Chapter 10: Treasure Hunt

Seeing Mu Li block his path, Lin Feng frowned slightly, turned his head to look at this deputy leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, and said, 'Deputy Leader Mu Li, what's up?'

'I mean no harm; I heard from my subordinates that your cultivation talent is excellent.'

Mu Li smiled slightly and asked in a calm voice.

'Hehe, I was just lucky; when condensing my battle qi vortex, I took far fewer detours than others.'

Glancing at Mu Li, whose smile seemed gentle, Lin Feng gave a light laugh.

Seeing Lin Feng's smile, Mu Li's complexion instantly turned slightly pale.

Thinking back, he had failed twice in a row before finally succeeding in condensing a battle qi vortex; thinking of this, his killing intent toward Lin Feng rose a notch.

But Mu Li had, after all, trained in the mercenary group for several years, and quickly recovered.

He clasped his fingers together and smiled, saying, 'Are you interested in joining the Wolf Head Mercenary Group? Our mercenary group offers excellent treatment to outstanding talents like you, after all, being alone in the Magic Beast Mountain Range means constant danger to one's life; having someone to look after you is also good.'

Hearing Mu Li's overture, Lin Feng chuckled inwardly; with his abilities, joining the Yun Lan Sect would be more than enough.

How could he possibly join a Wolf Head Mercenary Group that has no background, no strong experts, and no resources?

Moreover, although he lacked much experience, he could still tell that Mu Li's earlier gaze at him was clearly off.

He then shook his head and laughed, 'Sorry, I don't like being restrained; I have no intention of joining any faction for now, so I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Deputy Leader Mu Li.'

'Hehe, it's fine.'

Hearing Lin Feng's refusal, Mu Li waved his hand indifferently, then smiled and said, 'If you change your mind later, little brother, feel free to come find me anytime; the doors of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group are always open to promising individuals.'

With a slight apologetic expression on his face, Lin Feng sidestepped to let Mu Li pass, then merged into the scattered troops ahead.

Watching Lin Feng disappear into the crowd, Mu Li's eyes slowly narrowed, a faint chill flickering in the depths of his pupils.

Obviously, Lin Feng's previous actions had made this deputy leader quite unhappy.

'Punk, not only are you ambiguous with Xiao Yixian, but you also dare to reject me; no matter what achievements you may have in the future, tonight I will leave you forever in the Magic Beast Mountain Range!'

Clenching his fists, Mu Li's voice lost its earlier gentleness, now tinged with a hint of gloom.

In Qing Shan Town, he had grown up there; whoever encountered him had to treat him with caution.

And now, this brat Lin Feng had actually offended him twice in a single day—how could he not be angry?

He waved at a mercenary beside him and said, 'Ma Si, come over!'

'Deputy Leader.' The mercenary, seeing this, took a few quick steps to Mu Li's side and said in a low voice.

'Tonight, you take a few clever ones, sneak up to that brat's tent, and then...'

Saying this, Mu Li raised his hand to his neck and made a slashing motion.

'Deputy Leader, rest assured; that brat will definitely be attacked by a "magic beast" tonight and die an unnatural death.'

That mercenary instantly understood Mu Li's meaning and immediately left to prepare.

Seeing this, Mu Li snorted coldly and said, 'Punk, dare to provoke me? You think you'll ever walk out of the Magic Beast Mountain Range again!'

……

After Xiao Yixian returned to the group, the herb-gathering team set off again.

This leg of the journey was much quieter than the previous stretch.

Although they encountered two waves of magic beast attacks along the way, none caused a major disturbance.

As the sky gradually darkened, the team finally arrived safely at the herb-gathering team's destination: a depressed basin overgrown with medicinal herbs.

Within the basin, various kinds of medicinal herbs grew.

Upon entering, a fragrant herbal aroma floated in the air.

Taking a deep breath, one instantly felt refreshed and delighted.

'Everyone set up camp here, but be careful not to damage the surrounding herbs.'

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Xiao Yixian turned and smiled gently at everyone.

Hearing Xiao Yixian speak, the surrounding mercenaries loudly assented and then began eagerly setting up their tents.

Lin Feng glanced at Xiao Yixian, who was beginning to direct the herb-gathering team in digging up herbs, and then he himself wandered around the basin.

For some reason, the energy inside this depressed area is much richer and purer than outside, which is why these medicinal herbs can grow here in batches.

The basin is quite wide, and its internal terrain remains unexplored even by the Wan Yao Zhai.

The place where Lin Feng and the others are now is merely the outskirts of this vast basin.

After circling the outskirts, he found only low-grade herbs here; feeling a bit disappointed, he shook his head and glanced at the dark interior.

After pondering for a while, he still chose to obediently return.

With his current strength, in this danger-ridden Magic Beast Mountain Range, he is essentially facing peril everywhere.

Returning to the campsite, numerous white tents had already been pitched, and many mercenaries were busy preparing dinner.

Entering the camp, he immediately spotted Xiao Yixian standing gracefully in the central position, with Mu Li closely following beside her.

As Lin Feng gazed at the two, Xiao Yixian and Mu Li seemed to sense it and turned their eyes toward him.

When their eyes met, the meanings conveyed in their gazes were somewhat different.

With a hint of a smile on his face, Lin Feng nodded at the two, then turned and headed into the interior of a tent.

Watching Lin Feng's receding back, Mu Li smiled and said to Xiao Yixian, 'Little brother Lin Feng has excellent cultivation talent; his future achievements will surely not be low.'

'Perhaps.' Xiao Yixian gave a faint smile, noncommittal.

'I'm going to inventory the medicinal materials; could you please help manage order in the camp, Deputy Master Mu Li?'

She gave Mu Li a slight smile; seeing him nod, Xiao Yixian then proceeded to a larger tent at the central position.

His gaze lingered on her slender back; only after her owner disappeared from sight did Mu Li reluctantly withdraw his eyes, but thinking of this morning's events, he clenched his fist slightly.

Night fell slowly amidst the blazing bonfire; darkness blanketed the forest, with branches stretching out like a ferocious beast baring its fangs and claws.

As night descended, the camp gradually grew quiet.

Aside from the night-watch mercenaries, only the faint crackling of firewood burning in the flames could be heard.

In the silent darkness, a tent suddenly twitched slightly, and a pitch-black graceful shadow slipped out from within the tent.

Then, silently, it slipped through a gap in the guards and entered the pitch-black forest.

Not long after the black shadow left, another shadow emerged from a different tent, closely following the preceding black shadow.

In the dense forest, occasional distant wolf howls echoed, sending a chill down people's spines.

As the two black shadows hurried, one far and one near, the two people gradually moved farther and farther from the camp.

In the darkness, Lin Feng slightly raised his head, aided by the faint moonlight, gazing at the graceful figure not far ahead, he gave a faint smile and quickened his pace to catch up.

"Treasure hunt, begins..."