Ten Thousand Snake Mountain Range

Dragon Gate Town was where Luo Mu had been born and raised. But after Father Luo passed away, Luo Mu had no more ties to the town. As for the Xiao Family, with whom he had once been promised in marriage, the moment Xiao Ling'er fed him the Heartbreak Pill, he had severed all ties with them.

Luo Mu's departure stirred none of the townspeople. He simply walked out of town, step by step. He had no idea when he would return. With bad luck, he might perish out in the wider world and never come back in this lifetime.

Luo Mu had originally wanted to take Father Luo's ashes from the grave and carry them with him. But then he thought better of it. The dead were laid to rest in the earth; disturbing Father Luo now would be a grave disrespect. So Luo Mu gave up the idea and left alone.

Having his father's spirit tablet with him was enough. As for the place where his father was buried, he would have to wait until his next visit to pay his respects.

With nothing left to tie him down, Luo Mu walked farther and farther away, until he finally disappeared beyond the bounds of Dragon Gate Town.

Two days later, Luo Mu appeared in Ten Thousand Snake Mountain Range, several thousand li from Dragon Gate Town! For hundreds of li around the range's outskirts, there was not a soul to be seen, much less a single village or town.

There were no villages or towns nearby, and the area was also rather remote. Apart from cultivators who came to slay demonic beasts or gather herbs, few people ever set foot here. As a result, Wanfa Sect had never cleared out its demonic beasts, leaving them to grow and cultivate freely.

The mountain range was called Ten Thousand Snake Mountain Range because it was home to all kinds of demonic snakes. Other demonic beasts lived here too, but the snakes held dominion. The range was also rich in spirit herbs and poisonous herbs. Though cultivators came and went all year to gather spirit herbs, Ten Thousand Snake Mountain Range was so vast that many places remained untouched.

Some areas were simply too remote for cultivators to find, while others housed powerful demonic beasts that made cultivators of limited strength turn back.

In short, though demonic beasts ran rampant throughout Ten Thousand Snake Mountain Range and the dangers were immense, it offered plenty of benefits too—if you had what it took to get your hands on them.

Luo Mu was now at the edge of Ten Thousand Snake Mountain Range. The farther one ventured in, the more powerful the demonic beasts became. With his current strength at the third layer of Qi Refining, even staying near the edge felt like a stretch. But Luo Mu was not intimidated. He had come here without hesitation, fully intending to put down roots for the long term!

There were plenty of demonic beasts here, both high- and low-tier. By staying here and slaying low-tier beasts, Luo Mu could amass a good supply of materials for crafting.

The range was rich in spirit herbs and poisonous herbs. Though lucky cultivators often gathered the spirit herbs, compared with other remote mountain forests, the number that remained here was still considerable. More importantly, cultivators had little need for poisonous herbs. The range held an astonishing quantity of them; if you searched diligently, you were sure to find some in no time.

That was the main reason Luo Mu had chosen this place!

Near the edge of the range, Luo Mu found a small mountain. Halfway up, he also discovered a cave. Judging by its entrance, the cave seemed rather large. He couldn't tell whether it was natural or man-made.

After finding the cave, Luo Mu did not rush inside. Instead, he first sent out his spiritual sense to inspect it. At once, a rough picture of the cave appeared in his mind.

The cave was neither large nor small, a little bigger than the clinic at Luo Mu's House. Standing outside, Luo Mu gave a sharp slap to the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist. A flash of green light shot out, and thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes appeared before him, flicking their tongues and swaying their bodies.

Although his spiritual sense had already checked the cave, Luo Mu still felt uneasy. To be safe, he simply released all thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes.

He gave them the order to inspect the cave thoroughly. The thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes swayed as they headed inside, moving astonishingly fast. Luo Mu's eyes lit up with delight.

When he had slain Bai Shu, Luo Mu hadn't noticed how fast the Plum Blossom Snakes were. Discovering it now made him overjoyed. It seemed the thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes had grown quite a bit during this time.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes returned to Luo Mu's side. From the information they sent back, there were no other demonic beasts or cultivators in the cave. It was completely safe, and Luo Mu let out a sigh of relief.

Since he had decided to settle in Ten Thousand Snake Mountain Range for the long term, he needed a permanent place to stay. And with his strength, he could only move around the outskirts, so this cave was practically perfect as his home.

Luo Mu did not call back the Plum Blossom Snakes. Instead, he let them lead the way as he carefully entered the cave.

After the time it took to eat a meal, Luo Mu had explored every corner of the cave. It consisted of three Stone Chambers: a larger one in the middle and two smaller ones on either side. The middle chamber even had stone stools and chairs. Luo Mu wasn't a fool; at a glance, he could tell that the cave had not formed naturally. Someone must have lived here before.

Whether that person had been an ordinary man or a cultivator, he couldn't tell. But from the thick dust covering the stone table and chairs, it was clear that no one had lived here for a long time.

"Looks like the cave's former owner abandoned it. That works out perfectly for me." Standing beside the stone table, Luo Mu surveyed the cave. The sunlight filtering in from outside gave him a rough view of its interior, and he spoke with a satisfied smile.

After that, Luo Mu set about cleaning the Stone Chambers. Apart from the dust, there was no clutter, so the task was easy. He cast the basic spell Wind Control, and a fierce gust appeared out of nowhere, sweeping the dust out of the cave.

In just a moment, the entire cave looked brand-new. Luo Mu nodded in satisfaction.

Next, Luo Mu fetched several torches and planted them along the cave walls, one by one. The dim cave was instantly lit up.

At last, Luo Mu let out a breath and sat down on a stone chair. But he didn't rest for long. He slapped another Spirit Beast Bag at his waist.

A flash of light passed, and three Octagonal Spikes appeared in Luo Mu's hand. He looked at them, his brows drawing together as he sank into thought.

When the Octagonal Spikes had been trapped by Bai Shu and the girl, Luo Mu had arrived and discovered that they must have found the fourth-tier superior poisonous herb, Soul-Falling Grass, before Bai Shu and the girl did. Otherwise, they would have had no reason to attack the three Octagonal Spikes.

At that thought, Luo Mu's gaze at the three Octagonal Spikes in his hand turned strange.

"Could the Octagonal Spikes really be able to find poisonous herbs on their own?" Luo Mu said uncertainly.

Just then, the Spirit Beast Bag holding the five White Jade Ants began to tremble. Luo Mu raised an eyebrow and gave it a sharp slap. The five White Jade Ants appeared on the table before him.

As soon as the five little fellows appeared, they crawled restlessly all over the stone table. Seeing them like this, Luo Mu's mouth twitched. He knew they were hungry again.

There was nothing left in the Storage Bag to feed the White Jade Ants, and the thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes had no food either. The only ones with food were the Octagonal Spikes. But the poisonous herbs Luo Mu had stored were all decent-grade, and he was saving them to improve his own strength.

He really couldn't bring himself to give the Octagonal Spikes a poisonous herb every day.

"Why not try this?" Suddenly, Luo Mu's eyes lit up as an idea came to him.

He gave the thirteen Plum Blossom Snakes, five White Jade Ants, and three Octagonal Spikes the same order. The little fellows immediately streamed toward the cave entrance. Sitting in his stone chair, Luo Mu could only smile wryly. He had just sensed how excited they were when he gave them their orders, leaving him torn between laughter and tears as he worried about their safety.

The order Luo Mu had given the little fellows was simple: go out and forage on their own. Before he arrived, he had used his spiritual sense to inspect the area around the mountain. He had found no powerful demonic beasts, only a few first-tier low- or mid-grade ones. He hadn't even found a single first-tier high-grade beast.

Luo Mu's little fellows might not be particularly powerful, but they could handle the demonic beasts on this mountain. As long as they didn't venture deep into the range, they should be fine near the edge.

Besides, if they could forage on their own, it would save Luo Mu a great deal of unnecessary trouble in the future. If it didn't work, he could figure out another way.

There was another reason too: Luo Mu wanted to see whether the Octagonal Spikes truly had a knack for finding poisonous herbs on their own. If they did, then as long as he stayed in these remote mountain depths, he shouldn't have to worry about running short of poisonous herbs.

Watching the little fellows disappear from sight, Luo Mu nodded and put the matter out of his mind. Then he went outside, found two boulders, and used the Curved Blade he had obtained from Bai Shu to shape them. He poured spiritual energy into the blade, making it razor-sharp, able to cut through iron as if it were mud. In just a moment, he had fashioned two stone doors.

To make it easier for his little charges to come and go, Luo Mu had also left a large hole in one corner of each stone door. Only after finishing everything did he return to the Stone Chamber, where he sat cross-legged on the floor. A pile of Ink Crow Grass appeared before him.

He hadn't consumed any poisonous herbs for several days, and Luo Mu, eager to raise his strength, had long been itching to get started. Now that he finally had some free time, he pulled out the Ink Crow Grass to improve his strength. And he had pulled out quite a lot—ten stalks, by the look of it. It seemed Luo Mu planned to make a substantial leap in strength in a single session!