Chapter 23

The Fierce Beast Mountain Range is located to the northeast of Wu Lei Mountain, spanning several thousand kilometers.

This mountain range has four main ridges and countless smaller branches. The four main ridges are named after divine beasts: the Azure Dragon Mountain Range, the White Tiger Mountain Range, the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, and the Black Tortoise Mountain Range. These four main ridges extend in the directions of east, south, west, and north, stretching for a long distance.

These four main ridges are covered with ancient trees and shrouded in mist, with fierce beasts roaming freely. They are the places with the most abundant spiritual energy, but also the most dangerous. Even the leaders of many sects dare not enter them easily.

For the disciples of the sects, the main areas they visit are the edges of the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, where the many smaller branches extend. The fierce beasts there are relatively weaker, and there are many kinds of medicinal herbs. Moreover, the fierce beasts, when killed, can be sold for silver.

Eight days later, Lin Xi and Su Zixuan's carriage finally arrived at the Fierce Beast Mountain Range.

"Whinny!"

Still some distance from the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, the four horses pulling the carriage immediately reared up, neighing in terror and refusing to move forward.

"Let's get off the carriage. Horses are very sensitive to the aura of fierce beasts and dare not get close."

Su Zixuan threw some silver to the driver and immediately jumped off the carriage. She had been to the Fierce Beast Mountain Range many times and was very experienced in this regard.

"Okay."

Lin Xi nodded and also jumped off the carriage.

The driver's face turned pale, clearly knowing what kind of place this was. After receiving the money, he raised the whip and hurried away without looking back.

The surroundings were quiet, and a cold air surged from the distance.

"Is this the Fierce Beast Mountain Range? It's truly magnificent!"

Lin Xi gazed into the distance, muttering to himself. In the mist, a vast mountain range stood like a giant beast, towering on the ground. Before this mountain range, humans seemed as insignificant as ants.

"That's not the Fierce Beast Mountain Range; it's just a small mountain. The true Fierce Beast Mountain Range is deeper inside."

Su Zixuan said calmly.

Lin Xi was taken aback. He knew the Fierce Beast Mountain Range was vast, but hearing Su Zixuan's words, he realized just how vast it was. Even a small mountain at the edge was so large; the main ridges must be even more majestic and towering.

"Let's go."

With a flick of their bodies, the two immediately headed towards the Fierce Beast Mountain Range.

In the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, the grass and trees were dense, reaching above the waist.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a silver line shot down from an ancient tree as thick as two people could embrace, whistling like an arrow from a crossbow.

Clang!

Su Zixuan's body remained still, and she caught the silver line with two fingers just as it was about to hit her face. The silver line struck her fingers, producing a sharp metallic sound and a series of explosions.

"This is a steel-backed snake, which likes to hide in trees and attack. Its waist is soft, but its back is as hard as steel, equivalent to a full-force strike from a martial artist in the Body Tempering stage. However, the most dangerous thing is the venom it spits, which is highly toxic."

Su Zixuan's head darted to the side, and a jet of venom narrowly missed her forehead. She pinched the snake with her fingers, and with a crack, the steel-backed snake was immediately killed.

"In the mountains, it's inconvenient to start a fire. You need to learn to find your own food. The blood of this steel-backed snake contains a lot of spiritual energy, better than medicinal herbs, and is very nourishing."

As Su Zixuan spoke, she tore the snake open, and blood gushed out. She drank half of it and then tossed the rest to Lin Xi:

"Drink!"

Lin Xi didn't say much, tilted his head back, and a large amount of blood, with a fishy smell, flowed into his stomach. The snake blood entered his body and immediately exploded like gunpowder, with a dense flow of primordial energy surging into his limbs and bones, even more effective than four or five days of medicinal baths.

"What a comfort!"

Lin Xi exhaled in relief, his face full of amazement:

"This snake blood is indeed very nourishing! It's even better than my medicinal baths for Body Tempering!"

"Now you understand why the Fierce Beast Mountain Range is considered dangerous, yet so many people still like to come here. The risks and rewards are proportional. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. However, while the steel-backed snake is very nourishing, its venom is very dangerous. There are many types of snakes here, with different levels of toxicity. Although they are not very strong, they are the most dangerous things in the edge area. It's best to avoid them."

Su Zixuan took this opportunity to introduce Lin Xi to the situation in the Fierce Beast Mountain Range:

"However, the good news is that these creatures, like other snakes, dislike the smell of realgar. When you rest at night, sprinkle a circle of realgar around you. As long as you avoid these highly toxic snakes, the edge of the Fierce Beast Mountain Range is relatively less dangerous."

"Okay, I'll remember that."

Lin Xi nodded. While he agreed verbally, he had another idea in mind:

"I still have a lot of Detoxifying Pills from my last batch. They can easily handle these snake venoms. The snake blood is so nourishing; eating these snakes would be even better than medicinal baths."

Su Zixuan had no idea about Lin Xi's plans. Detoxifying pills were rare and precious in the sect world. Most sect disciples would avoid these venomous snakes.

Although Su Zixuan relied on her keen senses and quick reactions to avoid these venomous snakes, being bitten by one would be very troublesome, even for her, who had reached the peak of the Giant Spirit stage, the seventh level of martial arts. Therefore, even with her high skills, she never thought about catching snakes for nourishment.

The edge of the Fierce Beast Mountain Range is full of fierce beasts, but with your strength, you can still handle it. However, there is one thing you must remember: from this point, you must stop after thirty miles. Do not go any further."

Su Zixuan stared at Lin Xi, her face serious, as if she wanted him to remember her words firmly.

"Why? Is it very dangerous?"

Lin Xi's heart skipped a beat as he asked.

"It's not very dangerous, but it is extremely dangerous for you. Once you enter, you will almost certainly die. The fierce beasts beyond thirty miles have copper-like skin and iron-like bones, immense strength, and sharp claws and teeth, comparable to divine weapons. However, the most dangerous thing is that you won't be able to escape once you encounter them!"

"Ah!"

Even though Lin Xi was prepared, he was still startled.

He originally thought that with his fifth-level Resilient Skin cultivation, he could easily roam the edge of the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, but he didn't expect it to be so dangerous.

"The fierce beasts there have the speed of the Divine Travel stage. Unless you reach the sixth level of the Divine Travel stage, which is faster than a galloping horse, you won't have the strength to escape from those fierce beasts. Otherwise, it's a dead end!"

Su Zixuan said solemnly.

"!!!"

Lin Xi now understood why Su Zixuan was so serious.

A martial artist can run away when they can't defeat a fierce beast, which is a sign of wisdom. But if they can't even run away, it's a dead end!

"I understand. Senior Sister, don't worry!"

Lin Xi said.

He now realized that when Senior Sister spoke casually about the abundance of medicinal herbs on the mountain, it wasn't as easy as it seemed.

However, Lin Xi had already decided to train here for a long time, so he wasn't in a hurry.

"I have Detoxifying Pills. Venomous snakes are no threat to me. Other fierce beasts are also not much of a threat. The edge area is almost no threat to me. As long as I don't冒险进入三十里内，几乎就没有危险。”

林熙心中暗自思量。

他也不是三言两语就能说服的人。虽然苏紫萱把里面说得凶险万分，但林熙反而更加产生了一股兴趣，想要到里面去看看。

“等到了第六重神行境，就去里面探查一下。”

林熙心中暗暗打定主意。

“小师弟，历炼就是要独自修行。我也不打扰你了。这些雄黄留给你。你自己小心。遇到事情不对，就退出凶兽山脉。——我先走了！”

苏紫萱给林熙留下一包防蛇的雄黄，身子一纵，唰唰两下立即消失无踪，就连林熙都没看清楚，她是怎么离开的。

“好！以后四个月，就在这里面修行了。”

林熙吞下一颗祛毒丹，立即背起行囊，向凶兽山脉里面行去。

“咕噜噜！”

林丛颤动，一棵棵大树突然断下，眨眼之间，一只牛犊大小，周身长着尖剌的野猪，冲破树林，向着林熙冲了过来。

这只野猪通体鲜红，好像要滴出血来。庞大的力量，更是震得地面都微微颤抖。

“荆棘血猪！”

林熙认出了这只野猪。

凶兽山脉中的凶兽，苏紫萱来的路上，几乎都跟他提过。这种荆棘血猪皮坚骨硬，力大无穷，相当于第四重铁骨期的武者。

它的身上长满铁剌，锋利无比，几乎可以比拟刀剑。

“来得好！”

林熙眼中光芒一闪，不但不闪避，反而对着那头荆棘血猪，冲了上去。

“大禹开山！”

林熙一拳砸出去，空气都劈开了，发出嗡嗡的锐啸。这一拳砸在荆棘血猪的脑袋上，就好像一柄大斧，劈了下来。

这头荆棘血猪发出一声凄厉的惨叫，整个脑袋都被林熙打进了泥土里，当场脑浆迸裂，一下就死了。

荆棘血猪皮糙肉厚，抵抗能力非常强大。但脑袋却没那么厉害，被林熙媲美远古凶兽的一拳砸下，当场就死了。

“畜牲就是畜牲，没有人那么机敏。”

林熙这一拳打过，如果对手是人，一定会闪避，或者护住自己要害。但是这些凶兽不会。

对于林熙来说，这些野兽虽然力量和铁骨期武者差不多，但对付起来，要容易得多。

“哗啦！”

林熙掏出一柄匕首，哗啦一下，就剖开了这头荆棘血猪的胸膛。这柄匕首是苏紫萱给他的，非常珍贵，专门用来剖解野兽。

苏紫萱身上总共也就两把。

“找到了！”

林熙掏挖内脏，很快就在肝脏的位置，找到了一颗鸡蛋大小的白色东西。

“兽丹，就是这个！”

林熙一脸欣喜。

凶兽身上，最值钱的就是这个。不过，只有铁骨期以上的凶兽，身上才会结出兽丹。

林熙手上这颗是白色的，属于最低级的兽丹。但就这一枚兽丹，药浴的时候泡下来，效果都相当于林熙一个月药浴的效果。

兽丹是属于非常独特的东西，只有凶兽才有。除了白色，还有其他颜色。等级越高，色泽越深。

白色兽丹更进一步，就会变成淡绿色。但那已经是第五重韧皮期的凶兽，才会有的了。远远不像荆棘血猪那么好杀。

再往上一层，就是青色的兽丹。那种兽丹等级更高，效果也更好。

林熙倒是想杀一头，不过，拥有那种内丹的凶兽，都是第六重神行期的凶兽。力大无穷不说，跑起来，如风掣电驰。

林熙现在如果碰上这种凶兽，别说杀了，逃都逃不掉，见面就是一个死！