The first impression Mo Han had of Liu Changqing was one of instant goodwill toward the young man who appeared to be close to his own age. He looked to be about twenty-four or five, with a pair of bright, sharp eyes beneath elegantly curved eyebrows—the kind of eyes that instantly signaled competence.

Beneath a rather handsome nose, however, was a large mouth framed by thick lips.

People often said, “Thick lips mean a clumsy tongue.”

Yet, Liu Changqing was articulate and quite the talker.

When first meeting Mo Han, Liu Changqing was noticeably reserved. But upon seeing that Mo Han possessed none of the usual arrogance of royalty and was remarkably amiable, Liu gradually shed his caution and began to engage readily, chatting animatedly with Mo Han about everything under the sun. Through their conversation, Mo Han began to discover the astonishing depth of Liu Changqing. His views on national affairs, in particular, surprised Mo Han, revealing a man who was both astute and capable. Though lacking experience in certain areas, Mo Han found himself genuinely satisfied with Liu Changqing after only a short acquaintance. In turn, Liu was greatly impressed by Mo Han’s peculiar insights and original ideas, which seemed to far surpass the thinking of their era, deepening Liu’s admiration and solidifying his resolve to follow Mo Han.

After their lengthy discussion, Mo Han formally invited Liu Changqing to serve as an assistant to Ma Ke at the Prince’s Estate, responsible for helping Ma Ke manage the daily affairs of the residence. Liu Changqing accepted with sheer delight; to serve a master like Mo Han was precisely what he had longed for. Now that the opportunity had finally presented itself, how could he be anything but overjoyed?

With the worries concerning the Prince’s Estate settled, Mo Han decided to proceed with the original plan: venturing into the forbidden territory of the Magic Forest for an expedition. The only oddity was that Rou Xue had not reappeared since his return.

Thus, Mo Han could only instruct Ma Ke to inform Rou Xue of his movements, telling her to seek him out at the Magic Forest’s restricted zone if anything arose. For Rou Xue, though the monsters within the Magic Forest were fierce, they posed little threat to someone of the Saint Dragon Clan. At worst, escape would always be an option for her, leaving Mo Han completely unconcerned about her safety.

After several days of travel, Mo Han and his company successfully entered the Magic Forest and made their way smoothly to the valley where Mo Han had previously been injured—the very location where he had first encountered that colossal, squid-like super-beast.

Along the way in, Mo Han’s group had indeed run into several high-level monsters. However, their strength now was vastly different from what it had been previously. While these advanced beasts might still pose a considerable danger to ordinary mercenary groups, they presented no challenge whatsoever to Mo Han and his current company.

Arriving at the mouth of the valley, Mo Han decided, just in case, to divide the party into two groups. Mo Han, Latin, and Jack would take the lead, while Daili, Yan Shi, Murong Feixue, and Xiao Han would cover the rear. This was because, within the current group, Daili was the strongest after Mo Han himself, which led to Mo Han’s decision to separate them. Moreover, with Xiao Han present for protection, the safety of Daili’s group should not be an issue.

After instructing Daili’s contingent to stay a measurable distance behind to allow for mutual support, Mo Han led Latin and Jack forward to carve a path.

Reaching the location where Mo Han had discovered the super-beast previously, Mo Han grew even more vigilant. He knew that high-level monsters rarely strayed far from their established territories; the higher the rank of the beast, the more intense their territorial instinct became. Any intruders daring to cross their boundaries would be met with ruthless suppression. Although Mo Han’s strength had now reached the level of a Sword Saint, the beast was a super-monster he had never encountered, and furthermore, the Light Holy Sword he intended to use was still not fully mastered. Because of this, Mo Han dared not be careless. For the sake of Latin and Jack’s safety, Mo Han insisted they wait at a safe spot for Daili’s group to catch up before rejoining him, while Mo Han proceeded slowly toward the direction where the monster had been spotted.

He pressed onward for a long time, yet discovered nothing. Mo Han’s unease intensified. Had these super-beasts simply vanished? At his current speed, he should have encountered them already, as even if they left their territory, they wouldn't wander too far; otherwise, if high-level monsters roamed indiscriminately, the entire Magic Forest would have descended into chaos long ago.

Just as Mo Han was pondering this, the ground beneath his feet suddenly felt soft, and his entire body involuntarily sank. Simultaneously, an intense suction pulled toward him. Mo Han reacted instantly, unleashing his Battle Aura to violently break free from the pull, soaring into the air. As his body lifted, he saw the entire section of earth where he had stood warp and writhe as if seized by an earthquake. At the same moment, countless vines erupted from the ground. However, once Mo Han was clear, the land snapped back to normal, and the vines vanished as if they had never existed.

Observing this, Mo Han felt a surge of astonishment. What was that? If he had reacted a moment slower, he would surely have been ensnared by those vines. Though he had only caught a glimpse, Mo Han clearly saw that both the bodies and tips of the vines were covered in countless black barbs. Being caught would be disastrous, as he had no idea what these vines were, how potent they might be, or if those barbs carried deadly venom.

With this thought, Mo Han decided to test it again. He reached into his spatial ring and retrieved a chunk of dried meat intended for rations, tossing it precisely onto the spot where he had just been standing.

Sure enough, the entire patch of ground began to convulse violently, and the strange vines surged to consume the meat chunk. In the blink of an eye, the entire piece of meat disappeared without a trace. Then, the vines and the ground returned to their original state. Mo Han then tossed a few other random items, all of which met the same fate.

His suspicion was confirmed: this specific patch of earth was clearly problematic.

As soon as any living creature or object approached that area of ground, the subterranean vines would react. Moreover, the effective range seemed to cover all the land before him. I’ll have to fly over it, Mo Han thought, inwardly relieved that the sky appeared normal; otherwise, this strange ground and its vines alone would have been headache enough.

Just as Mo Han prepared to go back and notify Daili and the others, he suddenly felt several massive energy signatures surging toward him from above. Immediately, Mo Han saw several thick bolts of lightning materialize directly overhead, striking toward him in an instant. Mo Han frantically covered his entire body with Battle Aura, only to see the powerful lightning bolts slam against the white aura shield surrounding him. Given Mo Han’s current strength, being hit by those strikes sent him hurtling straight toward the ground, illustrating just how potent the lightning’s energy was. It was probably even more powerful than Xiao Long’s lightning.

Alarmed by the prospect of crashing onto the monsters below, Mo Han swiftly channeled his Battle Aura to his feet, lightly touching the ground, then propelled himself backward like a cannonball, rapidly clearing the dangerous area. Once safely landed, Mo Han couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement. Everything about this strange area seemed to be the result of some ancient magic, though Mo Han had no idea what kind. In his understanding, this level of power was beyond human capability. The sheer force of those lightning bolts, even if he mastered lightning magic, would likely only match them. Combined with the ground hazards, only a legendary Magic God could achieve such feats. However, continental records suggested no Magic God had ever truly appeared, leaving Mo Han baffled as to who could have executed such a massive magic array. Clearly, this array was designed to prevent anyone from entering the valley. Yet, this array also strongly suggested that profound secrets lay within this barrier; otherwise, the person who laid the array would never have expended such immense effort to construct it. There might even be a divine artifact inside, Mo Han mused happily to himself.

At that precise moment, not far ahead of Mo Han, the roar of a monster suddenly echoed, followed by a faint tremor in the ground. Hearing the sound, Mo Han’s face lit up with excitement. He was intimately familiar with these noises. Besides the squid-like super-beast, no other monster resided in this valley.

And indeed, within moments, Mo Han saw a colossal mound seemingly shifting toward him. What else but the super-squid could possess such immense mass? What amazed Mo Han, however, was that the super-squid walked across the magically manipulated earth as if completely unaffected. Not only did the ground remain inert, but the lightning bolts in the sky also seemed to vanish, allowing the super-squid to approach him unhindered. This observation made Mo Han wonder in awe; the squid must be connected to the formation, which is why it did not trigger the array’s defenses.

A sudden flash of insight struck Mo Han’s mind: perhaps he could use the squid to bypass the formation. Maybe this creature was the sole key to entering this ancient magic array. With this realization, Mo Han felt a rush of excitement.

Seeing the super-beast, Mo Han couldn’t help but smile. He clearly sensed that this squid was the same one he had sneak-attacked and injured previously. Although all squids looked alike, indistinguishable to the naked eye, upon seeing this one, Mo Han felt an immediate, familiar connection. He could sense clearly that the creature before him was the one he had encountered upon entering.

With that certainty, Mo Han smiled and waved, regardless of whether the squid could understand him, calling out cheerfully, “Hi, missed me?” The gigantic squid, upon seeing Mo Han, seemed to recognize the human who had caused its injury. It immediately roared in fury, shaking the entire valley and startling Mo Han. It seems the squid understands human speech after all. Annoyed, Mo Han retorted, “Damn it, I offer a friendly greeting, and you dare scare me? If it weren’t for the fact you might still be useful, I’d have fried you up for calamari long ago. Don't mistake the tiger for a sick cat just because I’m holding back!”

No sooner had Mo Han finished speaking than another monster’s roar echoed from the distance. Mo Han showed no surprise; he had discovered during their last encounter that there was more than one super-squid. He would have been surprised if the other one hadn't shown up.

Thinking this, Mo Han smiled toward the squid before him and called out teasingly, “Well now, aren’t you clever, bringing backup? But seriously, what happened last time was just a misunderstanding. You injured me, and I injured you, so we’re even, right? How about we skip the aggression for now and just have a chat?”

The squid, however, responded to Mo Han’s words with another sharp roar, opening its mouth and shooting several red bubbles toward him. Mo Han had witnessed the power of these bubbles before; he knew they absorbed energy attacks. It was one of these red bubbles that had neutralized his strike with the Light Holy Sword previously. Therefore, Mo Han felt no panic and saw no need to waste energy, simply dodging the bubbles with a leap.

Leaping into