Ironback Black Python!

Shanhaiyuan.

The steamed perch really was delicious.

Ye Xuan wiped the grease from his lips and walked out of Heyang City, completely satisfied.

It was time to get down to business.

Target: Tianyuan Mountain.

He did not immediately fly straight into the sky on his sword.

That would be too conspicuous.

Besides, he might miss treasures on the ground.

Ye Xuan summoned the standard flying sword called the Fine Iron Flying Sword.

Although the system had rated the thing as garbage, at least it could fly.

As he flew, Ye Xuan spread his divine sense like radar.

He had not even flown fifty li.

"Beep beep beep—"

The radar in his mind rang.

Ye Xuan paused midair and immediately lowered the sword light.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he darted into a patch of bushes.

He pushed aside the weeds.

Several blades of grass emitting a faint blue glow swayed in the breeze.

"Blue Star Grass?"

At the Qingyun Sect.

This medicinal ingredient was not particularly precious.

That was because the people of the Qingyun Sect did not know what Blue Star Grass could do.

Most of them regarded it as an herb for treating bruises and sprains.

But Ye Xuan was different.

When he obtained Low-tier Alchemy Mastery.

Ye Xuan had also received the formulas for many pills.

Blue Star Grass was one of the medicinal ingredients used to refine several kinds of pills.

Afterward.

Ye Xuan simply pulled out a small herb shovel.

He dug everything up, roots, soil, and all.

Once he had finished.

Ye Xuan dusted off his hands and mounted the flying sword again.

The rest of the journey took an extremely bizarre turn.

If someone watched Ye Xuan from the sky, they would discover that his flight path was not straight at all.

Instead, he flew like a headless fly—or an old ox plowing a field.

He would fly for a while, then stop.

He would plunge headfirst into the woods and not emerge for half a day.

Sometimes it was for a few pieces of ore with slightly higher iron content.

Sometimes it was for a few pieces of wood containing spiritual energy.

Anything with even a little value was basically looted clean by him.

Was this how a cultivator traveled?

This was clearly a swarm of locusts passing through.

A journey that should have taken only a few days was dragged out by Ye Xuan for an entire month.

During that month.

Ye Xuan slept rough and ate whatever he could find, yet he enjoyed every moment of it.

His Storage Bag had originally been empty, but now it bulged like a pufferfish filled with air.

It was crammed with all kinds of miscellaneous materials.

Most of them were low-tier goods.

But there was strength in numbers.

On this day.

The sun was sinking toward the west.

The setting sun was as red as blood, dyeing the endless mountain range below a deep crimson.

This place was already a primeval forest, rarely visited by humans.

Ancient trees towered into the sky, while vines coiled like pythons.

The air was filled with the damp smell of fermented fallen leaves.

Ye Xuan was just preparing to find a tree hollow to spend the night in.

Suddenly.

A rich medicinal fragrance slipped into his nose on the evening breeze.

This scent...

Was extraordinary!

It was purer than all the junk he had picked up over the past month combined!

Ye Xuan's spirits lifted.

His fatigue vanished completely.

He quickly lowered his sword light and concealed his aura.

Like a ghost, he silently glided into the depths of the dense forest.

The farther in he went, the darker it became.

The surroundings were frighteningly quiet.

Even the chirping of insects and calls of birds had disappeared.

There was usually only one explanation for this situation.

There was a big fellow here.

And it was a big fellow with an extremely strong sense of territory.

Ye Xuan held his breath and concealed himself behind a giant tree so thick that three people would have to join hands to encircle it.

He cautiously poked half his head out.

An open space lay ahead.

At the center of the clearing was a huge bluestone.

Growing stubbornly from a crack in the stone was a small tree that was completely scarlet.

The tree was only as tall as a palm.

At its top hung a fruit the size of a thumb.

It was bright red and crystal clear, as if fresh blood flowed within it.

That enticing, exotic fragrance was coming from the fruit.

"Vermilion Fruit?"

Ye Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.

What a good thing!

This was a spiritual fruit that could directly increase one's cultivation!

Although it appeared to be only a hundred years old, it was still enough to make low-level disciples of the Yuqing Realm fight desperately over it.

If refined into a pill, its medicinal efficacy could be increased by at least thirty percent!

He was rich!

Ye Xuan had just taken a step.

"Hiss—"

A terrifying hiss that made his scalp prickle rang out.

Immediately afterward.

A foul wind rushed toward him.

From behind the huge bluestone, an enormous snakehead slowly emerged.

Its triangular head was blackish purple.

Hard scales covered it, each one resembling an overturned iron bowl.

Its vertical pupils radiated a cold, ghostly light as they fixedly watched the spot where Ye Xuan was hiding.

It had discovered this intruder long ago.

"Ironback Black Python."

Information about this demonic beast instantly surfaced in Ye Xuan's mind.

Tough hide and thick flesh, with immense strength.

Its scales were as hard as fine iron.

An adult's strength was equivalent to the fourth or fifth layer of the Yuqing Realm.

Judging by this python's size, it was as thick as a barrel, and its body was probably no less than three zhang long.

This pressure was definitely that of the fourth-layer peak, and it was even approaching the fifth layer.

"No wonder no one picked this Vermilion Fruit."

Ye Xuan licked his lips.

If this had been an ordinary disciple who had just descended the mountain, his legs probably would have gone weak at the sight of this thing.

Even a master like Qi Hao would have to put in considerable effort to kill this beast without damaging the Vermilion Fruit.

But Ye Xuan was different.

He had his eye on the Vermilion Fruit.

He also had his eye on this snake.

Its skin could be refined into soft armor...

Its bones could be refined into whip-type magical treasures...

Its gallbladder was a supreme antidote...

Its meat was incredibly nourishing...

Was this a demonic beast?

This was clearly a moving treasure vault!

"Hiss!"

The Ironback Black Python clearly lacked the patience to keep staring at Ye Xuan.

In its eyes, this tender-skinned human cub was the perfect appetizer for dinner.

Its enormous tail suddenly lashed the ground.

"Boom!"

Mud flew everywhere.

Its massive body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, carrying a nauseating stench as it opened its huge maw and lunged at Ye Xuan!

Its speed was astonishing!

Ye Xuan stood where he was without moving.

He did not even draw that battered flying sword.

Just as the snake's fangs were less than three chi from him, and the stench was almost enough to make someone faint.

Ye Xuan moved.

But he did not dodge.

His right hand opened, palm facing outward.

His lips moved slightly.

"Fireball Technique, go."

There were no fancy incantations.

Nor was there any earth-shaking aura.

It was simply the most basic Fireball Technique.

If Tian Buyi had been here, his eyeballs probably would have bulged out of their sockets.

Because the fireball shooting from Ye Xuan's palm had been compressed to the extreme, its color nearly white!

The perfected realm of a basic spell!

A quantitative change had brought about a qualitative change!

"Bang!"

The fireball struck precisely into the Ironback Black Python's open mouth.

It did not explode immediately.

Instead, it rolled all the way down its throat.

The Ironback Black Python's forward momentum halted abruptly.

Its enormous eyes bulged out, their whites covered in blood vessels.

It twisted its body in agony, wildly smashing into the surrounding trees.

Although its outer hide was as hard as iron and could withstand flying-sword strikes.

Its internal organs had never trained in the Iron Bell and Iron Shirt techniques.

"Roar—hiss—"

A shrill, agonized cry echoed through the forest.

The smell of charred flesh mingled with a meaty aroma and drifted through the air.

Ye Xuan didn't let down his guard.

Strike while it's down.

His hands rapidly formed seals.

The air around him instantly turned razor-sharp.

"Wind Blade."

A dozen or so blue-green wind blades appeared out of thin air.

Each was only palm-sized, yet incredibly condensed, its edge glinting with a chill light.

"Fall."

Ye Xuan pointed a finger.

The wind blades shrieked toward the Ironback Black Python, which was rolling on the ground, like a school of piranhas that had caught the scent of blood.