Li Peng and the five hunters hadn’t stopped trembling, even after they had climbed onto the back of the Mountain Lord and traveled some distance.
This was a creature comparable to a Third Grade Martial Artist—should they even be sitting on it?
However, upon seeing Wang Sheng at the forefront, his body half-resting on the tiger’s head and treating the Mountain Lord as a lounge chair, they felt inexplicably relieved.
What of the Mountain Lord? With a martial artist by their side, even sitting on the Mountain Lord felt completely safe.
Still, they didn’t dare to be too reckless and sat cautiously, securing their weapons so as not to accidentally harm the Mountain Lord and provoke its anger.
In reality, given the Mountain Lord’s current strength, even if a regular person were to stab it, they wouldn’t be able to cause any harm.
Wang Sheng didn’t remind them; being cautious was good.
Perhaps due to the Mountain Lord, though the travel didn’t require walking and was much easier, the conversation among them reduced, with only Li Peng occasionally giving directions on which path to choose.
The Mountain Lord moved steadily through the forest at a deceptively slow pace, but in truth, the speed was not as slow as one might think.
About half an hour later, they reached Qingshan Village.
From a distance, Wang Sheng spotted a dilapidated gate with a barely legible sign marked “Qingshan Village.”
He gently patted the body of the Mountain Lord.
“Keep going inside!”
Deeper inside, they saw some shattered houses and caves, likely the former dwellings of bandits and outlaws.
Due to the broad terrain, there were quite a few of these dilapidated structures.
Looking east, there was a river several meters wide; the water wasn’t turbulent, but it was plentiful.
Further off was the foundation that could sustain over a thousand people—Qingshan Village.
It was a valley exit leading to a floodplain ideal for growing crops.
With this floodplain, along with the looted food, the village in its prime had supported nearly three thousand people, becoming a significant force—Qingshan Village even had to pay tribute to them.
Unfortunately, they later looted someone they shouldn’t have, and a Grandmaster intervened, directly annihilating the village.
All things considered, this was truly a strategic location.
It was a terrain easy to defend but hard to attack, not far from farmlands, and had a sufficient water supply, making it extremely suitable for habitation.
“Uncle Li, why didn’t people move here back then?”
Logically, this place was an ideal refuge from wars.
Li Wenguang didn’t respond; instead, Li Peng spoke: “When our ancestors reached Qingshan Village, they could already fully avoid the calamities—that was the primary and most crucial reason.
Second, several of us, adept in movement, took nearly a day to get here. Think about how long it would take for others—travel was not convenient.
Third, this place is well-known to everyone and especially prone to gathering bandits and outlaws. Settling down here easily invites disaster; according to the elders passed down from Qingshan Village, it had several different rulers.
The last reason,” Li Peng continued, casting a subtle glance at the Mountain Lord, “is that Qingshan Village is deep in the mountains, filled with dangers; any power daring to reside here typically has martial artists. Ordinary villages, even if aware, don’t dare to approach.”
Wang Sheng hadn’t expected so many reasons.
But it made sense; if not for the war’s impact, Qingshan Village was much better than this place.
“The village chief also considered it for a long time; the dangers deep in the mountains, but still preferable to facing war. Qingshang Village is better than before, but it’s also more susceptible to war.”
Li Peng sighed. What a mess!
But looking at Wang Sheng, he felt a bit better—having a martial artist around significantly reduced the impact of any ferocious beasts.
Wang Sheng made no comment; he just wanted to find a quiet place for cultivation, and Qingshan Village was quite suitable.
Once they entered the interior of the village, everyone dismounted from the Mountain Lord to inspect some details inside the village.
Wang Sheng didn’t know what to check, so he waited on the spot.
At this moment, the Mountain Lord approached, its eyes filled with longing.
He naturally knew what the Mountain Lord meant.
“Wait a moment, take us back, and we’ll give it to you once we arrive.”
Such good labor, he had to make use of it again!
A martial artist’s physique is strong, but is it better to be transported by a “special tiger” than to walk by oneself?
Doubt flashed in the eyes of the Mountain Lord.
You don’t think I’m weaker than you and want to take advantage of me for nothing, right?
Wang Sheng felt the gaze shift from doubt to piercing with a hint of sorrow, somewhat helplessly realizing he needed to offer something first.
“There are six of us, plus what I previously promised you, let’s say eight pills in total, I’ll give you four now, how about that?”
“Roar~”
The Mountain Lord was somewhat dissatisfied.
“If you don’t want them now, then we’ll just give them to you after you take us back!”
He was afraid that if he gave them all now, the Mountain Lord might refuse to cooperate later!
Eventually, the Mountain Lord compromised, accepting the four pills, which was better than none. It licked its tongue and swallowed the four Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pills.
The effect of the four Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pills was quite strong; swallowing them all at once was even overwhelming for the Mountain Lord, who quickly lay down and closed its eyes to digest.
Wang Sheng leaned on its soft belly to practice Inner Core Skill.
About half an hour later, the Mountain Lord was still digesting, and Li Peng and the others returned one by one.
The faces of everyone bore smiles.
“Uncle Li, how did the exploration go?”
“Worse than I imagined. The grandmaster-level martial artist from back then was quite ruthless. It’s basically uninhabitable now, and given the unusually cold weather this year, rashly moving in could be deadly…”
“Over at my side, the damage is severe as well; not to mention the houses, but the caves are also not very safe, seemingly having suffered a heavy blow and might collapse.”
“…”
The state of Qingshan Village was worse than expected; ensuring basic survival was challenging unless they were willing to abandon some people.
After listening, Wang Sheng made no comment but said, “So, does that mean the exploration is complete?”
The others exchanged glances, then Li Peng spoke, “Actually, there’s another issue – the distribution of formidable beasts in the vicinity. We need to clarify the situation so that we can avoid danger in the future, but we’ll need your help, Yun Sheng.”
“Formidable beasts?”
Not everyone in the village was a martial artist, so marking some dangerous areas to minimize risk was understandable to Wang Sheng.
However, it was a complex task that would require quite some time.
Suddenly, he thought of something and patted the Mountain Lord.
The Mountain Lord opened its eyes, thinking of its disadvantage against the man in front of it and suppressed its anger.
“I have a question for you, are there any other formidable ferocious beasts nearby?”
All this just to interrupt its digestion?
It shook its head; in its territory, unless a creature was stronger than itself, no formidable ferocious beasts would venture within several miles – wouldn’t that be slapping the face of the Mountain Lord?
After getting an answer, Wang Sheng nodded.
“Thanks. I’ll give you one more pill.”
The Mountain Lord suddenly felt that having more problems might be better.
However, Wang Sheng paid it no further attention but turned to Li Peng and the others, saying, “There are no formidable beasts around here!”
“…”
Li Peng and the others were dumbfounded; was this what being a martial artist was about?
Even solving problems was so straightforward.
But with this, it seemed that their trip to Qingshan Village was concluded, and they could perhaps return to the village?