Although everything was ready, Xiao Jie did not rush to set off since it was already late in the day. Naturally, he had to wait until the next morning to depart.
Meanwhile, he took advantage of the remaining daylight to purchase the supplies he needed.
Xiao Jie first went to the auction house to collect the earnings from selling Monkey Wine and Secret Dog Food that day. Although he had participated in three events recently, fought numerous monsters, and earned a decent share, his income had not increased but instead decreased a little due to spending it all on equipment.
If not for making a bit of extra money with his Cooking specialization, he might have been forced to endure hardship. Summing up his savings from the past few days, he had accrued over thirty taels. Xiao Jie had now grown accustomed to the feeling of tens of taels coming and going, leaving only 10 silver coins for emergencies, and using the rest to buy all sorts of supplies, including food, talismanic potions, and various special artifacts.
For this expedition, he really went all out.
Then he checked his current equipment skills.
Dressed in a luxurious mix of blue, green, and purple gear, he owned no fewer than three pieces of epic equipment. With Saber Skill and Inner Strength fully equipped, along with a supreme Saber Skill and extraordinary Qinggong, he could traverse through any perilous situation.
Of course, the most crucial item was the Escape Light Talisman, a life-saving artifact. With it, no dangerous place could hold him back.
After taking inventory, Xiao Jie completely eased his mind. If this set-up didn’t suffice, then it really wasn’t a matter of preparation anymore.
That night, Xiao Jie went to bed early. The next morning, he logged into the game, said goodbye to everyone, and set off alone.
"Giddy up! Giddy up! Giddy up!" Over the vast wilderness, a black-robed knight on a fiery red warhorse sped away, followed closely by a terrifying knight enveloped in dark smoke, his helmet hiding a pair of eerie, greenish ghostly eyes, relentlessly pursuing him.
Although Luoyang Plain was teeming with monsters and dominated by various monster forces, it was relatively bustling compared to other areas.
It wasn’t until Xiao Jie traveled northwest, crossed the Blackwind Mountain Range, and entered the Endless Wilderness that he realized just how enormous the game map was and how fierce the monsters were.
The journey was desolate, with deep mountains and dangerous valleys everywhere.
Monsters above Level 20 were prevalent, not only various demonized beasts but also many humans who had turned into demons, becoming more than mere creatures, not to mention numerous unnameable mountain spirits and wild monsters.
Xiao Jie avoided these monsters wherever possible, not stirring any unnecessary trouble.
Fortunately, thanks to the vast and open landscape and the swift speed of the Red Charge Warhorse, he didn’t worry too much about getting trapped.
However, his bad luck struck in the afternoon when he accidentally attracted a Level 34 ’Wandering Ghost General,’ which chased Xiao Jie for more than fifteen minutes, scaring him terribly.
"Giddy up! Giddy up! Giddy up!" Xiao Jie shouted while continuously glancing back over his shoulder.
Thankfully, he finally managed to shake off the Netherworld Ghost General. This creature must have been a full-fledged Ghost General, utterly different in spirit from the one he had killed back in Newbie Village.
Fortunately, his mount was fast; otherwise, he might have been done for.
Whew, he was truly risking everything for this legacy quest. This treacherous map without even a proper path wouldn’t normally attract regular players.
"You know, Master, you could just run without shouting," said the Red Charge Warhorse suddenly, snorting.
"We can’t do that; riding a horse demands the use of proper terms. By the way, where are we now?" Xiao Jie asked, looking around at the boundless wilderness with a sense of dread.
Having been chased haphazardly by that Ghost General, he had picked the most open paths and now had no idea where he had ended up.
"If you ask me, who do I ask? You’re the master here."
"Don’t they say an old horse knows the way? Look at you, you’re not young either, can’t you help recognize the way?" Xiao Jie joked, trying to ease the tension in his heart.
This was the second day of his journey; after passing through Luoyang Plain and crossing Black Mountain Range, Xiao Jie had arrived in this endless wilderness located to the northwest of Fengyin State, just as the Ancient Immortals had described.
[From Luoyang Plain, travel north for three hundred miles, then west for another three hundred miles to reach Konglao Mountain, shaped like a dormant beast with rugged rocks and a sea of pine trees, roaring like the ocean. Deep within the mountain, there is a cave leading to a secluded valley with water flowing from the sky, resembling a heavenly waterfall, a place where Ancient Immortals practiced Qi Refinement...]
Of course, travelling six hundred miles north and then west wasn’t to be taken literally. Although the game’s map was immensely vast, it couldn’t compare to the real world.
Based on settings similar in size to Hua Country, the Luoyang Plain alone should span tens of thousands of square kilometers, but realistically covering one-tenth of that was already impressive.
Using the scale Xiao Jie had calculated, combined with intelligence from the Dragon Soaring Knights, he deduced that Konglao Mountain should be located within the northern Kunwu Mountain Range. Having run for so long, he must be nearing it by now.
He opened the map to take a look, but it was pitch black, all unexplored territory.
Sigh, he could only proceed slowly and explore.
The path ahead gradually became more perilous as the wilderness gave way to mountainous terrain, making the travels increasingly challenging.
Fortunately, this desolate mountain range seemed to be devoid of particularly fearsome monsters, which relieved Xiao Jie. The journey across this empty map was tremendously dull, but at least, with the Beast Language Skill, he could chat with his mount to pass some time.
Rugged rocks and roaring pine trees... none of that was here.