The next morning the clouds had cleared up, and the sun was finally shining down, making the day much warmer than before. Kana and Liu Na stood at the edge of the forest in their new gear, staring off into the dark under eaves of the treetops. "Are you ready?" Kana asked. She already had her sword unsheathed and was ready for combat.
"Mm… We should get some practice in and see if we can find anything that will help us grow stronger." Liu Na was ready this time. She would no longer underestimate this place.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWith Liu Na's affirmation, the two entered the forest once again. Kana could already feel eyes on her, but they were deeper in the forest and not coming towards them. Just knowing they were safe for the time being made Kana breathe a sigh of relief. Since they knew they were still too weak, the two walked the outer rim of the forest, which had the least amount of demonic beasts. After an hour, Kana smelled something sweet in the air. "Nana this way!"
Grabbing Liu Na's hand, she rushed off in the direction of the smell. The two came to a stop in a dense bush that was on the outer edge of a small clearing. Kana peeled back the leaves silently and peeked through them. What she saw was a large monkey about the same size as her holding a strange container drinking out of it.
"That's a wine monkey! They are known for creating a special wine that is amazing for body fortification to qi condensation cultivators. Wine monkeys are willing to die trying to get the spiritual herbs for their brew. But it is a rare find since it takes thousands of years and thousands of spiritual herbs for a single batch. But one sip is said to completely transform a cultivator's poor physique into that of a heavens chosen. It will even widen our meridians, allowing for spiritual qi to pass through more smoothly and at a greater amount. Just getting a few drops of this wine will cause an uproar in the cultivation world." Liu Na whispered into Kana's ear. She used a voice so low she had to put her mouth right next to Kana's ear, tickling it. "The broken tree there must be its den since they are known for using hollowed out trees as their homes."'
But her words made Kana lip her lips. "Since it is so good, we must help ourselves, no?"
"How should we do it?" Li Na asked. Being able to get their hands on this wine will be a great boon for the both of them, so Liu Na was all up for stealing some.
"Do wine monkeys hang around in a pack?" Kana asked.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Normally, it would be three or four… They are much stronger than other demonic beasts of rank one due to them having a higher intelligence. They are born with higher intelligence, to begin with even before they reach rank one." Liu Na explained.
"I see… Then let's do this. " Kana whispered into Liu Na's ear. As Kana explained, Liu Na's eyes went wide. When Kana finished, she quickly shook her head. "No! It's too dangerous!"
"We have no other choice, and my dragon form is quick. Don't worry. I won't die. I will enter the den and draw them out. You go in, take everything you can, including the herbs and head back to the cave. The array should protect you. I will meet back up with you as soon as I get away from the wine monkeys. From what I have learned about cultivation, one must be willing to experience dangers in order to become stronger. We did not come into this mystic realm to play. We came to train ourselves and try to have fortuitous encounters. If we give up our first one, what is the point in us being here?" Kana was not going to give up this chance. If they could strengthen their bodies, it would be very beneficial to them.
Liu Na still wanted to say something, but before she could, Kana had already transformed and ran out of the bush directly towards the broken tree trunk. Liu Na gritted her teeth and clenched her fist as she prepared herself to move. Minutes later, a loud roar could be heard coming from within the broken tree trunk, and then a small figure flying out. "Four altogether!"
Seconds later, three monkeys jumped out of the broken tree trunk, giving chase. The other monkey who was sitting outside enjoying its wine felt something jump on its head and then run away. It yelled out in anger and went to take a sip of wine, but the wine cup it had in its hand was gone! It was so angry it roared out in rage and gave chase as well. This was a perfect example of luring a lion from its cave. All four monkeys gave chase as Kana ran into the tree line leaving the area with the broken tree trunk clear of any wine monkeys!
As soon as the last wine monkey jumped past the tree line, Liu Na made her move and ran over to the broken tree trunk and jumped inside. The inside was a muddy slope that slid down into the ground where a small hidden cave dug out from the dirt could be found. Liu Na's eyes opened wide in shock when she saw the barrels of monkey wine and piles of herbs just lying around. Some of the herbs were very rare! She wasted no time getting to work and storing it all into her space pouch before quickly making a retreat.
As soon as she was back above ground she ran back into the tree line and did not stop. She decided she would not stop until she reached their cave. Only then would she feel safe. She just hoped Kana was going to be okay. Wine Monkeys were very smart and knew how to defeat stronger foes with their numbers. Not to mention their speed was also extremely fast and was one of the reasons why they were able to rest easily in the outer rim of the forest as no demonic beasts would try to fight with them even if they had monkey wine brewed.