Chapter 628: Greenwood Court

"Our current position should be in this primeval jungle at the very edge of the spirit realm." Su Ming pointed at the dot, "According to Qingyan's memories, this jungle is called the Gloomlight Forest. It's the gathering place for these glowing, bloodthirsty plants we're seeing right now."

His finger drew a long line upward.

"To the north is the Dark Current Sect's core territory, called the Abyssal Depths Valley. That place is definitely a dragon's pool and tiger's den, packed with Dark Current Sect masters. If we walk over there, we'd be walking to our deaths."

Then, his finger turned to the right, drawing a slightly larger circle on the ground.

"To the east, about a thousand li away, there's a large spirit race settlement called Greenwood Court." Su Ming looked up at Lin Yu floating in midair, "Master, Qingyan's memories mentioned that it's Neutralist territory."

Lin Yu nodded slightly, a flicker of contemplation passing through his soul body.

"Neutralists... those old fossils who transformed from plants and grass into spirits. They don't participate in the civil wars, their territory is relatively exclusionary, but it's also relatively safe." Lin Yu stroked his chin, "The Dark Current Sect's hand can't easily reach deep into Greenwood Court."

"Not only that." Su Ming's gaze shimmered with calculating light, "Greenwood Court has an underground Tree City, established by a mighty spirit race being formed from a ten-thousand-year-old luminous banyan, Elder Woodheart. This Elder Woodheart has a gentle temperament and doesn't harbor the Dark Current Sect's extreme hatred toward the human race. He is the only power we can currently hope to win protection from."

Su Ming drew a straight line on the ground pointing from Gloomlight Forest to Greenwood Court.

"I've decided. We head east. Scout around the vicinity of Greenwood Court." Su Ming tapped the ground, making his decision.

"The plan sounds fine." Lin Yu snorted coldly, dousing cold water without any courtesy, "But have you forgotten the most basic problem? Right now, from head to toe, inside and out, you're radiating a pure human scent."

Lin Yu's soul body drifted in front of Su Ming, looking down at him from above.

"In this spirit realm, you're like holding a burning torch in the dead of night. Forget reaching Greenwood Court, you won't even make it ten li out of this Gloomlight Forest before those bloodthirsty spirit beasts gnaw you down to nothing but bones."

Su Ming fell silent.

Indeed, Corpse Powder could only mask the scent temporarily, fooling those low-level plants and insects outside. Against truly intelligent spirit races or high-tier spirit beasts, this crude disguise wouldn't hold up for a second.

"The scent problem has to be solved at its root." Su Ming's brows furrowed tightly, his fingers unconsciously stroking the storage pouch again.

Just then, Ying, who had been lying on the ground knocked out by spiritual energy, suddenly let out a burp, spitting out a small puff of pure white mist. It staggered to its feet like a drunkard, wobbled over to Su Ming's feet, rubbed its head against his pant leg, and let out a faint "cheep cheep."

Su Ming looked down at Ying, at the strange halo that had risen over its body from absorbing a small amount of Source Substance, and suddenly a lightning bolt of inspiration struck through his mind.

"Master." Su Ming snapped his head up, an astonishing light blazing in his eyes, "What if I don't try to mask the scent, but instead use this spirit realm's omnipresent Life Essence to weave a living coat over my body's surface?"

Lin Yu was stunned.

"Use Life Essence to weave a coat?"

"Exactly!" The more Su Ming thought about it, the more feasible this insane idea seemed, "I can't absorb Life Essence because the laws reject it. But I'm a Formation Master! I can treat the fluctuations of the law of life as a natural formation material."

Su Ming stood up, pacing back and forth in the narrow crevice, speaking rapidly.

"I'll use Ruo Shui spiritual energy to inscribe a miniature assimilation formation pattern on the surface of my skin. I won't draw Life Essence into my body, I'll just attract it over and let it form a closed circulation layer on my body's surface. That way, to the outside world, I'll be a spirit race creature radiating pure essence of life laws, perfectly blending into this world!"

A full half a minute passed before Lin Yu managed to force out a single sentence, his voice carrying undisguised shock: "Just how is your little brain wired? Treating the laws of heaven and earth as clothing? You actually dare to think up such insane talk!"

"The first principle of the Way of Survival is to blend with the dust and light." Su Ming calmly rebutted, sitting back down cross-legged, "As long as I don't touch their core and only borrow their outer appearance, it won't trigger rejection. This requires precise micro-control, but my divine sense is already lit now, more than enough to support this kind of delicate operation."

Without any hesitation, Su Ming directly took out the jade slip recording Qingyan's intelligence from his storage pouch. He pressed the jade slip to his forehead, reconfirming Greenwood Court's coordinates and Elder Woodheart's characteristics one more time.

"Coordinates confirmed."

Su Ming carefully put the jade slip away, then took a deep breath, his hands forming a complex series of hand seals before his chest.

"Master, I'm ready to begin the first experiment with the Life Essence disguise formation pattern. Please act as my protector. If there's any sign of violent backlash, immediately use soul power to sever my connection with the outside world!"

Watching Su Ming's brisk, decisive demeanor, Lin Yu let out a faint sigh in midair.

Just as Su Ming was about to enter his meditative state.

"Oh, by the way, my disciple."

Lin Yu's voice suddenly rang out in the Consciousness Sea, carrying a rare note of seriousness mixed with a mocking warning.

Su Ming paused his movements and opened his eyes: "Master, please speak."

"When you reach Greenwood Court, if you're lucky enough to actually meet that Elder Woodheart..." Lin Yu snorted coldly, his tone carrying a world-weary desolation, "Whatever you do, absolutely, do NOT mention Qingyan's name."

Su Ming furrowed his brows slightly, confused: "Why? Isn't he the last elder of the Qiming Sect? Do the Neutralists not favor the Qiming Sect either?"

"They might sympathize with the Qiming Sect." A mocking cold smile tugged at Lin Yu's ethereal lips, "But what kind of character is Qingyan? A sleeper agent for the Dark Current Sect! A world-class con man who played both sides! Do you think his dirty little secrets could really be hidden from those old tree spirits who've lived for over ten thousand years?"

Lin Yu's voice turned icy.

"That spy label, no matter which realm you're in, is the most detested thing of all. If you try to use his banner to cozy up to them..."

Lin Yu rolled his eyes inside the Xuantian ring, the action looking somewhat comical in soul body form, but his tone was utterly frigid.

"They'll probably just take you for a new spy sent by the Dark Current Sect. They won't even give you a chance to explain. They'll crush you on the spot and bury you as flower fertilizer. Remember, you're just a lost, harmless formation cultivator."

Su Ming's heart tightened, a layer of cold sweat seeping out on his back.

"Thank you for the guidance, Master. This disciple will remember."

He withdrew all his focus and fell silent.

In the narrow rock crevice, the dark blue, water-like spiritual energy began to flow slowly over Su Ming's body surface. Like thousands of fine weaving needles, they were attempting to weave the wildest law of life beneath this foreign sky into a flawless invisible cloak of survival.

And outside the crevice, deep within the fog of the Gloomlight Forest, pairs of scarlet eyes were gradually awakening, accompanied by spine-chilling sounds of chewing, waiting for the complete fall of night.

In this perilous spirit realm, the true exploration had only just begun.