Chapter Twenty-Two: The Missing Demon Beast Pill

The man turned around; who else could it be but Li Hu?
“Young man, you’re in the wrong here. If you leave without saying goodbye, I’ll be heartbroken,” Li Hu said as he walked over slowly.
Lu Han’s face stiffened.
“So, you still want to slip away? Li Hu, I say we break his legs—see where he’ll run next time,” Tie Kuang arrived from behind, ready to act as soon as he finished speaking.
Li Hu thought this would indeed solve the problem once and for all, saving him from having to send someone to tail Lu Han.
Seeing Li Hu had no intention of stopping him, Lu Han suddenly ran to Li Hu’s side and whispered something. Tie Kuang, unable to see what was happening ahead, assumed Lu Han was running because he feared having his legs broken.
“Wait, Brother Tie, don’t be so hasty. See, he hasn’t run off, has he? Come out,” Li Hu suddenly whistled.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Three figures appeared, dressed in black, with the word ‘Tiger’ embroidered on their chests.
“Brother Tie, just in case, I had three people tail this kid. The moment he tried to slip away, I knew about it. Don’t worry—do you think he could escape from one Ninth Layer Postnatal expert and two Eighth Layer Postnatal experts?” Li Hu said, his eyes shifting slyly.
“Hmph! Kid, you’d better not try anything funny!” Tie Kuang withdrew his hands into his sleeves.
“Young man, is what you said really true?” Li Hu’s tone was somewhat friendly.
Who’s your young man? Lu Han thought, but still replied, “I believe you’ve heard that Captain Tie has a storage ring?”
He’d just whispered three words to Li Hu that only the two of them could hear: storage ring.
Li Hu knew storage rings were priceless, and he’d always wanted one.
Although he’d heard rumors that Tie Kuang had a storage ring, he didn’t quite believe it—how could Tie Kuang have such a thing when even he himself did not?
“That storage ring appears to have been passed down from Tie Kuang’s ancestors. His treasure map is hidden inside the ring. Because Tie Kuang is the ring’s owner, he has a connection to it. I had to hide the ring. I…”
“Wait a minute, young man. I may not have a storage ring, but don’t think you can fool me! If the owner of a storage ring isn’t dead, how could you open it?” Li Hu’s gaze turned cold; he realized Lu Han was trying to trick him—there was no storage ring.
“Captain Li, hear me out. I got the ring from Tie Luo. How could he open it? Because he had a few drops of Tie Kuang’s blood. Each time he wanted to open it, he’d drip blood onto the ring. I killed him and took the blood, so it’s not strange that I can open it,” Lu Han hurried to explain.
“Here’s the deal: tomorrow, when we reach the destination, you protect me. I’ll tell you where the ring is, and then you let me go. What do you think, Captain Li?” Lu Han knew that once they reached the treasure map’s location, Tie Kuang would likely kill him. He had to find himself a talisman.
Li Hu was a good choice. Though they were temporarily allied, it was only because Tie Kuang was forced by circumstance. If he didn’t join forces, the whole Cloud Crystal Mountain would know about it, and things would get even messier.
“So, you’re using me as your talisman, huh? I agree to your terms, but let me be clear: if you trick me, your fate will be worse than offending Tie Kuang!” Li Hu’s gaze sharpened as he spoke. Everyone in Bluestone Town knew him as the smiling tiger—sinister and ruthless.
Li Hu had managed to scar Tie Kuang’s face precisely because he was vicious enough.

Back then, Tie Kuang was about to defeat Li Hu, but Li Hu pulled their vice-captain in front of him to block a sword strike. Tie Kuang was stunned, and Li Hu wounded him in that moment. The vice-captain died on the spot.
Returning to the resting place with Li Hu, Lu Han found the others sitting cross-legged, recovering their strength.
The night passed peacefully, except for the cloud-leopard from the previous evening.
At dawn, everyone continued their journey guided by Lu Han.
As they ventured deeper, the harshness of Cloud Crystal Mountain began to show. This was already their third encounter with beasts; the previous two had been solitary creatures, easily beset by the group and skinned.
This time, they faced three Black Mist Toads—gray all over, about a meter in size, capable of spewing black mist.
Although only first-level beasts, with Ninth Layer Postnatal strength, even Tie Kuang and Li Hu wanted to avoid them. These toads were extremely poisonous; their mist could only be counteracted by a third-tier detoxification pill within an hour, or else it meant certain death. The Black Mist Toad was one of the most notorious poisons in Cloud Crystal Mountain.
The three toads blocked the path.
Suddenly, they spat a dense cloud of black mist. Several mercenaries at the front failed to dodge in time, poisoned deeply and dying on the spot.
“Hold your breath and fall back!” Zheng Qi stepped forward to command.
Everyone began attacking the toads. There was no choice; to move forward, they had to deal with them.
Even with caution, some were poisoned. In the end, several mercenaries died before the three toads were slain. No beast core was found within their bodies—usually only innate beasts possessed beast cores, though sometimes a Ninth Layer Postnatal beast might form one. This time, they were disappointed.
Fortunately, Lu Han was valuable; Li Hu immediately brought him into the center of the group.
After spending a dozen lives with no gain, the party continued onward. The deeper they went, the harder it was to avoid beasts—there might be second or even third-level creatures.
If they encountered a third-level beast, the entire group might be wiped out.
After traveling another two miles, everyone stopped, legs trembling.
They all looked to their captains, hoping the decision would be to turn back.
Ahead lay a second-level beast: the Frostwing Violet-Eyed Python, rare in the depths of Cloud Crystal Mountain. It was an ice-element beast, snow-white and exuding cold, over ten meters long, as thick as a water barrel. Its upper body rose into the air, two enormous violet eyes staring at the group, its tongue flickering.
“Captain, that’s the Frostwing Violet-Eyed Python! Equivalent to the Sixth Layer Innate—it’s stronger than you! I say we turn back,” a mercenary trembled as he addressed Li Hu.
“What are you afraid of? If it were another beast, I might retreat. But this python? It’s just delivering us a beast core! Flying Tiger Mercenary Group, surround the python!”
“Li Hu, what are you up to?” Tie Kuang asked, puzzled.

Lu Han didn’t know why, but upon seeing the Frostwing Violet-Eyed Python, it felt as if the bead in his brow was trembling. Unsure if it was an illusion, he rubbed his brow.
“Brother Tie, you don’t know—the python is powerful, yes, but it has a fatal flaw: it’s extremely clumsy. One-on-one, it might be unbeatable, but with so many of us, it’s as good as dead. We just need to attack from a distance.”
“Earth Iron Fist!”
“Black Spirit Blade!”
“Scorpion Tiger Stab!”
…
The unfortunate python endured wave after wave of attacks from over two hundred people. Even its Sixth Layer Innate strength couldn’t withstand such a barrage.
Boom…
“Haha, a great harvest! A second-level beast core, and a rare one at that—a Frostwing Violet-Eyed Python! It’ll fetch a hefty price!”
Lu Han, seeing such a large beast for the first time, approached and touched the python’s corpse. The moment his finger made contact, the unknown bead in his brow stirred, a force surged from his palm to his brow, all in an instant.
At that moment, the deep blue ring he carried emitted a faint glow, though Lu Han did not notice.
Lu Han had long known there was something mysterious about the bead, according to the old man—his transformation into five parts ice attribute was thanks to it. But lately, the bead had been dormant. He couldn’t fathom why it moved now.
“What! There’s no beast core at the seven-inch mark? Impossible!”
“Could it not be a second-level beast?”
No beast core was found inside the python.
Everyone was baffled; conventional wisdom held that every second-level beast had a core.
Even Li Hu, who understood beasts better than most, was stunned. With over two hundred pairs of eyes watching as the python was dissected, there was no chance of a mistake.
“Why is there no beast core?”
With doubts lingering, the group pressed onward.
Lu Han walked at the front, rubbing his nose thoughtfully.
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