Silver Horn Mountain

"Roar~"

A dozen or so miles outside Silver Horn Mountain, a massive Black Wind Leopard roared at the sky before racing away. A man and a woman rode on its back, with two man-height gourds strapped to its sides.

"Awoo~ Awoo~"

"Awoo awoo~"

"Awoo!! Awoo~~ Awoo~"

Behind the leopard, five giant wolves no smaller than it howled one after another, as though responding.

By coincidence, they also carried two gourds on their backs. The gourds were strapped down tightly. Even as the five beasts sped along like the wind, not one showed any sign of falling—not even the slightest excessive swaying.

Silver Horn Mountain was an extremely perilous and precipitous peak, shaped almost like an ox horn. The upper part of the mountain tapered to a sharp point, while the mountain walls themselves were extremely steep, creating the "ox horn" shape. Because the mountain rocks were somewhat whitish, from a distance it looked like a white ox horn. Thus, it was called Silver Horn Mountain.

"Silver Horn Mountain. That was fast! It's only been two days!"

At the foot of Silver Horn Mountain, Gu Sheng had just landed when he felt uncomfortable from traveling too quickly and getting somewhat "leopard-sick." His hands and feet went numb and weak. A peak Houtian martial artist with strength exceeding one hundred thousand nearly fell to the ground.

Iron Arm Ape Mountain and Silver Horn Mountain were extremely far apart on the outskirts of the Wilderness, more than a thousand miles apart.

Iron Arm Ape Mountain was over two thousand miles from Southern Barbarian City. When Gu Sheng and Chu Xin had first entered the Wilderness, it had taken them nearly half a month to reach Iron Arm Ape Mountain on foot. Silver Horn Mountain was also quite far from Iron Arm Ape Mountain, and relying on their own strength, it would have taken them at least ten days even if everything went smoothly.

Now, however, Gu Sheng had covered that thousand-plus-mile journey in only two days—or, more precisely, less than a day and a half.

Although the journey had been fraught with danger, and they had encountered more than ten Demon Beasts as well as an absurd number of venomous insects and savage beasts, the big fellow beneath Gu Sheng was even more formidable. Thus, no reckless creatures had dared to trouble them, and they had arrived at Iron Arm Ape Mountain without incident.

"Black Wind, come here!"

Gu Sheng helped Chu Xin down from the Black Wind Leopard, then untied one of the large wine gourds and strapped it to his back. He opened it and poured a cup of Vermillion Fruit Wine. Stroking the black leopard's head with one hand, he brought the wine to its mouth.

"Slurp~"

The Black Wind Leopard opened its mouth and swept out its tongue, swallowing the entire cup of Vermillion Fruit Wine. The large fellow even snorted, rubbing its nose against the back of Gu Sheng's hand to show its affection.

"Hiss~"

A hiss came from Gu Sheng's shoulder. A streak of green light flashed, and a tiny, crystalline, adorable snake coiled around his right hand—the one holding the wine cup. It hissed at the Black Wind Leopard as it declared its territory. Fear appeared on the leopard's face, and it shrank away.

"Azure Spirit!"

Gu Sheng reached out and tapped the dragon horn of the Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling. His fingertip slid down from its head, passing over the little fellow's crystal-bright belly. This powerful Demon Beast, whose strength rivaled that of a Golden Core expert, actually narrowed its eyes and revealed a blissful expression.

After the Verdant Python had shrunk and become the Jade Azure Serpent, it had grown even more fond of staying with Gu Sheng. It often bullied the newly recruited Black Wind Leopard, as though telling it who was really the boss.

The Black Wind Leopard and the other four Demon Beasts called Crimson Shadow Wolves had all been brought back by Gu Sheng from Iron Arm Ape Mountain. These Demon Beasts were highly intelligent and had been bribed with Vermillion Fruit Wine.

The Black Wind Leopard was the strongest and most intelligent. Its strength rivaled that of an Xiantian Solid Core expert, and its speed surpassed that of most Golden Core Demon Beasts.

Crimson Shadow Wolves were a Demon Beast that lived in small clans. Individually, they were not very strong, each one roughly on the level of an Iron-Arm Ape. Together, however, they were no weaker than an Xiantian Demon Beast.

This group of five Crimson Shadow Wolves had likely just reached adulthood and been driven out—the five were siblings. Their eldest leader was quite intelligent. After seeing Gu Sheng bribe the Black Wind Leopard with Vermillion Fruit Wine, it had brought its little companions to his door to ask for protection.

Chu Xin deftly took several small bowls from her pack and poured a little into each Crimson Shadow Wolf's bowl. The amount was not much—combined, it only equaled the Black Wind Leopard's single cup—but the Crimson Shadow Wolves showed no dissatisfaction.

Vermillion Fruit Wine was tremendously beneficial to Demon Beasts. Among the Demon Beasts of Iron Arm Ape Mountain, it was practically legendary. Aside from the Iron-Arm Apes, few Demon Beasts could enjoy it. Those bold enough to try snatching it were at least Xiantian Demon Beasts.

The Crimson Shadow Wolves were not strong enough. Although they were fast, at most they could lick the bottom of the cup after another Demon Beast had snatched and finished the wine. Now that they had a master, they had a "base salary" in their daily lives and "bonuses" whenever they worked. Wasn't life wonderful?

"Rustle, rustle~~~"

Gu Sheng walked to the foot of the mountain and looked up. Not far away, a stream flowed down from the mountain.

"Hiss~ Hiss~"

In the stream, more than a dozen deep-purple snakes as thick as arms swam through the water.

"Caw~ Caw~"

Several eagles suddenly swept across the sky. Their sharp talons cut through the stream and seized the giant snakes one after another. Then they released them from high above. The snakes plummeted from a hundred-zhang height, splattering blood when they hit the ground. They instantly stopped moving.

The law of the Wilderness—survival of the fittest—was displayed to perfection at that moment.

"Roar~"

The Jade Azure Serpent Qing Ling had been lying on Gu Sheng's shoulder the entire time, protecting him from sudden attacks. Seeing what happened, its golden eyes narrowed. A flash of menace appeared as it looked toward the eagles flying down again, and even its hiss changed.

"Whoosh~"

Three or four black eagles and white falcons had just landed and were preparing to enjoy their meal when a streak of green light flashed past. The birds collapsed one after another. The rest, which had not yet flown down, frantically flapped their wings and fled. The venomous insects and savage beasts that had been nearby scattered like a receding tide.

"Let's go up the mountain!"

Gu Sheng narrowed his eyes and looked around. After finding a path up the mountain, he called out to Chu Xin, who was interacting with the six Demon Beasts behind him.

Silver Horn Mountain was not very large. According to Gu Sheng's memories, his target should be at the summit. He led Chu Xin along a mountain path upward. Since the area had rarely seen human activity for many years, weeds and brambles grew everywhere along the way.

"Stone houses!"

When they reached the summit, a brief look around revealed three stone houses on the northern side.

Perhaps because no one had lived there for many years, the stone houses were covered in vines and plants, while moss coated the walls. Even the stones had begun to show faint cracks. Clearly, no one had been there for a very long time.

"Are there more treasures here?"

Chu Xin's little face was full of confusion as she looked up at Gu Sheng, who was studying their surroundings. She always felt that Gu Sheng knew many things; she simply did not understand why he would not tell her.

Although she was somewhat displeased by his lack of sincerity, the girl did not ask him directly. She believed that one day, Gu Sheng would share all his secrets with her.

Gu Sheng did not notice the changes in Chu Xin's expression. His gaze wandered before finally stopping in front of the stone houses. A small lake more than ten zhang long and wide lay before the three stone houses.

Chu Xin walked over to Gu Sheng and asked softly, "Are we going to the stone houses?"

"No."

Gu Sheng shook his head. "I'll go into the water later to look for something. Be careful by yourself up here."