On the outskirts of the Monster Mountain Range
, in the silent forest, Liu Yun and He Qingfeng walked side by side. He Qingfeng's eyes constantly scanned their surroundings, warily observing the shadowy places hidden by the trees. His right hand gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.
As a nine-star Great Dou Master, He Qingfeng would normally disdain such caution in the outer mountains, but now, with Liu Yun, a tenth-stage Dou Qi master, beside him, he had to be careful. He didn't want Liu Yun to get injured due to his negligence.
Liu Yun, on the other hand, was much more relaxed. As it was his first time in the Monster Mountain Range, he was curious about everything here.
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Thick trees, requiring several people to hold hands to encircle, were everywhere. The ground was covered in dense grass, almost devoid of soil.
For a moment, Liu Yun even felt as if he had entered a primitive world.
Unlike Xiao Yan in the original story, who planned to cross the Monster Mountain Range to reach the Tager Desert and thus entered from Qingshan Town, Liu Yun, to save time, entered directly from near Wutan City. Therefore, having set off in the morning, they had already entered the outer area of the Monster Mountain Range at midday.
Liu Yun held a sword inlaid with a third-tier magic core, a gift specially prepared for him by his grandfather, Teng Shan, before their departure.
While seemingly casual, Liu Yun was actually carefully observing his surroundings. He noticed something moving in a dark corner, suggesting that a monster might be lurking there.
They walked forward for quite some time without speaking, but Liu Yun couldn't help but ask.
"Elder He, why haven't we made a move yet?" Liu Yun asked.
"No, those magical beasts are hiding in the shadows, and they've all spotted us. If we get close, they'll flee immediately. There's no point in alerting them," He Qingfeng explained.
It must be said that He Qingfeng's approach was quite reasonable. These details showed that he was quite familiar with the Magical Beast Mountain Range, greatly preventing them from wasting time on futile efforts.
"Then when should we make our move?" Liu Yun asked.
"When we encounter a magical beast that hasn't spotted us, and you can approach it immediately.
I'll try to stay as far away as possible to avoid scaring it away.
But remember, if you feel you can't defeat it, shout for me immediately, and I'll come to your rescue right away," He Qingfeng solemnly instructed.
"Yes, Elder He!" Liu Yun replied respectfully.
At this moment, Liu Yun felt a surge of respect for He Qingfeng. This old man He had been truly good to him; from the very beginning, he had been obedient to him, and now he was protecting him with all his might. It had to be said that He Qingfeng was an extremely qualified bodyguard.
Just then, the two of them suddenly heard a series of ape roars and a faint groan. From the groan, they could tell it was the groan of a human woman, who seemed to be suffering unprecedented pain.
Liu Yun and He Qingfeng exchanged a glance and hurried towards the source of the sound.
It was a low cliff. The two of them reached the top of the cliff and looked out, their faces simultaneously filled with anger.
Below the cliff, three ape-like demonic beasts, each two meters tall, were taking turns torturing a human woman. The woman was already unrecognizable, covered in blood, and clearly beyond saving.
"Damn it!" He Qingfeng roared in fury, about to leap out to attack, but Liu Yun stopped him.
"Uncle He, I'll handle this. You keep watch and don't let them escape," Liu Yun said in a chilling voice.
Then, he leaped, plunging straight down a ten-meter cliff.
He Qingfeng was startled. Even a Dou Shi wouldn't dare jump like that. Had this kid gone mad?
However, when he looked again, Liu Yun had landed safely below, his feet riddled with cracks—the result of the immense force of the impact.
"Good lad, your physical strength is comparable to a Dou Shi!" He Qingfeng exclaimed in surprise.
On the Dou Qi Continent, while Dou Qi was the dominant force, physical strength represented a person's potential. Judging from Liu Yun's current display of talent, his future was absolutely limitless.
He Qingfeng hadn't held out much hope that Liu Yun would fight a peak first-tier magical beast. He had been worried about Liu Yun's life these past few days, but now it seemed that with the kid's physical abilities, even if he couldn't win, he wouldn't die—because he was incredibly resilient!
With a deafening roar, Liu Yun leaped down the cliff, kicking up a cloud of dust that startled the three apes.
Based on Liu Yun's understanding, the three ape-like magical beasts before him were undoubtedly the infamous He Yuan apes of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, all first-tier magical beasts.
Compared to other magical beasts, the He Yuan apes weren't particularly powerful, but they were the nightmare of countless human women.
"I never expected my first test would be against disgusting creatures like you," Liu Yun glared at the lifeless human woman lying on the ground, his eyes blazing with fury.
He gripped a cyan sword inlaid with a third-tier magical core, unleashing his full ten levels of battle qi, a terrifying aura filling the air.
The He Yuan apes seemed to sense the danger of death and turned to flee.
Liu Yun hadn't expected himself to be so strong, but when his eyes fell on the cyan sword in his hand, he immediately understood—he had activated the power of the third-tier magical core.
Immediately, he saw the three Tier 1 Apes turn and run, and sneered.
"Trying to run? Not so easy. I was just about to practice, now I'll send you on your way!" Liu Yun said.
He raised his longsword with one hand, its azure sword light surging, the sword trembling rapidly, and slowly shifting slightly, a sword shadow as solid as a physical object appeared.
"Mid-level Profound Rank Battle Skill: Wind Spirit Fractal Sword!"
Then, Liu Yun swung his longsword, the energy-formed sword seemingly tearing through the void, piercing towards the Apes like a shooting star.
Boom!
A loud explosion resounded throughout the valley, the cliffs seemed to tremble, grass clippings flew everywhere, damp soil splattered everywhere, mixed with scarlet blood.
After the explosion, Liu Yun arrived immediately, only to see the corpses of three Apes, missing limbs and already beyond dead.
He Qingfeng arrived shortly after and gasped in shock at the horrific scene. He had expected Liu Yun to fight a grueling battle, but he had defeated him in a single move.
Moreover, what he saw was astonishing: the fighting technique Liu Yun had used was a mid-level Xuan-rank technique of the Yunlan Sect, a skill only core disciples could learn: the Wind Spirit Split Sword.
He Qingfeng was utterly bewildered. Was the young patriarch a core disciple of the Yunlan Sect? This was insane!
"Elder He, let's go bury that poor girl!" Liu Yun said.
"Alright!" He Qingfeng replied, regaining his composure.
Afterwards, the two buried the girl's body, but since they didn't know her name, they didn't even erect a tombstone.
Through this battle, Liu Yun's strength was recognized by He Qingfeng, and the two set off again, wasting no more time. This time, their target was clear: a first-tier peak magical beast: the Spirit Rock Leopard.