Shock sent a jolt through Luo Zhen, and he scrambled down the mountain.
Cangshan County was practically built into the foothills of the Duan Kong range, a town that lived and breathed the mountain. It didn't take him long to reach the outskirts.
Crouched on a high cliff overlooking the town, Luo Zhen took in the scene below. It was a nightmare. The streets he once knew were now swarming with demonic beasts of every shape and size. They prowled in and out of homes as if they owned the place. There wasn't a single human in sight.
The demonic leopard had been telling the truth. With the three Han brothers dead, the town's defenses had crumbled, and the beasts had poured in. Cangshan County was no longer a human settlement; it was a demonic beast citadel. The fate of its former inhabitants was grimly obvious—they'd all been slaughtered and devoured.
A cold dread crept up Luo Zhen's spine, quickly turning into raw panic. Human martial artists were not a forgiving bunch. That idiot Wolf King and his tiger crony had gone way too far this time, actually conquering a human city. There was no way this would go unanswered. By now, the news must have spread. Powerful human warriors were probably already on their way.
Against a real human expert, the Wolf King and the Demonic Tiger, with their mid-level Demonic Qi cultivation, wouldn't stand a chance.
I gotta get out of here, he thought, his face grim. If I stick around, I'm going down with them.
He immediately pulled up the system map. "System, I need to unlock new territory," he commanded.
Right now, only Cangshan County was visible; the rest of the world was a blank, foggy unknown. Luo Zhen wasn't about to run blind. He needed a plan.
"Please select the region to unlock," the system's neutral voice responded.
"Show me the surrounding counties and commanderies," Luo Zhen said. "What's the cost for the whole package?"
"Brightmoon Commandery contains Cangshan County, Luofeng County, and the Brightmoon Commandery City. Cangshan is already unlocked. Unlocking both Luofeng County and Brightmoon Commandery City will cost 500 experience points."
"Five hundred?" Luo Zhen hesitated. He'd been grinding hard, absorbing energy stones and herbs, and had just enough. But he was also only 600 points away from his next breakthrough. Spending the points now would set him back to square one.
But what good was a breakthrough if he was dead?
"Forget it. Survival first." Luo Zhen's resolve hardened. "I'll pay the 500. Unlock everything nearby."
"500 experience points deducted," the system confirmed. "Brightmoon Commandery maps unlocked."
Two large patches of fog on his map instantly dissolved, revealing Luofeng County and the Brightmoon Commandery City. He scanned them, getting the lay of the land in seconds.
Luofeng County is all open plains. Nowhere to hide. That's a no-go, he decided. But Brightmoon City... it has a massive lake and is surrounded by a mountain range that stretches for hundreds of miles? Now that's a perfect hiding spot.
Just as he was plotting his route, a series of bloodcurdling screams echoed from the town below.
He whipped his head around. A handful of human warriors had stormed the city. They were terrifyingly efficient. With casual flicks of their longswords, they unleashed blinding arcs of sword energy that vaporized any demonic beast they touched, carving through the horde like it was nothing. The beasts scattered in chaos.
"ARGH! You dare kill my pack! I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Damn humans! You still dare show your faces? Boys, tear them apart!"
The Wolf King and Demonic Tiger, enraged, charged headfirst toward the intruders.
One of the warriors, a middle-aged man, stepped forward to meet them. He shot the two beast leaders a look of utter contempt and, with a single, powerful slash, cleaved the air.
Swoosh!
A blade of faint red energy shot forward and struck the charging beasts.
Thump! Thump!
With two sickening thuds, the Wolf King and the Demonic Tiger, who had been so fearsome just moments before, exploded into pieces. They were dead before they hit the ground.
That sword energy is insane! What level is that guy?!
From his perch, Luo Zhen felt a chill run down his spine. The Wolf King and Demonic Tiger were at his level, and they couldn't even survive a single hit. He focused his gaze on the warrior, and a data panel materialized in his vision:
Name: Han Yue
Race: Human
Strength: Late-stage Origin Martial Realm
Skills: Unknown (Your realm is too low to view)
Affiliation: Xuanjian Sect of Brightmoon Commandery
An Origin Martial Realm expert. A whole major realm above him. No wonder he could one-shot them.
As terror gripped him, the warrior—Han Yue—suddenly looked up, his eyes locking directly onto Luo Zhen's hiding spot. He was already moving.
Shit! He saw me! Luo Zhen spun around and bolted.
"Junior brothers, clean up here," Han Yue's voice boomed from behind. "I'm going to bag that little black snake!"
"You got it, Senior Brother! Have fun!" one of them called back, their laughter echoing through the ruined town.
Han Yue was unbelievably fast, likely using some kind of movement technique. In the time it took Luo Zhen to put a few hundred meters between them, the warrior had already cleared the town and was at the base of his cliff. At this rate, he'd be caught in seconds.
Screw it. No more hiding.
Luo Zhen gritted his teeth. With a mere thought, two translucent, fleshy wings erupted from his back. He beat them powerfully, launching himself into the sky and rocketing toward the distant Brightmoon Mountains.
"Holy—! A flying snake!" Han Yue yelled, stunned for a second. But when he sensed the dual elemental signature of water and fire pulsing from Luo Zhen's wings, his shock turned to greedy excitement. "Wings, and dual attributes! Could it be… a legendary Teng Snake?!"
His voice carried on the wind, and Luo Zhen heard every word. The fact that the man knew exactly what he was—a Teng Snake—sent a fresh wave of panic through him, and he pushed himself to fly even faster. His bloodline was a treasure, but right now, it just painted a massive target on his back. To a human martial artist, he was a walking, or rather flying, pile of gold.
"Haha! You're not getting away today, little fella!" Han Yue laughed, chasing him on foot but somehow keeping pace, his longsword gleaming in his hand.
Luo Zhen flew as fast as he could. He wanted to fly higher, into the clouds, but the gale-force winds at that altitude were too strong for his current body to handle. He was stuck in the middle sky, a perfect target.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Han Yue wasn't just chasing; he was attacking. He swung his sword, sending razor-sharp blades of red energy tearing through the air at Luo Zhen.
He's an Origin Martial expert, alright. He can project his sword qi, Luo Zhen thought, his teeth clenched. He twisted and dodged, but his twenty-meter-long body was not an easy thing to maneuver. One of the attacks was connected.
BANG!
A flash of red energy grazed his tail. A sharp, searing pain erupted, and he glanced back to see that half a meter of his tail was just… gone, sliced clean off.
"My tail!" Rage and pain flared within him. He pushed through the agony, flying with desperate fury. Finally, on the horizon, a vast, seemingly endless mountain range came into view.
The Brightmoon Mountains. He was here.
This was the largest mountain range for a thousand miles, the undisputed territory of powerful demonic beasts. Once inside, he'd be safe from humans.
He dove into the dense forest, retracted his wings, and reverted to the form of an ordinary, if massive, snake, disappearing into the undergrowth.
Just as he'd hoped, Han Yue stopped at the edge of the range. The warrior stared into the deep, dark woods for a long moment, a strange, knowing smile spreading across his face. "Interesting. He fled into the Brightmoon Mountains. Does he have no idea our Xuanjian Sect is based in the city right next door?"
He chuckled to himself. "A rare Teng Snake... I'm sure the Sect Master will be very interested to hear about this."
With that, he turned and headed back toward civilization.
Deep within the forest, Luo Zhen finally allowed himself to breathe, confirming he wasn't being followed. But the relief lasted only a moment. He was not alone. He could sense powerful auras all around him, many as strong as his own.
He quickly pulled up the system map again. His heart sank. The map was littered with red beast-head icons, indicating threats. They were everywhere, some alarmingly close.
So many powerful beasts, he thought, flicking his forked tongue. My mid-stage Demonic Qi Realm strength barely gets me a seat at the table here.
Worse, the system info revealed that in the heart of the mountains was Brightmoon Lake, home to an ancient, super-powerful demonic beast of unknown strength who ruled the entire region. The beast was so legendary that the nearby human city was named after its lake.
And it wasn't just the beasts. The map of Brightmoon City was a sea of red humanoid icons, each one a warrior strong enough to be a threat.
This is a nightmare, he groaned internally. I'm stuck at the bottom of the food chain, and I'm injured.
Just then, a rank wind washed over him, carrying with it the scent of two approaching demonic beasts. Their auras were just as strong as his.
"Company's here," Luo Zhen hissed, his serpentine eyes narrowing as he faced the sound.
A rustle in the undergrowth announced their arrival: a massive demonic fox and an equally large demonic monkey. Both radiated the power of the mid-stage Demonic Qi Realm, the same as him.
"Hey! Who are you, and what are you doing on our turf?!" the monkey demanded, puffing out its chest.
"Just passing through," Luo Zhen replied, his tongue flicking out to taste the air.
"Passing through? Yeah, right. Who's your boss?" the monkey pressed.
"Boss?" Luo Zhen tilted his head. "I'm on my own."
"No way!" the monkey scoffed. "You're at the Demonic Qi Realm. You can't survive in these mountains without a boss!"
"He's right," the fox chimed in smoothly. "Without protection, you'll be someone's dinner in no time."
Luo Zhen was confused. "So, everyone has to have a boss to make it in the Brightmoon Mountains?"
"Not everyone," the monkey conceded after a moment. "Regular, weak beasts don't matter. But once you've formed a Demonic Qi core, you have to join a faction. It's the law of the jungle." It then narrowed its eyes. "You still haven't said where you're from!"
"I told you, I'm from outside."
"Hah! Still lying!" the monkey snarled. "I bet you're a spy from Leopard Mountain!"
"Definitely a spy!" the fox echoed, and both of them tensed, ready to attack.
Luo Zhen sighed. The last thing he wanted was a fight right now. "Look, you're mistaken. I'm not a spy. I literally just got here from outside the mountain range."
"Outside?" the monkey repeated, momentarily thrown off. "You mean, from the outside outside?"
"Yes."
"Get outta here," the monkey sneered. "Nothing but weaklings come from those pathetic little hills out there. How could a beast like you have come from there?"
Luo Zhen just gave a dry chuckle. This monkey was clearly a proud local who looked down on outsiders. Fair enough. To these native beasts, he probably was just a country bumpkin who'd stumbled into the big city.
"You know," the fox said, a sly look in its eyes, "our Boss Niu has been recruiting lately. Your power is decent. You ever think about joining up?"
"Joining you?" Luo Zhen's interest was piqued. "What are the perks?"
"With your cultivation level, you'd get a monthly stipend of one origin energy stone," the fox explained. "A big one, too—the size of a human's fist. Not easy to come by."
"Heh," Luo Zhen countered. "And I'm guessing if I join, I'll have to do your dirty work."
"Well, yeah, you have to pull your weight!" the fox said. "It's not so bad. Our main beef is with the crew from Leopard Mountain. Most of the work is just fighting them."
Fighting? Luo Zhen could live with that. In fact, he needed to hunt beasts anyway to gain experience points.
"Alright, I'm interested," he said, making a quick decision. "But I want to meet your boss first. And you'll have to fill me in on how things work around here."
"Haha, no problem! Follow us!" the monkey said, his hostility gone now that he was a recruiter. "Let me tell you about our boss. He's this huge rhinoceros..."
They led him to the summit of Niu Mountain, to the entrance of a massive cave. Inside, the space opened up into a cavern hundreds of square meters wide. In the center, a colossal green rhinoceros was lounging, surrounded by a dozen other demonic beasts.
Luo Zhen instinctively scanned the boss, and the system delivered the intel:
Name: Green-Skinned Rhinoceros
Race: Bovine
Strength: Early-stage Demonic Origin Realm
Skills: Unknown (Your realm is too low to view)
Affiliation: Minor Chieftain of Niu Mountain
Demonic Origin Realm. Another beast, an entire major realm above him.
"Boss Niu, I'm back! And I brought a recruit!" the monkey shouted.
The green rhino turned its massive head, still chewing on something. "What'd you say?"
The monkey excitedly recounted Luo Zhen's story.
"A black snake from the outside?" The boss sounded thoroughly unimpressed. He gave Luo Zhen a dismissive once-over. "The outside world is a dump. Any beast from out there can't be worth much."
Luo Zhen's expression soured. Great, a bigot for a boss.
"But," the rhino continued with a heavy sigh, "your power level is acceptable, and we're short-handed. I guess you'll do." With that, he went back to his meal, clearly finished with the conversation.
"Well? Thank the boss!" the monkey prompted.
"Oh. Thanks, Boss Niu," Luo Zhen said, his voice flat. This rhino clearly saw him as disposable muscle. Fine. He would play along, learn the ropes, and get his bearings. As soon as he was stable, he was out of here.
Once they were outside the cave, Luo Zhen started quizzing the monkey.
"So, Monkey Bro, I heard a rumor about a big lake in the center of these mountains, with some crazy, powerful beast living in it?"
"Shhh!" The monkey frantically put a finger to his lips. "Keep your voice down! That's the Great Chieftain's territory!"
"Great Chieftain?"
"He's the undisputed king of the Brightmoon Mountains," the monkey explained in a hushed tone. "They say he reached the Demonic Spirit Realm ages ago. He's the only reason we're all still alive. Without him holding down the fort at Brightmoon Lake, the human warriors would have wiped us out by now. He doesn't get involved in daily stuff, just demands a monthly tribute from all the Minor Chieftains."
"And a Minor Chieftain is...?"
"Someone like Boss Niu. Any beast that breaks through to the Demonic Origin Realm automatically becomes a Minor Chieftain. Then you can claim a mountain and start your own crew."
The monkey looked around before adding one last piece of advice. "Oh, and by the way, I'd stick close to Niu Mountain if I were you."
"Why's that?"
"Because every other mountain out there is already claimed by another Minor Chieftain. Our turf is just this area. Step outside our territory, and you're fair game."