The next day.
At daybreak, mountain mist billowed everywhere.
A flying vessel hovered above the mountaintop.
Gazing at the figure seated upright on the black palanquin, Xue Taozi stepped forward and said, "Sect Master, why trouble yourself with this personally? Why not let me take some people there instead?"
A curtain concealed the figure's face. An indifferent voice came from behind it. "Enough nonsense. Lead the way."
Xue Taozi's expression turned solemn. "Yes, Sect Master."
Soon, the flying vessel shot through the clouds like a sword.
Mangdang Mountain lay in the far west, far from the two nations of Jin Wei. The spiritual energy there was sparse, and demonic beasts often appeared, leaving the area nearly uninhabited.
For hundreds of miles around, there was only one village at the foot of the mountain, with fewer than a hundred households.
Every villager knew martial arts. Some could even hunt tigers with their bare hands.
The old village chief's hair and beard were snow-white, and his face looked somewhat haggard.
He smoked his pipe and gazed at the range of undulating mountains ahead. Whenever his murky old eyes opened and closed, sharp glints unexpectedly shone from them.
"The mountains haven't been peaceful lately."
"Even giant creatures that never appeared before have shown up."
He exhaled a cloud of smoke and spoke in a low voice.
"Chief, could it have something to do with that group who entered the mountains before?"
A brawny, dark-skinned man suddenly spoke.
The old village chief narrowed his eyes. "Who knows? Perhaps they came seeking treasure."
"But hopefully they won't provoke the mountain god. Otherwise, once the mountain god gets angry, no one will survive."
Just as his voice fell, a deafening boom suddenly rang out.
The villagers gathered there instinctively looked up. They saw a flying vessel