I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 75: The Devil Forest

Victor frowned. "Pond of Dragon Tears?"

Lady Li Yang nodded.

"It is said to be a sacred pool, filled with the tears of an ancient dragon who once wept for a lost love," she explained. "Its waters contain immense restorative properties, capable of reversing even the most grievous ailments."

Victor was intrigued. "That sounds… insanely valuable," he admitted.

Lady Li Yang smiled faintly. "It is. Which is why… I must reach it before others do... It is said to appear only once every two thousand years."

Victor folded his arms. "I take it this journey isn't as simple as picking up water and leaving?"

Lady Li Yang laughed softly while shaking her head.

"Of course not," she said. "The pond is fiercely protected. And no one knows what lurks there."

Victor grinned slightly.

'Figures. Nothing in this world is ever simple... Still… this journey just became a lot more interesting.'

...

...

(( Two Hours Later ))

They finally arrived in the Devil Forest.

Victor stepped out of the carriage briefly and inhaled deeply.

The air was filled with an eerie presence, and even though the sun should have been high in the sky, almost no light made it past the twisted canopy of withered, leafless trees that shot into the skies above them.

The forest was alive—but not in the way a forest should be.

The trees were warped and their barks cracked with deep scars that thumped faintly as though breathing. Their branches twisted in unnatural angles, resembling clawing hands reaching out for the unwelcome trespassers.

The ground beneath them was a blend of ashen soil, twisted roots, and patches of bioluminescent moss that cast an ominous glow over the landscape.

But the strangest part...?

The fog...

A thick grayish mist curled around their feet, rising and falling like a living entity that slithered through the gaps in the trees.

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Every now and then, whispers—too faint to make out but unsettling enough—echoed through the mist, making it sound as if something unseen lurked just beyond their vision.

A flood of notifications immediately appeared in Victor's line of sight the moment he stepped inside:

---

[You have entered the Devil Forest.]

[Warning! The Devil Forest is a cursed region filled with unknown perils.]

[Your Perception stat has increased temporarily by ×2 due to heightened danger.]

[You have received a minor debuff: Phantom Whispers. They may or may not be real.]

[You have received an environmental boon: Fog Adaptation – You can see slightly better in heavy mist conditions.]

---

Victor narrowed his eyes. "Well… that's new."

Lady Li Yang who had been silent since their entrance, finally spoke. "This place feels heavier than I anticipated. The legends say the Devil Forest is a realm trapped between the world of the living and the dead."

Victor raised a brow. "So... is this the part where spirits and demons start crawling out?"

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One of the guards let out a tense chuckle. "Hopefully not."

Lady Li Yang retrieved a small jade compass from a storage unit.

It happened to be an artifact of sorts that was supposed to point them in the right direction.

The needle trembled before settling on a direction, pointing them deeper into the forest.

"The good news," she said, "is that this confirms we're still on the right track. The Pond of Dragon Tears is near... but we need to keep moving before others arrive."

"Then let's not waste time," Victor proceeded to get back into the carriage while one of the guards pulled out a lantern and attached it to the side of their carriage to help illuminate their path.

Their spiritual beast clawed hooves sunk slightly into the unstable ground as the group advanced deeper into the gloom.

For three hours, they traversed the eerie landscape, carefully dodging strange pulsating roots that occasionally coiled up like snakes, as if preparing to strike. Victor swore he saw shadows move within the trees, but every time he turned, there was nothing there.

Lady Li Yang seemed pleased with their progress. "At this pace, we'll reach the coordinates before anyone can."

That was until they reached the river.

Or, rather—what should have been a river.

In front of them stretched a puddle-like expanse of blackened water. It was hard to tell if it was deep or shallow.

The water was too still.

Too dark.

Too unnatural.

It swallowed the light from their lanterns, making it look bottomless. And worst of all, it extended as far as the eye could see, submerging every single tree, rock, and pathway ahead.

A system notification popped up in Victor's vision:

---

[Submerged Death Swamp Discovered]

[Warning: Falling into this water will result in instant death.]

[No player, cultivator, or beast has returned from the depths of the Submerged Death Swamp.]

---

Victor swallowed. "Yeah… we are definitely not walking through that."

One of the guards beside Lady Li Yang stepped forward and picked up a long wooden branch from the ground. Without hesitation, he tossed it into the water.

The moment the stick touched the surface, it sank immediately, disappearing in an instant as if it had never been there.

The guard whistled. "Anything that falls in isn't coming back up."

Victor frowned while staring at the only visible path forward—

The exposed branches of monstrous-looking trees stuck out of the water like the broken fingers of a drowned corpse.

Lady Li Yang sighed. "There is no other way forward. We'll have to cross using those branches."

The second guard nodded before looking at Victor. "One of us should stay behind and guard the beast and carriage. There's no way it can cross this."

The first guard volunteered. "I'll stay."

Lady Li Yang glanced at the remaining one. "You'll carry me."

The armored cultivator immediately lowered himself, and Lady Li Yang climbed onto his back.

In the next instant, the guard launched himself forward, landing perfectly on the first branch.

Victor didn't hesitate. He secured his broken sword on his back and leapt forward before landing on a gnarled bark.

One step.

Then another.

The branches creaked ominously under their weight, but they held.

Victor quickly adjusted to the rhythm, following behind the armored cultivator carrying Lady Li Yang.

However, the moment he landed on the third branch, something changed.

A sudden splash echoed through the air causing Victor to twist his neck to the side in other to take a peek.

For a split second, he saw something humanoid but unnatural lurking just beneath the surface—

A head with glowing green eyes had emerged from the surface of the thick blackened river.

"There's something in there..." Victor eyes widened as he voiced in trepidation.