Wei Hong didn't complain; it had been his plan from the start, after all. He was well aware of his junior sister's nature.

He knew that by delivering the usual lecture, she would feel suffocated and attempt to divert the conversation towards something more interesting.

Teaching Wan You about his deductions directly would only lead to her resisting and making an effort to avoid such dull instruction. Instead of engaging in a futile endeavor, he opted to offer the stick first and then the carrot.

"The trail of the ferocious beast was discovered near the village, so close that even a small child could find its fallen scale."

"If the scale were of regular size or slightly larger, it would indicate the ignorance of an ordinary beast. However, according to the villagers' description, the scale was too large for a common ferocious creature. The possessor of such a scale naturally wouldn't make such mistakes, as ferocious beasts grow older, their intelligence increases, and they do their utmost to avoid human settlements without any apparent reason."

Having evaded Wei Hong's tedious lecture, Wan You was now eager to follow the explanation of the demonic beast case instead.

"But, senior brother, if what you say is true, how can the scale have appeared near the village then?"

Wei Hong nodded in satisfaction. His senior sister wasn't slow or dull at all; she was simply bored by the repetitive life of a martial artist.

As a caring and serious senior brother, Wei Hong wouldn't miss such a rare opportunity. "Why don't you try to guess? If you can provide me with a proper answer, I will personally assist you with any martial technique problems you may have when we return to the sect."

Wei Hong had initially desired a more enticing reward, but he had learned his lesson about making promises he didn't intend to keep.

Instead of making a promise he considered useless, he realized it would be better to offer Wan You his personal teachings on cultivation techniques. It would be a win-win situation for both of them.

Wan You sensed something amiss. 'Why is my senior brother suddenly adopting his profound teaching mode? This... this smile... I remember seeing it before…'

Humans were like this. When faced with something they disliked, they would go to great lengths to avoid it, even if the alternative was more burdensome than confronting it head-on.

Wan You's mischievous nature surfaced in her thinking. She couldn't help but sense that something was wrong, yet she couldn't pinpoint the source of her uneasiness.

Being close with her senior brother, she chose to be direct. "Senior brother... Did you do something to me?"

Rather than presenting herself as weak and vulnerable, she voiced her thoughts openly.

Wei Hong lightly tapped his junior sister's forehead with his index finger. He didn't exert much force, but the exaggerated Wan You used her own strength to push her head backward.

"Senior brother, you meanie!"

In apparent agony, Wan You complained while holding her forehead as if experiencing intense pain.

"Maintain your image," Wei Hong warned her.

"Humph." Unwilling to comply, Wan You, unaware of what her senior brother had done, flung her head and pouted.

After giving Wan You the necessary time to calm down, Wei Hong dropped his amiable demeanor. He called out to her, signaling the end of their training session.

"Junior sister, shall we conclude our training for now? We'll rest in the village and return after a night's rest."

Facing the subtle threat from Wei Hong, Wan You ceased her antics and, with a sour face, began contemplating the question posed by her senior brother.

After pondering for a while, Wan You finally provided her answer. "Well, since such a large snake is not an ordinary ferocious beast, it wouldn't leave the forest without a specific goal. Considering its size, it should understand the danger posed by martial artists."

She stole a glance at Wei Hong, but found no change in her senior brother's expression.

'Humph, block of wood,' Wan You playfully stuck her tongue out in her mind.

"In addition, after thoroughly searching the area where the snake scale was found and even venturing into the forest, we couldn't find any traces left behind by such a massive snake."

This was an undeniable fact they had discovered soon after entering the forest following their search around the scale's location.

"So, either the big snake can fly, or someone deliberately placed this scale in a spot easily found by the villagers."

Before Wei Hong could compliment her deduction or add more to it, Wan You continued.

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"Senior brother, do you think the big snake can fly?"

Wei Hong fell silent, attempting to decipher the hidden intention behind Wan You's question. 'Is she pretending or genuinely curious?'

The longer he observed Wan You's expression, the deeper his frown became.

In the end, he couldn't discern his junior sister's true motive and answered the question. "It's not impossible, but it is highly unusual. For a snake to possess the ability to fly, it must either undergo a mutation that grants it wings or break through the constraints of mortal limitations and advance to the next stage in its cultivation path."

"No matter which scenario it is, both are exceedingly difficult to achieve. However, due to their rarity, many martial masters and even martial grandmasters would descend from the mountains to hunt these creatures."

"A mutated beast possesses special qualities that ordinary ferocious beasts lack, while a beast that transcends its mortal limitations can offer immense benefits to any martial master or martial grandmaster."

Wan You couldn't contain her excitement any longer and eagerly asked, "So, senior brother, does that mean we'll become rich?"

Wan You, driven by her own interests, cared more about mundane matters than the martial world, thanks to the safety and shelter provided by the sect.

Who said martial artists didn't need money?

Wei Hong contemplated for a moment before speaking. "You're not wrong, but with our current strength, we can only handle the mutated type. It's impossible for any martial artist below the master stage to confront ferocious beasts that have taken the second step in their cultivation."

Wei Hong was a peak martial artist, while Wan You was a first-rate martial artist. Both were young and promising, but their personalities differed greatly. If Wan You could dedicate herself fully to cultivation, she would progress to the master stage faster than Wei Hong. However, due to her talent, many in the sect admired and spoiled her, contributing to her mischievous and problematic nature.

Realizing the grave danger that even her senior brother couldn't handle on their path to riches, Wan You immediately inquired, "Then, senior brother, can we escape if we encounter such a ferocious beast?"

From her question, it was clear that she still held hope of encountering that mutated snake, completely forgetting their main discussion. It remained uncertain if the ferocious beast even existed in the first place.

Wei Hong patiently indulged Wan You's fascination with the ferocious beast, unaware that time was slipping away from them.

As they approached the edge of the forest, the howling wind that carried the song of darkness and the mysterious night suddenly ceased. Both Wei Hong and Wan You, as peak stage and first-rate martial artists, quickly sensed the unusual shift in their surroundings.

It was as if the forest itself became fearful and concealed its nocturnal charm from an unwelcome visitor.

Without needing any instructions from Wei Hong, Wan You swiftly drew her sword and prepared herself for any sudden movements.

As the guardian of his junior sister, Wan You was extra cautious and watched his surroundings.

Although both of them were geniuses in their sect, they in the end were still in the realm of mortal realm.

The qi of those under master stage unable to leave their body and thus vulnerable from any long distance ambush.

The biggest difference in master stage and peak stage was in their mastery over their qi. Master stage could control the qi even after leaving their body, although limited, but it is still better than many peak stage martial artists.

At best, with the help of profound martial technique or skill, peak stage martial artists could shoot their qi as a long range offensive method with more ease than those in lower cultivation stage.

Circulating the investigation type of martial skill of their sect. Their sense of hearing and sight was enhanced greatly.

It was a benefit of becoming a disciple of a sect, their cultivation method and martial skill could be easily obtained and their quality was quite high.

Ordinary martial skills were like what Niu Chang made through arduous trial and error asking the verification of the system. Even after all of that, his martial skill was only limited to the optimum use of his physical body without any use and enhancement of qi.

From the deep of the forest, the light was dimmed. The moonlight as the source of lighting was pushed back to the sky, only leaving the enigmatic darkness under the trees.

“Senior brother…” Wan You felt immense pressure on her shoulder.

Even with her first rate cultivation stage, her mind was still not up to her cultivation level. Only by watching the strangeness with the absence of any sounds, enough to shake her confidence.

“Don’t be afraid, I am here.” Wei Hong’s voice was calm and assuring. His focus was on that silhouette covered in darkness, he used his left hand to caress Wan You’s head to give more assurance for her.

With Wei Hong’s investigation type martial skill circulated to its limit, he was still unable to hear anything from the approaching stranger.

But the cold and lifeless aura from that darkness, enough for him to guess the identity of this stranger.

"Demonic cultivator practicing evil cultivation techniques or a spirit," Wei Hong concluded, his judgment leading him to believe that this was not just a mere stranger, but an enemy.

"State your name!" Wei Hong asserted, following his instinct despite knowing that this encounter could escalate into a battle.

"Senior brother, should we just run?" Wan You's timid voice reached Wei Hong's ears from his side.

He contemplated this option as well. There was no preexisting enmity between them and the enemy had made their presence known openly. However, he also understood that this enemy must have been confident in their abilities, as demonic cultivators often resorted to dirty tricks to achieve their goals.

If they allowed themselves to be intimidated, it would only provide an opening for the enemy to strike first.

In response to Wei Hong's shout, the silhouette shrouded in darkness lifted its head. It's dark eyes seemed to be stimulated, fixated on Wei Hong.

Wei Hong sensed that he had made a grave mistake. This stranger in the darkness had been unaware of their presence until now.

In that moment, he realized the identity of the enemy—a spirit with low spiritual intelligence.

Wei Hong considered running, but he didn't know where to flee. The challenge with spirits of low spiritual intelligence was their stubbornness; once they set their sights on their prey, they clung to them like a haunting apparition.

To make matters worse, this spirit had already achieved a formidable level of cultivation, evident from the peculiar phenomena surrounding its body.