Battle through the heaven: Azure Emperor

"Boss, look, a magic core!!!"

At this moment, a mercenary suddenly shouted out in excitement. He stood up with a white, blood-stained magic core in his hand.

A rank 1 Crimson Ice Snake wasn't considered strong among magical beasts. To be able to obtain a magic core from these ten Crimson Ice Snakes was already considered quite lucky. One had to know that it wasn't rare to return empty-handed after killing a magical beast in the wild.

This mercenary's shout naturally attracted the attention of many. Everyone looked at the magic core in his hand with envy.

At this moment, Yan Aoyama, who was guiding an apprentice to bandage a mercenary's wound, suddenly felt a trace of danger. He immediately picked up the crossbow with the safety on the string. While holding the crossbow with his left hand, he pressed the safety while adjusting the aim with his right hand and quickly pulled the trigger.

The auxiliary calculation function was activated. Wind speed, distance, and the movement speed and path of the attacker were constantly updated in his eyes. He calculated the next trajectory and calculated the angle and path he needed to shoot.

With a whoosh, a wolf fang crossbow arrow whizzed past the mercenary's cheek. At the same time Yan Aoyama released the arrow, the bushes four steps behind the mercenary suddenly moved. A green shadow scuttled out from the treetops. It bared its fangs and brandished its claws as it attacked the mercenary's back.

Its body was covered in green fur. Its long body was like a forest wolf, but its appearance was smaller and its movements were more agile. Its long, stinking mouth glinted with a cold light as it dripped saliva. Its scarlet tongue was covered with thorns.

Slywood Fox, a rank 1 wood-attribute magical beast. Its body was medium in size, but its intelligence was high. It was very cunning and hard to kill. It was good at sneak attacks in the forest. It moved like the wind and retreated quickly. It wouldn't easily take the initiative to attack. But this time, it was clearly aiming for the magic core.

Yan Qingshan's shout was too abrupt. Before most people could react, the wolf fanged crossbow had already shot out. The crossbow arrow brushed past the mercenary's face and accurately pierced into the Slywood Fox's gaping mouth. It pierced through the throat and into the fox's body, almost piercing through the fox's entire body.

Bang …

The Slywood Fox was shot by the wolf fang crossbow arrow. Due to inertia, it continued to move forward and smashed into the mercenary's back. The mercenary staggered and fell to the ground. The green fox's four limbs twitched and blood flowed from the corner of its mouth. Soon, it stopped breathing.

"Get up!"

Mang Ba yelled and came to the side of the frightened mercenary. He stretched out his hand and pulled him up. After a careful inspection, he confirmed that this person was just overly frightened and didn't have any other problems, and then pushed him away.

Mang Ba pinched the back of the Slywood Fox's neck, then reached out to pull out the entire wolf fang arrow. After confirming that the magical beast was completely dead, he stuck two fingers into the fox's mouth. After probing the upper jaw of the Slywood Fox, he shook his head in disappointment, then turned around and walked towards Yan Qingshan with the corpse.

"It's a pity, Aoyama. We didn't find the magic core of this Slywood Fox. But your arrow was really powerful. It pierced through the throat and internal organs, but didn't even leave a scratch on its skin. The value of such a complete Slywood Fox's fur is not lower than a magic core."

Mang Ba placed the corpse of the Slywood Fox next to Yan Qingshan. He then took out a rag and wiped the blood off the wolf tooth arrow. "This wolf tooth arrow is really good. However, it's rare to see someone use it as well as you. This arrow isn't damaged at all. It can still be used."

"Not bad!"

Yan Aoyama took the wolf fang arrow. He looked at the cold glint of the bloody wolf fang on the arrowhead. He nodded and put it back into the quiver. That day, when the Greenwood Wolf was brought back to Wanyao Zhai, Yan Aoyama asked someone to deal with it after he woke up. He kept the magic core for himself to heal and cultivate.

The fur, flesh, bones, and claws of the Greenwood Wolf were dealt with by someone, which made him a lot of money. The Greenwood Wolf's teeth were the sharpest. He found someone to make a quiver of wolf fang arrows, and spent a lot of money to find a strong crossbow that could injure magical beasts. After practicing for so long, he finally had some experience.

"But your eyesight and vigilance are really good. I didn't even notice the Slywood Fox. Luckily you reacted quickly. He's the only pillar of support in Yang Wu's family. He doesn't have any brothers. The little brat isn't even ten years old. If he went …"

Mang Ba helped Yan Aoyama deal with the Slywood Fox's corpse. He wanted to make sure that the fur was intact and valuable. While he was working, he subconsciously talked a lot. But when he reached the end, he suddenly stopped and looked at Yan Aoyama with worry. He seemed to feel that he had said something wrong.

"When you're outside, you have to be careful!"

Yan Aoyama only shook his head. Mang Ba's description of Yang Wu's situation was too common in Aoyama Town. Back then, the Yan Aoyama's situation was similar, or even worse. In the two years after his father's death, Yan Aoyama's life was very difficult. If it was his original body, he might have really been touched by the memories.

Yan Qingshan picked up a piece of rough leather and wiped the arrowheads in the quiver one by one. However, the corner of his eyes kept glancing around, sensing for danger.

Mang Ba was right when he said that he was vigilant. He really was able to detect danger much better than ordinary people. Dawn gave people all kinds of inconceivable abilities, including extreme perception and observation. The principle behind it was similar to magnifying the safe distance.

For ordinary people, even if their perception was magnified, it would only be around one meter. But in his previous life, there were some powerful people who could see everything. Even if their back was facing something they couldn't see, they would still be able to sense things ten times more clearly than ordinary people.

After waking up, Yan Qingshan discovered that his mental strength, which was also his perception, was far superior to that of ordinary people. Everything within ten meters of him could be seen clearly. Even if he couldn't see it, he could draw the corresponding picture with his sharp five senses due to the sound of the wind, smell, and so on.

This was also the reason why he chose to enter the mountain to search for the opportunity in the cliff cave under such poor conditions. He felt that with his unique perception ability, he would be able to find some clues if he spent enough time and energy. When he had the ability, he wouldn't have to waste more time looking for it slowly.

The Scarlet Ice Snake and Slywood Fox's attack was just the beginning. There were many magical beasts in this cold forest, and the endless dangers caused everyone to be in a difficult situation.

Of course, when most of the magical beasts saw Yan Aoyama and the others making a ruckus, they would immediately leave. Of course, there were also some stubborn ones who chose to fight the mercenaries head on.

After a few mercenaries surrounded a Snake-tailed Leopard and killed it, the mercenaries finally stopped and opened up a simple camp to rest and reorganize.

This forest wasn't very big, and they didn't need too much space to rest. They also didn't need to go to extremes. They just needed to open up a space in the periphery to drive away some magical beasts. If they really went on a killing spree, the smell of blood would attract high level magical beasts. Even if it was only level two magical beasts, they wouldn't be able to deal with them.

The carriage stopped under the crown of a large tree. Yan Aoyama also slowly stepped down. The bumpy road made him feel quite uncomfortable.

Although he had to pretend to be injured, it was normal for him to walk and stretch his muscles.

Walking alone, Yan Qingshan could feel the changes in the eyes of the surrounding mercenaries. In this kind of circle where status was determined by strength, as long as you displayed strength that made others raise their eyebrows, you would be able to gain the respect of others. This was a very simple and direct rule.

He had killed a Slywood Fox with a single arrow. Whether or not it was luck, his actions and strength had been recognized. This would be beneficial for the work he was about to do.

In the simple camp, a dozen or so mercenaries were spread out in all directions, keeping watch. The others were sitting where they were, recovering the strength they had expended during the journey.

The apprentices of the herb-gathering team were all searching for medicinal ingredients around the camp. Some of the mercenaries were also by their side, seemingly wanting to steal some skills from them.

These apprentices didn't chase them away. They weren't strong enough, and the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts was filled with danger. If they had mercenaries by their side, they would at least have a helping hand if they encountered danger.

Yan Aoyama walked out of the crowd, vigilantly sensing his surroundings. After walking out of the small forest, what appeared in front of him was a somewhat steep cliff. Standing at the top of the cliff and looking into the distance, he could see a lush green forest in the distance. It was quite beautiful.

Yan Aoyama's gaze wandered around the cliff, constantly scanning the area. But if one were to observe carefully, they would discover that most of his gaze was focused on the bottom of the cliff, as if he was looking for something.

"Aoyama, what are you worrying about? Don't tell me you've read too many novels and travel books and are preparing to jump off the cliff in search of an opportunity! "

A bold laugh suddenly came from behind him. Yan Aoyama's body stiffened, and his expression changed. He turned around with a smile. "Uncle Mang Ba, what are you talking about? Aren't I looking for medicinal ingredients? It's a pity that this White Orchid Fruit hasn't matured yet! "

Yan Aoyama smacked his lips, rubbed his nose, and pointed to a medicinal herb at the side. At the edge of the cliff, in the direction that Yan Aoyama pointed to, there was a plant with pale white flowers that were slightly blooming. In the middle of the flower bud, there was a fruit that was half red and half green, and it even had a faint fragrance.

This plant was hidden in the grass, and there were similar white wildflowers around it. From afar, this plant was only slightly larger than the other flowers, and it was hidden in the grass, inconspicuous. If one didn't look carefully, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"It really is the White Orchid Fruit. It's a mid-grade medicinal herb, and it usually only grows at the edge of cliffs. Although it's produced in large quantities, this herb is the favorite food of bird-type magical beasts. Normally, the moment it grows, it will be eaten by magical beasts. It's a rare item among mid-grade medicinal herbs."

Mang Ba didn't come alone. Other than him, the Little Doctor also came. When she heard Yan Aoyama mention the White Orchid Fruit, she walked past Yan Aoyama and bent down to observe the white flowers.

The Little Doctor looked for a long time, and with some disappointment, she raised her head and said, "What a pity! It hasn't matured yet. If it was a matured White Orchid Fruit, the fruit would be completely red. A matured White Orchid Fruit is a mid-grade medicinal herb, and it's worth at least four thousand gold coins in Wanyao Zhai! "

"What! How much? Four thousand gold coins! "

Mang Ba and the other mercenary's eyes widened when they heard this. They pointed at the White Orchid Fruit and said, "Just this little thing, four thousand gold coins? So expensive!"

The Little Doctor pouted and said, "A matured White Orchid Fruit is a mid-grade medicinal herb that many alchemists are looking for. It's especially suitable for cultivating magical beasts, so of course the price is very high. Unfortunately, this one hasn't matured yet, so it's useless to pick it."