Supreme of the Heavenly Realm

Three days later.

Early in the morning, as the sun began to rise, Ye Xuan mounted the Thousand-mile Snow that Nangong Bo had gone to great lengths to acquire and set off on schedule toward the Panlong Mountain Range.

Thousand-mile Snow was a famous horse of the Great Xia Kingdom, capable of covering two thousand miles in a single day. Its legs flashed like lightning, moving swiftly as the wind, a rare sight throughout the entire Great Xia Kingdom.

This trip to the Panlong Mountain Range was not only to find the medicinal herbs to suppress Nangong Yao's Xuanyin Body but also to locate the whereabouts of the Meridian Clearing Grass, which was the key.

Whether he could open the last meridian would be crucial to advancing to the Martial Master Realm. And if he failed to break through to the Martial Master Realm before the sect family conference, taking the first place from the Second Grade martial master, Ye Ba, would undoubtedly be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

The Panlong Mountain Range, located at the southernmost part of the Tiannan Region, was the largest mountain range in the entire area. The countries bordering it, apart from the Great Xia Kingdom, also included the most powerful Great Hua Country among the six nations of Tiannan. Although they belonged to the same six countries of Tiannan, the latter's strength was far more formidable than that of the Great Xia Kingdom by more than just one grade.

And it was not only in terms of national power but also in terms of sect forces that the Great Xia Kingdom was nearly at the bottom among the six countries. It was rumored that the sects in the Spirit Martial World, like martial arts, were also divided into seven grades. The higher the grade, the stronger the sect's foundation. The entire Great Xia Kingdom only had one First Grade sect, Green Leaf Valley, while the Great Hua Country possessed the strongest force in the entire Tiannan Region, the Third Grade sect Heavenly Martial Hall.

One must know that what controlled the lifeline of a country was not the royal family but the sects behind it. If not for the non-aggression pact established long ago among the great sects, weak nations like the Great Xia Kingdom might have perished already.

After stabling the Thousand-mile Snow at an inn at the foot of the mountain, Ye Xuan entered the Panlong Mountain Range alone. Riding a horse would make too big of a target, as Demon Beasts roamed rampant in the mountain range. Causing too much commotion could lead to dire consequences.

The classification of Demon Beasts in the world had been established by predecessors, corresponding to the cultivation levels of human martial artists. The seven great realms of martial artists corresponded to Demon Beasts ranked from one to seven. Among them, a Third Rank Demon Beast could attain the ability to transform after consuming Transformation Grass, and beasts of this level were also known as Demon Kings. A Fourth Rank Demon Beast was a Demon Venerable, and beyond that, there were Demon Saints, Demon Emperors…

External rumors claimed that deep within the Panlong Mountain Range, a transformed Flood Dragon resided, but as to whether this was true, perhaps only the great figures of the Tiannan Region would know.

After purchasing a Mortal Grade treasure blade in the town at the mountain's base, Ye Xuan ventured into the mountains alone. Although the power of a Mortal Grade treasure blade was limited, it was more effective than fists when dealing with some thick-skinned Demon Beasts.

His choice to enter the mountains alone, without teaming up with others, was naturally after careful consideration. Most of those who came to the Panlong Mountain Range were adventurers with ulterior motives, seeking personal gain. Teaming up with these individuals could greatly increase the chances of being ambushed. Ye Xuan believed that with his experience, self-preservation would not be a big issue.

Setting out in the morning, Ye Xuan arrived at the outskirts of the Panlong Mountain Range by afternoon. At the same time, Demon Beasts began to appear, but those that showed up now were insignificant and posed little threat to Ye Xuan's current realm.

The strongest one he encountered was a Steelback Pig, barely at the threshold of the First Rank. Although its defenses were robust, once Ye Xuan found its weakness, he easily killed it.

The combat power of Demon Beasts, as compared to martial artists of the same level, was always a notch stronger, benefiting from the various innate advantages of Demon Beasts. These advantages only start to wane in the later stages; otherwise, the Spirit Martial World of today would not be controlled by humans.

"The Red Refining Fruit usually grows in sunny areas; it should be around here."

Ye Xuan surveyed the surrounding environment; the Red Refining Fruit was a main ingredient to suppress the Xuanyin Body and was relatively the hardest to find. However, it was still easier to locate than the Meridian Clearing Grass. Weighing his options, he decided to first search for the Red Refining Fruit.

As Ye Xuan delved deeper, the ground around him began to show a slightly yellowed color, and the ground here was relatively scorching. Vegetation looked somewhat withered, with dried branches and leaves covering the ground, wafting a decaying odor.

Ye Xuan maintained a high level of alertness, meticulously scanning his surroundings. Even after half a day of intense searching, his spiritual power remained strong, so despite the lack of results, he maintained his full spirit and continued to search. An ordinary person would have succumbed to fatigue and needed to sit and rest by now.

Rustle…

Suddenly, from beneath the dried leaves Ye Xuan had just passed, a strange rustling noise emerged. As he turned slightly, "Bang!" the ground behind him erupted with a rotting wind, and a crimson figure burst forth from the earth, launching a sudden attack!

In his field of vision, he saw a giant python thicker than the waist of an average person, open its maw wide, biting towards him with a foul stench and teeth shimmering with a greenish mist, clearly indicating potent venom.

"What a creature!"

Ye Xuan summoned his True Qi, executed his Qinggong, and leaped onto a large tree behind him, narrowly avoiding the bite.

Once he stabilized his posture, Ye Xuan finally got a clear view of the giant python, and his heart skipped a beat. The python's body was covered with a layer of pitch-black scale armor, decorated with crimson patterns that glistened with a sheen that seemed impervious to blades.

A Fire Pattern Python at the late stage of the First Rank!

Swish!

The Fire Pattern Python, not content with missing its first strike, followed up by spitting out a stream of green venom. The venom shot out like an arrow released from a bow, so fast that the air itself seemed to hiss.

Hmph!

Facing the swiftly shot poison arrows, Ye Xuan too swiftly dodged with an agile flash of his body, leapt up high, and after flipping in mid-air, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he punched fiercely toward the head of Fire Pattern Python.

Bang!

The force of this punch was as if ten strong horses were galloping, striking the Fire Pattern Python's head, and in an instant, the head of the python violently smashed against the ground, creating an irregular crater, and after a spell of seeing stars, fear appeared in the python's eyes, and then, unexpectedly, it coiled up and fled in the opposite direction!

"Trying to escape?"

Ye Xuan's eyes flashed, and his body descended like a wild goose, landing on the body of the Fire Pattern Python. At that moment, with a "clang," he also drew the Mortal Grade treasure blade from behind, then sped up his steps, quickly rushing toward the python's vital seven-inch area.

The Fire Pattern Python's body was as hard as iron, but at its seven-inch area, there was no scale armor defense, and this was also Ye Xuan's breakthrough point.

Bang bang bang!

Feeling Ye Xuan still on its back, the Fire Pattern Python wildly writhed, trying to shake Ye Xuan off, but no matter how hard it tried, Ye Xuan clung onto its back like a persistent maggot, making it to the seven-inch area, and stabbed down fiercely with the blade.

Pfft!

Hot blood spurted out, the Fire Pattern Python screamed in agony and rolled around on the ground.

Ye Xuan swept up, swooping in mid-air with a punch that howled through the air, this time, he used his full strength, with the rushing force of fifteen strong horses, slamming into the python's skull.

Bang!

A loud noise echoed, and after taking this heavy punch, the Fire Pattern Python collapsed to the ground, its brain turned into mush by the punch's power.

A normal Seventh Grade martial disciple would find it very difficult to defeat a First Stage late-phase Demon Beast like the Fire Pattern Python, not to mention killing it, but Ye Xuan was different. Having cultivated the Hidden Dragon Skill, he now carried a divine power, and if he used the Heavenly Dominator Fist, his strength could at least double again, making the killing of the Fire Pattern Python all the more effortless.

However, Ye Xuan wanted to use the Fire Pattern Python as practice, which is why he did not kill it with the first move.

"This Fire Pattern Python's body is a treasure all over, it must not go to waste."

Ye Xuan raised the treasure blade in his hand, ready to gut and slice open the beast. A post First Stage Demon Beast like the Fire Pattern Python, its highest value was of course the inner core, followed by the snake skin, which could be used for Artifact Refining. As for the snake meat, Ye Xuan planned to use it to satisfy his hunger, as he didn't bring much dry food on this trip, and now having killed such a large Fire Pattern Python, he would have plenty of meat.

After dissecting the Fire Pattern Python's body into pieces, Ye Xuan was somewhat unfulfilled, as he had only taken less than one-tenth of the python's body, since his bag could not fit any more, he had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

After all, items like Storage Rings used specifically for storage were extremely rare in the Tiannan Region—at least Ye Xuan had not seen one yet. Not having a storage tool was also quite troublesome for Ye Xuan.

"Hmm?"

Just as Ye Xuan was about to leave, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted a plant, about half a meter tall, emitting a faint Spiritual Energy on a cliff not far ahead. Among the dense foliage, there were two bright red spherical fruits dangling, looking exceedingly tempting.

"Today really is my lucky day."

Seeing the two noticeable red fruits, Ye Xuan was momentarily stunned; a smile formed at the corner of his mouth. These two fruits were the very Red Refining Fruits he had been searching for. It was an unexpected fortune that he had scoured everywhere to no avail, only to have the Fire Pattern Python inadvertently provide a huge help by stirring up all this trouble.

Swoosh!

He moved, leaping up, stepping on the rugged rocks, and with quick consecutive moves, he plucked the two Red Refining Fruits.

"With the Red Refining Fruits, everything else should be easy."

Looking at the crimson fruits in his hand, a smile surfaced on Ye Xuan's face. However, before the smile could fully settle, a sudden and astonishing chill attacked him from behind. Ye Xuan instinctively dodged urgently to the side. "Whoosh" went the blade light, zipping past his cheek, cutting off a wisp of hair.

"Who?"

Ye Xuan's expression darkened, and as he spun around abruptly, a trail of blood appeared on his right cheek. If he had reacted any slower, he might have had half his head sliced off.

"Eh, actually dodged my Seven Stars Dart?"

In the line of sight, a skinny man stepped out from behind a large tree that would take two people to wrap arms around, showing a look of surprise on his face.