The room was somewhat empty, filled only with the subtle fragrance of jasmine flowers.
On the right side of the room stood an old bed, opposite it was a table with a chair in front of the window, and in the center of the room lay a cultivation mat.
"Not bad," Ling Tian thought as he sat at the table.
"What should I do now?" he pondered, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed out at the city through the window.
"I came to Lin Hua City because of the Tianlong Mountain Range to hunt beasts, but it seems many others had the same idea," Ling Tian sighed as he watched two seemingly drunk men brawling outside the window.
"Should I join a hunting party or remain alone?" he weighed the pros and cons of each option. Finally, after the two men finished their fight, Ling Tian decided on his course of action.
"I will remain alone. Although this might raise suspicion, it is better than joining a hunting party," he thought calmly.
"If I joined a hunting party, they would discover my extraordinary abilities, which would awaken their greed. But if I stay alone, despite the risks, no one will know of my strength if I am careful."
With this resolve, Ling Tian rose and sat upon the cultivation mat, thinking, "Alright, let's rest for today. Tomorrow, I will head to the mountains."
Of course, for Ling Tian, "rest" always meant cultivation.
The day quickly passed.
Ling Tian awoke, stretching and yawning. "Heavens, I'm still not used to such comfortable sleep. Truly, being a cultivator is the best." With that thought, he left the inn after paying for the day's rent and made his way to the mountain range.
He arrived at the western gate of the city just as the sun began to rise.
Contrary to his expectations, there were already many people present.
Most of them were hunting parties, waiting for others to join.
Ling Tian paid them little mind, leaving the city and venturing into the Tianlong Mountain Range.
The range was vast, stretching across the Tang, Liang, and Zhou territories.
Ling Tian wandered along its edges, not intending to venture too deep, for the further he went, the stronger the spiritual beasts would grow.
"I will hunt a first-stage spiritual beast to start," Ling Tian thought, brushing aside leaves in his path.
After a short search, he caught a rabbit. Then he took out the poison from his storage pouch, thinking, "Well, although I used most of my poison on Lu Yin and his gang, I still have some left. It should be enough for today."
After poisoning the rabbit and ensuring the scent of its blood spread through the forest, Ling Tian hid himself.
After one whiff of incense, he heard approaching footsteps. He raised his head and saw a black-furred wild boar the size of an ox, its eyes glowing red, and two horns protruding from above its mouth.
The boar approached the rabbit slowly, sniffing cautiously, and after a few moments, devoured it ravenously.
Ling Tian felt pleased, for the aura emanating from the boar was only at the first level. Humans could conceal their cultivation to some degree, but monsters could not, due to their instincts—though this would differ once one reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Now all I have to do is wait," Ling Tian thought, watching the boar.
Although he had used the same poison as he did on Lu Yin, the effects differed because monsters and humans have different physical structures. Humans store their Qi in the Dantian, whereas monsters cultivate their entire bodies, meaning their whole body acts as a Qi vessel. For humans, the poison prevents Qi usage; for monsters, it acts as a sedative, slowing their reactions.
Finally, the poison took effect, and the boar's legs began to tremble.
This was the signal for Ling Tian to strike.
He drew his sword, purchased from Qinghe City, from his storage bag and began creeping through the foliage, step by step. His heart raced with each step, tension coursing through his body.
"Even though I know this is simple, I'm still nervous. This is the first time in my life—and in both my lives, I've been in situations where a single mistake could mean death," Ling Tian thought, fixing his gaze on the boar's neck.
He reached a close enough distance but did not act immediately, waiting for the perfect moment.
Finally, as the boar shifted its leg slightly while trying to balance, Ling Tian lunged at full speed, slashing its neck with his sharp-edged sword, using the force equivalent to the second stage of Qi condensation, just to be safe.
The boar was startled and tried to evade, but its unsteady legs betrayed it, and Ling Tian's sword was drenched in its blood.
The boar's head fell, and its body exploded with blood, covering Ling Tian's face and clothes.
Ling Tian breathed heavily, calmly observing the boar's corpse and then his sword, finally exhaling in relief. Yet he realized his body was soaked in sweat.
"Seems I was so tense that I swam in sweat," Ling Tian smiled, thinking happily.
He then placed the wild boar's corpse into his storage bag and quickly left the area, fearing another monster might appear.
Ling Tian looked at his hands, which were trembling from the adrenaline surge.
"I hate to admit it, but that was exhilarating. The tension, the icy determination, the fear, and then the joy of success—it's truly exciting. But I must not indulge in this feeling, or I'll become a madman obsessed with combat," Ling Tian thought, a whirlwind of emotions coursing through him.
He repeated the hunting process several times, and fortunately, he no longer felt nervous or overly excited during combat—only a sense of accomplishment. "Seems I won't become a battle-crazed lunatic, thankfully. This is how it should be. I don't enjoy killing or fighting; I only do it with a purpose," he thought, wiping the blood from his sword.
Then, as he prepared to store the next corpse, a chill ran down his spine, and a cold breeze came from behind.
Ling Tian did not hesitate and rolled to the side.
However, he was a moment too slow, and the back of his neck was scratched.
"If I had been a second later, I'd be dead," Ling Tian thought, pressing his hand to the wound.
He raised his head to see his attacker.
It was a gray-furred wolf with a scarred face, six legs—four in front for attacking and two behind.
The wolf's saliva dripped as it stared at Ling Tian as though beholding the finest delicacy.
"Do you consider me your meal? We shall see about that," Ling Tian thought, gathering Qi into his sword.