Chapter 39: Encountering the Enemy

In the gloomy forest, towering trees stood tall, their withered yellow leaves blanketing the ground. Deep within the thick layer of leaves, dark shadows subtly flitted by, hinting at danger.

In a clearing within the woods, Zhou Yuan lay low, his entire body tensed, his gaze fixed intently ahead. Before him, a Genesis Beast, completely black with silver horns on its head, stared at him with cold, bestial eyes.

This was a Silver-Horned Beast, a first-grade Genesis Beast.

The Silver-Horned Beast's body slowly crouched, then the next moment, it exploded forward. Like a dark shadow, it charged directly at Zhou Yuan, carrying a potent, bloody scent.

"Dragon Step!"

The Silver-Horned Beast was incredibly fast, and Zhou Yuan dared not be complacent. His steps shifted diagonally, and his figure blurred slightly.

The beast's sharp claws grazed past Zhou Yuan's cheek.

Zhou Yuan clenched his fingers, streams of Genesis Qi coiling around his fist. He then delivered a fierce punch directly to the Silver-Horned Beast's lower back.

The Silver-Horned Beast let out a wail and landed heavily, creating a crater in the ground. But as it fell, its tail whipped around like an iron whip, striking Zhou Yuan's arm.

Zhou Yuan was swept away, his feet stamping on the ground for more than ten steps before he managed to regain his balance.

Ignoring the burning pain in his arm, Zhou Yuan lunged forward again. He struck horizontally with his palm, all the Genesis Qi in his body surging through his meridians and pouring into his palm.

"Dragon Tablet Hand, Shatter Mountain!"

A low roar filled the air, accompanied by a rushing wind, faintly resembling a subtle sonic boom.

Before the Silver-Horned Beast could even get up, Zhou Yuan's powerful strike had already landed heavily on its head. Its tough skull instantly shattered, and the Silver-Horned Beast's body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Having killed the Silver-Horned Beast with one punch, Zhou Yuan let out a sigh of relief, his taut body seemingly relaxing.

However, just as he relaxed, a dark shadow burst out from the shade of a large tree behind him. Its sharp fangs glinted coldly as it lunged for Zhou Yuan's throat.

"Martial Form!"

A low shout suddenly rang out.

Light surged in Zhou Yuan's hand, and a mottled black brush, about ten feet long, appeared. Its tip, with its snow-white bristles, converged like an incomparably sharp lotus-bud spearhead, with strands of Genesis Qi coiling around it. With a whoosh, it pierced the air, puncturing the dark shadow's wide-open maw, running it through completely and nailing it firmly to the tree trunk.

Zhou Yuan held the tail of the Heavenly Yuan Brush and looked up. He saw a thick black snake nailed firmly to the tree trunk, its blood gushing out.

This was a Shadow Python, also a first-grade Genesis Beast.

"Still want to try?" Zhou Yuan smiled at the snake's corpse. At the very beginning, he had suffered considerable losses. If his Spirit hadn't entered the Ethereal Stage, granting him heightened perception, he would likely have been swallowed the first time he encountered one of these creatures.

Zhou Yuan pulled back the Heavenly Yuan Brush, reverted it to its Scholar Form, and tucked it into his waistband. Then he bent down, hoisted the python and the Silver-Horned Beast's bodies onto his shoulder, and walked step by step out of the forest.

After leaving the forest and walking for more than ten minutes, he arrived at a stream valley. By the small stream, Yaoyao sat on a green rock, her fair feet bare, submerged in the cool stream water, casually playing. In the stream, Tun Tun darted back and forth, chasing the swimming fish.

Hearing the sound, Yaoyao turned her head and glanced, saying, "Not bad this time. At least you're not injured."

Zhou Yuan dropped the two Genesis Beast corpses on the ground. He felt a little awkward at her words; this was his fifth day in the Black Forest Mountain Range, and he had just about adapted to battling Genesis Beasts.

However, on his first day, he had been covered in wounds, with a claw mark on his chest so deep the bone was visible. It was then that Zhou Yuan truly understood the difference between sparring and fighting for one's life.

These Genesis Beasts had all survived countless challenges; each was cunning and ruthless. If he treated them like penned livestock that could be slaughtered at will, Zhou Yuan would likely never have made it out of this mountain range.

Nevertheless, these repeated battles over the past few days, though extremely dangerous, had significantly changed Zhou Yuan. The Zhou Yuan of before possessed a scholarly air, like a frail scholar.

But now, when he entered combat, he exuded a hint of fierceness.

"Collect the beast blood. Only take the heart blood; it contains the strongest malevolent energy," Yaoyao said, tossing two jade bottles to him.

Zhou Yuan caught them and nodded. Then, he expertly used a small knife to cut open the two Genesis Beasts' flesh and collected the heart blood, putting it into the jade bottles.

"So far, you've killed fifteen Genesis Beasts. You still need eleven more," Yaoyao said, standing up. Her bare, fair feet, white as snow, seemed to dim the surrounding light as they stepped on the rocks.

Zhou Yuan nodded. The so-called "Thirty-Six Beast Vein Marks" required thirty-six different types of first-grade Genesis Beasts, so it would take some time. But there was no rush; he would be staying here for a while anyway, which was perfect for honing himself.

He could feel that here, every day, he was subtly growing stronger. This was not a strengthening of his power, but a change in his mental state. At the very least, he was confident that if he were to face himself from just a few days ago when he first entered the Black Forest Mountain Range, he would now easily win.

While Zhou Yuan was hunting Genesis Beasts in the Black Forest Mountain Range, some things also happened in Great Zhou City. The most notable was that the Qi King's Residence was robbed. It was said that very important items were lost, and the entire Qi King's Residence was turned upside down. They even searched the whole city for the thieves afterward, causing quite a stir.

However, this was ultimately the Qi King's Residence's private affair, so everyone merely observed, indulged in some schadenfreude, and then paid no further attention.

*Thump-thump!*

The day after the Qi King's Residence was robbed, Qi Ling, the steward of the Qi King's Residence, led a team out of the city, heading straight for the Black Forest Mountain Range. It was rumored they had found traces of the thieves.

At the entrance to the Black Forest Mountain Range, Qi Ling stood with his hands behind his back. His deep-set eyes, like those of a hawk, stared at the mountain range.

"Lord Qi, the people have entered the Black Forest Mountain Range and are closing in on the target's location," someone behind him reported in a low voice.

Qi Ling nodded slightly and said, "Prepare to search the mountain. Make a big commotion. We'll head towards Lu Tieshan's direction."

"Understood!" the person behind him replied in a low voice. With a wave of his hand, more than ten figures shot out, directly rushing into the mountain range.

Half a day later.

Somewhere in the mountain range, Lu Tieshan, who was meditating in front of a large tree, suddenly opened his eyes. His sharp gaze fixed on the forest ahead as he sharply demanded, "Who's there?!"

Behind him, several figures also gripped their swords, their inner Genesis Qi circulating.

"Heh heh, Brother Lu, don't be nervous. It's me," a laughing voice came from the forest, and Qi Ling emerged with his men.

"Qi Ling?" Lu Tieshan was startled and frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"The King's Residence was robbed. The thieves seem to have hidden in the Black Forest Mountain Range, so I brought men to pursue them," Qi Ling said helplessly.

Lu Tieshan's brows relaxed slightly. He had heard about the Qi King's Residence incident these past two days. Though seemingly as burly as a bear, he was also cautious, otherwise, he wouldn't be the Imperial Guard Commander. So, while relaxing his guard verbally, he turned his head and instructed the Imperial Guards behind him, "Send two men to protect His Highness."

The two Imperial Guards immediately responded and quietly retreated.

Qi Ling watched this scene with a faint smile, then walked towards Lu Tieshan with a smile. But with a subtle wave of the hand behind his back, several dark figures also seemed to retreat covertly.

In the stream valley, Yaoyao sat on a rock, her long legs curled, holding Tun Tun. Her green hair flowed down, with ancient cypresses behind her and withered yellow leaves falling. This scene was as beautiful as a painting.

Suddenly, Tun Tun, who had been lazily nestled in Yaoyao's arms, abruptly opened its beast eyes and looked towards the darkness not far away, letting out a low growl from its throat.

Yaoyao's willow-like brows furrowed slightly, and she also raised her pretty face, looking in that direction.

"Heh heh, I never thought I'd run into such an exquisite little beauty in these deep mountains," a voice filled with menace emerged from the darkness, and then two figures slowly walked out.

Both men were broad-shouldered and powerfully built. The leader had a tattoo on his face, and his eyes were filled with ferocity. At this moment, his gaze was blazing like lava as he stared at the alluring figure not far away, as if he wanted to devour her whole.

"Luo Tong, you go deal with the target. He's not far from here," the tattooed man said to the other, pointing to the forest nearby.

Although he was speaking, his gaze remained fixed on Yaoyao, unable to tear away.

"That kid should have opened four meridians. With your sixth-pulse strength, you can easily handle him."

The man named Luo Tong, though somewhat unwilling, dared not defy the tattooed man's words, as the latter had reached the Qi Cultivation stage.

"Boss, for such a prime piece of goods, you have to save some for me. I've never seen such a beautiful woman in my life," Luo Tong said, licking his lips.

"Haha, don't worry, I'll definitely wait for you to come back, but you have to be quick," the tattooed man said, his eyes glowing with lust.

"Good," Luo Tong said, nodding contentedly. Then he shot out, darting into the forest.

Seeing Luo Tong depart, the tattooed man smiled broadly and walked towards Yaoyao, who sat there motionless. As he gazed at her alluring figure and her exquisitely breathtaking face, he felt a fire burning within his body.

"Little beauty, come and have some fun with me. I'll be gentle with you," the tattooed man said with a lecherous smile, his eyes shamelessly raking over Yaoyao's delicate body. He didn't sense any Genesis Qi fluctuations from her, so he had no inhibitions.

Yaoyao calmly glanced at him. However, her bright eyes held not the slightest ripple of emotion. Her calm demeanor startled the tattooed man, who then vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

"Tun Tun."

Before he could make any other move, Yaoyao's red lips parted slightly, and her clear, melodious voice, though usually pleasant, was now utterly cold.

As Yaoyao's voice fell, the tattooed man's pupils instantly constricted. Then, he watched in horror as Tun Tun, which had been lying like a pet in Yaoyao's arms, began to expand its small body. Its fur receded, replaced by crimson scales. Its pair of crimson beast eyes also glowed with boundless ferocity. In its slightly open beast mouth, a faint black light emerged, as if capable of devouring all things.

In a mere instant, the once-adorable little pet transformed into a mysterious and ferociously powerful beast, and an astonishing sense of oppression slowly radiated from its body.