Chapter 63 - 62: Benefactor

Despite his complaints, Xu Guang still carefully reviewed the results displayed on the panel.

The mystery of Refining Viscera made Xu Guang aware of its difficulties. Internal organs were inherently fragile, making Refining Viscera extremely perilous. The slightest carelessness could cause the vital energy and blood entering the organs to go awry. Losing Essence Blood would be a minor issue; the critical danger lay in leaving behind hidden injuries.

After all, in the Training Refining Viscera Realm, there was no Secret Medicine to treat hidden injuries, only those to accelerate the progress of Refining Viscera.

Therefore, one had to be exceptionally cautious during Refining Viscera.

The first and second options were obviously the best, followed by the third, which was worth considering. As for the fourth option, Xu Guang wouldn’t even look at it.

That method was not meant for human cultivation at all, and he hadn’t had enough of being human yet.

Xu Guang pondered for a moment. The second option required his Martial Technique to reach the level of Mastery. His Golden Willow Step had indeed reached the deep stage of Refined Skill, but as his Cultivation progressed, he could already feel his training speed continuously decaying. Obviously, he wouldn’t be able to achieve Mastery in a short time.

The first option seemed the simplest, located sixty miles into the Two Arm Mountains.

However, the Creation Qi mentioned in the third option was the most miraculous. Not only could it break through to Refining Viscera, but it could also directly elevate him to the One Viscera Realm.

This was clearly something extraordinary.

"Forget it. Since I have to go into the mountains, and the distance shown on the Searcher isn’t that far, I can just check them all out if possible."

Having made up his mind, Xu Guang immediately started his preparations. The time required for this trip into the mountains was uncertain, and what worried him the most was his family’s safety.

However, he had made a series of arrangements. He gestured slightly at the air with his finger, and two incredibly majestic large birds swooped down from the sky, landing obediently on his palms.

These were two Messenger Owls. Their function was similar to a Pigeon, but they were much larger and far more aggressive.

Xu Guang had been feeding these two Messenger Owls with the Blood of Transformation for a while. Although their inherent size prevented them from ascending to become an Exotic Beast like Hai, they had gained a bit of intelligence and could understand some simple commands.

From now on, he would have to rely on them to communicate with his family.

He planned to leave one at home and take the other into the mountains. After all, as a creature of the sky, it could help him scout the way in the wilderness.

Also, he needed to ask Wang Ming to keep a closer eye on things at home.

For now, this was all Xu Guang could think of.

The best he could do was to complete his mountain trip and return as quickly as possible.

As for the Searcher, he could only leave its slots empty for now. Venturing into the mountains was a risk, and he needed to save it as a trump card.

At dawn.

Xu Guang carefully inspected his gear for the mountain expedition.

Hai’s body had grown increasingly massive. Crouching at the door like a mound of flesh, it had grown from the size of a lynx or leopard to that of an adult Siberian tiger. Standing up, it was a full 1.3 meters tall, even capable of bearing Ji Xiaolu’s weight on its back.

What was more surprising was that white spots had appeared on its originally pitch-black body, and a pattern resembling the character for ’King’ had formed on its forehead.

Previously, Xu Guang felt that this creature didn’t deserve to be called a tiger, but now it truly had the bearing of the King of Beasts.

Xu Guang felt that this guy’s Combat Power had officially reached the level of Bone Forging.

After all, its species was a tiger, giving it far greater growth potential and plasticity than the Messenger Owls.

Just nearly two months of feeding it the Blood of Transformation had allowed it to grow to such an extent. It was no wonder Qian Cheng staked all his Combat Power on the Jade Elephant.

However, its appetite was a headache.

Fortunately, Wang Ming found out about it a few days ago. Being fiercely protective of his own, he arranged for the beast to be officially enlisted at the Government Office. Now, it accompanied him on his daily patrols, scavenging fish, meat, and livestock offal provided by the Government.

Otherwise, its daily appetite would have turned the house upside down.

Standing nearby, Wang Ming and Xu Chun, who was holding Wang Wen’s hand, looked as though they wanted to say something but hesitated.

Xu Guang smiled. Venturing into the deep mountains was too dangerous, with too many secrets hidden within. He had simply used a Mercenaries’ mission as an excuse. Aside from Wang Ming, who remained slightly suspicious, the others felt much more at ease.

After all, although Mercenaries’ missions were dangerous, they were always group operations.

"Erlang, tell me honestly, what exactly are you going to do?" Wang Ming pulled Xu Guang aside and asked in a low voice.

Xu Guang smiled. "To break through to Refining Viscera. Perhaps by the time I return, you’ll also have a chance to break through to Refining Viscera, Wang Ming."

"Refining Viscera?" Wang Ming was stunned for a moment before sighing. "You’re really bold. I understand your intentions now. I’ll wait for you at home."

Xu Guang patted Wang Ming on the shoulder and whispered, "Then I’ll leave the family in your hands, Wang Ming. If there’s something you truly can’t handle, you can go to the Immortal Institute and ask my master for help. After all, he’s a veteran Expert in Refining Viscera Martial Arts, so his face still carries some weight."

"Go on, go on. Do you think I don’t know how to ask for help?" Wang Ming glared at him.

Under the slightly worried gazes of his family, Xu Guang shouldered his pack and set off at sunrise.

In the Outer City.

As he passed through the Outer City, Xu Guang noticed a few people staring at him. They appeared to be ordinary people, yet they were exceptionally excited to see him, as if they had spotted prey.

Moved by suspicion, he quietly followed them.

Soon, he trailed them to a courtyard.

His expression instantly changed drastically. In the corner of the courtyard stood a shed, from which naked corpses hung like slabs of pork.

These people... were cannibals?

Leaning against the wall, Xu Guang considered infiltrating the place.

SQUEAK!

A rat darted out.

"Someone’s here!"

Xu Guang’s expression shifted slightly as he watched several figures with bloodshot eyes charge out of the house, wielding knives.

He thought, "I originally wanted to sneak in, but now it seems..."

He attacked instantly. A short blade materialized in his palm, and power almost rivaling that of Refining Viscera surged wildly. With a single slash, three people stumbled backward, clutching their throats.

Moments later, he left only one alive.

"Do you know me?" he asked.

The man’s face twisted fiercely as he convulsed like a madman. "It’s you! You’re the one we’re looking for!"

"Who is looking for me?"

"It’s you! Just you!"

Xu Guang could tell the man had already gone insane. His short blade slashed across, and blood flowed into a river.

A moment later, he crouched down and, as expected, saw a worm bulging and wriggling out from between the eyebrows of each corpse.

His expression turned solemn. Someone was looking for him?

People from the Yellow Heaven Sect?

For some reason, the woman in the Refining Viscera Realm he had encountered in Hedong flashed through his mind. His intuition told him that she was the one looking for him.

Was that woman from the Yellow Heaven Sect?

Fortunately, he had discovered the enemy in advance and executed a perfect infiltration.

It seemed he would have to be more careful from now on.

Xu Guang rummaged through the house, found a bamboo hat, and put it on his head.

West of Feiyun City.

The area west of Feiyun City was a plain that served as the city’s granary. Traveling thirty miles further west, one would arrive at a mountain range.

It was called Qingyang!

Dotted with white rocks among the forests, the terrain was steep and rugged with dense vegetation. It was known as the number one peak of Feiyun.

Because the path up the mountain was far too treacherous, it was rarely visited by people. Even experienced old hunters didn’t dare enter its dense forests carelessly.

SCREECH!

A bird of prey with a red beak and black legs turned into a sharp arrow in the sky, emitting a long, sharp cry. Then, it suddenly turned, drew an arc in the air, swooped straight down to the ground, and landed on a young man’s shoulder.

It chirped incessantly, as if trying its hardest to describe something.

Xu Guang frowned. He had tried his absolute best to teach the Messenger Owl how to distinguish things, but unfortunately, the intelligence of this type of bird wasn’t considered high. It possessed almost no ability to describe terrain. Its only useful function was acting as an aerial sentry, programmed to alert Xu Guang to any creature larger than him, using him as a reference point.

With a bird assisting from the sky, he didn’t need to worry about being ambushed by large Exotic Beasts.

Xu Guang stopped and started along the way, taking more than an hour to travel nearly ten miles into the mountains.

He directed the Messenger Owl back into the sky to keep watch, while he focused on climbing the narrow path ahead.

Qingyang Mountain truly lived up to its reputation as the most treacherous peak in the Southwest of Feiyun City. Only by experiencing it firsthand could one understand just how difficult it was to scale.

Xu Guang clung to the cliff face with one hand, continuously testing his footing to avoid stepping on loose ground. This was the most precipitous stretch.

According to the map provided by the Searcher, the location of the Five Divine Fruits was roughly halfway up Qingyang Mountain.

This was his first time venturing into such deep and ancient forests alone, and he proceeded with extreme caution. Even so, he had already experienced a few quite dangerous encounters.

COO COO.

A strange cry drifted over.

Xu Guang couldn’t help but halt his steps. He was extremely familiar with this kind of human-imitated bird call, and doubts began to rise in his mind.

When he had previously slaughtered the Mountain Bandits at the eastern foot of the Two-Arm Mountain, they had often communicated in the mountains using this exact method.

Therefore, when fighting mountain bandits, one had to silence their mouths first; otherwise, it was easy to fall into a surrounded position.

Xu Guang had suffered from this before.

Could it be that Mountain Bandits were also hiding in Qingyang Mountain?

This was truly ridiculous.

Xu Guang didn’t go to investigate personally. He just kept his head down and continued on his way. Judging from the direction of the sound, it was still some distance away, so he simply let the Messenger Owl fly overhead to keep an eye out.

After traveling a few hundred meters further, he stopped again. Patches of dry grass, fallen leaves, and branches intertwined with vine-like plants, completely encasing a hollow tree.

Inside, there was a very powerful Qi Mechanism.

Xu Guang narrowed his eyes and carefully bypassed the area. He had no intention of provoking any powerful Exotic Beast in the mountains; he was merely passing through.

In the wilderness, he wasn’t worried about getting injured and the scent of blood attracting wild beasts, because the fluid he bled was a transparent, water-like liquid.

As the sky grew dark, Xu Guang picked up his pace again. Around dusk, he finally arrived at the location of the Five Divine Fruits.

It was unexpectedly a valley, brimming with a fragrant aroma that carried a variety of intoxicating scents. Exotic Beasts roamed in herds within, a mountain spring bubbled melodiously, and deep at the bottom of the valley, several massive caves could even be seen.

However...

Xu Guang stopped in his tracks; he spotted traces left by humans.

In front of a distant cave, there were remnants of a campfire, along with a few very rough bamboo splints. A slab of stone shaped like a door half-sealed the cave entrance, and sitting before it was a human figure.

At the same time, the person over there also saw him.

It was a tall, burly man with a full beard. It was unknown how long it had been since he left the mountains; his long hair was casually tied back with vines, and his tattered robes revealed a coarse wolf-skin lining underneath. His entire being exuded a wild, untamed aura.

Xu Guang narrowed his eyes, his hand slowly sliding into his sleeve.

But then...

[Song Tao (Human). Combat Power: Heroic Level Skin Grinding Realm]

Skin Polishing?

Wait, he actually had a name?

Xu Guang was hit with a wave of astonishment before finally remembering this man, whom he had met once before.

This person was Song Yue’s younger brother, Song Tao.

Although he recognized the man, he remained indifferent and chose not to approach.

Song Tao’s Eye Power was inferior to Xu Guang’s. He cautiously stepped forward a certain distance before clearly making out the newcomer’s appearance.

Because of his excessive facial hair, the exaggerated change in his expression made him look like an enraged Mountain God.

He strode quickly toward Xu Guang.

In the mountains, Xu Guang never trusted anyone. A dagger reappeared in his palm.

Sensing Xu Guang’s wary expression, the approaching Song Tao spread his palms from a distance to show he posed no threat. Then, stopping ten meters away, he dropped heavily to his knees.

"I, Song Tao, greet my benefactor!"