Mountain Runner

Hao Erge screamed as the giant spider rapidly crawled towards him, its massive fangs opening to strike!

Wu Haishan still had some tricks up his sleeve, prepared for Xu Yuan.

But with a sweep of his eyes, he found that scoundrel Xu Yuan had vanished somewhere.

So cunning!

Wu Haishan couldn't bother anymore. For now, his priority was to escape.

He was valued by Saint Aunt because of that potion. But he was, after all, a Nine Streams Pill Cultivator, and possessed some of their skills.

For example, this "Outer Pill" was refined from a type of spider fiend.

In his hand, he still clutched another Outer Pill, a life-saving treasure bestowed by his sect, containing the condensed strike of a Seventh Stream Martial Cultivator!

Wu Haishan transformed his Inner Fire into two fiery tails, attaching them to his legs. Under their impetus, his speed increased severalfold. With a rumble, he crashed through the villagers and, in the blink of an eye, reached the other side of the village's stockade gate.

The gate was already wide open. Wu Haishan saw he was about to escape and thought fiercely to himself: Once I get out, I'll report this to the organization. Next time, I'll bring a large army and slaughter this village until not even a chicken or dog is left!

Suddenly, from the dead old tree in the village, a massive dark shadow spread its wings and flew out, its speed several times faster than Wu Haishan with his fire tails.

In an instant, the dark shadow caught up to Wu Haishan. Wu Haishan roared, "Good timing!"

He launched the Outer Pill in his mouth!

The Pill soared into the air, catching the sunlight, its surface gleaming with a metallic luster. With a boom, it unleashed a terrifying blade energy!

The dark shadow hadn't expected Wu Haishan to have this move. In its haste, it could only endure the strike head-on.

Clang!

With a loud clang, the dark shadow staggered and landed, but its movement was unaffected. A flash of dark blade light appeared.

Pfft--

A common woodsman's cleaver, deeply embedded itself into the junction of Wu Haishan's neck and shoulder, almost splitting his upper body in two!

Sparks sputtered from the wound, burning his own blood dry and emitting a foul stench.

Wu Haishan's eyes widened in terror. His throat bobbed a couple of times, and he let out two muffled sounds before dying in unwilling silence.

The Old Mountain Runner pulled the woodsman's cleaver from the corpse.

He still wore the cloak adorned with countless feathers. About thirty percent of the feathers had been severed by that last strike!

His yellow crystal glasses were askew. Xu Yuan, hiding in the shadows, vaguely saw that the Old Mountain Runner's eyeballs were entirely white!

The Old Mountain Runner straightened his glasses, wiped the cleaver clean, glanced back at Xu Yuan's hiding spot, and then left without a word.

The villagers swarmed forward and divided Wu Haishan's corpse.

This was the village's rule: the Mountain Runners handled any difficult problems.

The villagers handled the aftermath.

With Wu Haishan dead, the giant spider froze in place.

Its massive fangs were only a foot away from Hao Erge's neck.

Hao Erge squawked, "Tang Sishenzi, save me—"

The mother of the house where Old Chen, the Martial Cultivator, had stayed the previous night, came out. With a few flicks of her slender hands, she severed the spider silk and peeled Hao Erge out of the web.

Old Chen and the others were also "dealt with" by the villagers.

Xu Yuan emerged trembling, shook the various Goods in his hands, and forced a smile, "I'm a genuine peddler, let's continue our trade."

Mid-afternoon, all the Goods Xu Yuan had brought were finally exchanged.

He now had a pile of mountain produce beside him.

There were many good things among them; they could be sold for ten times the price if resold.

But Xu Yuan couldn't feel any joy.

The villagers were shrewd negotiators, and Xu Yuan could only haggle back and forth with them.

Xu Yuan wanted to trade quickly, letting the villagers decide the terms so he could leave as soon as possible.

But he always felt a pair of eyes watching him from behind those yellow crystal lenses.

Xu Yuan dared not show the slightest flaw!

If he didn't act like a genuine peddler, that blood-drinking woodsman's cleaver would be at his throat the next moment!

This delay meant it was too late to leave the mountain today, so he had to stay another night at Jiao Erbo's house.

Seeing that he had done "good business" all day, Jiao Erbo raised the room fee by ten wen. Xu Yuan paid it without hesitation.

Xu Yuan didn't sleep that night. More than half of these mountain goods were medicinal herbs and ores. Xu Yuan refined them using his Inner Fire while practicing "Bait/Food."

"Bait/Food," one of the various cultivation methods, was simply "eating."

However, it was different from what ordinary people ate.

Most people would die if they ate these.

The "Bait/Food" that cultivators from the Seven Great Gates consume varies, with Pill Cultivators having the widest range.

They eat anything—their Inner Fire can refine anything.

However, Xu Yuan currently has no one to guide him, so whether it's Fate Cultivator or Pill Cultivator, he can only grope his way forward alone.

Therefore, after these "Bait/Food" entered his stomach, Xu Yuan could only "categorize" and refine them.

Herbs with similar medicinal properties were grouped together and refined into a Pill.

Minerals were simpler; gold, silver, copper, and iron were mixed and refined into a "Gold Pellet."

However, the minerals in Ghost Witch Mountain all possessed extraordinary qualities, far surpassing ordinary ores found outside.

Finally, Xu Yuan took out a gray-black Outer Pill.

Upon close inspection, this Outer Pill resembled a piece of low-quality amber, trapping a spider within.

This was Wu Haishan's Outer Pill, which had been taken by the mother and daughter next door.

Xu Yuan had paid a "hefty price"—three kitchen knives in total—to get it from them.

The other Outer Pill, which sealed a Seventh Stream Martial Cultivator's strike, possessed only one attack and dissipated after use.

Xu Yuan washed this Outer Pill clean, swallowed it, and refined it with his Inner Fire before making it his own.

The spider within the Outer Pill was a type of malevolent spirit. It had been captured and refined into an Outer Pill.

Xu Yuan estimated that this spider was equivalent to a Nine Streams cultivator. The person who captured and refined it into an Outer Pill was at least an Eighth Stream.

However, because the spider malevolent spirit itself wasn't very powerful, this Outer Pill was also only of Nine Streams quality.

After cultivating through the night, Xu Yuan felt that his Pill Cultivator level had finally reached Nine Streams.

The standard for Pill Cultivators to "Enter Stream" is to condense five "Pills."

Xu Yuan had already refined over ten by categorizing them earlier.

Although none of them were particularly strong, the quantity was sufficient.

His father had told him many stories about the Seven Great Gates when he was alive, and after his father passed away, his Stepmother had systematically told him a few more times.

The standard for advancing from Nine Streams to Eighth Stream is to condense one's own "Inner Pill."

The ones Xu Yuan had refined so far were not true "Inner Pills."

Condensing an Inner Pill as a Pill Cultivator required extreme caution!

For example, Xu Yuan currently had no idea what kind of Inner Pill he should condense. He needed to cultivate further in the path of Pill Cultivation for some time before he could clarify his direction.