12: Chapter 12 First Entry into the Mountains, Encounter with Amethyst

Leaving the north gate of Wutan City, the official road gradually became desolate. Lin Yan mixed in behind a few groups of mercenaries and herb gatherers also heading towards the Magical Beast Mountain Range, appearing to just drift along with the crowd, but his soul perception was like the most alert falcon, constantly monitoring behind him.

Those two cold gazes, like maggots on a rotting bone, remained hanging over a hundred yards away, neither hurrying nor slowing down. The other party was clearly skilled at tracking; if it weren't for Lin Yan's soul power far exceeding those of the same rank, and having been alerted beforehand, it would have been extremely difficult to discover them.

"I cannot let them keep following me into the depths of the mountain range; I must shake them off." Lin Yan's thoughts raced. The road ahead was about to fork; one path continued to wind along the relatively safe trade route, while the other plunged straight into the dense jungle on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. The terrain there was complex, with magical beasts lurking about, making it an ideal location to lose pursuers.

He quickened his pace without changing his expression, gradually overtaking a few slow-moving herb gatherers, and without hesitation, turned into the path leading to the jungle at the fork. With a flash of his figure, he disappeared behind the green barrier formed by towering ancient trees and dense vines.

As soon as he entered the jungle, the light suddenly dimmed, and the air became humid, filled with the scent of rotting leaves and mud. In the distance, the faint chirping of unknown insects and the low growls of magical beasts could be heard. Lin Yan immediately adjusted the effect of the breath-concealing talisman to its maximum, suppressing his own aura to the weak level of only three or four stages of Dou Zhi Qi. At the same time, his figure became elusive, and using the basic footwork techniques from "Explosive Step," he moved rapidly through the trees, leaving as little trace as possible.

He could feel that those two cold auras paused for a moment at the fork, seemingly somewhat hesitant, but they soon chased in as well. However, under the interference of the complex terrain and dense vegetation, their tracking was clearly affected, and the distance was slightly widened.

Lin Yan did not just run blindly. He keenly sensed that this area was active with many low-level magical beasts, among which the aura of a pack of first-order "Wind Wolves" was the most obvious. A single Wind Wolf's strength was only equivalent to a human with two or three stages of Dou Zhi Qi, but they were pack animals, agile, and their teeth and claws carried a wind-attribute tearing effect, which was quite a nuisance for low-level cultivators.

His eyes turned slightly cold, and he shifted his direction slightly, actively moving toward the area where the Wind Wolf pack was active. At the same time, he quietly triggered the aura of the "Living Spirit Flame" sub-flame within his body—not an explosion, but releasing the pure, high-order life energy contained within it in an extremely weak, yet fundamentally high-level manner, letting it drift out subtly.

For low-level magical beasts, this pure life energy was like a torch in the dark night, extremely attractive, but the trace of majesty contained within it, belonging to a Heavenly Flame and surpassing their life level, also made them instinctively feel fear and restlessness.

Soon, the unique low growls of Wind Wolves, accompanied by the sound of hissing wind, came from the rear, along with the sound of tree branches being broken. Those two cold auras that were struggling to track him clearly encountered obstacles; they stopped, and a brief, suppressed energy fluctuation came from them—they had been discovered by the restless Wind Wolf pack!

Lin Yan seized the opportunity to push his speed to the limit. Although "Explosive Step" had not yet reached great success, the basic explosive acceleration already made him like a ghost in the forest, and after a few leaps, he completely disappeared into the deeper jungle. Behind him, the howling of the Wind Wolves and the faint sounds of Dou Qi clashing gradually faded away until they could no longer be heard.

"Temporarily shaken them off." Lin Yan stopped behind a moss-covered boulder and panted slightly. He dared not be careless and carefully sensed his surroundings, confirming that the feeling of being watched, like needles on his back, had disappeared before he truly let out a sigh of relief. The peripheral personnel of the Hall of Souls were indeed troublesome.

He took out an improved version of a Power-Accumulating Pill and swallowed it, the gentle medicinal power quickly replenishing his consumption. Being in the perilous Magical Beast Mountain Range, he had to maintain his best state at all times.

Over the next two days, Lin Yan truly began his training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He carefully avoided the known territories of high-level magical beasts and operated in the relatively safe peripheral areas. During the day, he used the affinity of the Living Spirit Flame for plant life to identify and collect some valuable medicinal herbs, occasionally hunting lone low-level magical beasts to obtain magical cores and materials. At night, he would find hidden tree holes or caves to rest, cultivate Dou Qi, and ponder the combined application of "Explosive Step" and Eight Extremities Collapse.

His practical combat experience grew at a visible rate. Unlike academic or family competitions, the battles here were more direct and cruel, often being a matter of life and death in an instant. A first-order "Iron-Backed Crocodile" lurking in the swamp, or a sneak attack by a second-order "Poison Arrow Frog" from the canopy, all constantly improved his perception of danger and his ability to respond.

The coordination between "Explosive Step" and Eight Extremities Collapse also became increasingly proficient. The instantaneous explosive power provided by Explosive Step allowed the fist force of Eight Extremities Collapse to be unleashed at angles and timings that the enemy would least expect, doubling its power. He was able to deal with most first-order magical beasts, and even some weaker second-order magical beasts, quickly and cleanly.

At noon on this day, Lin Yan had just used an Eight Extremities Collapse fused with an Explosive Step charge to crack the skull of a second-order "Swift Shadow Leopard" that had attempted a sneak attack. Just as he was about to retrieve its magical core, the tip of his nose caught a faint, strange medicinal fragrance mixed with the smell of blood and burning. At the same time, the roar of energy collisions and the panicked shouts of humans could be faintly heard from afar.

"A battle? And the scale is not small." Lin Yan alertly put away the Swift Shadow Leopard's magical core and quickly climbed the tallest tree nearby, looking out towards the source of the sound.

He saw that over a valley several miles away, pale purple light and the colorful radiance of Dou Qi were intertwining and colliding, with explosions occurring continuously. A massive phantom of a giant lion with purple crystal wings on its back could be faintly seen, fiercely battling more than a dozen small human figures. Every time the giant lion waved its claws or roared, it caused the earth to shake, and purple light swept across; figures from the human side were constantly falling from the sky.

"Amethyst Winged Lion King?!" Lin Yan's pupils constricted. A sixth-order magical beast, equivalent to a human Dou Huang expert, was absolutely the overlord of this peripheral area of the mountain range! Looking at the situation, were some human experts trying to challenge it? Was it for its magical core, purple spirit crystal, or something else?

A battle of this level was far from something he could get involved in right now. He immediately decided to stay away. However, just as he was preparing to slide down from the tree, a violent ripple of purple energy expanded from the center of the battlefield, moving extremely fast and sweeping through the forest!

The giant tree where Lin Yan was located shook violently, and branches and leaves flew everywhere. He lost his footing and nearly fell, quickly grabbing onto the trunk. The violent beast aura contained in the energy ripple made his blood surge.

"Not good, I'm still too close to the battlefield!" Lin Yan secretly cursed, and just as he was preparing to flee in the opposite direction with all his might, a roar full of violence and warning suddenly came from the dense forest below!

"Roar—!"

A magical beast larger than an adult buffalo, its entire body covered in pale purple crystals and with smaller crystal wings on its back, suddenly smashed through several small trees and rushed out! Its eyes were blood-red, staring fixedly at Lin Yan on the tree, saliva dripping from its mouth, emitting a fierce aura comparable to a human Great Dou Master!

The cub of the Amethyst Winged Lion King! Judging by its size and the development of its crystal wings, it should have only recently entered the fourth order, but having inherited its parents' bloodline, its strength was definitely far superior to ordinary fourth-order magical beasts!

Clearly, this lion cub had been enraged by the battle and the energy ripples just now, and it had mistaken Lin Yan, who appeared near its territory, for an intruder or an accomplice of the enemy.

The lion cub did not roar much more; its hind legs kicked the ground violently. Although its pale purple crystal wings could not yet support sustained flight, they provided powerful explosive force, making it like a purple cannonball, wrapped in a foul wind, rushing straight at Lin Yan on the tree! Its sharp claws flashed with cold light, enough to tear through refined iron.

There was nowhere to hide!

Lin Yan's eyes sharpened. In this life-or-death moment, he could not afford to worry about too much. He stomped heavily on the tree trunk, "Explosive Step" erupted with full force, and his figure darted upward and backward. At the same time, his right fist was clenched tightly, and the Dou Qi and the force of Eight Extremities Collapse in his body condensed instantly. But facing this enraged fourth-order lion cub, relying only on this, he feared it would be difficult to block!

In a flash, a thought crossed his mind. From the sub-flame of the "Green Lotus Core Flame" in his Dantian, he stripped away a trace of scorching aura that was clearer than ever before and wrapped it around his fist, simulating the illusion of a "full-force explosion of fire-attribute Dou Qi"! This time, the aura was stronger, closer to the true power of a first-order Heavenly Flame sub-flame!

"Get lost!"

Amidst a low shout, his fist, burning with a faint cyan-red fire, collided with the giant claw swiped by the lion cub!

"Boom!"

A wave of air, more violent than any previous battle, exploded. Lin Yan borrowed the force to float backward, stumbled a few steps after landing, and his arm felt numb. As for that fourth-order lion cub, it let out a roar mixed with pain and suspicion. Its claw had been burned by the scorching, pure, and strangely penetrating fire energy on his fist. Its attack stopped abruptly, and after landing, it growled in hesitation, a patch of its claw scorched black. The look in its eyes as it stared at Lin Yan lost some of its brutality and gained a bit more of the beast's instinctive wariness.

From that flame, it felt a faint pressure originating from a higher level of life.

Lin Yan did not dare to stay. Taking advantage of the moment the lion cub hesitated, he stepped repeatedly with "Explosive Step" and fled with all his might in the opposite direction of the Amethyst Winged Lion King's battlefield without looking back, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest within a few breaths.

The lion cub growled a few times in place, but ultimately did not pursue. It turned and let out a few anxious cries in the direction of its parents' battlefield, then ran away quickly.

Not until he had escaped more than ten miles and confirmed that he was completely safe did Lin Yan stop against an ancient tree, breathing heavily. The collision with the lion cub just now made him truly feel the powerful strength of a fourth-order magical beast. If it weren't for the deterrence of the Green Lotus Core Flame's aura, it would have been impossible to escape so easily.

He adjusted his breathing for a moment, looked up at the valley in the distance from which the rumbling sounds still came, and felt a lingering fear.

However, not long after Lin Yan escaped, on the edge of the valley battlefield, the Amethyst Winged Lion King, which had just swiped a Dou Ling level human away, suddenly turned its huge purple beast eyes in confusion towards the direction where Lin Yan and the cub had fought. Its incredibly sensitive nose sniffed in the air, capturing a trace of extremely faint, yet strange fire energy residue that made even the purple fire within its body throb slightly.

"This kind of fire scent..." The Lion King's low roar rolled in its throat, "Weak human... how could they possess such pure flame energy, one that even makes this King feel a trace of longing?" It glanced at the human woman (Yun Yun) who was being besieged and held a strange long sword, her demeanor elegant, then looked at the direction from which its cub's restlessness had come, a flash of human-like confusion and contemplation appearing in its eyes.