Leon didn’t return back home immediately. Instead, he wandered inside the forest searching for some animals to hunt.

But all he came across were some ordinary beasts with no cultivation at all. Even the mortal realm beasts, which were plentiful in the inner forest, were nowhere to be found.

"Strange, why does it feel so quiet all around?" Leon mumbled to himself as he sat atop the branch of a tall tree.

He had already spotted signs of beast presence in several places, but not even one had been seen so far.

Just then, a loud trumpet echoed through the forest. When Leon looked toward the source of the noise, he saw a white elephant at the fifth heaven of the iron realm walking toward the north.

The elephant was double the size of a normal elephant, and its body was covered in white fur like a woolly mammoth.

Leon squinted his eyes. These white elephants were naturally mild tempered and were usually found in groups. Finding one alone like this was quite rare. And for some reason, Leon felt as though the white elephant was behaving like a puppet.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to follow the beast. Given their peaceful nature, the chances of them attacking humans were quite rare. And even if it attacked, he was sure he could safely escape since this place was covered in ancient trees, which would make it difficult for the huge beast to chase after him.

Like a monkey, Leon jumped from tree to tree, without making much sound as he followed the beast from a distance. After some time, a nauseating stench of blood assaulted Leon’s nose, and he felt the atmosphere turning gloomier the more he advanced.

About ten minutes later, the white elephant reached a large clearing where several beast carcasses were scattered everywhere. At the center of the clearing stood a dried up tree with more than a hundred blood red fruits on its branches.

Boom. Boom.

When the white elephant stepped into the clearing, several root tentacles burst open from the ground and pierced the beast’s body. But the elephant stood there motionless without any sign of struggle.

In less than five minutes, a massive beast at the fifth heaven of the mortal realm turned into a shriveled carcass and fell to the ground.

At the same time, the blood red fruits on the dried up tree glinted with a red hue as though they were absorbing the life essence of the white elephant.

......

"Hey."

Just as Leon was observing the dried up tree with a thoughtful expression on his face, he felt his body going out of control. The spear qi inside his body suddenly flared up, and the word ’pierce’ appeared in his mind, clearing his thoughts and turning his mind like a cold spear.

At the same time, the strange energy controlling him was pierced through with the brute force of his mind. Instinctively, Leon drew his red saber and placed it across the neck of the human who had appeared on the tree top beside him.

The young lady in the white ninja battle suit looked at Leon with surprise. She never expected this young man to actually break the influence of her spirit qi so easily, and with the brute force of spear qi no less.

"I don’t think that’s a good way to make your presence known, miss," Leon said calmly as he returned his saber back to the scabbard at his waist.

The young lady blinked her eyes and asked in her sweet voice, "Why did you lower your weapon? Are you not afraid I will take this chance to attack you?"

Leon sat back on the tree branch and shook his head. "I can’t sense your cultivation. You might be much stronger than me, and given how calm you are, I don’t think you are afraid of my blade."

The young lady chuckled lightly and sat beside Leon. "That’s a hundred beast blood tree demon. Those red fruits on its branch are beneficial for body cultivators like us, but I would advise you to stay away from it."

Leon nodded without any hesitation. "Okay. Sorry to disturb you."

Seeing the young man ready to run away, the young lady frowned and pressed her jade like hand on Leon’s shoulder, making him sit back down.

Sensing the mighty force coming from the young lady’s small hands, Leon frowned, but he did not try to resist and sat back down.

"That tree demon is at the top of the copper realm. The only reason you are still alive even after entering its sensing range is because I am helping you hide your presence from it. If you try to rashly leave, your fate will be the same as that white elephant. Furthermore, there are three more strong cultivators at the copper realm hidden around us, and this entire area is covered in a copper tier formation set up by them. You can’t leave," the young lady explained as she pointed at a direction to the left of the demon tree.

Leon looked to where she was pointing and saw three old men with white beards standing with indifferent expressions on their faces as they fixed their eyes on the tree demon.

Leon’s expression changed. He suddenly had a feeling that he had kicked an iron plate out of curiosity this time. Silas had even warned him to be careful just some time ago, but still he had walked into this pit just because he was curious to see where that white elephant was going.

After a moment of silence, Leon asked in confusion, "I was able to walk in, so why can’t I walk out?"

The young lady sighed. "This formation was set up to attract demon beasts to this place by hypnotizing them and making them food for the hundred beast blood tree demon. So every beast that walks in can only become food for the demon tree. The formation won’t let the prey escape even if it regained consciousness after entering the formation."

She then looked at Leon apologetically. "Initially I thought your mind was also controlled by them, that’s why I tried to use my spirit qi to wake you up. But it turned out you have a technique to guard against spirit qi spells."

After understanding the situation, Leon bowed his head toward the young lady gratefully. "Thank you." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The young lady just shrugged and continued, "By the way, my name is Seraphine Emberfall. You can call me Sera."

Seeing that the other party had no malicious intentions, Leon also introduced himself. "Leon Everheart. Just call me Leo."

Sera nodded and asked curiously, "So Leo, you are just at the mortal realm, right? Why did you enter Asura Forest without a protector? Even though Grand Marshal has restricted the entry of people above silver rank into the Asura Forest, it is still dangerous for you, considering your low cultivation."

Leon looked at the young girl blankly. "I live in a small forest village at the outskirts of the Asura Forest, and I am just a poor hunter. I have no idea what you are trying to say."

Sera looked at Leon with a deep frown on her face. His face was handsome beyond any man she had ever seen in her life. It was not the type of charm found in scholarly boys, but the real charm of a strong man.

Sharp jawline, sword like eyebrows, lush hair, and a perfect not overly bulky or lean muscular body covered in battle scars which made him look like a perfect delicacy for any young woman.

Even for her who had always been indifferent to the opposite sex, sitting beside this shirtless man who was dressed like a hunter made her little heart beat a few paces faster for some reason. And last time when she saw him, this guy was using a sword technique at least at the nine star level, and yet he claimed to be just a normal hunter?

Sera shook her head firmly. "You are definitely not from this 36th stronghold."

Leon looked at her in confusion. "Why can’t I be?"

"You are too handsome to be from the 36th stronghold," Sera blurted out without thinking. When she realized what she had said, her face turned red like a tomato.

But since she was wearing a ninja type battle armor which revealed only her eyes, Leon did not see her embarrassed face. He touched his chin thoughtfully and muttered to himself, "My features are indeed different from the people of the 36th stronghold. It is easy to say I am not a native from my looks alone."

He then turned to the young lady and said seriously, "My mother was the daughter of a merchant who came to the 36th stronghold for trade, and my father was from here. They fell in love at first sight and got married against the opposition of my grandfather. Maybe I have inherited more of my mother’s genes, that’s why I look different from other natives."

Sera squinted her beautiful eyes in suspicion. "Is that so?"

Leon nodded without any hesitation. "Sadly, father and mother passed away in a beast attack, and now I am all alone."

Seeing the genuine sadness on Leon’s face, the young lady hurriedly apologized. "Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you."

Leon waved his hand as he wiped the non existent tears from the corner of his eyes. "Never mind. It has been four years, and I am used to it by now."

Just then, the galloping of horses was heard, and more than a hundred black wild horses rushed to the clearing, presenting themselves as a feast to the demon tree. In a few seconds, the red flicker of the fruits on the dried tree demon intensified as though they had turned into heated metal balls.

The three old fellows at some distance also showed excitement on their faces as they fixed their eyes on the fruits like perverts looking at a group of naked ladies.

"Here, this is a shielding formation plate. Just place it near your chest and pour some qi inside if the fight reaches here. Though it won’t be necessary as I will try to finish it real quick," Sera said as she threw a round disk like formation plate covered in runes to Leon.

After that, with a whoosh, she bolted toward the three old men like a bullet leaving the barrel.

"Is that an elemental spell?" Leon mumbled to himself as he felt the fluctuations of wind qi around the young lady.