Peeping

"Drink, Black Sand Palm!"

Within the hidden valley, a figure lunged swiftly, right palm extended, leaving a clear palm print on the target.

"Improved power again? Not bad, not bad!"

Fang Yuan withdrew his palm and stood upright, gazing at the experience bar that was already more than half full, excitement coloring his face.

After every practice session brought a boost in proficiency, he had become thoroughly addicted to this feeling of constant growth.

"If the cultivation technique in the attribute panel has no bottlenecks like Planting Skill does, I'll soon be able to train Black Sand Palm to the peak of the Fifth Layer."

"Of course, I need to keep up with nutrition too..."

At noon, Fang Yuan ate Pearl Jade Crystal Rice and let out a slight sigh.

If he were from an ordinary family, how could he have such accumulation, with an endless supply of Jade Crystal Rice for every meal?

Without this, how could he support the consumption of thousands upon thousands of Black Sand Palm practice sessions? For poor households, unless they were exceptionally gifted and directly entered a sect to receive training, producing any Martial World Expert was nothing but a pipe dream.

"Also... my own physical quality seems to give a boost to martial arts training..."

A martial artist's original Physical Quality was the foundation—the firmer the base, the higher the future achievements.

Fang Yuan even suspected that his rapid progress in Black Sand Palm might have something to do with his surging Divine Essence.

"Soon, the Heart-Questioning Tea Tree will bear leaves again, and the Crimson Jade Rice is about to be harvested... This is Spirit Rice, enough to sustain even a Martial Ancestor!"

A sense of anticipation suddenly arose in Fang Yuan's heart.

Poverty fostered scholarship, wealth fostered martial arts. With the support of spirit seeds, his martial cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

The reason he was so eager wasn't entirely for the future, but also for present safety.

"Gui Ling Sect Purchaser—Song Zhigao?!"

If Lin Benchu and the Zhou siblings might have had no ill intent, then this Outer Sect Steward of the Gui Ling Sect had directly shown hostility, forcing Fang Yuan to take him seriously.

Though his temperament was indifferent, he was no fool, and he certainly wouldn't tolerate a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, watching his own.

"But to settle this once and for all, I still need strength!"

After training, Fang Yuan went to the plantation and began carefully tending the heavily laden Crimson Jade Rice Field.

His future, his martial path, all depended on these spirit seeds.

The night was deep.

Outside the hidden valley, several furtive black figures suddenly appeared.

"This is the place Comprador Song mentioned?"

A man in black looked around and muttered a curse: "Sure enough, Deep Mountain Old Forest, harsh environment—only savages would live here!"

"This is it, no mistake!"

Another man, dressed as a hunter and holding a steel fork, said: "I've been here before, trading animal hides and medicinal ingredients with Heart-Questioning and his disciple..."

His tone carried a hint of nostalgia.

"What, remembering old ties, can't bring yourself to strike?"

The leader of the men in black sneered.

"How could that be? Ten Gold Leaves are enough to buy ten Mountain Villagers' lives. Dealing with a mere youth, what's that worth?"

The hunter laughed coldly, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. "I say, why bother with all this sneaking? Just charge in, kill the boy, dump the body in the wild, and by the next day, not even a pile of bones will be left!"

"That may be, but Comprador Song won't be pleased. What we need first is to make that man Disgraced, pointed at by a thousand fingers, before we can make our move!"

The man in black said solemnly. "Who told that Poor Kid to block the path of the Noble Person behind Comprador Song!"

"Noble Person?!"

The several people—nearby Mountain Villagers, hunters, and thieves—exchanged glances at this, but seeing their Leader's reticent manner, they didn't press further.

"Enough. Our task tonight is just reconnaissance. We need to figure out the layout of this Hidden Valley, and whether that kid has any Trump Card!"

The Leader of the men in black said in a low voice. "Of course, the most important thing is to leave no evidence behind!"

"Understood!"

The several people grinned viciously and slipped into the Hidden Valley together.

The night was pitch black; even with moonlight, visibility was very low. This group dared not act Openly Armed, so they naturally suffered quite a bit.

Still, knowing the enemy was just one person and the valley's defenses weren't tight, they felt relatively bold.

"Hmm... this is the inside of the Hidden Valley? A few Spirit Cottages aren't bad..."

"There's a Flower Garden, a Spring Eye—looks pretty ordinary. Let's check the back..."

The group divided their tasks with great tacit understanding and arrived at the Rear Valley, outside the plantation.

"Behind those bushes, there might be something more!"

These were all Old Hunters and Old Thieves, rich in experience, and they immediately spotted the difference.

"Oh?"

The man in black leader immediately stepped forward. When he spotted the small path behind the bushes, he was overjoyed: "Quick... go check it out! Be careful, this youngster is strange. Last time the Zhou Family Rich Servants came here, all of them had their hand tendons crippled, and even the Zhou Family couldn't figure out the depth of it... Ah..."

He was halfway through his sentence when suddenly, a crisp bite sound rang out, followed by a miserable scream.

"What's going on?"

Several companions beside him immediately looked at the ground. There they saw a pitch-black animal trap, its serrated jaws firmly clamped shut, swallowing the leader's entire calf.

"A trap!"

"Damn it!"

They instantly fell into chaos.

After all, they had been sneaking in quietly, deliberately keeping their voices low. But now, with that ghostly scream echoing in the dead of night, the entire Hidden Valley could hear it clearly. Wouldn't they be discovered immediately?

"If it comes to it..."

Several thugs exchanged glances, a trace of bloodlust flashing in their eyes.

Even though this time they were only sent to investigate the Mysterious Phenomenon, if they were truly exposed, they would have no choice but to kill.

They didn't believe a single word of those rumors.

And a mere Youngster—could he possibly take on all of them?

Hmph, the kid was cunning, even knowing to set traps. They'd have to be careful.

"Hiss!"

"Hiss!"

But what they hadn't expected was that instead of the cunning youngster, a white Death God awaited them!

A flash of White Light, like lightning, shot in front of them, transforming into a massive white sable—the valley-guarding Spiritual Beast, the Flower Fox Ferret!

At this moment, the Flower Fox Ferret's fur bristled, radiating a dangerous aura.

After all, what was inside the Plantation was its lifeline—how could it tolerate outsiders spying?

"What is that?"

"A sable?"

"So big!"

The Hunter exclaimed in alarm: "Careful! This might be some strange beast raised by that kid..."

"Heh... no matter what, it's just a beast. What difference is it from a Fierce Dog?"

One companion, accustomed to Petty Theft, snickered—but his expression suddenly changed.

Before him, a White Light flashed past.

"Dacheng, what's wrong?"

Seeing the Fellow standing frozen, a companion pushed him—only to gently knock his upper body off.

It turned out that at some point, he had already been Waist Cut by the Flower Fox Ferret!

"Gh... ghost!"

This bloody scene instantly terrified the group.

"This sable isn't an ordinary beast—it's a Spiritual Beast, a spirit creature!"

The Hunter's scalp went numb as he suddenly recalled legends about spirits.

From its behavior just now, it clearly understood human speech! Add to that its size and its speed—Runs Like Lightning, claws sharp as knives—who wouldn't believe it was a spirit creature?

"Run!"

Several people exchanged glances and immediately scattered, abandoning the black-clad leader on the spot.

There was no helping it. Their employer behind the scenes, Song Zhigao, was nothing more than an outer-sect Comprador. How much Real Power could he wield? Of the men sent this time, aside from the black-clad leader who fell into the trap—appointed by him—the rest were all speculators lured by Heavy Gold.

A team like that might accomplish something when things went smoothly, but at the first setback, Internal Strife or even a Break Up was only natural.

Unfortunately, for a bunch of crude Fellows who didn't even know Martial Arts, trying to escape from the Flower Fox Ferret's speed was nothing but a dream.

"Giggle!"

The Flower Fox Ferret's Eye Orb rolled, as if a mischievous child had found a fun toy. It deliberately slowed down, chasing after the Hunter.

"Damn it!"

The Hunter, seeing the Flower Fox Ferret closing in, steeled his face and spun around, thrusting hard with his Steel Fork.

Whoosh!

The fork Missed. But a Sharp Pain shot through his right hand, and a row of gleaming white teeth Appeared before his eyes.

Pfft!

The next moment, Blood Splattered...

"If really, late at night, can't a person even sleep in?"

Cries of agony rose one after another. Even Fang Yuan couldn't keep playing dead and sleeping in any longer.

He threw on an overcoat, yawning as he walked out of the house: "Thieves? Hard for them to run all the way to this godforsaken place to rob me..."

Despite his words, the plantation was still his greatest asset, so he paid it some attention, quickening his pace toward the rear valley.

"This..."

He had to admit, the sight of blood everywhere was quite shocking. Fang Yuan was momentarily stunned, then flew into a rage: "Flower Fox Ferret! What have you done? Making such a mess—how long will I have to clean up tomorrow?"

"Giggle!"

The ferret, its claws still dripping with blood, turned around from where it stood guard before the last man in black, its black, shiny eyes full of innocence.

"Don't play dumb with me. You're definitely joining the big cleanup tomorrow!"

Fang Yuan grumpily skirted a few corpses and came before the only man in black still breathing.

This unlucky bastard had his leg broken by an animal trap the moment he arrived, but that made him the sole survivor under the ferret's claws—a blessing in disguise.

"Don't... don't eat me!"

Of course, by now the man was utterly terrified. Seeing Fang Yuan approach, tears streaming down his face, he looked as if he'd found a savior: "Young Master, spare my life! It was all Song Zhigao's doing. I... I'll confess everything!"

Heaven have mercy!

Being devoured by a wild beast, with no burial ground—that kind of death was just too much for anyone's nerves.