Ying Gui's eyes lit up when he remembered how close to Yanzhu city they were right now, and after taking a look at his surroundings and realized that it was almost nighttime already, he nodded his head before he sat on the back of the 'Ironhide cow' in the lead and started leading the carriages forward.
Since Shun Long was ready, Ying Gui wouldn't waste more time waiting in this place until they were discovered by any of the wandering magic beasts around the region.
Getting out of this dangerous place as quickly as possible and reaching Yanzhu city were his most important priorities.
Of course, Shun Long's thoughts weren't much different from Ying Gui's since he also wanted to get to Yanzhu city as quickly as possible.
After taking care of the 2 slave traders and destroying their shop to complete his second mission, he was planning to return back to the Holy city and train himself in the Dao Tower until he returned back to the Holy sect.
Thankfully, despite their massive size, the 'Ironhide cows' were among the fastest, as well as the most resilient rank 4 magic beasts, as they continued to pull the 4 carriages deeper inside the canyon without a break.
Forget about 1 day, the 'Ironhide cows' could easily keep travelling for 2 weeks without a need for food or rest.
Like that, their group continued forward, and in just 4 hours Shun Long and Ying Gui had already covered more than two-thirds of the distance that they needed to cross, as they reached the deepest parts of the canyon.
During these last 4 hours, Shun Long had dealt with a handful of peak rank 4 as well as 2 early rank 5 magic beasts, obtaining their magic beast cores as well as the rest of their bodies that were still considered treasures to him. Now that he had broken through to the early fifth stage in his 'Monarch's Eternal body', dealing with early rank 5 magic beasts wasn't an issue even if he didn't use his qi and simply relied on the strength of his body.
However, the moment that they arrived in this place, Shun Long noticed that Ying Gui's expression had turned even more solemn than it previously was, as the fat merchant turned around and looked at him with a look that couldn't hide his anxiousness, as he then said
''Young master Shun Long, we have already reached the deepest parts of the 'Flame Lion's' canyon. As long as we manage to successfully cross this final part without attracting any magic beasts, we should be able to exit the canyon and be just half a day away from Yanzhu city! I simply hope that if any middle rank 5 magic beasts show up, young master Shun Long can do your best to hold them off.''
Although Ying Gui had already seen Shun Long deal with 2 early rank 5 magic beasts in the past 4 hours, he knew that the difference between an early rank 5 and a middle rank 5 magic beast was enormous, and what he was asking for right now was already past the limits of the mission.
After all, it was just a simple D-rank personal mission but Shun Long had already dealt with the 2 cultivators from the Su family, as well as a handful of peak rank 4 and 2 early rank 5 magic beasts all by himself. However, for a disciple of the Holy sect to fight against a middle rank 5 magic beast, the mission's difficulty would be almost at the same level as a C-rank personal mission!
Ying Gui clearly understood that even if the 2 experts from the Su family -who had nearly destroyed his caravan- were forced to fight a life and death battle with a middle rank 5 magic beast, they would probably be the ones to lose their lives in the process.
After all, it was common knowledge that at least a handful of peak rank 6 Nascent Soul stage experts were required if they wanted to truly take down a middle rank 5 magic beast.
As for the peak rank 5 magic beasts that he was transporting in his carriage? In order to actually subdue a rare magic beast like the 'Solar hound' and the rest, even 7 or 8 peak rank 9 Nascent Soul stage experts may not be enough.
This was why Ying Gui didn't want to cross the 'Flame Lion's' canyon and would rather take the long way around to reach Yanzhu city. He knew that the dangers inside the canyon were much more difficult than what he could handle.
At the same time, this was also the reason why he didn't ask Shun Long to kill the middle rank 5 magic beasts if they showed up but simply hold them off if he can. After all, holding them off and killing them were two completely different things.
Of course, Ying Gui also understood that there was no way that Shun Long would simply accept his request like that, regardless of what he said. It was one thing to ask a disciple of the Holy sect to simply assist Zou Qiang and the rest of his guards with the protection of his carriages if a middle rank 5 magic beast attacked them, and another thing to ask him to do everything by himself. Otherwise, if every mission of the sect to guard someone was like that, no one would opt to accept these missions.
Ying Gui understood that since the mission's level had almost reached the C-rank, he would have to pay the Holy sect much more, but compared to failing this mission that he had obtained from the Yao family, he would be willing to pay anything even if it meant going bankrupt.
Afraid that Shun Long was going to reject him, Ying Gui shook his head before he continued in an almost begging tone
''Young master Shun Long, I know that this is truly much more dangerous than the original mission, but I hope that someone as magnanimous as you will help this poor merchant. Of course, I will report everything about this mission to the Holy sect as soon as I return back to the Holy city and would never allow young master Shun Long to suffer a loss.''
Of course, Ying Gui understood that Shun Long had not only 'not suffered a loss' this time, but he had most likely obtained a sizeable amount of middle-grade spirit stones from Su Bao's and Su Dong's spatial rings. However, in the end, he was also the one who had done everything to obtain them, while Ying Gui simply obtained his protection for almost nothing. Thus, he could only mention that he was willing to pay more to the Holy sect to raise the mission's level.
Of course, it didn't matter whether Ying Gui was willing to pay more or not, since it was clearly up to Shun Long whether or not he was willing to accept this mission. After all, the Holy sect itself wouldn't force its disciples into accepting a mission that could potentially risk their lives.
As for going back on his word and refusing to pay once the mission was complete? Who would dare to do so in front of the Holy sect's eyes? The 'Memory recording formation' wasn't there simply for the disciples to prove that they had successfully completed their missions, but also to deal with situations like this one.
Shun Long however simply smirked when he heard Ying Gui calling himself a poor merchant. Someone who could afford to employ 14 Nascent Soul stage cultivators as his personal guards was definitely anything but poor.
At the same time, Shun Long truly didn't feel any pity for Ying Gui, since it was his greed alone that had drove him to this corner. However, even though Shun Long didn't really care about the extra sect points that a C-rank mission would give him, since they were already less than a day away from Yanzhu city, there was no reason for him to refuse either.
However, just as Shun Long was about to answer to Ying Gui who was still staring at him with a hopeful gaze, his eyes suddenly spotted the huge figure of a magic beast running towards the 'Ironhide cows' in the lead.
It was actually an enormous bear more than 8m(26ft) tall, with thick red fur and yellow eyes.
However, the moment that Shun Long's eyes landed on the bear's figure and sensed its overbearing aura, a single word appeared in his mind as he mumbled to himself
''Shit!''