The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 402 - 401 Infiltration

Chapter 402: Chapter 401 Infiltration

Using brute force to break into the depths of the Red Leaf Forest came with too great a cost, and the only option was to find another way. Xie Jiuniang strove to find a feasible method.

Thus, she used the Time Leaf consecutively.

For five consecutive days, the predicted outcomes were all failures.

But, she had made it through the periphery, only to be defeated in the depths.

There truly was a terrifying presence in the depths of the Red Leaf Forest; she didn’t even catch a glimpse of the opponent’s shadow before she perished.

The Defense Jade Token given by the Ancestor Nalan was useless. Once inside, one would inexplicably become sleepy, and in that drowsy state, mysteriously lose their life. It was indeed a great humiliation.

Coming out of the foresight once more, Xie Jiuniang’s lips had turned two shades paler, "It’s pitch-black in the depths of the Red Leaf Forest, where one can’t see their hand in front of their face, and it’s especially cold. Are you sure there’s Strange Fire in there?"

"There is. It is the Yin Ming Xuan Fire."

The Sun Flame didn’t want to give up.

In this world, Strange Fires are hard to come by. Having finally encountered one, when would he be able to recover if he missed it?

Xie Jiuniang spoke earnestly, "To be honest with you, with my abilities, I can only take you a little way into the Red Leaf Forest, just to the edge of the central area in the depths. I cannot take you any deeper."

This was the best scenario within her foresight; going any further would alarm that terrifying presence inside.

The Sun Flame fell silent for a moment, then nodded, "In order to conserve strength, I will not act unless absolutely necessary."

"Alright."

Xie Jiuniang agreed.

She set up a Locating Talisman inside the Law House, and the seventh-order Array Plate was not removed but continued to be left outside the Red Leaf Forest.

She had the Puppet enter the Red Leaf Forest to cut down two Giant Trees and drag them out of the Red Leaf Forest. The Puppet wasn’t a living creature and lacked vitality. Causing this small disturbance did not draw out the Nightmare.

Xie Jiuniang found out the reason from her foresight: the Red Leaf trees emitted a fragrance that could make people faint, colorless and tasteless. If someone affected by the poison gas was rescued in time, they would wake up within an hour or two. However, if they remained in a poisoned environment, they would never wake up and would eventually die in their sleep. But its fruits could counteract the poison.

It was a good thing.

Xie Jiuniang extracted the juice from a Red Leaf fruit and consumed it before going to cut the wood and start making a Mechanical Puppet.

It took her half a day, but she successfully created a Puppet Spider.

The abdomen of the Puppet Spider was hollow, enough to accommodate one person. On the outside of the Puppet, Xie Jiuniang dug up some mud, mixed it with a large amount of Red Leaves, and smeared it on the Puppet’s surface.

The best way to conceal one’s own scent was to blend in with the breath of the Red Leaf Forest. This was not just to avoid the Nightmare, but also to avoid attracting the attention of that presence deep in the Red Leaf Forest.

While she was busy, Little Fatty and Jian Lingyan unexpectedly started digging up the Red Leaf trees’ saplings, clearing out the nearby saplings in no time.

After finishing her tasks, Xie Jiuniang asked, "What are you digging up saplings for?"

Jian Lingyan replied, "The child said he wants to plant a patch in our storage area."

"Linlin, good," Little Fatty echoed.

"That’s a good idea," Xie Jiuniang mused thoughtfully, "Dig up some more, I might want to plant a patch someday and will come to you for the saplings."

Little Fatty nodded repeatedly.

After ensuring there were no issues with the Mechanical Puppet Spider, and cleaning up the scene, Xie Jiuniang opened the access hatch on the abdomen of the spider and climbed inside, not forgetting to bring Broken Sword and Little Fatty along.

The hatch closed.

She controlled the spider legs, smearing the access point with the wet mud mixed with Red Leaves, masking the last trace of scent.

No holes were left in the abdomen of the spider.

For a Golden Core Cultivator, shutting off the five senses for several days was not an issue.

Once Xie Jiuniang was certain there were no problems, she gave the command:

"Depart!"

The Puppet Spider moved its eight legs and quickly entered the Red Leaf Forest.

The Sun Flame marveled at the Human child’s ingenuity; he would have simply forced his way through, thinking she would have to pay some price, like losing some life-saving measures.

So simple...

If Xie Jiuniang knew what he was thinking, she would undoubtedly curse him out.

It looked simple to an outsider.

In reality, it was the result of her repeated use of foresight, spending many years in the river of time to find a reliable method.

Would anyone else like to try?

Xie Jiuniang manually controlled the Puppet Spider as it ventured deeper, not daring to use a shred of Divine Sense throughout the journey. The sensitivity of the Nightmare to Divine Sense was extremely high, and she couldn’t afford to take any chances.

As the spider moved, it inevitably made some noise.

The deeper it went, the more tense it became.

When it saw the footprints left by Wuhuan and the others, only a faint trace remained after several days, and the Puppet Spider quickly passed over them.

It continued further for several miles.

Still, there was no sight of the Nightmare fog.

This was a good sign.

So, in the deathly silence of the Red Leaf Forest, there was a Puppet Spider, covered in mud, shuttling through the trees.

It maneuvered around any obstacles it encountered.

The originally bright environment gradually darkened, the deeper it went, the less light there was, not because of the dark shade cast by the towering trees of the primeval forest, but rather the kind of darkness where one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

In the darkness, the Puppet Spider continued its journey for yet another day.

Finally, it stopped.

Xie Jiuniang transmitted a message to Grand Sun Golden Flame, "Senior, we have arrived."

Grand Sun Golden Flame responded, and Xie Jiuniang opened a small crack at the entrance. After Grand Sun Golden Flame left, she closed it again. Then, the Puppet Spider retracted its eight legs and lay down.

Its belly pressed against the soil, slightly sinking into the ground.

The slight essence that might have leaked when the entrance was opened was now perfectly sealed again.

At a glance, it looked like just a bump on the ground, almost blending in with the surroundings.

In the pitch-black environment, it became even less noticeable.

Grand Sun Golden Flame had departed at an extremely fast speed.

He disappeared in an instant, and Xie Jiuniang sensed from their contract that he had not gone far.

Trapped in the sealed space, she was unable to move for a while.

Xie Jiuniang then slipped into the Small Tortoise Shell.

There was no need to worry about leaking any essence here, and the previously silent duo of sword and child outside became lively.

"The sword has truly been suffocating," Jian Lingyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Little Fatty giggled, "Suffocating, suffocating."

"Your words sound like a curse, you know?"

"Suffocate, suffocate, sword."

"Nonsense, you’re the stunted one."

"...Eh?"

The sword and the child seemed to be talking past each other, making no sense whatsoever.

Xie Jiuniang wasn’t particularly interested in this and paid some attention to the situation outside before starting to ponder her own matters, thinking about how to enhance her strength. She remembered the Sword technique that Jian Lingyan had found for her before.

Grand Sun Golden Flame had once called the dog-like thing the Heaven-Cleaving Sword.

The Sword technique the dog-like creature had found for her was also called Zhantian.

The connection between the two was still unknown.

She retrieved it from her mind and skimmed through it once.

However, she could only see the first move for now.

A very simple move, merely the action of raising one’s hand to draw a sword. It wasn’t just similar to the Sword Drawing Technique; it was exactly the same.

The only difference was that it was accompanied by a set of unique mental incantations, meant to be used specifically with the first move. If the first move of drawing the sword was form, the unique mental incantation was the soul.

Without the mental incantation, the move was ordinary.

With the mental incantation, the sword strike was earth-shattering.

True to its domineering name.

Heaven-Cleaving Sword, cleaving the heavens!

Xie Jiuniang’s heart was incredibly stirred, but then she caught sight of Broken Sword playing foolishly with Little Fatty, and in that instant, all excitement disappeared.

What was this domineering cleaving of the heavens?

Don’t be ridiculous, there was no such temperament...