Ling Xi nodded at Zhang Nu’s words. Though she was a YaoGuai, she had no sympathy for those vicious and bloodthirsty creatures.
Lin Xiao, seeing that Zhang Nu had decided to let Ling Xi stay, had no choice but to accept it.
At dawn the next day, the four of them stood at the entrance of Ling Xi’s dwelling, ready to set out. She led them to the other side of the mountain, and as soon as they crossed over, they noticed a stark difference.
The sky felt wrong—a murky, grayish haze blanketed the horizon, like a veil of mist that refused to dissipate. Unlike the other side of the mountain, which was clear and bright, the area felt heavy, as if something unseen loomed over it.
“This place is definitely crawling with YaoGuais,” Zhang Nu said, narrowing his eyes. “Even the environment feels completely different.”
Liu Hai and Lin Xiao nodded in agreement. The air here was thick with something unnatural.
“Should we split up or stick together?” Liu Hai asked.
Zhang Nu hesitated, his gaze instinctively shifting to Lin Xiao. Splitting up would be ideal as they could cover more ground and gain more experience. They had come here to grow stronger, not just to explore.
But Lin Xiao was still the weakest among them. If they left him alone and he ran into a powerful YaoGuai, would he be able to handle it?
Noticing Zhang Nu’s concerned look, Lin Xiao spoke up immediately.
“There’s no need to worry about me,” he said, his tone steady. “I can handle myself. If I can’t win, I’ll run. Let’s split up.”
Zhang Nu, Liu Hai, and Ling Xi exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.
At that moment, Ling Xi pulled out a small talisman from her robes and handed it to Lin Xiao.
“If you find yourself in danger and can’t escape,” she said. “Just chant my name three times while holding this. I’ll sense it and come find you.”
Lin Xiao accepted the talisman, though his expression darkened slightly. It felt like she was underestimating him. But… It was undeniable that he was the weakest among them right now. Without a reason to refuse, he simply nodded and took the talisman.
And so, they split up.
Zhang Nu headed east, where the YaoGuais were most abundant and the strongest. He fought relentlessly, cutting down one YaoGuai after another, pushing himself to his absolute limits. His strength grew rapidly, he knew, even with his progress, he still wasn’t strong enough to take down the black mist.
So he kept fighting. Kept killing. Until his body screamed in exhaustion, his arms trembling from overuse.
By the time he realized, he was surrounded by a pack of wolves, he was already at his limit. The wolves had been watching him, waiting for the perfect moment—waiting for him to collapse from fatigue.
But Zhang Nu refused to fall. He clenched his sword tighter, his breath ragged. He would be torn apart if he gave in now. More than that, he wanted to see his own limits. Could he still breakthrough when he had nothing left?
The pack leader finally made its move, lunging at him. Zhang Nu smirked. He had been waiting for this moment.
The second the wolf pounced, Zhang Nu shifted his stance, raising his blade and in one swift motion—slashing the beast’s throat clean open.
Blood sprayed as the alpha crumpled to the ground. And in that instant—
Level: Qi Gathering Stage Four (1000/4500)
Identity: Mysterious Orphan of the Ten Thousand Mountains
Zhang Nu exhaled, exhilarated. He had broken through again. With this newfound strength, he was one step closer to defeating the black mist. Now, he just needed to check on Lin Xiao and Liu Hai—if their progress was smooth, then their chances of victory would increase significantly.
As it turned out, he wasn’t the only one who had made progress.
Liu Hai and Lin Xiao have also experienced significant improvements. Though the mountain was crawling with monsters, their levels weren’t particularly high. Many of them had only gained their sentience—and those that had harmed humans had been culled.
By the time the four regrouped at their designated meeting point, they immediately noticed the changes in one another.
"Seems like we made the right call coming here, we’ve gotten stronger. Now, we stand a much better chance against the black mist."