Mobile Turret

Another two days passed. The two decided to head back. After using the sun's position to determine their bearings, they began heading north.

The Million Mountains were said to stretch for hundreds of thousands of miles. The Red Copper Vein where they had gone mining lay only around a thousand miles into the Million Mountains, in the outer regions. Qin Huaian and Wang Baole had paid no attention to their direction while fleeing, so they could only travel north based on their rough bearings.

The Million Mountains were thick with trees. Qin Huaian and Wang Baole held flying swords in hand, occasionally cutting down the brush blocking their path.

"Brother Qin, there seems to be a river ahead."

"Come on, let's take a look."

Near noon, the two spotted a river. At its widest point, it was only three to five zhang across.

"Let's see if we can catch some fish. We've been hiding in a cave and eating Grain-Repelling Pills these past two days. My mouth's so bland it could hatch birds." Qin Huaian searched along the riverbank, his eyes shining.

Ever since transmigrating here, he had eaten Grain-Repelling Pills every day and had not enjoyed a proper meal even once. The sight of the river reminded him of the days he spent fishing in his previous life.

Immortal cultivators truly were beyond ordinary people. Qin Huaian quickly speared several plump, delicious fish with wooden javelins he had sharpened himself.

"Fatty, go find some dry firewood."

"Got it!" Wang Baole quickly gathered a large pile of dry branches from nearby.

After gutting and cleaning the fish, Qin Huaian ignited the wood with a Fireball Technique, skewered several fish, and began roasting them.

The fragrance gradually spread through the air, and Wang Baole squatted beside him, swallowing hard.

"Brother Qin, you're a master at this. It's so delicious!" Wang Baole held a wooden stick threaded with a roasted fish and wolfed it down in huge bites.

Qin Huaian also tasted his first proper lunch in this foreign world. Perhaps because of the nourishment of spiritual energy, these fish were far more delicious than those from his previous life. Though there were no seasonings, he still unknowingly ate an entire fish weighing three or four jin.

After eating their fill, the two found a slightly narrower stretch of the river and crossed it. North of the river stood a small hill, and they crossed right at its foot.

The area was rather flat, with few trees and abundant sunlight.

At that moment, Qin Huaian spotted a Spirit Grass plant not far away. It stood around three chi tall, with long, soft leaves and wavy edges. Seven flower buds, ready to bloom, grew atop it.

Profound Yang Flower! It was actually a Profound Yang Flower!

The Profound Yang Flower bloomed with seven flowers, and its medicinal effect was strongest when harvested just as the flowers fully opened.

Drawing upon the herb knowledge accumulated by the original owner of this body, Qin Huaian recognized the Spirit Grass as a Profound Yang Flower.

The Profound Yang Flower and Violet Yin Fruit were the two main ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. They were costly, but more importantly, exceedingly rare and difficult to obtain. As a spiritual medicine of extreme yang nature, it had particularly harsh requirements for its growing environment.

This place was south of the mountain and north of the water, a place where yang energy gathered, which was why this Profound Yang Flower had grown here.

Out of more than a hundred Qi Refining cultivators, not even one might successfully reach Foundation Establishment. Foundation Establishment Pills could increase the chance of success, making them exceptionally precious pills. The difficulty of finding Profound Yang Flowers and Violet Yin Fruits was also an important reason why Foundation Establishment Pills were so valuable.

Qin Huaian hurried forward to the Profound Yang Flower, with Wang Baole following after him.

"Brother Qin, what is this?"

"A Profound Yang Flower. Fatty, we've struck it rich. This is a main ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Foundation Establishment Pills! Brother Qin, hurry up and pick it!"

"No rush. The Profound Yang Flower must be picked when it is fully in bloom. That is when its medicinal effect is at its best. It has not fully bloomed yet. Judging by its current state, we'll likely have to wait until nightfall."

Just then, an enraged beastly roar echoed from afar.

"Not good! Fatty, run!" Qin Huaian saw a demonic beast charging toward them. It resembled a wild boar, stood as tall as a man, and possessed an enormous body. Its cultivation had already reached the late stage of the first rank.

"Mountain-Pushing Beast!" Wang Baole shouted.

Qin Huaian uprooted the entire Profound Yang Flower and ran, casually tossing it into the Seed Space.

When it saw Qin Huaian pull up the Profound Yang Flower, the Mountain-Pushing Beast grew even more furious and roared repeatedly.

Qin Huaian slapped out a Divine Movement Talisman and tossed another to Little Fatty. "Fatty, run!"

Their speed instantly increased, but they still could not shake off the Mountain-Pushing Beast. At the same time, it could not catch up to them immediately.

"The Mountain-Pushing Beast has thick hide and tough flesh, with boundless strength, but it is rather dim-witted. My great-grandfather's records mention it." Wang Baole spoke as he ran.

"We can't keep running like this. Our spiritual energy is being drained too quickly," Qin Huaian said.

Qin Huaian secretly cast the Fireball Technique. In about one breath's time, he condensed a fireball containing thirty percent of his spiritual energy, then slightly slowed his pace. The Mountain-Pushing Beast quickly closed the distance. When it was only five or six zhang away, Qin Huaian pressed the mechanism with his right hand, and the Seven-Star Bone-Piercing Needle shot out in an instant.

The Mountain-Pushing Beast was a late first-rank demonic beast, equivalent to a human cultivator in the Late Qi Refinement Realm. Its reaction speed was extremely fast. It twisted its body to the right and barely dodged the Seven-Star Bone-Piercing Needle.

Now! Qin Huaian swung his left hand, sending a fist-sized, bright-white fireball flying toward the Mountain-Pushing Beast. It had no time to dodge. The fireball smashed heavily into its body and exploded.

"Roar..." The Mountain-Pushing Beast let out a miserable howl.

When the light faded, a wound so deep that bone could be seen had appeared on the Mountain-Pushing Beast's front. This beast truly had thick hide and tough flesh. Even after suffering such a severe injury, it charged at Qin Huaian again.

Seeing that the Fireball Technique had failed to defeat the Mountain-Pushing Beast, Qin Huaian immediately activated the Defensive Array of the Heavenly Silkworm Jade Robe.

The Mountain-Pushing Beast was already close to Qin Huaian. With a leap, its enormous hoof slammed into Qin Huaian's back.

"Brother Qin, watch out!" Seeing Qin Huaian struck by the Mountain-Pushing Beast, Wang Baole cried out anxiously and rushed forward with his sword.

Though the Heavenly Silkworm Jade Robe shielded him from the Mountain-Pushing Beast's strike, the tremendous impact still sent Qin Huaian flying. He rode the momentum forward, rolled once across the ground, got to his feet, and continued running.

"Run!" Qin Huaian shouted at Wang Baole.

Seeing that Qin Huaian was unharmed, Wang Baole also ran forward with all his might.

When the Mountain-Pushing Beast saw that it had failed to flatten Qin Huaian into a meat patty, it roared furiously. Ignoring its blood-drenched wound, it crazily pursued Qin Huaian.

Qin Huaian did not remain idle either. He rapidly cast several small fireballs in succession, each containing only a little spiritual energy.

Perhaps the Mountain-Pushing Beast had been frightened by the previous fireball. When these fireballs came flying at it, it hurriedly dodged, evading them one by one.

But the fireballs slowed it down, giving Qin Huaian a moment to catch his breath.

The continuous running and fighting had already consumed more than half of Qin Huaian's spiritual energy. Taking the chance, he stuffed a Qi Recovery Pill into his mouth, and his spiritual energy rapidly recovered.

As Qin Huaian ran, he fired small fireballs behind him one after another, hurling them at the Mountain-Pushing Beast like a merciless mobile turret.

Under the fireballs' interference, the distance between Qin Huaian and the Mountain-Pushing Beast slowly widened again.

When the distance had increased to more than ten zhang, Qin Huaian began gathering spiritual energy, preparing to use the same trick again.

Just then, several cries rang out from the sky.

Qin Huaian looked up and saw several White-headed Vultures circling overhead. They were first-rank birds of prey.

White-headed Vultures often appeared above two sides locked in battle, waiting until one side died or was close to death before diving down to feast.

The Mountain-Pushing Beast seemed to notice the White-headed Vultures above it as well and suddenly became restless. But its limited intelligence could not quickly make the most favorable choice.

So it charged Qin Huaian even more frantically.