The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

"The official path has many church informants, so this shortcut is more advantageous to us."

Barlow parted a thicket of bushes, and a flat, compacted dirt road, worn smooth by repeated trampling, appeared before them.

The earthy smell mixed with the stench of decomposition filled Yonivore's nostrils, and the faint smell of rust in the air made him even more suspicious.

"Barlow, this road... I think many people know it."

He frowned, glanced at the thorns on both sides that had been neatly trimmed by iron tools, and asked further.

"How dare you assume there aren't church spies here?"

"Their sacred robes can't withstand the torment of thorns and mud, and even with double the pay, no one is willing to do it. Over time, this place has become a shortcut that people turn a blind eye to."

Yune responded with a soft hum, his gaze subtly observing Simon's steps.

The doctor was meticulously following the footprints left by Barlow and Byron, proceeding with deliberate caution and a stumbling gait.

"Besides us, other teams have taken on this bounty," Barlow said, turning to the side and pointing ahead.

The footprints on the yellow mud were mixed together, and the mud that had been stirred up had not yet dried.

"Then hurry up!" Byron spat, tugging at Simon behind him. "What if some idiot steals my gold coins..."

But Simon stumbled for less than two steps before regaining his balance and complaining.

"Byron, arriving early is not a good thing!"

Yes, there are plenty of despicable things like murder and robbery.

Yoniv rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "I really hope that the ones charging ahead are church spies, so I can also pick up some spoils of war."

He coughed lightly. "Simon is right. Only fools and skilled hunters are going to be in the lead. Keep your distance and let them scout ahead."

At the end of the road, the low shrubs had completely disappeared, replaced by towering trees.

The dense shade of the trees blocked out all light. Thick vines hung from the branches, and the pale trunk, as thick as three people could hug, dripped with sweet, fishy sap along the marks left by a sharp instrument.

"Are they crazy?" Byron exclaimed.

He dipped the tip of his dagger into a little tree sap, brought it to his nose, and sniffed it lightly. "Why are these lunatics taking their anger out on innocent trees?"

Was he under a hallucination? Yunefu's hands, hidden beneath his black robe, tightened, and he quietly gripped the tiny potion bottle hanging from his wrist.

"It's the aftermath of the battle, you fools."

A blond man emerged from the shadows of the forest, his gleaming silver armor still damp with sap, as if he had just been through a battle.

"Vilkin, a hyena-like scoundrel," Barlow muttered, his tone filled with undisguised disgust.

Vilkin's gaze swept over Barlow and Byron, lingered on Simon for a moment, and finally looked at Ionevoy, revealing a disdainful smile.

"Barlow, bringing such an old scholar to attack the Ironcore Ancient Tree... does he have no intention of coming out alive?"

His sense of superiority as a nobleman caused his voice to rise at the end, and he continued to mock.

"In my opinion, you should continue to hide in your dimly lit laboratories and spend your lives in vain."

"Vilkin, you don't need to worry about him," Byron stepped forward, slamming his shield heavily into the ground, and confronted him. "You'd better watch out so the vines don't strangle you..."

"Are you planning to gang up on us? You're as rude as ever."

Wilkins turned to his teammates who had followed him, and snorted, "Let's go, let them continue playing with the sap."

Simon looked at the departing trio of warrior, mage, and priest, and subconsciously took half a step forward, appearing somewhat anxious.

"We need to catch up with them quickly, since two groups have already gone in ahead of us."

"What's the rush? Let them fight like dogs with the church."

Barlow buried his head in inspecting the musket, slowly loading the specially made magic-source stone bullets into the chamber, and then spoke slowly.

"Ensuring the squad has the lowest possible casualty rate, isn't that exactly what you wanted, Simon?"

"...I just feel that things might change if I wait too long."

Simon realized his lapse in decorum, silently withdrew his leg, and unconsciously fluttered the collar of his robe.

Eunice glanced at Simon and spoke.

"Simon is right, but we need to figure out what happened first."

His gaze shifted to the small knife tucked into Barlow's waist. "Barlow, lend me your knife."

He made a cut on the existing knife mark on the tree trunk, picked up a drop of fresh sap, and brought it close to his face to examine it closely.

The sap was not as clear and transparent as commonly believed; instead, it appeared turbid under the firelight, and tiny, grayish-green objects, about the size of sand grains, were faintly visible moving within it.

"Did you figure it out?" Barlow leaned forward slightly and asked softly.

"It's a 'seed' from an ancient iron-core tree; its assimilation range far exceeds our imagination."

Eunice placed the tip of the knife on the torch and burned it with the flame for a moment before returning it to Barlow.

This method is closer to "parasitism"...

"We'd better find the culprit and kill it before this forest comes to life completely," Yunevo said with a grim expression, taking out concealment potions and distributing them to the group.

"Otherwise... all the creatures in the shallow layer will become its nourishment."

"Byron will go first," he quickly suggested. "Barlow, you're more familiar with the way the Wilkins squad scouts, so you'll lead the way behind Byron. Simon will be third, and I'll be last."

Byron picked up the shield, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself.

"I can't risk my life here, I still have a ton of gold coins left to spend..."

His gaze fell upon Yonivore, he nodded slightly, and walked in front of the solemn-faced Balo.

The concealment potion had an extremely pungent, bitter smell, but it also made everyone more alert. In this misty forest, every rustle of wind and movement became terrifying.

"Wait!" After taking only a few steps, Byron suddenly stopped, blocking the crowd. He held his shield in front of him and used his sword to push aside a thick, hanging vine.

In the firelight, a corpse was twisted and grotesque, almost "stuck" to the "spider web" woven from vines. Its leather armor was rotting, and vines were piercing through its hollow facial features.

"Its skin..." Yunevo's gaze swept over the scaly markings on the corpse's skin, and he continued, "It is evolving in the direction of a 'tree'."

"It's assimilation..." Barlow's voice was a little dry. He took a step forward, seemingly wanting to observe the corpse more closely.

"And he's not the only one," Yunevo raised his torch further into the road—where strange wooden figures of various shapes swayed in the breeze among the intertwined tree trunks.

It's as if this forest is breathing.