Only I Cultivate
Chapter 57: Paving The Way

Chapter 57: Paving The Way

Luo Li, being the strongest in the team, took the lead through the forest. Feng Fan and Lai Niu stayed in the middle, while Wu Yunru covered the rear.

The reasoning was simple—Wu Yunru’s ability ensured that he wouldn’t get caught off guard by a surprise attack.

"Damn it, you guys always give me the worst position," Wu Yunru complained, his face darkening.

Lai Niu and Luo Li didn’t even bother to respond, but Feng Fan glanced back with a smirk. "How can you call it the worst position? With your luck, that should be the best one."

Wu Yunru rolled his eyes but kept quiet. They had barely walked a few minutes when Luo Li suddenly stopped, her gaze sharp and alert.

"What’s wrong, Luo Li?" Lai Niu asked, confused by the sudden halt. She couldn’t sense any immediate threat.

"We’ve already passed by that cave," Luo Li pointed out, indicating a cave mostly hidden by thick tree roots. If one wasn’t paying close attention, it would be easy to miss. "Something is making us walk in circles."

Their expressions grew serious at her words.

"It seems we’ve already fallen into a trap," Feng Fan said with a helpless sigh. All his abilities were geared toward offense; he had no way to counter illusions.

"Don’t worry. If we’re really caught in an illusion, I might have a way out. Cover me," Lai Niu said, closing her eyes.

Feng Fan sensed a powerful surge of spiritual energy circulating through her body. Though she wasn’t as strong as Luo Li, she wasn’t too far behind either.

’Lai Niu should be a D-rank Hunter, on the verge of breaking through to C-rank,’ Feng Fan thought.

Suddenly, Lai Niu’s eyes shot open, and a powerful wave of spiritual energy burst from her body, spreading in all directions. "Follow me!" she ordered, dashing straight toward a massive tree.

To everyone’s surprise, instead of colliding with the trunk, she passed through it as if it didn’t exist.

Luo Li didn’t hesitate and followed right behind her. Feng Fan and Wu Yunru exchanged a quick glance before dashing after them.

Right after passing through the tree, the path reappeared before them, but something clearly didn’t want them to proceed. The tree branches suddenly came to life, whipping toward them with vicious force.

Feng Fan, being the third to arrive, was caught off guard by the sudden assault. He barely had time to duck and roll on the ground to avoid the strike. Unfortunately, his stance and timing weren’t ideal, and his face smacked into the muddy earth, leaving a streak of dirt across his cheek.

A vein throbbed on his forehead as he glared at the offending tree. "Bastard!"

Chains ignited with dark flames appeared around his fists as he lunged forward, fury fueling his movements. With a single powerful punch, he snapped the tree in half, sending splinters flying. Before the trunk could even hit the ground, a horrifying scream echoed from within the shattered wood.

"The ghosts have entered and are controlling the trees!" Luo Li shouted, her fists and legs moving in a blur as she evaded and countered the branches lashing out at her.

She moved like a tempest, her movements strong and precise, every strike destroying a branch that dared to attack her. Meanwhile, Lai Niu summoned her spiritual energy, manipulating the wind around her to unleash deadly wind blades that tore through branches and trunks with ruthless efficiency.

Despite destroying a tree every second, the possessed trees seemed endless. Every time one fell, another took its place, crawling forward on its roots like monstrous puppets.

"Don’t these things ever end? Where the heck are they coming from?" Wu Yunru grumbled, his expression clearly worried.

Though the trees weren’t individually powerful, each encounter drained precious spiritual energy that couldn’t be easily replenished. Even Feng Fan, who continuously forced the ghosts within his inner palace to draw spiritual energy from the other side, knew his stamina wouldn’t last forever.

"I’ll open a path! Follow me!" Lai Niu shouted, her voice resolute and commanding. Taking the lead once again, she unleashed a barrage of wind blades, shredding branches and clearing the way.

"Hurry!" she urged. Her petite figure darted forward without looking back.

The others seized the opportunity and followed closely behind. The possessed trees tried to give chase, but their movements were sluggish, and their branches, designed more for entanglement than pursuit, couldn’t keep up.

Within moments, they managed to leave the possessed trees behind, but no one dared to slow down. The forest was vast, and they knew better than to assume they were safe. After all, in a place like this, trees were anything but scarce.

As they pressed forward, a powerful force seemed to push against them, trying to shove them back. Something clearly didn’t want them to proceed down this path.

"We’re getting close," Feng Fan said, and as if on cue, the path began to widen. At the end, a weathered sign reading Red River Village Graveyard came into view.

But before they could reach the graveyard, a group of massive brown and black bears emerged from behind the trees, blocking their way.

The bears’ eyes glowed red, a clear indication that they were no longer in their natural state.

"Be careful," Luo Li warned, her gaze sharp. "These are far stronger than the villagers and the trees."

Feng Fan didn’t need her warning. He could feel the heavy, ghostly spiritual energy radiating from the bears. The weakest among them was a Lingering Spirit, while the most powerful was a Fierce Ghost.

None of them could match Luo Li in a one-on-one fight, but if they worked together, they would overwhelm her with sheer numbers.

Two massive black bears lunged toward Luo Li, but she was ready. She raised one hand, forming a shimmering barrier that stopped both bears dead in their tracks. She coated her other hand in spiritual energy and drove it forward, targeting a bear’s head.

While Luo Li was occupied with the two bears, eight more charged through her defenses. One of them, a spirit of one realm higher than Feng Fan, barreled straight toward him, its jaws wide open to swallow him whole in a single bite.