CHAPTER 469: 469 HE MUSTERED UP THE COURAGE TO GO ALL IN.

Beside them, Wu Qiuyun had also smoothly slain the One-horned Rhinoceros in front of him. The strength of this One-horned Rhinoceros was equivalent to an Eighth Rank Swordsman, and the gap between it and Wu Qiuyun was even larger. However, Wu Qiuyun knew its weakness, and with Mu Hanyan by his side, he could be said to be fearless and handled it with ease, completely relying on his nimble movement technique to exhaust the One-horned Rhinoceros, then effortlessly finishing it with a sword slash.

"Congratulations," Mu Hanyan said to both of them.

"I should be thanking you instead. If you weren’t watching over us, I wouldn’t have dared to take such a risk," Wu Qiuyun candidly said.

Hearing Wu Qiuyun’s words, Mu Cheng also calmed down from his excitement and secretly thought that if Mu Hanyan hadn’t been by their side, he wouldn’t have had the courage to go all out, nor would he have been able to frighten the One-horned Rhinoceros into a frantic escape; it really was a great thanks to him.

"Why thank me? It’s your own strength that you relied on, I didn’t help at all," Mu Hanyan said with a light smile, adding, "As a swordsman, if you want to go further, the only one you can ultimately rely on is yourself. Maybe others can help you temporarily, but no one can help you forever."

After saying this casually, Mu Hanyan continued to pat the dust off his clothes and proceeded forward.

Mu Cheng watched his figure, but fell into deep thought.

Wu Qiuyun glanced at Mu Hanyan, then at Mu Cheng, also deep in thought.

"Let’s go, stop thinking about it. I guess we can’t expect it to be easy from here on out," Wu Qiuyun said, patting the still-distracted Mu Cheng.

"Wait a second." As if waking from a dream, Mu Cheng came to the side of the One-horned Rhinoceros slain by Wu Qiuyun, searched for a while, and then said with a face full of regret, "Strange, why is there still no Beast Blood Pearl?"

"Yeah, I also find it strange," Wu Qiuyun said with a puzzled face.

Compared to the rarity of Beast Bone Relics, Beast Blood Pearls were much more common. Logically speaking, the levels of the Exotic Beasts they had killed along the way weren’t low, so why hadn’t they found any Beast Blood Pearls?

"Do you think it could be related to the Ancient Divine Beast?" Mu Hanyan turned around and speculated.

"Maybe, but what could be the connection?" Wu Qiuyun also had such a guess but couldn’t understand the underlying relation.

...

Gradually leaving the territory of the Earth Splitting Crocodile, the Exotic Beasts they encountered started to become stronger. However, boosted by their previous battle, Mu Cheng handled the situation well, only occasionally needing Mu Hanyan’s help during critical moments. Most of the time, it was thrilling but safe.

Several days passed, and they had slain more than ten Exotic Beasts, although they still hadn’t found any Beast Blood Pearls. Yet, they had discovered plenty of strange flowers and Meteorite Gold Ore along the way. Moreover, several days of experience had made him much more stable, quicker to react during battles, and significantly more advanced in strength than before.

For these family members raised in comfort from a young age, what they lacked was not Cultivation Techniques or Cultivation resources, but real battle experience. In Mu Hanyan’s eyes, Mu Cheng needed more time to be honed into beautiful jade. Before, he was like a smelly, ugly stone. Now, well, at least he wasn’t smelly anymore, but still ugly!

Strangely, as they ventured deeper into the valley, they encountered fewer Exotic Beasts, as if all the monsters had gone into hiding once again.

However, this did not relax their spirits; instead, it made them heavier.

Throughout their journey, they occasionally saw the abandoned bags and packs of other young swordsmen, along with dried bloodstains. Clearly, the owners of those bags had met with misfortune.

The spirits of Mu Hanyan and his companions were heavy. Although they didn’t know why the Exotic Beasts in the valley had disappeared, they could imagine that once they reappeared, they would be ferociously aggressive.

As they proceeded, the silent valley became incredibly oppressive, making them feel uneasy and irritable, as if the eerily calm before a storm was about to be broken.