Shanyan Ridge lay due west. It had existed for ages, and within it grew trees hundreds or even thousands of years old, their branches and leaves dense and luxuriant. The mountain range was shaped somewhat like a weir and looked extremely narrow from above, hence its name.
The depths of the ridge were exceedingly secluded, home to countless demon beasts. Its spiritual energy was also abundant, so cultivators often entered to temper themselves, seek resources, hunt demon beasts, and the like.
That afternoon, several streaks of colored light suddenly swept in from the horizon. They landed on the ground, revealing more than a dozen cultivators.
It was Xu Ziqing’s group.
Wang Yingwu stood to one side with his three concubine-born younger brothers, waiting respectfully.
There were nine hired cultivators protecting the Wang disciples, along with six Wang family cultivators. The six Wang cultivators were all around the sixth or seventh layer of Qi Refinement.
Among the Wang cultivators was an elderly man named Wang Xing, a steward deeply trusted by Wang Kangde. Seeing that everyone had reached the ridge, he stepped forward and said, “Fellow Daoists, the family head has instructed that once we enter the ridge, we will split up. Six people will accompany Young Master Wang Yingwu, while each of the other three young masters will have three people protecting them.”
As soon as he finished speaking, two Wang cultivators stepped out and stood behind Wang Yingwu, while three others took positions behind the three concubine-born sons, one each.
Once the Wang family had divided themselves, Wang Xing also went to stand behind Wang Yingwu. “Fellow Daoists, please…”
The nine hired cultivators looked at one another.
Naturally, those with the highest cultivation would speak first.
There were three eighth-layer Qi Refinement cultivators present: Nian Hongzhi, Wang Jun, and Xu Ziqing. Since they had the highest cultivation, they would naturally protect the young master of highest status. The numbers happened to work out exactly, so there was little to discuss.
Nian Hongzhi smiled. “Fellow Daoist Xu, it seems that even without making arrangements, we’re going to be companions again.”
Xu Ziqing smiled as well. “Fellow Daoist Nian, Fellow Daoist Wang, after you.”
Wang Jun turned his head and gave Ruan Yuanliang a signal. It was now two against one, and they had shown no flaws at all. This was an excellent opportunity.
Gui Yin and Gui Yang giggled, chose the youngest of the concubine-born sons, and walked over lightly. The boy’s face went white with fright, but he did not dare say a word.
Among the remaining four people, three had arrived together and already knew one another. They quickly sent one person to partner with Ruan Yuanliang. In only a short while, all the teams had been settled.
After bidding one another farewell, everyone split into four directions and entered Shanyan Ridge.
Xu Ziqing walked on the left. Together with the other five, he kept Wang Yingwu surrounded in the middle. They took the mountain path on the right, following traces through the wild grass as they climbed.
Trees shadowed both sides of the path, while strange jagged rocks rose among them, giving the surroundings an unusual appearance.
They were still on the outskirts of Shanyan Ridge and could not smell any demonic qi. There were hoofprints and other traces left by wild animals along the path, but they appeared to belong to ordinary beasts and posed no danger.
Since this was Wang Yingwu’s training, the cultivators protecting him only needed to watch for the most part. Unless Wang Yingwu encountered something that threatened his life, they did not need to intervene. Otherwise, the entire purpose of the training would be lost.
Wang Xing’s presence beside Wang Yingwu also served to supervise him.
Wang Yingwu understood this perfectly well. From the beginning, he held the ruyi in his hand and released some of the spiritual power within his body, forming a thin layer over his skin. This consumed little energy while allowing him to remain alert to his surroundings.
Seeing this from the side, Wang Xing showed a trace of satisfaction.
Nian Hongzhi and Wang Jun were standing on the same side. Since Xu Ziqing and another cultivator were guarding the opposite side, the two secretly began transmitting their voices to one another.
Wang Jun said, “Big Brother, this truly came without any effort at all. It seems even Heaven is giving us a sign so that we can get what we want.”
Nian Hongzhi smiled. “We have two days inside the ridge. If you and I join forces, these people are nothing to fear. But Xu Ziqing must die, while nothing can happen to Wang Yingwu. Otherwise, if the Wang family gets involved, it will become a major problem.”
Wang Jun said, “Don’t worry, Big Brother. I understand. When the day comes for us to reach Foundation Establishment, we’ll still need the Wang family’s Twin-Pattern Grass. Naturally we can’t be careless with this mission.”
The two discussed matters for a while and decided to act according to the circumstances.
There were many demon beasts within the ridge. They only had to provoke one of them. With Xu Ziqing’s temperament, he would certainly not stand aside and save only himself. When that happened, they could draw the others away… No matter how they went about it, there would be plenty of convenient opportunities.
After walking for a little under an hour, they were already nearing the mountainside, yet they had still seen nothing but a few pheasants, wild rabbits, and the like. Not a single creature carried demonic qi.
Everyone stopped. Wang Xing asked suspiciously, “Could we have entered the territory of some mountain king?”
Among demon beasts, superiority and inferiority were often determined by instinct.
High-ranking demon beasts exerted tremendous intimidation and control over lower-ranking ones. If a powerful demon beast occupied a mountain, then apart from those it permitted, no other demon beasts could enter. The closer one came to where it lived, the fewer other demon beasts would appear.
If a powerful demon beast truly lived on this mountain, it was entirely possible that it had cleared away all the others.
The moment Wang Yingwu heard that a demon beast capable of ruling a mountain might be present, his expression changed. “Th-this… what should we do?”
It was not that he lacked courage. He was only at the third layer of Qi Refinement. However brave he might be, how could he dare challenge such a powerful demon beast? Even if he went forward, he would only be adding another dish to its meal and throwing his life away for nothing.
One Wang family cultivator could not help saying, “To occupy an entire mountain in Shanyan Ridge…”
Another continued, “That mountain king should be fourth-rank.”
A fourth-rank demon beast had cultivation equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, while the strongest person present was only at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement. If they angered such a mountain king, not one of them would escape!
Xu Ziqing frowned as well, but he did not panic. He had once faced the Blood Demon at the Essence Transformation stage and had witnessed the overwhelming tide of demon beasts at sea. He was no longer so easily frightened.
Besides, even if he became afraid, what good would it do in their present situation? Whether they lived or died would rest on a single thought from that demon beast. It would be better to remain calm and search for a path to survival.
Having decided this, Xu Ziqing walked a few steps to the side and bent down to tear off a blade of grass. Then he flicked his finger, knocked a leaf from a tree, and caught it. He had noticed earlier that this grass and this type of tree were the most common plants on the mountain, so he could use them to gather some information.
He brought both hands together with the grass blade and tree leaf between his palms and rubbed them against each other. Then he circulated his spiritual power, and a layer of green light appeared in his palms. When Xu Ziqing opened his hands again, the grass and leaf had turned to powder. He blew gently.
The powder slowly rose into the air, scattered in every direction, and drifted farther and farther away.
Xu Ziqing closed his eyes. Everything around him seemed utterly silent. After a long while, the furrow in his brow relaxed.
He then said, “Fellow Daoists, there is a demon beast crouching half a li ahead.”
None of them had developed spiritual sense yet. Otherwise, a single sweep of spiritual sense would reveal every detail within ten li, and there would be no need for such uncertainty. Hearing Xu Ziqing’s words, everyone immediately looked toward him. “Fellow Daoist Xu, is that really true?”
Someone else asked, “How do you know?”
Xu Ziqing smiled. “It’s only a small trick. There are many trees on this mountain, and I cultivate a wood-attributed method, so they can be of some use to me.” He added, “Since a demon beast is lying in ambush ahead, perhaps this mountain has no beast ruling over it after all?”
Wang Xing said, “In that case, perhaps we didn’t sense any demonic qi earlier because a demon beast is hunting here and has claimed this patch of land, causing the others to avoid it. Does Fellow Daoist Xu know what rank the beast is?”
Xu Ziqing focused and probed again, withdrawing the instant he made contact. “Approximately second-rank. There’s no need for us to fear it.”
A second-rank demon beast was equivalent to a cultivator between the fifth and seventh layers of Qi Refinement. They simply did not know whether this particular beast was at the early, middle, or late stage of second rank, so they could not match it more precisely.
After Xu Ziqing finished speaking, Nian Hongzhi looked toward Wang Xing. “What does Fellow Daoist intend to do?”
Wang Xing did not make the decision. Instead, he glanced at Wang Yingwu. “This old man is only here to supervise. The young master must decide such matters for himself.”
Once Wang Yingwu heard that it was not a fourth-rank demon beast, he calmed down. “Since this junior came here to train, there is no reason to retreat the moment I encounter difficulty. A second-rank demon beast may be powerful, but it may not necessarily take this junior’s life. We might as well continue forward and let this junior experience it for himself.”
His reasoning was sound, so no one objected. Several Wang family cultivators even looked eager to try.
In this kind of training mission, if the disciple being protected could not successfully kill a demon beast, the protector was naturally allowed to intervene. Any demon-beast corpse obtained by the person who stepped in would belong entirely to that person.
Thus, as long as the disciple being trained was not placed in mortal danger, the protectors were free to attack whatever prey they encountered along the way and claim it for themselves.
The group continued up the mountain together, intending to seek out the demon beast.
In the end, either demon beasts ate people or people hunted demon beasts. There was no room for luck in it.
Nian Hongzhi and Wang Jun followed with the others. Having just seen Xu Ziqing use his technique, each had thoughts of his own.
Wang Jun transmitted, “Xu Ziqing’s technique is quite unusual. Big Brother, can you tell what it is?”
Nian Hongzhi was cautious. “He is a wood-attributed cultivator, so by rights his offensive power should not be especially strong. His technique may be perceptive, but his cultivation is only at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement. We should act carefully, but there’s no need to worry too much and lose our composure, or we’ll ruin things ourselves.”
Wang Jun nodded seriously. “If we encounter a demon beast that’s difficult to handle, we’ll first encourage Xu Ziqing to act as much as possible and drain his spiritual power so it will be easier for us to make our move.”
Nian Hongzhi agreed. “Let’s do that.”
Xu Ziqing noticed nothing. Since he was no longer maintaining the technique, the powdered grass and leaves simply drifted away with the wind and ceased serving as scouts for him.
After about fifteen minutes, the mountain path broadened. Tumbled rocks and trees overlapped on both sides, their canopies casting deep shadows that made it difficult to detect movement within.
Suddenly, demonic qi rushed toward them, bringing a rank gust that filled their noses. Something tore through the air, and a furry tail like a long whip swept viciously across the path.
The sweep came with crushing force. If it struck solidly, muscles and sinews would tear, bones would shatter, and the victim’s waist would break!
Because Wang Yingwu was here to train, he walked at the very front, and the attack came straight for him.
The situation was critical. Unable to evade, he could only summon his ruyi and shout, “Take this!”
The ruyi immediately transformed into a streak of black light. With the wind howling around it, it slammed forcefully into the furry tail.