Ye Chen appeared in the Dark Peak Mountain, standing alone with an air of transcendence, his black hair cascading down, making him stand out.
His gaze swept coldly and indifferently over the Demonic Tiger with upturned eyes and white forehead that had been pinned down and killed by a single spear thrust. He shook his head dismissively: "Too weak."
It was a statement of fact, yet it filled everyone in the mercenary group with awe, for this was undoubtedly a super expert. Even though he was just a youth, his strength was excessive, having killed with a single spear the demonic beast that had pushed them to the brink of life and death. His formidable power was beyond doubt.
Wiping the bloodstains clean from his spear, Ye Chen remained silent.
Today marked the eighth day since he left the Ye family, and also the eighth day since he entered the Demonic Beast Mountain Range.
Almost immediately after leaving Luo Feng City, he had rushed non-stop, venturing alone into this perilous mountain range renowned throughout the Xia Feng Kingdom and even several nearby nations, all for the sake of cultivation.
The Demonic Beast Mountain Range certainly lived up to its fearsome reputation. On the very first day Ye Chen set foot within it, he was attacked by a demonic beast.
It was a Crimson-Haired Long-Tusked Boar, as tall as an adult human, a Houtian seventh-tier demonic beast. Due to its robust physique, it could rival a Houtian eighth-layer cultivator. Ordinarily, it was a ferocious beast that struck fear into the hearts of many hunters, a creature they spoke of with trepidation.
Generally speaking, encountering such a Crimson-Haired Long-Tusked Boar upon entering the Demonic Beast Mountain Range was considered unlucky. Its hide was thick and tough, its strength immense, its attack power terrifying, and it was prone to frenzy. Once enraged, it was difficult to stop, leaving only the option to flee.
But when faced with the Crimson-Haired Long-Tusked Boar that suddenly charged out, Ye Chen merely threw a single punch. The boar was sent flying dozens of meters away, smashed against a cliff face, and died on the spot—no suspense whatsoever. That very night, it became a delicious roasted meal for Ye Chen.
Not long after, within a mere half-day, he was attacked by six demonic beasts in succession. Fortunately, Ye Chen's own strength was sufficient, and he killed them all one by one. Anyone else would undoubtedly have perished.
Over the following eight days, Ye Chen advanced deep into the Demonic Beast Mountain Range. Wielding a long spear, he struck repeatedly, killing one demonic beast after another. Blood stained his path, and his killing intent gradually thickened.
However, all the beasts encountered along the way were Houtian-level demonic beasts—essentially ordinary ones. The strongest was the Crimson-Haired Long-Tusked Boar from the beginning; the others were even weaker.
Clearly, these posed little to no challenge for Ye Chen's cultivation purposes. He had entered the Demonic Beast Mountain Range for another reason entirely.
Today, he had specifically come to this place for that very reason—he had come specifically for this mercenary group.
The members of the mercenary group expressed their gratitude to Ye Chen: "We thank the young master for saving our lives. We, the Morning Sun Mercenary Group, will never forget this kindness. If the young master ever has any requests in the future, we, the Morning Sun Mercenary Group, will go through fire and water, unflinching even in the face of death."
Ye Chen nodded indifferently. His gaze swept over the Morning Sun Mercenary Group, passing over everyone before finally settling on the young girl. He looked her up and down several times, immediately causing the group's expressions to change and tension to rise, thinking Ye Chen had taken a fancy to the girl.
After all, although the girl's face was smudged with dust and somewhat dirty, it couldn't hide her naturally lovely features. She could be considered a little beauty. Coupled with her gentle and frail disposition, she was quite likable.
The girl nervously hid behind the group leader. The leader gritted his teeth and said anxiously, "Young master, may I ask why you are looking at my daughter like that..."
"I want her..."
Ye Chen's words caused the mercenary group members to tense up further. The girl's eyes welled with tears, appearing exceptionally pure and pitiable, evoking sympathy. She tightly clutched her father's sleeve, filled with terror.
The group leader hurriedly added, "Young master, I beg you to show mercy. My daughter is only thirteen, not yet an adult."
The others stepped forward, surrounding the girl protectively, adopting a fiercely protective stance. Even though they clearly knew Ye Chen possessed the terrifying strength to kill a Houtian ninth-tier demonic beast with a single spear, at this moment they unquestionably shielded the girl, preventing any harm from befalling her.
Seeing this, Ye Chen felt both amused and exasperated. He suddenly understood—he had been misunderstood as having improper intentions toward the girl. However, he wasn't so beastly as to prey on an underage girl.
He immediately waved his hand and said, "Don't misunderstand. I don't have that kind of thought for her. Let me finish my sentence."
The members of the Morning Sun Mercenary Group immediately understood, laughing awkwardly. They hadn't expected to misunderstand their savior and hurriedly apologized.
"Young master, we don't know what you truly want, but if we have it, we will definitely give it to you," the group leader said urgently.
Ye Chen's gaze fell upon the girl again, or more precisely, upon the bundle she carried. He asked, "Do you have on your person a flower that is entirely blood-red, resembling a lotus, emitting a peculiar fragrance?"
Meizi looked at Ye Chen in surprise: "Big brother, how did you know?"
Hearing this, Ye Chen's face lit up with joy. As expected, he hadn't guessed wrong—the girl truly possessed such a plant. He then said, "Please take it out and let me have a look."
Naturally, Meizi didn't refuse the request of her savior. She took out a small cloth bundle wrapped in brocade, unwrapping layer after layer of cloth to reveal a lotus flower. It was entirely blood-red and crystalline, shimmering with a faint, misty radiance, and a delicate fragrance wafted from it, refreshing one's spirit upon smelling it.
In that instant, Ye Chen's eyes flashed with a piercing light: "It really is it—the Blood Soul Lotus!"
The Blood Soul Lotus was an extremely precious spiritual herb, even considered a natural treasure, worth a fortune. It had the effect of replenishing spiritual power and possessed other wondrous properties.
Ye Chen's main purpose in following them was that he had caught the peculiar fragrance the Blood Soul Lotus left along the way and had tracked it down.
Even Elder Yan couldn't help but drift out, sighing with emotion: "This little girl's luck is quite good. To think she actually discovered a natural treasure like this, and a Blood Soul Lotus at that. Although it hasn't fully matured yet, it's still worth a fortune. Little Chen, you've stumbled upon a treasure."
Among the ingredients for refining the Spirit Awakening Pill to revive his bloodline, the Blood Soul Lotus was one of the main materials. However, being a natural treasure, its price was inevitably high, and it was exceedingly rare. Even Li Yun hadn't managed to collect such a treasure.
Originally, Ye Chen thought that even if he went to the royal capital, procuring one would require considerable effort. He never expected to encounter one today.
Ye Chen said straightforwardly, "I need this Blood Soul Lotus. If possible, I hope you can sell it to me. I can offer you a very good price. How about it?"
Meizi was quite astonished. She had no idea what effects this Blood Soul Lotus possessed. She had only stumbled upon it while chasing a Crimson Jade Rabbit, thought it looked beautiful and fragrant, and casually picked it.
She never imagined her savior would want this blood-red lotus.
The group leader hurriedly took the Blood Soul Lotus from the girl's hand and handed it to Ye Chen, saying with a simple, honest smile, "Young master, you saved all our lives. If you have need of it, we would go through fire and water without hesitation, let alone a mere material possession. Please take this Blood Lotus directly. We absolutely cannot accept your money."
Ye Chen took the flower, retrieved an exquisite jade box from his bosom, placed the Blood Soul Lotus inside, sealed it, and stored it away. He immediately felt a wave of relief—he was one step closer to reviving his Sacred Body bloodline.
Then he looked at all the members of the Morning Sun Mercenary Group before him. Even when he took out the valuable exquisite jade box, none of them showed any trace of greed. This made him sigh inwardly, and he felt it would be improper to simply take the Blood Soul Lotus and leave. After pondering for a moment, he said, "I won't take advantage of you. If this Blood Soul Lotus were sold, it would be worth no less than ten thousand gold coins, perhaps even more. However, for you, it might become a source of calamity, easily attracting the attention of those with ill intentions, bringing disaster upon you."
"I will take this Blood Soul Lotus. As compensation, I'll leave this demonic tiger for you. If sold appropriately, although it can't compare to the Blood Soul Lotus, fetching four or five thousand gold coins won't be a problem. What do you think?"
All members of the Morning Sun Mercenary Group nodded in agreement, seeing no issue. Although they couldn't help but be deeply shocked upon hearing the Blood Soul Lotus could sell for over ten thousand gold coins, and felt a surge of delight, they also understood Ye Chen's point: a common man's only crime is possessing a treasure. Once targeted by those with ill intentions, not only would they fail to get a good price, but they could easily invite fatal disaster. With their small Morning Sun Mercenary Group, they wouldn't be able to resist.
Relatively speaking, this demonic tiger could fetch a considerable sum. As Ye Chen said, several thousand gold coins wouldn't be a problem at all.
Moreover, even more important was Ye Chen's formidable strength. He could casually kill a Houtian ninth-tier demonic tiger, likely a Xiantian expert. And he had saved their lives. Both emotionally and logically, they couldn't refuse.
However, the group leader immediately waved his hand in polite refusal: "Young master, this absolutely won't do. You've already saved all our lives. Not to mention just giving you a Blood Soul Lotus, even if you took everything we have, it would be only right. We would harbor no complaints. How could we possibly accept something from you in return? Young master, please don't worry. Our Morning Sun Mercenary Group will definitely have no objections."
The other members of the mercenary group nodded as if it were only natural, showing no hesitation, including Meizi.
But Ye Chen shook his head and said, "Just accept it. This demonic tiger is useless to me, merely a burden. If you don't want it, I'll just leave it here for other demonic beasts to devour."
Hearing this, the members of the Morning Sun Mercenary Group could only accept with a wry smile, understanding that this demonic tiger meant nothing to a mysterious expert like Ye Chen.
With such formidable skills, he was undoubtedly a distinguished figure from a superpower. How could he lack money?
For them, however, a demonic tiger like this, with good luck, could even sell for six or seven thousand gold coins.
Subsequently, before leaving, Ye Chen tossed them a small vial, saying, "This vial contains the scent of a Xiantian-level demonic beast's fur. Wear it on your person, and basically, no demonic beast below the Xiantian level will appear before you. Consider it my final bit of compensation."
"However, I advise you to leave this place quickly. Otherwise, the scent of blood will attract more demonic beasts, making things more troublesome later."
Finally offering a word of well-meaning advice, Ye Chen left without looking back. Wielding his long spear, he headed deeper into the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, leaving behind a slender figure that grew more distant until it completely vanished into the depths of the mountains...