That’s right.

Yin Qi. Su Qing could feel a great deal of Yin Qi in the surroundings.

If it weren’t for the lit bonfire and the fortification of his own physical vitality, he would have likely been consumed by the surrounding Yin Qi by now.

[Yin Soul Remnant Thought: The souls of beings who died in the Thousand Marrow Mountain Range, trapped within it. Scoured by time and the mountains themselves, they have devolved into remnant thoughts. Weak creatures. Join them~]

[Synthesis Possible]

[Yin Soul Remnant Thought: ...]

[Yin Soul Remnant Thought: ...]

There were so many of them.

A single glance from Su Qing revealed that these things were everywhere.

’Join them? Dream on.’

Su Qing looked at the surrounding Yin Souls without the slightest interest.

These things had no physical form.

To his naked eye, the surroundings were completely empty. If not for the information displayed in his vision, Su Qing wouldn’t have even known they were there.

The Thousand Marrow Mountain Range was rather unsettling, to be able to trap souls within its borders.

Su Qing felt a little hesitant to continue upward.

He had been planning to cross the mountain range and check out the situation over at the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect.

But he had only just reached the foot of the mountains.

And the Yin Qi was already this dense.

It even dampened Su Qing’s mood as he ate the rabbit meat.

After eating his fill, Su Qing decided against sleeping.

He continued on his way instead.

Since the Yin Qi couldn’t harm him, Su Qing chose to press forward.

’Maybe I should have brought the Flying Artifact? Crossing this mountain would be so much easier.’

As Su Qing walked and thought, he suddenly caught the scent of blood.

The area around him had also fallen silent.

The Demon Sword was already in his hand.

The hair on Su Qing’s arms stood on end. He scanned his surroundings, trying to see what was watching him from the shadows.

The sound of breathing.

Su Qing heard it and whipped his head around.

A massive, gaping maw was right in front of him.

Without hesitation, Su Qing swung his sword, simultaneously channeling the Geng Metal Demon Sword Intent within his body.

The Sword Intent, carrying a chilling Demonic Qi, shot out, slashing toward the gaping maw.

One slash!

The gaping maw was split in two.

It collapsed with a loud THUD, and only then did Su Qing get a clear look at what the creature was.

It was a bear.

But now, it was lifeless.

The bear was huge, five meters long.

Its legs were thicker than barrels. It was the first time Su Qing had seen such a thing, and he examined it closely.

There were residual fluctuations of Spiritual Qi on the bear’s body.

’A beast that can cultivate?’

’A Demon Beast?’

Su Qing frowned. It seemed crossing the Thousand Marrow Mountain Range wouldn’t be as simple as it looked.

The bear’s Qi Concealment was also very good. If not for that final huff of breath, Su Qing might have actually been pounced on and taken down by it.

Su Qing looked at the bear’s mouth with its incredibly sharp fangs.

Then he looked at its body.

It was simply enormous.

Using the Demon Sword in his hand, Su Qing slowly skinned the bear. Only the hide on its legs was difficult to remove.

The complete pelt was placed into one of his Storage Rings.

He cut off the bear paws and put them in the Storage Ring as well. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Then he continued on his way.

When traveling, the thing Su Qing hated most was the smell of blood.

His Magical Power had recovered a fair amount.

Only then did Su Qing begin to use Earth Escape once more.

After entering the earth’s ley lines, the feeling of being surrounded by Yin Qi instantly vanished.

...

After another half-hour of traveling underground, Su Qing re-emerged.

By now, he was deep inside the mountain range.

It would still take a long time to cross it completely.

According to the map, the range spanned several thousand li.

He would use thirty percent and keep seventy percent of his Magical Power in reserve.

Su Qing began to walk slowly.

Once daylight arrived, the surrounding Yin Qi finally dissipated.

As the sun shone down and warmed the earth, Su Qing felt much more comfortable.

The mountains were filled with dense, intersecting forests, so Su Qing’s line of sight was very limited.

Gradually, without even realizing it, Su Qing had reached the deepest part of the Thousand Marrow Mountain Range.

"Spiritual Qi."

"The Spiritual Qi here is so dense!"

Su Qing was utterly shocked.

The Spiritual Qi here was even more abundant and richer than in Zhengxuan City.

Su Qing couldn’t even imagine how fast his Cultivation would progress if he trained here.

A sharp cry, like the moo of a bull but higher-pitched, echoed in Su Qing’s ears.

Along with it came a heavy, oppressive feeling.

An aura!

The aura pressed down on Su Qing, making him feel as if he were carrying more than a dozen large boulders on his back.

It was incredibly heavy.

Fortunately, the aura wasn’t directed at Su Qing, and it vanished a moment later.

But Su Qing was already drenched in a cold sweat from fear.

’Just its aura is this terrifying! What kind of creature made that sound!’

Su Qing’s heart pounded wildly. No wonder he hadn’t seen a single insect here.

It turned out some unknown behemoth was occupying this area.

’What would have happened if I’d rashly flown over its head with the Flying Artifact?’ Su Qing didn’t dare to dwell on the thought.

He could only advance cautiously, paying constant attention to any movement around him.

He no longer knew where he was on the map.

But he knew he just had to keep heading north.

He had already come so far; turning back now would mean all his efforts were for naught.

Su Qing took a deep breath, anxiously reminding himself, ’Be careful, be careful... Don’t run into the big guy. I’m just passing through.’

He just hoped he wouldn’t be that unlucky.

As Su Qing continued to advance, he was unaware that in the deepest part of the Thousand Marrow Mountain Range, the Land of Thousand Marrow, was an area filled with countless Spirit Marrows.

A massive, earthy-yellow creature with the head of a dragon and the body of a horse was watching everything.

The dragon head’s eyes were filled with intelligence as they watched Su Qing unblinkingly.

It sat motionlessly in the Land of Thousand Marrow.

But its body was thirty meters long, and its earthy-yellow scales resembled dried, cracked mud, yet they held an intricate pattern and a unique luster.

If Su Qing had been there, he would have exclaimed in shock, "A Qilin?"

Unfortunately, however, the place where Su Qing was located was still several dozen li away from the Land of Thousand Marrow.

Crucially, Su Qing wasn’t even heading in the direction of the Land of Thousand Marrow.

The Qilin watched Su Qing for a full day.

Unaware that a powerful being had been watching him all day, Su Qing continued to advance with extreme caution.

Whenever his Magical Power was mostly recovered, he would use Earth Escape.

Having reached Mastery with the Earth Escape Technique, the duration and speed of his travel had greatly increased.

Originally, half an hour of travel in a straight line would cover about fifteen li and cost thirty percent of his Magical Power.

Now, for the same thirty percent of Magical Power, he could use Earth Escape for an hour, and his speed had doubled. If he traveled in a straight line, he could cover at least sixty li in an hour.

Soon, another night passed, and Su Qing had left the deepest part of the Thousand Marrow Mountain Range.

...

’Another Demon Beast, and not a very strong one at that.’

THUD.

As Su Qing murmured to himself, a huge tiger collapsed before him. The tiger was cyan, and its paws bore patterns like flowing clouds, suggesting an extraordinary bloodline.

Su Qing hadn’t even wiped the blood from his Demon Sword. Ever since the concentration of Spiritual Qi had started to decrease, all sorts of Demon Beasts had begun to appear around him.

All of them were intelligent, immensely powerful, and possessed unique abilities.

Su Qing had been tempered by many battles.

His main takeaway from combat was this: if you can end it in one blow, then end it in one blow. Never let a fight drag on.

If he encountered something he couldn’t handle, it was best to just leave.

There was one Demon Beast Su Qing couldn’t handle—a large white bird flying in the sky, with a wingspan of about fifteen meters. The crucial part was that it could control wind, causing all of Su Qing’s counterattacks to miss whenever it attacked him.

After an unsuccessful strike, it would fly high up again. After a long and fruitless battle, Su Qing had no choice but to use the Earth Escape Technique to get away.

After that battle, Su Qing came to a realization.

An enemy is at their most ignorant of you during your first exchange.

That’s the time to strike with all your might, catching them off guard or killing them outright.

...