Chapter 48: Eagle's Beak Stream; Man-eating Flying Ants

  After a night's rest, Fang Yan was revitalized and full of energy again.

  The next day, at dawn, Li Shaocong and his party left the camp opposite them, leaving as quietly as the wind.

  "Judging from their attire, they shouldn't be locals of Yangzhou City. Since they don't intend to socialize, I don't need to use my own enthusiasm to fawn over others' indifference." Fang Yan shook his head as he watched the four outsiders enter the Xiangyue Mountains.

  Before long, Fang Yan simply picked some wild fruits to eat and then followed into the horizontal mountain range.

  Today, Fang Yan set a task for himself to raise the proficiency of his Earth-level sword technique, Phantom Sword, to 5,000. This way, when he leaves the Horizontal Mountain Range, his Earth-level sword technique, Phantom Sword, can reach the entry level.

  Actual combat is the best way to cultivate. As for the Silver-backed Wolf Demon in the Horizontal Mountain Range, Fang Yan still had some fear of it. This was just the periphery; if he were to encounter a fifth-level Wolf King among the Silver-backed Wolf Demons within the Horizontal Mountain Range, he would have to flee as soon as possible.

  So, for the next leg of the journey, Fang Yan deliberately avoided the wolf demons in the forest. If he really couldn't avoid them, he would quickly kill them with lightning speed, not giving them a chance to summon their companions.

  Before he knew it, Fang Yan had stayed in the Hengyue Mountains for three days.

  In these three days, Fang Yan's proficiency in the Earth-level sword technique "Phantom Sword" had risen to 7,200 points, and he was getting closer and closer to entering the beginner stage.

  In these three days, Fang Yan continuously ventured deeper into the Hengyue Mountains, even visiting every place where the Fang family used to hunt.

  Among them, he encountered several dangers, but all were resolved by him. Especially last night, he was stared at again by a pack of wolves in the Hengyue Mountains, and if it weren't for a flower-patterned spider taking his place as a substitute sacrifice, he would have had to start fleeing through the mountains again.

  "In the past two days, although there have been some gains, this is only the periphery of the Hengyue Mountains. Except for that pack of wolves, there's hardly any great danger, and it's only in life-or-death situations that the pressure explodes, allowing martial skills and sword techniques to make greater progress. At most, I'll stay here for two more days before heading back home. For the remaining two days, I should go explore Eagle Mouth Creek, where there are many heavenly treasures and spiritual medicines. This opportunity can't be missed." Fang Yan stood on a sturdy branch, gazing out into the distance.

  This time entering the horizontal mountain range for training, Fang Yan must go to Eagle's Mouth Valley.

  The source of Eagle's Mouth Brook is the vast and majestic Jiang River, which runs across Yanzhou. In the rolling river waters, huge waves surge and occasionally a massive water monster can be seen floating in the river. Fang Yan rushes along the river, and soon sees a steep cliff standing in the clouds and fog. A huge waterfall cascades down from the top of the cliff, with the momentum of thousands of horses galloping, the clouds and fog churning, and thick mist everywhere.

  "This is Eagle Waterfall, a treacherous spot in the Xiongshan Mountains." Looking at the torrential waterfall that seemed to be surging with thousands of horses and soldiers, Fang Yan was shocked.

  After running for twenty or thirty miles, Fang Yan's physical strength had been somewhat consumed, and the true energy in his body was not even 80% of its peak. The Eagle's Mouth Gorge was still a few miles away, but to be on the safe side, Fang Yan did not rush there immediately. Instead, he planned to meditate and rest for a while near the gorge to recover his internal energy first.

  Fang Yan leapt onto an ancient tree that pierced the sky, and suddenly turned his head around. He saw a gigantic python with a body thicker than his waist, its bloody mouth wide open, biting towards him. The stench from its mouth was overwhelming, and its teeth sparkled with a faint blue glow, clearly indicating that it was highly venomous.

  Fang Yan saw this and his body flashed as he jumped up, directly jumping onto another large tree to avoid being swallowed.

  The giant python dodged Fang Yan's bite, and a hint of astonishment flashed in its eyes. Then it opened its huge mouth, and a poisonous gas bullet shot towards Fang Yan.

  "Mountain collapse."

  Watching the poison gas bomb shoot over, Fang Yan let out a loud roar and threw a punch at the poison gas bomb. The fist shadow transformed by the collapse of the mountain shook outward, blasting the poison gas bomb into smithereens.

  One strike was not enough, the giant python poked its head out and came to bite Fang Yan again. Fang Yan saw this and drew out his top-grade spiritual sword, Blood Slasher, and stabbed it at the giant python.

  Hit the snake seven inches. Fang Yan unfolded the Phantom Sword Technique, and a sword flower burst forth, with nine sword shadows that seemed both real and illusory colliding with the giant python's body, splashing up sparks of fire.

  "Ding! Congratulations, host's Earth-level sword skill Phantom Sword proficiency +50."

  The python's head was repelled by Fang Yan every time it poked out, and the cold system prompt sounded in Fang Yan's mind. Just now, with that brief moment of work, the proficiency of the Earth-level sword technique, Phantom Sword, had increased by 50.

  After several attacks, the python's eyes seemed to show surprise, it saw that its opponent was far beyond itself, and immediately shrunk its body, fleeing into the jungle.

  "You actually want to escape!" This giant python was extremely intelligent, unlike other demonic beasts that would fight to the death when encountering humans. As soon as it sensed an unfavorable situation, it immediately fled in a big way.

  Originally, Fang Yan wanted to use the giant python to brush up on his Earth-level sword technique, Phantom Sword. Unexpectedly, this big fellow wanted to escape, and suddenly increased its attack intensity, leaping forward to block its path. The Phantom Sword was urged to its extreme, one sword stabbed into the seven-inch spot, then with a forceful twist, it was ruthlessly nailed to the ground.

  "Ding! Congratulations, host, you have successfully killed the enemy and obtained 8 points of merit value." The giant python merely struggled for a few moments before dying, and Fang Yan withdrew his Blood Blade. The next moment, the cold system prompt sounded in his mind.

  "Snakehead fruit, there's actually such a spiritual medicine nearby, no wonder there's a giant python guarding it." A blood-red fruit appeared before Fang Yan's eyes, this fruit resembled a snake head, he had seen it once in the Fang family's treasure room, it was a third-level spiritual medicine, containing potent toxins, with a fatal attraction to snake-type demons.

  The snake head fruit was picked and stored in the spatial backpack. Fang Yan carefully observed the surroundings, seeing that there were no dangers nearby, before jumping onto an ancient tree to meditate and recover his true energy.

  Half a time later, Fang Yan's depleted true energy had recovered, and he began to search the surrounding area. This Eagle Mouth Gorge was a sacred place where spiritual medicine and herbs were produced, although it was dangerous, danger and opportunity coexisted, and many adventurers often visited this place.

  "There is a second-grade Lingcao, Xingluo Grass. What kind of Lingcao can grow in such large quantities?" Fang Yan had just picked a second-grade Xingluo Grass when he saw a large patch of yellow Lingcao growing on the nearby mountain top, with numerous yellow spots scattered about. There were at least dozens of these Lingcao plants.

  For spiritual grass and spiritual medicine, Fang Yan is a come-and-go, regardless of whether it's toxic or not. In his eyes, they're all just a lot of experience points and cultivation merit points.

  After picking up the unknown spiritual grass, Fang Yan got closer and closer to Eagle's Mouth Stream. The deafening roar continued, and the water mist rose, shrouding Eagle Water Stream in a thick fog. Due to the dense fog, Fang Yan's line of sight was also affected.

  "Ah! Quick, escape, there are man-eating flying ants nearby." Just as Fang Yan approached the Eagle Waterfall, a figure suddenly shot out of the mist. The figure was somewhat wolf-like and let out a startled cry when he saw Fang Yan, because his speed was too fast and he collided with Fang Yan in mid-air.