"You want to go to the back mountain?" Qistina widened her eyes in surprise. The back mountain is a very dangerous place. Even at the outskirts, fifth order spirit beasts could appear. If it weren't for Adam accompanying her last night, she wouldn't even have the courage to go. And from Regret's words, he clearly intended to go alone.
The back mountain is Blaze family's exclusive territory. Each family has specific boundaries, and if any other family dares to trespass, they will face severe retaliation.
"Don't worry, even if we can't win the fight, we still have a good chance of survival."
With a slight wave of the hand, Regret leisurely walked towards the Blaze family's gate and in a few flashes disappeared from Qistina's sight.
"Forget it, we can't argue with that guy. Let's go rest. After waking up, we still have to follow the elder to escort the goods. The gold coins we earn should be enough to buy a bottle of Spirit Condensing Elixir."
Qistina smiled lightly and turned towards her room, while the green vine swinging Vining Vine followed her carelessly, running unsteadily behind her, completely forgetting the pain from the vine breaking just now.
In the back mountains, located in the southeast of the Blaze Family's rear area, the ink colored mountains were layered one after another, seemingly spreading endlessly. Looking at them in the morning, the surface appeared as if draped with a light veil, faintly accompanied by the roaring sound of wild beasts.
Referred to as the back mountains, it was actually just a general term. The peripheral area at the foot of the mountain also belonged to the back mountains. Several members of the Blaze Family were moving back and forth in the vicinity, each accompanied by a black panther.
The Black Wind Panther, a medium ranked novice level spiritual beast.
"Who goes there!"
The leading young man, named Adam, suddenly turned cold, and the other men turned their heads fiercely. When they saw the newcomers clearly, they couldn't help but be stunned.
Adam was the captain of the Blaze Family's guard team in the back mountains, a young man who already possessed a ninth ranked spiritual beast, showcasing remarkable strength.
"Regret, why have you come?" Adam looked puzzled at Regret approaching, not addressing him as the young master like other family would, but calling him by name directly, which was closely related to Regret's easygoing nature.
"I came to hunt a few spirit beasts. Just ran short on gold coins," Regret replied with a smile.
"But..." Adam hesitated, his face showing a dilemma. Despite missing the family gathering due to a task yesterday, he had heard about Regret awakening a useless spirit beast, making survival at the mountain's edge uncertain. "If you need gold coins, I have three hundred here. Take them!" Adam's face showed unwavering determination as he handed over a hefty money pouch.
"Smack!"
Feeling the weight of the pouch in his hand, Regret chuckled helplessly and pushed it back. "You underestimate me. Just strolling around the mountain, nothing to worry about."
After speaking, Regret waved his hand and slowly walked towards the forest.
"Captain, what should we do? Should we follow him?" A man who looked slightly older than Adam hurriedly asked as he watched the disappearing figure in front of him.
"Let's forget it. The young master has awakened a useless spirit beast. His mental state must be very fragile now. If we follow him, it will only hurt his self esteem," Adam shook his head with regret.
"Yeah, but he's really reckless," the man who spoke earlier also shook his head.
"I hope he quickly hunts down a few first order low level spirit beasts and comes out soon. The wild spirit beast in the mountains behind is no joke."
"I'll inform the patriarch. Captain, you guys stay here for now."
...
After walking a distance, the surrounding trees gradually increased. Regret wiped the sweat from his forehead and scanned the surroundings.
"Hoo hoo~"
On the mountain, trees were most abundant. Deeper in, visibility decreased, and the spirit beasts grew stronger. Occasionally, flying spirit beasts' calls echoed from different directions.
Perched on Regret's shoulder, the petite Scorching Flame Cat was alert, ready to defend.
"Right, I haven't given you a formal name yet. Your fur is mostly red... Let's call you Red ." Regret named the Scorching Flame Cat, nodding in satisfaction. Red grunted softly, ignoring Regret's self indulgence.
Although speaking, Regret did not forget to keep an eye on the surroundings. His nerves were constantly on edge. In the woods, a small mistake could mean not even realizing how one would die.
"Go down. It's time to sharpen your claws," Regret shrugged slightly, and Red on his shoulder reluctantly opened its eyes.
"Swish!"
Just as Red was about to jump off Regret's shoulder, a chilling gust of wind suddenly attacked from behind. The black shadow's claws were wrapped in a faint electric glow, directly aiming for the back of Regret's head.
The body of a spiritual practitioner was no match for the spiritual beast to fight one to one!
"Dodge!"
Regret shouted lowly. In an instant, he tilted his head, and the sharp claw wind grazed his face as it passed by. Meanwhile, Red agilely jumped up, its petite body swiftly spinning around, and the Cat claw fiercely struck down below.
"Dong!"
A muffled impact resounded as Red flew backward. Its small claws left several glaring marks on the ground before it stabilized its position. As for the dark shadow, it heavily crashed into a tree, then slid down the trunk, revealing itself to be a palm sized deep yellow old mouse.
"It's a third stage Thunder Rat!"
Cold sweat instantly appeared on Regret's forehead. Fortunately, his reaction was timely just now; otherwise, the back of his head would have been mostly empty now!
Struggling to stand up, the Thunder Rat's eyes gleamed blood-red, and threads of electricity once again enveloped its claws. Then, with a kick on the tree trunk, wood chips flew as it dashed toward the red flame like lightning.
"It's Thunderclap Claw, quickly dodge!" Regret urgently shouted, feeling the spiritual portal in his body starting to fluctuate slightly.
The electrically charged claw tip rapidly enlarged in the pupils' eyes. A hint of anger emerged in Red's eyes towards the one who had just threatened both itself and Regret, clearly exuding a murderous intent.
"Swoosh!"