One month later…
Following the worn and ancient map, Su Xiaobai finally stepped into the feared Thousand Beast Region.
It was a place known for devouring fools who dared to underestimate it.
He, of course, had no such fears.
With his knowledge and skills, it wasn't as though this so-called death zone posed any real threat to him.
The stories of vicious beasts and bottomless pits of despair?
Clearly exaggerated for the weak-hearted.
Still, the thick, oppressive aura felt as though it pressed down on his shoulders, and the ground beneath his feet occasionally trembled—as though even the land was trying to remind him of the dangers that lurked ahead.
But Su Xiaobai wasn't easily shaken.
On the way here, he'd caught wind of unsettling news.
Entire villages had been reduced to dust, razed by an unstoppable force that left nothing behind but silence and fear.
Naturally, some people, in their blind panic, had decided that he—yes, he—was the perpetrator, their eyes wide with suspicion as they pointed at him like children pointing at a shadow in the dark.
Him? A mass murderer?
If Su Xiaobai had the time to waste on petty slaughters, he'd certainly choose something more dignified than wiping out defenseless villagers.
Besides, his cultivation wasn't that high…yet.
Of course, when people tried to accuse him on the road, it inevitably led to misunderstandings.
And misunderstandings, unfortunately, led to bodies.
Bodies he had no choice but to leave behind as he defended himself.
He didn't ask for trouble, but trouble often seemed fond of him.
As he ventured deeper into the region, more and more travelers appeared—suspiciously more than there should be.
"Someone leaked the news," Su Xiaobai muttered, his sharp eyes scanning the influx of people.
And sure enough, Fairy Lianhua was behind it.
The cunning woman had spread the word of the treasure hidden deep in the Thousand Beast Forest, sending a horde of greedy fools scrambling.
Su Xiaobai couldn't help but admire her ruthlessness.
Even if she couldn't secure the treasure herself, she'd let others find it, then swoop in to buy it with the vast resources of the Phoenix Palace.
A neat little plan—if one lacked true vision, that is.
But Su Xiaobai had no interest in waiting for the scraps. He would get there first.
Now, Thousand Beast Forest—that name was more misdirection than anything.
It wasn't even a forest. Instead, it was a range of towering, colossal mountains that stabbed into the sky like the claws of a celestial beast. Clouds clung stubbornly to the peaks, as if reluctant to leave such a place of power.
There were 'nine' peaks in total, and the legends claimed that each one held a unique sword intent.
Master them all, and you could transcend the limits of swordsmanship itself — At least, that's what the legends said.
Su Xiaobai didn't really care much for swords.
They were far too clumsy for his taste. He preferred agility, speed—cleverness.
He didn't need to slash through enemies when he could outthink and outrun them.
Naturally, the much broader reason was that he didn't even know the basics of the way of the sword or any other form of combat, for Heaven's sake.
If only Matriarch Su had seen that earlier, she might've taught him more than the basics of combat.
Even Ning Gufan, his old deadly 'friend', was no sword user either.
His ugly grin flashed briefly in Su Xiaobai's mind. The guy probably couldn't handle a blade if his life depended on it.
Normally, the peaks were only visited by powerful cultivators seeking enlightenment, but today, Su Xiaobai noted with amusement, they were crawling with weaklings.
Treasure hunters, rogue martial artists, and even mortals—mortals—were scurrying about like ants, all chasing after the legendary ruin that was rumored to hold a life-changing treasure.
He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of them, scrambling over rocks and through underbrush with nothing but greed guiding their every step.
Desperation & Greed was truly a powerful motivator.
"Pathetic," he muttered under his breath, pulling his black hood further over his face to blend into the throng.
"Fortunately, I know exactly where the treasure is…" His lips curled into a sly smile.
These fools had no idea there were no grand ruins waiting to be found—only a hidden cave, sealed away beneath layers of trickery. And unlike them, he had already unlocked the map's secrets.
The instructions had been deceptively simple: only by holding the map to a mirror and reading the notes backward could one discern the true location of the treasure.
"Honestly, the one who created this map must've been an idiot. Did they think no one would figure it out?" Su Xiaobai shook his head in disbelief, his confidence swelling.
As he maneuvered through the crowd, satisfied with his head start, a sudden sneeze escaped him.
"Achoo!"
He blinked, rubbing his nose irritably. "Who dares curse me?" he grumbled under his breath, his mood darkening.
Perhaps one of the families of the bandits he'd dispatched earlier was nursing a grudge?
As he quickened his pace, his eyes darted across the landscape. He noticed something odd—a presence lingering in the wind.
A faint growl echoed through the air, barely noticeable.
The whispers of the beasts of legend—the spirits that had once ruled this region—seemed to stir beneath the mountains.
Su Xiaobai shrugged. He wasn't concerned. His opponents, whether human or beast, could try their best, but in the end, there was only one path: the one that led to his victory.
_______
"What the hell!?"
BAM!
"Still not opening?"
CRASH!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sky had begun to darken, and Su Xiaobai stood, panting and exhausted, in front of the cave's entrance—or what should have been the entrance.
Instead, his path was blocked by a massive boulder that seemed to mock him with its plain, ordinary appearance.
The hundred-meter-long rock looked as unremarkable as any roadside stone, yet no matter how much force he exerted, it remained unmoved, unscathed, and worse yet—not even a single crack marred its surface.
Su Xiaobai wiped the sweat from his brow, his breath coming in heavy bursts.
The ground beneath his feet was littered with small debris and shallow craters from his endless assault on the rock.
"Is this thing enchanted, or just incredibly thick-headed?" he muttered under his breath, shooting a deathly glare at the boulder as though daring it to respond.
The cave entrance itself was half-hidden beneath an overhanging ridge, its jagged edges formed by centuries of erosion. Moss and creeping vines crawled up its sides, and ancient runes barely visible beneath the grime hinted at some forgotten history.
Above the cave, the dense canopy of the Thousand Beast Forest loomed, casting long shadows that danced across the entrance as the evening sun dipped lower on the horizon.
Su Xiaobai glanced behind him at the darkening treetops.
Towering trees rose like silent sentinels, their thick branches twisting overhead. Faint cicada cries echoed from the distance, their rhythmic song blending with the rustling of leaves stirred by the cooling night breeze.
Above the treetops, the first signs of night began to creep in. The sky was painted with streaks of orange and purple, while a lone crescent moon hung high, glowing faintly as it waited for darkness to fully claim the sky.
Su Xiaobai cursed under his breath. It wouldn't be long before the true predators of the Thousand Beast Forest began to awaken.
"Am I really going to have to sit here and cultivate until the Core Emergence realm just to open this stupid cave?" His voice dripped with frustration, but deep down, he knew the answer.
His strength wasn't enough—not yet.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm his mind, "Let's try blowing it up tomorrow," he finally decided, casting one last glare at the stubborn rock. "Doing it now would be stupid. I'd end up attracting every beast within a hundred li."