(05) The Disappearing Forest

Male and female cultivators yawned as they rubbed their eyes and chatted amongst their friends in hushed voices while standing at the front of their sect entrance. It was still faintly dark since the sun had just started to awaken.

"The test every year is always exciting," one disciple whispered.

"Really? I'm nervous since it's my first time..."

"I heard we're going to the Disappearing Forest this year."

"I hope I get teamed up with you."

"Huh? Where is Tan Hu?"

"Tan Hu can't go since he's only just reached the second tier."

"Ah... that's true. Not everyone can go."

It was time for the Moon Sect disciples to get tested on their skills and knowledge that they have obtained and learned these past few years; and this test was to be taken inside the Disappearing Forest. The Disappearing Forest is a small part of a larger forest in the east that was close to the forest surrounding the Moon Sect and was only separated by a few villages.

This area, compared to the rest of the forest, was named so because although its location is well known, there are times when this zone seemed to completely vanish, with mist covering its original area. If someone walked through it, they would only find a normal forest, unable to enter this special zone. The Disappearing Forest would then mysteriously appear again in its original spot as if it was never gone in the first place. No one knows why this happens but there is a clear set time from when it disappears and reappears.

Most of the Moon Sect disciples gathered in front of the sect entrance as they got ready to leave. Wu LiJing was already there, standing with her back straight as she observed the disciples, along with the two masters who would be in charge of the expedition. It was early in the morning and a few ended up waking up late, still rushing over. Those who were late didn't dare look up at the masters and their senior sister, who was emitting an indifferent aura as she stared at them. She was dressed in her dark violet robes compared to the inner and outer disciples, who were dressed in a lighter lavender color.

The difference between the two was that outer disciples wore a white inner robe and had a white sash and inner disciples wore black inner robes and had a black sash instead. One had to earn their title as an inner disciple by passing a certain level or getting recognition by one of the masters who taught them.

One way to enter as an inner disciple right away was by testing in. All sects have a special spiritual stone that could test someone's core rank and measure their potential of growth by the amount of inner chi they possessed. Blue and purple core cultivators usually are able to enter right away. For others, if they possessed a good amount of chi and also passed a skills test, then they could enter in as an inner disciple and even be taken in by a master. Wu LiJing was able to test in many years ago when she first joined. Only by showing their potential by training can they get more resources to further their cultivation and prove to their sects that they are worth the investment.

In general, inner disciples have more opportunities. For example, they are gifted with stronger herbs every month to help with their cultivation and are also able to go on missions and gain more experience outside of the sect and get rewards for fulfilling missions. If a master from the sect favored them, they could also receive private lessons and get to learn from the masters directly by becoming their main disciples.

The Moon Sect would be considered a normal-sized sect and currently has about a little over one hundred inner disciples and two hundred outer disciples. So, with more than half of their disciples leaving, quite a big group was gathered.

The Moon Sect has five masters in total in addition to their sect master, Wang WeiYue, with three who mainly focus on educating the outer disciples and the other two who mainly focus on the inner disciples. All of the masters are more than one-hundred years old and earned their title through hard work and time. They also have their own personal disciples that they chose and trained in the sect.

Usually, only two masters are necessary during an outing test.

Currently, both masters for this expedition didn't look too happy as they stood next to Wu LiJing, while waiting for the rest of the disciples to arrive. Within the sect, Lu HongHou is usually in charge of teaching their disciples about inner chi distribution and skills pertaining to using their chi, since he is one of the best in controlling and integrating spiritual energy between the masters. For this expedition, Master Lu is in charge of keeping track of the one hundred or so outer disciples since one of his special skills is to see long distances and detect disturbances.

The other master who would instead look after the eighty to ninety or so inner disciples is Ruan FuPing. Within the sect, Master Ruan oversees the teaching of martial arts, but he is quite flexible in his subjects since he could be considered a master of all weapons.

"We're leaving the rest behind in a few minutes," Master Lu said in an annoyed tone and his eyes narrowed. When the disciples heard this, the ones who were a bit late shrunk back and bowed their heads in order to hide in case they were to be punished.

With a face that looks no older than thirty-five, Master Lu wore dark blue robes and had a golden whip hung on his side. A pendant that had the Moon Sect symbol carved into it hung nicely from his sash. His robes did not seem to have a single wrinkle and his hair did not have a single fly-away. His nose was a little bigger than most, but he could still be considered attractive and always displayed a stern expression with natural hawk eyes.

Master Ruan, who was standing next to Master Lu, smiled. "Now, now. The disciples are probably late from staying up yesterday and working hard. We told them to wake up earlier than usual so we could arrive at the destined place earlier. It's alright to be a bit late. The disciples will just have to work harder to prove themselves." Some of the female cultivators glanced at Ruan FuPing and looked away shyly, chatting amongst themselves.

Master Ruan looked to be around the same age as Master Lu and wore black robes, had quite a handsome face with small eyes, and was shorter than Master Lu by just a few millimeters. He had a mole under his left eye, which only added to his mature charm, causing those who liked older men to blush. The metal pendant with the Moon Sect symbol hanging on his sash glinted next to the black sword he carried.

"Hmph! It's already way past the time we were supposed to leave!" He glared.

Master Ruan FuPing chuckled. "Alright, alright. Don't get mad. Look, you're scaring the disciples. They may not do as well if you punish them now. How about this? When we get back, I'll punish the outer disciples to do a hundred reps with their qing qong and the inner disciples will do three hundred." He raised a finger on one hand and three on the other to show how little he's giving them to do.

Wu LiJing turned to look at the handsome master and smiled inside. All of the disciples' faces turned pale and cursed all of those who were late and still weren't there yet. They knew that although Master Ruan always looked amicable, smiled easily, and was carefree, he was very strict when it came to being punctual. Most of the punishments he gave were to those who were ever late to his lessons. Now they all had to be punished since a few weren't here yet!

Master Lu opened his mouth and his annoyed face faltered, "That much? Would they even be able to wake up to attend our lessons the next day?! You're being too harsh on them again! Why would you punish all of them?! Just punish the ones who were late!"

Ruan FuPing smiled and sighed, patting Lu HongHou on the shoulder. "HongHou, I only said this since you wanted to punish them. Besides, I'm punishing them all because they all have the same living quarters, yet they left their friends to sleep as they hurried here. Therefore, they should all be responsible. I'm being fair here, see?"

He sounded so righteous, it made Lu HongHou frown and he shrugged the hand on his shoulder off. He pointed at Ruan FuPing, raising his voice. "The disciples are already taking a hard test today, yet you want to punish them further? You think I don't know that you're just annoyed because you hate it when others are late so you're taking it out on them?!"

Their bickering started... again. It was well known among the disciples that these two masters frequently argued against one another. Some disciples had hopeful eyes that their Master Lu would be able to turn things around and either lessen their punishment or get rid of it completely! After all, they wouldn't even be able to stand properly tomorrow if they went through with the punishment!

Wu LiJing gazed at the nervous disciples who were whispering among themselves and suddenly made eye-contact with a male outer disciple. He jumped and quickly avoided her gaze, hiding behind his friend. Wu LiJing shook her head and looked up towards the east. The sun was going to further light up the sky at this point. Before they travel to the forest, they also have to teach the disciples how to make a fire, find water, and so on to survive in a forest by themselves should anything happen. That was why they had to wake up earlier.

Wu QiaoHua stared at her aloof cousin as her friends, Wei SuSu and Xin Mei chatted next to her.

"Eldest Senior Sister got here before any of us even arrived," Wei SuSu whispered.

Xin Mei's eyes brightened as she admired Wu LiJing. "She's so cool. It's so lucky to be able to see her this close! Look at that posture! Those robes!"

A female cultivator near-by heard them and joined the conversation with a sneer. "How does she look cool? Look at her attitude; she probably thinks she's better than us!"

"Right. Do you not see the look she's giving us right now? She's probably hoping for us to be punished heavier," another one said.

Wei SuSu frowned. "I don't think so."

"Right, don't say such things about Eldest Senior Sister!" Xin Mei glared at them. "And as a matter of fact, she is better than us!"

The female cultivator, Yu Yuan, rolled her eyes. "Do you not see that she doesn't even care about anyone and hasn't cared to make any conversation for the past years that she has been here? She's always so arrogant." More than half of the disciples in the sect were already part of the Moon Sect before Wu LiJing joined in, therefore, there were still a few who were dissatisfied with Wu LiJing, even if her cultivation may have surpassed many of them.

Xin Mei smirked. "She has a right! Eldest Senior Sister became the direct disciple of Sect Master Wang when she was sixteen years old and is already in the Body Enhancing Realm! What about you?"

"So? My sister was an inner sect disciple with Wu LiJing before she became a direct disciple. She told me that Wu LiJing showed the rest of the inner disciples no respect when she first joined and gave them the cold shoulder even when they tried to help her. If she didn't try to win over Sect Master Wang, my sister would now be the direct disciple instead!"

It was obvious that Yu Yuan and her sister were part of the faction that were jealous of Wu LiJing. Within a sect that had more than one-hundred students, it was obvious there would be small conflicts from differences in interests and opinions, as well as envy.

Wei SuSu smiled mockingly. "There is no need to question Eldest Senior Sister's skills and talent."

"Right! Can your sister even compare to Eldest Senior Sister?" Xin Mei scoffed and turned to Wu QiaoHua. "Isn't that right, QiaoHua?"

Wu QiaoHua had been silent the whole time, just listening but also feeling irritated as she looked at Yu Yuan and her friends with a glare. "My cousin could easily beat your sister with her skills alone. Only people full of jealousy would deny the truth and would say otherwise." She didn't like creating trouble, but she can't just stand when others are bad-mouthing her cousin!

Yu Yuan grinded her teeth. Then she smirked. "Wu QiaoHua, don't look so conceited. The one who was recognized may not be my sister, but you as well. Without your cousin, you're nothing! How long did it take you to finally become an inner disciple? Without Wu LiJing's help, you would've been stuck being an outer disciple your whole life!" Then she flipped her hair and walked away before Wu QiaoHua could retort. Those who heard their conversation didn't care to butt in or say anything, only watching the drama with side eyes.

Wu QiaoHua glared harder at their backs, fuming angrily, "That's not true!"

"That's too much," Xin Mei said with a scowl.

Wei SuSu frowned but she quickly tried to calm Wu QiaoHua and gently patted her back. "QiaoHua, don't let what they said get to you. They're just trying to hurt you." However, inside Wei SuSu knew that those words were partly true. That was why she couldn't deny them.

Wei SuSu knew Wu QiaoHua trained when she could. However, even Wei SuSu had to say she put in much more effort and was just as talented as Wu QiaoHua, yet she was still one stage lower than Wu QiaoHua. There was no denying Wu QiaoHua was able to reach the level she was currently in because of the herbs Wu LiJing provided her with.

Xin Mei glanced at Wu QiaoHua and cleared her throat. "It's okay. Next time, we'll show them what's up." A few cultivators also came and comforted Wu QiaoHua after everything ended.

Wu QiaoHua was a little angry, but she tried to show a smile and nodded, feeling better with the comforting words. Though, she can't help but still feel a small sting in her heart and clenched her hands. She would show them during this test!

In front of the disciples who were still engaged in excited discussions, the two master's finally came to a conclusion. "Fine," Master Ruan finally said with a regretful sigh. "Only the late-comers would be punished."

Fu LiJing turned to the masters. "Masters, we should leave. I believe everyone is finally here. If anyone is missing, they don't have to come anymore. This test clearly isn't important enough to them if they're not here by this time," she stated calmly.

The two masters nodded and the disciples gulped.

"We need to fly out into the forest to learn a few basic survival skills before we leave using a transportation scroll," Master Lu said. He was talking about the forest surrounding their sect.

The Moon Sect resided inside the Silver Forest, a forest abundant with spiritual energy, especially during the night when the moon becomes visible. The Silver Forest is a normal forest besides the fact that its tree leaves turn silver when moonlight is reflected against them. The trees have also found a way to absorb the energy from the moonlight through its leaves, creating an ideal environment constantly surrounded with fresh spiritual energy - thus, was a reason for the first sect master to build the Moon Sect there.

Master Lu's strict eyes scanned the disciples. "Remember what I taught you regarding inner chi and concentrate." They had to make sure everyone could at least fly first before they left since this skill could be very useful in finding their way again should they get lost within the Disappearing Forest.

When everyone heard, some were confident while the newer disciples were nervous. Slowly, everyone eventually flew using their inner chi. During the first few months of entering the sect, one of the first things that are taught to the disciples is how to use their inner chi to fly. It can be quite hard for those who have a harder time expanding their chi or controlling it, so it takes practice.

Some were able to use it easily while others found it harder but were able to persevere as they flew at a moderate pace. Most of the disciples taking this test have been in the sect for at least three years; if they weren't able to fly, then it would mean they did not practice hard enough with the amount of resources and time they were given.

Cultivators skilled in using this flying technique could control the speed in which they travel, meaning those who have mastered it could easily increase their speed exponentially. For Wu LiJing, using this technique was as easy as breathing since she had to use it frequently, having to travel to different places.

Wu LiJing observed the disciples and nodded inside. It seems almost everyone has been practicing hard. She glanced at Wu QiaoHua and showed a small smile. Wu QiaoHua was flying with ease, though she was a bit unstable at first.

Master Ruan suddenly asked as they were flying, "Do you all know about the Disappearing Forest?"

The disciples looked at each other and everyone nodded.

"Master Ruan, wasn't this forest found a few hundred years ago and have been frequently used as a testing and training ground for multiple sects because of its unending resources and beasts?" one cultivator answered.

The master nodded. "Yes. As you all know, the Disappearing Forest vanishes once every thirty days, for three days before it reappears again. This time, we are entering on the thirtieth day and will stay inside for four days, only able to exit once the forest reappears. It is important to note that once the forest vanishes, the inside will change, and not only will the amount of beasts increase, so will their strength and ferocity. You will only deal with small beasts today, but tomorrow and the following two days will be different."

"Since the Disappearing Forest also grows many types of herbs and resources within it, a reason towards its well-known location, whatever you are able to salvage, is yours. I only warn you," Lu HongHou's eyes narrowed coldly as he scanned their faces, "do not fight amongst yourselves for resources. There are plenty in the forest. If I find out that someone was trying to steal someone else's hard work or tried to attack a fellow comrade, I will deal with you myself when we return to the sect." The disciples shuddered, not wanting to think about the types of punishment that awaits them if they angered their masters.

"You're scaring them again, Lu HongHou," Master Ruan said. "Now, does anyone know more specifically what happens inside the forest once we disappear along with it?"

An outer female cultivator blushed and raised her hand. "I know. I believe the forest then constantly changes and is like a maze, that's why it is easy to get lost inside of it and get isolated, leaving one vulnerable."

Ruan FuPing smiled and nodded, making the female cultivator blush some more. "Right. Cultivators who have entered the forest in the past found out that the inside of the Disappearing Forest is completely different when it vanishes and the danger is heightened. Therefore, we purposely marked the borders of the Disappearing Forest to prevent others from entering by accident. The deeper you enter, the more dangerous it is and the harder it is to find the way back. Will Master Lu HongHou please explain how the herbs and beasts in this zone make it different from other places?"

Lu HongHou rolled his eyes and turned away so Ruan FuPing sighed and continued, "When the forest is normal, various spiritual herbs can be found and small beasts occupy the forest. What is special, however, is that these herbs seem to be able to grow by themselves, yet only a limited amount grow every month and depending on the type of herbs, most are only helpful to those below the Immortal Realm. Many of these herbs are protected by small beasts that only leave once they deem the fighter worthy or once they are defeated. The more special the herb, the stronger the beast. What is mysterious, however, is that these beasts cannot die completely because they get resurrected within a certain amount of time after their death, as if they were never killed to begin with. Therefore, don't be surprised if you encounter the same beast on the same day."

"Master Ruan, then doesn't that create a risk of overpopulation if they cannot be killed?"

Ruan FuPing smiled. "These beasts cannot reproduce when the forest is visible."

"Then what about when the forest is no longer visible?"

Ruan FuPing glanced at Lu HongHou. Lu HongHou scowled and finally explained, "Then it becomes a different story. Not only do the types of beasts change, but the types of herbs do as well. The beasts can be killed but they are more vicious. The types of herbs also level up. Perhaps some of you may even find a few rare stocks if you're lucky." Though it is more dangerous as one dives deeper into the forest, the likelihood of finding a rare herb also increases. It's only a shame most of the herbs would still be useless to those below the Immortal Realm.

Those who weren't as knowledgeable about this zone in the eastern forest suddenly felt nervous. They wondered if they would be able to take this test safely.