In the cave, Lin Sheng looked at the books and pamphlets before him, flipping through them at an extremely fast speed.
Half an hour passed, and he closed the books one by one.
"Indeed, the Five Gates True Cultivation is complete, enough for a long period of cultivation. During this time, I can start collecting the corresponding exotic beasts for these Five Gates True Cultivation."
With a burst of strength in his hand, these books and pamphlets turned into fine powder. Since he had already memorized all of them, there was no need to keep them.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, an oval-shaped jade appeared in his hand.
This jade was the very one Pei Er had given him back then.
Wan Yanbei was clearly able to find him by relying on this jade.
When he first got this jade, he had also studied it and found nothing special about it, but since it could pinpoint a location, this jade was definitely not an ordinary item.
As for the so-called commission from Wan Yanbei, the reason he chose to accept it was twofold: first, the target was within the Congyun Mountains, and second, it was a way to repay the favor.
The exotic beast the other party had sent him back then had helped him quite a bit.
Leaving his cave dwelling, Lin Sheng informed Xie Qingyun that he would be leaving for a period before plunging into the Congyun Mountains.
He hadn't gone far when an eagle's cry came from the sky. Looking up, he saw a black male eagle shooting down from above.
When it flew over his head, it dropped something.
Lin Sheng raised his hand to catch it. The object falling from the sky was a slender brocade box.
Inside was a letter.
He glanced over the letter, then directly crushed it.
Afterward, he disappeared into the mountain forest without looking back.
...
"Keep up, be careful everyone, hold your breath, do not inhale any of the poisonous mist, and swallow the barrier-avoidance pills in advance, using double the usual dosage."
A group of six people took out porcelain bottles from their chests, poured several pills into their mouths, and then, with serious expressions, plunged into the thick, reddish-yellow miasma before them.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the six people finally stumbled out of the poisonous mist, looking somewhat disheveled. They then sprinted forward for another two or three miles before finally gasping for air.
"This intense poisonous mist has quite a potency. Fortunately, we were well-prepared, otherwise, we really might not have been able to get through. After this, it shouldn't be too far from where the youming soul grass is located. This time, we will definitely be able to successfully obtain it."
These six people were all dressed as wandering heroes, five men and one woman. The oldest looked to be over fifty, and the youngest was also over thirty. The one speaking now was the only woman among them, and also the youngest.
"Sixth Sister is right. We've tried several times, and this time we will definitely succeed. By then, after cultivating the Ghost Sound Secret Method, we will surely be able to eliminate the thieves from the Bat Sect and avenge ourselves."
The other men also nodded, a smile appearing on their faces.
Looking at the joyful expressions on the faces of his fellow Master and his younger siblings, the oldest Elder leading the group frowned and reprimanded them.
"Getting the youming soul grass is still up in the air. You absolutely cannot be careless in the slightest. This is the Congyun Mountains. Crossing this intense poisonous mist already counts as the central area of the Congyun Mountains, which is much more dangerous than the outer regions. If you're careless, you might be buried here before even seeing the youming soul grass."
Hearing the Elder's reprimand, the few people no longer dared to be complacent and quickly put away the smiles on their faces, nodding honestly.
"Understood, Senior Master."
Seeing them compose themselves, the Elder's expression also softened.
"Alright, it's not too late to celebrate after we get the youming soul grass. Now, keep your spirits up and be cautious."
"Yes."
The few people quickly responded.
Seeing this, the Elder took out an ancient map from his chest.
The map was made of some kind of animal skin and looked very old.
After confirming their direction, the Elder led the group of six forward.
However, they did not notice that shortly after they left, several more figures emerged from the poisonous mist behind them.
Roar...
A low beastly roar sounded from not far away, the sound thick, powerful, and imposing.
"Spirit Beast, lower your Aura, use the dust-concealing powder."
Hearing the beastly roar, the Elder's expression did not change. After giving the instruction, he took out a porcelain bottle from his chest, poured out some white powder, and sprinkled it on himself.
Then he quickened his pace and quickly moved away from the area.
"Senior Master, it's just an Elementary Level Spirit Beast. Why use the dust-concealing powder? If it dares to come over, we'll just kill it."
The only woman, Sixth Sister, asked with some confusion at this moment.
"An Elementary Level Spirit Beast is indeed nothing, but Spirit Beasts have tenacious vitality. To deal with it would undoubtedly take some time, and if it attracts other Spirit Beasts, it will be troublesome. It's better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Use the dust-concealing powder when needed, as long as we can get the youming soul grass, it's worth it."
The Elder spoke lightly without looking back.
Hearing this, Sixth Sister opened her mouth but didn't say much. The group continued to move forward until more than an hour passed.
"We should reach the location of the youming soul grass in about half an hour. Do not mess up at the last moment, be careful everyone."
Looking at the map, the Elder reminded them again.
At this moment, even his usually calm face showed a hint of a smile.
However, before they could be happy for long, a cold laugh soon came from behind them.
"Zhou Sanlai, thank you for leading the way. I, Sun, will take that youming soul grass for you."
Before the laughter faded, a figure had already shot out from behind, moving extremely fast, and quickly appeared before everyone.
The person who arrived was an extremely thin middle-aged man.
His skin was brown, and he was all skin and Bones. If not for the not weak fluctuation of vital energy emanating from him, one might think he was a dried corpse, especially with the faint Fishy smell emanating from him.
"Vicious Bat Sun Qing!! How could you be here!?"
Seeing the appearance of this dried-corpse-like middle-aged man, the faces of the group of six changed drastically, and they spoke with disbelief.
"What? Are you surprised to see me, Sun? Do you think you were just lucky to escape from me before? If it weren't for this youming soul grass, I would have eliminated you last time."
Sun Qing, the dried-corpse-like middle-aged man, sneered, looking at the group as if they were a few struggling little mice.
"Form the formation!"
Zhou Sanlai's face was quite grim, but he knew clearly that this was not the time to think too much. He immediately let out a low shout, his Aura surging, and the Aura of Bones Transformation third level emanated out.
Bang—
However, the next moment, a muffled sound came from behind, and Zhou Sanlai's figure flew backward.
"Wang Manjiang, what are you doing!?"
This sudden scene startled the others, and they immediately glared at the tall man who ranked second among the six.
"Master, younger siblings, don't blame me. Every man for himself, heaven and earth will destroy those who don't. The Bat Sect is powerful, not something that a few defeated soldiers like us can contend with."
"You... traitor!"
Sixth Sister's eyes widened in anger, and she shouted in a deep voice.
"Alright, I'm not in the mood to listen to your nonsense. Kill them all, and then go get the youming soul grass!"
Sun Qing's face showed impatience, and he spoke lightly.
And at some point, several thin figures dressed in black with red headscarves had appeared behind him.
Hearing the command at this moment, they immediately took out their weapons and surrounded the few people.
"Let's fight them to the death."
The four roared, their faces showing determination.
"Go!"
And at this moment, a loud shout came from the side, it was Zhou Sanlai, who had just been sent flying.
At this moment, Zhou Sanlai's hair and beard were all standing up, and a momentum even stronger than before by three points emanated out. He immediately sent two black-clothed men flying.
"Senior Master!"
Seeing this scene, the four immediately reacted.
"Run quickly!"
With another roar, Zhou Sanlai was already entangled in battle with the black-clothed men.
The four showed expressions of grief and indignation and immediately ran backward.
"You can't escape. Give up resisting, and maybe you can keep a whole body."
However, Wang Manjiang had already blocked their path, and at the same time, several more black-clothed men rushed out from both sides.
"Younger sister, you go, we'll cover the rear!"
Seeing this, the other three men among the four spoke in a deep voice.
"Senior Brothers, you..."
"Go!"
The three shouted without looking back, and at the same time, they rushed towards the black-clothed men blocking the way.
"Senior Brothers!!"
Sixth Sister's face showed grief and indignation, but she also understood that this was not the time for sentimentality. She immediately activated her technique and ran towards one side with all her might.
In just over ten breaths of time, Sun Qing's figure arrived before Zhou Sanlai like a phantom, and in the blink of an eye, he had struck out dozens of palms.
Alarm bells rang in Zhou Sanlai's heart. He raised his hands to block, and all the Bone Strength around him burst out, protecting his body.
"Heavenly Star Body Protection!"
"It's useless. Do you think you can block me by consuming vital energy to activate a secret technique? Ridiculous!"
Sun Qing laughed loudly. The sky full of palm shadows suddenly converged to a single point and exploded with a roar.
The mysterious and unpredictable Bone Strength immediately pierced through Zhou Sanlai's defense, and a palm struck him squarely in the chest, sending his figure flying backward and creating a huge pit in the ground.
Zhou Sanlai's eyes were wide with rage. He wanted to struggle to stand up, but unfortunately, his body still fell weakly, and his vitality had completely dissipated.
"Hmph." Sun Qing sneered. His figure flickered, and he was already before the other three who were being besieged by the black-clothed men. With one palm each, he killed the three on the spot.
"Senior Sun's strength is extraordinary, I am truly impressed."
Seeing that the battle was over, Wang Manjiang's face showed a fawning smile.
"Well done. When this matter is concluded and we return to the sect, you will be an Elder Protector of my Bat Sect."
Sun Qing glanced at the other party and spoke lightly.
"Thank you, Senior Sun!"
Hearing this, Wang Manjiang was overjoyed. He quickly took out the map from Zhou Sanlai's corpse in the nearby pit.
"This is the map recording the youming soul grass, Senior, please take a look."
A map was already in Sun Qing's withered fingers. He glanced at it twice, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"Very good. As for the little mouse that ran away..."
"Senior Sun, please rest assured. I will go and deal with her immediately and guarantee that no information will be leaked."
Wang Manjiang immediately spoke.
"Good, you take the men and go. Be quick about it."
"Understood."
After bowing respectfully, Wang Manjiang immediately took a few black-clothed men and chased in the direction the woman had fled, quickly disappearing.
...
In the mountain forest, a huge gray wolf let out a mournful howl. A hole the size of a human head exploded on its skull, and its body fell heavily to the ground, quickly losing its breath.
"Pseudo-Spirit Beast Gray-Striped Wolf."
Looking at the information that appeared on the System panel, Lin Sheng only glanced at its attributes before directly absorbing it into his body.
He was no longer very interested in basic exotic beasts, including Pseudo-Spirit Beasts, at this point.
However, although this Gray-Striped Wolf was a Pseudo-Spirit Beast, it was a rare type that lived in packs.
It was known that powerful exotic beasts at the level of Spirit Beasts and Pseudo-Spirit Beasts usually appeared alone, and it was rare to find them in groups.
He didn't expect to encounter them in these Congyun Mountains.
Just now, when he was in the mountain forest, he had sensed these more than ten Gray-Striped Wolves.
Originally, he didn't want to bother with these Pseudo-Spirit Beasts, but he didn't expect these large fellows to refuse to let him go and directly surrounded him. So he had no choice but to take action. After continuously killing four Gray-Striped Wolves, these large mountain wolves finally retreated in a hurry.
He also had no intention of killing them all. After all, he didn't need to activate an imprint now and didn't have the need to absorb blood.
It wouldn't be too late to hunt them when the fourth imprint was activated.
After choosing the strongest Gray-Striped Wolf among them and absorbing it into his body, he continued to speed forward.
He hadn't gone far when he seemed to sense something and his gaze fell in one direction.
Someone was running frantically there. Judging from the disordered breathing and hurried footsteps, it seemed they were fleeing for their lives.
Lin Sheng's eyes flickered. Finally, he shook his head slightly, dismissing the idea of going to take a look, and his figure flashed, quickly moving away.
...
"Run! I can't let the Senior Brothers sacrifice themselves in vain. I must escape, I must avenge the Senior Brothers..."
Yang Liu ran with all her might, occasionally turning her head to look behind her, guarding against possible pursuers.
She never expected that what she had originally thought would be obtaining the youming soul grass this time would end up being a wasted effort, instead benefiting her enemies.
Thinking of her six Senior Brothers and herself, with only her left now, a hint of despair rose in Yang Liu's heart.
However, she quickly shook her head and threw the feeling of despair out of her mind.
"I was able to escape because the Senior Brothers risked their lives. I cannot give up..."
Thinking this, she quickened her pace by two points.
Whoosh!
A rapid sound of rushing wind came from behind. Yang Liu reacted quickly, and her small figure quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the fast-approaching gust of wind.
With a bang, the gust of wind hit a large tree in front, revealing a blood-stained short spear.
The moment she saw the short spear, Yang Liu's footsteps paused, because this short spear was exactly her third Senior Brother's personal weapon.
"Sixth Sister, where do you want to go?"
While she was stunned, a light laugh had already come from behind.
As the laughter faded, a tall figure sped towards her.
"Wang Manjiang!"
Seeing who it was, Yang Liu clenched her fists and shouted fiercely through gritted teeth.
"You traitor, handing over the youming soul grass to the enemy! Are you worthy of Master, Mistress, and all your fellow disciples!"
"Haha, Sixth Sister, you're still bringing up those dead people at this point. Do you think it's useful? Just surrender obediently, you know I, your Senior Brother, love you the most. If I say a few good words to Senior Sun, maybe I can spare your life."
Wang Manjiang laughed loudly, quickening his pace.
"You're dreaming!"
Yang Liu shouted in a deep voice, and immediately activated her secret technique even more frantically, increasing her speed.
She understood that she was definitely no match for this traitor. A head-on fight would surely mean death. Only by running with all her might was there a glimmer of hope.