice to say that I'm not gonna share it regardless." he continued.

This wasn't to say that he was being stingy, it was just that the secret belonged to the Emperor and was a family heirloom for the other party, so he couldn't just teach it to people randomly like that when its not his in the first place.

In fact, there were only a few people in the Jiu Empire that the Emperor was willing to teach the method, and they were all important and cornerstone figures of the empire!

"Ehh..." Wang Dong became dejected and gave out a disappointed sigh, his hopes and dreams crushed before they could even crawl.

Meanwhile, Wei Wang could only shook his head. After being teamed up with the other party for a while, he now knew well enough that the latter wouldn't even be able to comprehend the spatial laws with his tiny brain, not to mention learning advance skills such as the teleportation technique!

He could bet his entire fortune that Wang Dong would quickly become disinterested after trying to learn it in an hour!

"Even if there is a miracle and by the off chance that he managed to learn it somehow, he would definitely make a mistake in his calculations and teleport into the heart of a volcano and die." thought Wei Wang in his head, convinced by this idea of his as he nodded confidently.

Meanwhile, there were several people that had unexpectedly decided to follow Duan Li.

"Elder... why do we have to follow him here?" Princess Meixiu asked with furrowed brows.

In her opinion, their encounter with the Imperial Overseer should've been just that. There was no need to follow the other party all the way here!

"Princess, please forgive me... But for the safety of the Doulou Empire, we need to know what we are dealing with here.." Elder Cheng Chao replied with a soft smile.

While her sentence was short, Princess Meixiu quickly understood the meaning implied behind it. Nevertheless, she still felt like they shouldn't have tagged along, so she could only sigh helplessly.

Looking behind her, Zhang Liao and Lu Bu also decided to follow Duan Li, and they were in for the very same reason as them.

Firstly, they needed to know how the Imperial Overseer would treat his enemies. Will he negotiate or go straight for the offence? This would be a great reference for them, just in case the future turns out unexpectedly!

After all, there was a saying that said, "Today's ally might be one's enemy in the future."

Secondly, they wanted to know the extent of power the Imperial Overseer really has. While they had seen and felt Duan Li's prowess before, especially Zhang Liao and Lu Bu during his coronation ceremony, they reckoned that there were still more for them to see!

Thirdly, they must assess the extent of threat that the Dark Sect would possess on their own empires. This was because the Dark Sect was always secretive in their activities, and one could hardly track what they were doing with their very small member count.

However, it was a different story now that they know the Dark Sect were collaborating with bandits!

By getting to know their modes of operation, they could track the activities of the Dark Sect within their own empire as well and eliminate them!

"Cucko, how capable are your minions?" Duan Li asked at the chicken perched on his shoulder, standing proudly like a prime eagle.

"Heh! I've trained them well!" Cucko replied with a smug chicken expression.

"I see, then spread out your minions in this forest and scout for any possible pathway!" instructed Duan Li.

Nodding, Duan Li's shadow flickered for a moment before separating into multiple directions in an instant!

He was planning to comb whatever areas he could inside the Forest of Slumber before he proceed with his next action.

A moment later, Cucko turned to Duan Li, "They have found a trail within the forest, and by the looks of it, this path seems to be commonly used."

Hearing this positive result, Duan Li then made a swift decision.

"Alright, we will follow this clue first and see if its the real deal or a trap. Meanwhile, instruct your minions to pull back. The spores inside the forest will kill them if they breathed in too long." Duan Li said with a serious expression under his mask.

"En!" Cucko nodded and commanded his minions to retreat with telepathy.

From the side, everyone was watching this unique scene and except for Duan Li's followers, the rest had their mouth agape.

After all, they had witnessed a human and a chicken talking with each other, in chicken language!

To hear the mighty and feared Imperial Overseer clucking to his chicken was far too bizarre for them, and their brain couldn't process it!

"Everyone, take these." Duan Li turned around and passed several wooden boxes to them from his spatial ring with a flick of his fingers.

"Eh? What's this?" Ling Shin and the others held the wooden boxes with curiosity.

Then, with another snap of his fingers, Duan Li commanded authoritatively!

"Transform!"

Wenggg!!

The wooden boxes in everyone's hands turned into a jelly like substance before enveloping their whole body!

They were treasure boxes that Duan Li had gathered en masse during his adventure in the first region of the Eternal Maze before, and since they were made from the Nine Roots tree, an extremely resilient and malleable material that could be shaped into anything with a single thought, he made them turned into a full body armor!

A few seconds later, everyone was covered with a wooden armor from head to toe, as if they were wearing a one piece clothing!

"W-Woa.. this is incredible!" the crowd gasped in awe and disbelief.

"The suit armor will prevent the poisonous spores in the forest from getting inside your body. Its also extremely strong against physical damage and has high resistance towards any elemental attributes." Duan Li explained.

"Eh.. but this thing is ugly.. couldn't you just make it into a helmet.. " Princess Meixiu complained with a pout. As a woman, it was inevitable for her to like appearing beautiful all the time, and the full body wooden armor that she was wearing right now was far too blocky for her taste.

"You'd do well to stay in that armor, because the spores can get into your body just by you absorbing the spiritual Qi in the air through your pores." Duan Li replied.

He then continued, "Besides, as long as I supply my spiritual Qi into the wooden armor to compensate against the damage you guys will receive later, it can protect you from any harm."

"We will receive harm? From who?" she asked curiously, feeling confused.

One has to know that they were all experienced cultivators, and mere bandits wouldn't even be able to lay their fingers on them, much less harming them!

Duan Li paused for a moment before he answered, "From me.. just in case I decided to destroy the entire forest after this!"

Tap! Tap!

Walking slowly into the forest, the crowd that heard him had to swallow a mouthful of their saliva before following suit behind him.

...