On the third day, Master Zhong's clothes were badly torn, but he still resolutely made his way toward the mountains.
Standing atop a mountain peak, Master Zhong surveyed the surrounding terrain. To the left, between several continuous mountain ranges, countless miasmas filled the air. The dense miasma completely obscured the landscape within, and the terrifying black miasma had greatly reduced the number of wild beasts and demon beasts in that area.
To the right was a great river running from north to south. It surged majestically, a breathtaking sight.
"Whew~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
He let out a long breath. According to the map, he had taken the right path. At his current speed, he would reach the Kaiyang Sect in another two months.
Looking into the distance, Master Zhong made several leaps and landed at the foot of the mountain. He was preparing to continue north, but the moment he reached the foot, he suddenly stopped.
"Uh." Master Zhong frowned as he examined the surroundings.
The trees were broken, and the grass was flattened. Had there been a fight here before? And judging from the signs, it had been a fierce one.
With a trace of unease, Master Zhong continued forward, following the traces of battle. Before long, he saw a corpse.
A wolf corpse?
Was it that Silver Wolf from yesterday? Master Zhong's heart jolted. He hurried over, only to find the Silver Wolf covered in wounds. Streaks of blood looked as though they had been cut by blades, while its entire body was covered in Frost and Snow, freezing it solid.
Frozen solid?
Master Zhong looked up at the sky. Although it was not summer, the sun was blazing overhead. How could ice possibly form?
After searching over the Silver Wolf for a while, he finally found the marks left by his great saber. Only then did Master Zhong confirm that this was indeed the Silver Wolf that had tried to eat him that day.
The Silver Wolf was dead? Had it been killed by an even stronger demon beast? Could it be that the Silver Wolf had been in heat and charged at whatever demon beast it saw? Then, unable to defeat it, it had attempted to force itself on the other beast and been killed instead?
At that thought, Master Zhong's heart jolted. He cautiously scanned his surroundings. After confirming that there truly were no other demon beasts nearby, he quickly took out his little dagger and sliced open the Silver Wolf's abdomen.
Though the little dagger was small, it was much sharper than the great saber.
The Silver Wolf's hide was thick, but now that it was dead, its skin was naturally no longer protected by demonic energy. Moreover, the little dagger was made of extraordinary material. After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Master Zhong finally cut through the hide.
Everything inside had frozen solid. Master Zhong rummaged around for a while and finally found a silver bead the size of a fingertip.
An Inner Core—the Silver Wolf's Inner Core. The most direct distinction between demon beasts and wild beasts was the Inner Core. Demon beasts possessed Inner Cores, while wild beasts did not.
Demon beasts absorbed the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth and the essence of the Sun and Moon through their Inner Cores. Likewise, the Inner Cores were filled with the essence of the Sun and Moon. In the eyes of other cultivators, this tiny Demon Wolf could not even use a single spell, so its Inner Core was certainly the lowest grade. But to Master Zhong, it was a priceless treasure.
After carefully putting it away, Master Zhong continued deeper into the mountains.
"Caw~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Just then, a caw suddenly rang out above Master Zhong's head.
At the sound, Master Zhong's heart jolted, and he looked up. A crow? No—a white crow. A Frost Crow? When it spread its wings, they reached more than two meters across.
A Frost Crow? A demon beast?
The Frost Crow stared at Master Zhong. Its eyes turned red, as though he were its sworn enemy.
Seeing this, Master Zhong knew things were bad. Frost Crow? Cold qi? Could this be what had frozen the Silver Wolf?
"Caw~~~~~~~~"
The Frost Crow cried out, and a stream of white vapor rapidly shot from its mouth toward Master Zhong.
Seeing the white cold qi, Master Zhong instinctively dodged. The cold qi struck a large tree, and in the blink of an eye, the tree was covered in Frost and Snow. It froze solid.
Run! Run fast!
Gripping his great saber, Master Zhong fled beneath the countless trees. This was a remote region deep in the mountains, and the dense forest gave him a great advantage.
Master Zhong fled at top speed, while the Frost Crow pursued him relentlessly. Wherever Master Zhong ran, it followed. Whenever they reached a more open area, it would spew out more cold qi, as though it intended to freeze him to death.
Several times, Master Zhong would already have been consumed by the cold qi if he had not dodged quickly. Even so, the cold qi that merely brushed past him left his arm feeling somewhat numb.
This was bad—terribly bad. If this continued, the Frost Crow would wear him down to death. After fleeing for more than an hour, the Frost Crow was still in hot pursuit, and Master Zhong was growing frantic.
Suddenly, another Frost Crow flew toward him head-on. Two Frost Crows?
The two Frost Crows began chasing Master Zhong together.
He had no idea where he had dropped his great saber, and Master Zhong no longer had the mind to worry about it. Run—right now, all he could do was run. But could he outrun them? There were two Frost Crows now. Two of them.
At that thought, Master Zhong steeled his heart. As he ran, he reached into his robes with his half-frozen right arm and took out a black pill.
The Miasma Avoidance Pill!
He popped it into his mouth, turned, changed direction, and charged toward the miasma region on the right.
The Miasma Avoidance Pill had been refined through the combined efforts of many renowned physicians whom Master Zhong had invited. It was also the limit of what he could accomplish through mortal means.
The Miasma Avoidance Pill could prevent the invasion of a hundred miasmas, meaning it could resist many different kinds of miasma. But he did not know whether it would work in this region.
Outside, he would either be pursued to death by the two Frost Crows—or perhaps even more Frost Crows behind them—or he could enter and take a gamble.
As he fled toward the miasma region, Master Zhong's feet suddenly began to grow stiff. His shoes were already covered in a thick layer of Frost and Snow.
"Whoosh~~~~~~~~"
He darted inside.
"Caw~~~~~~~~" "Caw~~~~~~~~"...
The two Frost Crows were indeed unwilling to enter the miasma region. They remained outside, shrieking incessantly.
He was safe. Was he truly safe?
Master Zhong wiped the sweat from his brow and used true qi to force the cold qi from his arms and legs. Looking at the Frost Crows circling outside and refusing to leave, he felt a lingering fear. The mountains were far too dangerous. If he had not reached the Innate Stage, he would have died long ago.
Just then, Master Zhong suddenly felt a little dizzy.
Dizzy? Was the Miasma Avoidance Pill ineffective?
At that thought, Master Zhong's heart jolted. He hurriedly circulated his energy to force out the poison. In that brief moment, the miasma had entered his body, and his arms were already slowly turning black.
Looking at his hands, Master Zhong grew even more anxious. The Frost Crows were circling outside without leaving. What was he supposed to do?
His true qi circulated rapidly, but it could only offer a certain degree of resistance. The miasma was still slowly entering his body.
However, Master Zhong discovered that although his arms had begun to feel numb, his head was only slightly dizzy, and he remained conscious.
Consciousness?
At that thought, a light flashed in Master Zhong's heart. He rapidly circulated the Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture. The moment the Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture began circulating, a layer of pink protective barrier suddenly formed around him. It had no ability to resist physical attacks whatsoever, yet it actually forced the miasma back outside.
The Red Phoenix Mist? Could the Red Phoenix Mist resist miasma?
Upon discovering this, Master Zhong was overjoyed. He rapidly circulated his Thought Power into his true qi, forming the Red Phoenix Mist and continuously expelling the miasma from his body.
After a short while, all the poison in his body had been purged.
Outside, the two Frost Crows refused to leave. What was he supposed to do? The Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture was only at the first layer and could not be circulated endlessly.
No, he had to leave quickly. He would cross this miasma region, climb over that small hill, leave the Frost Crows' line of sight, and then continue on his journey.
Once he had made up his mind, Master Zhong quickly ran north.
Soon, he reached the small hill. Once he climbed over it, he would be able to avoid the Frost Crows' line of sight.
As he climbed, Master Zhong suddenly heard a thud.
A sound? It had come from beneath the mountain he was climbing. Master Zhong narrowed his eyes, stopped, and carefully examined the area. Having built a business empire over several decades, Master Zhong had learned early on that the slightest anomaly, easily overlooked, was often the sign of a great opportunity. If grasped properly, it could bring in a fortune; even if there was nothing to gain, there would be no real loss.
It was a small hillock situated in this abrupt valley. At a glance, it looked almost as though it had been filled in by human hands. The mountain itself was covered with hard rock, yet beneath the soil at the foot of the hill, there were very few solid stones.
Seeing how strange this place was, Master Zhong's earlier suspicion grew stronger. Although the Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture could not last for long, Master Zhong still began searching left and right. Before long, in an extremely concealed corner, he saw a Mountain Cave.
PS: While the rankings are open, I humbly beg for recommendation votes and collections. Thank you.