Chapter 13: Exploring the Mountains
Chen Beiwu barely endured until school ended at noon, then hurried home.
He locked the door to the cultivation room tightly, took out a jade bottle from his backpack, and sprinkled the Windflower Powder inside onto his clothes to eliminate most of his scent.
Feeling that it still wasn't secure enough, he retrieved another bottle containing a liquid brewed from “Earthcap Mushrooms” and smeared it all over his body, giving his skin a barely noticeable rotting-wood odor to avoid attracting the attention of beast creatures.
After completing these preparations, Chen Beiwu donned his full-body armor (pauper’s edition) and took out three ancient copper coins, strung them together to form a simple Three Emperors Coin exotic artifact, and hung it around his neck.
As the most widely circulated and easiest to make Qi Refining magical item in the Immortal Alliance, the Three Emperors Coin could render its bearer immune to certain low-level illusions and would ring with a tinkling sound to alert its owner in the presence of ghostly entities.
The heavier the ghostly aura, the more urgently the coin would chime.
If faced with a powerful ghost, the Three Emperors Coin would shatter under the strain of the ghost aura, momentarily stunning the entity and giving its owner a chance to escape.
Once he finished adjusting to his gear, Chen Beiwu moved to the corner of the cultivation room and picked up three gleaming needles and a jade-green bone blade (an abandoned magical item he’d found).
To significantly enhance the lethality of these exotic weapons, he infused them with the venom of the Verdant Scale Serpent using the First-Tier Low-Grade exotic technique ‘Poison Resonance Technique’.
“Looks good. Spirits with less than thirty years of cultivation should be killed in one strike.”
After confirming the quality of his weapons, Chen Beiwu opened a newly received delivery box and carefully stored a few Stinging Smoke Pills.
If he were unlucky and encountered a stronger lesser beast, he could throw the Stinging Smoke Pills to release pungent smoke and conceal his whereabouts, then escape using the Gate of Ten Directions of Chaos.
Before traversing, Chen Beiwu took a deep breath, checked all his gear and talismans one more time, and began activating the power of the Gate of Ten Directions of Chaos.
“Buzz!”
As golden light shimmered, the figure in the cultivation room vanished without a trace.
Perhaps due to having adapted to spatial teleportation, Chen Beiwu didn’t lose consciousness this time.
He looked around and noticed a newly formed gully about a zhang long in the previously grassy area, emitting a scorched smell.
‘Good thing I didn’t crash into it.’ Chen Beiwu let out a breath of relief.
The reason he hadn’t attempted a second traversal the night before was precisely because he feared crashing into the lesser beast that emitted vibrational spiritual sound.
After orienting himself, Chen Beiwu walked toward the outskirts of the mountains where spiritual energy was thinner, and soon disappeared into the dense jungle.
...
Pushing aside the massive ferns ahead, a series of large footprints suddenly appeared on the damp ground, each the size of a washbasin.
The edges of the footprints reflected a faint green glow under the sunlight.
Chen Beiwu crouched down and, judging by the shape, depth, and spacing of the prints, determined that the creature was a wood-attribute deer-type exotic beast.
This exotic beast was over four zhang in length, and its cultivation years slightly surpassed Iron Egg’s, though likely not over twenty.
‘Forget it, best avoid this one.’ Without hesitation, he changed direction.
Most wood-type beast creatures were gentle, but exceptions with violent temperaments existed, such as green-necked deer, black-spotted deer, and iron-backed hard deer.
Moreover, large-sized exotic beasts often appeared on the menus of top predators, and Chen Beiwu didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.
“Roar!”
Just then, a series of deafening roars echoed from deep within the mountains.
Waves of rampaging beastly aura soared into the sky, tearing through the firmament and transforming the spiritual energy within dozens of li into a fiercely spinning vortex, exuding a terrifying pressure.
‘Beasts fighting—are they battling for territory or competing over rare resources?’
Chen Beiwu gripped his protective talisman tightly, climbed to higher ground, and looked toward the mountain depths, but had no desire to join the commotion.
Acting within one's means was the key to attaining immortality.
Even from this distance, the chaotic beastly aura pervading the air made his temples throb as if pierced by scorching needles.
Any closer and he risked serious injury from the aura.
With that in mind, Chen Beiwu didn’t hesitate at all and swiftly left the area, continuing to search for a safe base.
The forest was filled with ancient trees and dense foliage, requiring him to chop branches frequently to proceed.
Thanks to his Late-Stage Qi Refining sensory abilities, Chen Beiwu managed to avoid several strong beast creature habitats, though he had yet to encounter another First-Tier treasure beast like the Verdant Scale Serpent.
After walking for about two hours, he finally discovered a naturally formed cave in an excellent location.
The cave was backed by a cliff, and the entrance was covered with vines—once he set up a breath-concealing formation, it could become an ideal cultivation site. The only downside was that the cave was already occupied.
Chen Beiwu’s gaze locked onto the vine mesh covering the entrance.
Near the ground, a cluster of yellowish, nearly withered vines marked the stains left by beast creature urine.
“So what if it’s taken? This place is fated for me.”
After glancing at the dung in the bushes, Chen Beiwu stepped forward boldly, no longer hiding his presence, intentionally luring the occupant to strike first.
In the next instant, two red lights flared deep within the cave.
“Roar!” With the tearing of vines, an exotic beast smaller than an ordinary monkey but bulging with muscles burst out, its inky black arms forming countless afterimages, stirring a series of sonic booms through the air.
‘As expected, it’s a First-Tier exotic beast—Bullet Monkey—with less than ten years of cultivation.’ Chen Beiwu lightly tapped his toes, letting his body flow with the wind as he retreated, easily evading the Bullet Monkey’s sneak attack.
The First-Tier exotic technique [Wind Control] allowed cultivators to harness wind, significantly reducing their weight and enabling them to glide through the air, and naturally, also drastically increasing movement speed.
“Swish!”
Seizing the moment when the Bullet Monkey exhausted its strike, Chen Beiwu slashed upward with his bone blade.
A flash of cold light infused with tremendous force instantly tore through its throat, and he used the momentum to widen the distance.
“Drip, drip!” As crimson blood sprayed out, the Bullet Monkey’s body went limp and crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
One breath, two, three breaths passed…
Chen Beiwu kept a safe distance, silently waiting for the Bullet Monkey to die.
Among simian exotic beasts, Bullet Monkeys were considered particularly ferocious—they could throw as many as eighty punches in one second.
Its attack speed surpassed even that of standard talisman bullets, and the high-temperature friction caused by its arms slicing through air could even trigger sonic booms.
Yet, its strength was also its weakness.
Although Bullet Monkeys attacked quickly, their pre-attack motion was somewhat rigid, making it easy to anticipate their moves.
Hence, these beasts preferred ambush tactics—and Chen Beiwu had played right into its expectations.
“Roar!”
Seeing its enemy refuse to approach, the seemingly dead Bullet Monkey suddenly sprang up, attempting a final desperate strike.
But Chen Beiwu didn’t give it a chance to trade life for life, retreating once more.
Only after the Bullet Monkey collapsed again from blood loss did he move in to collect useful beast materials and erase surrounding blood traces.
Perfect—two spirit stones secured!