As darkness fell, Murong Wushuang gathered some dry firewood and built a fire on the ground. He then scattered pale yellow, pungent powder around it.
This powder could drive away the mountain's large snakes and mosquitoes.
Murong Wushuang took out a piece of dried meat from his bundle and roasted it over the fire until it turned into a blackened lump. He handed it to Ning Xiaochuan. "Make do with this!"
Ning Xiaochuan accepted the dried meat, smiled, and said, "Thank you!"
Murong Wushuang plopped down on the ground and began gnawing on his own piece first, his words muffled by food. "Oh, right, I still don't know your name. Someone like you, willing to spend fifty thousand Small Coin on a single leaf, must have quite the background, right?"
Ning Xiaochuan gently tore off a piece of meat and put it into his mouth. Smiling faintly, he said, "No great background. Just call me Ning Xiaochuan."
"Ning Xiaochuan, Brother Chuan, seeing how rich you are, how about I follow you from now on?" Murong Wushuang looked over at him.
Ning Xiaochuan smiled slightly. "We'll talk about it later."
After eating some dried meat, Murong Wushuang and Ning Xiaochuan chatted for a few more sentences before each beginning to cultivate.
Murong Wushuang pulled that battered copy of "Heaven and Earth Profound Qi" from his robes, set it on the ground, and began cultivating according to the method written within.
Ning Xiaochuan also took out a copy of "Heaven and Earth Profound Qi," placed it on the ground, and began cultivating.
He closed his eyes and sensed the Profound Qi between heaven and earth. Those streams of Profound Qi immediately stirred, drilling into his pores, merging into his blood, and flowing into his Martial Heart Palace.
Ning Xiaochuan had now cultivated "Heaven and Earth Profound Qi" to the second layer, doubling his absorption speed. He felt that he would soon reach the third layer.
What was exceedingly difficult for others to cultivate, "Heaven and Earth Profound Qi," became remarkably easy in his hands.
Once he reached the third layer of "Heaven and Earth Profound Qi," his Profound Qi absorption speed would increase fourfold, and his cultivation would become even faster.
After cultivating for an entire night, Ning Xiaochuan felt that the Martial Dao Profound Qi within him had increased considerably, yet he still had not broken through to the Profound Qi Eighth Level.
"Eh! Brother Chuan, why are you cultivating such a low-grade Martial Dao technique as 'Heaven and Earth Profound Qi'?" Murong Wushuang acted as though they had known each other for ages.
Ning Xiaochuan closed "Heaven and Earth Profound Qi" and said, "Aren't you cultivating it too? Judging from your Profound Qi absorption speed, you've probably reached the second layer as well, haven't you?"
Gou Sheng smiled awkwardly. "I'm just self-taught. I even cultivated Profound Qi behind my grandfather's back. I don't have any powerful techniques at all, so I can only cultivate the most basic technique, 'Heaven and Earth Profound Qi.'"
Ning Xiaochuan could not help admiring the talent of the youth before him. With only the most basic cultivation technique, and without taking Mysterious Medicine like Heart Nourishing Elixir or Blood Accumulation Elixir, he had actually reached the Profound Qi Seventh Level at such an age.
Had he been born in a royal or marquis household and been nurtured with superior techniques and Mysterious Medicine, his talent might have surpassed even Ning Xiner's.
Such a talent had been buried in obscurity. Ning Xiaochuan wanted to recruit him into Begonia Manor, but he still harbored doubts about his identity, so he temporarily suppressed the thought and decided to wait for another opportunity. After another full day of travel, they had covered more than a hundred li and ventured ever deeper, while the trees around them grew increasingly massive.
The roots of those ancient trees alone, exposed above the soil, were as thick as bowls.
Ferocious Beasts could often be seen in this area: five-meter-long giant snakes, Saber-Toothed Tigers as tall as men, and even Mystic Beasts roaming the mountains. Their roars alone made people's ears go numb.
Mystic Beasts were divided into nine grades.
Among them were fierce, battle-hardened Mystic Beasts and tame Mystic Beasts raised in captivity.
Generally, only captive Mystic Beasts could be trained as mounts or pets. The Mystic Beasts roaming the wild were all extraordinarily vicious, with combat strength several times greater than that of captive Mystic Beasts.
Even a First Grade Mystic Beast possessed the power to slaughter an entire village.
"Be careful. We've entered a dangerous stretch. Last time I came here to dig for Mysterious Medicine, I encountered a Second Grade Fire Spider. Its claws nearly pierced through my chest. Good thing I ran fast." Gou Sheng carried a woodcutting blade and moved forward cautiously.
The journey remained fairly peaceful, and they did not encounter any Mystic Beasts.
Mystic Beasts were still rather scarce in Nanyue Mountain, but there were far more in Fire Demon Mountain. There were even legends of Mystic Beasts capable of taking human form, with terrifying combat power.
At last, they arrived at the foot of a mountain. Standing at the edge of a steep cliff and looking down, they could see only layers upon layers of clouds and mist, with no bottom in sight.
"That crimson leaf was blown up from beneath this cliff. I thought it looked rather unusual at the time, so I picked it up and stuffed it into my bundle. By the way, Brother Chuan, why did you buy this leaf?"
Murong Wushuang hesitated for a long time. More precisely, he had been hesitating for the past two days. Finally, he told the truth. "To be honest, this leaf isn't worth much. At most, it's worth eighty Small Coin."
He looked exceedingly embarrassed.
He felt that Ning Xiaochuan was not someone who used wealth to oppress others, and that he was easy to get along with. He could not bear to keep deceiving him.
Ning Xiaochuan said, "The leaf itself is naturally worth only eighty Small Coin, but your guiding me here is absolutely worth fifty thousand Small Coin. In truth, I haven't lost out at all."
Murong Wushuang had not yet understood Ning Xiaochuan's words when a burst of rapid footsteps sounded from the distant mountains.
"Haha! He's right. This trip you guided us on is absolutely worth fifty thousand Small Coin—far more than fifty thousand, in fact." A middle-aged man in his forties emerged from the forest, leading a black two-headed hound.
The black two-headed hound kept sniffing the ground. Green flames flickered in its eyes, and when it opened its mouths, sharp fangs were revealed.
It was a Thousand Mile Two-Headed Hound, a First Grade Mystic Beast.
According to legend, once it smelled someone's scent, it could find that person even if they were a thousand miles away.
Murong Wushuang narrowed his eyes. "Shopkeeper Cui, why are you here?"
This middle-aged man was Cui Buping, the shopkeeper of Profound Leaf Abode.
Not long ago, Murong Wushuang had asked him to appraise the value of the Blood Toad Wood Tree leaf. It was this Shopkeeper Cui who told him the leaf was worth only eighty Small Coin. That was why he had gone back to Ning Xiaochuan and used every possible means to sell him the leaf.
He had always believed that it was the most successful deal he had ever made.
Ning Xiaochuan did not seem surprised in the slightest. "He came for the Blood Toad Wood."
Cui Buping nodded with a beaming smile. "This young master is indeed a clever man. I must thank you two for leading me here. Otherwise, this place would have been quite difficult to find."
More than ten martial artists in tight black clothing emerged from the forest. Each carried a battle saber, their killing intent surging as they stood behind Cui Buping and stared coldly at Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang.
Murong Wushuang had thought himself the cleverest person alive, but now he realized that he was actually the biggest fool in the world, because he still did not understand what was happening.
"Brother Chuan, what is Blood Toad Wood? And how did you know he came for Blood Toad Wood?" Gou Sheng also became wary of Ning Xiaochuan, feeling that there had to be some hidden truth here.
Ning Xiaochuan took out the leaf and said, "Blood Toad Wood is a kind of Profound Spirit Wood, an exceptionally expensive timber. A single jin of Blood Toad Wood can sell for one hundred thousand Small Coin. And the leaf you sold me is a Blood Toad Wood leaf."
Murong Wushuang's mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg, his expression frozen.
Good heavens! One jin of Blood Toad Wood could sell for one hundred thousand Small Coin. If they could find a Blood Toad Wood Tree, they would strike it rich beyond their wildest dreams.
Murong Wushuang immediately flew into a rage. Rolling up his sleeves, he said, "Cui Buping, you bastard, you actually dared to trick me! So this is a priceless treasure, yet you told me it was worth only eighty Small Coin. You're far too greedy! Why did you follow me here? Don't tell me you mean to kill us and seize the treasure?"
Cui Buping remained very calm, smiling as he said, "You've hit the nail right on the head. Since you have already led me to where the Blood Toad Wood grows, it is time for you to die."
Ning Xiaochuan had naturally anticipated all of this long ago, so he remained calm.
When Murong Wushuang first decided not to sell him the leaf, Ning Xiaochuan had guessed that he would seek someone to appraise the Blood Toad Wood leaf's value. He had also guessed that whoever appraised it would certainly deceive him.
The value of a Blood Toad Wood Tree was simply too immense. No one could withstand such temptation, and no one would possibly tell him the truth.
It was precisely because Ning Xiaochuan knew that the person appraising the leaf would not tell Murong Wushuang the truth that he had expected Murong Wushuang to come looking for him again. That was why he had deliberately waited for Murong Wushuang in the wine shop.
Cui Buping bringing men to follow behind them, intending to kill and rob them, had naturally also been within Ning Xiaochuan's expectations.
"I'm afraid that with just these people, you still can't do anything to us," Ning Xiaochuan said calmly.
Cui Buping smiled mockingly. "Just the two of you little brats, could you possibly withstand more than ten Martial Dao experts from Profound Leaf Abode?"
In Cui Buping's eyes, Murong Wushuang was not worth mentioning at all, merely an inexperienced brat. The only slightly troublesome one was Ning Xiaochuan.
Cui Buping waved his arm, and two Profound Qi Sixth Level martial artists stepped out from behind him with sabers in hand. Their gazes were cold and sinister, white Profound Qi surrounding their bodies as they leaped into the air and slashed at Ning Xiaochuan simultaneously.
"You dare leap into the air and strike before someone stronger than you? You're simply courting death."
Crimson light surged from Ning Xiaochuan's body as he charged forward to meet them. He threw out two palms, striking the air with crackling pops. Like swatting away two flies, he blasted the two Profound Qi Sixth Level martial artists off the cliff.
"Ah..."
"Help..."
The voices of the two Profound Qi Sixth Level martial artists gradually faded away. Having fallen into a bottomless abyss, death was certain.