The auxiliary ridge was silent when Lan Qingyun arrived.
Crimson Cloud had claimed the outer territories, but they had not occupied every inch. The western auxiliary node lay neglected — dismissed as depleted decades ago when Azure Wind began its decline.
Which meant it was still useful.
Neglect was often the greatest camouflage.
Lan Qingyun descended between fractured stone pillars and landed lightly beside the dormant vein channel. The concealment talisman suppressed his aura to a muted haze, barely stronger than a wandering Foundation Establishment cultivator.
He knelt and placed the Earth Core Fragment against the exposed channel.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
Golden Core qi flowed from his dantian in a steady, disciplined stream. He did not force it. He guided it.
Formation lines beneath the earth responded like long-dormant nerves awakening. Thin threads of spiritual light traced outward, reconnecting to severed pathways.
The Earth Core Fragment pulsed faintly.
Once.
Twice.
Then it fused into position.
The ground trembled subtly.
Lan Qingyun extended his senses outward through the underground lattice.
Flow redirected.
Pressure stabilized.
The auxiliary node did not roar back to life — it whispered.
But whispers were enough.
Sixty-two percent projected stabilization once the main formation integrated the shift.
He allowed himself one slow exhale.
First minor task — nearly complete.
But remaining in place was foolish.
A faint fluctuation brushed against his spiritual perception.
Low Golden Core.
Probing.
Crimson Cloud patrol.
Lan Qingyun withdrew his senses immediately, dispersing his aura signature into the surrounding terrain. The concealment talisman dimmed his presence further, smoothing the residual pulse left by the activation.
The patrol did not approach directly.
They circled.
Suspicious.
But uncertain.
He moved.
Not by flying.
By stepping between rocky outcroppings, using terrain to mask line-of-sight fluctuations. Each step was measured, breathing controlled, heartbeat regulated.
Within minutes, the probing sensation faded.
He did not slow until the auxiliary ridge disappeared behind layers of forest canopy.
Only then did he allow his aura to settle fully.
The Beast Forest rose ahead like a living wall.
Dark.
Ancient.
Unforgiving.
If the auxiliary node restored survival, the forest would fund revival.
He adjusted the concealment talisman's flow and stepped beneath the treeline.
The forest air was thick with wild spiritual energy.
Untamed.
Chaotic.
Unlike sect grounds, where energy circulated in refined patterns, here it flowed in violent currents, eddies forming around ancient trees and rocky clearings.
Lan Qingyun did not release his Golden Core aura.
Predators sensed strength.
But they also sensed hunger.
Better to be a shadow.
His spiritual sense extended cautiously, skimming the surface of the forest.
Beasts responded differently than humans.
They did not mask their presence through technique.
They radiated it.
Brutally.
The first signature he found was a Thornback Ironhide Boar.
Low Golden Core.
Its body was the size of a carriage, hide plated in layered iron-like scales, crimson bristles rising along its spine. It fed near a mineral-rich stream, tusks scraping against stone.
Lan Qingyun did not approach directly.
He circled downwind.
Studied its breathing rhythm.
Boars relied on explosive charge strength. Short bursts of terrifying momentum.
He waited until it lowered its head to drink.
Then moved.
One step.
Two.
He surged forward in a controlled burst, suppressing aura until the final instant.
Sword qi flashed from his palm — not flamboyant, not wide.
Compressed.
Focused.
The boar sensed him half a heartbeat too late.
It roared, iron hide flaring with defensive energy.
Lan Qingyun pivoted instead of clashing head-on.
Mid Golden Core cultivation gave him superior reaction speed. His blade of condensed qi slipped between plate seams behind the shoulder joint.
He did not aim to overpower.
He aimed to sever.
The sword qi pierced through muscle and into the heart channel.
The boar convulsed, charging blindly.
He withdrew instantly, allowing its own momentum to collapse it into a tree.
The forest shook.
Silence returned.
He approached cautiously.
Confirmed death.
Low Golden Core beast core extracted cleanly.
Ironhide plating intact.
Estimated value: six to eight thousand mid-grade spirit stones depending on buyer.
He stored it.
No lingering.
Blood scent traveled quickly.
By the second day, he had penetrated deeper into mid-tier territory.
The concealment talisman proved invaluable.
Normally, entering this depth would trigger multiple territorial responses from apex predators sensing a rival Golden Core presence.
But suppressed to near invisibility, he moved like an anomaly.
The second hunt was less clean.
A Mistfang Shadow Leopard — Mid Golden Core.
Lean.
Fast.
Its body shimmered faintly under spiritual distortion, blending with forest shade.
This one detected him.
Not through aura.
Through instinct.
It attacked from above.
Lan Qingyun sensed the displacement a fraction before impact.
He twisted sideways as claws sliced through where his neck had been.
A shallow cut opened across his shoulder.
He did not retreat.
Leopards thrived on momentum.
He collapsed his aura further instead.
Vanishing from its spiritual perception.
For half a second, confusion rippled through the beast's intent.
That was enough.
He stepped inside its guard rather than away.
His palm struck upward, releasing a compressed spiral of sword intent directly into its lower ribcage.
The force detonated internally.
The leopard shrieked, lashing violently.
He took another shallow cut across his ribs before finishing it with a thrust of qi through the skull.
Mid Golden Core core.
Dense.
Valuable.
Leopard hide intact — highly prized for stealth armor.
He wrapped the carcass quickly.
Spiritual blood seeped into soil.
He left immediately.
Two kills in mid-tier territory would not go unnoticed forever.
By evening of the second day, he found the first herb.
A cluster of Moonlit Serpent Grass growing beside a shallow ravine.
Three stalks.
Pale silver under dusk light.
Protected by a Stonejaw Earth Lizard — Low Golden Core but heavily armored.
Lan Qingyun did not waste time on flashy techniques.
He baited it.
Threw a small fragment of boar meat to draw its charge direction.
As it lunged, he leapt above it, driving a downward blade of qi through the back of its skull where armor thinned.
Quick.
Efficient.
The herb cluster alone was worth fifteen thousand.
He harvested carefully, preserving root integrity.
Stored.
Total projected gains now exceeded thirty thousand.
And the talisman still hummed steadily.
On the third day, deeper still.
The forest thickened.
Light struggled to reach the floor.
Here roamed stronger beasts.
He sensed three Mid Golden Core presences within half a mile radius.
This was risk territory.
But risk multiplied reward.
He identified the strongest first: a Blazefur Crimson Ape.
Massive.
Standing over three meters tall.
Flames flickered faintly across its shoulders — not literal fire, but condensed fire-attribute qi.
Direct confrontation would be costly.
So he observed.
The ape guarded a rocky plateau.
At its center grew a lone stalk of Golden Vein Ginseng, roots burrowed deep into mineral-rich stone.
Value: at least twenty thousand.
Perhaps more at auction.
The ape patrolled in wide circles.
Lan Qingyun waited for dusk when beast perception dulled slightly.
He climbed the cliffside opposite the plateau, remaining above scent trails.
Then he released a thin strand of sword qi, slicing a tree branch in the distance.
The ape roared and bounded toward the disturbance.
Lan Qingyun dropped silently to the plateau.
Harvested the ginseng in one fluid motion.
But as he turned—
The ape was faster than anticipated.
A fist the size of a boulder descended.
He barely crossed his forearms in time.
The impact shattered stone beneath him.
His arms numbed.
Mid Golden Core against Mid Golden Core.
Raw strength favored the ape.
So he shifted approach.
He stopped trying to match force.
Instead, he circled.
Striking tendons.
Ankles.
Behind knees.
Three precise cuts.
The ape grew slower.
Angrier.
It lunged recklessly.
He stepped inside its guard again, channeling concentrated sword intent into its chest cavity where fire-qi gathered.
Internal detonation.
The beast staggered.
Collapsed.
Breathing ragged.
He ended it cleanly.
Another Mid Golden Core core secured.
But now—
The forest was no longer calm.
Distant roars answered the ape's final cry.
Territories overlapped here.
He withdrew immediately.
By the end of the third day:
Three Mid Golden Core beasts slain.
Seven Low Golden Core beasts.
Three high-value spiritual herbs.
Total projected market value approaching eighty thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
Substantial.
Not life-changing.
But transformative for a declining sect.
And the concealment talisman's glow had dimmed slightly.
He felt it.
The array threads within it were thinning.
Its lifespan was not infinite.
He needed to decide whether to withdraw—
Or push further toward the marked location on the sect map.
The perilous valley.
Treasure rumored.
High risk.
High reward.
He stood atop a ridge overlooking deeper forest shadow.
Golden Core rotating steadily.
Calculating.
He had stabilized survival.
He had secured capital.
Now came the gamble.
He stepped forward.
Toward the darker territory.
The forest did not protest.
It simply waited.