The leader of the masked men, who had been hurt by Xiang Shaoyun, was still in his original location as he treated his wounds.

“Damn this brat! He can actually use his energy to form external attacks! Is he really a Basic Realm cultivator? Even many first-stage Astral Realm cultivators can’t do that!” the leader cursed to himself.

Luckily for the leader, Xiang Shaoyun’s externally condensed energy was not that strong. With the leader’s cultivation at second-stage Astral Realm, as long as he had sufficient time, he would be able to force Xiang Shaoyun’s energy out of his body. However, before he even had the chance to begin expelling the energy inside his body, a separate wave of vicious energy flew at him from elsewhere.

Bam!

Almost at once, the vicious energy caused the masked man’s body to explode, rendering him dead beyond dead.

“Hmph! These pieces of trash dare hurt young master?! Being able to die only once is truly a blessing for them!” A person walked out from the shadows. This person was dressed extremely sloppily, to the point where one could mistake him for a beggar. Furthermore, one of his arms was missing. He was a crippled old man.

Who would’ve thought that the Wu Family’s experts were so easily dispatched by this old crippled man? The old man looked at the direction in which Xiang Shaoyun had run. As he stared, a doting expression began forming on his face, and he lightly sighed, “It seems that young master has been working hard. He has significantly improved in just half a month! Furthermore, he is stronger as a person! Experiencing this great disaster may just have been a blessing in disguise for him.”

After he finished his soliloquy, his body began to fade as he once again turned invisible to the naked eye. About an hour later, a group of horsemen rushed out of Wu Town. These men were the true experts of the Wu Clan, each of them having reached the Astral Realm. The leader of this group was even a seventh-stage Astral Realm cultivator. Very quickly, this group of horsemen found the leader’s body.

“Dead! He’s actually dead! Could it be that he has the protection of an expert from Martial Hall Palace?” The seventh-stage Astral Realm expert’s face became a lot more solemn as he speculated his findings. He then rushed further, finding more and more bodies strewn along the road.

“The situation is dire. It seems I must go back and report to the head!” The Astral Realm expert actually felt goosebumps on his arm. Not wanting to dally any longer, he quickly ordered his men to retrieve all the bodies before making haste back to Wu Town.

Out in the wild, Xiang Shaoyun did not know how long he had been running. His entire body was battered, his legs utterly destroyed. Finally yielding, he fell flat onto a patch of grass.

“I-I can’t run anymore. No—no more energy.” Xiang Shaoyun gasped, turning to lie on his back. Before he had even begun his great escape, he had used all the strength he could muster in his Star Destroying Finger, depleting him of quite a bit of energy. Furthermore, he had been sprinting with his might for quite a while now. It was no surprise that he was utterly exhausted by this point.

After lying down for merely an instant, Xiang Shaoyun instantly sat up straight, observing to see if anybody was still on his tail. Only after making sure that he was in the clear did he assume a meditative pose. He was meditating in order to recover his strength as well as consolidate his gains.

As old energy was used up, new energy would be born. This was a process of discarding the old and welcoming the new. Although the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual was not complete, it was more than sufficient for the early parts of cultivation, and it was even better than many complete cultivation methods.

As Xiang Shaoyun slowly recovered the lost energy within his body, his meridian flow increased significantly. Furthermore, the astral energy condensed within his body grew thicker, and his 365 acupoints sparkled brightly.

As of right now, Xiang Shaoyun had directly reached the peak of seventh-stage Basic Realm. This was the greatest gain he had received from that life-or-death chase.

“Good thing I managed to learn the Star Destroying Finger last night. Otherwise, I’d be dead meat by now!” Xiang Shaoyun shuddered at the thought. Not daring to stay any longer, he immediately changed direction and headed for the Hundred Beast Mountain Range.

Right now, Xiang Shaoyun had slowed down his walking pace by a significant amount. It was not that he did not wish to walk faster; rather, in the wilderness, there would be quite a number of poisonous creatures present, as well as a few monstrous beasts here and there. If he was not cautious enough, he could end up dying in the wilderness.

Sss…

As expected, a monstrous snake shot out from within the grass, its speed absolutely astounding. Luckily for him, Xiang Shaoyun was already mentally prepared for such a situation. Grasping the Heavy Cleave Saber, he swept the saber out.

Sphhhlt!

The small snake was instantly cleaved into two, dying on the spot. Not even bothering to take a second glance at the snake, Xiang Shaoyun pressed on. His attention to the surroundings heightened to the max. Not long after, the amount of poisonous creatures that had died to his blade numbered quite a few.

“My gift of visualization not only gives me mind-boggling comprehension ability, it also gives me extremely keen senses. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to find that secret realm when I was younger. Or are the visualization and my keen senses two different divine talents altogether?” Xiang Shaoyun pondered to himself.

After walking a while more, he found an old medicine within the grass, and his eyes lit up. “This is the fragrance grass. Although it has no medical usage, it’s able to ward off poisonous creatures!”

Most people would be unaware of the use of this old medicine, but Xiang Shaoyun had immersed himself in several ancient texts since young. Hence, he had a deep understanding when it came to the uses of various herbs and medicines. Even if it were an herb so obscure that nobody knew about it, he alone would know its properties.

Plucking the fragrance grass, Xiang Shaoyun split it into two and rubbed it all over his body. Very quickly, a mysterious scent began to arise from his body. Poisonous creatures hated this scent, and as long as there were no high-tier poisonous creatures, everything else would avoid this “putrid” smell.

“I’m much safer now!” Xiang Shaoyun heaved a huge sigh of relief. He then continued on his way. After another four hours, he hunted down a wild boar and roasted it in the wild.

“Demonic beasts contain a significant amount of vital qi within their bodies. Eating a large amount will significantly benefit my physical body!”

Right now, Xiang Shaoyun was still building up his physical body, and he needed to absorb a large amount of energy in order to do so. Very quickly, he wolfed down half of the boar and kept the rest, leaving it as a meal for the journey. After two days of wandering, he finally arrived at the Hundred Beast Mountain Range.

One could only see a continuous string of mountain peaks rising and falling like the body of a dragon, striking a very imposing image from afar. Old towering trees stood tall and compact as colorful flowers lined the grass. The sound of the howling of demonic beasts abounded as the spiritual energy of the world spread through all four directions, filling the air.

The “Hundred Beast” within the “Hundred Beast Mountain Range” naturally signified that there were numerous monstrous beasts present within the mountain range. Every beast was unique and had its own set of talents, and some among them were even top-tier demonic beasts. If anybody entered too deeply, they would die nine times out of ten.

“The Nine Gods Province has a lot of ancient mountain ranges, but one that is able to preserve itself to this extent are few and far. This mountain range has an ancient sort of scent to it. I can only hope that there are no ancient existences inside the mountain range!” Xiang Shaoyun talked to himself as he sized up the mountain range. Without any further hesitation, he stepped headfirst into the Hundred Beast Mountain Range.

If Xiang Shaoyun wanted to grow stronger, he needed to go through various trials and trainings to strengthen himself. This Hundred Beast Mountain Range was his next training ground. Whether or not he would be able to find the Earth Star Spring was secondary to him. Alas, as soon as he stepped into the vicinity of the Hundred Beast Mountain Range, he encountered a pack of small demonic beasts.

“F*ck me. Normally, isn’t it only one or two demonic beasts attacking me at once? How come I've stumbled upon a pack of wolf beasts? Have I accidentally entered a wolf’s den?” Upon seeing the ten or so wolves in front of him, Xiang Shaoyun turned around and ran. All the training he had been preparing for was flung far into the back of his mind.