Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)

Chapter 76 Grove Guardians

Descending the tower wasn't any more difficult physically, but somehow it felt a whole lot worse looking down through the invisible platforms at the tiny features of the ground below. The large vruthka looked like ants and even many of the towering trees looked like small shrubs from so high up. Looking down gave Jie the uncomfortable sensation that she was being sucked down off the edge of the invisible platform...

But they made it to the ground safely. Something for which Jie was grateful. Then, they took off again, following Pan Tian's direction to another good spot to find a plaque within a cold desert of shifting sand. They found the desert ruins where Pan Tian claimed the valley liked to put a plaque.

Just outside the entrance to the ruins, a pair of long, sinuous reptiles that walked on two legs squabbled over the bodies of fellow students.

Jie and her friends killed the magical beasts, the strongest of which wasn't even at the first star of the Expert rank. They then collected the bodies of the magical beasts as well as the students, so they could be buried by their families later. What was left of them anyway...

They also took everything the students had been carrying. Jie thought that they should return that to their families with the bodies, but she kept that opinion to herself as the other girls didn't seem to share it. And even the Headmaster had basically said theft was allowed... Jie wasn't okay with it, but she was doing her best to adapt to this strange world.

They searched the ruins thoroughly and found some treasures but found no plaque, so Pan Tian led them away. Which was just as well as the cries of the enormous birds three times the size of jumbo jets that flew overhead had started making Jie nervous, exposed as they were on the desolate dunes. Pan Tian must've been afraid of them too because she moved faster than she had so far and it seemed they were all glad to be out of there.

Next, Pan Tian took them through a forest that transitioned into a jungle... and then into a murky swamp. Filled with croaking alien toads and the calls of birds Jie didn't recognize. The water was thick and murky like soup and the mud at the bottom of the water sucked Jie's shoes as they waded through it.

Occasionally, things brushed against her beneath the murky water. Nobody said a word and they moved slower than they had anywhere else. Even so, Jie cringed at the ripples they sent through the otherwise stagnant water and the soft noises of their movement that seemed far too loud in the quiet swamp.

The air was rich and sweet. Like a mixture of exotic flowers and rot. And the Essence within it was as dense as the fog that permeated the air. Jie cultivated as they waded, taking advantage of the thick Essence while she had the chance even as she concealed her aura as best she could and remained alert for enemies. Jie mainly relied on her spirit sense to detect threats as the dark waters and thick vegetation gave ample room for all manner of creatures to hide from her sight.

Jie sensed something strong deeper inside the swamp. Its aura was easily that of a magical beast of the Elementalist rank if not higher. She whispered her warning to Pan Tian, who adjusted their course and took them away from it. It was a terrifying reminder to Jie that no matter how far she'd come as a cultivator... there was always further to go...

Xue was particularly unhappy about the swamp. He was shorter than they were and had to swim rather than wade through the mucky water. Jie took pity on him and let him clamber up onto her shoulder. His claws lightly pricked her through her robes as she helped support his bulk with one hand and picked bits of moss out of his fur with the other. He gave her neck a wet, grateful nuzzle in return.

Jie sensed auras of the first star of the Expert rank and above not far ahead of them. Though she couldn't see more than vague shapes and shimmering lights in the fog. They looked like lanterns or torches being carried by some other group, though their auras were strange and reminded her more of spiritual plants than of beasts or humanoids.

Pan Tian had them draw closer to the shimmering lights, and as they did, Jie was able to see them even through the fog. They looked like large plant men, made of bark with long limbs and legs like stilts that let them stride through the water that came up to Jie's chest. There were quite a few of them and they scanned their surroundings constantly as they walked. As though on patrol.

The glow that had seemed like lanterns or torches from a distance was instead a pulsing green energy emanating from their chests. It shone through the small gaps in the thick bark that covered it like a rib cage.

Pan Tian drew a little closer to them and then stopped.

"Grove guardians..." Pan Tian whispered, "where do you think their grove is?"

"Their grove?" Jie asked.

"Wow... just how sheltered were you?" Pan Tian whispered, "well... nevermind. They'll be protecting a grove which means spiritual medicine of all kinds. The Essence in this swamp is thick, so there might be a lot depending on how old the grove is. It could be a tough fight though."

"They're not that strong," Jie said.

"Not for you, maybe, but there are a lot of them. Are you sure you can handle it? Grove guardians aren't just going to run or fight you with only a couple at a time like herds of vruthka. Once we start fighting one, every single grove guardian around is going to rush straight for us. Plus anything else that senses the energy fluctuations from our attacks," Pan Tian said.

"Oh... I see," Jie said.

She studied the grove guardians as she put Xue on one of the gnarled, twisted trees beside her. He scampered up and fixed himself to it with his claws. The guardians didn't look all that tough and should be easy to take out with her current cultivation. But she didn't have any good area of effect attacks and was worried about how her dragon lightning qi would react with the swamp water...

What if I accidentally electrocute one of my friends? She thought... no... it's still my qi. It won't react like normal lightning...

She considered the grove guardians for what seemed like a long time but was likely less than a few seconds.

"I'm not as experienced as you with this sort of thing... but I think I can do it," Jie said.

Pan Tian nodded. "I think we can as well. Oh, make sure to collect their hearts into your storage ring when you kill them. We don't want to spend time searching this swamp water collecting grove guardian hearts and they're way too valuable to leave behind," she said.

"Alright," Jie said, "so how do we do this?"

"We'll go in and slaughter them. Try to stay close enough to one another to help each other if things get tricky," Pan Tian said.

"Alright," Jie said.

They stalked through the water as Xue did the same in the treetops... moving ever closer to a group of three grove guardians as they were the closest. But they didn't get all that close before the grove guardians saw them. The firefly glow of their green eyes stared straight at them as their wooden arms twisted and reshaped into large, curved blades and lit up with shimmering green qi energy.

Pan Tian rushed forward and Jie followed, each of them pushing through the water at incredible speed and sending huge waves of the stagnant water rolling out and into the air. Jie sent out three finger of light attacks. The lightning strikes hit each of the grove guardians in the head, which exploded in a shower of green mucus. Small green plants, moss, and algae formed wherever the mucus landed as the grove guardians crumpled and the glow around their swords flickered and died.

Pan Tian caught one of the grove guardians before it fell into the water and ripped out its glowing green heart. Jie did the same to another and stored it in her storage ring as Ithilix got the third.

They pressed on deeper into the grove's territory as a groaning, creaking sound reverberated through the swamp like old branches coming to life. Jie felt fifty or more auras approaching them as the fog around them lit up with the fire-like glow of guardians.