Chapter 85: Going Alone into the Magical Beast Mountain Range
After successfully escorting the caravan to Wake City, Jian Chen left the caravan and headed straight towards the Mercenary Union to register the completed assignment. With this, he was able to earn a bit of reputation and a small amount of money.
Because Wake City was so close to the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the number of mercenaries that stopped to rest here were much greater than any other city. The majority of the mercenaries had their eyes set on the favorable living conditions here, and tended to stay around for a long term period. It was extremely convenient to enter the Magical Beast Mountain Range and hunt magical beasts in exchange for money.
Although the dangerous factor of hunting magical beasts was much greater than escorting caravans, it was also an extremely profitable task. There were many people who lost their lives to magical beasts daily. But because the monster cores had such great value and were in high demand, many mercenaries were willing to risk their lives for the profits gained from hunting magical beasts.
After all, monster cores were simply too precious in Tian Yuan Continent. Since almost everyone needed them, the amount they required was quite large. After gaining monster cores, they could directly absorb the energies within them to quicken their cultivation rate. In addition, even if one didn’t personally use them, one could easily exchange the cores for a considerable amount of money.
The mercenary union was extremely noisy due to there being many mercenaries inside. A union as large as this was filled with hundreds of people. The majority of the men had naked torsos, and their robust builds could clearly be seen from their bare muscles. It seemed as if they displayed their bodies to demonstrate how powerful they were.
Under such blistering hot temperatures as well as the poor ventilation system within the union, the sour odor of sweat pervaded the air and assaulted the nose. It made Jian Chen, who very rarely experienced this type of odor, knit his brow, and use a hand to lightly pinch his own nose.
After leaving the mercenary union, Jian Chen went around the city to replenish his supplies. He bought a map of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and then headed straight out of Wake City. Under the scorching sun, he advanced forward alone to the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
The Magical Beast Mountain Range was only about 30 kilometers away from Wake City. After rushing towards the mountains on horseback, Jian Chen finally arrived at the edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range two hours later.
A stretch of forest bordered the edges of the Magical Beast Mountain Range and deep inside the forest was a large mountain range. Within the mountain range were numerous magical beastsThe environment inside was vile as well, and according to the description of the Magical Beast Mountain Range from the map, there were countless poisonous vipers and insects within the forest. Not only that, swamps could also be found all over, and if a person were not careful, they could sink into one. Without the help of a companion, it would be extremely difficult to escape with their life.
The proverbs once said that fortune and danger live together. So while the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts had many dangers, at the same time, there was also treasure to be found. The Magical Beasts frequently fought each other, so upon their deaths, their monster cores would be preserved. If one had good luck, then they would be able to come across a few magical beast corpses that still had their cores, and collect them, but the chances of that happening were still rather low.
Monster cores could be used by the magical beasts as well, but the lowest rank of magical beasts didn’t know if or how it could be used and only operated on instinct.
Jian Chen sat on his horse with his head facing the verdant forest in front of him. “From today on out, this forest will be my training ground where I shall gain some experience.” Dismounting, he stroked the horse gently on its head and without caring if the horse, that had accompanied him for quite a number of days, could understand him he said, “Go on, you’re free now, go wherever you want to go.” Afterwards, Jian Chen turned around and headed towards the forest within.
“Neigh!”
The horse behind him stamped on the ground firmly as it looked at Jian Chen as it was saying goodbye.
……
After covering a stretch of road, Jian Chen finally entered the depths of the forest, and without stopping, continued on his path towards the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
The forest had weeds everywhere that reached the height of a regular person, completely blocking his vision. In this type of environment, one could lose their way if they weren’t careful.
Every few steps Jian Chen would jump onto a huge tree to view the surrounding routes around him to ensure that he hadn’t lost his path, allowing him to keep track of where he was. Every so often, he would find a viper hidden in between the blades of grass, but with his “Soul”, he could easily perceive it and take care of the vipers whenever they appeared.
After traveling for 4 hours, Jian Chen finally entered the depths of the forest, where ferocious beasts were beginning to gradually appear.
At that instant, a dark green figure leapt out from the weeds, and attempted to attack Jian Chen from behind with extreme speed.
Just as the dark green figure approached Jian Chen, a white light flashed past, and a silver sword suddenly appeared. It accurately pierced into the green figure’s concealed body with unmatched quickness.
The moment after the sword made contact, Jian Chen’s body swayed, and he shifted half a meter to the side. The moment he moved away, a soft ‘bang’ could be heard as the dark green figure fell at where Jian Chen had just been standing.
Only now was he able to clearly see that the dark green figure was a beast that looked similar to a leopard. Its neck was already soaked with blood that continuously poured out from its deep wound.
Jian Chen’s gaze swept across the leopard-type beast lying on the ground. He then continued to advance into the forest. He could tell from a single glance that the beast was only a normal wild animal; it wasn’t even a Class 1 Magical Beast. There were absolutely no monster core that could be retrieved from within its body; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to kill it so easily.
“Roar!”
“Aooo!”
As Jian Chen continued to travel deeper into the forest, the howls of magical beasts gradually started to fill the air. There were many different types of cries; some were unpleasant as they sounded like the wails of malicious spirits that made anyone hearing it feel terrified.
At that moment, Jian Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned around, and his eyes flashed with a serious light as he stared towards his side. The silver Light Wind Sword materialized in his hand.
This was the first time Jian Chen displayed such a serious expression since he first entered the forest.
A faint ‘sha sha’ sound emitted from the location Jian Chen was looking towards. Shortly after, a dusty yellow scorpion slowly appeared within Jian Chen’s line of sight.
The scorpion was extremely large. Its body alone was a meter wide, and two meters long. A poisonous stinger hung from the end of its tail, which was at least 5-6 meters long. Right on its head, a pair of jade, beady eyes started to flicker with a strange glow.
The scorpion headed straight towards Jian Chen. Only after it was 5 meters away from Jian Chen did it stop its advance. Its bright eyes flashed with a strange glint as it locked its gaze onto Jian Chen,brandishing its pincers at Jian Chen as a “zhi zhi” sound came from its mouth.
The silver Light Wind Sword in Jian Chen’s hand was enveloped in a hazy glow. Immediately, he attacked first and his body blurred as he shot towards the scorpion with his blade.
His original intent in coming here was to kill magical beasts, so he naturally wouldn’t hold back after encountering one.
The scorpion’s reaction was quick; as soon as Jian Chen began to move, the poisonous stinger at the end of its tail blurred, and rapidly darted at Jian Chen.
“Ding!”
Jian Chen’s Light Wind Sword simultaneously shot out towards the scorpion’s poisonous hook. As the two made contact in midair, a clear sound that was similar to metal striking metal rang out. The collision generated a powerful aftershock that caused both Jian Chen’s Light Wind Sword and the scorpion’s hook to recoil backwards.
With only a slight sway of his body, Jian Chen had already retreated back quite a few meters. He looked at the poisonous stinger of the large scorpion in shock. The hardness of it had surpassed his expectations. Jian Chen reckoned that even a superior type steel could not compare to this scorpion’s stinger. Moreover, the power that it contained was immense. After a single collision with it just now, Jian Chen’s arm had already begun to feel numb.
“The scorpion in front of me should be a Class 2 Magical Beast.” Jian Chen muttered to himself as he fixed his bright eyes on the scorpion.