The boat reached the middle of the river, changed course, and headed south with the current.
That evening, the passenger boat docked at an unnamed pier. Carrying the Godslaying Saber, Andrew disembarked and disappeared into the darkness.
Explosive Steps really is an excellent way to cultivate.
Andrew thought as he traveled. He had discovered that even after becoming an eighth-level warrior, Explosive Steps still greatly increased his battle-qi. Using it at full power, Andrew could cover several hundred li in an hour. That speed already rivaled that of some flying magical beasts.
Andrew did not rest that night, continuing westward. The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts stretched from north to south. He needed no map; as long as he headed in the right direction, he was certain to reach it. Really, it was not far from the Yulan River to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts-only a few thousand li.
I should be close to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts by now, shouldn't I?
Late that night, Andrew reached a small town. Only a few lights remained in the town; its residents had clearly retired for the night. Yet in the darkness, Andrew could sense something slightly different about the air here, especially the mountain wind, which carried a distinctive scent.
That scent was familiar to him. He had sensed it back in Mogan Forest. Later, after he reached the imperial capital, it had disappeared from his surroundings entirely.
Andrew was not actually certain. After all, there were so many forests and mountain ranges on the continent. But after calculating the distance he had traveled, he felt he should be close to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. He was somewhat tired by then, too, so he found a quiet spot outside the town and sat down to cultivate.
Early the next morning, when the rising sun illuminated the land, Andrew knew he had indeed arrived!
"What an enormous mountain range! Where else on the Yulan Continent could there be a place like this, other than the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts?"
The morning sun lit up the world. Andrew looked west, and an enormous dark silhouette loomed before him, giving him a suffocating feeling. That shadow stretched on and on, its height and length unknown. It was the destination of his journey: the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
"Now this is something. I was right to come here. This place is a paradise for the strong."
Andrew's spirits lifted. Raising his treasured saber, he flickered into motion, his entire figure becoming a wisp of blue smoke as he headed toward the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
Nearby, a warrior who had risen early to cultivate stared at the place where Andrew had rested and rubbed his eyes hard. Andrew had moved so quickly just now that the man thought he had been hallucinating...
At the foot of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts lay a forest that stretched beyond sight.
"Compared to this, Mogan Forest is like a potted landscape."
Walking through the forest, Andrew could not help sighing.
The trees here were generally dozens of meters tall, while some unusual ones even reached a hundred meters! A hundred meters-what did that mean? It was the equivalent of a thirty-story building! How long would a tree have to grow to become so enormous? Andrew could imagine that many of them were probably a thousand years old.
These ancient trees lent the forest a peculiar atmosphere, as though time flowed and the years never ceased.
Sunlight passed through the dense leaves, leaving only dappled spots of light when it reached the ground. Thick fallen leaves covered the earth, wonderfully soft underfoot. Many thorns and vines grew among the trees, along with clumps of weeds.
To make better time, Andrew decided to travel through the trees. Pushing off the ground, he leaped onto a branch of a nearby tree. After that, each leap landed him on another tree. His movements were precise and steady, more agile than an ape's.
The forest here is vast, too. The deeper I go, the more luxuriant the vegetation becomes.
As he ventured farther in, Andrew discovered that this method of traveling was no longer particularly suitable.
Whoosh!
Just as Andrew landed on a massive tree that would take ten people linking arms to encircle, a sudden sound of something slicing through the air came from beside him. Alarm rose in his heart, and the Godslaying Saber was already out of its sheath. A flash of blue saber light swept past, and a magical beast about two feet long fell to the ground.
Andrew immediately jumped down from the tree as well. Looking down, he saw that it was a small, patterned snake with a pair of transparent wings on its back.
Patterned Winged Serpent. Fifth-level magical beast, dual earth and wind attributes. Capable of flight, extremely fast when darting forward, and highly venomous!
At the sight, a piece of information surfaced in Andrew's mind.
It looks like I've reached the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
Andrew dug out the Patterned Winged Serpent's magic core and carefully sensed his surroundings.
The trees were dangerous, but the ground was not safe either. Weeds taller than a person surrounded Andrew, completely blocking his view. Fortunately, his spiritual perception was powerful. No movement within a hundred meters could escape his notice.
Good grief, so many magical beasts. This really is the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts!
After only a few steps, Andrew sensed a fifth-level magical beast, a Wind Badger, lurking in the grass ahead of him. Wind Badgers were wind-attribute magical beasts with a strong ability to conceal their presence, making them well suited to ambushes. In addition, quite a few low-level magical beasts lay beneath the ground ahead.
A fifth-level magical beast already had some value. Besides, the Wind Badger was planning an ambush, so Andrew naturally would not let it go.
Pretending he had not noticed it, Andrew walked toward the Wind Badger. When he was ten meters away, it suddenly sprang out. Concealed by the grass, its ambush was extremely well hidden. Another sixth-level warrior would probably have fallen for it.
Andrew sneered and shifted his body slightly aside, avoiding the Wind Badger's fangs. At the same time, he jabbed with his right hand, and a bloody hole appeared in the head of the Wind Badger as it landed on the ground.
After digging out its magic core, Andrew paid it no further attention and went on his way. Soon, more than a dozen fiery-red scorpions emerged from underground. They quickly moved onto the Wind Badger's corpse and began a feast.
This was the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts! Endless magical beasts, endless slaughter!
Andrew moved swiftly through the mountain forest. His purpose on this journey was to challenge level nine magical beasts; those low- and mid-level magical beasts did not interest him. In addition, if he encountered other high-level magical beasts, he would not let them go either. After all, researching magic formations consumed a great deal of resources.
The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts stretches ten thousand li in length and a thousand li in width. Even its outer regions have no shortage of high-level magical beasts.
Andrew had not been in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts long. In terms of its regions, he was still on the outskirts. Even so, he dared not be careless. The magical beasts here came in countless strange varieties, each with different abilities. Some mid-level magical beasts were no less dangerous than high-level ones. For example, Andrew knew of a fourth-level magical beast called the Flowerless Worm. Somewhat resembling an earthworm, it lived exclusively beneath Flowerless Trees.
The Flowerless Worm's level did not sound high, but it possessed a special ability: venom. This venom was extremely unusual. Anyone affected, whether a high-level warrior or a mid-level warrior, would immediately become paralyzed all over, unable to move at all. However, it was not fatal, and the paralysis would disappear after a day.
Anywhere else, the Flowerless Worm would not amount to much. But this was the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. The consequences of being paralyzed and unable to move for a whole day were simply unimaginable...
Finding a level nine magical beast won't be easy. If I'm unlucky and find a saint-level magical beast, I'll be in trouble.
Andrew knew this was not something he could rush. The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts had no shortage of saint-level magical beasts. If he encountered one, his chances of escaping would be slim.
Every saint-level magical beast possessed intelligence no lower than a human's and strength exceeding that of a human Saint-level.
Andrew could not survive even against a human Saint-level, let alone a saint-level magical beast.
Immersed in the Magical Beast Forest, Andrew almost forgot the passage of time. Here, he needed to remain highly alert at every moment. After a while, he became so mentally exhausted that he could spare no attention for anything else. Still, the harsh environment truly suited cultivation. After only a few days, Andrew discovered that his control over his own strength had improved considerably.
More importantly, he had also grown inwardly, becoming better adapted to this environment.
Traveling through the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts was extremely difficult. One had to contend with complicated terrain while also guarding against attacks by magical beasts. In several days, Andrew had covered less than a hundred li.
Those hundred li brought him tremendous gains. Leaving aside his increase in strength, he had already collected no fewer than a hundred magic cores. Most came from mid-level magical beasts, though a few were seventh-level.
"There are so many high-level magical beasts just on the outskirts. I really wonder how many magical beasts there are in the center of the mountain range!" Andrew said with some wonder.
Ten days later, Andrew reached a lake. Looking at its beautiful waters, he relaxed considerably.
"Finally, a little change of scenery."
Andrew walked briskly to the lakeside, scooped up some water, and washed his face.
Splash, splash, splash!
He had barely relaxed for a moment before he had to become alert again, because another magical beast had appeared.
"No wonder the death rate is so high for people training in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Never mind high-level magical beasts or saint-level magical beasts-the environment alone can exhaust you to death!" Andrew sighed helplessly and leaped backward, moving more than thirty meters away from the lake.
Ripples appeared across the center of the lake. Then the ripples became water arrows, shooting toward the shore. Judging by this disturbance, Andrew reckoned that the magical beast underwater should be at least twenty meters in size.
Generally speaking, the larger a magical beast was, the stronger it was. At twenty meters in size, it would be at least an eighth-level magical beast. There were exceptions, but Andrew dared not be careless.