Hundred Thousand Great Mountains

Making money was the first reason.

The second reason was to temper himself through actual combat.

Hunting demon beasts in the wild, tempering his will and spirit through life-and-death battles, could increase the success rate when attempting Foundation Establishment.

Otherwise, if he kept hiding and never fought, he would only become a Giant Baby—impressive to look at, useless in practice.

Lu Xuanji walked through the market, purchasing the supplies he would need for the journey.

Heavenly Silkworm Robe, a superior magical garment woven from heavenly silkworm silk and mixed with over a dozen spirit herbs. Wearing it while traveling through the mountains could ward off venomous insects, snakes, rats, ants, and other pests.

Cleansing Talisman. When one's clothes became dirty, activating the Cleansing Talisman would turn it into mist and directly wash away the grime, leaving one clean from head to toe.

Fire Starter Talisman. It could start a fire directly, for cooking or burning objects.

True Water Talisman. It could absorb moisture from the air and store it within the talisman, to replenish the body's water supply.

Blood Stopping Talisman. It contained medicinal power and could treat all kinds of superficial wounds.

Poison Stopping Talisman. It contained medicinal power and could treat ordinary poisons.

There were also all sorts of miscellaneous talismans, mainly intended for survival in the wild.

He also bought three bottles of Grain Abstinence Pills, two bottles of White Yang Pills, one bottle of Antidote Pills, and one bottle of Blood Vitality Pills.

He also bought a booklet containing common types of demon beasts encountered in the wild, their characteristics, their prices, as well as paintings of various spirit herbs.

Outside, one could hunt demon beasts or gather spirit herbs.

After two days of preparation, Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue left the market and headed for the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

Yet not long after they left, someone had already set their sights on them and begun passing along information.

Fighting was forbidden within Wu Family Market.

Anyone who fought within the market would face severe punishment from the Wu Family. But beyond thirty li of the market, once one entered the desolate regions where demon beasts ran rampant, killing people and stealing their treasures meant that even death would go unanswered.

Just after leaving the market, Ye Feixue sensed gaze after gaze upon them and could not help saying, "Brother, someone has set their sights on us."

"Ignore them."

Lu Xuanji said calmly, "They will not act immediately. They may test us—first our strength, then how many Spirit Stones we have in our pockets—before deciding on the appropriate response. They will not touch cultivators who are too poor, because there is no profit in it. Nor will they touch those who are too strong, because the risk is too great."

"If Foundation Establishment Cultivators attack, we would be unable to defeat them."

Ye Feixue spoke worriedly.

"Haha, do not worry. Foundation Establishment Cultivators will not act." Lu Xuanji said, "The Wu Family, the Ye Family, and the former Lu Clan all warned Foundation Establishment Cultivators not to hunt Qi Refining stage cultivators. Think about it: if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator stood right outside Wu Family Market, specifically hunting Qi Refining stage cultivators, would the market still be able to do business?"

"After Rogue Cultivators reach Foundation Establishment, they have two choices. One is to join a cultivation family and become a retainer; the other is to live independently, open up a spirit vein, and establish a cultivation family. If they choose neither, they are driven away. Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators may freely kill people and seize treasures outside the market, but Foundation Establishment stage Cultivators cannot. The stronger one's cultivation, the greater one's authority—but the greater one's restraints as well."

His figure flickered as he dashed into the distance.

As he ran, he displayed a movement technique, reaching a speed of one hundred meters per second.

This was showing off his muscles.

My speed is very fast. Without sufficient speed, without enough cultivators, they may not be able to stop me.

Those watching him were startled when they saw Lu Xuanji display such an escape technique, and began making new plans.

"Boss, should we make a move?"

"No need, not for now. Those two were once Lu Family cultivators, but after Ziyang Mountain was breached by Ancestor Yan Yang, they became Rogue Cultivators. There is not much money in their pockets. The sheep are too skinny, too scrawny. Let them struggle for another five or six years until they have Spirit Stones in their pockets; then it will not be too late to intercept and kill them."

The boss said this aloud, but inwardly he was calculating how to kill those two.

Those two Lu Family cultivators had fast escape techniques. At least seven or eight Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators would be needed to intercept them.

They would also need some schemes, luring the two into an Absolute Ground and blocking them there.

They would also need Breath Concealing Talismans to hide their auras, approach the pair, and deliver a fatal strike.

Swish, swish.

They moved through the mountain ridges. After traveling roughly thirty li, Lu Xuanji came to a stop.

He opened a jade slip containing a map of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

The map showed the terrain of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. To hunt demon beasts, they had to enter the mountains.

Within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains lived all kinds of demon beasts: Qi Refining Demon Beasts, Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts, Purple Mansion Demon Beasts, Golden Core Demon Beasts, and even Nascent Soul Demon Beasts. It was said that a Black Dragon Demon Emperor presided over the mountains, an existence of extreme terror that could not be fathomed.

The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains were divided into the Outer Zone, Mixed Zone, Inner Zone, Core Zone, and Forbidden Zone.

The Outer Zone was mainly home to Qi Refining Demon Beasts and Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts.

If one carelessly encountered a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast and was eaten, one could only blame bad luck.

But encountering Qi Refining stage demon beasts was no reason to rejoice either. One could still be killed.

For example, rabbits, mice, bees, and the like were among the weaker demon beasts. Even human cultivators at the Qi Refining First Layer could easily kill them. But once their numbers reached hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands, even Purple Mansion cultivators would have to flee upon encountering them.

Swish, swish!

After putting away the map, Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue headed into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Their Heavenly Silkworm Robes changed color like chameleons, blending perfectly into the surrounding scenery. Without careful inspection, they truly could not be detected.

After walking for another ten li, they spotted a stone stele in the distance.

Four large characters were carved upon it: Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

The four characters on the stele looked dripping with blood.

Near the stele lay a pile of skulls, sinister and terrifying.

It seemed to foretell that taking one more step forward meant stepping into hell.

Lu Xuanji crossed the stele and entered the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

When the Lu Clan still existed, they could exchange Spirit Stones for Foundation Establishment Pills. They only needed to endure more hardship and exhaustion, at most spending several generations of effort and owing debts to the family. But after the Lu Clan's destruction, they could no longer obtain Foundation Establishment Pills through ordinary channels and could only acquire them through life-and-death battles.

The moment he stepped past the stele, his phone issued a warning.

Ding-dong. Host, be careful. At this moment, you have been targeted by a Nascent Soul Great Demon.

Host, be careful. If the Nascent Soul Great Demon merely blows a breath, the host will die.

The Nascent Soul Great Demon has shifted its divine sense and no longer pays attention to the host. Clearly, in the Nascent Soul Great Demon's eyes, the host is merely an insignificant bug on the ground, not worth stepping on.

Just then, his phone spoke again.

Lu Xuanji shuddered slightly, then continued onward as though nothing had happened.

Being weak had its benefits too.

A tiger would hunt rabbits for food, but it would not bother killing ants on the ground.