Evan Yang walked over to a moving leaf, kicked it aside, and saw a snake-like creature suddenly open its jaws wide and lunge at him.
"Damn, I was wondering why there were no beasts for so long—turns out I finally ran into one." Evan was startled and stepped back, only to see all the leaves around him start moving. It turned out to be a whole group of snakes.
He didn't know what kind of snakes these were, but judging from their size, they seemed no different from ordinary snakes. The only difference was their mouths—when they opened, they seemed several times larger, big enough to swallow a person whole.
Even a snake as thick as an arm could open its mouth wide enough for two or three people to fit inside. Clearly, these snakes had bizarre jaws.
Not far away, those watching Evan's situation all revealed strange smiles.
"How long do you think he'll last?" Captain Ling laughed.
"These are group-living Big-Mouth Snakes, extremely poisonous. If you get bitten, your body will rot—even if he's late Divine Cauldron Realm, it's the same," Captain Lee said with a smile.
"Yeah, let's wait until he's half-poisoned, then go over." Captain Shaw grinned. He knew they had beast-repelling items, so they could safely watch and clean up later.
Evan had no idea what they were thinking, but he was sure they were enjoying the show. He relied on his speed to dodge the snakes. Whenever a snake lunged at him, Evan would precisely hit its vital point with a punch, breaking its head clean off.
Soon, dozens of Big-Mouth Snakes lay dead around Evan. Once the snakes realized how terrifying he was, they all retreated.
The three men were dumbfounded. "This kid's methods are really fierce," Captain Ling exclaimed.
"If he wasn't fierce, how could he beat us?" Captain Shaw was also unwilling to accept it—how come Evan didn't get bitten?
"Don't boost his morale. The road ahead is long. These are just Big-Mouth Snakes. If he runs into something fiercer, let's see how he handles it," Captain Lee sneered.
Seeing Captain Lee so calm, Captain Ling and Captain Shaw exchanged glances and said nothing more, continuing to watch Evan's movements.
After the snakes left, Evan calmed himself and continued on his way.
Once Evan was gone, the three captains moved forward. To keep the snakes away, Captain Lee deliberately opened a bottle, and sure enough, the snakes stayed hidden. The three easily made it through the Big-Mouth Snake zone.
"How come they weren't bothered by the snakes?" Evan muttered when he saw they were fine, but quickly noticed something was off—especially the bottle Captain Lee took out, which was bright red and very conspicuous.
Captain Lee swung the bottle left and right as he walked ahead.
"That bottle must be the trick," Evan thought to himself.
Just then, a roar echoed from a cave ahead of Evan.
"What is this now?" Evan was startled. From the roar just now, he could tell this beast's strength was at least Divine Cauldron Realm.
The three scoundrels behind him also heard the sound.
"He's done for now," Captain Lee said gleefully.
"What was that sound?" Captain Ling asked, confused.
"It's a ferocious beast called Spine-Tiger. Its whole body is covered in spines and its attack power is strong. Judging from its aura, it's at least Divine Cauldron Realm," Captain Lee explained with a smile.
Captain Ling and Captain Shaw were delighted after hearing this, so the three hid and watched Evan get attacked.
Sure enough, a two-meter-tall beast walked out of the cave in front of Evan. Its eyes were as big as fists, its fur was all spines like a porcupine, and its tail was a spiny whip, swinging back and forth.
"Roar." The Spine-Tiger Beast roared again.
After hearing the three captains' conversation, Evan gained a new understanding of this beast.
"Spine-Tiger Beast? Let's see what you're made of," Evan sneered.
The three captains watched as Evan and the Spine-Tiger Beast began to battle. The beast used not only its front claws and tail, but also the spines on its body as weapons.
Spines flew from the Spine-Tiger Beast, aiming to pierce Evan.
Evan knew the force was powerful—if he tried to block head-on, he'd likely be skewered. So he dodged until the beast nearly exhausted its spines. Then the Spine-Tiger roared again and attacked Evan directly with its tail.
"No more spines, so it's close combat now," Evan chuckled, realizing the Spine-Tiger Beast had become fully sapient.
The Spine-Tiger Beast could clearly understand speech, but couldn't figure out why it couldn't hit Evan, even though Evan's cultivation was lower.
After a dozen exchanges, neither Evan nor the beast could land a decisive blow.
"Roar." The Spine-Tiger Beast roared again, and its tail suddenly doubled in length.
"Seriously?" Evan was shocked.
Evan hadn't expected the tail to grow longer and quickly dodged, but still got hit on the back. He hadn't activated his Fly-Fire Boots, not wanting the three captains to know his true strength.
"Damn." Evan touched his back, found a few small punctures, and snorted coldly.
Seeing Evan get hit by its elongated tail, the Spine-Tiger Beast roared again, looking quite pleased with itself.
Evan snorted coldly. "Beast, watch this!" He unleashed flying needles straight at the Spine-Tiger's eyes.
The Spine-Tiger's eyes were fragile and had no idea Evan would use such tiny, fast weapons. Both eyes were pierced instantly. Now it could only rely on divine sense, roaring wildly and whipping its tail in an attempt to kill Evan.
Facing the beast's frenzy, Evan didn't retreat. He kept targeting its weak points, driving it mad. Unable to hit Evan, the Spine-Tiger could only retreat into the cave.
"Trying to run? Dream on!" Evan snorted. With his back injured, he wasn't about to let it go without teaching it a lesson.
Evan quickly disappeared into the cave. From outside, it looked pitch black. The three captains saw Evan vanish and exchanged glances. When they reached the cave, Captain Ling asked, "Should we go in?"
"Better wait. If we go in and he notices us, we're in trouble." Seeing the tunnel entrance wasn't very big, Captain Lee shook his head.
Captain Shaw agreed, so the three moved back to wait for Evan to come out, or hoped he wouldn't—then they'd know he was badly hurt inside.
Evan chased relentlessly, following the lingering aura in the cave which pointed him in the right direction.
Soon, Evan reached the deepest chamber. The Spine-Tiger Beast was inside a cave, which seemed to contain all sorts of things.
The Spine-Tiger was biting a dried leaf.
"Etherleaf Herb?" Evan saw the beast eating some dried leaves and realized they were Etherleaf Herb. While not as effective as freshly picked, they still had healing properties.
After swallowing some leaves, the Spine-Tiger turned and glared fiercely at Evan, speaking in human tongue: "Damn human, you injured my eyes—I'll never let this go!"
"So it's fully sapient," Evan snorted.
Ignoring Evan's words, the Spine-Tiger opened its mouth to bite him. Evan responded with a powerful punch—no spectators around, so he unleashed his full strength, over five hundredfold force, smashing one of the beast's large incisors.
"Roar!" The Spine-Tiger roared, shocked by Evan's power—its incisor shattered.
"Roar." The Spine-Tiger slowly retreated to the side, starting to tremble.
"I know you can understand me. Tell me, where did you get those herbs?" Evan needed fresh Etherleaf Herb, so he was eager to know its source.
"Why should I tell you?" The Spine-Tiger was scared but refused to answer Evan.
Evan just sneered. "Won't talk? Then your life is forfeit."
Just as Evan was about to strike, the Spine-Tiger Beast roared and said, "Fine, I'll tell you."
"That's more like it," Evan replied, withdrawing his aura.
"Behind this mountain, just beyond this cave, under certain leaves you'll find them," the Spine-Tiger explained.
"You'd better be telling the truth. If not, I'll be back for your life," Evan said, then flashed away.
After Evan left, the Spine-Tiger roared, then turned inside the cave. By a rock, it clawed open a hidden tunnel, walked in, and blocked the entrance again.
Evan had no idea the cave had a tunnel. He was already some distance away, and his divine sense couldn't detect what was happening inside, as if it were a pitch-black void.
Soon, Evan exited the cave and naturally saw the three men hiding nearby.
Evan glanced at them, then flashed up the mountain.
"He's out," Captain Ling muttered.
"Yeah, I see him. Damn, why isn't he dead yet!" Captain Lee replied.
Captain Shaw frowned. "This isn't working."
"Relax. Etherblade Mountain isn't that simple. These beasts aren't the strongest," Captain Lee said, reassuring the other two.
The two glanced at Captain Lee and continued to follow, eager to see if Evan would encounter fiercer beasts and lose his life.
Evan climbed the mountain, circled around, and reached the summit. Sweeping his divine sense downward, he saw a steep cliff covered with strange leaves and grasses.
To check under each leaf or identify the herbs would take time, but Evan wasn't bothered. He focused on searching.
After about half a day, Evan found a few Etherleaf Herb plants at the very bottom.
"Found them—there really are some!" Evan said joyfully, picking the herbs.
The three men naturally saw this scene.
"There really are some!" Captain Ling exclaimed.
"This kid's luck is incredible!" Captain Lee said, astonished.
Captain Shaw was unhappy. "Are we just going to watch him get these and earn all the merit?"