Li Guanqi was equally astonished to see priceless materials strewn so casually across the ground.
Yet the people before them all carried a hint of baleful aura; a single glance revealed they were cutthroats who would kill without batting an eye.
In a place like this, sudden murder over a single disagreement was commonplace.
Compared to the shipyards they had seen before, petty thievery could hardly even make an appearance here.
Still, the two black-robed youths did not intend to linger for long.
Just as they were about to depart, Li Guanqi noticed an intelligence broker's shop.
He simply walked into the hall and asked the burly man inside, "Do you have any jade slips about the Purgatory Mountain Range for sale?"
The man chuckled and pointed to the cheapest jade slip on the shelf. "New here, aren't you? Three low-grade spirit stones, and it's yours."
Li Guanqi gave a slight nod, then took out three of the few spirit stones he had left.
Taking the jade slip, the two swiftly left the shipyard.
At that moment, Ye Feng said, "Boss, we have a tail behind us."
Li Guanqi sneered.
"Just shake him off. We don't know the lay of the land here, so it's best to avoid trouble."
Their speed surged instantly, and in just a few breaths, they threw the man off their trail.
A sharp light glinted in the dark-skinned tracker's eyes as he grinned.
"Good grief, those two are terrifyingly strong."
"Good thing they're even-tempered, or I'd definitely have bought the farm today."
With that, he turned and left without looking back.
Watching the figure depart, Li Guanqi felt slightly more at ease.
He had thought it was the group hunting Cao Yan, but it seemed it had only been someone in the shipyard harboring ill intentions after seeing newcomers arrive.
Li Guanqi had no intention of going back to cause trouble for them either.
Scanning their surroundings, he saw faint wisps of blue smoke rising tens of li in the distance. The rough outline in the distance revealed a moderately sized city.
The two flew through the air, and before long, they arrived in the skies above the city.
Only upon drawing closer did they discover that the city was filled with the auras of cultivators, with scarcely any mortals in sight.
"Ping'an City."
Li Guanqi looked up at the three large characters in surprise. He had not expected a city outside such a perilous mountain range to bear such a poignant name—Peace.
Paying two spirit stones for the entry fee, the two hung their jade plaques from their waists and walked inside.
In a den of dragons and snakes like this, no one bothered to record names or identities; at most, they issued a jade plaque permitting movement within the city walls.
Though travel-worn from a month of journeying, the two had no intention of resting in the city.
Finding a tea house at random and ordering a pot of the cheapest tea, they settled down for a brief respite.
Over the past month, both of their strengths had increased slightly, and their cultivation realms were thoroughly stabilized.
During that time, Ye Feng had sought Li Guanqi out for spars several times, gradually refining his sword forms.
Ye Feng had also served as a sparring partner to test Li Guanqi's blade.
Even with his cultivation suppressed to the early Core Formation realm, Li Guanqi had nearly crippled Ye Feng with a single strike.
As a result, Ye Feng had spent most of the remainder of their journey nursing his injuries.
Through his own insights, Li Guanqi had ultimately fused the techniques of the Seven Fiends into a single, devastatingly powerful strike—
Unity of Seven Fiends.
Furthermore, Li Guanqi's cultivation realm faintly showed signs of advancing toward the great perfection.
Now that they could finally sit and rest, Ye Feng took a sip of tea, leaned back against his chair, and asked in a low voice, "Boss, when do we head into the mountains?"
Li Guanqi replied softly, "The sooner the better. We don't have much time to waste."
With that, he took out the jade slip he had purchased earlier and extended a trace of his divine sense into it.
A wealth of information flooded his mind.
A map of moderate detail left Li Guanqi pleasantly surprised; those three spirit stones had been well spent.
This map alone, covering a hundred li of the Purgatory Mountain Range's outer perimeter, was worth far more than three spirit stones.
Immediately following it was the opening line:
*"In the Purgatory Mountain Range, the greatest danger is not demonic beasts, but people!"*
Reading this, Li Guanqi could not help but smile wryly. Whoever crafted this jade slip had clearly learned that lesson the hard way.
*"The Purgatory Mountain Range spans three thousand great mountains, stretching across a thousand li!"*
*"Third- and fourth-tier demonic beasts are the most numerous. The number of fifth-tier demonic beasts is unknown, and sixth-tier demonic beasts are likewise unknown."*
To Li Guanqi, the rest of the text was mostly fluff, but attached to the end of the slip was an index of common natural treasures found within the range.
This brought him a pleasant surprise; it seemed these two portions were the truly valuable parts of the slip.
His divine sense hummed as he committed the map and the descriptions of the treasures to memory. Li Guanqi then said quietly, "Let's go. We'll buy some insect-repelling powder and head into the mountains!"
The tea house was quiet, and everyone present spoke via voice transmission, making it impossible to overhear anything useful.
Since he had no specific destination and was heading into the mountains anyway, starting sooner was better.
Having attained Core Formation, they had already achieved inedia and had no need to bother purchasing dry rations.
The two slipped out of the city without a sound, heading straight for the Purgatory Mountain Range!
By then, dusk was falling. As they leapt into the mountain range, they encountered numerous cultivators hunting demonic beasts along the way.
However, everyone tacitly moved in different directions to avoid misunderstandings.
The two sped deeper into the mountain range as the chirping of insects gradually reached their ears.
The damp, rotting air took some getting used to.
The heavy moisture clung to their robes, making them feel thoroughly uncomfortable.
With a surge of primal energy, Li Guanqi shook away the dampness, vigilantly surveying his surroundings.
*Roar!!*
Suddenly!
A jet-black leopard sprang out from the dense grass beneath Ye Feng!
Two sharp fangs protruded from its lower jaw, and its blood-red maw gaped wide as it pounced toward Ye Feng.
Mid-leap, two black beams of light shot from its mouth!
Ye Feng reacted with blistering speed, shifting and vaulting across tree trunks to evade the beams before swinging his blade back in a retaliatory chop against its skull.
*Clang!!*
A dull ring sounded. A deep gash opened on the leopard's forehead as the blade struck bone.
Yet the strike failed to cleave it open.
Li Guanqi called out in a low voice, "Cut its belly!"
Ye Feng licked his lips and instantly pressed forward with his sword!
Knowing the beast's weak point, he dispatched it in just a few strikes.
Though this beast possessed the strength of a third-tier creature and extraordinary speed, it had the misfortune of running into the two of them.
Clumsily carving away the valuable materials from the Shadow Leopard's corpse, the two quickly darted away.
Before long, someone arrived at the scene.
Looking at the carcass hacked into disjointed pieces on the ground, the newcomer could not help but grumble, "Isn't this just a damn waste of good materials?"
Squatting to inspect the remains, he murmured, "Two sword strikes... Tsk, tsk... A formidable expert has arrived."
"If I run into them later, I'll have to see if I can recruit them."
Having departed, Li Guanqi and Ye Feng found a secluded cave and tidied it up briefly.
Ye Feng looked at the leopard pelt in his hands and said excitedly, "Hahaha! Boss, a single leopard pelt like this sells for several hundred spirit stones outside!"
"Aren't we rich now?"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly without replying, his attention instead fixed on the beast core resting in his palm.
Chapter 246