Taking Disciples, Ten-Thousandfold Returns: Starting from Battle Through the Heavens

Qin Hao took out the jade container once more and carefully stored the clump of Earth Core Body-Tempering Milk inside, though he left a small portion behind.

"Don't waste it! You haven't finished collecting it yet!"

Seeing that Qin Hao had left some behind, Zi Yan hurriedly reminded him.

"Always leave some room! If we leave this behind, this place will continue producing Earth Core Body-Tempering Milk without end. But if we take it all, the stalactite will soon collapse completely, and this place will be utterly ruined!"

Qin Hao explained. In the original story, Yao Chen had told Xiao Yan the same thing. As an alchemist himself, Qin Hao naturally understood this principle as well.

"I see!"

After hearing Qin Hao's explanation, realization appeared on Zi Yan's face. She clearly understood what he meant.

After collecting the Earth Core Body-Tempering Milk, Qin Hao's gaze fell upon the diluted inferior remnants in the depression.

Qin Hao did not waste these either. He directly took out containers and stored away all the diluted Earth Core Body-Tempering Milk.

Although their quality was far inferior to the genuine Earth Core Body-Tempering Milk nurtured within the core of the stalactite,

they had the advantage of quantity, and they had other uses as well. For example, adding this spiritual liquid when refining certain pills could not only increase the success rate but also improve the quality of the pills.

To an alchemist, they were rare and precious treasures. Naturally, he would not let them go to waste.

Sweeping Through! Harvests! Howling-Moon Wolf King!

Over the next half month or so, Qin Hao and Zi Yan launched a frenzied sweep against the fourth- and fifth-tier magical beasts in the Magic Beast Forest surrounding the back mountain of Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy.

At first, the two of them only targeted the magical beasts marked by Zi Yan. But as they continued raiding their nests, they discovered that the spoils from those raids seemed even more valuable than the medicinal herbs they had originally set their sights on.

After making this discovery, they immediately changed their minds. The fifth-tier magical beasts that had not originally been marked were once again added to their hunting list.

Over the past half month, more than twenty fifth-tier magical beasts had died at their hands alone.

As for the fourth-tier magical beasts they killed along the way, their numbers were naturally even greater.

Having hunted so many magical beasts, the gains were self-evident. Qin Hao's current wealth was definitely more than ten times what it had been at his peak.

The greatest harvest consisted of magic cores of varying grades. Some came from the magical beasts they had killed, while others were trophies found in the beasts' nests.

They also gathered quite a few medicinal herbs. Nearly every powerful magical beast's nest had high-quality herbs growing nearby, and all of them naturally ended up in Qin Hao and Zi Yan's hands.

In addition, over this period, they found more than a dozen storage rings in the magical beasts' nests.

The situation with these storage rings was similar to the ones found in the Azure Shadow Eagle's nest. Everything useful to magical beasts had been completely cleaned out.

All that remained were a few daily necessities, along with gold coins, gold cards, and the like.

Qin Hao now had nearly a million gold coins in cash alone. These had been obtained from several of the storage rings. As for the amounts stored on the gold cards, he had yet to check them.

However, one thing was certain: the sums on the cards far exceeded the cash.

Of course, aside from these worldly possessions, what Qin Hao cared about most were Dou Qi cultivation methods and Dou Techniques.

Qin Hao had obtained more than a dozen scrolls of cultivation methods and Dou Techniques. The lowest were Yellow-class high-grade, while the highest had reached Xuan-class high-grade.

Since Qin Hao possessed a cultivation method beyond the Heaven class like the Chaotic Heaven-Devouring Art, he cared more about Dou Techniques than cultivation methods.

This time, he was not disappointed either. Three of these Dou Techniques suited him.

In particular, there was a movement Dou Technique called Wind Shadow Step. Movement techniques were currently one of Qin Hao's weaknesses, but with Wind Shadow Step, one of his shortcomings had finally been addressed.

Wind Shadow Step was a Xuan-class high-grade Dou Technique. For the current Qin Hao, it was clearly sufficient for the time being.

The remaining two Dou Techniques were both Xuan-class mid-grade: Explosive Flame Fist and Heavenfire Incineration. They were both fire-attribute offensive Dou Techniques, one for single-target attacks and the other for group attacks. Their power was fairly decent and was enough for now.

Of course, the past half month had not gone smoothly for the two of them either. More accurately, aside from the first few days, the days that followed had been rather troublesome.

During the first few days, they had targeted fifth-tier magical beasts near the Inner Academy. Because this area was close to Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy, the strongest magical beasts here were only fifth-tier.

Furthermore, because Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy had many experts, there were relatively few powerful magical beasts in the surrounding area.

To expand their gains, Qin Hao and Zi Yan naturally ventured deeper into the Magic Beast Forest. Here, not only were there far more magical beasts, but their strength was also incomparable to those on the outskirts.

Moreover, unlike the scattered magical beasts on the outskirts, the magical beasts near the inner region were organized. Or rather, those fourth- and fifth-tier magical beasts all had powerful backers.

As Qin Hao and Zi Yan continued slaughtering the fourth- and fifth-tier magical beasts here, they naturally drew the attention of the sixth-tier magical beasts behind them.

Qin Hao and Zi Yan had slaughtered so many of their underlings, so naturally, those beasts began hunting them down.

Fortunately, as one with the bloodline of an Ancient Void Dragon, Zi Yan possessed powerful spatial abilities and astonishing speed. Qin Hao's speed had also increased greatly after he began cultivating his new movement Dou Technique.

In addition, Qin Hao's soul had now reached the Spiritual Realm, greatly enhancing his ability to conceal his aura. That was how they repeatedly escaped danger.

"Whew, we finally shook them off! That Howling-Moon Wolf King was far too troublesome! Zi Yan, it's time for us to head back. This place is still too dangerous. Exploring here with our current strength is too risky!"

Inside a concealed cave deep within the Magic Beast Forest, Qin Hao looked at Zi Yan and could not help but say this.

Both of them looked rather bedraggled at the moment. A day earlier, they had passed through the territory of the Howling-Moon Wolves and discovered a patch of extremely rare medicinal herbs: Moonlight Grass.

That was right, a whole patch, not just one stalk. Moonlight Grass was an herb used in the refinement of many pills.

Moonlight Grass had different effects depending on its age.

A hundred-year-old Moonlight Grass could be used to refine fourth-grade pills, a two-hundred-year-old one could refine fifth-grade pills, and a five-hundred-year-old Moonlight Grass could be used to refine sixth-grade pills.

Among the patch of Moonlight Grass Qin Hao and Zi Yan had discovered was an eight-hundred-year-old stalk. It was a fine treasure that could be used to refine seventh-grade pills.

However, that Moonlight Grass was located in the core region of the Howling-Moon Wolves' territory.

More than ninety percent of wolf-type magical beasts lived in packs, and the Howling-Moon Wolves were no exception.

After carefully scouting for more than half a day, the two discovered that there were only three fifth-tier Howling-Moon Wolves in the territory and no sign of any sixth-tier magical beast.

There was only one fifth-tier Howling-Moon Wolf guarding the patch of Moonlight Grass as well.

After weighing their options, the two decided to go through with it.

Their plan initially went very smoothly. Before the other two fifth-tier Howling-Moon Wolves could react, they attacked with all their strength and used thunderous methods to kill the Howling-Moon Wolf guarding the Moonlight Grass.

However, just as they were looting the spoils, a sixth-tier Howling-Moon Wolf King arrived.

When Qin Hao and Zi Yan had scouted the area earlier, the Howling-Moon Wolf King had evidently happened to be away.

The two of them had essentially stirred up a hornet's nest. The entire Howling-Moon Wolf pack went completely berserk.

Facing the pursuit and encirclement of the sixth-tier Howling-Moon Wolf King and its massive pack, Qin Hao and Zi Yan could only flee in utter misery.

They hid and fled for more than an entire day before barely managing to shake off the Howling-Moon Wolf pack's pursuit.

Moreover, to evade the pack, they had raced straight toward the depths of the Magic Beast Forest. They had now completely entered its deepest regions.

Although sixth-tier magical beasts were known as the kings of the Magic Beast Forest, in truth, they could only be considered overlords of its outer regions.

Magical Beast Supremacy! The Sixth-Tier Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King!

For example, the Amethyst Winged Lion King from the original story could only be considered a king of the Magic Beast Forest near the Jia Ma Empire.

The Magic Beast Forest stretched across nearly the entire Northwestern Continent. There were quite a few sixth-tier magical beasts in its depths, and legends even spoke of seventh-tier magical beasts and creatures even stronger than that.

The area where the two of them currently were had clearly moved far beyond the safe zone. If they remained here, they might encounter an even more terrifying danger at any moment.

Although Qin Hao had a Dou Saint Experience Card to save his life, he had no intention of wasting something so precious in a place like this.

Besides, this trip into the Magic Beast Forest had already yielded tremendous rewards. Both of them had made a fortune, so it was time to return and properly digest their gains.

"Mm!"

After hearing Qin Hao's words, even Zi Yan did not argue anymore. She clearly understood that continuing like this would be no different from playing with fire.

After discussing it, the two decided to rest here for the night and begin their return journey the next day.

The two then began making preparations. Qin Hao took several pieces of processed, tender magical beast meat from his storage ring, while Zi Yan gathered a pile of dry firewood and lit a campfire.

After placing the magical beast meat over the fire, Qin Hao took out a pile of bottles and jars from his storage ring. They were various seasonings he had prepared before entering the Magic Beast Forest.

As for whether the smell would attract nearby magical beasts, Qin Hao and Zi Yan were naturally not worried. They had carefully chosen this place as a hiding spot, and there were no traces of magical beast activity nearby.

In the blink of an eye, the night passed.

Early the next morning, after determining their direction, the two began heading toward the outskirts of the Magic Beast Forest.

Since they had been busy fleeing for their lives earlier, they could only determine the general direction of the forest's outer region.

To avoid trouble, the two did their best to avoid the territories of powerful magical beasts this time, so their route inevitably took many detours.

Roar! Roar!

Boom! Boom! Boom...

By noon, the two, who were still traveling, suddenly heard a series of highly penetrating roars coming from afar.

Along with the terrifying booms, Qin Hao's Spiritual Realm soul keenly caught the abnormal fluctuations of Dou Qi energy in the distance.

"What is that sound?"

Zi Yan's gaze instantly fell on Qin Hao, and a hint of curiosity flashed through her eyes.

"Magical beasts should be fighting. And they're both very strong!"

Qin Hao spoke. Even from so far away, he could sense the unusual Dou Qi fluctuations, which showed just how terrifying the energy contained within them was.

"Should we go take a look?"

Upon hearing Qin Hao's words, Zi Yan's eyes lit up slightly as she spoke eagerly.

"This... fine. Let's move closer and see what's happening first. Don't reveal our auras under any circumstances. If there's no opportunity, we'll take a detour immediately!"

After thinking for a moment, Qin Hao finally nodded.

The direction from which the sounds came happened to be directly ahead of them. If they wanted to avoid it, they would clearly have to make a considerable detour.

However, Qin Hao had also developed some interest in the battle ahead. When the snipe and clam fought, the fisherman profited. Since they had encountered such a situation, Qin Hao naturally did not want to miss the opportunity. They had to at least get closer and take a look first.

If the situation proved impossible, Qin Hao would decisively take another route.

The two immediately concealed their auras and carefully headed toward the source of the sounds.

About fifteen minutes later, Qin Hao and Zi Yan finally reached a dense forest less than a thousand meters away from the battlefield.