The most terrifying aspect was that it was a monster resembling a giant python with five heads, each bearing a fierce look with ten eyes shining with ferocity. The head on the left side was slightly smaller, as if its development was incomplete. This Nine-Headed Monster Jiao had a pair of crimson wings on its body, spreading to a width of about two hundred meters when fully extended.
"Five-tiered fire elemental monster, Nine-Headed Monster Jiao." Li Lin immediately recalled the information from the jade slip of his master, the Holy Hand Spirit Sovereign. The Nine-Headed Monster Jiao, a monster of extremely high lineage among monsters, typically breaks through to the seventh tier.
In the world of monsters, lineage is extremely important, much like human talent. Those with excellent talent naturally have no issues with future cultivation and can become strong with good nurturing. The same goes for monsters – not all beasts can become monsters, and it's already impressive if one in a hundred beasts becomes a monster. When monsters give birth, their offspring will also be monsters, unlike human warriors whose children may still be ordinary humans.
Hence, when choosing mounts, many powerful beings prefer high-lineage monsters, ensuring their future breakthrough to high levels.
At that moment, the Nine-Headed Monster Jiao only had five heads, indicating it was at the fifth tier. Each breakthrough adds a head to the Monster Jiao, increasing its power. The smaller head on the left indicated it had not reached the late phase of the fifth tier. Li Lin recognized it as a mid-phase fifth-tier monster.
A mid-phase fifth-tier monster was already terrifyingly powerful, especially the Nine-Headed Monster Jiao, which even ninth-tier warriors would struggle against.
"Nine-Headed Monster Jiao, such a creature exists in the Wu Du Mountain Range." Even the Poisonous Ghost was surprised to see it.
Again, multiple roars echoed, and hundreds of monsters leaped out from the forest. In the sky, no less than fifty flying monsters circled around, all at least third-tier monsters.
"Stone Ape, One-Horned Monster Bull, Ghost Flying Squirrel." Li Lin sensed three incredibly strong auras. In the forest ahead stood a giant ape over a hundred meters tall, covered in blue-white flesh armor instead of fur, resembling stone. It appeared to be the Stone Ape Monster King, a fifth-tier initial phase monster mentioned by Huang Qifan.
Beside the Stone Ape was an equally huge one-horned bull, entirely blue with a single horn on its head and enormous nostrils. Its aura was only slightly weaker than the Stone Ape, suggesting a late-fourth-tier monster.
In the air beside the Nine-Headed Monster Jiao, a hundred-meter-long mouse with pure white fur and crystal-clear wings hovered, resembling a squirrel rather than a mouse with its fluffy tail. Li Lin quickly recognized it as the Ghost Flying Squirrel, a high-lineage wind elemental monster renowned for its extreme speed and difficulty to handle.
"Stone Ape Monster King, One-Horned Monster Bull, Ghost Flying Squirrel." Everyone stared at the sudden appearance of these monsters, their faces turning extremely grim. This lineup, capable of making even the large sects in the ancient domain retreat, was almost the entire lineup of formidable monsters in the mountain range.
"We’re done for," Li Lin muttered with a bitter smile. Two fifth-tier monsters, three fourth-tier monsters, and hundreds of third-tier monsters – this was absolutely terrifying.
"Humans, you have some nerve to cause trouble in my territory," roared the middle head of the Nine-Headed Monster Jiao, while the other four heads stared at the Poisonous Ghost.
"Nine-Headed Monster Jiao, how about becoming my mount, or else I will burn you to ashes," the Poisonous Ghost said lightly, eyeing the Nine-Headed Monster Jiao. It would be a perfect mount for him, especially since his previous mount was unfortunately killed. Encountering the Nine-Headed Monster Jiao now seemed like an ideal opportunity.
"What a joke, me serving as your mount? Keep dreaming. I will tear you to shreds," the Nine-Headed Monster Jiao roared angrily, its massive body suddenly lunging forward as it spewed a stream of intense flame from its central mouth. "Kill these humans..." the Stone Ape bellowed from the forest, shaking the ground with every step.
Roars and howls filled the air as hundreds of monsters surged forward to attack.
"This is bad," Li Lin's face turned grim, realizing that while the third-tier monsters couldn't approach him inside the light circle, the situation would be dire if a fourth-tier monster arrived.
"Run," Li Lin decided quickly, knowing it was now or never.
Without hesitation, he propelled himself forward with a burst of energy, fleeing at high speed.
In the sky above, the Poisonous Ghost conjured a spirit fire and clashed fiercely with the Nine-Headed Monster Jiao. The Stone Ape roared, its blood-red eyes fixated on the Poisonous Ghost, unleashing a powerful, swirling airstream that also attacked him. Confronted by two fifth-tier monsters, the Poisonous Ghost was somewhat pressured, his injuries not fully healed, preventing him from overpowering them immediately.
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Meanwhile, the Blood Lizard continued to battle Huang Qifan, its tail piercing the sky as it struck with ferocious energy.
In the air, the Ghost Flying Squirrel screeched, targeting He Qing Shan, while the One-Horned Monster Bull charged at Li Feng.
Screams filled the air as several members of the Qing Feng Mercenary Group were rapidly killed by the monsters, turning into food for the beasts.
Surrounded by five third-tier monsters, the mature middle-aged woman had her arm bitten off by a Great Earth Howl Wolf. Before she could react, several monsters pounced on her, tearing her body apart.
A third-tier initial phase Earth Lion blocked Li Lin's path, its roar numbing his ears.
"Qing Ling Armor, Raging Sea Howl," Li Lin reacted instantly, knowing he had to fight for survival amidst hundreds of third-tier monsters.
His body was covered in a pale yellow scale armor, and he rapidly conjured a powerful, violent force that gathered a massive amount of water elemental energy into a rapidly spinning vortex. This vortex expanded like a tsunami wave, its terrifying aura and fierce momentum becoming evident as it engulfed the Earth Lion in front of him.
The surrounding space twisted like a tornado, and the vortex finally exploded, sending the Earth Lion flying dozens of meters away, coughing up blood. However, the beast was not killed, its defense alarmingly strong, shocking Li Lin.
"Run..."
Li Lin seized the opportunity to escape, not daring to linger. Initially on the edge of the battlefield, he sprinted out of the monster horde.
Roars followed him, and as he glanced back, he gasped in shock. At least five third-tier monsters were in hot pursuit.
The monsters quickly closed the gap, nearly catching up with him. Li Lin's expression darkened, and as the monsters approached, he crushed a black pill and threw another into his mouth.
A dense black fog, over five hundred meters wide, instantly enveloped the space, blinding the pursuing monsters with its pungent, heart-pounding scent. The monsters, disoriented and terrified, retreated.
Once the fog cleared, Li Lin was nowhere to be seen.
"This Poisonous Miasma Pill is truly powerful," he thought, having narrowly escaped the horde. He continued to run without a destination, knowing he couldn't linger near the monsters.
Explosions echoed from behind, but Li Lin didn't care who lived or died. Wounded, the Poisonous Ghost likely couldn't escape the two fifth-tier monsters, giving Li Lin the chance to leave him behind. With Little dragon (the little dragon) and the poison of the Blood-Eating Bone-Melting Pill almost neutralized, he was close to recovery.
Running through the forest, he finally slowed when the distant explosions faded. Assessing his surroundings, he guessed he was far from the horde.
"Where to now?" he wondered. Being still in the dangerous part of the mountain range and far from the original path, returning seemed impossible. It would take at least half a year to walk back, maybe even more. On the other hand, reaching the safe area towards the ancient domain would take over a month by foot.
"Let's head to the ancient domain," he decided, planning to find his way back from there.
A whooshing sound approached from behind. Li Lin looked up to see a figure swiftly crossing the sky – the elegantly dressed young man with a pair of Qi-wings on his back.
"Wind-system flying martial art," Li Lin noted, just as the Ghost Flying Squirrel, a fourth-tier initial stage wind-system monster, chased after the young man at an even faster speed.
Deciding to avoid that direction, Li Lin turned aside. The area was still unsafe.
Little dragon emerged from his sleeve, coiling on his shoulder, stretching its snout and looking around with its round eyes. After its breakthrough, Little dragon had grown from fifteen to twenty centimeters, its color more radiant.
Li Lin couldn't determine Little dragon's current cultivation level or strength, but he guessed it had significantly increased.
Continuing forward, the crunch of dry branches underfoot became a familiar sound in the vast, unending mountain range. The sunlight filtering through the trees cast a long shadow behind him. Months in the Wudu Mountain Range had changed him: his wheat-colored skin turned a deeper hue, his height increased to around 175 cm, his physique lean but not frail, muscles taut, exuding a masculine vitality – all forged from months of survival in the mountains.
At dusk, Li Lin came across a small river. Squatting down, he scooped up a few handfuls of the clear water to drink. His reflection in the water revealed a somewhat bronzed appearance. Li Lin smiled; he felt he had developed a more masculine air. The youthful immaturity he once had seemed to have gradually faded away.
"A hard life indeed, but I must keep moving to get out of this dangerous area," Li Lin said softly, deciding to continue his journey. He hadn't encountered any monsters on the way, possibly because they were all drawn to the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and the Stone Ape Demon King. He continued on his way, fortunate to have avoided danger.
As he walked alone in the sunset, only Little dragon on his shoulder for company, Li Lin didn't feel uncomfortable. In fact, he somewhat enjoyed this environment, which also helped in maturing his mentality.
Suddenly, a series of loud explosions came from nearby, sounding like an intense battle. Li Lin's curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to check it out.
Moments later, at the edge of an open valley, Li Lin hid in some bushes, watching the valley. Inside, a man and a beast were fiercely fighting. The collision of their energies caused loud sonic booms to echo around.
"It's a small world after all," Li Lin noted, observing the man and the beast in the valley. It was the elegantly dressed young man and the Ghost Flying Squirrel, both appearing injured from their prolonged battle. The young man's clothes were disheveled, his hair messy, but he had a pair of wings made of wind energy on his back, making him look quite mystical.
The Ghost Flying Squirrel's wings were also in disarray as it dived down, sending dozens of wind blades cutting through the air towards the young man.
The young man, with a grave expression, cast a sword technique that produced several sword lights to counter the wind blades.
Feeling the young man's strength, Li Lin was surprised. Despite being only nineteen or twenty years old, the young man had reached the Martial Spirit level, probably at the first tier. His strength and talent were indeed formidable, making Li Lin wonder about his background.
As Li Lin pondered, the man and beast clashed again, scattering powerful energies around.
Little dragon, watching intently from the bushes, seemed eager to join the fight, but Li Lin quickly calmed it down.
Noting the young man's use of three types of martial arts, Li Lin was even more astonished. He had already displayed techniques from the wind, earth, and water systems, marking him as the second tri-elemental martial artist Li Lin had seen in the Wudu Mountain Range, after the Scorpion Woman. Li Lin couldn't help but marvel at how common tri-elemental martial artists seemed to be nowadays.