Fertilizer

The next day, at dawn.

Outside the western city gate, beside a road thick with wild grass, Shi Kuan and Chen Fan were already waiting. Both had changed into fitted outfits suitable for movement, their auras heavy and restrained, sharp glints concealed in their eyes.

Before long, a figure in a green Daoist robe emerged unhurriedly from the morning mist. It was Xu Yuan.

He carried nothing in his hands and wore a relaxed expression, as though he had merely stepped out for a stroll.

"Fellow Daoist Xu!" Shi Kuan came forward with a beaming smile.

Xu Yuan nodded without saying much.

Chen Fan sized Xu Yuan up and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Xu travels light. It seems you have everything under control. Time waits for no one—shall we set off?"

"Let's go."

The three spoke no further. Leaving the main road, they unleashed their movement techniques and swept toward the mist-shrouded branch range of Soul-Ending Mountain to the west. Shi Kuan and Chen Fan led the way, while Xu Yuan followed at an unhurried pace from slightly behind and to the side.

Along the way, the two casually conversed with Xu Yuan, introducing the common demonic beasts and venomous insects around Soul-Ending Mountain, as well as several dangerous areas that required caution. Their words carried no small measure of "consideration."

Most of the time, Xu Yuan merely listened, occasionally responding with a few words. His gaze calmly swept over the increasingly desolate mountain forests along the way.

The deeper they went, the rarer human traces became. Ancient trees towered overhead, vines tangled together, and the air was thick with the faint scent of rotting leaves and damp earth. From time to time, the shrieks of unknown demonic beasts rang out, making the place seem especially deep and secluded.

For a