As the horizon turned the pale white of a fish's belly, Xiao Yan finally crossed the boundary of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
The ground beneath his feet changed from soft humus to a firm yellow-earth road, and the damp scent of vegetation in the air gradually gave way to dry, windblown dust. He stopped and glanced back at the vast sea of forest shrouded in morning mist. A few faint roars of magical beasts drifted from deep within the mountains, but they already sounded distant, like the clamor of another world.
He had discarded his herb basket along the way—the low-grade herbs inside had merely been props to keep up appearances, and now that he had left the mountains, they served no purpose. His clothes were still torn and stained with mud, and his face bore traces of weathering. Only his eyes shone startlingly bright in the morning light, stripped of their feigned timidity, leaving nothing but a calm tempered by trials.
He reached up and touched his chest, where two things lay tucked close to his body. The first was the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map, now utterly dormant, like an ordinary scrap of worn beast hide. Had he not clearly sensed the tenuous connection between the heavenly flames within him and the Fragment Map, he might almost have believed its earlier reaction had been an illusion. The second was a spatial ring he had taken from Pu Ang. Apart from some low-grade pills and cultivation supplies, it contained only a few sheets of parchment covered in jumbled information—presumably the Otherworlder's "strategy notes" for this world. To Xiao Yan, however, most were conjectures based on a one-sided understanding and held little value.
System notification: Mission "Preliminary elimination of otherworldly interference" completed.
The familiar mechanical voice sounded in his mind, and the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. This journey into the Magical Beast Mountain Range had yielded far more than he had expected. The remnants of the Mo Family had been uprooted, the threat posed by the Otherworlder Pu Ang had been eliminated, and, more importantly, he had obtained a Fragment Map of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame—a crucial bargaining chip for his future pursuit of heavenly flames.
Mission reward: One basic pill-refining materials list, deposited in system storage.
Xiao Yan did not inspect the reward immediately. He walked slowly along the yellow-earth road, the morning light stretching his shadow far behind him. His pace was unhurried but exceptionally steady. Passing a mountain spring, he stopped and scooped up a handful of clear water to wash his face. The icy spring water drove away the last trace of weariness and rinsed off the dirt, revealing a slightly lean face with well-defined features.
Hoofbeats sounded in the distance as a crude freight wagon rolled leisurely toward him. The driver, a dark-skinned middle-aged man, reined in his horse when he saw Xiao Yan standing beside the road. "Young fellow, need a ride? Black Rock City is still thirty li ahead. Walking will take you most of the day."
Xiao Yan looked up at the sky and nodded. "Thank you, uncle. How much would it cost?"
"Looks like you've come out of the mountains too. That's no easy life." The driver grinned, revealing two rows of yellow teeth. "Ten copper coins will do. Having some company on the road works out nicely."
Xiao Yan thanked him and swung himself onto the rear seat of the wagon. Bundles of herbs filled the wagon, giving off a faint, bitter scent—the man was apparently an herb merchant traveling between the mountains and the towns. The wagon started moving again, its wheels creaking as they rolled over the yellow-earth road, lending a little variety to the journey.
"How long were you in the mountains, young fellow?" Unable to keep quiet, the driver struck up a conversation. "Things haven't been peaceful there lately. A while back, I heard the Wolf Head Mercenary Group got into a bloody fight with some people of unknown origin. Quite a few died."
Xiao Yan feigned bewilderment. "I went in to gather some herbs and stayed for almost half a month. I didn't run into anything serious, though. I was afraid of getting lost, so I never dared venture too deep."
"Then you were lucky," the driver said with feeling. "When I went to buy herbs a few days ago, the mountain folk told me something seemed to have happened to the Mo Family too. Their younger members were either dead or on the run, and even that old Dou Shi ancestor of theirs had vanished. I reckon an enemy came knocking at their door."
"The Mo Family?" Xiao Yan asked with feigned curiosity. "The one with some influence in Black Rock City?"
"That's the one." The driver curled his lip. "They threw their weight around just because they had a little strength and made plenty of enemies. Serves them right to end up like this. Still, it's strange. I heard that in the end, magical beasts... Ah, the beasts in these mountains are truly terrifying when they turn vicious."
Xiao Yan smiled and said nothing more. The rumor that magical beasts had destroyed the Mo Family had clearly spread because the mountain folk had witnessed the Red-Eyed Demon Wolf's "masterpiece." Such an ending spared him considerable trouble—at least no one would point the spearhead of suspicion at a boy at "Dou Qi Third Stage" again.
The wagon swayed onward, and the scenery along the road gradually changed from desolate mountain wilderness to field ridges dotted with farmhouses. Cooking smoke rose from distant villages, while the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs carried the warmth of everyday life. Compared with the dangers lurking everywhere in the mountains, the peace here seemed especially precious.
Xiao Yan leaned against the wagon wall and closed his eyes to rest, though he was actually sorting through the gains and losses of his journey into the mountains. The Mo Family's destruction had removed the immediate threat; the appearance of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map had given him a new goal; and the existence of Pu Ang, an Otherworlder, had reminded him that this world might not be as simple as he had imagined. There might be other hidden variables.
The pill-refining materials list in system storage... he recited inwardly. Basic materials might seem unremarkable, but for a novice just beginning to learn pill refining, they were essential to laying a foundation. It seemed that, in the days ahead, he would have to put pill refining on his agenda alongside improving his strength. After all, in this world, a powerful alchemist often commanded greater awe and respect than a cultivator of the same rank.
The outline of Black Rock City gradually sharpened ahead. Beneath its towering gates, an endless stream of travelers and merchants came and went, lending it an air of bustle and prosperity.
The driver called out, and the wagon slowed as it headed toward the city gates.
Xiao Yan opened his eyes and gazed at the familiar city, a sharp glint flashing through them.
The undercurrents in the Magical Beast Mountain Range had subsided, but his own journey had only just begun. His family's predicament, his pursuit of heavenly flames, and the unknown threats lurking in the shadows all awaited him ahead.
And he was ready.
The moment the wagon passed through the city gates, sunlight broke through the clouds and spilled across the land, illuminating the young man's strikingly upright figure.
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