Skinwalker Belle – Chapter 343 – Forest of the Elves

High above, a streak of black light tore through the clouds.

Lin Fan looked down at the mountains and rivers rushing past below, unable to resist a silent complaint.

This Dragon Spirit Continent was absurdly large.

She had been flying at supersonic speed for nearly an hour now. At this pace, she would have already crossed half an ocean back on Blue Star, yet here, aside from a few small villages, she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of a proper large city.

“If I’d known, I would’ve brought that rat Jiji along—at least he’s a living map.”

Lin Fan slowed down and hovered mid-air.

She flipped through the fragmented memories inherited from Long Xuan in her mind.

This region was marked as “Barbaric Wasteland” on the Dragon Clan’s maps. Although it was technically under Dragon Clan rule, the authority was far away and the emperor was distant—no dragon was willing to station themselves here.

This had turned the area into a paradise for demi-human races and various exiled factions.

“What I need is a big tribe—one with hundreds or even thousands of people, preferably a race with a high female population.”

Lin Fan scratched her head in mild frustration.

All she’d encountered so far were small villages of a few dozen people, just like Green Hill Village back then.

Those places could produce at most Grade Three materials—nowhere near enough to yield Perfect Grade Skins.

“That’s…”

Lin Fan’s gaze was suddenly drawn to a glimmer of color in the distance.

At the edge of her vision lay a primordial forest that seemed to stretch endlessly.

And at the heart of the forest sat a massive, jade-like lake. Even from this far away, she could sense the dense water-attributed Spirit Energy so thick it felt almost tangible.

“The Forest of Elves?”

Lin Fan dug this name out from a corner of Long Xuan’s memories.

The name sounded rather poetic—very anime-esque.

But ironically, in all of Long Xuan’s memories, she had never once seen an elf race.

Not just elves—she’d never even seen a creature with pointy ears.

Just like wife cakes have no wives, and Leifeng Pagoda has no Leifeng.

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“Well, if it’s called that, there ought to be something special about it.”

Lin Fan narrowed her eyes, her golden-purple vertical pupils contracting slightly.

A place this rich in Spirit Energy would definitely be occupied by a powerful race.

And with powerful races came high-grade “materials.”

“Hope you don’t disappoint me.”

With a flicker of movement, Lin Fan dove toward the massive lake.

Before landing, she retrieved the “Ghost” accessory set from System Space.

This thing used to be a life-saving artifact. Now, it had become a “fishing” artifact.

As she put on the full set, the terrifying Level Seven Dragon Might that could suffocate every living creature within a hundred miles instantly receded.

But a problem followed.

“Tsk, too much energy—can’t suppress it anymore.”

Lin Fan assessed her own condition.

In the past, she could completely seal off her life force fluctuations and energy signature. But now, with her Mental Strength fluctuating at over thirty thousand, the energy within her was like a live volcano on the verge of eruption.

Even with the “Ghost” set running at full power, it could only suppress her aura to the level of late Grade Four.

“Grade Four… not bad.”

Lin Fan landed on the soft, humus-rich ground, a playful smile curling at the corner of her lips.

“This level is just right. Not weak enough to be crushed like an ant, but plump and juicy enough to look like a fat, tasty sheep.”

Using her mental strength to refract light and conceal the dragon horns atop her head, she smoothed down the dress she was wearing. Looking like a lost noble lady, she strode boldly into the depths of the forest.

…

Half an hour later.

Squelch!

Lin Fan expressionlessly flicked the blood off her hand.

At her feet lay the corpses of five tiger-men.

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All had been killed with a single strike—their skulls split open, the crystal cores within already extracted.

“All males. How unlucky.”

Lin Fan wiped her hands disdainfully on the tiger-man’s fur.

This was already the third hunting party she had encountered.

Without exception, all of them were rough, burly men.

And when interrogated, none of them knew anything—they had no idea where the nearby tribes were located.

Although they had contributed a few Level 5 Crystal Cores, what Lin Fan needed right now wasn’t crystal cores—it was Skin!

“Is this Forest of Elves really so male-dominated?”

Lin Fan kicked the tiger-man’s corpse, then picked up her skirt hem with some frustration and continued forward.

This place was far more dangerous than the Mist Forest.

Mutated venomous insects and man-eating flowers were everywhere, and a faint miasma hung in the air.

If an ordinary Level 3 Evolved being came in here, they probably wouldn’t survive ten minutes.

Just as Lin Fan was pondering whether to cause a big commotion—like setting a fire to flush out the local “big shots” hiding in these woods—

The shrubbery ahead suddenly rustled.

Immediately after, a series of hissing sounds rang out.

Lin Fan halted mid-step, her eyes lighting up.

She stayed where she was, deliberately feigning a flustered expression as she took two steps back.

“Who’s there? Who’s there?!”

Her voice carried just the right amount of trembling.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Six figures burst out from the treetops and undergrowth simultaneously, forming an encirclement that trapped Lin Fan firmly in the middle.

They were creatures with human upper bodies and serpentine lower halves.

The leader of the group had an extremely voluptuous figure.

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She wore a scantily clad leather armor, with large patches of dark green scales covering her vital areas. Twin curved blades hung from her hands, and her pair of Vertical pupils gleamed with cold, greedy light.

The moment Lin Fan saw this beautiful snake-woman, she froze for a second.

Oh ho.

If it isn’t an old acquaintance?

This was the Serpent-folk hunting party she had encountered in the Mist Forest back when she had first donned Su Rou’s Skin.

Back then, if Long Yan hadn’t suddenly descended from the sky to play the hero and save the damsel in distress, this beautiful snake-woman would probably have already become one of her collectibles.

Small world, indeed.

Lin Fan chuckled inwardly.

Back in the Mist Forest, this one had only been at early Level 5. Now, judging by her aura, she had barely scraped into mid-Level 5.

For a native without any cheats, that rate of advancement was actually pretty impressive.

But what was even more interesting was that they had traveled all the way to this distant Forest of Elves.

It seemed that Long Yan’s scare back then had left them with a considerable psychological shadow.

The serpent-woman captain didn’t recognize Lin Fan.

After all, last time Lin Fan had been wearing Su Rou’s Skin—a fox spirit. Now Lin Fan was dressed in heavy skirts with her dragon horns concealed, making it impossible to tell what race she was.

Add to that Lin Fan’s gorgeous noblewoman appearance and the Level 4 “weakling” aura radiating from her…

“Now this is a prime catch.”

The serpent-woman captain extended her forked tongue and licked her lips, greed practically spilling from her eyes.

“A delicate-skinned woman like this is a rare commodity. If I sold her to those big merchants…”

She let out a sly chuckle, twirling the curved blade in her hand with a flourish.

“Pretty lady, lost?”

The Serpent-folk captain slithered forward on her thick tail, closing in slowly, her tone teasing, like a predator eyeing a helpless little rabbit that had wandered into a trap.

“This place isn’t safe, you know. Monsters that eat people are everywhere.”

Lin Fan blinked, playing along and putting on a look of fear.

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“You… what do you want? I have Crystals, I can give them to you…”

“Crystals?”

The Serpent-folk captain burst into laughter, and the other Serpent-folk around her joined in with a chorus of harsh hissing.

“Once we’ve got you, isn’t everything on you already ours?”

The Serpent-folk captain stopped wasting words and sharply waved her hand.

“Move! Don’t kill her—take her alive!”

The moment the words left her mouth, two fourth-tier Serpent-folk warriors lunged forward with vicious grins, swinging a capture net overhead to ensnare her.

Lin Fan stood right where she was, not moving an inch.

Only those eyes, which had been filled with “fear” just a second ago, suddenly flickered with a trace of amusement.

“You really never learn, do you?”

She let out a soft sigh.

Just as the capture net was about to come down—

Hum—!

An invisible wave of mental energy erupted from Lin Fan as the epicenter, all in an instant.

It wasn’t a destructive shockwave, but an exquisitely precise control.

It was as if six invisible hands had suddenly clamped down on the necks of all six Serpent-folk.

Thud! Thud!

The two Serpent-folk who had leaped into the air crashed straight to the ground like flies struck by an electric swatter, eyes rolling back, foam spilling from their mouths, bodies convulsing violently.

As for the Serpent-folk captain, she felt as though a steel needle had been viciously driven straight into her brain.

“Ahh!!”

She let out a bloodcurdling scream, her curved blade clattering to the ground as she clutched her head in agony, writhing and rolling wildly across the earth.

“You… you’re not fourth-tier!”