Watching his temporary teammates bury the dead mercenary, Chen Xiao looked at the Rock Serpent on the ground, broken into two pieces.
Rock Serpent, as the name suggests, is a serpentine Magical Beast that lives on rock walls, a first-tier beast.
This Magical Beast, using the advantage of its flat and long body like wings, can glide briefly in the air like a falcon. Moreover, because this Magical Beast's attribute is a mutated stone attribute, its body is as hard as stone, and ordinary Dou Zhe are completely helpless against it.
"Rock Serpents usually only move on mountain cliffs and rock walls. For one to appear here means there's another cliff nearby. I remember in the original trajectory, when Huo Huo and Little Fairy Doctor explored the cave, they also encountered this thing. Could it be the same place?"
A hint of suspicion arose in Chen Xiao's heart, but he couldn't be sure.
After all, Rock Serpents are also very common and not rare.
However, the presence of another cliff nearby added another target for Chen Xiao's future search.
"A single strike from your hand can cut a Rock Serpent in half. Little brother, your strength is impressive. Do you have any plans to join a mercenary group? I can introduce you."
While Chen Xiao was lost in thought, a mercenary wearing a badge on his chest approached and asked with a smile.
The badge had a mountain pattern and the words 'Green Mountain', indicating that the other party belonged to the Green Mountain Mercenary Group.
Not only the man in front of him, Chen Xiao had already noticed that among the fifty mercenaries who accepted the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion mission today, nearly half wore this badge.
And during the seven days in Green Mountain Town, Chen Xiao also learned about the situation in the town.
Within Green Mountain Town, there were three mercenary groups with the biggest reputation.
They were: Green Mountain Mercenary Group, Wolf Head Mercenary Group, and Mad Lion Mercenary Group.
Within the three major mercenary groups, there were experts at the Dou Shi level.
The Green Mountain Mercenary Group was undoubtedly the strongest.
"Thank you, I'll consider it."
Chen Xiao had no intention of staying in Green Mountain Town for a long time, so he politely refused.
The man could hear the implied meaning in his words, and a hint of regret flashed across his face, but given the strength Chen Xiao displayed, he still wanted to try and win him over.
"No decision should be made lightly, I understand. However, if little brother plans to join a mercenary group in the future, you can consider the Green Mountain Mercenary Group. My name is Mu Ying, and the vice-leader Mu Yang is my cousin. At that time, little brother can just mention either of our names."
"I'll remember that, definitely!"
Hearing this, Mu Ying smiled and reluctantly retreated.
He had walked more roads than Chen Xiao had seen, so how could he not hear that Chen Xiao was simply being perfunctory?
Fortunately, the Green Mountain Mercenary Group acted more uprightly, unlike the Wolf Head Mercenary Group which had no bottom line. Therefore, they wouldn't be unhappy because of Chen Xiao's refusal.
After experiencing the attacks of the Red Ice Serpent and the Rock Serpent, the mercenaries became more vigilant.
Fortunately, throughout the afternoon, they didn't encounter any more danger, and the journey back to Green Mountain Town was also smooth.
...
The next day.
Chen Xiao didn't rush to leave the inn early in the morning. It wasn't until noon that he took his waist knife and went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range alone.
He originally thought that after the mercenaries had cleared the way, entering the Magical Beast Mountain Range at this time would be relatively smooth.
However, the sheer number of Magical Beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range exceeded Chen Xiao's imagination.
These low-tier Magical Beasts might retreat when encountering groups of mercenaries, but when they saw a lone person, they definitely had no intention of letting them go.
This meant that Chen Xiao encountered more Magical Beasts today than on any previous day!
Red Ice Serpent, Azure Wood Wolf, Fan-Backed Porcupine, Snake-Tailed Leopard...
One after another, the Magical Beasts seemed to think Chen Xiao was easy to bully, appearing one after another as others fell.
Within just one hour, Chen Xiao encountered seven Magical Beast attacks!
However, they were all first-tier Magical Beasts, posing little threat.
With the Profound High-Rank Ice Emperor Scripture, Chen Xiao's Dou Qi was also sufficiently abundant. Even after seven consecutive battles, he still didn't show any signs of fatigue.
"After adapting these past few days, first-tier Magical Beasts pose no threat to me at all. However, being constantly targeted by Magical Beasts isn't ideal. At this rate, I can only explore three cliffs at most today."
Chopping off the Azure Wood Wolf's sharp claws and putting them away, he didn't find a magic core. Chen Xiao couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
Indeed, the items from these Magical Beasts, when sold in Green Mountain Town, would be a considerable income, even exceeding the total of his previous commissions.
But the problem was, hunting Magical Beasts wasn't his goal.
First-tier Magical Beasts had very little training value. Chen Xiao had no intention of wasting time with them.
With a light sigh, Chen Xiao grabbed the Azure Wood Wolf's fur and rubbed it hard on his body, making his scent more complex.
This was also an experience learned from the mercenaries. Doing so could greatly reduce the chances of being coveted by Magical Beasts.
"Let's keep going. What if I'm lucky and find a cave in the next few cliffs?"
Comforting himself, Chen Xiao followed yesterday's route and began to go deeper.
After a while, he arrived at the first cliff.
With anticipation, Chen Xiao began to explore cautiously.
Then, he didn't find a cave, but he did see two thirsty Conjoin Apes...
"Can't even tell male from female, how unlucky!"
Chen Xiao kicked the Conjoin Ape's corpse hard a couple of times, then continued forward with his head down.
The second cliff was bare.
The third yielded nothing.
Glancing at the sun gradually setting in the west, Chen Xiao silently shook his head. He immediately slung the bulging spoils onto his back and returned the way he came.
By the time he reached Green Mountain Town, the sun had completely set.
On this day, Chen Xiao earned one thousand nine hundred gold coins!
After eating his fill, having been tired all day, it was the best time to cultivate. Chen Xiao suppressed the urge to lie down and meditated and cultivated all night.
A new day dawned.
Chen Xiao was full of energy and entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range again.
This time, he finally reached the fourth cliff.
Unfortunately, there was no cave.
Although a day of fighting had increased his earnings, reaching two thousand three hundred gold coins, which would make ordinary mercenaries envious, the waist knife he had picked up had broken into two pieces, forcing Chen Xiao to face two first-tier Magical Beasts with his bare hands.
The price was that his right arm was swollen and red again.
After packing and selling his spoils, Chen Xiao entered the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion for the second time.
He still looked for the girl in the white dress.
No other reason, she was affordable!
The Little Fairy Doctor looked up and glanced at Chen Xiao. Seeing this familiar, handsome face, she immediately knew he hadn't listened to her words.
Little did she know, Chen Xiao had indeed listened, he just didn't know that the waist knives used by mercenaries were of such poor quality.
"How old are you?"
Thanks to no one queuing behind Chen Xiao, the Little Fairy Doctor casually asked while fiddling with the medicinal powder.
"Not yet fifteen."
This was the truth.
Hearing this, the girl looked up and rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm older than you and I'm not even fifteen yet. I told you last time, your body is still very fragile, try to avoid intense combat. Situations like this are easy to deal with, but if you leave behind some hidden injuries, it's not worth it."
"I used a weapon today, but it broke halfway through."
The Little Fairy Doctor nodded slightly, indicating she understood.
Then she added, "There's a weapon forging shop in town. I heard from the mercenaries that the weapons there are quite good quality, but they are more expensive."
"Thank you, I'll go take a look."
Taking the medicinal powder, Chen Xiao paid the bill and turned to leave.
He didn't go straight back to the inn but went to the weapon forging shop the girl mentioned. He bought a long saber inlaid with a magical core, which cost a full seven hundred gold coins.
This price was indeed not low.
Fortunately, Chen Xiao had earned a lot these past few days, so it was still within an acceptable range.
In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.
Chen Xiao, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, trembled slightly. His tightly closed eyes slowly opened, his joy hard to conceal.
"Nine Star Dou Zhe! It's even a little faster than the estimated breakthrough time. It seems it's the effect of high-frequency combat."
These past few days, traveling alone in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, although Chen Xiao hadn't encountered any real danger, he felt extremely tired every day. He didn't neglect his cultivation even after returning to Green Mountain Town.
Looking back now, it was all worth it!
"Today, I will definitely reach the cliff near the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion's herb collecting area!"
The change of weapons, the accumulation of experience, and now his strength had reached a higher level, all of which greatly increased Chen Xiao's confidence.
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