Chapter 14: Crimson Ice Serpent King

The next day.

Chen Guan wrote two letters, one to be sent to the Imperial Capital Holy City for Yao Ye, and the other, along with a token, to be sent to the nearby Wutan City.

After dealing with miscellaneous matters, he bought two maps of the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range in Qingshan Town and ventured into it without hesitation.

This was his first time entering the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Logically, it would have been more convenient to hire a mercenary as a guide, but considering the issue of strength, he gave up on that idea.

Even the leaders of the major mercenary groups in Qingshan Town were only at the Dou Master level, let alone others. If they all entered together, they would only be a burden and have limited usefulness.

For his first journey into the mountains, Chen Guan wasn't in a hurry. His main focus was to familiarize himself with the environment and, in the process, try to find the cave that the original Little Doctor Fairy had discovered.

Spending the entire morning, he couldn't find the cave, but he encountered over ten first-order monster beasts, all of which posed no threat. Chen Guan seriously suspected that they were trying to provoke him.

After enjoying a delicious roasted boar meat meal, Chen Guan got up and continued to venture deeper into the mountain.

The matter of the cave wasn't urgent. He had plenty of time to search slowly. Each day, he would go in a different direction, conducting a thorough search. For now, his priority was gaining experience, with clear distinctions between primary and secondary goals.

As Chen Guan ventured deeper, the strength of the encountered monster beasts also increased. First-order monster beasts became scarce, while second-order monster beasts became the primary encounters.

A second-order monster beast was equivalent to a Dou Master, and it was even more outstanding among the same rank.

This area still belonged to the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, but it was already the depth that mercenaries avoided.

As a result, the mercenaries he had frequently encountered before seemed to have all disappeared at this moment. There wasn't a single person in sight.

"Sssshhh!" A stream of scorching venom suddenly attacked from behind.

Danger approached, but Chen Guan seemed to have eyes on his back. He effortlessly evaded the attack by shifting his footsteps slightly, and with the Thousand Flame Sword Technique, he condensed a crimson sword aura and swung it backhand accurately, hitting the monster beast that had attempted to ambush him in the mouth. The shrill scream accompanied the splattering of blood, sounding resounding.

It was a Venomfire Lizard, a second-order monster beast.

Recognizing the target at a glance, Chen Guan didn't hesitate and swiftly stepped forward, mounting the Venomfire Lizard. He punched it three times, killing it on the spot.

Wiping off the blood on his hands, Chen Guan skillfully opened the corpse with his sword, and a dark red thumb-sized magic core came into view.

"Oh, not bad luck."

This was his first magic core of the day.

Carefully calculating, it seemed to be the first extra income he had earned in many years, which was truly tear-inducing.

With the dual motivations of honing his strength and making money, Chen Guan became fully motivated in an instant. He put away the magic core and began searching for the next target. In his eyes, this area had turned into a gold mine.

Swift Wind Wolf, Azure Wood Fox, Blazing Spirit Python... One second-order monster beast after another appeared, but without exception, they all received a beating. By the time evening approached, Chen Guan had already slain fourteen second-order monster beasts!

Slightly regrettable, he only obtained four magic cores.

"Four... It's an unlucky number. I'll find one more and then leave." Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Guan murmured and made a decision.

At this moment, the youth seemed like a veteran general with flags planted all over the stage.

After experiencing more than ten battles in a row, he had won them all, but it had taken a toll. His energy was slightly depleted, as not every second-order monster beast was as easy to deal with as the Venomfire Lizard.

Venomfire Lizard would have thought "You're arrogant. You think you're great just because you took my magic core."

Carefully searching for the next target, suddenly, a rustling sound reached his ears.

Chen Guan's expression changed slightly. He quickly retreated to a spacious area using the Cloud-Stepping Steps technique, holding his long sword in a vigilant manner. His Dou Qi garments appeared, and with one hand forming a seal, in the blink of an eye, he condensed a crimson sword aura that floated behind him.

One, two... He condensed a total of sixty sword auras before he felt that only about half of his Dou Qi remained, and then he stopped.

At that moment, the culprit making the unusual sound entered his line of sight.

As Chen Guan had suspected, it was a group of nearly a hundred pale-colored snakes!

Crimson Ice Snakes, first-order monster beasts. They were quite common in the Magic Beast Mountain Range and had an ice attribute. The ice contained a poisonous chill. If someone was poisoned and not treated within half a day, their entire body's blood would be frozen by the poison, leading to death.

Recognizing the target, Chen Guan felt a slight relief. Although this group of snakes looked eerie, even a top-tier second-order monster beast wouldn't want to provoke them. But for him, the threat wasn't too significant.

Fighting against low-level opponents was his specialty.

"Go!"

Without hesitation, Chen Guan took the initiative to attack. The sixty sword auras behind him shot out, dazzling like a meteor shower, filling the sky with a red glow. In an instant, a magnificent and vibrant scene unfolded.

Sssshhh!

The snake group was overwhelmed by the sword auras. Many were killed or injured, and severed limbs were scattered everywhere. The smell of flesh filled the air. With a single strike, more than seventy percent of the snake group was wiped out, and even those that survived were all injured.

The might of a Profound Stage combat technique was so terrifying! Chen Guan took advantage of the situation and, wielding the long sword, moved forward to kill.

However, just as he was slaughtering and accumulating his achievements, a strong sense of danger surged in his heart. Without any hesitation, he pushed the Cloud-Stepping Steps technique to its limit, instantly moving more than ten meters away.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. A pool of snake venom landed exactly where Chen Guan had been standing a moment ago. The intense toxicity corroded the land, creating a poisonous circle with a radius of one and a half meters. The vegetation withered and turned yellow, and a thick layer of frost formed.

Not far away, a gray snake measuring several meters in length stared at Chen Guan with its cold eyes.

"Third-order?!" Chen Guan exclaimed in surprise.

This was unexpectedly a mutated Crimson Ice Serpent King, with a mixture of intense corrosive properties in its poisonous chill. Just based on this, it was absolutely not a bottom-tier existence even among third-order monster beasts.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'll take my leave!"

Without even glancing at the seven or eight magic cores on the ground, Chen Guan threw his long sword at the Crimson Ice Serpent King and quickly turned around to escape. By the time the Serpent King shifted its gaze from the magic cores to the flying sword, Chen Guan had already fled dozens of meters away.

The Serpent King had gained some intelligence and was completely infuriated by the cunningness of the youth. It hissed and launched a pursuit. Its massive body didn't hinder it much, and its speed was only slightly slower than the youth's.

Chen Guan could feel the relentless pursuit of the Crimson Ice Serpent King. Without looking back, he fled toward an area densely populated with trees. Utilizing his agility advantage, he judged the distance between them based on the constant sound of trees breaking behind him.

Although being chased, Chen Guan didn't lose his composure. He still had confidence in himself. The Serpent King posed no threat to his life.

The reason he chose to escape was that activating the Ten Thousand Divine Tribulation move consumed a considerable amount of energy. With his current state, even facing a random second-order monster beast would be a threat after just one attack.

Therefore, escape was the wise choice.

Chen Guan remembered the route he had taken and knew that all the monster beasts along this path had been eliminated. Everything was under his control.

However, what he never expected was that the speed at which the monster beasts took over territories was so fast. As he was about to pass by, a second-order Fire Fox that had just claimed a new territory extended its claws to defend its authority.

Caught off guard, the Dou Qi garment was instantly pierced, leaving a deep claw mark on his left arm.

This was only a flesh wound, but the more lethal aspect was that the interference from the Fire Fox disrupted Chen Guan's rhythm of escape, forcibly stopping him.

Although only a few moments had passed, it was enough for the Crimson Ice Serpent King to catch up.

Without time for further consideration, a broadsword appeared in Chen Guan's hand, and he instantly activated the Boundless Vast Sea technique, forcefully intercepting the snake's charge.

A tremendous force struck him, and Chen Guan was sent flying. He even coughed up a mouthful of blood in mid-air. However, it was precisely because of this force that Chen Guan managed to create distance once again, further than before. He swiftly leaped into the forest, with the sound of trees constantly collapsing behind him. It seemed that the Serpent King's attempt to catch up again had become an impossible hope.

Realizing that it had been fooled, the Crimson Ice Serpent King roared furiously. With icy cold eyes, it looked at the Fire Fox, preparing to vent its anger on it.

However, the Fire Fox was filled with a strong will to survive. It immediately jumped onto a precipice, moving nimbly and leaving the Serpent King's massive body far behind.

Easily shaking off the pursuit of the Crimson Ice Serpent King, the Fire Fox felt extremely proud. At this moment, it had no idea that it had become the source of trouble for the entire group and had left a lasting impression on someone.

(End of this chapter)