Magic Beast Mountain Range - Outer Circle.
The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and pine resin. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, creating a patchwork of light and shadow on the forest floor.
Tang Chen sat cross-legged on a thick tree branch. He was currently a 5-Star Practitioner (Peak). He had hit a bottleneck.
"Focus," Yao Lao's voice drifted from the ring. "To break through without pills, you need pressure. And nothing provides pressure like a life-or-death battle."
Yao Lao floated out, pointing toward a rocky depression about a mile away. The vegetation there was scorched, the trees blackened.
"There is a Fire Rock Boar in that valley. A Class-1 Magic Beast. It is guarding a Fire Spirit Fruit."
Tang Chen looked at his small hands. "A Class-1 Beast is as strong as a Dou Fighter (Dou Zhe). I am just a Practitioner. It will squash me."
"Correct," Yao Lao grinned, a ghostly, mischievous expression. "So if you fight it head-on, you will die. Use your brain. Use your environment. If you want the fruit to break through, you have to kill the guardian."
Tang Chen stared at the blackened valley. He touched the spatial bracelet on his wrist.
"Fine," Tang Chen said, his eyes hardening. "I didn't come here to sightsee."
The Hunt.
Tang Chen moved through the underbrush. He didn't approach the boar's cave directly.
The Fire Rock Boar was massive, covered in red, rock-like scales. It was currently sleeping near the entrance of its cave, snorting plumes of smoke.
Tang Chen checked his inventory. He had a dagger, some rope, and a bag of high-grade chili powder and pepper he had stolen from his family's kitchen.
"Boars rely on smell," Tang Chen muttered.
He moved to the upwind position and waited for the breeze. Then, he channeled a small burst of Dou Qi into his palm and blasted the chili powder into the air.
A red cloud drifted silently toward the cave.
Snort... Snort...
The boar inhaled deeply.
ROAAAAAR!
The beast woke up screaming. It thrashed around, sneezing violently, tears streaming from its eyes. It was blinded and disoriented, its sensitive nose burning like magma.
"Now!"
Tang Chen dropped from the tree branch above.
He didn't aim for the rocky scales. He aimed for the soft spot behind the ear.
Squelch.
The dagger sank in. Tang Chen poured all his Fire Dou Qi into the blade, frying the wound from the inside.
The boar shrieked and whipped its head back.
Bam!
Tang Chen was thrown off like a ragdoll. He smashed into a tree trunk, the air knocked out of his lungs.
"Cough!"
Tang Chen curled up, tasting blood. The boar, half-blind and bleeding, charged at the sound.
Tang Chen rolled to the side just as the tusks splintered the tree. As the boar struggled to free its tusks, Tang Chen scrambled onto its back.
"Die!"
He stabbed the dagger into the same wound again, twisting it viciously.
The boar convulsed. Its legs gave out. It crashed to the ground, twitching, before finally going still.
Tang Chen rolled off the carcass, gasping for air.
"Dirty," Yao Lao commented, floating down. "But effective."
Tang Chen managed a weak smile. "I'll take that as a compliment."
He limped into the cave and plucked the Fire Spirit Fruit.
"Eat it now," Yao Lao instructed.
Tang Chen bit into the fruit. Heat exploded in his stomach. He sat down next to the dead boar and began to cultivate.
Three Hours Later.
Pop.
A muffled sound echoed from his body.
Tang Chen opened his eyes. The fatigue was gone.
6-Star Dou Practitioner.
"Good," Yao Lao nodded. "Now, let's find a proper base. We need a secluded place."
The Hidden Cave.
Tang Chen led Yao Lao toward a jagged mountain peak he had seen on a map back home.
"There," Tang Chen pointed to a sheer cliff. "I read that rare herbs grow on cliffs."
They rappelled down. Halfway down the cliff, hidden behind a twisted pine tree, was a dark opening.
"A cave?" Yao Lao looked surprised. "My perception missed it due to the heavy metal ore in the rocks. Good eyes, kid."
The Cliffside.
The wind howled against the sheer rock face. Tang Chen gripped the twisted pine tree, his small body dangling over the abyss.
"There," Yao Lao's voice directed him. "Behind the branches. The rock formation is unnatural."
Tang Chen swung his legs, finding purchase on a small, hidden platform obscured by the pine needles. He pushed aside a pile of loose rocks and dead vines, revealing a dark, cool tunnel entrance.
"A hidden cave," Tang Chen whispered, feigning awe. "I really found one."
"Careful," Yao Lao warned, his soul form floating out to scout ahead. "Cultivators often trap their final resting places. Walk exactly where I float."
Tang Chen nodded, stepping lightly. The tunnel was dry and lined with luminous moss, casting a spooky green glow.
They reached the end of the tunnel. A stone chamber opened up.
In the center, sitting on a stone dais in a lotus position, was a bleached white skeleton. The clothes had long rotted to dust.
"A senior," Yao Lao murmured respectfully. "Judging by the bone density, he was at least a Dou King before he died."
Tang Chen walked closer. On the stone platform, right in front of the skeleton's hand, lay three items.
A small, black scroll box.
A tattered, yellowed piece of parchment.
A pile of loose gold and a blue crystal card.
Tang Chen's heart beat faster. ' The Loot.'
He reached for the black box first.
"Don't open it yet," Yao Lao stopped him. "Let me check for poison."
Yao Lao waved his hand, sweeping a thread of soul energy over the box. "Clean. Open it."
Tang Chen clicked the latch. Inside lay a black scroll that emitted a faint, eagle-like screech when the light hit it.
Purple Cloud Wings.
"A Flying Dou Technique?" Yao Lao sounded genuinely surprised. "This is a rare treasure, kid. In the Jia Ma Empire, this is enough to start a war. Even Dou Kings can usually only fly with Dou Qi wings, but this allows anyone to fly if they master it."
Tang Chen reached for the parchment next. It was jagged, clearly a fragment of a larger map.
Yao Lao frowned as he looked at it. "This map... it carries a strange, ancient heat. I can't decipher it yet, but it feels important. Perhaps related to a Heavenly Flame."
Finally, Tang Chen picked up the blue card.
"A Storage Card," Tang Chen grinned. "It has numbers on it... 700,000 Gold Coins."
"A decent fortune for a starter," Yao Lao nodded.
Then, Yao Lao waved his hand. The black scroll (Wings) and the map fragment suddenly vanished from Tang Chen's hands, sucked into the black ring.
"Hey!" Tang Chen protested.
"I will hold these," Yao Lao said firmly. "You are a 6-Star Practitioner. If you walk around with a High-Xuan Class Flying Technique, you are begging to be murdered. I will keep them safe in the ring space until you are strong enough to use them."
He pointed at the gold card in Tang Chen's hand.
"You keep the money. We need it."
"Need it for what?" Tang Chen asked, pocketing the card.
"Supplies," Yao Lao said, floating back toward the exit. "You have the talent, but you lack the fuel. To speed up your cultivation and prepare for the Qi Gathering Powder, we need medicinal ingredients. Rare ones."
Yao Lao looked toward the direction of the city.
"We are going back to Wu Tan City. We're going shopping."