Chapter 96: The Task Begins

  Qin Hao returned to his room and sat quietly in meditation.

  Inside the body, a more majestic force than before slowly flows through all the meridians, flesh and blood, bones, and skin, eventually gathering in the Sea of Qi, circulating continuously, repeatedly flowing and turning.

  Every moment, Qin Hao's aura deepened a little more. And the circulation of that mysterious energy seemed to have gained a hint of spirituality.

  No longer just a simple gas, but as if it had a hint of soul, fluctuating, breathing, and evolving with spiritual intention.

  The power of Lingxuan San Chong is nearly twice that of Lingxuan Er Chong. In the realm of Lingxuan, every step forward increases the thickness of the Xuanqi inside the body by a considerable amount.

  Xie Feng and Zeng Hua were both in the third layer of Ling Xuan, but just now they almost lost a face-to-face encounter. This was not only because Qin Hao's understanding of martial skills and his use of strength far surpassed theirs, but also because his cultivation level had increased significantly.

  Otherwise, Qin Hao can defeat them both, but it will also waste a lot of time.

  "What a pity." Qin Hao opened his eyes and let out a sigh, feeling quite regretful in his heart.

  Triple and quadruple, only then is a true Kan. Entering the fourth heavy, truly controlling the mysterious energy to transform shape, offense can be transformed into a sword, defense can be transformed into a shield, following one's heart's desire, transforming shape at will.

  Fourfold and threefold are no longer a difference in strength, but a difference in realm, a gap in perception.

  Those who truly experience the spirit of "one" are like travelers standing on a high mountain, taking in the entire landscape at a glance.

  At his current speed, it will take half a month before he can even touch the wall barrier. As for reaching it, that will take even more time.

  Qin Hao shook his head, suppressing the chaotic thoughts deep within. He composed himself and took out Xuanjing and Meteorite Stab from his bosom, beginning to refine the Array Diagram.

  Before entering the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts, one must make thorough preparations. Every year, those who think they can reap benefits from it end up losing their lives, and if you line them up, they would encircle the entire Blackstone City.

  Qin Hao took out the Xuanjing from his arms and placed them one by one on the ground, closed his eyes, and recalled several types of Xuan seal arrays recorded in the Heishi.

  At present, he has many arrays, but not many have been refined. The only ones that assist in attacking are the second-order primary Golden Arm Guards, which use demonic power to transform into arm guards to enhance their power; those that recover Xuan Qi are just first-order Reiki Arrays. Apart from these two types, other refined arrays are mostly useless against second-order demon beasts.

  The defensive formation of Heishi was not to be underestimated, and now was the perfect opportunity to utilize it. Several formations flashed through Qin Hao's mind as he grasped Xuanjing's hand and began to dance like a butterfly among flowers.

  …………

  Two days passed again in this way.

  Two days of bitter practice, engraving the formation diagram, consumed a lot of mental effort. However, that aura had also stabilized a lot, like a lake, under the calm and peaceful surface of the water, no one knew what was hidden beneath.

  When Qin Hao arrived at the main hall, the eyes of the crowd contained a thousand meanings, and the most obvious one was a sense of reverence.

  The rules of the hunting alliance are like this, strength is the highest guarantee.

  In some places, might makes right is an eternal and unchanging principle.

  If Qin Hao was only slightly stronger than them, the emotions in their hearts would be indignation and jealousy, with a flame burning.

  But if it is far beyond, letting them not have a thread of catching up faith, then their only reaction is to surrender, look but dare not step forward, at least, they have to pretend to be submissive on the surface.

  This principle, Qin Hao understood, they understood, Xie Feng and Zeng Hua both clearly knew in their hearts.

  When Qin Hao appeared in front of them again, the two had a pale face, but their eyes were wandering, afraid to meet Qin Hao's gaze.

  Ye Ling and Shen Yue walked towards Qin Hao, both wearing a crisp outfit, neat and tidy. Shen Yue's pure white dress made her look like a peach blossom, elegant and extraordinary.

  "I can sense that your aura has grown much stronger." Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled and said, "Are you ready? This hunt is going to require extra caution." His tone was extremely calm, making it difficult for people to associate him with the evaluations others had of him.

  Qin Hao nodded slightly in his heart as this thought flashed through, and he also greeted Shen Yue.

  "Let's go then." Ye Ling didn't waste any words, directly making a hand gesture before turning around and leaving first. Xie Feng and Zeng Hua exchanged a glance, hastily catching up.

  Only Shen Yue smiled shallowly, walking shoulder to shoulder with Qin Hao. Although Qin Hao's expression was calm, Shen Yue seemed completely unaware, warmly saying: "This time is different from the outskirts of Wan Shou Valley, there are some dangers, the more careful the better."

  "Thank you." Qin Hao turned his head and expressed his gratitude.

  "I don't know what kind of martial skills you're good at, Qin Hao? The other day I saw your moves and they seemed very fast." Shen Yue's hand twirled a strand of hair beside her shoulder, as if asking casually.

  "It's just an ordinary skill." Qin Hao replied casually.

  "Can't say?" Shen Yue seemed somewhat disappointed, her smile dimming a lot, with a hint of bitterness in her smile.

  Suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something and smiled, with a hint of apology: "Could it be that the family's martial arts skills can't be revealed? In that case, I suppose I was too abrupt."

  "It doesn't matter." Qin Hao's tone remained calm and flat, without a hint of fluctuation.

  Two people asked and answered each other. Shen Yue was very enthusiastic, the heat of speaking directly obvious, discussing all sorts of topics with Qin Hao. Qin Hao, however, seemed somewhat indifferent.

  Until the five people passed through the city gate, Qin Hao revealed that there was only one piece of information about him, and his name was "Tian Lang".

  "From here, go westward, and turn into the dense forest at this point." Ye Ling stopped and took out a map, pointing out one landmark after another.

  "Why? Hunting second-tier demon beasts doesn't necessarily require these points, does it?" Qin Hao spread out the map, his tone laced with doubt: "Second-tier demon beasts, heading straight in from this direction can also encounter quite a few."

  "I've explored this direction before." Ye Ling said with confidence: "There are more second-level demonic beasts, but the extremely ferocious ones are very rare, it's the safest place."

  Ye Ling put away the map and smiled at Qin Hao: "Tian Lang, it may be very hard from now on. We must hurry to get here, if you can't adapt along the way, we'll help you."

  "Right." Shen Yue added, "The journey is long and there may be one or two high-level or peak demon beasts blocking the way. We've been here a few times, so we're used to it. You're coming for the first time, so be careful."

  Qin Hao rolled up the map and didn't refute it, but just smiled lightly and responded casually with a couple of sentences.

  "Let's go." Ye Ling's smile disappeared, his tone suddenly becoming sharp. His body was wrapped in a ball of green light, shooting out like an arrow.

  Qin Hao also launched his movement skill and followed them up, quietly observing the situation of several people.

  Xie Feng's movement was extraordinary, like a swallow sticking to the ground, occasionally making two or three quick movements, his whole body almost parallel to the ground, flying forward. Zeng Hua's movement was clumsy, but his earth-based mysterious energy was exceptionally powerful, he concentrated the mysterious energy in his soles, and then exploded it, relying on the recoil force to propel himself forward, his speed in a straight line wasn't bad either.

  Shen Yue was also quite extraordinary, the whole person was like a willow leaf, with no weight at all, lightly floating forward, with beautiful movements and not bad speed.

  The five of them walked deep into the forest, continuing for a whole hour without stopping to rest. The Ling Xuan Wu Zhe had a robust breath and enduring physical strength, so it wasn't difficult for him to do this. Except for Zeng Hua's clumsy method, which consumed more Xuan Qi, his face was slightly red, but the others were almost unchanged.

  Ye Ling was the most relaxed one, and still had time to turn around and chat with everyone.

  "Squeak squeak squeak!"

  A dark shadow burst out from the side, rushing towards Qin Hao's chest. As it drew closer, its outline gradually became clear, and a golden glow flashed all over its body. A pair of canine teeth emitted a cold light, and it was actually a high-level demon beast, the Golden Swallowing Mouse.

  Qin Hao's expression didn't change, his right hand casually swept out, and the body of the Golden Mouse suddenly burst out a bloom of blood flowers, scattering in mid-air. Its pupils suddenly widened in an instant, gradually dispersing.

  A faint fiery red glow flashed across Qin Hao's ring finger, and the corpse of the Golden Mouse disappeared into thin air.

  The entire process was devoid of any superfluous movements. Skilled and seasoned, it was in no way inferior to those veteran hunters.

  Along the way, there were not a few first-class demon beasts that rushed out like a golden mouse and launched a proactive attack. The entire team didn't stop for a moment. Among them, Qin Hao's hands and feet were the fastest, and often with just one slap or touch, a first-class demon beast would fall into his hands.

  A first-class demon beast is equivalent to a martial artist in the Condensed Mysteries realm. Even if it's a first-class peak, it's only around the tenth level of Condensed Mysteries. This kind of level can be dealt with effortlessly.

  "Tian Lang." Shen Yue, who was not far from Qin Hao, drew closer and said in surprise: "You don't look like a newcomer at all."

  "This monster has been seen a few times." Qin Hao's expression didn't change: "It's naturally very easy to deal with."

  "Stop." Ye Ling suddenly raised his hand in front, signaling everyone to stop.

  Qin Hao's foot touched the ground and his rapidly moving body suddenly came to a stop, completely achieving the effect of being as light as a feather.

  "In the vicinity of three miles, there are a large number of second-order primary demon beasts. However, second-order intermediate demon beasts are extremely rare." Ye Ling explained: "This time, our destination is the second-order intermediate demon beast, Frost Fox, which has dispersed on its own. Whoever finds it first will bring it back. Of course, if you need other second-order demon beasts, you can also hunt them down on your own initiative."

  "How long has it been?" Qin Hao asked calmly.

  "In two time periods, if you haven't met up after two time periods, return here first and assemble."

  Qin Hao listened and nodded thoughtfully, then waved at the two of them and chose a direction to walk in.

  The jungle here is extremely dense, with the canopies of several towering trees intertwined in mid-air, shading out even the sunlight, making the entire forest seem somewhat dark and gloomy.

  Qin Hao took a step forward, his footsteps extremely light, almost inaudible. His eyes scanned the surroundings, and he spotted the outlines of ferocious beasts lurking on tree trunks, in thickets, and under the shadows of massive rocks.

  Among them, there are not a few second-order primary demon beasts. Of course, not all demon beasts are violent, and there are many gentle-natured demon beasts that quietly lie in one place, posing little threat. For these demon beasts, Qin Hao also doesn't provoke them.

  As the footsteps went deeper, the forest became denser and the sunlight was almost completely blocked out. Everything in sight was a dull grey color, similar to a rainy day.

  Qin Hao clenched his fists and became alert. He had been silently calculating the distance in his heart all along, guarding against stepping out of the three-mile boundary, and this place was less than one-tenth of a mile away from the demarcation line.

  The boundary was often haunted by high-ranking demon beasts, so Qin Hao's footsteps were also getting lighter, breathing softly, and moving forward step by step. Like a snowflake, it gently fell to the ground without making a sound.

  In this place, the number of demonic beasts is relatively small. According to Qin Hao's feeling, there should be a more powerful demonic beast dwelling in front.

  Qin Hao's Gong Fa began to circulate, covering his body surface, guarding against possible sneak attacks.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, before long, thirty steps ahead, a crouching beast appeared in Qin Hao's line of sight.

  That monster, its entire body was like a huge black stone. Only by taking a closer look could one discover that the black things were dark-colored scales, densely packed together to form a layer of keratin, very similar to the surface of ordinary stones.

  If it weren't for that patch of "black stone" on his face, with a pair of rather striking crimson eyes, Qin Hao wouldn't have recognized him so easily.

  "Second-order primary demon beast, Black Scaled Beast."

  Qin Hao recalled the symbol on the Yao Shou Tu Lu and suddenly had an understanding of this demon beast's temperament. It was ferocious and powerful.

  Qin Hao's cat-like body moved stealthily forward, a dagger in hand, its blade shrouded in a fiery red glow that seemed to pierce the air.

  That fiery glow flickered in the dark, extremely conspicuous, yet the beast was nowhere to be seen, narrowing its copper bell-like eyes as if it had fallen asleep.

  Qin Hao secretly took a deep breath and accelerated his pace. As expected, this demon beast had been hiding in the dark for a long time, its vision had degenerated a lot, and its perception of bright colors was extremely weak.

  Thirty Steps...

  Twenty steps...

  Ten steps...

  At the fifth watch, Qin Hao sprang up, his right hand throwing with great force, a crimson dagger flying past with a tearing sound, like a meteor streaking across the sky.

  Boom!

  In an instant, a yellow light screen rose in front of the demon beast. The dagger stabbed at the light screen, and the light screen shook violently before suddenly bursting open.

  The light screen shattered with a loud crash, and the dagger was also shaken into several segments. Clang clang fell to the ground.

  The second-order demon beast Hei Lin's eyesight was not good, but it was also equivalent to a human Ling Xuan San Chong Wu Zhe's existence, with extremely keen perception of the mysterious air. Qin Hao's dagger was quick to leave his hand, and its reaction was not slow by several points, completely blocking it in just one breath.

  Hei Lin felt Qin Hao's direction, his beast mouth wide open, a bright light flashing in his mouth, brewing a layer of mysterious energy ball.

  Qin Hao's figure had already entered within three steps. Already in close combat range.

  Bang!

  Qin Hao's fist was swift and decisive, striking the black scales' jaw and shutting its mouth. The half-formed Xuanqi storm exploded in the beast's maw.

  The monster let out a loud roar, and with one fierce stomp, the entire forest began to shake. Its mouth was still dripping with blood, its snow-white teeth stained crimson, looking extremely ferocious.

  Its tail stretched out thoroughly, dancing in the air, like a steel whip swung towards Qin Hao, creating a black vortex in the air.

  Qin Hao dodged to the side and suddenly accelerated, his body shape rapidly advancing. His right palm sprayed out a mysterious aura of light, fist after fist pounding towards Hei Lin's head.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The beast's tail danced about, but couldn't even touch Qin Hao's hem. Qin Hao was like a shadow, making it impossible for the beast to shake him off, and from time to time, he would land a few punches on its body, knocking off pieces of its dark skin.

  A second-order demon beast, like a weak little kid, had no power to fight back.

  The monster was beaten painfully and let out another roar. Its entire body curled up, its head shrinking into the lower part of its body, only revealing a suit of hard scales.

  "Heaven-Shaking Palm."

  Qin Hao's chest had a confident plan, and one punch hit the monster's back ridge.

  Buzz buzz buzz!

  The monster's body suddenly shook violently, and its scales fell off one by one. Its originally coiled body also slowly stretched out.

  The monster's body soon loosened up, its entire torso curled up on the ground like a lump of rotten meat. Its pupils had long since dispersed.

  Qin Hao stretched out a dagger and began to carve on the body of the demon beast. After a moment, a crystal appeared in Qin Hao's hand.

  Qin Hao put away the Xuan crystal and looked around before turning back. This boundary, with his current strength, it's best not to cross it.

  …………

  Two hours later, there were a few more second-order Xuanjing in Qin Hao's ring, but even the shadow of the cold ice weasel was not seen.

  Qin Hao sensed that time was running out and suddenly picked up speed, rushing back to the starting position.

  The trees on both sides flew backward quickly, Qin Hao's figure turned into a gust of clear wind in the forest, constantly advancing.

  As he approached the starting point, Qin Hao furrowed his brow.

  What happened here all of a sudden? Trees are down everywhere, branches scattered all over the ground.

  The ground is covered with huge pits and some water marks.

  Qin Hao took a deep breath and his feet moved even faster. The trees gradually fell behind, and the scene in front of him also emerged.

  Only four warriors were seen with their backs against each other, looking disheveled. In front of and behind them, a demonic beast crouched, staring fiercely.

  The monster's body was slender and long, its fur crystal clear like snow, without a single speck of impurity. On the surface of the monster, a faint chill emanated.

  "Snow leopard."

  Qin Hao's heart moved slightly as he carefully observed the scene in the arena. The two Ice Weasels seemed to have an overwhelming advantage.

  Xie Feng, Zeng Hua, Ye Ling and Shen Yue, each carrying a weapon, with knives, swords and daggers gleaming in the cold light, but their expressions were extremely listless, and there were still scattered ice crystals hanging on their bodies.