The next day, Chen Guan wrote two letters. One was sent to Yao Ye in the Imperial Capital, the other, along with a token of trust, was dispatched to the nearby Jishi City.
After finishing his errands, he bought two maps of the outer Magical Beast Mountain Range in Qingshan Town and, without a moment's hesitation, plunged into the wilderness alone.
This was his first time entering the vast mountain range. It would have been more convenient to hire a mercenary as a guide, but after considering the disparity in strength, he had abandoned the idea. Even the leaders of the major mercenary groups in Qingshan Town were only Dou Shi masters. Bringing them along would be more of a hindrance than a help.
Since it was his first time, Chen Guan was in no hurry. He focused on familiarizing himself with the environment while keeping an eye out for the hidden cave discovered by the Little Fairy Doctor in the original story.
He spent the entire morning searching fruitlessly for the cave, but he did kill more than a dozen Magical Beasts. They were all first-tier and posed no threat at all. They're practically here to cause trouble.
After a delicious meal of roasted boar, Chen Guan stood up and continued deeper into the mountains. He had plenty of time to search for the cave later, perhaps changing direction each day in a methodical, carpet-like search. For now, gaining real experience was the priority.
As he ventured deeper, the strength of the beasts increased. The first-tier monsters vanished, replaced by second-tier beasts who now ruled these territories. A second-tier Magical Beast was equivalent to a human Dou Shi, and often a more formidable one at that. This area was still considered the outskirts of the mountain range, but it was deep enough that most mercenaries steered clear. The previously common sight of other adventurers had disappeared entirely; he was utterly alone.
Screech!
A stream of hot venom shot toward him from behind.
As the danger arrived, Chen Guan seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. With a slight shift, he easily dodged the attack. A flick of his wrist sent a crimson blade of energy, condensed by his Thousand Flames Sword Art, flying from his backhand. It struck the ambushing beast squarely in its open mouth, and a sharp scream accompanied by a spray of blood echoed through the quiet forest.
It was a second-tier Poisonous Fire Lizard.
Recognizing the target, Chen Guan didn't slow down. He rushed forward, mounted the beast's back, and silenced it with three powerful, brutal punches. He wiped the blood from his hands, then skillfully cut open the corpse with his sword. A dark red, thumb-sized magic core came into view.
"Heh, lucky me."
This was the first magic core he had harvested today. When I think about it, this is my first real side income in all these years. It's almost enough to bring a tear to my eye.
The thought of honing his skills while also making money was a powerful motivator. He put the magic core away and began to search for his next target. In his eyes, this entire area had just become a gold mine.
Gale Wolf… Greenwood Fox… Blazing Python…
One after another, second-tier beasts appeared, and without exception, they all met their end. By evening, Chen Guan had slain fourteen of them. It was a pity he had only managed to obtain four magic cores.
"Fourteen kills, four cores. Such unlucky numbers. One more, and I'll call it a day." Seeing the sky darken, Chen Guan muttered to himself and made his decision. After more than ten consecutive battles, despite his victories, he was feeling the strain.
He was searching for his final target when a rustling sound reached his ears.
His expression changed slightly. He immediately used his Wandering Cloud Steps to retreat to a wide-open area. With his sword in hand, he stood alert, a faint Dou Qi mantle shimmering around him. He formed a hand seal, and in the blink of an eye, a crimson blade of energy condensed, floating behind his back.
One… two…
He stopped only after sixty blades of sword energy hovered behind him, having consumed nearly half of the Dou Qi in his body. At that moment, the source of the noise came into view. Just as he had guessed, it was a swarm of nearly a hundred pale-white snakes.
They were Red Ice Snakes, common first-tier Magical Beasts from this mountain range. Their ice-attribute venom could freeze the blood of a victim solid in half a day.
Chen Guan felt a sliver of relief. The slithering horde looked unsettling, and even a top-tier second-level beast would be unwilling to provoke them, but to him, the threat was minimal. He was very good at clearing out low-level mobs.
"Go!"
Without hesitation, he took the initiative. Sixty blades of sword energy shot out from behind him, dazzling as a meteor shower. The sky filled with a crimson cloud, a moment of fleeting, deadly beauty.
The swarm was instantly overwhelmed. The sword energy tore through them, leaving behind a gruesome scene of severed limbs and scorched earth. The air filled with the scent of seared flesh. In a single blow, more than seventy percent of the snakes were dead, and the survivors were all grievously wounded. The power of a Xuan-rank Dou Skill was terrifying.
Chen Guan surged forward to finish the job. But just as he was about to add to his kill count, a powerful sense of crisis washed over him. He used his Wandering Cloud Steps to its absolute limit, instantly moving more than ten meters away.
Sizzle!
A pool of dark venom landed where he had just stood. The extreme toxicity instantly eroded a meter-wide circle into the ground, turning the grass yellow and dead before a thick layer of ice condensed over it.
Not far away, a gray snake several meters long stared at him with cold, intelligent pupils.
"Third-tier?!" Chen Guan exclaimed.
It was a mutated Red Ice Snake King. Its cold poison was mixed with a severe corrosive element. Based on that alone, it was far from the weakest of the third-tier beasts.
"Excuse me, goodbye!"
Without even glancing at the seven or eight magic cores glittering on the ground, Chen Guan flung his sword at the Red Ice Snake King as a distraction, turned, and fled. By the time the Snake King dodged the blade and looked back, he was already dozens of meters away.
The Snake King, possessing some intelligence, was enraged by the boy's cunning. It hissed and gave chase, its huge body no hindrance to its speed.
Chen Guan could feel the beast pursuing him relentlessly. He fled toward a dense patch of trees, using his greater flexibility to his advantage while judging the distance from the sound of crumbling trees behind him. Although he was being chased, he remained calm. He was still confident the snake couldn't truly threaten his life. The reason he fled was simple: unleashing the Calamity of Ten Thousand Gods would consume a massive amount of Dou Qi. In his current state, any random second-tier beast would become a threat after he used it.
Escape was the wise choice. He clearly remembered the route he had taken, knowing he had cleared all the beasts along the way. Everything was under control.
But he had never expected another beast to occupy the cleared territory so quickly. A second-tier Fire Fox, having just claimed its new domain, saw Chen Guan rushing toward it and decisively lashed out to defend its authority.
Caught off guard, his Dou Qi mantle was instantly pierced, leaving a deep claw mark on his left arm. The flesh wound was minor, but what was fatal was that the Fire Fox's attack had interrupted his rhythm, forcing him to a halt.
It was only for a moment, but it was enough for the Red Ice Snake King to catch up.
There was no time to think. A broadsword appeared in his hand, and he instantly activated Ocean Without End, meeting the snake's charge head-on.
A tremendous force slammed into him. Chen Guan was sent flying, spitting a mouthful of blood into the air. But he used that momentum, pulling away from the snake once more. The distance was even greater than before. In a few flashes, he leaped into the dense forest. Catching him now would be nearly impossible.
Realizing he had been tricked, the Red Ice Snake King roared in fury and turned its cold gaze on the Fire Fox, ready to vent its anger. However, the Fire Fox's desire to survive was overwhelming. It scrambled up a nearby cliff, its climbing ability far beyond the reach of the massive snake.
The Fire Fox, proud of its clever escape, had no idea that in that moment, it had sealed the fate of its entire clan, for it had been marked by an enemy it could not afford to provoke.
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