Inside the Guixu Ruins, the areas between the mountains and forests were all scattered with peril beasts. These peril beasts would each have their own territory they guarded without letting anyone inside, and they were existences even cultivators with full mastery of Golden Core Stage didn't dare to provoke. When clansmen went out to hunt, each person would bring a jade scroll with a map outlining the dangerous areas to avoid, as accidentally stumbling into one of these areas would very likely lead to death. Fang Xing had gone outside with the beast-hunting team multiple times and also had such a scroll.

In fact, the jade scroll Fang Xing had was perhaps even more precise than the others. He'd added further information and many small details, recording not only which areas had powerful beasts he shouldn't provoke, but also when they would typically go out to hunt and what their temperament and weaknesses were. In order to compile this scroll, he hadn't slacked at all these past few months—he'd made the most of those around him and his Book of Revelation to acquire information.

This was all due to having no other options. This was a place cut off from the outside world without any connections or umbrellas of protections for him to stay under. All he had was the mad dragon at his side, but its existence was unstable and he wouldn't feel secure until he found some manner of support. As for this "support", it was only natural for him to seek out the strongest, and—to Fang Xing's understanding—the greatest power within the Guixu Ruins wasn't the Hentian clan or the Fengtian clan, but was the countless number of peril beasts.

Of course, it wasn't like he could just go and suck up to these peril beasts, so he had to find a different effective method.

After Fang Xing noticed the Giant Eclipse Eagle going out to hunt, he began carefully skulking towards its nest. He activated the unnamed technique to cover his presence once he got within ten miles away, and then he snuck inside without a sound. When he saw three blue eggs as large as human heads, he snatched them into his storage sack without hesitation and slipped away as though oil had been added to the soles of his shoes.

Fang Xing's next target was the den of a fifth-tier peril beast—the Stone Roar Tiger. He'd seen this peril beast not too long ago alongside the beast-hunting team from afar, but it had also managed to discover them as well. The tiger had given birth only two months prior, and it ended up tearing apart two unlucky team members to protect its newborn while Fang Xing fortunately managed to run fast enough to escape.

The small-mountain-sized body of the Stone Roar Tiger was resting beside some moss-covered stones and licking some manner of salt mineral while the young baby-calf-sized tiger was trying to catch butterflies around a hundred feet away. Fang Xing activated his technique to its peak and sneak moved closer to the young tiger, and the instant the giant tiger wasn't paying attention, he grabbed the young tiger in a single fluid motion, fed it a Hibernation Pellet, and shoved it into his storage sack.

The Stone Roar Tiger that had been licking the salt with great focus suddenly sensed something. When it realized its baby was no longer there and even the bond between mother and son didn't reveal any trace, it went mad and began roaring in fury.

Fang Xing kept his aura hidden using the unnamed technique and flew through the mountains and forests at great speeds, constantly moving and thieving.

The supreme-quality red crystals from the nest of the Bloody-Tail Scorpion...

The Blue-Flamed Zoysia guarded by the Single-Horned Serpent...

The giant club of the Long-Armed Peril Ape...

One swipe, one steal!

Although the peril beasts had great power, they still weren't human. They didn't understand formations nor could they hide their treasures well, and it was all too easy for Fang Xing?to use his presence-concealing technique and his knowledge of their temperaments and movements to steal from them. This was not without risk, however—he'd be killed ten times over if they caught even a hint of his presence. His only hope was on this spell of the unnamed technique, which was why he'd been studying it so diligently the past few months.

Nonetheless, the presence-concealing spell had a weakness: it was simply too wasteful when it came to Qi. He'd only been able to maintain it for around the time it took to finish a cup of tea when he was in mid Foundation Stage, but it still drained him at the same speed even after reaching full mastery of Foundation Stage. Every time he stole something, he had to use the clouds to race against time and flee as fast as he could.

Fang Xing had no other choice but to fly as fast as he could. He knew every few hours he wasted meant more pain for his big doggie, and if he didn't manage to achieve his goal within thirty-six hours, the only thing he'd return to was his dragon's corpse. He couldn't rest; all he could do was clench his teeth and endure through it all while occasionally taking out herbs and pellets to replenish his Qi.

The results from forcibly enduring everything weren't pleasant. When he was trying to steal the honey from a nest full of Purple-Tailed Wasps, his presence-concealing spell let out a tiny trace. The wasps dashed out and covered his head with stings before he managed to run away crying in pain, yet after he jumped into a clear pond nearby to escape, he raised his head and saw a Tri-Tailed Crocodile shocked by his arrival...

Fang Xing was so bitter. His head was covered in bumps and he would have died from the poison long ago if his physique wasn't particularly robust. A spot on his bottom had been bitten by the Tri-Tailed Crocodile and also burned with pain, and the only consolation he had was that while he was being chased, he'd forcibly activated his presence-concealing spell again to take the crocodile's egg along the way...

Because of this spiteful little thief, the entire forest—especially the area surrounding the Hentian clan—was filled with howls and roars all throughout the night. He provoked whichever was most vicious, causing the furious peril beasts to roar and run straight into the areas belonging to other peril beasts. They'd fight, attack, and shout to the heavens while bloody battles covered the forest one after another...

"Today is not the day of the blood moon," a few guarding cultivators nervously questioned amongst themselves at the Hentian clan's gathering spot, "Why are the peril beasts so irritable?"

"No matter what it is, not even the Head Exalt would dare go investigate outside, so what could we do even if we knew? Besides, there's a big event happening inside the clan and the head elders don't have time to spare, either; even if we reported it to them, they wouldn't care. Hurry and activate the Illusion Formation; all we can do for now is hide the scent of our clansmen. We'd be done for if a tide of beasts were lured by our gathering spot!"

These cultivators were all a bit terrified and they activated the defensive Illusion Formation without care for how many Spirit Stones they wasted in the process. Each Hentian clansmen knew all too well that the clan's formations wouldn't be a match if so many peril beasts were to attack—the only thing they could do was activate a formation to muddle the smell of peril beasts as a preventative measure.

Once the Illusion Formation was activated, the Hentian clan's gathering spot was covered by a giant colorless dome, and the scent of any human within was reduced to the absolute minimum possible. Not even the elders would be able to stop the peril beasts if they were to come inside, so it was necessary to avoid drawing their attention.

"Hm? Someone is coming from afar?"

Not long after the formation was activated, one of the guards saw a distant cultivator wobbling from atop their Flying Sword as they flew closer. It seemed all of the cultivator's Qi had been used up to the point he couldn't even control his cloud, forcing him to rely on the most basic method of flying. The person was none other than Fang Xing, and he flew while veering slightly every so often as though his sword had nearly reached his limit, all while red blood dripped down from his body.

"Sh*t, what the hell is that?"

The guards were all surprised when the person came close. The person's head was swollen like a pig's and covered with large bumps due to the poisonous wasps, and his torso was even worse with extremely terrifying cuts oozing out blood. A large black sword on his shoulder was also covered in blood, making it look as though he'd just come from a large-scale battle with only a small scrap of life remaining.

The person arrived in front of the Illusion Formation and raised an order plate. "It's me, Xing Fang!"

"So this is Exalt Xing..."

The guard didn't dare to offend this currently very famous and popular person within the clan. The leader of this group of guards had also somewhat heard this Exalt Xing had done something as great as giving up the red dragon to the clan, and now the entire clan was indebted to him. After checking the order plate, he quickly opened the formation to welcome him back without even daring to ask how he managed to get himself in such a state.

Fang Xing let out a long sigh once he stepped past the Illusion Formation. He stabilized his steps, swallowed a few pellets to allow his body to dissolve on its own, and then quickly began walking towards the clan's central area while ignoring the gazes and confused looks others were throwing his way. Although he didn't use any clouds, his physique was still sturdy and his steps were large; it didn't take long before he was gone.

"Such great arrogance Exalt Xing has! He didn't even speak to us!"

"Hmph, he's someone who's about to become the clan master's son-in-law; why would he need to pay attention to us small characters?"

"Son-in-law? Wasn't that all thanks to exchanging away his red dragon? He's even willing to throw away such a loyal true dragon.. tch!"

The guards began discussing the matter with disdain, each one seemingly holding strong opinions that weren't particularly favorable towards this Xing Fang.

As for Fang Xing, he moved to a taller mountain peak at the central area before coldly glancing behind him. The faint cries of a dragon could still faintly be heard, and his gaze became particularly chilling as he sat down and crossed his legs. He meditated for a short moment to recover some Qi before he straightened his back and took out his storage sacks.

"Hehe, Big Brother Xing Fang, what are you doing here?"

The playful young voice of a girl rose up and Hentian Ning appeared next to Fang Xing like a ghost.

Fang Xing raised his head to look at her. "What are you doing here, Second Little Miss?" The redness of his swollen face had faded a bit after some meditation and his features could be seen again.

" Aiiii , Big Brother Xing Fang, you look so bad right now," Hentian Ning snickered and smirked. "Are all those wounds from trying to hunt for the red dragon's sake?"

Fang Xing nodded and sighed. "Yeah. This hunting trip was difficult..."

Hentian Ning laughed. "I know the Head Exalt and everyone else are all slaughtering the dragon at the back mountain. I very much want to watch it.. but they wouldn't let me, so I decided to go play tricks on my sister, but I don't know where she's gone. By the way, someone said she went looking for you; have you seen her? Oh well, I suddenly don't want to see her anymore..."

Hentian Ning was speaking without pause, but she suddenly stopped and looked at the various things Fang Xing was pulling out from his storage sack. "Hm. Big Brother Xing Fang, what is it inside your sack?" There was what looked to be the corpse of a baby tiger, a spiritual-looking Zoysia, eggs as large as human heads, a red crystal as long as a human arm that gleamed with a dark red light... There was even honey that released a dense sweet scent...

Fang Xing took everything out and placed it in front of him before looking up at Hentian Ning with a smile. "Didn't you enjoy watching people slaughter peril beasts the most? Today, your Grandpa Fang will show you a magic trick so you can watch as much as you like to your satisfaction!"