Exploring the Mountains

After finally making it to lunch break, Chen Beiwu hurried home.

He locked the door to the Cultivation Room, took a jade bottle out of his backpack and opened it, then sprinkled the Windflower Powder inside over his clothes to eliminate most of their scent.

As if he still didn't think that was safe enough, he took out another bottle of juice simmered from Earthface Mushrooms and rubbed it all over himself, making his skin give off a faint scent of rotting wood, so as not to attract the attention of Demon Beasts.

Once he had finished, Chen Beiwu put on his full set of protective gear (the dirt-poor version), then took out three old bronze coins, strung them together into a simple Three Emperor Coins Exotic Artifact, and hung it around his neck.

As the most widely circulated and easiest-to-make Qi Refining artifact in the Immortal Alliance, the Three Emperor Coins could make their wearer immune to some low-level illusions. They also rang to warn the wearer when ghostly creatures with sinister energy were nearby.

The heavier the sinister energy of the ghostly creature, the more urgently the coins rang.

If he encountered a powerful ghostly creature, the Three Emperor Coins would be unable to withstand the contamination of its sinister energy and would explode on their own, briefly startling it and buying their wearer a chance to escape.

After moving around to get used to his equipment, Chen Beiwu went to the corner of the Cultivation Room and picked up three sparkling fine needles and a jade-green Bone Blade (a discarded artifact he had found).

To greatly increase the lethality of these Exotic Artifacts, he used the Low-Grade First-Tier Variant Art 'Poison-Chiming Technique' to soak them in all of the Jade-Scale Snake Venom.

"Not bad. I should be able to take down Spirit Monsters with less than thirty years of Dao Practice in a single slash."

After confirming that his weapons were in good condition, Chen Beiwu opened the delivery box that had just arrived and carefully put away a few Thorn-Smoke Pills.

If he had the bad luck to run into a Lesser Demon with higher Dao Practice, he could throw out a Thorn-Smoke Pill to release pungent smoke and hide his tracks, then escape using the Ten Directions Chaos Gate.

Before traveling, Chen Beiwu took a deep breath and checked his equipment and talismans once more. After confirming everything was in order, he began drawing on the power of the Ten Directions Chaos Gate.

"Humm!"

As golden light flashed, the figure inside the Cultivation Room vanished completely.

Perhaps he had grown used to spatial transportation; this time, Chen Beiwu did not lose consciousness.

He looked around and saw that a deep trench about one zhang long had appeared in the grassy area. Waves of charred odor rose from it.

Good thing I didn't hit it. Chen Beiwu breathed a sigh of relief.

The reason he hadn't immediately tried to travel a second time last night was that he feared he might be unlucky enough to collide with the Lesser Demon that could emit vibrating spirit tones.

After standing still and figuring out his direction, Chen Beiwu headed out of the mountains, toward an area with a lower concentration of spiritual energy. He soon disappeared into the lush forest.

Pushing aside the huge ferns in front of him, he found a string of footprints suddenly appearing in the damp earth, each one as large as a washbasin.

The mud remaining along the edges of the footprints reflected a faint green light in the sunlight.

Chen Beiwu crouched down and, judging by the footprints' shape, depth, and spacing, determined that their maker was a Wood-attribute deer Variant Beast.

This Variant Beast was more than four zhang long and had slightly higher Dao Practice than Iron Egg, but probably no more than twenty years.

Forget it. I'll avoid this Demon Beast. Without hesitation, he changed direction.

Most Wood-type Demon Beasts were docile, but some were short-tempered, such as Green-Neck Deer, Black-Spotted Deer, and Ironback Deer.

Besides, huge Variant Beasts were generally on the menu of apex predators. Chen Beiwu had no desire to be caught in the crossfire.

"Roar!"

Just then, deafening roars came from deep within the mountain range.

Waves of rampant wolf-smoke Demon Qi surged into the clouds and tore through the sky, turning the spiritual energy within dozens of miles into an incredibly violent vortex and radiating a tremendous sense of oppression.

The beasts are contending. Are they fighting over territory or scrambling for a heavenly treasure?

Chen Beiwu gripped the Protective Talisman he carried with him, climbed to a high place, and gazed toward the depths of the mountain range, but had no intention of going over to join the excitement.

Only by knowing one's limits could one cultivate the path to immortality.

Even from far away, the chaotic Demon Qi filling the world felt like scorching needles, burning his temples until they throbbed with pain.

If he got any closer, he might well be seriously injured by the Demon Qi.

At that thought, Chen Beiwu left the area at once, moving as quickly as he could, and continued searching for a safe base.

The forest was full of ancient trees with dense branches and leaves. Every so often, he had to chop through branches to clear a path.

Relying on the sensory abilities of Late Qi Refining, Chen Beiwu repeatedly avoided the habitats of Demon Beasts with powerful auras. Unfortunately, he did not encounter another First-Tier rare beast like the Jade-Scale Snake.

After walking for about two hours, Chen Beiwu finally found a natural cave in an excellent location.

The cave was backed by a cliff, and vines concealed its entrance. He only needed to set up a Breath-Concealing Formation to turn it into a decent place to cultivate. Its sole drawback was that it already had an occupant.

Chen Beiwu stared intently at the dense web of vines covering the cave entrance.

Near the ground, a clump of vines was a darker yellow and almost withered. It was a trace left by a Demon Beast's urine.

"So what if someone already lives here? This place is meant for me."

After glancing at the droppings in the bushes, Chen Beiwu went straight forward without continuing to hide his tracks, luring the other party into attacking.

The next instant, two red lights suddenly glowed deep inside the cave.

"Roar!" As the vines tore apart, a Variant Beast burst out. It was much shorter than an ordinary ape, but its whole body was covered in bulging muscles. Its pitch-black arms blurred into countless afterimages, setting off a chain of sonic booms in the air.

As expected, it's a First-Tier Bullet Ape, with less than ten years of Dao Practice. Chen Beiwu lightly tapped his toes and let his body drift backward with the wind, easily dodging the Bullet Ape's ambush.

The First-Tier Variant Art [Wind Manipulation] allowed a cultivator to control the wind, greatly reduce his own weight, and glide through the air. Naturally, it could also greatly increase his movement speed.

"Whoosh!"

As the Bullet Ape's attack ran out of force, Chen Beiwu slashed upward with the Bone Blade in his right hand.

A flash of cold light, carrying tremendous force, instantly tore through its throat. Chen Beiwu then used the momentum to put some distance between them.

"Drip, drip!" Crimson blood sprayed out as the Bullet Ape's body went limp and crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a little dust.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths passed...

Chen Beiwu kept a safe distance the whole time, quietly waiting for the Bullet Ape to die.

Among ape Variant Beasts, the Bullet Ape was one of the more ferocious species. It could throw a full eighty punches in a single second.

Its attacks were not only faster than ordinary Talisman Bullets; the instant high heat generated by its arms rubbing against the air could even produce sonic booms.

But the very thing that made it strong was also what made it vulnerable.

The Bullet Ape's attacks were fast, but its attack windup was somewhat stiff, making its intent easy to read.

That was why this Variant Beast liked to ambush its enemies, and Chen Beiwu had just happened to give it an opportunity.

"Roar!"

Seeing that the enemy still wouldn't come closer, the Bullet Ape, which had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead, pushed off with both feet and tried to make one last desperate stand.

Chen Beiwu gave it no chance to trade its life for his. He continued to put distance between them.

Only after the Bullet Ape lost too much blood and fell to the ground again, unwilling to give up, did he approach to harvest useful beast materials and cover up the bloodstains around them.

Excellent, two Spirit Stones in hand!