Ning Zhuo decided to explore the Shanxi Valley.
Sun Lingtong sensed the scent of adventure and immediately shouted, "Little Zhuo, cover for me; I'll go investigate myself!"
The two first rode the Flowing Clouds, moving away from Mist Hidden Mountain. Upon landing in a corner, Ning Zhuo pulled out the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon from his waist.
The eyes of the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon emitted a strange light, enveloping Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong.
Within this strange light, the figures of the two men rapidly shrunk. Following the beam of light, in just a few breaths, they entered into the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon.
Moments later, the two piloted the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon back to Mist Hidden Mountain.
Sun Lingtong frowned and sighed, "This isn't fun at all," looking at Ning Zhuo who was seriously controlling the mechanism beside him, "Little Zhuo is good at everything but just too cautious."
Gradually they flew over into the Shanxi Valley, solar light gradually swallowed by towering cliffs, and the surroundings grew increasingly cold.
Moss-covered rocks, pervasive dampness, and dull soil. Towering cliffs, ancient trees intermingling, the mountain winds blowing softly, causing a faint rustling sound from the leaves as if whispering softly.
As the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon moved deeper, the light grew darker, and the heavy, musty smell of the soil seemed to clog their breaths and nostrils, giving a suffocating sensation.
The blotchy shadows of the trees grew increasingly bizarre, with fog coiling around, creating an eerie, demonic atmosphere.
"Look over there!" Sun Lingtong pointed.
In the image formed by spells, there lay a patch of glaringly white land.
The Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon stealthily moved closer and found it was a massive pile of bones covering a wide area. Numerous bones of wild animals and humans were haphazardly stacked.
Ning Zhuo glanced and immediately spotted hundreds of human skeletons, his expression growing solemn.
This was only the exterior of the bone pile; there must be even more human remains inside!
"This is a sign of the deployment of some demonic skill. There must be at least one Demon Cultivator here," Ning Zhuo concluded after examining the bones.
Sun Lingtong analyzed, "Among the remains are many Foundation Establishment Level demon beasts. The Demon Cultivator here must be powerful, at least at the Golden Core Level."
Ning Zhuo frowned slightly, "If the Demon Cultivator is hiding here, logically, if the Fox God couldn't handle it alone, he should have reported it. Why didn't he do so and instead gave us the clues?"
He maneuvered the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon, now nearly invisible like a small fly, brushing the ground and flying through the weeds, moving deeper.
As they neared the valley floor, he saw two guards.
One was a coiled giant python, and the other a resting grey wolf.
Both emitted auras of the Foundation Establishment Level. The grey wolf's eyes were spirited, glowing brightly, while the python continuously flicked out its tongue, emitting some sort of demon art to scan the surroundings.
These were behaviors that ordinary demon beasts couldn't achieve—both were Demon Cultivators!
Though they had not transformed into human form, their mastery of demon arts meant their threats were multiplied several times compared to ordinary demon beasts.
Ning Zhuo propelled the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon, concealed its form, and boldly walked past the two Demon Cultivators.
Upon entering the valley's floor, numerous Demon Cultivators were practicing, frolicking, and feeding. Wolves, snakes, tigers, leopards, bears, wild boars, among others, were ferociously varied in appearance.
The air reeked with a foul smell.
On a high platform, lay a giant black tiger, as large as an elephant.
The black tiger, robust and rugged, was exhaling. Each breath was so powerful that it stirred a whirlwind.
As they say, clouds follow the dragon, and wind follows the tiger; the swirling breeze hinted at the tiger's formidable strength.
"A Golden Core Level Black Tiger Demon Cultivator, why does he look so familiar?" Sun Lingtong frowned.
Ning Zhuo spoke up, "The Night Tiger True Mountain God."
Sun Lingtong suddenly realized, "Right, they do look alike!"
However, clearly, they were not the same tiger.
The tiger god's physical body had perished hundreds of years ago, and to stay in the Mortal World, it had transformed into a spirit.
In comparison, the adult black tiger in front of them was full of life, its life force still young, feeling somewhere between youth and middle age.
The black tiger slowly opened its eyes and suddenly roared in a low voice, "Where is my blood food?"
"Coming, coming, Your Majesty!" A Human Cultivator sprinted from a cave.
He was dark-skinned and dressed in tattered clothes, holding a Hidden Corpse Bag. Turning the bag upside down, he dumped a large number of corpses.
The black tiger opened its maw and, with a powerful suction, swallowed many of the corpses, continuously chewing.
Its robust lower jaw slightly trembled, tight teeth firmly gripping the tender meat that tore and mashed under its maw. Each chew generated a deep noise as muscle and bones rubbed together, the sounds of breaking bones incessant.
Blood leaked from the gaps in the black tiger's teeth, trickling down its chin.
A strong odor of blood rapidly spread throughout the area.
The Demon Cultivators who smelled the Blood Qi instinctively gathered around the high platform, eagerly watching the Black Tiger feed, all displaying a desire.
The Black Tiger consumed thirty percent of the corpses, and its belly visibly bulged, then it activated its Cultivation Technique to digest.
Demon Skill — Meat Shield Blood Swallowing Technique!
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong both recognized it.
The Meat Shield Blood Swallowing Technique was a widely known Demon Skill, which promoted one's own physical body by consuming the blood and flesh of other lives, making its muscles bulge and its Essence Blood thrive.
As the Demon Skill was activated, the Black Tiger's belly visibly shrank at a visible rate and soon flattened out again.
It continued to devour and after another thirty percent, it repeated the process, activating its Cultivation Technique, and cultivated.
After it finished cultivating, the Black Tiger burped contentedly and lazily said, "All distribute it now."
The Demon Cultivators, having received permission, howled and shrieked, pouncing on the pile of corpses and gorged themselves.
For a moment, the Demon Beasts pushed and shoved each other, scrambling frantically, plunging into conflict for Blood Food, and the stench of blood spread even more amid the chaos.
The Black Tiger squinted its eyes, listening to the clamor, enjoying the struggles of its subordinates.
Several weaker Demon Cultivators inadvertently exposed flaws while fighting for food and were heavily injured in sneak attacks.
Immediately, the surrounding Demon Cultivators marked them as new prey, driven by hunger and greed, mercilessly encircled and attacked them, using their own kind as food to satisfy their hunger.
The only Human Cultivator on the scene, his face full of terror, cowered and stood beside the Black Tiger, seeking to preserve his life. Yet, he dared not rely too much on it, fearing to annoy the Black Tiger and be smacked to death with a paw.
Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo witnessed all this, their expressions grim.
"A Night Tiger Demon Cultivator at the Golden Core Level, and many Demon Cultivators, mainly at the Foundation Establishment Level," Ning Zhuo estimated the strength of the group.
"They can all be killed!" Sun Lingtong gritted his teeth, hatred gleaming in his eyes, "Every man-eating beast deserves to die."
Ning Zhuo knew the reason.
Sun Lingtong's former village was the one ravaged and slaughtered by Demon Cultivators. At that time, he was very lucky, picked up by his master, narrowly escaping disaster.
Sun Lingtong said, "Although the Black Tiger Devil is at the Golden Core Level, I got several bottles of strange poison from Yang Chanyu. Including one that is colorless and tasteless, which can be placed in the corpses. When it consumes the corpse and operates its Cultivation Technique, hehe, there will be a good show."
"We have the element of surprise, and it's not impossible to win!"
Ning Zhuo frowned slightly, "Boss, no need to rush, let me think for a moment."
He paced back and forth in the Dragon Head Cabin with his hands behind his back and then decided, "Let's spare this Devil's life for now; we need to find out more information."
"Hmm?" Sun Lingtong raised his eyebrows, "What are you thinking?"
Ning Zhuo half comforted and half explained, "Boss, think about it, how could a Black Tiger Devil at the Golden Core Level hide for so long?"
"It consumes so much in one meal, and the Cultivation of Demon Skills consumes a lot. There would be a significant impact if it scavenged around Mist Hidden Mountain."
Sun Lingtong immediately grasped Ning Zhuo's point and continued, "Yet, Mist Hidden Mountain has no demonic miasma, all is harmonious. When we entered Mist Hidden Village, we didn't hear about villagers being extensively slaughtered. This means, this group of Devils deliberately restrained themselves, not eating near their lair, but went out to hunt instead."
Ning Zhuo nodded, "Therefore, they must have caused other disturbances. We just don't know it yet. Perhaps, they already are on a wanted list."
"Attacking rashly carries many risks. Why not check the wanted list, gather some intelligence, and then take action? Isn't that more secure?"
Sun Lingtong nodded, "That makes sense."
Although he was eager, he understood the importance and would not lose the big picture over small gains.
After discussing, they maneuvered the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon and left Mist Hidden Mountain.
Ning Zhuo activated the mechanism's ability to traverse the void, quickly arriving at Yugang Mountain.
Yugang Mountain stood towering, and because it was rich in Jade Dark Steel, the soil showed a hue of Green Jade. From a distance, the entire mountain was lush and vibrant, as if a giant was draped in a jade garment.
Streams gurgled in between the mountains as if softly plucked on an ancient zither, resonating crisply. The mountain rocks were sturdy and shimmering, all possessing the hue of jade.
The mountain had been excavated multiple times, revealing layers of open-air ore deposits.
Inside the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon, Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong looked down to see many miners, like ants, diligently digging in the deposits, tirelessly.
The mountain and ore deposits were densely filled with various-sized mining tunnels. The deep mining paths were complex like a vast net, extending deep into the belly of the mountain.
Halfway up the mountain, there was a small town.
The town was surrounded by towering walls, paired with mechanical guardian towers, and constantly guarded by numerous cultivators at critical spots.
The town had many large outdoor smelting furnaces, constantly refining ores, causing thick smoke that never dissipated.
Sun Ning and his companion left the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon, made slight adjustments to their appearance, and disguised as two middle-aged Loose Cultivators, one tall and the other short, entering the mountain town together.
The guard at the gate immediately stopped them, "The price list is posted there, read it, pay the fee, then you may enter the town."
Clearly, the guard mistook Sun Ning and his companion as Loose Cultivators, coming to mine in Yugang Mountain.
Sun Ning and his companion approached the foot of the city wall and saw the price list posted on the wall.
The price list was quite detailed, the content read: "Fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, grants access to the first underground level of the ore deposit for mining, time limit one day…"