Stifling

The Blue Demon Spider flicked its legs again, sending the Blue Eagle charging at it flying. Listening to the Blue Eagle's mournful cries, it lost interest in toying with its prey. It could clearly sense that its opponent was gradually losing the ability to resist.

Just as it raised its forelimbs to deliver the Blue Eagle a fatal blow, a small figure slowly approached and stood in its way.

"Hiss?" The Blue Demon Spider's limited intellect could not accurately judge Huo Yuhao's strength. So, it casually swung its forelimb, intending to tear this troublesome human apart.

Just as the Blue Demon Spider's ink-green gleaming forelimb was about to pierce Huo Yuhao, a palm covered in ice crystals shot out and tightly gripped the tip of its venomous limb.

Over the years, Huo Yuhao had persisted in cultivating the Golden Body Formula. At this point, his physical strength alone was enough to withstand the Blue Demon Spider's attacks, not to mention the layer of diamond-like ice crystals covering his palm.

The hand gripping the Blue Demon Spider's forelimb suddenly exerted force, and the entire limb was violently torn off at the root.

As the Blue Demon Spider let out a pained shriek, Huo Yuhao raised his left arm high. An enormous ice-blue sword condensed in his hand.

[Emperor Sword—Unparalleled Ice Extremity]!

Huo Yuhao swung down his left hand amid the Blue Demon Spider's continuous screams. A flash of sword light severed and shattered its pair of scaled wings; another flash cut off every spider leg supporting its body at the roots; with the final strike, the Blue Demon Spider's mangled body was split evenly in two by an ice-blue sword beam descending upon its head.

Strangely, no frost formed along the wounds cleaved open by the Emperor Sword. Only blood continued to flow.

From the moment Huo Yuhao sprang into action until the Blue Demon Spider was dismembered, only an instant had passed. Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian had just been about to help when the battle was already over. The two stood frozen in place. They were not innocent youths who had just entered the world, and they had killed quite a few Magic Beasts during this time. It was not as if they had never seen bloody and cruel scenes before. Yet, looking at Huo Yuhao's face, a chill rose from their hearts, and they could not help shuddering deeply.

After dealing with the Blue Demon Spider, Huo Yuhao did not pause. He turned and walked toward the severely injured Blue Eagle. Only then did the Blue Demon Spider behind him freeze under a burst of cold air, turning into an ice sculpture.

Huo Yuhao pressed his hand against one of the Blue Eagle's wounds, ignoring the fear and despair in its eyes. Behind him, the ice sculpture crumbled like sand, scattering into ice granules across the ground. At the same time, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power traveled through the wound and deep into the Blue Eagle's body, instantly locating and crushing the Blue Demon Spider's larva.

After disposing of the larva, Huo Yuhao looked up at Yao Chen, who seemed to want to speak but held back, then at the blank-eyed Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Yan. Without offering a single explanation, he walked straight to an ancient tree, sat cross-legged beneath it, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing.

"So that was what those ice crystals were that day..."

Only then did the two snap back to their senses. Xiao Yan and Yao Chen exchanged glances, each seeing the complexity in the other's eyes. Xiao Yi Xian silently walked over to the Blue Eagle and cleaned the remaining poison from its wounds.

Once Xiao Yi Xian finished treating it, Huo Yuhao opened his eyes.

"Let's go."

The atmosphere along the way became oppressive and stifling, no longer carrying its previous ease. The group traveled in silence, gathered herbs, and dealt with Magic Beasts that approached with hostile intentions.

Ever since they saved the Blue Eagle, Xiao Yi Xian's behavior had been somewhat unusual. She had become quiet and withdrawn, rarely calling him Brother Yuhao anymore. Although the group had grown increasingly coordinated in battle and daily life, that tacit understanding failed to break the strange atmosphere between them. Huo Yuhao, however, seemed completely unconcerned. He continued helping Xiao Yi Xian suppress her poisonous aura and guiding the two in their cultivation as usual. Xiao Yan saw it all but did not know what to say. He could only frequently bring up topics or tell jokes in an attempt to ease the mood, but with little effect.

If there was anything that eased the heavy atmosphere, it was the Blue Eagle they had saved. Nearly every day, it brought them prey or medicinal herbs. Over time, the three people and one eagle grew familiar with each other. Whenever the Blue Eagle brought prey at night, it would also wait for Huo Yuhao to feed it.

Among them, it was closest to Xiao Yi Xian, who had treated its wounds in the beginning. It often carried Xiao Yi Xian flying over the sea of forest. For this reason, Xiao Yi Xian specially gave it a name: Little Lan. She also specifically asked Huo Yuhao to make her a transverse flute with extremely strong penetrating power. The girl and eagle agreed upon a special melody; whenever Xiao Yi Xian's flute sounded, Little Lan would immediately come.

Perhaps because the methods Huo Yuhao displayed while saving it had been too brutal, the Blue Eagle feared him more than it felt close to him. Fortunately, after being fed over this period, it slowly began to let go of its fear of Huo Yuhao.

"Little Lan, how about taking me for a flight too?" Xiao Yan moved closer with a broad grin.

Little Lan tilted its head and looked at him. Just as Xiao Yan began to shrink back under that adorable head tilt, Little Lan nodded.

"Great! I—"

Xiao Yan's cheer stopped abruptly—Little Lan grabbed him by the collar and carried him in a circle through the air.

"Wait, this isn't what I meant! Put me down!"

After some more time passed, the group approached the core region of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Magic Beasts visibly grew more numerous, and high-rank Magic Beasts began appearing frequently. Under Huo Yuhao's lead, they took several detours in succession.

A burst of flute music echoed out. Soon after, accompanied by an eagle's cry, Little Lan the Blue Eagle landed steadily in front of them.

"Little Lan, this is already close to the core region of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. It will only become more dangerous inside." Xiao Yi Xian stroked its feathers.

Little Lan tilted its head and quietly watched her.

"Go back. Don't follow us any farther."

"Kree—!"

Little Lan understood what she meant and let out a mournful cry full of reluctance.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi Xian quickly explained, "It's not that we'll never see each other again. It's just that while we're in the core region, Little Lan, you shouldn't follow us. Once we leave the core region, we'll come find you. Find somewhere safe in the outer region and wait for us there."

Only then did Little Lan nod. It looked at them once more before spreading its wings and flying toward the outer region.

"Brother Yuhao, Little Lan won't run into danger, right?" Xiao Yi Xian asked, her face full of worry.

Huo Yuhao did not answer. He merely patted her head gently. No one noticed that a thread of his spiritual power had silently attached itself to Little Lan's feathers, condensing into a spiritual seed.

"Yuhao, from here on, we'll take turns sensing our surroundings. Remember, whenever you encounter medicinal herbs or Magic Beasts you don't recognize, share them with me immediately."

"Yes, Teacher."

Just as they were about to continue onward, Yao Chen suddenly cried in a low voice, "A Dou Wang is coming. He's an alchemist! Be careful!" Before his words had faded, Yao Chen concealed himself.

Ever since entering the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Gu He had headed straight for the core region. High-rank Beast Flames could naturally not be found in the outer regions. His purpose in coming this time was to find a Sixth Grade Magic Beast willing to trade one Beast Flame. If that route failed, he would settle for the next best option and kill a Fifth Grade Magic Beast to take its Beast Flame. As for the legendary Heavenly Flames, he only intended to try his luck and had no plans to force the matter.

As he flew swiftly through the air and was about to enter the core region, he suddenly spotted several children talking beneath a tree ahead. A thought crossed his mind, and Gu He silently landed in the nearby treetops, concealing his aura as he observed Huo Yuhao's group.

"These little fellows have such strong soul talent." After stopping to observe them carefully, Gu He was startled by the unconcealed spiritual power of Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian, and the thought of taking disciples could not help arising in his heart. Yet after watching for a while, Gu He noticed something strange. These children looked young, but their strength was not bad. They should have been talents raised by some major faction and sent into the Magic Beast Mountain Range to gain experience. Gu He himself was somewhat of a homebody, so he did not find it strange that he did not recognize these children. However, despite using the soul power of a Sixth Grade alchemist to sense the area for a long time, he found no expert guarding them nearby. That left him rather puzzled.

"Strange, where are their elders? With only this much strength, they dare come to the core region of the Magic Beast Mountain Range?

Seeing the group set out, Gu He pondered briefly. Partly to satisfy his curiosity, he decided to follow them. If they truly had elders concealed nearby protecting them, he could reveal himself and propose cooperation to obtain Beast Flames together. Considering his status as a Sixth Grade alchemist, the other side would surely be willing to grant him this favor.

Gu He concealed his aura and quietly followed behind Huo Yuhao and the others.

Since Yao Chen had identified Gu He as an alchemist, Huo Yuhao worried that he might detect his spiritual power. He had long since restrained his spiritual power and did not use Spirit Probe. Instead, he relied on the emotions emanating from Gu He to pinpoint his location.

After traveling this way for some time, Huo Yuhao discovered that the man behind them was still following. He quietly manipulated his spiritual power, deliberately concealing its fluctuations. Without even Yao Chen noticing, he connected their consciousnesses and used Mental Sharing.

"Hm?" Yao Chen's surprised voice sounded within Mental Sharing. He had seen Spiritual Detection Sharing before, but had only assumed it was the effect of a Soul Skill. He had never expected it could be used separately.

"Has that creep not left yet?" Xiao Yan asked through Mental Sharing.

"No, he's still following us. Teacher, how should we deal with him?" Since the emotions Huo Yuhao sensed from the other party were curiosity rather than hostility or killing intent, he did not immediately consider ways to eliminate him and merely sought Yao Chen's opinion.