Bluestone Mountain Range.
This was a mountain range that stretched for thousands of miles, a crisscrossing network of peaks and valleys filled with dense forests.
Within these forests lived numerous ferocious and powerful Demon Beasts, as well as the Demon Hunting Teams who made a living by walking the razor's edge—hunting these beasts for their Demon Pills.
The Tiger Fang Squad was one of the best among them!
The entire Tiger Fang Squad consisted of over thirty men, every one of them a powerful Martial Artist.
Their captain, Jiang Hu, was especially formidable. His cultivation had reached the Peak of Martial Arts Sixth Stage, and he had mastered the First-Grade Martial Skill, the Profound Nether Palm, to the state of Great Success.
In a desolate valley...
A hulking man stood bare-chested, revealing chiseled muscles. A massive scar ran from his left shoulder down to his right hip, and his entire body radiated a powerful presence.
He was like a humanoid Demon Beast.
This was none other than the captain of the Tiger Fang Squad—Jiang Hu!
His left sleeve was empty. His right arm was as thick as an ordinary person's thigh, with bulging green veins that looked like writhing earthworms.
Jiang Hu gripped a bloody, infant-sized beast leg in his hand. He tore off a piece of raw flesh with his teeth, then his beast-like gaze swept over to the old man beside him. "Elder Jiang Ming, what brings you to me?"
The old man was none other than Jiang Family Elder, Jiang Ming.
An expert of the Martial Arts Seventh Stage!
Even though Jiang Ming was a notch stronger than Jiang Hu, facing the beast-like man and the menacing glares of the surrounding Tiger Fang Squad, he still felt a chill run down his spine. In a low voice, he said, "Jiang Hu, I have come to you today with some news."
"Oh? What news?" Jiang Hu asked, looking at Jiang Ming.
Ever since Jiang Taixu had cut off his arm, he had never returned to the Jiang Family.
As far as Jiang Hu was concerned, the only things in the entire Jiang Family worth caring about were his two sons.
Jiang Ming gave a dry cough. "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
"Are you messing with me?" Jiang Hu snorted coldly, his eyes glinting as he stared intently at Jiang Ming.
"Hmph!"
"Old man, are you trying to make a fool out of our Tiger Fang Squad?"
The experts of the Tiger Fang Squad drew their Combat Weapons one after another, their ferocious glares fixed on Jiang Ming.
'A bunch of lunatics!'
Jiang Ming cursed inwardly but waved his hand dismissively on the surface. "Fine, in that case, I'll start with the bad news..." He paused, then continued, "Jiang Hu, your two sons have had... a bit of an accident recently."
"Hm?"
Jiang Hu abruptly stopped chewing the meat. A cold glint flashed in his emotionless eyes as he asked in a deep voice, "What happened to Zhi'Er and Rui'Er?"
Jiang Ming sighed, his voice filled with pain. "They provoked a disciple within the clan and suffered vicious retaliation. Jiang Rui was beaten so severely that he's still bedridden. As for Zhi'Er... sigh. That person cut off his limbs and gouged out his eyes. It was too horrible to behold. The Patriarch wanted to punish the disciple severely, but unfortunately, his background is too powerful. Even the Patriarch's hands are tied!"
BOOM—
A terrifying gale erupted from Jiang Hu, uprooting several trees around him.
Jiang Hu's glacial gaze locked onto Jiang Ming. He gritted his teeth and enunciated each word, "Who. Was. It?"
Jiang Ming replied in a low voice, "Jiang! Chen!"
"Jiang Chen? Jiang Taixu's son?"
Jiang Hu froze. Seeing Jiang Ming nod, a terrifying, heart-stopping killing intent appeared on his face. He threw his head back and let out a furious roar. "ROAR! Rui'Er! Zhi'Er! Jiang Taixu, you cut off my arm all those years ago, and now your son has crippled both of mine! I will not rest until your entire line is dead...!"
Jiang Ming was ecstatic. 'Yes, that's it! The more you rage, the more you hate Jiang Chen, the better!'
On the outside, however, his face was a mask of grief.
Once Jiang Hu had calmed down slightly, Jiang Ming seized the opportunity. "Jiang Hu, calm yourself and listen to the good news I brought!"
"Speak!"
Like an enraged beast, Jiang Hu lunged forward, stopping right in front of Jiang Ming and fixing him with a cold stare.
Jiang Ming began, "On this matter, the Patriarch and I are on your side. But you know Jiang Taixu's status in the clan. Even though there's been no news of him for years, his lingering prestige remains. Many Elders still protect his son. It's inconvenient for the Patriarch to openly sanction Jiang Chen, but..."
"...you can personally take action against him!"
A sinister smile crept onto Jiang Ming's face. He leaned in closer to Jiang Hu and said in a low voice, "According to our intelligence, Jiang Chen is in the Bluestone Mountain Range right now. Oh, and by the way, the Patriarch asked me to give you this..."
He took out a black Compass.
The Compass was marked with the four cardinal directions, and in the center was a sword-shaped needle.
Jiang Hu asked, puzzled, "What is this?"
Jiang Ming looked at him and explained, "This is a Sword Compass. Jiang Chen carries a sword inlaid with Meteorite Stone. As long as you have this compass, you can determine his general location, making it easy to track him down!"
"Good, good! With this Sword Compass, I'll definitely be able to find that little bastard Jiang Chen and avenge my sons!" Jiang Hu nodded emphatically, his eyes flashing with hatred. He looked at Jiang Ming. "Go back and tell the Patriarch that I, Jiang Hu, thank him!"
"Brothers! My two sons have been crippled! This is a blood feud! Tell me, what should we do?" Jiang Hu roared at the members of the Tiger Fang Squad.
"Kill!"
"The captain's sons are our nephews! How dare he cripple our nephews! That bastard deserves to be sliced into a thousand pieces!"
"Skin him and rip out his tendons!"
Everyone was radiating killing intent.
Jiang Hu nodded fiercely, a grim, cold light glinting in his eyes. He brandished his Battle Blade and shouted with murderous rage, "Brothers, follow me! We'll slaughter that little bastard and have our revenge!"
Watching the Tiger Fang Squad depart, seething with murderous intent, the corners of Jiang Ming's mouth curled into a cold, sinister smile. 'Ah, Jiang Chen, don't blame me after you're dead. This was all the Patriarch and Miss Ziyou's idea. Heh heh... you poor little thing. After being a piece of trash for over a decade, you finally managed to break through to the Martial Arts Realm. What a pity your life is about to end!'
...
In the Spiritual Monkey Valley, within the Bluestone Mountain Range.
Jiang Chen was currently hiding outside the Spiritual Monkey Valley, watching a towering waterfall cascade down like a silver river, crashing into the pool below and churning up white, rolling waves.
His gaze, however, was fixed on the cliff face above the pool.
It was riddled with caves, home to the sole inhabitants of Spiritual Monkey Valley: the First-Grade Demon Beast, the Six-Eared Spiritual Ape!
"Strange. Elder Jiang Ming said the Blazing Flame Vermilion Fruit was in the Monkey King's cave, but I've been hiding here for five days and haven't seen any sign of it," Jiang Chen muttered, a look of confusion on his face.
'The Blazing Flame Vermilion Fruit requires abundant Spiritual Qi to grow, and it must also be near the Earth Core.'
'This Spiritual Monkey Valley is scenic and indeed has abundant Spiritual Qi, but as for being near the Earth Core...'
'...that's just nonsense!'
'Could Elder Jiang Ming have remembered it wrong?'
Just as Jiang Chen was pondering this, a huge BOOM suddenly erupted from the waterfall ahead, followed by a terrifying wave of energy that burst out from behind the cascade.
It swept the waterfall's current upward into the sky before the water came crashing back down.
It became a sudden downpour on a clear day!
The raindrops pattered down, and it was surprisingly painful when they hit his body.
But Jiang Chen seemed oblivious to the stinging pain of the raindrops. His eyes were wide as he stared intently at the space behind the parted waterfall. "Th-This is..."