The blinding light shone down through the gaps in the branches overhead.
Lu Heng watched the still wailing Blood Wolf, not stopping it.
At this moment, due to grief, the Blood Wolf's eighth-level aura was no longer restrained, completely released.
It was estimated that even if any magical beasts passed by nearby, they would detour and leave upon sensing this aura.
The patch of blue sky visible in the distance remained.
It was this cleared patch of sky that allowed sunlight to fully illuminate the Holy Spirit Fruit Tree, enabling it to absorb the essence of the sun and moon.
The moist environment on the forest floor, in turn, nourished the fruit tree well, supplying it with sufficient water and nutrients.
Stepping into the sunlight, Lu Heng immediately felt a warmth envelop him. The gentle, moist breeze that brushed against his exposed skin made every pore on his skin feel relaxed, accepting nature's baptism.
Thus, a strange scene was frozen in this forest. On one side, Lu Heng stood in the sole patch of sunlight, eyes closed, sensing; on the other, the Blood Wolf howled at the sky.
After an unknown amount of time, just as a cloud covered the sunlight overhead, Lu Heng finally came back to his senses. "Alright, stop shouting. Bury your father."
Lu Heng walked to the Blood Wolf's side, glancing at the white bones faintly visible in the weeds. "Choose a spot and dig a pit."
The Blood Wolf nodded, surveyed the surroundings, and then walked to the base of the large rock to start digging.
In a short while, the Blood Wolf dug a deep pit in the soft soil. A magical beast of the earth element, it used the most primitive method to personally excavate a pit.
Lu Heng looked at the dirt covering the Blood Wolf's front paws and shook his head helplessly.
Then, he leaned down and examined the white bones carefully, controlling a vine to coil around a fang.
It was the Blood Wolf's father's fang. Even though flesh and blood had merged with the earth, these bones and teeth had been preserved.
"I'll make you a necklace when we get back," Lu Heng said to the Blood Wolf, shaking the wolf fang in his hand.
Afterward, Lu Heng controlled the vine to pick up all the white bones from the grass and place them into the deep pit dug by the Blood Wolf next to the large rock.
Clusters of black soil fell from above, gradually covering the white bones in the pit. The Blood Wolf again used its front paws to backfill the soil into the pit.
Having buried the Blood Wolf's father, Lu Heng rubbed the Blood Wolf's head. "Alright, it's all in the past. Let it go."
"You exposed your aura so strongly just now, all the magical beasts nearby have run far away. This is probably not the deep forest yet. Let's go deeper and see if there are any high-level magical beasts."
Leaping onto the Blood Wolf's back, Lu Heng and the Blood Wolf once again concealed their auras. Glancing at the compass, Lu Heng pointed in a direction towards the depths of the forest.
"Let's go that way."
Shaking its fur, the Blood Wolf carried Lu Heng and walked in a direction.
After walking for about two hours, Lu Heng gradually felt the air becoming more humid, indicating they were getting closer to the true depths of the forest. He wondered if the mist seen from high above would contain any miasma.
The trees in these primeval forests were tall and dense. In the humid environment on the ground, moisture could not dissipate quickly, thus forming mist.
The composition of mist in many deep forests varied. Lu Heng had read in some books that some mists were poisonous, and inhaling such toxins could cause hallucinations, leading one to get lost in the deep forest.
"Stop for a moment, let's get equipped."
Lu Heng found a fire-fighting mask from his space and put it on his head. Fortunately, he also found a dog gas mask for the Blood Wolf.
If he hadn't found a dog mask, Lu Heng estimated he would have had to recall the Blood Wolf into his space and release it only after confirming the mist was non-toxic.
He figured this dog gas mask was likely collected by someone with peculiar hobbies before the apocalypse. After all, who would normally keep such an item at home?
Of course, both the Blood Wolf and himself needed to be covered with some waterproof gear. Lu Heng had to search his space for a long time before he could fully equip the Blood Wolf again.
Although the artificial leather suit didn't fit the Blood Wolf well, Lu Heng couldn't think of anything else to cover its entire body.
Looking at the Blood Wolf's somewhat peculiar attire, Lu Heng sat on its back again. "Let's go."
As they moved through the misty forest depths with their auras concealed, Lu Heng finally encountered some fourth-level magical beasts. Because these beasts only sensed auras of their own level, and when their territory was trespassed upon by magical beasts of the same level, they all emerged to block Lu Heng's path, intending to drive them away.
However, these unfortunate beasts, thinking they could drive away the intruders into their territory, were quickly killed by Lu Heng the moment they met.
"These magical beasts have quite a variety of attributes." Lu Heng controlled his vines to retrieve the magic crystals from the heads of a magical beast, and then he stored the carcasses of those beasts into his space.
The meat of these magical beasts was rich in energy. Even if he didn't eat it himself, it was better than ordinary meat for these mutated animals.
The Blood Wolf and the Eaglebeak Beast were fine; as long as it wasn't meat from a magical beast of the same species, they could accept it. After all, on the Divine Yuan Continent, these carnivorous magical beasts also ate the meat of other magical beasts.
"I remember my father saying that there are quite a few wild beasts in this forest, and it seems a very powerful magical beast lives in the innermost part. Even a fourth-level magical beast like my father wouldn't dare to hunt here."
"What level is it? Why haven't I heard of it before?" Lu Heng's eyes lit up upon hearing this. When he had entered with the two cultivators before, they didn't seem to mention any high-level magical beasts here.
"They probably all died when they encountered it. Those humans seem to only hunt in the outer areas, and that high-level magical beast has never left the depths of the forest."
"What good things are there inside? Like the Holy Spirit Fruit your father guarded."
"I don't know. I was too young then, and my father only warned me not to stray too far from our den."
That made sense; they would likely have to reach the depths themselves to find out.
"I hear the sound of flowing water. Let's head that way." Animals tend to be more numerous where there is water. Even if this wasn't the territory of certain wild beasts, they would come for the water source.
This was something he had seen in the animal world before. In water-scarce regions of Africa, a small puddle would attract animals of various kinds – herbivores like zebras, omnivores like baboons, and carnivores like lions – all gathering by the waterhole, disregarding the danger for the sake of water.
Lu Heng also sensed the presence of other magical beasts there.