Demonic Beast Infiltration

Looking at the words that had appeared before him, Qi Chuan's expression grew increasingly relaxed.

Compared to dull, tedious cultivation, although he did not spend much time tending Spiritual Plants, he found it quite stress-relieving.

After each session of labor, he could immerse himself in cultivation with an even better mood. He did not know whether it had the slightest connection to his state of mind, but even the Baoji multipliers that appeared would become a little higher.

"If this keeps up, perhaps I'll someday master Spiritual Plant skills without a teacher and become a true Spiritual Plant Master?"

Qi Chuan could not help but laugh.

However, because he had invested relatively little time, the improvements he gained were not much either. He still could not be considered a qualified Spiritual Plant Master, and his skills remained rather shallow.

He glanced at the sky. The clouds high above had gradually changed from dusky yellow to an ever-deepening shade.

This meant that night was about to fall.

"When will the turmoil outside finally come to an end?"

Watching the scene, Qi Chuan muttered helplessly.

Over the past year, although he had remained on this mountain peak, news from the outside world would occasionally spread through the Lineage and reach his ears through his Second Master.

It was said that things outside had been chaotic lately. Some Lineages had even been wiped out entirely.

Among them was the Xiao Family, a powerful clan with a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator!

Speaking of it, the Xiao Family had brought this upon themselves.

They had actually dared to secretly cast covetous eyes upon the Secret Realm within the fifty-li Forbidden Zone. When the Wind Moon Sect discovered them, it acted directly and wiped them out with ruthless force.

True Sword Master Xuanjian had not even needed to act. Merely by dispatching several Foundation Establishment cultivators and several War Boats, they surrounded and suppressed the Xiao Family. Aside from Clan Members who were away, nearly two hundred people, including the Xiao Family's Foundation Establishment Ancestor, were all executed.

From this alone, one could see the leopard through a tube and glimpse just how formidable the Wind Moon Sect truly was.

Thinking back on it, the Qi Family Ancestor's actions in withdrawing forces and restricting Clan Members from going out had been exceedingly correct.

Some small and declining Lineages had also been destroyed, though the Wind Moon Sect had not been responsible for those.

Those weak Lineages did not have the courage to covet the Forbidden Zone Secret Realm, and the Wind Moon Sect would not have regarded them as threats.

According to Qi Chuan's own guess, those weak clans had likely been wiped out by certain Foundation Establishment Great Clans taking advantage of the chaos, their goal being to swallow the other Lineages' resources whole.

If he let his imagination turn even darker, perhaps the Qi Family had done the same.

After all, neither the Qi Family's Foundation Establishment Ancestor nor those Late Qi Refining Stage Elders had disciples who could monitor their movements.

It was hard to say whether they had secretly acted as well; there was simply no way to verify it.

Another thing worth mentioning was that several of the Qi Family's Mid-stage cultivators had disappeared. According to the Lineage's upper ranks, they had been killed by evildoers and Rogue Cultivators while stationed outside at certain family industries.

Qi Chuan had no way of knowing the specifics.

But no matter what, until the enormous turmoil outside ended, Qi Chuan would not leave.

Only by honestly remaining on this mountain peak to cultivate could he protect himself.

"Still, Second Master went off for Family missions these past few days. It isn't an assignment outside, but safe Intra-family missions. For these two days, I'm the only one on the peak, so I need to be careful."

Qi Chuan thought to himself, his gaze sweeping across the entire mountain peak several times.

This mountain peak had been bestowed upon Second Master by the Lineage. He was only at the Qi Refining Third Layer and was not very strong, so although the mountain's Spiritual Qi was not utterly terrible, its Spiritual Qi Concentration was still rather poor. It lay in a relatively outer region of Red Maple Valley's Ling Mai.

There was no Lineage Formation covering this place.

In fact, throughout all of Red Maple Valley, only that small area around the Main Peak was likely covered by a Tier 1 Formation—or perhaps a Tier 2 Low-grade Formation?

Therefore, although the Qi Family had withdrawn forces and consolidated itself within Red Maple Valley, unexpected situations could still arise.

Even if the Qi Family was a Foundation Establishment Great Clan, it could not guarantee that no one would dare stroke a tiger's whiskers.

However, after inspecting the mountain peak, he found no unusual circumstances. Even the more distant peaks and the directions of several Mortal Towns farther out were peaceful.

Thus, Qi Chuan returned to his room and shut the door.

After circulating the Evergreen Art several times, he planned to enjoy a good sleep. As someone merely at the Qi Refining Second Layer, he could not yet completely forgo sleep, though around two hours of rest would restore his energy.

"Rustle... rustle..."

Yet just as Qi Chuan closed his eyes and prepared to fall asleep, an extremely faint sound suddenly entered his ears.

"Hmm?"

The rustling sounded much like wind stirring leaves, but upon careful distinction, one could detect subtle differences.

This was also because Qi Chuan had not secretly let down his guard and had always maintained a measure of vigilance. Otherwise, he might not have noticed it.

"Someone has entered this peak? A thief? Or..."

Qi Chuan narrowed his eyes, but made no move.

His eyes remained shut, as though he were sleeping normally, while he quietly listened to the sounds outside.

He knew that he was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer. Even though he had already brought all the Basic Five Elements Spells to Minor Accomplishment, to put it bluntly, such strength was still not worth much in the Qi Refining Realm.

If whoever had infiltrated the peak was powerful, confronting them head-on might not end well for him.

Besides, apart from some Spirit Herbs that were not worth many Spirit Stones, there was nothing outside. Losing a little would not matter.

Moreover, the other party might not even care for those Spirit Herbs. Perhaps after seeing there was nothing of great value, they would leave for another mountain peak.

However, though that was what he thought, after waiting for a short while, Qi Chuan sensed that something was wrong.

"This... is the other party determined not to leave? And this sound, why does it seem like..."

Smack!

Qi Chuan narrowed his eyes and pulled a Light Body Talisman from his robes, slapping it onto himself. The talisman emitted a faint glow before vanishing.

Qi Chuan immediately felt his body grow light and airy.

Then his figure flashed, and he silently headed out the door.

"Rustle... rustle..."

Within a Spirit Field, an enormous lizard claw covered in dense scales stepped onto the soil, producing only a faint sound that blended with the wind and was difficult to detect.

"Grrr..."

A savage maw casually chewed the Spirit Herb in its mouth, then swallowed it whole. Its protruding, agilely swiveling lizard eyes warily glanced twice toward the Simple House. Seeing no movement, the massive Low-grade Tier 1 Lizard Demonic Beast finally lifted its claw, preparing to ravage the next Spirit Field.

Drip.

Yet as it moved its claw, drops of blue-green blood ran down from its right foreclaw, following its emerald scales before falling to the ground and staining the soil a different color.

Beneath the sharp, raised spines on its back, near its right foreleg, was a huge and gruesome tear. Blood seeped from the wound.

Clearly, this Low-grade Tier 1 Lizard Demonic Beast was injured.

Screech!

Just as the Lizard Demonic Beast took a step and prepared to head for the next Spirit Field, a faint sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

Above its lizard head, a Crimson Fireball the size of half a fist abruptly appeared. Fine flames swayed in the wind around it. In utter silence, it scorched the air and came crashing down at the lizard's head with tremendous speed.

The sudden change made the Lizard Demonic Beast's body stiffen abruptly, and a chill shot straight to its head.