As he approached the forest, a series of wide and tall trees welcomed him. Sinister tree roots seemed terrifyingly strong and big. Spanning several meters.
Weeds as poisonous as King Cobra were laid on the ground, growing and latching themselves.
"Looks terrifying," said Luo. His bitter lips muttered, "But I must have to complete this mission."
He took his steps forward, passing through each obstacle carefully. The pathway was extremely life threatening for normal people or even seasoned cultivators.
The end reached a waving, large mountain almost neck-breaking height that felt impossible to pass.
"I am not a climbing expert, though," he said while steadily climbing the mountain. His Qi spread through his body and soared to a peak.
He reached the top of the mountain, a cliffhanger, made from soil and grass.
The malevolent aura enveloped him; the grassy landscape turned into marshy and desolated lands.
"Indeed worthy of saying DeadBelt Mountain," he said and pulled out his Qi.
"This place gives an off vibe," the old master whispered, appearing at his shoulder.
The desolate mountain filled with mushy, muddy mushroom trees held the DongTing Lake, known for its harshness.
Suddenly Qi erupted from the end of DongTing Lake. Luo became alert and activated his Qi to its maximum. The world kept silence until a monstrous roar loud enough to tear apart eardrums!
A monster nearly twenty meters in height emerged from behind a tree. Eyes pained to catch its full view. His chest was covered in wool and fur.
Purely black hairs on body.
"This skull monster!" Luo said watching the beast. It was a Qi-tempering beast causing havoc to its visitors. "Come, my child!" Luo barked at the monster.
His skull face tightened; his eyes were devoid of any emotions. Impossible to predict its attacks.
The beast spread its willow branches hands, which swept through entire lands.
Luo quickly dodged. The trees around the area were smoothly slashed and fell on the ground.
The ground trembled! The demon began to attack again. But this time, Luo used his Qi Punch and attacked the monster.
Seemingly powerful, the monster was extinguished into blood; his strong body was covered in blood. Finally, after a few winds, the demon fell.
"Hah! Only a single punch is enough." He added. His fists were covered in demon blood. He cleared the blood and took out the demon core as proof. It was like a heart but made from blood-red energy.
Extremely berserk energy!
...
Half an hour later
Luo returned to the Cultivator's Hall from where he took the mission initially. The hall girl was still there, checking in the mission.
"Hey, I have completed this mission," the counter woman looked back, where Luo stood. Others also looked at him; the counter woman gestured to her to put them on the hall table. The hall table was a pointed-oriented t table for placing demon cores.
He placed the demon core on the pointed table and waited. Suddenly the door vibrated, and Master Sheng entered the hall.
"Oh, ah, look who's here again," he spoke, emitting surprise. His grin widened, as he liked to bully.
"We have a rat here, again. Look, child, where are you looking? Don't you respect Junior Sister Ni?" He repeated. "I do, but you seem to get bothered by my respect." Luo said, pointing his finger at him.
"Do you want to say that I am a bully?" So what if I am? He grinned wider and wider. "Today I will save junior sister Ni from this impudent bastard." He pressed his knuckles and was about to punch.
"Stop Master Sheng." Sister Ni, a.k.a. Counter Woman, stopped him, "Maybe Master Sheng hasn't seen that this young man has killed the demon." She said, politely gesturing at the demon core.
Master Sheng rotated his neck; seeing the core placed on the pointer, he was surprised. "Are you injured killing him?" he asked suspensefully.
"I am not," Luo said arrogantly. "Sister Ni, is this really true that this bastard has killed the demon?" Master Sheng asked, his expression a little shocked.
"Of course I killed it," Luo said before anyone could answer; his tone was darkly phrased. "Do I look that weak?" He lunged towards him and asked. "You must be very weak, that you were so scared to go to the mountain to hunt this simple domestic demon."
He was calm as ever.
'I have Golden Buddha as serene as a waterfall deeply engraved in my heart and mind.'
'I have a jade Buddha as dense as Azure Dragon's intricate patterns in my consciousness.'
'I have an invincible, undying Buddha as beloved as a graveless, faceless man with ambitions.'
His thoughts ran, and he calmed himself. He would often ignore these comments, chanting a Buddhist mantra in his mind.
Quite often.
"I am Sheng Dong, heir of Sheng Residence; none here covet to offend me. You peasant-looking bastard!" Dong's expression suddenly turned angry. Sudden mood shift created an intense scene.
Whereas people watching from their tables were looking at them. One of them barked, "Come on, Master Sheng, how can you be insulted by a notorious peasant!" People looked in horror at the person who dared speak before Master Sheng.
Everyone gazed quickly at Sheng Dong, whose angry expression suddenly turned into pride and anger.
"Yeah, how dare you peasant insult me!" Master Sheng threw a punch at Luo. Luo instantly countered; the punch force containing a strand of Qi was blocked. While Luo's another hand caught another hand.
Moving his head, he gave Master Sheng a head attack.
"Ah, you peasant." Master Sheng barked at him and began to scream. His head skull was totally bleeding; blood oozed from his nose and mouth. He was already looking half dead.
"How come you think you can defeat a Half-Step Qi Condensation Expert?" he insulted his cultivation and said to him. Master Sheng shivered at the name Qi condensation, although only half a step.
He may be peak body tempering, but he was no match for Half-Step Qi Condensation expert.
"Just you wait; my family also has a Peak Qi Condensation expert. He will not spare an inch of you." He said in his lowly voice as more blood oozed out from his mouth.
His gaze steady on Master Sheng, 'One inch attack, travel millions of miles to hell.'