Exploring the Cangyun Mountain Range

Lu Changsheng carefully surveyed his surroundings. Everywhere was lush and verdant, thick with flourishing grass and trees.

This was the outer region of the Cangyun Mountain Range, several hundred li from Changping County.

He had controlled the Exotic Beast Pangolin and traveled for several days before reaching this place.

He had also discovered that the soil underground here was far harder than that of Little Cloud Mountain. Massive rocks were everywhere, making it nearly impossible to hollow out underground spaces.

However, compared to Little Cloud Mountain, this mountain surely held far more spiritual herbs. As long as he unearthed some of them, his strength would increase greatly.

Lu Changsheng no longer hesitated. He burrowed underground and began slowly digging forward.

"Rustle, rustle..."

He swung his claws, forcefully scraping away the rocks and plant roots blocking his path.

The surroundings were utterly silent, leaving only the sound of his digging.

Half an hour later.

Lu Changsheng arrived at an underground space at the foot of the mountain.

Suddenly, a fragrant scent drifted from ahead, jolting his spirits awake.

"There's something here."

He hurriedly dug toward the source of the fragrance.

Yet after digging barely ten meters, he suddenly found a narrow passage ahead. The air carried the reek of urine, while the ground was strewn with some sort of droppings.

"Other beasts are active underground here."

Lu Changsheng's heart tightened at the sight.

He had long guessed that his journey into the Cangyun Mountain Range would not be smooth sailing, but he had not expected complications to arise so quickly.

If beast tracks could be found here, then those creatures likely had footprints throughout the entire Cangyun Mountain Range.

If they traveled in swarms, that would be troublesome.

Lu Changsheng carefully made his way forward. Before long, he reached the source of that unusual fragrance.

A huge ginseng plant grew from the soil, its roots plump and full, its waves of fragrance assailing his nose.

Moreover, the area around the spiritual herb was extremely clean. Clearly, beasts often cleaned this place.

"This thing already has an owner."

Lu Changsheng did not spare another thought. He swiftly approached the ginseng and pressed a claw against it.

"Centennial Ginseng detected. Collect?"

A crisp notification sounded.

"Collect."

Lu Changsheng nodded.

In merely a few breaths, the Centennial Ginseng lay in his system space.

The smooth success delighted him.

This auspicious beginning also gave him considerable confidence for the exploration ahead.

Just as Lu Changsheng prepared to turn in another direction and continue exploring, a sudden change erupted.

"Zzt..."

A black figure suddenly shot from the entrance of the passage ahead, moving at astonishing speed.

Lu Changsheng focused his gaze.

A massive vole appeared not far in front of him. Its eyes were blood-red as it stared fixedly at him.

This vole's body was nearly one-fifth his size, and its claws gleamed with an inky black luster, razor-sharp.

"Buzz..."

Before Lu Changsheng could make a move, the vole charged at him.

In the blink of an eye, it reached him, opened its mouth, and bit down viciously.

Lu Changsheng's expression turned cold as he fiercely swung his claws forward.

After being enhanced by Burrowing, his claws had evolved once and become exceptionally sharp.

Several claws were arranged closely together like daggers.

"Slash..."

In an instant, the two sides collided.

"Pshh—"

Amid a shriek of pain, half the vole's head was sliced away. Blood gushed out, staining a patch of the surrounding earth red.

After killing the vole, Lu Changsheng continued exploring toward the side.

He guessed that it might have been the guardian of this spiritual herb. There was likely an enormous vole colony here, perhaps even a Rat King.

With his strength, he would find it difficult to withstand a tide of rats.

This made him even more cautious.

For the next several hours, Lu Changsheng explored the underground spaces.

The mountain range was rich in spiritual herbs. In less than half a day, he harvested another four medicinal herbs around fifty years old.

Lu Changsheng rested quietly against a huge boulder. Just as he was preparing to leave, movement suddenly came from the darkness in the distance.

"Buzzz..."

Three voles charged madly at Lu Changsheng, their eyes streaked with blood-red.

These three voles were clearly a size larger than the one he had encountered before. They were obviously elite members of the colony.

They really were like ghosts that refused to disperse.

A flash of killing intent passed through Lu Changsheng's eyes. He had already been extremely careful to avoid them.

Yet they had still discovered his trail.

He no longer hesitated and lunged forward.

Crack!

His sharp claws easily split open the head of the middle vole.

Blood immediately sprayed out. The creature's hide was completely incapable of blocking his claws.

At the same time, the remaining two voles bit directly into Lu Changsheng's back.

"Zzt, zzt..."

A piercing shriek rang out. Lu Changsheng only felt a slight numbness in his back, without any pain.

The defensive power of his scales after Armor Enhancement was quite impressive. These elite voles could not breach his defenses.

After dealing with one elite vole, Lu Changsheng charged in again.

A fierce battle erupted instantly in the depths underground.

Relying on his claws and scales, Lu Changsheng quickly killed the other two elite voles.

However, the consecutive battles had left him somewhat weary.

Lu Changsheng did not hesitate. He immediately opened the panel.

He then tapped the plus sign beside his level.

"Mm..."

A warm current flowed through his entire body, instantly invigorating him and sweeping away all his previous fatigue.

His whole body seemed brimming with vitality.

Bound Exotic Beast: Pangolin.

Quality: White.

Level: 2.

Skills: Armor Enhancement—Excellent, Burrowing—Excellent.

Source Energy Points: 6.

His Exotic Beast's level had become Level 2. Not only had the strength of its armor increased by several degrees, but its claws had also grown by more than an inch.

The tips of his claws revealed their sharpness, radiating a dark gleam.

He discovered that adding points to his Exotic Beast not only increased his strength, but also restored his energy. This gave him some new plans.

This Exotic Beast avatar was his main force for searching for spiritual herbs, so it had to be strengthened.

He planned to make good use of the Cangyun Mountain Range's resources to cultivate the Exotic Beast. Once it became powerful, he could search for more spiritual herbs to support his own martial breakthroughs.

Only then could a virtuous cycle be formed.

A moment later, Lu Changsheng tapped the plus sign beside his level again, clicking it three times in succession.

"Buzz..."

Lu Changsheng felt as though the bones and muscles throughout his body had become engorged with blood, rapidly expanding.

Streams of pure blood essence circulated endlessly within him.

Several breaths later, the phenomenon of transformation finally stopped.

Bound Exotic Beast: Pangolin.

Level: 5.

Source Energy Points: 3.

Lu Changsheng carefully sensed the changes within himself. Compared with before his breakthrough, his strength had increased by more than double.

The scales across his body were also arranged more tightly, and his defensive power had risen by another great margin.

The attacks of those voles from earlier probably would not even count as scratching an itch now.

Furthermore, his two claws had thickened considerably again. His digging speed would surely increase greatly as well.

"So every five levels brings a minor transformation."

Lu Changsheng pondered silently.

This improvement was utterly incomparable to the previous ones.

He did not intend to spend all his remaining Source Energy Points. He would keep them for a critical moment, in case they were needed to save his life.

Then, casting aside his thoughts, he dug toward the depths of the Cangyun Mountain Range.

"Crack, crack..."

With a light exertion of force, he scraped away the hard layer of soil ahead.

Just as he had expected, after his level increased, his digging speed also rose dramatically.

This also gave Lu Changsheng a new understanding of the relationship between skills and levels.

In the early stages, levels should take priority. Once he reached a certain level, he could then strengthen his skills. Only then could he maximize his gains.