Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range

*Clang* The sound of a sword being deflected by something hard resounded inside the forest.

'Looks like the sword infused with my denser profound energy really can't hurt Nascent Profound beasts. Well... a man has to use other means when necessary, right?' Meng thought while Nascent Profound beast was about to bite off his arm holding the sword before he punched out with his left fist and the beast's head got pushed almost inside its body, completely breaking all of its bones with the impact.

Meng could use his physique together with the sword but the sword he currently had was of bad quality so he refrained from giving it too much pressure.

[+ 30 skill points for killing Nascent Profound beast]

[Congratulation for killing your 100th Nascent Profound beast.]

[Reward: River Crossing Slash. Requirements: Profound energy, Bladed weapon]

'Hmm, looks interesting, but first, let's look at my status since I have been here for a few days by now.'

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[Name: Su Meng]

[Cultivation: Second stage of Elementary Profound Realm (Density of Profound Energy comparable to the 3-4th stage)]

[Physique: Hell Suppressing Physique (Initial stage)]

[Passive Skills: |Elementary Harvesting (Lv. 9)+|, |Elementary boxing (Lv. 9)+|, |Elementary Swordsmanship (Lv. 8)+|, |Intermediate Nimbleness (Lv. 3)+|, |Elementary Detection (Lv. 8)+|, |Elementary Tracking (Lv. 9)+|, |Elementary Concealment (Lv. 9)+|, |Elementary Alchemy (Lv. 7)+, |Elementary Crafting Lv. 3|+ ]

[Personal Skills: Cloud Steps, River Crossing Slash]

[Skill points: 645]

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'Not bad...I have tried to compress as much profound energy as I could however at some point, there was no progress at all so I was forced to finally make a breakthrough. I have also gained new recipes for the pills' Meng thought while he decided to take a break and eat something.

[Recovery Pill - Almost instantly heal consumer's lighter injuries and restore 30% of consumer's profound energy. Can be used together with the herbs that have some kind of element, thus enhancing the strength of the pill and adding a new effect, transforming consumer's profound energy into the element of the used herb with no backslashes. If one cultivated frozen arts and ate Fire Recovery Pill, they will be able to use both elements at the same time for a small duration of time.]

[Beast Strengthening Pill - Delicacy for profound beasts, can rise their strength however heavily depends on their bloodline. Low-level profound beasts will be able to advance up to Earth Profound Realm even with a bad bloodline.]

[Profound Poisoning Pill - Whoever eats this pill, their profound energy will be blocked for a certain amount of time. They will be able to use their energy to enhance their physical body but they won't be able to use any profound techniques]

'I have been able to find herbs like Demon Skull Vine and Iron Sand Vine but I have yet to find a herb imbued with an element. I guess I have to go even deeper, well, it's not like I have a choice if I want to climb that mountain...' Meng thought before he resumed his journey through the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range.

Upon climbing the mountain, he found that the peak of the mountain is actually extremely large, unlike the mountains he was used to.

'Hm? That's...' Meng stopped walking towards the middle of the peak when he noticed a large entrance of the cave. He couldn't see anything inside since it was extremely dark there with no sunlight entering the cave.

'I have heard some rumors about a dragon residing here but, is this really that place? It would make sense as this is a place that oversees the entire Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range. A fit place for the king of this region. I have heard that dragons should be smart and wise, let's test that out since I can't afford to practice here if that thing is truly near me.' Meng thought before he approached the cave entrance however he stopped right in front of it, without entering it yet.

*inhale* "Vagabond cultivator, Su Meng requests permission to enter this region's overlord's lair!" Meng took a deep breath before he shouted with his hands behind his back while keeping his head high but not too high so he wouldn't appear as too arrogant.

"...A human who is actually asking for permission? You have already disturbed me but I can't be bothered with someone as weak as you, considering that you have been so respectful to this king, you might leave alive but do so fast before this one will change his mind." A deep and strong voice replied from within the depths of the cave.

'It's really there! In that cave, there must be a lot of good items...' Meng didn't even flinch upon hearing the overbearing voice of the dragon.

"Won't the king even hear me out? Since I have already disturbed the king, he might as well hear me out what I have to say." Meng suggested.

"...Enter but once you step inside, you won't be able to leave with your life intact that is if what you have to say to this king is rubbish."

'Heh, although it's arrogant, it still thinks like humans. He must find it strange for a human to appear here and even start a conversation instead of trying to enter the cave and rob it of all of its resources. I have enough materials to make tons of [Beast Strengthening Pill]' Meng thought before he bowed and entered the cave.

When he walked for a minute, he finally entered a large cave area where finally saw the so-called king of this region with numerous red herbs shining around him.

"Speak, human."

'Just like from those stories, well, maybe slightly oversized but its red scales are quite beautiful...What did this lizard eat to become like this?' Meng thought with a blank expression on his face before he quickly recovered.

*cough* "First, it would greatly help me if the king could tell me in which realm he is, however, it isn't necessary for my offer if the king doesn't want to reveal" Meng said with a polite smile while keeping a respectful distance from the dragon.

"Offer? Tell me what a puny human like you can offer to this king." The dragon completely disregarded Meng's question and only asked what caught its interest.

"This!" Meng showed his palm to the dragon and revealed the [Beast Strengthening Pill]

"...Human, are you making fun of this king?!" The dragon's scales blazed up which generated extreme heat inside the cave.

"I always thought that dragons belong to one of the wisest races! Why does the king have to judge something without even trying it first?!" Instead of getting scared, Meng actually shouted back at him as if he was offended.

"?! ...Fine! But don't expect this king to give you anything before even trying your human's pill!" The dragon slightly surprised by Meng's reaction which made it reflect on its actions. There was no harm in letting the human in front of it do his business.

"Of course, I am here to make an offer to the king so I will naturally let the king savor its effects first, and to make sure that it's not poisonous, I will take one as well even though it is a waste." Meng said and swallowed the same silver-colored pill before throwing another one toward the dragon who disinterestedly swallowed it.

'?! What is this?! It's so good and I can even feel my strength slightly increasing! Such a small pill can actually make this king's stomach yearn for more?!' The dragon's disinterested look in its eyes quickly disappeared and the dragon even stood up instead of resting on the ground.

"What is that?!"

"I hope the king liked it, it is called Beast Strengthening Pill, it is a recent creation of my master who is obsessed with profound beasts. It seems like the king's cultivation is much higher than I expected which means he won't be able to increase his strength by as much as I hoped for, however, I hope the king is still interested."

"Don't beat around the bush!"

"Alright, I can't help but be slightly tempted by those fire herbs all around the king. There must be at least a hundred of these herbs, I would like to trade 1 pill for 2 fire herbs. Naturally, the first pill was for free." Meng said and motioned with his hand toward the fire herbs.

"What?! Do you want to rob this king?! 2 pills for 1 herb and in addition, I will let you leave alive, that should be more than enough." The dragon roared at Meng.

'Do you even brush your teeth?' Meng thought with a blank expression.

"It seems like the king isn't honest with his feelings, alright, let me for the last time remind this king of the taste of the pill so he can reconsider his offer." Meng said and the seemingly same silver-colored pill appeared on his palm before he threw it toward the dragon who quickly swallowed it. He looked just like a kid who just saw candy.

"?!" However dragon's good mood quickly changed as it whipped his tail at Meng, blowing him into the wall of the cave.

"You dare to poison this king?!! If you wouldn't have been so greedy, we could have fair trade and you could have walked out of here alive, human!" The dragon roared in rage although he was pretty sure that Meng was already dead.

'I can't use my flames at all, I can only use my physical strength now...what a potent poison!' The dragon thought with a slight worry visible in his eyes.

"Aah, that hurt a bit, as expected of a dragon that weighs over a hundred tons, heh. A little bit rude but I guess I was the one who started it."

"?! You are alive?! Impossible!" When the dragon heard a carefree voice he immediately turned its direction and saw Meng unharmed walking out of the hole in the wall while stretching his neck with a carefree smile on his face.

'How can such a weak human survive the attack from my tail head-on, no, don't mention surviving, this human is completely fine as if I have never attacked him but I clearly remember my tail getting into contact with his body.' The dragon thought with a hint of fear creeping up in his heart since he couldn't use his flames at all and apparently his physical attack was of no use.