While Qingshan Town was still shrouded in a morning mist, Xiao Qing had already set off and left the inn.
Xiao Qing did not delay for a moment, walking toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range that loomed like the spine of a massive Demonic Beast outside the town.
Along the way, Xiao Qing’s powerful Soul Power swept out invisibly, keenly capturing the conversations of mercenaries along the streets and inside and outside the taverns.
“Hey, did you hear?
The Black Water Squad suffered a setback at Dark Water Creek the day before yesterday; they apparently ran into a swarm of Rank 1 Blood-Sucking Bats…” “The area around Broken Heaven Cliff to the south seems unusually quiet lately.
Dammit, last time I almost had my heart gouged out by a Rank 2 Purple Lightning Rat there!” “Near the inner reaches of the Magical Beast Mountain Range?
Who would dare go there!
Last time ‘Big Bear’ and a dozen others, several high-star Dou Practitioners, teamed up to sneak into the Deadly Swamp for some precious herbs.
In the end, only one escaped back, saying there was a Demonic Beast inside that could spit poisonous gas—it was terrifying!” These mercenaries who spent years in the mountains might not have great strength, but their understanding of the outer reaches and even parts of the inner regions of the Magical Beast Mountain Range could be considered a living map.
They knew where was dangerous, where was relatively safe, and what kind of powerful Demonic Beasts occupied which areas; this information was often bought with the blood and lives of countless companions!
Xiao Qing silently compiled and analyzed this scattered information in his mind, and soon had a general understanding of the situation in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
‘The information gathering is mostly complete,’ Xiao Qing thought to himself.
He quickened his pace and formally stepped into the peripheral zone of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Here, ancient trees reached for the sky and thickets grew in abundance.
The air emitted a scent of damp earth and a faint smell of decay, quite different from the bustle of the town.
Xiao Qing’s goal was clear: “The Dark Forest in the inner reaches of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Rumor has it there is a Rank 5 Demonic Beast equivalent to a human Dou Wang expert—the Magic Flame Wolf!
Perfect, I’ll use it to test my hand and verify my current strength.” Xiao Qing’s face was as calm as water, as if what he was about to face was not a notoriously fierce Rank 5 Demonic Beast, but merely an ordinary wild animal.
With his current strength at the Peak of Great Dou Master and his trump cards of several high-grade Dou Techniques, plus Yao Lao’s guidance from the side, he had the confidence to contend with or even defeat a Rank 5 Demonic Beast!
However, not long after Xiao Qing left the town’s vicinity and before he had even gone deep into the mountain range, he keenly perceived several ill-intentioned gazes staring fixedly at his back like venomous snakes.
Greed and cruelty were displayed without concealment!
‘As expected, I’ve been targeted.’ Xiao Qing’s brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of annoyance passing through his heart.
These mercenaries, like hyenas, specialized in picking off those who were alone and appeared to be fat sheep, killing and robbing without restraint.
The strongest person on the surface in Qingshan Town, Mu She, the leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, had only just entered the Dou Master Realm.
With Xiao Qing’s cultivation approaching Dou Ling, he naturally feared nothing.
But being stared at by these flies was ultimately unpleasant.
‘We haven’t even left the territory of Qingshan Town, and you’re already impatient?
Truly…
seeking death.’ Xiao Qing deliberately slowed his pace.
Sure enough, those few figures hidden in the shadows, seeing Xiao Qing “alone,” immediately couldn’t hold back.
They emerged from behind several boulders and thickets, quickly surrounding him and blocking his path.
Leading them was a fierce-looking middle-aged man carrying a large saber like a door plank.
He stared greedily at the two storage rings on Xiao Qing’s fingers and grinned hideously: “Kid, be sensible!
Hand over those two storage rings obediently.
If I’m in a good mood, I might spare your puny life!” Even the lowest grade storage ring was worth tens of thousands of gold coins.
Two storage rings were enough to make these desperadoes go mad.
Not far away, a gloomy man with a hideous scar on his face cursed under his breath: “Dammit, Hu Li is really fast!”