Oh? You Dare Bare Your Fangs!

Back in the courtyard, Mo Shang took out the Ten Thousand Dao Star Art given to him by the sect master and began reading it.

Before long, he had finished the entire Ten Thousand Dao Star Art. Then Mo Shang discovered something interesting: this Ten Thousand Dao Star Art had certain similarities to the one Gu Qingzhou had given him.

If the Ten Thousand Dao Star Art Gu Qingzhou had given him was the final, complete version, then the one in his hands now was merely its prototype.

"If Gu Qingzhou hadn't been reborn, I probably would have thoroughly perfected this cultivation art later on..." Mo Shang murmured with a smile, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

Perfecting a cultivation art was no simple matter. Not only did one need extraordinary talent in cultivation, but one also needed an immense amount of time. Now that he had the complete version, he could skip all that trouble.

"Hey, Brother Mo, want to take on a mission together?"

Just as Mo Shang was thinking, Gu Qingzhou appeared out of nowhere, holding a mission scroll issued by the sect.

"It'd be a waste of your talent if you didn't become an assassin..."

Mo Shang was already used to Gu Qingzhou's ghostly comings and goings. He replied irritably, then asked, "For a mission to catch your eye, the reward can't just be contribution points, right?"

"That's why you're Brother Mo—you get me. Of course it's not just for contribution points. There are other good things too..." Gu Qingzhou grinned, threw an arm around Mo Shang's shoulders, and raised his brows.

"Since you've put it that way, let's go."

Mo Shang nodded. Since the other had said so much, he naturally would not refuse. Following a Child of Fortune around, whether he got to eat meat or not was one thing, but getting a sip of the soup was guaranteed.

"Let's go, let's go. Don't worry, I definitely won't let you down. The two of us will grow bigger and stronger, then create glory once more..."

Seeing Mo Shang agree, Gu Qingzhou did not delay. With an arm around Mo Shang's shoulders, he headed outside.

The next day, early morning.

After traveling for a full day and night, Mo Shang and Gu Qingzhou arrived at a village called Qingyang.

The village was not large, with only a little over a hundred households. It seemed peaceful and serene.

As the first rays of morning sunlight spilled down, wisps of cooking smoke rose, lending the quiet village a touch of life.

At the village entrance, a white-haired old man and several sturdy young men were waiting quietly. The moment they saw Mo Shang and Gu Qingzhou, they hurried over.

"May I ask if the two of you are immortals from the Falling Cloud Immortal Sect?" The old man bowed to them before speaking respectfully.

"Yes, we are cultivators from the Falling Cloud Sect." Mo Shang nodded and took out the Falling Cloud Sect's jade token for the old man to inspect.

"My name is Wang Tao, and I am the chief of Qingyang Village. Greetings, honored immortals." Upon seeing the jade token, the old man became even more respectful and quickly bowed again.

"There's no need for this. What problem have you encountered?" Gu Qingzhou waved a hand and asked.

"Reporting to you, honored immortal, it is like this. Recently, many villagers have met with disaster in the back mountain. Later, we gathered five villagers with cultivation to enter the mountain, but after only hearing a beast's roar, none of those who entered ever returned..." The old man did not waste any time and immediately began explaining.

As the old man explained, Mo Shang and Gu Qingzhou quickly understood the full story...

"If it could keep five Body Tempering Realm cultivators behind, there is probably a Second-Order Beast or higher in the back mountain..." Mo Shang thought for a moment before looking at Gu Qingzhou.

A Second-Order Beast was equivalent to a human Spirit Gathering Realm cultivator. It was not something Body Tempering Realm cultivators could handle.

Of course, that was the best-case scenario. If it was only a Second-Order Beast, they could deal with it. But if it was a Third-Order or Fourth-Order Beast, they would have no choice but to run...

"It's only a Second-Order Beast. There's no danger. Don't worry."

Facing Mo Shang's questioning gaze, Gu Qingzhou nodded slightly, then turned to Village Chief Wang Tao. "Old man, take us to the back mountain."

"Alright, alright. This way, honored immortals..." The village chief did not dare delay in the slightest. He immediately walked ahead and led them toward the back mountain.

If you enjoy this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't have trouble finding it next time.

Led by the village chief, they soon arrived behind the village, before a stretch of mountain forest.

"You all go back first. We'll take a look inside ourselves." Gu Qingzhou stopped and spoke to the villagers, then entered the forest with Mo Shang.

"Then we'll leave it to you two, honored immortals." The village chief nodded and remained where he was, not daring to continue forward.

The trees in the forest were lush and densely branched, blocking most of the sunlight. The surroundings were dim as a result, carrying an added hint of chill.

As the two ventured deeper, a faint scent of blood gradually drifted over and entered their nostrils.

Following the direction of the bloody scent for some distance, a glaring patch of dark-red bloodstains came into view.

Several mangled corpses lay scattered beside the bloodstains. Though their faces could no longer be identified, their clothing made it clear that they were the villagers who had previously entered the mountain...

"Be careful. It should be nearby..."

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Mo Shang frowned slightly, his expression becoming even more vigilant.

"It's here..."

At that moment, Gu Qingzhou suddenly sensed something and abruptly looked toward the distance.

The next instant, a pair of crimson, ferocious eyes emerged from the darkness and slowly approached them.

As the distance closed, a massive tiger appeared before them. Its huge tiger eyes stared fixedly at the two, brimming with chilling killing intent.

"Roar, roar..."

Perhaps sensing the Spirit Gathering Realm aura around them, the tiger did not continue forward after reaching a certain distance. Instead, it let out a low growl at the two, attempting to drive them away.

"Oh? You dare bare your fangs? Think I gave you a face, huh?"

At the sight, Gu Qingzhou raised his brows. His figure flashed as he charged straight at the tiger.

Roar!

Seeing Gu Qingzhou actually dare to attack first, the tiger let out a furious roar and immediately pounced to meet him.

"Watch my sliding tackle."

Facing the tiger rushing toward him, Gu Qingzhou did not hesitate. He drew the short sword at his waist and slid beneath the tiger in an instant.

"Riiip..."

The next moment, a flash of sword light swept past. Accompanied by the sound of a blade tearing through flesh, the tiger was instantly split in two and collapsed to the ground.

"Bro, are you cheating? A Second-Order Beast got one-shot..." Mo Shang was somewhat stunned by the sight.

That tiger was a Second-Order Beast, thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, yet Gu Qingzhou had killed it in one move. If it had been Mo Shang, he would have had to struggle with it for a while at the very least...

"How was that? No danger, right?" Gu Qingzhou clapped his hands and walked back with a smile.

"I thought there would be a fierce battle..." Mo Shang said, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Of course. If I can't one-shot a mere Second-Order Beast, then wouldn't my rebirth have been for nothing?" Gu Qingzhou said proudly, a smug grin lifting his lips.

"Alright, stop gloating. Let's find the thing first. Delays breed changes." Mo Shang was rather speechless at his smug look and cut him off.

"Good point. Let's go, let's go. I remember it being in some cave..." Gu Qingzhou nodded and continued deeper into the forest.

"Some... cave?"

Hearing that, a bad feeling immediately rose in Mo Shang's heart.