Chapter 45: The Transverse Mountains of Mount Heng

  "Is he a Life-Extinguishing Realm cultivator?" Fang Yan furrowed his brow, if Fang Zhen was indeed a strong practitioner of the Life-Extinguishing Realm, the two royal families wouldn't have been so arrogant.

  "Father, can't one break through to the realm of taking lives without the Sect's cultivation?"

  "Life and death, with nine turns, nine times life and death, the power can be said to be earth-shattering. There are five-turns life and death strongmen sitting in eight-grade forces. Nine times life and death, each time more dangerous than the last, if there isn't an extremely powerful person helping to protect the law, then in the life and death realm it's possible to turn into ashes, never to be reborn." Fang Zhen heard this and sighed with some helplessness.

  "You go and prepare now, seven days later, the envoy of the Hao Han Sect will arrive, you must make a good impression at that time."

  Fang Zhen waved his hand and Fang Yan and Fang Tao bid farewell and left.

  Seven days later, the envoy of the Hao Han Zong will arrive in Yanzhou City, and Fang Yan's time is running out. If the standard for recruiting disciples by the Hao Han Zong is the violent air boundary, then he has no chance at all, it is impossible for him to break through from the eighth level of the Qi Refining stage to the violent air boundary within seven days.

  The next morning, Fang Yan got up early and practiced his sword for a while. Seeing that his father was already up, he greeted him and then said...

  "Father, I plan to go to the Xiang Yue Mountains for a seven-day retreat."

  "What? You want to go alone to the Xiang Yue Mountains to cultivate?" Fang Zhen heard this and furrowed his brow.

  "What? You want to go to the Hengyue Mountains? That's an extremely dangerous place, every time the three major families hunt, they don't dare to venture deep into it, only hunting on the periphery. You're going alone..." Fang Zhen heard this and his eyebrows furrowed deeply.

  Jianmu Trial Space is also located in the Hengyue Mountains, where the terrain is treacherous and ferocious beasts roam. Every time the three major families hold a trial, their strong members carefully sneak into the Hengyue Mountains, not daring to enter openly.

  Although the mountains of Hengyue are perilous, the fur and demon cores of these beasts are extremely valuable. Many experts often venture in to hunt them down. The hunting expeditions of the three major families also involve entering the mountains to make a profit. However, it is necessary for a large group of people to act together; if one person enters alone, they will be in extreme danger and struggle to survive, let alone gain any benefits.

  "Father, the Phantom Sword Technique I'm cultivating must be used in actual combat to make great progress. If I just practice it step by step like this, I'm afraid even after decades, I won't be able to reach the level of a top master. The Hao Han Sect is a 7th-grade sect, and the selection of disciples is extremely strict. If I don't work hard, how can I compete with others?" Fang Yan couldn't help but say.

  "Otherwise, I'll let Fang Tao accompany you, he's a four-realm cultivator of the Violent Qi Realm, and on the road, there will be someone to take care of you." Fang Zhen said.

  "Dad, if Brother Fang Tao were to accompany me, it would not be of any training value at all. Besides, I'm not going deep into the mountains of Hengyue, so there shouldn't be any danger." Fang Yan tried to persuade him.

  "Father, don't you trust me either? I survived the cruel Sword Grave trial space, this Transverse Mountain Range shouldn't be able to stop your child, me."

  "Alright, be careful on your way. If you encounter any danger that's too great to handle, hurry back. The trial is important, but it's not as important as your life." Fang Yan said reasonably, and Fang Zhen didn't persist further. Ever since Fang Yan returned from the Sword Grave trial space, he seemed like a different person altogether - handling matters with great cunning, showing no mercy or kindness to his enemies. Such a person would find it easier to survive in the Xiong Yue mountain range, and this thought occurred to him suddenly.

  "Father, I'm taking my leave." Fang Yan rushed to bid farewell to his father and then mounted the majestic horse that had been prepared earlier. Time was pressing, and he didn't have much time left; he had to gallop swiftly in order to reach the Xiang Yue mountain range by tomorrow.

  Fang Yan rode his crimson horse and disappeared into Fang Manor. His departure was unknown to anyone except his father, Fang Zhen.

  The next day at noon, the scorching sun made the hot air even more sweltering. A lone horseman was approaching from afar, and a fair-skinned and handsome young man appeared in this deep mountain forest. This person was Fang Yan, who had rushed overnight from Yanzhou City.

  The Hengyue Mountains are nearly a thousand miles away from Yanzhou City, where many treacherous mountains and rivers have to be traversed. Ordinary people can barely reach it after ten days or half a month of arduous journey, while Fang Yan arrived in just one day and night at an incredible speed.

  "Is this the Hengduan Mountains? What a vast mountain range! I hope I can gain something from this trip."

  In the distance, the rugged mountain peaks pierced the clouds, and the tall trees were densely packed, blocking out the sky. From time to time, the roar of fierce beasts echoed from within the forest, making one's heart tremble with fear.

  Fang Yan stood at the entrance of the horizontal mountain range, looking at the treacherous and endless mountains, and couldn't help but feel the ingenuity of nature and the wonder of creation.

  "Go, you're free now. I hope to see you again when I come out." Watching the horse galloping wildly and snorting loudly, Fang Yan gently patted the horse's back and untied the reins. In the mountains of Hengyue, this rare horse was actually of no use to him, and carrying it around would only be a burden.

  "There are less than six days left, and I will have to return to participate in the selection of the Hao Han Sect. No matter what, to revive my family, I must become extremely powerful! I hope that within these six days, I can break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining."

  Fang Yan made up his mind, took a glance at the direction of Xuanzhou City, and directly rushed into the dangerous Hengyue Mountains. He manipulated his body technique, jumping between the trees, and in just a few flashes, he disappeared deep within the dense forest.

  In the dense forest, there are towering trees that stretch to the sky like a green dragon, dozens of feet high, rising straight up. The ground is covered with fallen branches and dead leaves, and various ominous auras lurk in the woods, where extremely powerful monsters can be seen wandering vaguely.

  "Huh, there's a bloody smell!" Fang Yan walked in the forest, suddenly his nose twitched, he smelled a bloody smell wafting from the trees up ahead.

  There's a bloody smell, and although the horizontal mountain range isn't as dangerous as the Sword Grave trial space, once you catch a whiff of that smell, there's definitely danger ahead. Fang Yan is an artful person with great courage, and he charged forward along the scent of blood.

  Fang Yan turned around and jumped back and forth on the thick branches of an ancient tree, jumping from one big tree to a clearing in the forest, where he suddenly saw more than ten giant wolves with silver fur, shiny and smooth, devouring several corpses on the ground.

  These corpses were all human, and the soft leather armor they wore was still faintly visible around them. Their weapons lay scattered nearby. It seemed that adventurers like Fang Yan had entered here and fallen victim to the poisonous claws of the Silver-backed Wolf.

  "The Silver-backed Wolf, a three-tiered demon beast known for its vengefulness, moves in packs with organization and discipline, coming and going like the wind. Its fur is impervious to ordinary swords and knives, and its strength is extremely formidable. The intelligence of these wolves is in no way inferior to that of humans. Once targeted, unless all of them are killed, they will relentlessly pursue their prey until one side is completely annihilated." As he watched the several giant wolves feeding, this information about the Silver Giant Wolf floated into Fang Yan's mind.

  As Fang Yan fell from the ground, more than a dozen demon wolves that were eating corpses moved their ears and turned their heads around.

  "Ahhhroo!"

  Seeing someone coming down, this group of silver-backed demon wolves didn't show any panic. One particularly robust male wolf let out a demonstrative howl towards Fang Yan, and then swiped its claws at him, as if saying: "Kid, you've got guts, come over here."