I Refused To Be Reincarnated
Chapter 601: Beyond the Emerald Canopy

Chapter 601: Beyond the Emerald Canopy

Space hummed in Adam’s ears as the vortex swallowed him. He watched the other inner disciples screech as they fell through a dark tunnel, noting how it pierced through reality.

"Are we going to another dimension?" He chuckled, the tone half joking. Yet, he found it made sense. After all, blessed lands seemed to be separate, miniaturised worlds from what he had understood.

Misha tilted her head, the descent making her golden hair flutter upwards. "It might be a pocket dimension, but it doesn’t matter now." She pointed at the bright light coming from the tunnel’s exit. "We can’t act if we’re with others. Ready to run?"

"Always." An amused chuckled escaped his lips as the blinding light forced him to close his eyes.

The moment they passed through, a sensation of displacement overwhelmed him. And when he recovered his vision, he stood in a somber cave, the distrustful voices of a few disciples piercing the silence.

"Let’s go, Misha," he whispered, taking his first step before his eyes widened and his hand tightened where Misha’s should have been.

A mix of anger, disbelief, and worry washed over his mind as he gazed back, only the damp, empty gave meeting his eyes. He hadn’t felt anything, yet she was gone just like that?

He took a deep breath to calm the rising wave of emotions about to collapse in his mind.

She was powerful and was better at hiding than him, so she should be safe. Instead, the most important thing was to discover if their separation was an isolated accident or if it happened to the others, too. Then, find a way to regroup before anything happened to her, even if chances were low.

’I trust you, sister.’

With a resolute nod, the wind whipped his hair as he rushed out of the cave and gazed at the four disciples. Each wore a robe from a different sect and held their blades, spears, and steel gauntlet before them.

He noticed the distrust in their eyes, understanding that the blessed land separated them into groups of five. Was it a coincidence that each member came from a different sect? He didn’t know.

’At worst, she’ll fight her way out.’ His face darkened. ’I hope she’s not surrounded by core disciples, though.’

He slithered against the wall, leaving the four men and women in their glaring contest.

After feeling far enough, he studied the mountain he had landed in.

Its peak disappeared through the clouds, making it look like a gray wall or perhaps the blessed land’s limits.

Before him, towering trees rose to form a lush canopy extending as far as his eyes could see. A fresh scent mixing sweet and sour struck his nostrils, making him wonder if he’d find rare fruits.

’There must be a lake or a river, too, but I can’t waste too much exploring.’ He entered the forest’s shade, tendrils of sky-blue mana and grey Qi swirling from his eyes as a smirk split his face. ’Collect a lot of resources, friends. I’ll collect taxes later.’

With a snap of his finger, the Qi emerged from his body and exploded into smokey threads. Like a puppeteer, he controlled them to slip into the nearby disciples’ clothes, while his mana marked their locations in his mind.

’Twenty landed, fifteen destroyed. So, at least three core disciples are around.’ He clicked his tongue and rushed deeper into the forest, worried they noticed the mana despite the distance. ’That’s still twenty free laborers.’

However, twigs cracked and leaves rustled behind a tree.

He stopped, his fist tightening, before a feral roar reverberated.

WOOSH

Frowning, he leaned back, watching golden fur glint and saber-like fangs rip the air over his body. Thick muscular limbs followed, each as tall as him and crowned with razor-sharp claws.

’Sixth tier.’ He analysed in a heartbeat as his back lunged like a spring, his fist whistling behind.

CRACK

The creature’s torso shattered upon impact as it wailed and vomited thick, dark blood.

Before the uppercut propelled it up, he gripped its neck with his other hand and squeezed, the neck caving in with a crushing noise and the beast breathing its last in horror.

In the same movement, he shoved the carcass inside his spatial ring, dusted his hands and resumed his charge as if nothing had happened.

A moment later, he leapt up and grabbed a crimson fruit releasing a potent acidic scent.

’Is everything in this forest of the sixth tier?’ There were so many pills, potions, and weapons he could craft with such an abundance of materials that his eyes sparkled. He even had to remind himself several times to let the free laborer squad collect them for him and continue to the blessed land core area.

A a dozen more beasts mistook him for food along the way, a mistake that made them join the first one in his spatial ring before he crossed the last tree three hours later with a grumble.

"How big is this forest? Took me so long in a straight line. And what’s wrong with all those beasts?"

Before he could continue venting, his eyes narrowed, and his robes flapped as he hurled a punch to the right.

CLANG

His fist collided with a spiked metal gauntlet. His knuckles split open, blood dripping before his almost unbreakable bones absorbed the rest of the shock and his tendons scattered it as he observed the attacker—a young man around twenty wearing the Vajra Monastery’s golden robes.

"A kid?" The man’s eyes widened as he did the same.

"Tsk, I held back for nothing." Adam rolled his eyes, his desire to see Misha’s playful smile evaporating. "You can’t complain since you’re the one who tried to kill me."

As confusion gained the man, a horrifying pressure crashed against his gauntlet. It cracked, metal splintering everywhere before the tremor spread to his hand, then his arm.

"W-What?" He tried to push back, his Qi rumbling to his meridians, but horror gripped his heart as the kid’s blow didn’t slow in the slightest.

"Argh!"

His bones shattered and pierced his flesh like spears. How was an eight-year-old kid stronger than him? The question pierced through his agony before a loud ’BAM’ echoed, and his head exploded like a watermelon.

"Core formation realm trash." Adam bent to retrieve the man’s spatial ring before he scratched his head and chuckled. "I’m still in the third tier, though."

Though he could have become an arcanist at a minimum this year, he refrained. After all, mages left much cleaner traces, and the risk wasn’t worth the few stat points he would have gotten.

But there was another reason: he wanted to alter Kwame’s technique a little before pushing through the limits of magic.

"Hopefully, I’ll get Tianlong’s sun-grade cultivation technique after this and increase my cultivator’s tier at last."

He sighed, ignoring the headless corpse and putting those thoughts aside to study the new scenery.

Fields filled with rare medicinal herbs swayed with the tempered breeze, suffusing it with their scents.

A few kilometers behind, small mountains connected by wooden bridges painted in red rose to create a beautiful vista.

Several whistles drew his gaze to the sky, where he noticed his sect’s core disciples cut through the wind on their blades in their directions. No... Their angle was too high.

His eyes trailed up before his breath hitched in his throat, and his eyes widened at the surreal scenery.

"What’s that?!"