Inside the envelope was a map and a bounty notice!

The map marked a location within the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers, and the bounty was for a mysterious woman known as the ’Vampire Witch’!

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but recall the astronomical bounty that had once shaken the entire Saint Martial Dynasty...

「One year ago.」

A one-hundred-man Demon Hunting Team under the command of the Luo Family—one of the Ten Great Aristocratic Families of the Imperial Capital—lost contact in the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers. When the Luo Family’s experts found them half a month later, all one hundred members of the team had met a violent end. Every corpse had been drained of its blood and turned into a withered husk.

Enraged, the Luo Family dispatched one hundred more hundred-man Demon Hunting Teams into the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers to find the killer.

「Six months later...」

Those one hundred hundred-man Demon Hunting Teams were nearly annihilated.

Every expert who met a gruesome end had been drained of their blood, reduced to a withered husk.

Only a few survivors managed to escape with their lives. According to their accounts, the killer was a mysterious woman; no one knew what she looked like.

Wherever she passed, the Demon Hunters’ blood would pour uncontrollably from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths as their bodies were completely drained.

This was how she earned the name ’Vampire Witch’!

As a result of this campaign, the Luo Family lost nearly ten thousand experts, and its Demon Hunter divisions were all but annihilated.

The Luo Family was one of the Ten Great Aristocratic Families in the Saint Martial Dynasty’s Imperial Capital. Their status and power placed them at the very pinnacle of the entire dynasty. How could they possibly stand by and do nothing while their experts were being slaughtered?

The Luo Family was enraged and issued a bounty for the Vampire Witch!

Anyone who could capture or kill the Vampire Witch and bring proof to the Luo Family in the Imperial Capital would receive the astronomical reward of one trillion taels of silver!

One trillion taels of silver!

Even converted to gold, that’s ten billion taels of gold!

That’s enough to buy an entire city!

Keep in mind, even when Jiang Chen plundered the Qinghuo Gang’s Treasure Vault—a hoard accumulated over several decades—he only came away with a little over three billion taels of silver, equivalent to just a few tens of millions of taels of gold!

If he could kill or capture that ’Vampire Witch,’ he would receive ten billion taels of gold.

WHOOSH...

Jiang Chen let out a long breath. Seeing the greedy, feverish gazes of the crowd, he couldn’t help but give a wry smile. "No wonder they all got hyped up like they were on steroids the moment they heard news of the Vampire Witch. As expected of one of the Imperial Capital’s Ten Great Aristocratic Families—so ostentatious. Ten billion taels of gold... That’s enough to tempt even an ordinary Heavenly Destiny Realm expert, right?"

"S-Sir, my brothers and I got this letter by robbing a caravan. We took it from a crippled Demon Hunter. I was just about to take it to my brother-in-law. The information inside is absolutely true, I swear! For the letter’s sake, can you... can you spare me?" One-Eyed Dragon begged, his face filled with terror.

Jiang Chen said flatly, "Fine. I’ll let you go."

"Thank you! Thank you, Sir!"

One-Eyed Dragon hurriedly replied with utmost respect. As he bowed his head, however, a cold, vicious glint flashed in his eye. ’Little bastard, don’t get cocky. The moment I get back, I’ll find my brother-in-law. He’ll definitely avenge me!’

Thinking these vicious thoughts, One-Eyed Dragon took a deep breath and walked toward the inn’s main entrance.

However, the moment he stepped over the threshold, One-Eyed Dragon felt a jolt rack his body. He looked down and saw a sharp blade piercing through his heart, blood spraying like a fountain.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked back at Jiang Chen. "Y-You... you promised to let me go, didn’t you?"

"Sorry. I only said I’d let you go. I never promised I wouldn’t kill you," Jiang Chen said flatly.

"B-Bastard... Even in death... I won’t let you get away with this!"

A savage expression twisted One-Eyed Dragon’s face. Forcing out the last of his strength, he let out a hysterical roar. "Everyone, listen! The Vampire Witch from the astronomical bounty is in Yunxian Valley, inside the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers! You little bastard, you’re killing me to silence me so you can find the Vampire Witch on your own? I won’t let you have your way! HAHAHA..."

One-Eyed Dragon stared at Jiang Chen, his face a mask of venomous glee.

He took his last breath and collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Chen’s face turned ashen, his gaze dark. ’Damn it. A moment of carelessness, and I let him reveal the location of Yunxian Valley. Now, news of the Vampire Witch’s presence there will spread throughout the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers in a flash. Countless experts will flock there. But... so what? The whole point of my trip was to temper myself. The more experts I encounter, the better it is for my training!’

With this in mind, Jiang Chen strode out of the inn, mounted a tall, powerful steed, and galloped toward the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers at top speed.

In Jiang Chen’s wake...

One after another, the experts bolted from the inn, scattering in all directions.

"The Vampire Witch is in Yunxian Valley! Spread the word!"

"Hurry, report to the Village Chief! The Vampire Witch is in Yunxian Valley..."

"The Wild Wolf Brothers have been killed, and the map to the Vampire Witch’s location was stolen! Pass the message on at once..."

From within the crowd, a remarkably tall figure, shrouded in a black cloak that obscured their face, slowly looked up.

He raised a pair of massive hands, gently lifting the edge of his hood to reveal Xiong Li’s rugged face. His cold gaze locked onto the direction Jiang Chen had fled. A smirk crept across his lips as he muttered sinisterly, "I was worried those guys from Blood Wolf Village would just go through the motions and give us a half-assed effort. But now that you’ve killed the Wild Wolf Brothers, once I send word back, even Nether Wolf himself might take action. Jie jie, you little bastard, you’re already dead!"

Before the words had even faded, a hawk shot out from Xiong Li’s sleeve. This was a Wind Eagle, a type of Demon Beast specially trained to deliver messages!

It was incredibly fast!

"Go on, little one. Take this message to my Eldest Brother!" Tying a small paper scroll to the Wind Eagle’s leg, Xiong Li tossed the bird high into the air. It soared away with a powerful beat of its wings.

...

As he galloped on, the road ahead grew narrow and rugged. Before long, even his magnificent steed, said to be capable of traveling a thousand miles a day, began to struggle.

Little White stood on the horse’s head.

The Black Emperor, sprawled lazily on Little White’s head, asked, "Jiang Chen, are you really planning to go to Yunxian Valley and catch that Vampire Witch?"

Jiang Chen laughed as he urged his horse onward. "Ten billion taels of gold is a tempting prize for any Martial Artist. However, my trip to Yunxian Valley isn’t just for the bounty."

"Oh?"

The Black Emperor watched Jiang Chen with great interest.

"First, the one who issued this astronomical bounty is the Luo Family. According to the Yulan Tianpeng, the Luo Family hasn’t given up on finding Luo Zhen’s killer, so it’s only a matter of time before they trace it back to me. That makes the Luo Family my potential enemy, and as the saying goes, ’the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ I’m going to Yunxian Valley to try my luck. If I do happen to meet the Vampire Witch, I might just lend her a hand."

Jiang Chen smiled. "Second, a bounty of ten billion gold is enough to draw out many powerful experts. My goal in coming to the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers is to hone my skills and increase my strength. Battling other experts is a fine way to achieve that!"

The Black Emperor nodded. "So that’s how it is."

The man and his two beasts continued their journey. In the blink of an eye, night had fallen.

Walking along a rugged mountain path by the sparse light of the moon and stars, Jiang Chen continued on. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Suddenly, Jiang Chen stopped dead in his tracks. He snapped his head up, his eyes as deep as the starry sky, and shot a tangible, cold glare into the dark forest. A cold snort that seemed to echo from the depths of the Nine Netherworld followed. "Since you’re here, why hide? Show yourself!"