Leaving the Mountains

Heaven and Earth Energy gathered from all around, gradually forming a long energy sword above the young girl. Its transparent blade was smooth as a mirror, gleaming brilliantly beneath the sunlight.

"Trivial tricks!" The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King snorted coldly, opening its bloody maw. Purple lightning energy gathered in the air before it blasted forth.

Heart Rain in Liuli's hand slowly slashed out, while the other three longswords around her attached themselves to the energy sword above her head and flew out together, colliding with the pillar of purple lightning!

In an instant, vast energy scattered in every direction. The attacks of woman and beast actually reached a stalemate in midair.

Seeing this, Liuli willed it, and Han Guang, Fleeting Time, and Yue Yin separated from the energy sword, rapidly slicing between the pillar of purple lightning and the energy sword.

"Push through!" Liuli gritted her teeth, gripping her sword with both hands and pouring in even more strength. The energy sword's momentum surged as it began gradually cutting through the pillar of purple lightning.

The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King was enraged as well. How could it, a mighty Seventh-tier Magical Beast, possibly be suppressed by a little human girl? The energy in its mouth gathered faster, and the pillar of purple lightning grew stronger.

However, with the three longswords continuously assisting through their slicing, the purple lightning pillar's strength had weakened considerably. It still could not stop the energy sword from slowly advancing.

The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King's expression turned sharp. It directly abandoned its attack, the energy in its mouth dissipating as the pillar of purple lightning gradually vanished. With no resistance left, the energy sword cleaved straight toward the Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King.

"Something's wrong!" This strange sight made Liuli feel a trace of unease.

"Let me show you what it means for all below Dou Zong to be ants!" Watching the energy sword slash toward it, the Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King grinned. Purple light instantly erupted from its entire body, enveloping it.

Then, a purple-haired middle-aged man emerged from the light, standing suspended in the air. He reached out and grabbed at the energy sword from afar.

The space ahead began to twist and blur, forming a natural barrier.

The energy sword struck the spatial barrier with a prolonged scraping sound, yet it could not advance even half a step!

"Come back!" Liuli shouted. The three longswords flying through the sky obeyed her command and returned to her side.

Cracks began spreading across the energy sword. Then, it shattered like a mirror!

The purple-haired man burst into laughter and said mockingly, "You truly are strong among Dou Emperors—one could even say invincible. Even some One-star Dou Zongs would be no match for you. But above Dou Zong, every star is a whole new realm! My strength has already reached Three-Star Dou Zong. With my talent, I can even contend with Four-star Dou Zongs. You are still far too green to face me."

"Not necessarily!" The Seven-Colored Sword Mark between the young girl's brows shone brilliantly, and two more longswords appeared, floating around her body.

"You cannot even sense Space Power. What are you using to fight me? Your strength is far too unstable!" The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King shook its head.

Though it spoke that way, the hand tucked behind its back was trembling slightly.

Oh, damn! She's from the Sword Clan, and her bloodline seems to be of an extremely high grade. I've provoked a little ancestor!

Liuli frowned but did not refute him. Her level had always risen quickly. At fourteen, she spent a year devouring Heavenly Flames, directly jumping from a Two-Star Dou Wang to a Two-star Dou Emperor. Then, at the recent Coming-of-Age Ceremony, the infusion of Clan Mark energy had taken her directly from a Four-star Dou Emperor to a Nine-star Dou Emperor.

A dramatic increase in level certainly had its benefits, but it had also caused the quality of her Dou Qi to decline. Even after activating her Clan Mark and reaching the strength of a Half-step Dou Zong, she still could not mobilize the Space Power around her.

It seemed that after leaving this place, she would need to properly temper and hone herself.

"More than enough to fight you!" Liuli said coldly. She released Heart Rain from her hand and let it float beside her. Meanwhile, her hands continuously formed seals, mobilizing her own Dou Qi.

"Hmm? This is..." The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King was somewhat surprised as it watched the young girl's movements.

"Haa..." Liuli exhaled softly. Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead as she slowly pushed forth an illusory miniature moon.

Earth-tier High Rank Dou Technique—Gazing at the Moon!

The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King's vision suddenly turned white, and in the next instant, it found itself above a vast ocean.

It looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, its brows tightly furrowed.

Just then, an enormous bright moon slowly rose over the distant horizon! The moon was flawless and pure white, gradually covering half the sky before... growing larger and larger!

It felt as though it were about to fall.

However, just as the moon was about to occupy the Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King's entire field of vision, all the scenery dissipated. It returned to the familiar sky above.

The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King was stunned. Looking ahead, it found that the young girl's figure had long since vanished.

Where is she? Wasn't she just about to fight to the death? How did she run away in the blink of an eye? So she just used an Illusion to confuse me?

Feeling as though its intelligence had been insulted, the Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King grew somewhat angry and prepared to continue its pursuit.

"Stop!" An old man in hemp clothes appeared before it, blocking its path.

"Sword Venerable!" The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King was startled, then hurriedly bowed in salute.

"Your task is complete. This is your reward." The old man in hemp clothes tossed out a Jade Bottle.

The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King caught it and hurriedly expressed its thanks.

"Go back. Your talent is decent. Take this Beast Heart Pill and cultivate diligently for another hundred years or so. Breaking through to the eighth tier should not be a problem." The Sword Venerable spoke indifferently, turning toward the direction out of the Seeking Demon Mountain Range as he prepared to leave.

"Sword Venerable, may this little beast ask who that person just now was..." the Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King asked.

Yet in the next instant, it regretted asking. An incomparably powerful pressure erupted from the old man ahead and enveloped it, forcing it to plummet and smash a huge crater into the ground.

"Do not ask what you should not ask. It is better not to know what you should not know." The Sword Venerable glanced back at it before stepping through the air and leaving.

The Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King crawled out of the crater in a bedraggled state and smiled bitterly. "Is this the strength of a Dou Venerate?"

Fortunately, the Beast Heart Pill was still there.

Pulling the stopper from the Jade Bottle and smelling the medicinal fragrance wafting from within, the Purple Cloud Thunder Lion King grinned.

Although that little human girl had angered it terribly, it truly ought to thank her!

Four days later, at the edge of the Seeking Demon Mountain Range

As one of the foremost cities bordering the Seeking Demon Mountain Range, Fengxiao City was not large, yet it was famous far and wide. It served as a transit point for those entering the mountains to hunt Magical Beasts. Mercenaries and hunters brought the Magical Beasts they killed or captured here for sale or auction, forming a complete industrial chain.

Within the city, the Qing Family did the most hunting, and it was also the ruler of this city. From inns and shops to auction houses and pill workshops, more than fifty percent of the city's industries were controlled by this family. Qing Yun, the Qing Family's patriarch, was even a powerful Two-star Dou Zong!

Inside Qingtian Inn

"Boss! Bring me two bowls of beef noodles—one with beef but no noodles, and one with noodles but no beef. Then bring a bowl of fennel beans and a bottle of liquor!" A petite figure draped in black robes sat on a bench at a dining table and called toward the counter in a crisp, pleasant voice.

"Coming right up!" The owner was used to strange customers like this and responded casually.

Before long, a Shop Assistant came over carrying a tray and gently placed it before the Black Robes.

"Esteemed guest, your beef noodles without noodles, noodles without beef, fennel beans, and liquor." The Shop Assistant spoke enthusiastically.

The Black Robes removed her hood, revealing soft light-pink hair and an incomparably beautiful face. She stared excitedly at the steaming bowls of beef noodles. With a flick of her small hand, a bulging bag appeared in her grasp, and she tossed it to the Shop Assistant.

"Get me a nicer room. The rest is yours." The Pink-haired Girl paid no mind to the Shop Assistant's dazed stare. She took out a pair of chopsticks from her Storage Ring and began eating.

"Y-yes." The Shop Assistant came back to his senses and opened the bag, immediately rejoicing.

Good heavens! It was filled entirely with Gold Coins! There had to be at least a hundred of them!

Five Gold Coins were enough to cover an ordinary family's expenses for a month! Yet even the best room in Qingtian Inn only cost thirty Gold Coins a night. Could the young lady before him be some family's miss who had secretly run away?

"I'll go right away, I'll go right away. Please wait a moment." The Shop Assistant nodded and bowed as he hurried off, not forgetting to sneak another glance at the young girl's beautiful face before leaving.

"That really wasn't necessary." Liuli glanced at the departing Shop Assistant and sighed softly.

Still, eating was more important. She had spent nearly a month in the Seeking Demon Mountain Range, and she had barely eaten any delicious hot meals. Most of the time, she had only gathered Fruit and caught fish to eat.

Picking up several strands of noodles and blowing on the steam, Liuli put them into her mouth.

"Ke ke!" At that moment, she heard an eerie laugh from the table behind her.

"Cough, cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..." Liuli choked, coughing out the noodles she had just been about to swallow. Her right hand hurriedly patted her chest, while her left hand instinctively gripped Heart Rain resting on her lap.

She turned around and saw two people seated at the table behind her. The strange laughter had come from a rather burly Bald Man.

"That scared me to death." Liuli immediately sighed in relief, her body relaxing.

In the Battle Through the Heavens she had read in her previous life, the Soul Hall's villainous Protectors and Elders all laughed like that. She had thought her luck was terrible enough for her to encounter one. But seeing the Bald Man's vigorous blood energy and powerful build, she understood that he was not one of them.

Besides, his strength was rather low—only a Two-Star Dou Wang. He would not even meet the threshold for Soul Hall.

Liuli could not help complaining with a pained expression, "How can such a big man make such a sinister laugh?"

He had nearly scared her to death.

Seeing the young girl looking at them, the two men raised their brows. The Bald Man teased, "Oh? Little sister, why are you looking at your uncle? Do you like me?"

Liuli immediately rolled her eyes, turned around, and resumed eating her noodles.