This is bad, this was Oliver's first thought as he dodged a large stag—or what he thought was a stag, as it tried to impale him, its antler clinking against his conjured sword. So, this is one of the reasons why I decided to take Misaki and run out of this place.
It's fucking infested.
His hand held onto his talisman, but unlike his spiritual senses, it spread farther like it did in the world outside. It instead only spread around him and the spirit-deer—yes, what grew its hoofs in the ground and charged at him wasn't a normal forest animal but instead one enlightened to the art of Qi Circulation.
The deer charged him, and his grip on his jade hilt tightened, The other reason being that I lost my original ability to track everything in this formation...
No, that would be right. I lost the ability to make out the information of hundreds of thousands of new lives scattered across this realm, leaving me spiritually blind, and if it was my slightly higher realm, the foundation cauldrons spiritually defending my spirit sea, and this talisman and I'd be facing more than the simple headache I'm having, trying to comprehend everything around this forest.
"Fuck," he cursed, "at this rate I'll only be able to stay here a few nights.... I have to find her quickly," he added that last part after realizing what he said out loud, in case his oni stalker could still be watching him—he didn't know if she and the space behind his wardrobe were connected after all.
So my plan to stay hidden and cultivate has been compromised before it even began...
Well, at least I have one of the ingredients I'm looking for right in front of me, he thought grimly, staring at the beast.
Two flickers of green flame ignited at his fingertips as he drew on his Foundation Qi reserves. The Yin Cauldron responded immediately. He ran his fingers along the blade, imbuing it with condensed spiritual fire.
With a burst of speed, he lunged—his blade glowing bright jade, reinforced with spiritual heat. He swung hard, shearing off one of the stag's antlers in a sizzling crack.
He caught it as it fell and, without hesitation, drove it into the creature's eye.
Slash!
The beast staggered back, shrieking in pain. Its body shimmered—Qi surging violently—and began to morph.
Flesh shifted. Bones cracked. The stag reared and howled as its form twisted—
—into a half-human figure.
A woman's torso and head stood where the deer's neck once was—her lower body still deer-like, hooved and furred, but her upper body fully humanoid, save for one remaining antler curving from the left side of her head. Her eyes burned golden with rage. Her chest rose and fell, massive and heaving with spiritual energy.
"You dare injure me?" her voice echoed unnaturally. "Now… you face the warden of this forest."
Oliver clutched his head, a pulse of white-hot pain flaring behind his eyes. The forest around him twisted, the trees groaning as if caught in the same mental backlash. It wasn't just her voice—it was intent, pure and unfiltered, being hammered into his skull like a divine commandment. His brain reeled, struggling to convert it into anything comprehensible.
The spirit beast wiped blood from her eye and charged again, screeching, "Fear my wrath!!!"
"Speak again," Oliver growled, eyes flashing, "and I'll roast your bones over flame,"
A strange silence followed.
The deer spirit—elegant, once proud—froze mid-step.
Her hooves clacked uncertainly against the mossy floor as five spectral swords of equal intent flickered into existence around her—briefly charged with rouge yang energy—then shot forward. She flinched, jerking her head down—only to feel nothing. No impact. No blood. No pain.
And yet her breath stuttered in her throat.
Her eyes flicked downward, expecting to see open wounds—gore, bone, something—but there was nothing. Just the memory of pain that had never landed. But the fear lingered. Deep, visceral fear that sank into her bones and made her legs tremble uncontrollably.
She looked at him.
Really looked at him, warmth seeping into her meridians.
Oliver stood like a storm held in skin—panting, furious, veins pulsing at his temple. A quiet rage radiated from him, not loud or boastful, but absolute.
"Leave," he said coldly.
The spirit beast twitched—once, twice—then her horn began to regrow. Shards of bone knit back into form, her fur rippling unnaturally as her body spasms with an instinctual madness. Her eyes brimmed with both terror and something else… something primal.
A scent hit him. Sharp. Metallic. Musky.
Piss.
And something else.
His face twisted in revulsion as it registered. The beast was aroused.
And, worse… he was too.
The pressure in his pants throbbed in protest.
Wha—? He paused his thoughts as he saw the intent stuck into her body; he hadn't realized it as he burst into anger at the intent she had let out...
His eyes widened; in that split second she had wielded intent to speak, and he had also grasped its concept and released a counterattackof killing intent and yang energy shaped through his ten sacred swords technique, creating a new technique altogether.
He took a slow step forward, jaw clenched, every inch of his mind buzzing with pain and the contradiction of arousal brought by his own hint of outbreak. The deer shuddered at the motion, unsure whether to flee or beg.
"Open your mouth," Oliver said quietly—his voice low, edged with something darker—as if he hadn't decided whether he was giving an order or a warning.