Tracks

After leaving the Snake-People Tribe's territory deep within the Tagor Desert, Mo Yun arrived at Mo City, one of the few human cities at the edge of the desert.

After simply stocking up on essential supplies such as food, fresh water, and healing medicine, he prepared to leave Mo City and headed decisively toward his next destination.

With his considerable soul power, Mo Yun keenly sensed a probing presence settle upon him.

Patterns flashed in Mo Yun's eyes as his soul power directly retaliated, tracing that strand of soul power all the way to a map shop called "Gu Tu."

"So it was that old fellow..."

Upon seeing the shop's name, Mo Yun knew who had been investigating him. However, he did not go looking for trouble with the other party and instead left Mo City as usual.

He could not refine pills, nor could he help anyone break a seal, so there was no need to hire someone as a bodyguard or anything.

As for the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame Remnant Map, Mo Yun had no time to collect it. If it had been a map to Ancient Exotic Beast Remains, he might have considered gathering it.

Besides, once someone collected all the remnant maps, news of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's emergence would inevitably spread. If he had a chance to get involved then, he would; if not, so be it!

Inside the map shop, the old man who had been bent over making maps had long since stopped working. Beads of sweat hung from his forehead, and a small blotch of grime had appeared on the map he had been engraving.

The old man had a head full of white hair. Holding a black drawing pen, he let out a sigh of relief. "At such a young age, he already possesses such strength, and his soul power far surpasses that of ordinary people. Could he be someone sent by one of the continent's great factions?"

After this incident, the old man no longer dared to casually use his soul power to probe those entering and leaving Mo City. This time, the other party had not paid him any mind, but what if next time he encountered someone with a bad temper...

Forget it. He should honestly draw maps and search for materials, striving to break this damned seal as soon as possible...

Walking slowly through the dense forest, Mo Yun surveyed his surroundings, trying to find Magical Beasts of decent strength.

They did not need to be above the sixth tier. Fourth- or fifth-tier ones would do, at least then he could hope to obtain several D+-grade Magical Beast body parts.

Aside from the four snake-type body parts, the other Magical Beast body parts still had room to be replaced and upgraded.

Yet along the way, he had not encountered any Magical Beasts that met his expectations. All he could say was that there were too few high-tier Magical Beasts in the Jia Ma Empire's Magical Beast Forest, only a bunch of weak first- and second-tier trash.

The body parts of these first- and second-tier Magical Beasts were not much stronger than the ones he was currently using, so Mo Yun could not be bothered to replace them.

On a main road in one corner of the forest, more than a dozen figures riding Unicorn Horses slowly escorted a carriage. A flag bearing the character "Mo" stood atop the carriage.

Inside the carriage, three figures sat cross-legged.

"Great Elder, you personally went to the Yun Lan Sect this time, but judging by their attitude, their sect leader Yun Yun does not seem likely to come and celebrate your birthday in person!" one of the three, a middle-aged man, said unhappily.

Another man was equally unwilling to accept it. "We offer the Yun Lan Sect so much wealth every year, yet these past few years, not only has the Yun Lan Sect treated us with indifference, they have even grown somewhat suspicious of us. This year, they even cut our disciple quota by thirty percent."

The Great Elder, dressed in luxurious robes and seated in the center of the carriage, rested with his eyes closed before slowly speaking. "I know everything you have said. Whatever the Yun Lan Sect has taken from us, this old man will make them spit it all back out one day. As for Yun Yun, she is merely a little girl. I never expected her to come personally and celebrate my birthday. As long as the Yun Lan Sect sends a representative when the time comes, this old man's goal will be achieved."

"Please enlighten us, Great Elder!" The two exchanged a glance before cupping their hands.

The Great Elder smiled. "The era of the four great families coexisting in the Northeast Provinces should become history. From now on, the Northeast Provinces of the Jia Ma Empire will speak with one voice. I, Mo Cheng, will lead the Mo Clan to unprecedented heights!"

The two men beside Mo Cheng were quick-witted and immediately flattered him. "The Great Elder is wise!"

As they spoke, a messenger pigeon suddenly landed on the carriage pole.

Someone quickly caught the messenger pigeon, removed a small slip of paper from its leg, and hurried back to the carriage.

"Great Elder, this is news from our informant in Mo City." After reading the message, the middle-aged man reported to Great Elder Mo Cheng.

"Mo City?" Mo Cheng narrowed his eyes. Mo City lay on the edge of the Tagor Desert and had few residents; it was merely a tiny city. There was only one thing worth his attention. "Could it be that they discovered that brat Mo Yun's trail?"

The middle-aged man of the Mo Clan nodded. "The informant in Mo City reports that Mo Yun was spotted there three days ago. His strength is unknown! He has headed south of Mo City!"

Mo Cheng muttered, "South of Mo City... if that was three days ago, then judging by his pace, wouldn't he be quite close to us?"

"Precisely!" the middle-aged man answered.

"Good brat. Back then, he ventured deep into the Tagor Desert and entered the Snake-People Tribe's territory. I thought he would die in there forever and never come out. Who would have thought that, after a year, that brat could still escape from the Snake-People Tribe!" Mo Cheng sneered repeatedly.

"Mo Shi, Mo Chen, organize men immediately and search this entire Magical Beast Forest. You must capture that brat and bring him to me!" Mo Cheng ordered.

Mo Shi looked troubled. "Search the entire Magical Beast Forest? Great Elder, we did not bring many men on this trip to the Yun Lan Sect. If we launch a full search, I'm afraid we do not have enough manpower!"

"Are you pig-brained? Can't you use your head when doing things? Put out a bounty, make the reward high enough, and urge the nearby mercenaries to help us look. You must find that brat within three days!" Mo Cheng said viciously.

Thinking of how Mo Yun had made off with the arm of the Blazing Flame Mountain-Breaking Rhinoceros, the clan's treasured possession, Mo Cheng burned with anger. Hopefully, they could retrieve it this time and successfully transplant it before his birthday, using it to intimidate those petty schemers.

Bright sunlight streamed into the forest, leaving countless tiny patches of light on the ground.

Suddenly, a black shadow seemed to flash past before landing on a tree branch.

Standing on the branch, Mo Yun frowned as he looked at the scattered mercenaries below. Although the Magical Beast Mountain Range had never lacked mercenary activity, there had been far too many of them these past few days. Moreover, judging from their actions, these mercenaries did not seem to be hunting Magical Beasts, but rather searching for something.

One of the mercenaries below, trailing behind the main group, sneakily ran beneath the tree where Mo Yun was hiding. He took off his pants to relieve himself, but when his gaze inadvertently caught the shadow on the ground, he abruptly looked up and met Mo Yun's eyes.

Then, to Mo Yun's confusion, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I found him!"