Celestial Peak 299 Dark Woods

"Help me apply salve to his wounds. Don't aggravate him, he might be a powerhouse; we need to gain his favor." A husky voice was heard warning the people with him.

"What if he is an evil cultivator? Let us just go, we can't risk ourselves into helping such a person." the voice belonged to a young man.

"Do not be a coward! We need help, if we cannot secure the help of this person, then we are going to die. I cannot feel his qi, meaning he is an Immortal, we need to receive the favor of an Immortal if we want our tribe to live."

Having his body touched, w.a.n.g Ling showed signs of 'regaining' his consciousness. He grumbled and showed his vulnerability lowering the guard of the people around him.

"Reverend immortal, how are you feeling?" the man with the husky voice knelt with his head down adjacent to w.a.n.g Ling's left. He was wearing tight-fitting clothing made from leather of some sort.

The way he dressed was far from the people of Celestial Spirit Realm. The skin of the man was dark and his ears were long, "An elf?" he asked in a weakened voice.

Surprise, the man with the dark skin lowered his head to speak, "Ah, reverend immortal, you know of our sister race? I am Gabu, a member of the Dark Elf Race."

[Even their naming sense is different from the Celestial Spirit Realm. But what a relief, they also speak my language. I don't need to speak in Elven tongue then.]

It was new to him, but w.a.n.g Ling was seeing things differently from when he was in his realm. This is a different world from his, culture should be different, but from the way he was referred to as an Immortal, w.a.n.g Ling was pretty sure that cultivation level is the same.

Examining the salve, the ingredients used was rather familiar with him. Though there are signs of different plants being used, w.a.n.g Ling was silent in terms of the effectivity it showed. The salve was good for having numbing and curing the pain, it was quite good.

"Thank you for helping me. My name is w.a.n.g Ling, you can refer to me as brother w.a.n.g if you so wish to do so." he showed his appreciation by bowing his head.

"It is nothing, helping someone in need is but a natural thing to do, Brother Immortal." A blatant lie.

Though he had been lied to, w.a.n.g Ling didn't have the intention of exposing them just yet. He had to milk them everything of their knowledge in order for w.a.n.g Ling to choose the next move he will take.

"Where am I? I just ascend but I am not sure what world I entered. Can Brother Gabu inform me of my situation?"

"With pleasure, Brother Immortal. This is the Western Dark Woods, we of the Dark Elf Race resides in this woods for thousands of years. I wish to inform you more, but the night is drawing near; Spirit Beasts and Immortal Beasts roam the woods at night."

w.a.n.g Ling accepted the offer and with 'great difficulty' he followed them somewhere safe. w.a.n.g Ling asked a couple of things along the way and was informed that they were in the Lower Heaven of Heaven Realm.

[So this is the Lower Heaven Xue spoke of. Hmm, the qi is at least 10 times denser than Celestial Spirit Realm and the Middle Heaven has denser qi compared to here. Adding my previous lifespan and my newly gained lifespan, I have a total of 95 years. Far more insufficient than I imagined. I have to surpa.s.s Immortal Spirit Foundation in that timespan, can I do it? No, I have to do it!]

Having followed the elves for three hours the sun finally went down but as they had been walking for a long time the Elves and w.a.n.g Ling reached a tall non-identical to the trees scattered in the woods.

The tree was known as a Dark Poison Oak, a poisonous tree that is hated by the beasts in the surrounding area. Though it was called like that, the tree was not poisonous to humans or elves the slightest bit.

Atop the tree was a cleverly built tree lodgings designed to blend with the dark leaves of the tree. Upon entry, the elves made sure to activate a crystal that was in the middle of the room. It was a handy artifact known as an [Array Crystal].

It was a new thing for w.a.n.g Ling, and he just had to ask what it was in order for him what it was, but he had to keep that curiosity at bay for a little while longer for his priority was learning of the current situation.

A mini luminous pearl was lighted in order for them to have light and see one another.

"So, can you please tell me where I am?"

Gabu didn't dare dawdle and he went ahead with his explanation, "Like I have said earlier this woods is known as the Dark Woods, currently we are at the Western area of these Dark Woods. I and little Hiba is from the Central Dark Woods where our Elders and Clan reside. We saw someone coming down from the lower worlds on the Western area of the woods and we were sent by the Elders to see what kind of person they are. We ascertain that you are good so we helped you…"

From his words alone, w.a.n.g Ling was already doubtful of his intentions. If he was from the Central Regions of the Dark Woods then what is the use of going to the trouble of checking the Western area for the enemy with mere Celestials?

[If they knew that someone from the lower realms ascends to the higher world are Immortals, why would they send Celestials? It doesn't make sense, and frankly, it is stupid. Maybe Dark Elves are stupid? Or do they think I am stupid? No matter, I just need to learn where that other person who ascended and then leave.]

He showed a believing expression and then asked, "Is there anyone else who came here? Are there other Immortals who ascended to the Lower Heaven?"

A grave expression appeared, "There is, a day before you arrived, another Immortal appeared from out of nowhere, but when men of our tribe came to the place where that Immortal arrived on, there was no one present. Whoever it was, they already left without us knowing who it was."

w.a.n.g Ling listened to his words and then sighed. It seems like finding Bai Xue will not be that easy. But he needs to rendezvous with her, having another Immortal with him makes things easier than it should so w.a.n.g Ling was hoping to see her.

Shaking his head, w.a.n.g Ling asked another thing, "What is the strongest beast in this woods?"

"Huh? The strongest? That would be the Second Meridian Immortal Beast, the Nightshade Panther, why do you ask, reverend immortal?" he showed a bitter look for a moment. w.a.n.g Ling did not miss this look on his face.

"Nothing much. Brother Gabu, do you know of any way for me to spread my name?"

He was asking a lot of odd questions that made the head of Gabu hurt, but Gabu who was acting as the representative of the Dark Elves was knowledgeable enough to answer w.a.n.g Ling's inquiries, "East of the Woods is a major city known as [Cloudless City], just like the Dark Woods, the Cloudless City is a part of the [Azure Light State], two months from now on is the [Heavenly Dragon Selection] and those who win in that selection will become famous that will reach the ears of other states."

"From here, how long will an Immortal take to travel to Cloudless City?"

"At least it will take you a couple of months, three to four months. However, if you can pay for it, there is a Spatial Transportation Array in the city of [Fleeting Wing] three weeks' time from here. It is also east from here."

"Is that so, then that is enough. Thank you for your help. Now, answer me, what is it that do you need help? Unless you value your life, you will answer me honestly now." w.a.n.g Ling finally learned of everything he needs to know and directly asked Gabu what they would request of him is.

Gabu was astounded for a short while, but when he saw the eyes of w.a.n.g Ling, he was momentarily frozen but as he swallowed his saliva he kowtowed as he asked of w.a.n.g Ling, "I—I ask of this Immortal to help the chief and guardian of our tribe to slay the Nightshade Panther. The Nightshade Panther had achieved a breakthrough and is threatening the safety of our tribe. I know this is shameless of us, but only three Immortals can slay that kind of beast. Please, help us."

w.a.n.g Ling sighed at the sight of Gabu kowtowing towards him, but then, he remembered something, "Can Stellar Stones be used as the currency of this realm?"

Gabu shook his head.

w.a.n.g Ling sighed even deeper this time, "Alright, I will be leaving for a short while. You and that little kid stay here, tell me, where is the direction of your Tribe? And where is the direction of the Nightshade Panther?"

They pointed at two different locations and w.a.n.g Ling nodded his head, "That is the only thing I need to know, you two, stay here, I'll be heading over to your tribe."

Before the two Dark Elves can even appeal, w.a.n.g Ling already disappeared. The two dark elves dared not step out of the lodging as they feared for their lives. The only thing they could wish for is for the Immortal to truly head for their tribe.

But it made Gabu worry, after all, he was unsure if the Immortal was already healed or not. But looking at his movements, he should be fine.

The next day came and Gabu with his companions went back to their village with haste. And from afar, they could hear the loud cheers of the dark elves.

And as they entered their village, the head of the Nightshade Panther was already there.

"What the h.e.l.l?" He asked.

One of the villagers saw him and then cheerily called out to Gabu, "Gabu, you did it, the Immortal you hired came with the head of the Nightshade Panther!"

=====

"[Meteor Stones], huh. Well, will the amount they gave me I should have a problem with getting a ride to Cloudless City. And if I don't have enough, I can just sell this Immortal Beast Core."

w.a.n.g Ling smiled as he exited the Dark Woods.