Forming a group.

Liang Chen only had to slice the throat of the brown-haired man, the rest of his group had already succumbed to Liang Chen's poison, their throats closing up and their lungs ceasing to function. He wiped his blade clean on the man's robe, placing it back into his interspatial ring. He then searched the bodies of the seven people, looking for anything that might prove useful.

But he quickly learned that the seven men were in the same situation as him. They had a few vials of medicinal liquid or antidote, as well as a few spare weapons, but when it came to Spirit Stones, they only had 3. Liang Chen took all the vials filled with liquids of various viscosity, the weapons, and a few gray robes that one of the men had on him.

The robes were too big for Liang Chen, the sleeves hiding his hands and the bottom dragging along the ground, but it was better than his current topless state, so he quickly put one on and did his best to cut it to size. Once the robe was cut to a size where it would not interfere with his movements, Liang Chen left the deserted alley and quickly made his way out of the city. He had finished all the business he had in the city, so there was no longer a reason for him to stick around.

None of those that skulked around outside the city, waiting for naive newbies they could exploit, attempted to stop Liang Chen when he started moving towards the stone forest. He had only been in the city for a short while, so the memory of what he had done to the two people that tried to rob him earlier was still fresh in the mind of everyone outside the city. He was not a naive newbie. Before trying to rob him, they would have to consider whether or not it was worth risking their lives.

Connecting the city with the stone forest were several winding paths, each one leading to a different entrance. There was no snow on any of the paths, so it was clear that they were used quite frequently. Entering the stone forest was easy and could be done from any spot, but the winding paths led to the entrances that were considered to be safest, so they were the most popular ones.

Liang Chen was not the only one who was making his way down these beaten paths at this moment, but he was the only one who was traveling on his own. Just a simple sweep of his head would reveal several groups that were either entering or leaving the stone forest. Some groups looked to be in high spirits and bursting with vigor, while others were more deflated and clearly wounded, some were even carrying dead bodies or pieces of dead bodies. These wounded groups made sure to stay far away from any other groups, taking precautions in case they got attacked while weakened.

The stone forest was located quite a bit away from the city, so Liang Chen had to walk for almost half a day before he actually managed to reach the stone forest. There were a few groups that had left the stone forest that were using the same path as him, resulting in both parties tensing up as the carefully walked past each other. Luckily, there didn't seem to be anyone too keen on starting a battle, so he managed to peacefully reach the stone forest.

The rocks that made up the stone forest were incredibly tall, each one at least several hundred meters tall, it was practically a forest of small mountains. Liang Chen noticed several groups of people standing around outside the stone forest, inspecting anyone who got close to it. While Liang Chen was slowly moving towards the stone forest, carefully inspecting it, he heard someone call out to him.

"Please halt, we have a proposition for you."

Liang Chen stopped in his tracks, turning his head slightly to glance at the people that had called out to him. Three people were coming towards him with quick steps, two male youths and a female youth. They were clad in different robes of differing quality, so they didn't seem to come from the same place. They stopped a few meters away from Liang Chen, giving him plenty of space so that he would not be suspicious of them. The three people gave him a slight bow, one of the male youths speaking up with a smile.

"Thank you for stopping. We noticed that you are the same as us, one that made his way here on his own. But the deeper into the hidden realm you go, the harder it gets to progress, especially if you travel alone. All of us thought we could hunt solo in this stone forest, but the Demonic beasts and frequent storms make it borderline impossible to move without a group."

The male youth that spoke up seemed to be approaching his mid-twenties, was almost two meters tall, and had a sturdy physique, his skin tanned dark. He had dark brown eyes and a slight stubble on his chiseled chin. His brown hair seemed freshly washed and was tied into a neat bun. His upper body was clad in a slightly dented and scratched metal armor, while his lower body was covered by thick leather pants. Liang Chen understood the gist of what they wanted, but there was still a question on his mind.

"So basically, you want me to join your group, making it easier to hunt within this stone forest. Why me?"

They had approached him the moment he got close to the stone forest. There was no way that they knew too much about him, so it was clear that there was something about him, on the surface, that had made them want to ask him to join them. The brown-haired youth's smile grew a bit brighter as he quickly nodded his head.

"Exactly, I am glad that you understood it so quickly. We thought about joining up with one of the other groups, but most of them come from some clan or sect, so we were scared that they would pressure us with their numbers and unity, taking all the good rewards. How about it, interested in joining us?"

Liang Chen fell into a short silence after hearing the response. It was quite normal for them to realize that he did not belong to any sect or clan, almost anyone who was part of a sect or clan considered it to be their pride, openly carrying the robes they were provided with. After mulling it over for a bit, Liang Chen asked another question.

"How would all the rewards get split?"

Liang Chen would prefer to hunt on his own, as it would mean that he would not have to share any of the spoils he acquired. But traveling in a group would make it easier to take down larger and stronger prey, so he was not completely against the idea. The three people seemed delighted that Liang Chen showed interest in joining them, so they quickly answered.

"When it comes to rewards we have acquired without a battle, such as medicinal herbs that are out in the open, if there are enough, we will share them equally, if not, the one who found them gets them. But when it comes to spoils gained from battle, we will divide them based on everyone's contributions during the battle."

The three people had already been waiting outside this stone forest for two days, wishing that a lone traveler would arrive soon so that they could continue hunting within the stone forest, so when it came to how they would split the rewards, they had long come to an agreement. Liang Chen gave it a bit more thought, but in the end, he nodded his head.

"Alright, I can agree to that."

Liang Chen agreed to join them because of the prospects of getting better prey, as well as the fact that it was indeed safer to travel in groups. People would be far more cautious about trying to rob groups, so it could save him some trouble. Another reason he could agree so easily was the fact that the three people only had a cultivation that was a tad bit higher than his, the brown-haired you had reached the late stage of the Houtian Tower realm, while the two others had reached the middle stage. If there was a need for it, he could easily flee thanks to his speed.

The group lit up with smiles after Liang Chen agreed, the brown-haired youth giving another short bow before quickly introducing himself.

"Wonderful! I am Lei Qiang and I come from Eternal Stream City, I stem from a long family of military men, so I have some knowledge about arrays and how to organize groups of people. I specialize in using the earth element, so you can leave the frontlines to me!"

Lei Qiang formed a small ball of earth between his palms, showing that he was telling the truth. Liang Chen's eyebrow twitched slightly when he heard where Lei Qiang came from, as the name was familiar to Liang Chen. Eternal Stream City was where Huo Yantian, one of the dead caravan guards, had come from. The group did not notice the twitch, the second male youth introducing himself.

"My name is Tang Chao, I come from Lost Peak City, my parents own an apothecary. The element I specialize in is water, so you can come to me if you have any wounds or if you get poisoned."

Tang Chao was also quite a bit taller than Liang Chen, only half a head shorter than Lei Qiang, he seemed to be about the same age as Lei Qiang. But where Lei Qiang was sturdy and muscular, Tang Chao was thinner and more flexible, well-suited to the water element. His eyes were somewhat narrow, his pupils black in color, and he had shoulder-length hair that was a light blue in color. He was clad in thin leather armor, but the faint jangling sound that rang out when he moved made Liang Chen guess that he might be wearing chainmail beneath the leather armor. The last member of the group, the only girl, quickly gave an energetic greeting.

"I'm Sun Xia! I was born in Valley's Gate City as the daughter of a family of bakers, so you can leave all the cooking to me, I'll make you meals that you will never forget! I specialize in using the stone element, so I can join Lei Qiang on the frontlines!"

Sun Xia was a bit shorter than Tang Chao, but she was still taller than Laing Chen. But that was to be expected, Liang Chen was still only 13 after all. Sun Xia had clear black eyes and brown hair that hung freely down to her buttocks. Her skin was rather clean and unblemished, so Liang Chen guessed that she made sure to take good care of it. She was not clad in armor, but rather a strange brown robe that seemed to be made out of the skin of a scaled Demonic beast. Liang Chen took a step closer, cupping his hands in greeting as he gave a short introduction.

"I am Liang Chen, I come from Green Rivers City. My family is as normal as it comes, nothing worth mentioning. I specialize in the element of lightning, so I guess you can leave attacking to me."

Liang Chen did not mention his poison element, as he wanted to keep at least one of his cards hidden. And it was normal for people at their cultivation level to only have a single element, as the more elements you had, the harder it would be to increase your cultivation. After everyone had performed their introductions, Lei Qiang swept the group with his gaze, a bright smile on his face.

"Two defenders, one healer, and one attacker. Perfect, with a party like this, we will have a much better chance of surviving in this stone forest. Or do you want to wait and see if we can find more people to join us?"

There was a short silence as everyone thought about it, but that silence was quickly broken by Tang Chao, who gave a slight shake of his head.

"We had to wait two days for Liang Chen to show up, there is no telling how much longer we will have to for someone else to show up. I say we just enter, our party is quite good after all."

Lei Qiang and Sun Xia quickly nodded their heads in agreement, as what he said sounded reasonable. Of course, there was also one other reason that none of them had said out loud. If they waited for more people, they would have to split the spoils into smaller portions. They glanced at Liang Chen, who simply gave a quick nod of his head. With everyone agreeing, Sun Xia quickly pumped her fist into the air.

"Since everyone is in agreement, then let us set off, onto adventure!"