Red Sun Valley

There were countless sharp stone spikes still embedded in it!

That was exactly how it had been wounded!

That strike had cost Li Yunjing three Earth Spike Talismans. The giant python's massive body had taken the full brunt of them, without wasting a bit of their power.

Rumble...

A deafening boom sounded, and the earth seemed to tremble. Countless birds in the woods were startled into flight.

The giant python's body crashed back down onto the ground.

Though the creature had gained some spiritual awareness and possessed boundless strength, it had never truly attained the Dao. It was fundamentally incapable of flight.

The giant python went berserk, its blood already pooling beneath it in a small puddle.

The giant beast knew things were bad. Instinctively, it tried to flee, desperate to get away from this terrifying human.

"Beast! You think you can come and go as you please?"

Li Yunjing sneered and blurred forward. He was far faster than the giant python, and once again he engaged it in combat.

At first, the giant python fought furiously, lunging again and again. Its enormous body smashed through an entire stretch of woods, leaving nothing but ruin.

But as time passed and the sky grew brighter, the giant python's strength ebbed and its movements slowed. In the end, it collapsed to the ground, motionless.

"What a beast! I never imagined killing a giant python would take this long!"

Only after confirming that the python was completely dead did Li Yunjing approach. With the Cold Star Sword, he carefully cut each scale free from the flesh it had grown into.

In their earlier battle, he had already witnessed the might of the giant python's Copper Tendons and Iron Bones.

Those scales had served as its strongest defense.

They were unquestionably top-grade materials for refining high-grade, or even supreme-grade, magic artifacts.

How could Li Yunjing possibly pass up a monster like this?

It was an enormous undertaking, and Li Yunjing had completely underestimated how difficult it would be to butcher the giant python.

It took him a full three days to collect the thousand or so scales from its body and stow them in his Storage Bag.

As for the python's sinews, flesh, blood, gallbladder, eyes, fangs, and venom sac, Li Yunjing spared none of those either. At last, he looked at the bones, stripped completely clean, gritted his teeth, and broke them apart, taking the hardest pieces.

The creature was simply too enormous.

If he hadn't had the four Storage Bags belonging to Senior Brother Han and the others, Li Yunjing could never have collected it all.

By then, only two and a half days remained before he had to report in and hand over the goods.

Li Yunjing had no choice but to quicken his pace and continue on his way.

Red Sun Valley was a hot valley, its land turned to sand.

There was hardly any greenery in the entire valley, and not even a water source. The cultivators living there had to go to a nearby river to fetch drinking water.

Naturally, no spirit plants could grow in a valley like that.

Therefore, Divine Firmament Dao Sect had to send grain and spirit plants from the mountains to Red Sun Valley on a fixed schedule, supplying the cultivators stationed there.

Why had such a barren valley caught Divine Firmament Dao Sect's attention, prompting it to send people to guard it?

Because Red Sun Valley contained a mineral vein with a variety of resources.

Besides Spirit Stones, the vein also produced precious resources such as Refined Iron, Red Copper, Primordial Yang Stone, and Red Flame Soil.

These resources were excellent materials for refining magic artifacts, and it was even possible to unearth rare materials used to refine spirit artifacts and magical treasures.

It was precisely because of this medium-sized vein, rich in many different resources, that Divine Firmament Dao Sect had dispatched a team to guard and mine it.

Of course, a vein like this was nothing special to Divine Firmament Dao Sect.

Divine Firmament Dao Sect was a dominant sect not only in the Great Ming Dynasty, but across the entire Southern Heaven Continent.

It controlled quite a few Spirit Veins. Some of its enormous mines even had Nascent Soul Ancestors of Divine Firmament Dao Sect stationed there in person. Those were the true treasure troves.

Red Sun Valley was far less important. According to what he'd heard, only a few Foundation Establishment stewards were responsible for keeping things running. Not even a single Golden Core elder had ever come.

With so few people assigned to the place, Outer Disciples had to transport supplies there. The sect hadn't even sent a flying boat or airship.

The next five hundred li of the journey weren't entirely deserted.

After leaving the mountains, Li Yunjing saw small villages scattered along the road.

Watching the wisps of cooking smoke curl into the sky, Li Yunjing couldn't help but marvel. A month ago, he had still been an ordinary mortal. He never imagined that in just a little over a month, such a deep gulf would already have opened between him and these common folk.

Without disturbing the villagers, Li Yunjing simply kept his head down and hurried along.

This time, Li Yunjing didn't slack off. He pushed himself to travel as fast as he could and finally reached a red valley at dawn on the sixth day.

The valley resembled the mouth of a gourd, narrow at the entrance and broad within. Its entrance was deathly quiet, not a sound to be heard.

"Is anyone there? I'm Li Yunjing, a servant disciple of Divine Firmament Dao Sect. I've come under the sect's orders to deliver provisions."

Standing outside the valley, Li Yunjing didn't rush in. This place was nothing like the relaxed confines of the sect.

Such an important location would be heavily guarded. He couldn't simply barge inside.

Li Yunjing didn't believe there could be no one standing guard here.

The people of Divine Firmament Dao Sect couldn't be such a rabble.

His shout echoed through the valley and carried far into the distance.

His voice had been loud enough that someone was bound to hear it. Li Yunjing stood at the entrance, waiting for someone inside to come and receive him.

"A servant disciple? Why would a servant disciple come here?"

Several puzzled voices rang out almost at once. Li Yunjing could already feel seven or eight gazes scrutinizing him from the shadows.

They were clearly the people on duty guarding the valley entrance.

They seemed rather curious that a servant disciple could have made it here. Their gazes swept over him without the slightest restraint several times before finally drawing back.

By then, two Outer Disciples dressed in Blue Dao Robes had appeared at the entrance.

"Your Identity Token!"

One of the Outer Disciples asked coldly.

"Senior Brother, here's my Identity Token!"

Li Yunjing didn't hesitate. He handed over his servant disciple token.

"Hmm!"

After inspecting it several times and finding nothing amiss, the Outer Disciple's expression finally softened.

He looked at Li Yunjing and asked, "You came alone? Since when could servant disciples apply for the task of transporting provisions?"

"Sigh! Of course I didn't come alone. But we encountered danger along the way, and the four senior brothers all perished. In their final moments, thinking of the sect's mission, they entrusted me with the ten Hundred Treasure Pouches and repeatedly urged me to make sure the provisions arrived."

Li Yunjing let out a mournful sigh. His eyes grew moist, as though tears were about to spill.