Having walked for over five hours, Dai Yaun reached what felt like the end of the Outer Layer. Although the Brightmoon Forbidden Forest was divided into different layers, there were no clear physical landmarks separating them. The main difference was the increasing number of monsters and beasts. He had not encountered any yet in the Peripheral Layer, but the constant cries echoing through the Outer Layer made the change obvious.
Stepping past the five-kilometer mark, Dai Yaun halted briefly. He felt a slight change in the remnant aura lingering in the environment. Thanks to his sharp senses, he picked up a violent presence — the unmistakable aura of monsters. A normal Silver or Iron Bone realm cultivator might not have noticed these faint traces, but Dai Yaun could.
He took a deep breath and continued forward, staying alert and ready for combat at any moment. The peaceful journey through the Peripheral Layer had ended.
"Damn it, I wish I had something to ride on!" Dai Yaun muttered in frustration.
He stopped in front of a huge, unknown tree. Its massive canopy provided a wide area of cool shade, likely used by travelers as a resting spot. He brought down the satchel containing his dried meat and found a thick protruding root to sit on. While munching on the jerky, he observed his surroundings.
By the position of the sun, he estimated he had been walking for eight hours across three days in the Outer Layer. According to stories from explorers and travelers, crossing the entire Brightmoon Forbidden Forest would take about two months. Not even a full day had passed in this layer, and he was already feeling frustrated. If he had known how lonely and quiet the journey would be, he might have agreed to let Wang Linlin come with him. But it was too late for that now.
"Ahhh…"
Dai Yaun clicked his tongue and sighed as he drank from his water satchel. The cool water refreshed his throat. While eating, he continued scanning the area.
Despite the hot weather in this region, the area beneath the giant tree was noticeably cooler and damper. The ground was relatively moist and slightly muddy in places, though some patches remained dry. Compared to the area outside the canopy, this place felt completely different. No other tall trees or competing vegetation could grow beneath its shadow; the only flora present were small clusters of pale, waxy shrubs that huddled close to the roots, none of them exceeding two feet in height. To a weary traveler, the cool shade looked like a perfect, natural resting station.
The giant tree itself was truly impressive. Its trunk was so thick that five grown men linking arms could barely encircle it. The bark was rough and dark brown, covered in patches of green moss. Its branches spread out widely, creating a natural dome of shade that blocked most of the sunlight. The leaves were large and thick, rustling gently in the breeze.
Feeling the cool breeze on his exposed skin, Dai Yaun decided to take a short nap. He was tired after the long walk. He leaned his back against the massive trunk, closed his eyes, and rested his iron rod across his knees, keeping a firm grip on it in case of emergency.
As he dozed off, a few leaves fell gently from the tree above, swaying left and right in the breeze like dancers. The moment the first leaf touched the ground, the peaceful atmosphere under the tree suddenly changed.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two sharp sounds broke the silence at the same time. One came from the vigilant Dai Yaun, the other from a meter-long centipede-like beast.
Thwack!
A meter-long creature slammed hard into the bark where Dai Yuan's head had been a moment prior. Having missed its initial ambush, The creature froze mid-attack, its lens-like eyes spinning curiously at its failed ambush. Its numerous legs clicked sharply againtst the soil as its body coiled into a defensive posture.
The Silverblade Centipede was a terrifying sight. Its body was covered in shiny, metallic silver segments that looked like overlapping blades. Each segment was razor-sharp along the edges. The creature was over a meter long and as thick as a grown man's arm. Dozens of sharp legs lined both sides of its body, clicking against the ground. Two long antennae twitched on its head, and a pair of sharp mandibles opened and closed hungrily. Its eyes glowed with a faint red light.
As Dai Yaun and the Silverblade Centipede stared at each other, rustling sounds erupted all around them. More and more giant silver centipedes crawled out from beneath the forest floor, encircling him in ever-growing numbers.
"A whole nest of them..." Dai Yuan hissed, his grip tightening around his weapon.
The lead centipede lunged forward with terrifying speed, its blade-legs digging into the mud. Dai Yuan instantly reacted, channeling his strength into his arms as he swung his heavy iron rod in a sweeping arc.
Clang!
The heavy iron weapon collided directly with the centipede's head. The impact rang out like a hammer hitting an anvil. To Dai Yuan's surprise, the beast wasn't instantly crushed; its silver armor was incredibly rigid, absorbing the bulk of the kinetic force. The centiped's strength is of the mid tier one realm equivalent to a silver bone practicioner.
The centipede hissed, its body coiling around the shaft of the rod. Dai Yuan gritted his teeth, executing a brutal downward smash that drove the beast into the dirt. Clang! Clang! Clang! It took five consecutive, full-power strikes from his iron rod to finally shatter the thick silver chitin, crushing the creature's internal organs and spraying thick, pale fluid across the roots.
The moment the first one died, the rest surged forward from his left and right.
Dai Yaun gripped his rod tightly and engaged them without hesitation. He swung the heavy weapon in wide arcs, trying to keep the swarm at bay. However, these creatures were surprisingly tough. He spun on his heel, using the momentum of his large frame to deliver a heavy backhand strike that shattered the legs of one attacker, before driving the tip of his rod straight through the compound eyes of another.
The battle quickly turned chaotic. The ground became riddled with holes and gullies from the fight.He lunged, smashed, and retreated, his boots carving deep, messy trenches into the damp soil. Dai Yaun moved constantly, smashing his rod down again and again.
After minutes of relentless, high-intensity combat, he managed to hack and smash his way through dozens of the creatures. The ground around him was completely littered with severed blade-legs, broken silver segments, and pooling monster fluids. Broken centipede bodies littered the area. Despite his efforts, he only managed to reduce their numbers by half.
Huff! Huff!! Huff!!!
Dai Yaun took deep breaths, trying to regulate his ragged breathing. His heart trembled at the sight before him. The centipedes he had cut down to half their original number were being replaced. More and more kept crawling out from underground, surrounding him in ever greater numbers.
He retreated slowly, eyes scanning desperately for any opening to escape. But there was none. It felt like he had poked a massive nest them. The Silverblade Centipedes continued pouring out from beneath the cool canopy, treating him like sugar attracting ants.
"What kind of fucking creepy, god-forsaken place is this?" Dai Yaun muttered.
He was now completely surrounded by the large group of Silverblade Centipedes.