On the third day, Elder Zhong's clothes were tattered and torn, yet he resolutely continued his journey into the mountains.
Standing atop a mountain peak, Elder Zhong surveyed the surrounding landscape. To the left, dense miasma filled the spaces between the chain of mountains, obscuring the environment within. The terrifying black miasma had driven away many of the wild beasts and demonic creatures from that area.
To the right, a grand river flowed north to south, its mighty current awe-inspiring.
"Hoo～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～," he exhaled deeply. According to the map, he was on the right path. If he maintained his current pace, he would reach the Kaiyang Sect in two months.
Gazing into the distance, Elder Zhong leaped down the mountain in a few swift bounds and prepared to continue northward. However, as soon as he reached the base of the mountain, he paused abruptly.
"Trees broken? Grass flattened? Was there a fight here? And judging by the signs, a pretty intense one," Elder Zhong thought to himself.
Feeling a bit tense, Elder Zhong continued to follow the traces of the battle. Before long, he came upon a corpse.
"A wolf's carcass? Could it be that silver wolf from yesterday?" Elder Zhong was startled. He quickly approached the body. The silver wolf was covered in wounds, deep gashes that looked like they had been made by sharp blades. Furthermore, its body was encased in a layer of frost and snow.
"Frozen?" Elder Zhong looked up at the sky. Although it wasn't summer, the sun was shining brightly, making it impossible for ice to form.
After examining the silver wolf for a while, Elder Zhong found the cut he had made with his own blade and confirmed that this was indeed the wolf that had tried to eat him the other day.
"The silver wolf is dead? Killed by a stronger beast? Maybe it attacked some other demon beast and got itself killed in the process?" This thought sent a chill through Elder Zhong's heart. He cautiously scanned the surroundings. Once he was sure there were no other demon beasts nearby, he quickly took out a small dagger and sliced open the wolf's belly.
The dagger was small but much sharper than his large blade. Even though the silver wolf had thick skin, it was dead and no longer had its demonic aura to protect it. After a stick of incense's time, Elder Zhong finally managed to cut through.
The insides were frozen stiff. After rummaging for a while, Elder Zhong found a small, silver bead the size of a fingertip.
"An inner elixir, the silver wolf's inner elixir." The primary distinction between demon beasts and wild beasts is the presence of an inner elixir. Demon beasts possess an inner elixir, while wild beasts do not.
Demon beasts absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon through their inner elixirs. Although this small inner elixir was likely considered low-grade by other cultivators, for Elder Zhong, it was a treasure.
Carefully storing it away, Elder Zhong continued his journey into the mountains.
"Wow～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～"
At this moment, a sudden "caw" rang out above Elder Zhong's head.
Startled, Elder Zhong looked up and saw a crow—no, a white crow. A Cold Crow? Its wingspan reached over two meters.
A Cold Crow? A demon beast?
The Cold Crow was staring directly at Elder Zhong, its eyes turning red, as if he were its mortal enemy.
Seeing this, Elder Zhong realized something was wrong. A Cold Crow? Frosty breath? Could it have been the one that froze the silver wolf?
"Caw～～～～～～～～"
The Cold Crow let out a cry and spewed a blast of white breath toward Elder Zhong.
Seeing the frosty breath, Elder Zhong instinctively dodged. The breath hit a large tree, and in an instant, the tree was covered in frost and snow, frozen solid.
Run! Run fast!
Grabbing his large blade, Elder Zhong dashed through the dense forest. The thick woods provided him with much-needed cover.
As he fled, the Cold Crow relentlessly pursued him. No matter where he ran, it followed. In some open areas, it even spat more frosty breath, trying to freeze him to death.
Several times, Elder Zhong barely escaped the icy breath, but even the near misses left his arm feeling numb.
This is bad, really bad. At this rate, the Cold Crow will wear me down to death. After more than an hour of desperate fleeing, with the Cold Crow hot on his heels, Elder Zhong's anxiety grew.
Suddenly, another Cold Crow flew toward him. Two Cold Crows?
Now two Cold Crows were chasing him.
Elder Zhong's large blade had been lost somewhere, but he didn't have the time to worry about it. Running was all that mattered now. But could he outrun them? Two Cold Crows. There were two now.
Thinking of this, Elder Zhong steeled himself. As he ran, he reached into his robes with his slightly frozen right arm and pulled out a black pill.
A Miasma Avoidance Pill!
Elder Zhong quickly popped the pill into his mouth, changed direction, and dashed toward the miasma-filled area on the left.
The Miasma Avoidance Pill was something Elder Zhong had commissioned many renowned medical experts to create, the pinnacle of what he could achieve with mortal means.
The pill was designed to protect against a hundred different kinds of miasma, but Elder Zhong wasn't sure if it would work in this particular area.
Outside, if he didn't get killed by the two Cold Crows—or potentially more of them coming—his only option was to gamble on the miasma.
As he fled toward the miasma zone, Elder Zhong's feet suddenly felt stiff, and his shoes were already covered in frost and snow.
"Whoosh～～～～～～～～"
He darted into the miasma zone.
"Caw～～～～～～～～" "Caw～～～～～～～～"...
The two Cold Crows were indeed reluctant to enter the miasma area and kept screeching outside.
Am I safe? Really safe?
Elder Zhong wiped the sweat from his forehead and used his inner energy to expel the cold from his arms and legs. Looking at the Cold Crows circling outside, unwilling to leave, he felt a wave of fear. This mountain was too perilous. If he hadn't reached the Innate Stage, he would have been dead by now.
At that moment, Elder Zhong felt a bit dizzy.
Dizzy? Is the Miasma Avoidance Pill not working?
Fear gripped him as he quickly started circulating his energy to expel toxins. In the brief moment it took, the miasma had already infiltrated his body, and his arm was slowly turning black.
Seeing his hands, Elder Zhong grew even more anxious. The Cold Crows were circling outside, refusing to leave. What should he do?
Although he could use his energy to resist to some extent, the miasma continued to seep into his body.
But then Elder Zhong noticed that although his arms were becoming numb, his head was only slightly dizzy, and he still had some awareness.
Awareness?
Upon realizing this, Elder Zhong's heart brightened. He quickly began circulating the Red Luan Heavenly Sutra. As he did, a pink protective aura formed around him. Although it had no ability to block physical attacks, it effectively repelled the miasma.
"Red Luan Mist? Can the Red Luan Mist actually block miasma?"
Seeing this, Elder Zhong felt a surge of joy. He rapidly directed his mind power, merging it with his inner energy to form the Red Luan Mist, continuously expelling the miasma from his body.
Within moments, the poison was entirely purged from his system.
Outside, the two Cold Crows still refused to leave. What now? The Red Luan Heavenly Sutra was only at its first level and couldn't be sustained indefinitely.
No, I must leave quickly. I need to traverse this miasma zone, climb over that small hill, and get out of the Cold Crows' sight before continuing on my journey.
Determined, Elder Zhong swiftly ran north.
Soon, he reached the base of the small hill. Once over this hill, he would be out of the Cold Crows' sight.
As he climbed, he suddenly heard a thudding sound.
A sound? It came from the base of this hill. Elder Zhong narrowed his eyes and stood still, carefully observing. Decades of building a business empire had taught him that even the slightest, easily overlooked anomaly often signified a significant opportunity. If grasped well, it could lead to immense profit; if it led to nothing, there would be no loss.
This was a small mound, situated in a steep valley. It appeared almost man-made, as the mountain itself was full of hard rocks, but the soil beneath the mound was largely devoid of stones.
Seeing this peculiar formation strengthened Elder Zhong's curiosity. Although the Red Luan Heavenly Sutra couldn't be sustained for long, he still searched around. Soon, in a very concealed corner, he discovered a cave.