Mount Luofeng Peaks, All Within Sight!

The moment the sword light pierced into the cave, the monster felt a suffocating sensation as if its throat were being slit.

A danger like a natural disaster!

In an instant, the deep, knife-carved wrinkles on the monster's face seemed to split open. "Hoo!" Both heads opened their mouths simultaneously, spewing out a brilliant spray of flames. These two torrents of fire were fiercer and more vicious than the one the monster had spat out before—as if even the air inside the cave was about to ignite.

Piercing through as if nothing stood in its way!

But that sword light seemed capable of tearing space itself, cutting directly through the flames. With a single flash, one of the Two-Headed Monster's heads flew into the air.

Blood gushed out—the monster's blood was actually a dark green! The monster roared in agony, its crocodile-like tail lashing against the ground, sending rocks flying in all directions.

Yet the youth seemed to have forgotten that the monster was right beside him. His eyes were fixed unblinkingly on that faint, drifting flying sword.

The sword's brilliance flashed just once, and the terrifying monster had one of its heads severed. This was power!

When will I ever possess such power? When will I be able to ride a sword light like those people, instead of standing on the ground looking up?

The youth stared at the sword light, his heart filled with awe. But the sword light had already spun around like a fleeting gleam, descending again to strike the monster.

Under the faint radiance, the youth saw the monster covered in dark green blood, making it look even more horrifying. Yet in the eyes of its remaining head, there was nothing but fear and a pleading expression. Its hands curled against its chest, repeatedly bowing in supplication. To the youth, this fearsome monster suddenly seemed like a child who had done something wrong, begging for forgiveness—pitiful and helpless. Having grown up in hardship, the youth was easily moved by such a sight. Seeing the faint sword light about to fall again, he instinctively stepped in front of the monster.

"Fool!"

Yuan Tianyi's flying sword was swift beyond measure. By the time the youth reached the monster, the sword light was already at his chest. Even though the flying sword was linked to Yuan Tianyi's mind and he pulled back in time, it nearly sliced the youth in two. "It wants to kill you, yet you want to save it. Fine, then have it your way!" In a fury, Yuan Tianyi withdrew his flying sword, deciding to wash his hands of the youth's fate.

Shattered rocks tumbled down!

In his anger, Yuan Tianyi drove the flying sword straight through the cave's ceiling. The roof was made of hard rock, several zhang thick, but his sword light cut through it like tofu, without the slightest resistance, and shot into the stormy sky like a dragon ascending. The youth trembled at the sight, thinking that if that sword light had cut through him, even if he were made of iron, he would have been split in two. Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed at his chest. Looking down, he saw blood streaming—even though Yuan Tianyi had instantly withdrawn the sword, the blade's aura had left a shallow wound across his chest.

After all the violent movements, the youth was already on the verge of collapse. This new injury made the world spin around him. His legs gave way, and he fell to the ground. All his wounds throbbed with pain, and he couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

"I wonder if saving this monster will stop it from trying to kill me." The thought flashed through his mind. Turning his head to look at the monster, he saw it huddled in a corner of the cave, trembling, as if terrified of Yuan Tianyi's sword light.

Seeing the monster so pitiful, the youth's sympathy surged again. He couldn't help but comfort it: "Don't be afraid. He's a rare kind of person—if he said he won't kill you, he definitely won't come after you anymore." The youth held Yuan Tianyi in great respect. Since he hadn't been accepted as a disciple, he didn't dare call Yuan Tianyi his master, so he used "he" instead.

The monster seemed to understand his words. Its trembling gradually stopped, but fear still lingered in its eyes.

The youth's wounds ached as if splitting apart, and blood still flowed from his chest. He stopped paying attention to the monster, tearing off his already tattered clothes to bandage his injuries. When the bleeding finally stopped, he had no strength left and lay down on the ground. After lying there for the time it takes a few incense sticks to burn, he heard a rustling sound—the monster had come to his side.

Though it had lost one head, the monster didn't seem to be in mortal danger; the wound had also stopped bleeding. The remaining head's two fiery red eyes spun like fireballs, its mouth open and teeth bared, looking quite ferocious. "What, are you going to kill me? If you want to kill me now, I don't have the strength to resist. Go ahead." Seeing the monster like this, the youth lying on the ground smiled bitterly, his voice weak.

"Hiss, hiss," the monster stared at him blankly for a moment, then suddenly nodded and bowed repeatedly.

"So you're thanking me, not trying to kill me?" The youth paused, then realized what was happening. He quickly shook his head. "No need to thank me. Is it serious, losing one of your heads? Are those fruits yours? I wasn't trying to take them—I'd just never seen them before and was curious enough to pick one for a look." "Hiss, hiss." After he finished speaking, the youth remembered that the monster didn't understand human speech. Seeing the monster gesture wildly in response to his words, he found it funny and couldn't help but laugh.

When the youth laughed, the monster seemed embarrassed too. Its curled hands instinctively scratched at the graying hair on its remaining head. This gesture was even funnier, and the youth burst out laughing again. The monster grinned back, and in that moment, the youth no longer found it ugly or terrifying.

"Do you live here?"

"Is this your home? Can I stay here for the night? I really don't have the strength to climb back down right now."

The youth and the monster talked past each other for a while, with no way to tell if the monster understood anything. When the youth had recovered a bit of strength and sat up, the monster suddenly reached out its hand. In its palm lay a small, emerald-green plant, which it offered to the youth.

"What's this?" The youth saw that the leaves of the emerald plant weren't particularly unusual, but it had a small, round root bulb with neatly arranged root hairs, as if it had been carefully pulled up by the roots.

"Hm?" Seeing the monster produce this item through the Light Splitting Mirror, Yuan Tianyi was taken aback. A gleam flashed in Old Zhao Nan's amber-like eyes. "Zhanxikezha Grass?"

"So even this worthless Mountain Salamander knows how to repay a kindness." Yuan Tianyi didn't answer Old Zhao Nan. He gave a cold snort, and the Light Splitting Mirror, which had shown every detail inside the cave, vanished without a trace.

The wrinkles on Old Zhao Nan's face smoothed out as he revealed a knowing smile. "Master, judging good and evil not by appearance or origin, but by a kind heart—that's something you can't teach. And it's precisely what sets you apart from those outside."

Yuan Tianyi remained silent, slowly lifting his head to gaze at the sky. In the misty rain, he could see the shifts in energy that few in the world could perceive, yet he still couldn't see through the causes and effects of this world.

Just as the youth was examining the emerald plant the monster had handed him, he noticed the monster gesturing repeatedly, bringing its hands to its mouth. Somewhat surprised, he asked, "You want me to eat this thing?"

Hearing the youth's words, the monster hissed and nodded vigorously.

"What does this thing do?" the youth asked again. The monster gestured some more, but he still couldn't figure out what it meant. After Kongtong had tricked him into eating the Mò Chà Pearl, the youth was quite hesitant now. But seeing the monster's earnest gestures and sincere expression, he hesitated for a moment before putting the whole emerald plant into his mouth. The leaves were exceptionally bitter when chewed, with an indescribable fishy, foul taste. At first, he felt nothing, but moments later, a surge of warmth rose from his lower abdomen, blazing like fire through his liver, heart, and throat, finally rushing to the top of his head with a resounding boom. The youth couldn't help but cry out, and a stream of white vapor burst from his mouth.

Startled and puzzled, the youth felt as if his whole body were soaking in a hot spring, warm and comfortable. After just a short while, he felt energized and couldn't help but leap to his feet. What surprised him was that he jumped over a zhang high. When he landed and steadied himself, he saw that some of his wounds had split open and were bleeding, but he felt full of a strength he'd never had before. "What is this stuff? It's incredible!" Joy and astonishment mingled in his heart. Stretching his arms and legs, he couldn't help but shout out loud.

"Hiss, hiss." The monster gestured again, still incomprehensible, but it looked very pleased and satisfied.

"Now I'm the one who should thank you!" Overjoyed, the youth imitated the monster's bow. "You gave me this to eat—maybe now I can climb to the top of the mountain today."

When the monster heard about the mountaintop, it seemed frightened again and shrank back. The youth quickly waved his hands. "Don't be afraid. He's a good person. He only hurt you because he was afraid you'd hurt me."

The monster hissed and gestured with its hands again, but it still seemed afraid. Carefully, it picked a fruit from the dark-branched shrub, held it in its mouth, and despite the youth's explanations, it bowed repeatedly to him before backing out of the cave. It climbed down along the iron chain and disappeared from the youth's sight.

By now, the torrential rain had eased, and the iron chain was a bit slippery. But the youth felt greatly strengthened and thought he should climb the peak quickly, before this newfound strength faded. So after watching the monster vanish, he began climbing back up the chain.

At first, he worried he might lose his grip and fall, but the more he climbed, the easier it felt, as if his hands and feet held inexhaustible strength. He climbed faster and faster, until he moved like a spider ascending its own thread—his speed was several times greater than before.

Suddenly, the youth saw the iron chain tied to a cylindrical stone. He leaped up, and when he landed steady, he realized he was standing on the mountaintop!

The Mount Luofeng Peaks lay spread out before him!

"I finally made it!" For a moment, the youth's heart was a tangle of indescribable emotions, surging and uncontrollable.