Even after death, the Menghuohu’s blood remained so hot that ordinary creatures couldn’t approach.
In fact, without spiritual energy to contain it, the blood had already scorched its own organs and flesh into an unrecognizable mess.
This was another characteristic of the Menghuohu: to harvest its resources intact, you had to drain its blood while it was still alive, or else the flesh and organs would be ruined.
“Wow, it’s already charred…” Hua Jian looked regretfully at her shriveled vine tip—the result of being burned by the beast’s blood.
“Your vines have pretty good fire resistance,” Linglong noted.
If it were any other wood-attribute Cultivator’s plant, it would have been reduced to ashes by now. Hua Jian’s only shriveled a bit.
“But it’s still hot. Forget it—you deal with this guy, I’ll go check on that poor fellow.”
Hua Jian glanced at the Menghuohu’s corpse and decided the other side suited her better.
At least a Cultivator’s corpse wouldn’t burn her.
The corpse, gnawed by the Menghuohu, was unrecognizable. Hua Jian used her vines to pull out all the belongings she could find, laying them out on a patch of open ground.
Judging by the figure, the victim was an adult woman. Her face, thanks to the tiger, was beyond recognition.
Her possessions were ordinary—Repellent Medicine, Storage Pouch, and a Ling Sword for combat.
But strangely, after flipping the body over, Hua Jian noticed something odd: the fatal wounds didn’t seem to be caused by the Menghuohu.
Though their first sight had been of the tiger devouring the Cultivator, a closer look revealed several deep, bone-exposing cuts—impossible to have been caused by a bite. They looked more like sword wounds made by another Cultivator.
If that wasn’t enough, the small rhombus-shaped piercing wound on the woman’s back all but ruled out the Menghuohu.
Such a wound could only be caused by another Cultivator. Hua Jian tested with her own vines and found the spot corresponded exactly to the heart.
This was the true fatal wound—the Menghuohu had just stumbled upon a takeout meal, only to be killed halfway through.
The Storage Pouch bore a Divine Sense Seal of Ling King level; Hua Jian couldn’t open it now and had to set it aside.
As for the Ling Sword… Hua Jian really didn’t like such weapons.
Besides, the quality wasn’t good—she wouldn’t get much for selling it.
“Linglong, this person was killed by another Cultivator!” Hua Jian called out.
Linglong had already given up dealing with the Menghuohu’s corpse—without the right method, you couldn’t salvage anything valuable, and the blood had ruined the innards completely.
Just a glance, and Linglong lost all interest. Better to get moving.
“An inner conflict between Cultivators? That’s possible.”
Linglong came to Hua Jian’s side and saw the wound indicated by the vines.
No doubt, for a Spirit Master-level Cultivator, it was fatal. The attacker had meant to kill.
As for the motive… who could say?
Reasons for killing abound—old grudges, robbery, anything was possible in these wild, chaotic woods.
“Should we bury her?”
“Yes.”
Letting the dead rest in peace was at least a small act of kindness.
Hua Jian summoned vines to dig up the soil, placed the mangled corpse inside, and covered it again.
Though, she felt it was a bit self-deceiving.
Left in the open, the corpse would be eaten by Spirit Beasts; buried, it would still be eaten by something underground. Dying here meant you couldn’t escape being eaten.
“I think you’re just comforting yourself,” Hua Jian muttered.
Linglong didn’t deny it—she was just comforting herself. Did Hua Jian have a problem with that?
“Let’s go. Maybe we’ll run into the killer soon.”
“Wow, shouldn’t you wish we don’t run into that kind of trouble?”
“If we don’t, wouldn’t this journey be boring?”
Not long after encountering the corpse, Hua Jian and Linglong finally met a living Cultivator.
They saw the person lying prone on the ground, using a small iron shovel to dig up a beautiful wildflower.
Hua Jian glanced at the flower, then pulled out the identification manual the Lingcaifeng Master had given her, flipping through it as the other Cultivator finished their business—she still hadn’t found it in the index by the time he was done.
Clearly, the Lingcaifeng Master’s manual needed trimming down; no one could use this thing efficiently, at least not Hua Jian.
“Um… ladies…” The Cultivator stood up quickly when he noticed the two watching, stuffing the Spiritual Flower into his pocket and looking sheepish.
Given how long the pair had been standing silently behind him, he figured they meant no harm.
And seeing Linglong and Hua Jian’s appearance, he guessed their identities right away.
It looked like a young miss taking her maid for a stroll…
“Sigh, can’t find it. How great would it be if this thing had auto-identification?” Hua Jian put away the Yupai, muttering softly.
A manual you had to flip through by hand was the worst. She’d thought the Lingcaifeng Master had given her a Martial Arts Manual, but it turned out like this.
No wonder the Lingcaifeng Master always complained about simplifying it.
“Huh?” The Cultivator hadn’t heard her.
“It’s nothing, don’t mind me.”
Hua Jian pocketed her Yupai and put on airs, addressing the somewhat young-looking Cultivator. “Judging by your look, it’s your first time in the Northern Mountains, right?”
The guess wasn’t baseless. If he were an old hand, he’d have been more wary when they appeared.
Instead, the young man had been so focused on the Spiritual Flower that if Hua Jian had meant harm, he’d already be lying with the previous corpse.
“Yeah…” The youth scratched his head.
“Pretty gutsy, but be careful or you’ll die here.” Hua Jian snorted, playing the part of the arrogant maid looking down on others.
Her acting was good—at least, it fooled the boy.
Linglong then gently interjected, playing the role of the kind-hearted young miss.
“Hua Jian, don’t say that.”
“Yes~” Hua Jian drew out the word in a tone full of obvious displeasure.
With that, Hua Jian managed to boost Linglong’s favorability in the youth’s eyes, and Linglong seized the chance to ask about recent happenings.
The youth had arrived much earlier and knew the area well.
The most important information he gave was that a domineering team occupied the richest part of the Resource Zone, not allowing rogue Cultivators to approach.
He had been driven here by them.
“Their leader is half a step from Ling King. I saw him kill a Cultivator who dared to resist—beat him to death!”
If you just told people to leave, no one would listen. But if you used your fists, most would obey.
He’d chosen to obey, picking over the scraps left behind.
“Heh, what arrogance. Miss, would you like to step in and uphold justice?” Hua Jian continued her act.
“This is the way things work here—don’t be silly.”
Linglong rolled her eyes. She might be here to train, but that didn’t mean she’d fight everyone she met.
Such situations were normal in the Northern Mountains. What justice could she uphold?
Even if she fought the gang, at best, they’d behave while she was there. As soon as she left, things would return to the same.
So Linglong wasn’t interested, as long as they didn’t cause trouble in front of her.
After bidding the somewhat dazed youth farewell, the two headed deeper into the Resource Zone, where the atmosphere became lively.
If the boy’s area was wild outskirts, this was where Cultivators lived. Every few steps, they’d see someone.
Occasionally, Cultivators would break out into fights over resources, showing no restraint—every move aimed to kill.
“Such ruthless moves…” Even Hua Jian, not versed in combat, could see the lethal intent in these attacks.
Every strike targeted vital spots; there was no holding back. And everyone around was numb to it.
Soon, a weaker Cultivator was defeated and tried to run, but his opponent chased him down and killed him, decapitating him right in the man-eating mountains.
Witnessing a Cultivator killed before her eyes, Hua Jian felt conflicted.
She truly realized that most here were not friendly, and she needed to be constantly vigilant to avoid getting ambushed.
Their arrival drew some attention. A few glanced at Linglong and Hua Jian, then lost interest, but others cast greedy looks their way.
Linglong’s attire didn’t fit the area at all—like a wealthy lady without guards showing up in the slums, full of bold villains.
If they caught this young lady, would they…
“Should we make an example?” Hua Jian also sensed the malice and whispered to Linglong.
If you didn’t respond to such provocations, you’d be seen as easy prey.
At times like these, trying to keep the peace was the worst idea—these desperadoes wouldn’t stop until they wrung every drop of profit.
“Can you handle it?” Linglong didn’t object, but was a bit worried about Hua Jian’s combat strength.
Hua Jian was better at ambushes; establishing dominance in open combat was a challenge.
“A surprise attack should be easy.” Hua Jian covertly palmed the Ling King-level Spirit Blade she’d gotten earlier—a serious weapon.
She scanned the crowd and pointed at the strongest-looking man.
“What are you staring at my lady for? Want me to gouge out your eyes?”
“Hmph! I want to see what gives you such a big mouth!”
The targeted Cultivator snorted coldly, taking up the challenge.
He’d planned to test the pair anyway. Now that Hua Jian was provoking him, all the better.
He had the strength to back up his confidence, being top-tier among Spirit Masters—only a step behind the major faction’s leader.
Linglong and Hua Jian didn’t look formidable, especially Hua Jian, whose aura was so weak it seemed she’d just advanced to Spirit Master.
If he didn’t dare fight her, what was the point of his cultivation?
So he accepted without hesitation.
Other opportunists were only too happy to let someone else test the waters. They quickly made space for a duel.
“Little girl, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“Stop talking. Let’s fight!” Hua Jian summoned her thin vines and cracked them in the air with a sharp swish.
“Hmph, I’m Liu Yi. Pleased to meet you!”
Liu Yi straightened his back, sharp white Spirit Energy surging into his twin-handed sword.
He was a metal-attribute Cultivator, and his weapon suggested a bold, direct fighting style.
Hua Jian gathered the information, and couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Metal restrains wood—direct combat might not go well.
True, she’d beaten a Sword Sect prodigy in the Secret Realm, but that was with environmental advantage. Now, facing Liu Yi directly was a different challenge.
No matter—she had to try!
Hua Jian narrowed her eyes and launched the first attack.
The vines in her hand stretched and lashed out at Liu Yi—a fighting method she’d recently devised and this was its first real test.
If it worked, she wouldn’t need to rely on close-range spirit tools anymore—just her vines.
Liu Yi saw the attack and sneered. Didn’t this girl know that metal Spirit Energy was the bane of vines?
“Naive! Take my sword!”
He swung his sword, predicting the vine’s path and intercepting it halfway.
But when blade and vine clashed, the expected clean break didn’t happen.
Instead, the vine coiled tightly around his sword blade!