Chapter 6: Stroll Through the Forest

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What were Martial Arts?

They were spectacular and breathtaking, quite magical. At least from Kyu Cao's perspective, they were grand displays of mighty power and flashy lights, quite exciting and enjoyable, and if any expert heard this he surely would be beaten furless.

Kyu Cao had to say, this Seven Deep Hells Frozen Record Cultivation Method was quite generous.

Not only there was the mysterious anecdote and the circulation method inside. There were also a few martial arts written down.

Their actual grade was not mentioned, but after reading through them, he had grown some expectations.

However, not everything was free.

As he read, Kyu Cao also discovered that there was a seal placed inside the record jade.

Apart from the mysterious anecdote, the first stage of the Frozen Record Method, and three complete martial arts, everything else seemed to be sealed off.

When he inspected the seal, he got the feeling that the seal was not complicated at all. It seemed that only his Qi was too weak to break it. That should mean, that as long as his strength reached a certain point, he would be able to break the seal and peruse deeper.

Since it was like this, after that first try he didn't bother with it again.

The warm feeling disappeared from Kyu Cao's body and his muscles recovered from their relaxed state.

Inspecting his body, he felt that his capabilities had directly doubled, which astonished Kyu Cao.

While his strength had increased after properly cultivating, and then some more as he raised the purity of his Qi, the improvement was more gradual, and not as explosive.

He couldn't help but marvel again at the benefits of Cultivation.

Dusting his robes, Kyu Cao stood up and came out from below the rock.

After strolling through the state, coming here, and then his full hour of cultivation, the time should be around half into the fifth hour.

Kyu Cao was already satisfied with his cultivation progress today and he wanted to stabilize his level before attempting to practice a martial art, so maybe he could have a meal before doing anything else.

But then again, he was in the Backdoor's Forest for the first time, and he had some free time on his paws. Maybe he should look around for a little bit.

Before, he probably wouldn't have considered it... Or maybe he would. Just not as boldly.

Experiencing the leap in his strength, Kyu Cao felt more confident in his ability to escape. This was, after all, called the safe area for a reason.

Unless he was too unlucky, or got too close to the border with the first ring, he shouldn't encounter great danger.

Deciding it was a reasonable option he took a look around, then took off in a random direction.

Besides the woods which surrounded the Bloodstripe State at the plateau, it was actually Kyu Cao's first time entering one of the forests on Tiger Back Mountain. Even the road to the city didn't traverse the various forested areas of the mountain, instead following the roads on the faces of the cliffs.

The feeling it gave was quite different.

The Bloodstripe State area was regularly maintained. Unruly weeds were cut, and thriving trees were trimmed, paths had been carved by the march of soldiers.

But here, it simply followed the order of nature, wild and untamed, without a trace of theriope's intervention.

Trees shot up to the sky with trunks that only three of him could completely encircle, and the earth was amuck with rocks, crags, bushes, it was completely uneven and two places did not look the same.

Kyu Cao eyes were constantly twinkling with a mix of academic curiosity and childish excitement. His tail merrily waved behind him.

"That..." After some time, he saw something behind the foliage ahead and strode over.

Shortly after, he found himself at the foot of a wall of stone which rose even above the trees.

Compared to the face of Tiger Back Mountain it was not tall at all. But still, it wasn't something he could hope to climb. Looking at both sides, its ends couldn't be seen with the eye.

Kyu Cao stared up curiously.

What was a cliff doing in the middle of the forest?

"Is the forest actually divided in levels?" He mused to himself. According to his estimations, he should be halfway into the outer area, still far from the first ring where martial beasts began to appear.

After thinking a bit, he turned around and walked toward a tree. Kyu Cao took out his outer robe and carefully placed it over the tree's roots. Then he charged to the trunk and began to climb up.

Cat theriopes were known to possess a natural nimbleness which surpassed any of the other races, with only dragons being comparable. Kyu Cao hadn't wanted to waste this natural gift, and thus had learned some abilities that he thought might come in handy, tree climbing being one of them. It was also enjoyable.

He climbed carefully but skillfully, going as far as the tree branches could withstand his weight. Then he looked up to the cliff face.

Even from there, the top was still four or five more times higher than the tree. It also extended to the sides indefinitely.

Could the Backdoor's Forest actually be on a plateau? What about further in?

"Right, this is the top of a mountain, it makes sense to have higher grounds. It was only me who thought it would be completely even." For the safe area to be already like this, it seemed the Backdoor's Forest was not as simple as he thought it. "Maybe this is actually the reason this part has become a safe area," he mused to himself.

It was exactly as Kyu Cao reasoned. The outer area of the Backdoor's Forest was actually on a lower level than the rest of the forest. While other elevations existed in other parts, the one at the outer area surpassed them all by a good length.

There weren't many martial beasts that could climb up and down this cliff freely. Thus, any martial beast that fell would generally not live long.

This was because such beasts were the weakest that had been pushed out from the inner parts, and these made for extremely easy targets for the young Cultivators who came to train.

Kyu Cao stared at the cliff's face, wondering how could it be beyond there. It was then that a flick of light flashed at the edge of his vision.

The face of the cliff was a grayish brown, really dull, so when this flick of light appeared it was easily noticeable. Especially because this light shone with a rainbow color, extremely gaudy.

Kyu Cao's attention naturally moved to this point of the cliff, where after some observation he could make out the signs of a small crevice on the rock.

The light didn't appear again, however, no matter how he shifted his head to change the angle. He did this because Kyu Cao's first thought was that it must have been something reflective which had caused the flick of light. But such endeavor resulted fruitless.

It was only straining his eyes to the utmost that he faintly discerned what seemed to be a small tree-like plant growing inside the crag.

"A herb... !!!" Kyu Cao eyes grew wide after these words came out of his maw.

That light, it could have come from that herb.

As a Personage Apothecary, how could he not know of this phenomenon?

It most likely could be, a spirit herb!

This idea rotted itself on his mind once it sprouted, and grew to become a certainty.

Spirit herbs, they were martial treasures from Heaven and Earth, extremely precious to Cultivators.

Spiritual herbs could become nourishment for one's cultivation and body, making one's stronger, maybe even cutting off months of training. They could also have miraculously effects, or queer results, of course there were poisonous herbs too.

All this were things he'd heard from Old Che.

Actually, Kyu Cao had never seen a spirit herb.

Even Old Che, the Grandmaster Apothecary of the Bloodstripe State, had come in contact with spirit herbs only a pawful of times. After all, to let a common Apothecary prepare medicine with a spirit herb, that was simply a waste.

At the state, spirit herbs were actually managed by the Treasury Vault. This verified how precious spirit herbs were.

Coming down from the tree, Kyu Cao stood directly below where the crevice should be.

From this angle, it was impossible to tell that there was something there. Not only it was far from the ground, there was nothing peculiar about that part of the rock, and even the tree's branches hindered the sight.

If his estimations were not wrong, the distance was equivalent to three times the height of the tree he climbed before. Not terribly high, but not easy either.

But with a real spirit herb so close, Kyu Cao believed he should give it a go. His paws were practically itching to play with it.

He memorized the layout of this place, so that he wouldn't miss it once he returned. Then he strode the way back.

The three guards stood in position at the entrance to the Backdoor Forest. They hadn't moved much since the start of the day.

Their expressions were taut as they focused on their duty, and their glares pierced like swords on whoever they fell. Nevertheless, traces of uneasiness could be faintly discerned. This was especially true for the dark furred dog guard.

The reason for their worries, it couldn't be other than the Third Young Master.

More than an hour had passed, yet he hadn't come back.

The weak and feeble third young master had entered the forest against their warnings. Even if it would be impossible for him to pass over the huge cliff toward the inner regions, no matter how much of a safe area was the outer ring described, danger still existed. And any of these dangers would be enough to take the young master's life.

Seriously, what is the weak third young master doing coming here to play, does he think this is a picnic area? It was what they were thinking a little exasperated, but it was mostly anger born from worry and concern.

But they could do nothing. Rules stated that anyone willing was allowed to enter, meanwhile they had to stay outside.

Once inside the forest, life or death was on the paws of these youths.

But this was the Third Young Master, even if his position was somewhat special.

The dog guard was contemplating if he should make an early report, when his ear swiveled because of a sound. The other two also heard it.

Turning their heads, they stared toward the forest. It wasn't long before a figure appeared, average in height and dressed in light blue robes. It was the Third Young Master.

Seeing him, the guards quickly scrutinized the cat's body. Nothing looked out of place, not even a tear on his clothes, only a few reasonable smudges of dirt. It seemed he was all right.

The three of them heaved a silent sigh of relief.

As the young cat came closer, they steeled their expressions, not allowing their previous thoughts to be glanced at all.

The young master finally exited the forest, and without sparing a single glance he walked forward, toward the path which led down the mountain. Then, he disappeared from sight.

The three didn't pay attention to the cat's behavior, and were simply relieved that he'd left in one piece.

At least, that was until the cat came back, close to an hour later.

He simply marched forward, and under the baffled eyes of the three strode into the forest again.

They only stared this time, too perplexed to even try to stop him.

Third Young Master, what are you playing at? Is what they wanted to ask.

Back under the cliff again, Kyu Cao held some rope and iron stakes on his paws. He'd thought over which would be the better method to climb up, and had decided for the most direct one.

He held the hammer above his head, and then swung it down toward the stake, the force nailing it to the face of rock. Surprisingly, the stake went more than halfway inside, amazing Kyu Cao.

He looked at the half embedded stake, and then at his paw. Such strength, was this the full result of his cultivation?

As he considered this, a loud laughter that echoed against the woods made its way to his ears.

People? Right here and now?