In a remote corner of the Red Way Forest, near the end of the forest, around sunset, a well-armed and well-protected caravan with many carriages, many horses, and many soldiers, with a guide to show them the way, was moving along the road to their destination, a town.
RUSTLING!
Suddenly, a sound came from the bushes at the side of the road and a young man in his mid-twenties drew his sharp sword and swung in that direction. He hadn't even noticed what was there. This was his first serious mission and he wanted to do well and win the favor of the commander. He was very nervous and the slightest mistake could affect his future very badly. And his life, considering he was in the Red Way Forest.
CLINC...!!!
PAT!
But at that moment, the sword he was swinging was struck by another sword that was even stronger than his own. He was knocked off his feet and crashed hard into the cart behind him.
"Hey! What's going on out there?!"
"Is there an attack?!"
"Impossible, they even said there were some Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators among the guards."
Of course, the sound of loudmouthed people came from the other carriages, and soldiers who were stronger than the youths, the cultivators, began to gather in that area. 15 people gathered in that area. They hadn't concentrated all of their forces there, so as not to be attacked from the tens of meters away. Nevertheless, they assembled a remarkable force.
Leading the bodyguards was a black-bearded man with a cut above his left eye and half of his right eyebrow missing. He was almost three heads taller than Mais. Despite his muscular development, he was not physically weak.
"Behind the bushes! Show yourselves!" he shouted. At that moment, another rustling sound came from the bushes. Everyone pointed their weapons in that direction.
Suddenly, a thin voice came from nowhere.
"Calm down, people. We were just protecting ourselves, we had no hostile intentions. "
Suddenly, two figures emerged from the bushes. One had gray eyes. He was blind. With a large scar on his face, the cause of his blindness was a matter of great curiosity. It was amazing that such a skinny young man could survive in the forest, and he also looked quite small. With his black hair, he had a young and naive face, but it was clear that he would have a much more handsome face in the future.
He was a thin young man. At least as thin as a stick compared to the boy next to him. The boy next to him was only a little taller than him, but there was at least 30 kilos between them. His young age was also obvious. The smaller boy might have weighed only 30 kilos, and the bigger boy might have doubled him. The tall boy had inexplicable green hair that could be called freakish. With his yellow eyes and weight, one could see that he would be a very handsome young man in the future, but he had a very strange appearance. Maybe he wouldn't be handsome in the future, but he would be different.
They were both dressed in dirty clothes, and at that moment it was clear that these two little boys had been in the forest for a long time. They had scratches on their faces and tears in their clothes.
The soldiers lowered their weapons. But their leader still held his sword and stared mercilessly at the two children. The blind one looked straight ahead and smiled, while the other looked straight into the chief's eyes and grinned stupidly, as if trying to be friendly.
Seeing the reactions of his soldiers, the commander suddenly became furious.
"Fools! How dare you underestimate them just because they are children! Open your eyes and look at these children!" the commander shouted.
At first the guards could not understand, but after a few seconds of looking at the children, they realized that they had not asked how the young man had been thrown back.
The blind boy had a staff in his hand. It looked like it was helping him walk, but it was just a child. Even though he was blind, the fact that he had come to this forest showed that he was not ordinary. How could he be weak enough to use a cane?
The other thing was more obvious. For this young man had a sword in his hand. It was a jagged and broken sword, but in the hands of that boy with a cultivator's strength, that broken sword became a terrifying weapon.
"That boy is a cultivator. Even though he is only a child, you have lost your focus by dismissing the possibility that he might be very powerful! Take out your weapons now!"
The guards were about to pull out their weapons again, knowing that the chief was right, but at that moment, the gray-eyed boy suddenly stepped forward. He threw his hands up in the air.
"There is no need for this. Please, we do not intend to fight. "he said. But this time, no one let their guard down. At that moment, Mais pulled a silver coin out from under his fingers.
"We just want to join the caravan. We've been in the forest for a while and we're tired."
To the chief, the boy was still hard to trust, but to the other soldiers, the fact that this little boy was generous enough to make such an offer clearly proved that he was not a barbarian. Barbarians came to steal money. When had one ever seen them give it away?
The chief doubted for a while, but finally realized that they could not stay here forever. The money did not fail to dazzle him either. He was in the realm of foundation building. How powerful could a child be? He accepted the offer. Accepting a silver coin and taking 2 children with them, they continued their journey.
"I don't understand why we joined them. I thought you were going to the city. They're only going to the town," Kasuur said. Sitting in one of the rooms in the back of the wagon, he didn't seem to question his comfort. He had a sweet smile on his face and a donut in his hand. He had bought it from one of the passengers with the money Mais had given him.
"We've been traveling for 3 days. I'm tired. If we're going to keep going like this, we should at least rest for a while. Besides, aren't you the one who wants revenge? We can't attack the center of the barbarians in the Red Road Forest with our current strength. We can get help from the town to defeat the barbarians. There's a good chance that there's an Origin Master among the barbarians. "
But behind these words, Mais' reason for joining the caravan was different. As he thought of the days that had passed, a dark veil fell over his face, and Kasuur felt a cold breeze blowing through the carriage door.
'Be thankful that a prince like me has been in the ground for so long!'
Half of what Mais said to Kasuur did not matter to him in the slightest. They could have finished off the barbarians after they had gained some strength, but he wanted Kasuur's problem out of the way and to be in a more relaxed atmosphere.
"Well..."
Kasuur's smile faded and he became thoughtful. It was a rare moment for Kasuur. So Mais was especially careful not to interrupt him. Meanwhile, inside the wooden car, Mais was fiddling with something like a radar.
A lot of buttons sounded. Then Mais adjusted it and it emitted a faint light. Its heat told him its energy level.
'Foundation Establishment Realm 10th level. This protection chief is just a little bit away from the Origin Energy Realm.'
Mais sighed. Even the two of them might not be able to deal with this guy. That's why he thought it would be best to reach the town without causing any trouble.
The sound of horses could be heard outside and the wind blew through the open door into their noses. The smell of this forest, where he had been for days, was now very familiar to him. He had slept by the trees of this forest at night under the starlight, fed from it during the day, lived in it. Even without trying, Mais could not shake the feeling that this forest had a Tao. Even though he realized how illogical it was for a forest to have a special Tao.
Deep within this forest, there was a trace of life. A trace of energy.
He just couldn't see it yet.
And he was right. When the storyteller of the caravan began to speak, he listened carefully. For he was explaining how the Red Road Forest got its name.
The Red Way was a Tao name. It was the name of a cultivator who changed his name after he was born. This cultivator at the end of the Ascension realm had profound insights into the Tao, and he had entered the next realm with the insights of this profound Tao. This was the Tao of the Forest.
That's what Mais felt. No matter how much he could not see it, he could smell it, touch it, hear it more than anyone else. Mais was slowly beginning to grasp the life inside the forest.
When he was able to fully understand it, he would be able to see the trace of the Tao.
***
Lu Jana Town was named after the town's founder. He founded the town when he was a very talented young man. It was more than 100 years ago.
The town had more than a hundred buildings. Each one was made of stone and strong materials. They were certainly stronger than those in the village. However, it was not a place with a very segregated type of activity. This was where it differed from a city.
The streets were carved with small stones, and there was a faint trace of a level of culture. But only a faint trace. It was still not a place where morality and cultivation had reached too high a level.
Mais and Kasuur walked through the doors of a hotel. The walls were pale yellow. It was clearly meant to be gold when it was built, but it was worn. There were a few waiting chairs and the lobby was not very large. There was a small reception area and there was a receptionist. She looked at them through the glass and smiled.
"We would like a room with 2 beds," said Mais. A helpless smile appeared on the receptionist's face. Her eyebrows twitched and she looked at Kasuur. Kasuur sighed.
"Mais, you're talking to the wall. "
"Huh?"
Mais was a wise and intelligent prince. He had learned to read before anyone else and was more knowledgeable than anyone his age or even a few years older. Even though his cultivation was limited, the fact that he was mentally superior to his peers gave him a great deal of pride.
But now, Mais felt humiliated by such small things. He was the Third Prince of the World Empire! And now he had mistaken the wall for a reception and called out to it like an idiot.
His face flushed. But he said nothing and gave her a silver coin. The young woman was surprised, as the reception usually charged with copper coins, but she accepted without much reaction and gave him the room key. Mais and Kasuur went up to the room.
Of course, the source of Mais' money was the Treasure Palace. But the Treasure Palace had mostly gold coins, and Mais would attract too much attention if he used them in such an ordinary town. Even silver coins were quite valuable here.
Mais had silver coins for the same reason he had the Treasure Palace. The treasure palace was made into a ring treasure so that if anything happened to the empire, one of the princes could take revenge and make the empire great again. And if the prince was young, a lot of silver was also put into the treasury so that he could take care of himself when he was sent to a weak region with powerful people. But they were few in number, of course, so as not to take up too much space. There were no copper coins. The few copper coins they had were taken from the village.
Mais did not use gold coins so as not to attract the attention of the Origin Masters. Silver coins would more than cover his needs.
He clearly knew that there was an Origin Master in the town. After all, it was his own father who had ordered that every town on the planet should have an origin master to maintain order.