Seeing the Sect Leader and the others leave, Wen Rou turned her head to look at Jian Ruyan and curiously asked, "Sister Ruyan, why did they suddenly become like this? Why do I feel like they harbor ill intentions?"
"You're overthinking it," Jian Ruyan glanced at Wen Rou, saying, "The reason they want to please us is probably because of the elixirs, right?"
When the Sect Leader and the others had approached, Jian Ruyan had smelled a faint scent of Dan Fragrance on them. She remembered this fragrance; it was unique to the pill formulas refined by Mu Jinyu, which Kunlun Ruins did not possess, so she guessed it must be that Mu Jinyu's premium-quality elixirs had been exposed, which excited them so.
However, she realized that the Sect Leader and his group did not have any malicious intent and did not wish to coerce Mu Jinyu into becoming their alchemist tool-person; otherwise, she would have acted subservient just now and then tried every possible means to escape from here.
'This fool, to be so careless and reveal the secrets of his alchemy so soon after arriving, it's really...'
Jian Ruyan said to herself in her heart, quite speechlessly.
Upon hearing Jian Ruyan's explanation, Wen Rou let out an "ah" and said, "The matter of the elixirs?"
She vaguely remembered the words Jian Ruyan mentioned back at Yinlong Mountain, knowing that the quality of Mu Jinyu's elixirs was extraordinary. To refine elixirs of his quality, there were only a few in Kunlun Ruins, which made her anxious.
"Then, Sister Ruyan, should we make a run for it?"
"There's no need. If they really had ill intentions, wouldn't they have just taken us when Jinyu wasn't here? Since they didn't make a move, it also shows that they prefer to be on good terms with us rather than to loot a burning house," Jian Ruyan shook her head.
"That's true," Wen Rou said upon hearing Jian Ruyan's analysis. She felt it made sense, and her previously anxious worry due to her concern dissipated.
It was far better for the Sect to be in good relations with Mu Jinyu, willingly refining pills for the Sect, compared to being coerced and harboring ill intentions while doing so.
Since they had already joined the Heavenly Sword Faction and were not its enemies, the Heavenly Sword Faction had no reason to risk forcing Mu Jinyu to refine elixirs for them.
"But we should still be more careful in the future," Jian Ruyan reminded.
"Mm," Wen Rou nodded.
Afterwards, the two women returned to their room and continued cultivating the Divine Skills they had acquired from the Scripture Pavilion.
...
Mu Jinyu, who had left the Heavenly Sword Faction, was still unaware that the elixirs he had given to two Outer Sect Disciples that day had accidentally been exposed and had attracted even more attention from the Sect Leader and others.
At that moment, he was in the Yuntian Mountain Range near the Heavenly Sword Faction to complete the monthly Sect mission required of all Outer Sect Disciples.
The Yuntian Mountain Range was known to be the place with the most ferocious beasts in the Yan Kingdom, named for its highest peak reaching into the clouds.
This range was teeming with ferocious beasts. It was said that in the deepest parts of the mountain range, there existed demon beasts at the "Unity Realm Stage!"
Because the ferocious beasts in the outer areas of the mountain range were not too strong and spiritual medicines were abundant, disciples from the Four Great Sects of the Yan Kingdom often hunted here for beasts and medicinal ingredients to complete missions handed out by their Sects.
Inner Sect Disciples and True Disciples also went deeper into the Yuntian Mountain Range to find rare materials suited for refining magic treasures and other artifacts, hoping to encounter rare ferocious beasts not found elsewhere.
"Boom!!"
A ferocious beast resembling a zebra, but covered in tough scales and sporting a spiral horn on its head, toppled to the ground after being struck by several of Mu Jinyu's Heavenly Wood Sword Qi.
With a few convulsions followed by the soaking of the soil with its crimson blood, the zebra-scaled beast lay silent.
"Lucky break. Although this zebra beast isn't the material required for the Sect mission, it seems like it could sell for quite a few Spirit Stones," Mu Jinyu walked over, crouched down, and took out a dagger forged from refined iron to pry out the spiral horn on its head.
The zebra beast's spiral horn was a fine material for artifact forging and rather valuable, making it the most precious part of the beast.
Having retrieved the spiral horn, Mu Jinyu left immediately in search of his next target.
A day later.
Mu Jinyu had entered over five hundred miles into Yuntian Mountain Range. This place wasn't the deepest part of the mountain range, but the ferocious beasts active in this region were no longer just at the Dark Energy or Energy Transformation levels; they all possessed the strength of the Divinity Transformation Realm.
They could be called Second Rank Ferocious Beasts.
Along the way, Mu Jinyu found quite a few spiritual medicines and practiced his "Great Freedom Heavenly Wood Sword Qi," slaying over a hundred ferocious beasts.
From each beast, he only took the most valuable parts for materials and left the rest of the bodies behind, seeing no need to waste his strength.
And of the three sect tasks he had accepted, he had completed one on this journey.
It was a poison snake fang that resembled the Zhu Yeqing but was better hidden and more toxic.
This poisonous snake beast was virtually a treasure trove. Apart from taking its fangs to fulfill the sect task, Mu Jinyu also collected its venom, swallowed the gallbladder himself, and skinned the hide…
Just then!
"Boom!!"
"Bang bang bang!!"
Leaves flew chaotically, wood chips scattered, the earth trembled, and giant trees that fell from the sky bombed the ground, blasting deep pits one after another.
The target surrounded by the giant trees was a beast that resembled a moose deer, but its eyes glowed with spiritual intelligence, and its body shimmered with five-colored divine light, looking incredibly majestic.
Facing the abrupt attack, its speed was lightning-fast; with a push of its legs, it dashed a hundred meters away like the wind.
Under normal circumstances, it would be almost impossible for anyone to hunt it down, unless a cultivator in the Fanxu Realm happened to encounter it; otherwise, cultivators in the Divinity Transformation Realm couldn't even touch it.
Unfortunately for it, this time it encountered Mu Jinyu, who had learned "Great Freedom Heavenly Wood Sword Qi" and had even achieved minor success through battle!
Hundreds of giant trees plummeted from the sky with terrifying force, forming a connected sequence like a copper wall and iron barrier. The Five-Colored Deer, whose attack power wasn't too strong, had no way to break through the wooden wall and escape, and after a few desperate dashes, it too was gradually encircled.
"Yoyoyo!!"
It let out a few unwilling cries, then pushed off the ground with its legs, trying to leap over the dozens of meters high wooden wall to escape the encirclement!
"Boom!!"
Unfortunately, before it could leap out, it was battered by several giant trees, inflicting heavy injuries, and fell from the sky.
"Bang!!"
The Five-Colored Deer crashed heavily to the ground, struggling to stand up on its hooves.
"Whiz, whiz!!"
At this moment, several pale cyan Sword Qi shot forth, one slicing its throat, another piercing its heart, and four severing its limbs…
Blood flowed in torrents, and the spiritual eyes of the Five-Colored Moose Deer began to fade, and after a few convulsions, it fell silent.
"Boom!!"
The city wall of giant trees suddenly transformed into a clean breeze and dissipated. Mu Jinyu stepped forward and began to dismantle the corpse of the Five-Colored Deer.
Soon, the most valuable deer antlers and the skin shimmering with five colors were peeled off by Mu Jinyu. He stood up, smiling, "At last, another sect task is complete!"
"Once the final task is done, I can go back and participate in the Outer Gate's grand examination."