Chapter 6: A Bold Idea

A colorful tiger over three meters tall, resembling an ancient savage beast, came charging over with a roar.

In an instant, a bloody, foul wind swept through the entire mountain forest.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss…”

A giant patterned snake as thick as a water bucket poked half its head out from the other side of the stream.

Its scarlet eyes were like two blades of an evil god, staring at the crowd on the opposite bank with cold, ruthless indifference.

Both the tiger and the giant snake were at the second stage of Qi Refining.

The moment they appeared, they locked onto Li Jun and the others.

“Damn it!”

Li Jun knew things had gone wrong the moment he heard the tiger’s roar.

He had assumed the demon wolf was the boss of this territory; once it was killed, there would be no more danger. Even if there were other demon beasts, they would be at most first-stage.

He could handle first-stage demon beasts with ease.

In fact, part of the reason he chose to camp here was in the hope that a first-stage demon beast would appear.

That would be his moment to shine.

He would kill a first-stage demon beast in seconds, displaying his peerless heroism.

It would leave an indelible impression on this group, which would be of great benefit to his future cultivation.

But he never imagined that instead of a first-stage beast, two second-stage beasts would arrive at once.

“Prepare for battle!”

Li Jun issued the order.

The group, who had just been singing, dancing, eating meat, and drinking, instantly became tense.

There was no wasted breath.

The battle began in an instant.

The tiger and the snake had previously been suppressed by the demon wolf; now that the wolf was slain, both were determined to become the overlords of this mountain forest.

The three-way battle was chaotic beyond measure.

Although there were no earth-shattering explosions of spiritual energy, the cruelty of the fight was beyond imagination.

“Roar…”

The tiger bellowed, opening its blood-red maw and biting a young man to death on the spot.

Blood splattered, staining the tiger’s head and making it look exceptionally ferocious and terrifying.

The surrounding people were stunned with fear.

They were only fourteen or fifteen years old; how could they have ever seen such a tragic scene?

They had thought that by killing the demon wolf, they were invincible in this primeval forest.

They had celebrated; they had sung.

In the blink of an eye, the brothers they had just been eating and drinking with were lying in a pool of blood.

The group instinctively wailed in terror, and the scene spiraled out of control.

Not far away, at the top of an old tree, Zheng Tuo’s eyes were wide open. He watched the scene unfolding in the distance and couldn't stop shaking his head.

Too reckless, too reckless, too reckless.

He muttered to himself while taking a stack of Breath-Concealing Spirit Talismans from his backpack.

He stuck them on his body one by one, complaining in his heart as he did so.

Cultivating is for immortality, why fight?

Fighting doesn't make you an immortal.

Fighting doesn't grant eternal life.

They are just young and hot-headed, far too reckless.

The battle by the small river ended quickly.

The two demon beasts were killed, and Li Jun and his group won a pyrrhic victory, with several people dead.

There was no laughter, and no one even spoke.

A haze hung over everyone’s faces.

The campfire went out.

The surroundings fell into pitch-black darkness, just like their current state of mind.

“Let’s go.”

Li Jun was a decisive person.

He knew that the battle might attract more demon beasts. If another second-stage beast arrived, they would all die here.

The survivors left into the night, and before long, the place fell into silence.

Zheng Tuo did not follow them.

The nights in the primeval forest were too dangerous for traveling.

“Roar…”

Just as Li Jun had guessed, beast roars continued to echo.

A large number of demon beasts were converging in this direction.

Zheng Tuo held his breath, watching the place where the battle had just occurred.

Wait!

What the hell is that!

In the spot where the battle had just taken place, several white lights suddenly emerged.

The white lights were like ghosts, turning into starlight that shot into the sky and vanished in the blink of an eye.

What is going on!

Is it haunted?

Zheng Tuo was baffled.

No, wait!

Where are the bodies?

Zheng Tuo was surprised to find that the cold corpses that had been lying on the ground were gone.

Could it be?

Zheng Tuo quickly took out a magnifying glass, adjusted the focus, and scanned the sky around him.

As he searched, his hypothesis became increasingly clear.

So that’s how it is!

It seems that death during the assessment is not true death.

The Luoxian Sect must have some unknown means to protect them.

However, this was merely a guess; he had no concrete evidence.

Compared to that, the group of snarling, pacing demon beasts below was much more real.

Fortunately, he was well-prepared; he held his breath and remained vigilant against the pack of beasts under the ancient tree.

Li Jun, who was leaving, let out a long sigh.

It was fortunate they ran fast; otherwise, they might all have been buried there.

“Everyone, the road ahead is unknown, and our journey will surely be rough. I hope we can stay united. The path of cultivation is paved with bones; our fate is in our own hands. The road to immortality is long, and I hope that one day, we can talk and laugh together on the path to becoming immortals.”

It had to be said, Li Jun was a natural leader.

They had just experienced a cruel battle that left an indelible mark on their young minds.

They had been at a low point in their lives, but after hearing Li Jun’s heartfelt words, hope was reignited.

Inside the main hall of the Luoxian Sect.

“Not bad, not bad.”

Yun Ding nodded.

“This Li Jun’s talent is truly excellent. At such a young age, he has already reached the second stage of Qi Refining. He is intelligent, decisive, and possesses a rare aura of leadership. It’s just that his temperament is a bit lacking and needs more tempering. In the future Eastern Region, he will surely have a place.”

Yun Ding did not hold back his praise.

His fondness for Li Jun was evident.

“Hmm, I also think this Li Jun is good. Once he joins my Thousand Blade Peak, I will train him well.”

Yun Qianli acted as if he had already claimed Li Jun, which annoyed Yun Ding.

“Join your Thousand Blade Peak? Are you joking? This Li Jun is clearly more suited for my Immortal Cauldron Peak. Don’t you even think about it.”

Immortal Cauldron retorted.

“Why? Doesn’t your Immortal Cauldron Peak already have Lu Danchen as a leader? What do you need Li Jun for?”

“Pfft! Doesn’t your Thousand Blade Peak have Ba Dao? Why don’t you say the same?”

The two looked like they were about to start arguing again.

On the high seat, Yun Yangzi felt a headache coming on.

“An interesting little fellow.”

Hong Niang rarely made a move.

With a light tap of her jade finger, an image appeared in the ancient bronze mirror.

In the image, a young man was hiding at the top of an old tree, secretly watching the battle in the distance, shaking his head from time to time, looking completely bewildered.

“Hmph! His fellow disciples are fighting demon beasts, and this person is hiding in the back watching the show. My Luoxian Sect does not need such people.”

Yun Qianli had a fiery temper and said whatever was on his mind.

“I agree with Qianli on this point. Setting aside his strength, just based on this temperament alone, this child is not fit to be a disciple of the Luoxian Sect.”

Yun Ding rarely stood on the same side as Yun Qianli.

“I have been observing this young man,” Hong Niang spoke up. “From the beginning, he has been extremely cautious. Along the way, he hasn’t encountered any danger—or rather, he has cleverly avoided all danger. I must say, his level of caution is unprecedented; it is the first time I have ever seen such a thing in my life.”

“What is the use of caution? If he steps onto the path of cultivation, he will inevitably have to fight others. Let’s see how cautious he is then.”

Lei Xing, who had been silent until now, couldn't help but speak.

The current Mortal Realm was not peaceful.

A holy war had broken out in the Golden Great Domain to resist the demon invasion.

Almost every cultivator had to participate in the holy war.

On that battlefield, let’s see how you remain cautious.

“Old Lei is right,” Yun Yangzi nodded.

“The path of cultivation is paved with bones. Opportunities must be seized, not waited for. This child’s temperament is truly unsuited for seeking the Dao.”

The group’s evaluation of Zheng Tuo was not very favorable; they clearly looked down on him.

“I actually think he’s quite interesting.”

Hong Niang looked at the extremely cautious Zheng Tuo on the screen and found him amusing.

“Unfortunately, my Ethereal Peak only accepts female disciples. Although he is interesting, he is not worth breaking the rules for.”

“Change it, change it! There are so many promising youths to watch, what’s the point of looking at this thing? It’s off-putting.”

Lei Xing had a fiery temper.

As the founder of the Luoxian Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall, being swift and decisive was his nature.

Among those present, only Wu Dao of Enlightenment Peak remained silent, still closing his eyes to rest.

Everyone knew Wu Dao’s personality, so they didn’t say anything.

If you want to talk about strange, Wu Dao was probably even stranger than that cautious kid.

Zheng Tuo, who was participating in the assessment, did not know that one of his feet had already been lifted out of the Luoxian Sect, and the other was currently stepping into thin air.

He looked at the demon beasts appearing one after another before him and suddenly had a bold idea.