Looking at the corpse of the white-robed young man, Zhaang Ye felt utterly drained. The wound on his arm had worsened from the forceful slashes, and waves of searing pain washed over him.
Although the wound throbbed with pain, Zhaang Ye paid it no mind. He felt as if he were in a dream. Just a few months ago, he was nothing but a piece of trash struggling at the Martial Arts First Layer. Now, he had just executed ten consecutive Gentle Wind Slashes, felling a powerful master of the Martial Arts Third Layer with his Thick-Backed Saber.
Zhaang Ye had taken advantage of the white-robed young man's arrogance to kill him. Still, it was undeniable that he now had a fighting chance against even a master of the Martial Arts Third Layer.
After meditating for a moment, a sliver of True Qi returned to his body. Time was short. Ignoring his injuries, Zhaang Ye hurried over and searched the white-robed young man's body. The man's identity was clearly extraordinary. A quick search yielded a bottle of Body Tempering Pills—seven in total. To Zhaang Ye's delight, the man was also carrying three Qi Gathering Pills. This type of Elixir was used by Martial Artists at the Martial Arts Third Layer and above to replenish their Essence Qi and for Cultivation. Though not as pricey as Body Tempering Pills, a single one was still worth over three hundred taels of Gold.
Besides the Elixirs, Zhaang Ye also found a Martial Arts Secret Manual titled "Lingbo Triple Extremes" and a few Golden Tickets. With no time to examine them closely, he stuffed them inside his robes.
After looting the body, Zhaang Ye didn't dare to linger. With a flick of his Blade Tip, he tossed the corpse up into the branches of a large tree. After hastily cleaning up the scene, he vanished into the dense forest.
The commotion from Zhaang Ye's fight with the white-robed youth had already attracted the attention of others. Not long after Zhaang Ye left, a three-man search party arrived at the scene.
DRIP!
As the search party inspected the area, one of them felt something cold on his neck. He reached up to touch it and his hand came away covered in blood. He couldn't help but cry out.
Hearing his cry, his two companions rushed over. Their gazes quickly focused on the large tree above them, where the figure of a person in white robes was hanging grotesquely.
A man with superior lightness skills leaped into the tree. One look at the person in the branches and his face drained of color. "Gods," he cried out, "this... this is... isn't this Elder Zhou's only son, Zhou Yutao? How could he have died here?"
"What! Zhou Yutao is dead? Are you sure you're not mistaken?" The two men on the ground turned deathly pale. They scrambled up the tree as fast as they could. When they saw the body, which had been hacked in two, their eyes filled with horror.
Zhou Yutao was really dead! The young prodigy of Cyan Mulberry City had been cut in two, left to die an unknown death in the middle of the woods! This was a catastrophe!
SHREEEEEEK— A shrill whistle suddenly pierced the entire forest. In an instant, the tranquil woods erupted with activity as hundreds of figures began flitting through the trees...
「...」
Zhaang Ye had already traveled more than ten li. Hearing the whistle in the distance, he realized that although he was only about twenty li from Three Rivers Town, the search in that direction had intensified significantly. The men were on high alert, as if facing a great enemy. They loosed volleys of arrows at the slightest sound, and even Zhaang Ye didn't dare to proceed recklessly.
As Zhaang Ye hesitated, wondering if he should try to force his way through, a mournful, drawn-out roar suddenly echoed from over ten li away. The roar was long and continuous. Despite the distance, Zhaang Ye could feel the immense power contained within it, and he was secretly horrified. 'This person is at least at the Sixth or Seventh Layer of Martial Arts, maybe even an Eighth Layer powerhouse! But why is there such a desolate grief in his voice...?'
Just as Zhaang Ye was silently speculating, the roar ceased. A bleak, aged voice boomed, "I was sixty when I had my son, and now my only child has met his end in this forest! All search parties, listen up! Heighten your alert! Use any means necessary to search every Martial Artist! I will tear my son's killer to ten thousand pieces to appease my Tao'er's spirit in the heavens!"
Hearing these words, dripping with killing intent, Zhaang Ye couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. He had known the white-robed young man's identity was not simple, but he had never imagined he was the son of a Martial Arts Strongman! Now, that powerhouse would likely join the hunt himself. 'My trouble,' he thought, 'has just gotten a whole lot bigger!'
'I can't go back to Three Rivers Town! There are too many searchers ahead. If I head toward the town, I'll be discovered nine times out of ten! Worse, I might bring disaster upon the town! I can't go in the other two directions either; there's not enough forest cover. Right now, it seems there's only one escape route left: I have to go deeper into the primeval jungle and enter the outer reaches of the Barbaric Mountain Range. Only by going deep into the outskirts of the Barbaric Mountain Range will I have a chance to escape with my life!'
Zhaang Ye thought calmly for a moment, then immediately turned back. Just as he was about to head toward the outer edge of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range, another problem occurred to him. 'Masters have extremely sharp senses, and some people with special talents have an especially keen sense of smell. That man I ran into earlier was able to find my hiding spot just with his nose. I have to find a way to mask my scent, or no matter how far I run, I'll never escape their pursuit!'
Zhaang Ye pondered for a while, his gaze suddenly landing on a small beast scurrying in the distance. A look of delight crossed his face. 'I've got it! You're the one!' His figure flashed as he pounced toward the small beast.
The small, golden-furred beast was called a "foul skunk." Its entire body emitted an unbearably pungent, musky odor, a stench so strong it could mask any other scent. Zhaang Ye threw a branch, knocking it down and capturing it. He then cut a small wound on its body and, wrinkling his nose in disgust, smeared its blood all over himself. Before letting it go, he tied his outer robe to its body, hoping it would lead his enemies astray.
Fearing one foul skunk wouldn't be enough, Zhaang Ye caught two more and repeated the process. Only then did he set off toward the outskirts of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range.
The Barbaric Beast Mountain Range was a famous mountain range on the entire Desolate Continent. It soared into the clouds and stretched for ten thousand li; no one knew where it began, and no one knew where it ended.
To ordinary people, the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range was shrouded in mystery, and none dared to approach. But to a Martial Artist, it was both a treasure trove filled with priceless gems and a perilous adventure where one could lose their life at any moment. Every day, people found treasures here and made a fortune. And every day, people encountered powerful Barbaric Beasts and had their souls devoured.
The Barbaric Beast Mountain Range was incredibly dangerous. Even its outer periphery was home to many powerful Fierce Beasts, with peril lurking around every corner. Even someone at the Seventh or Eighth Layer of Martial Arts couldn't guarantee they would make it out alive. Zhaang Ye was only at the mid-stage of the Martial Arts Second Layer, and he lacked rations and medicine. Heading into such a deadly place was a venture with nine chances of death and only one of survival. If he hadn't been utterly desperate, he would never have plunged into such a place.