Park Chengen led the way, heading directly up to the summit of Purple Gold Mountain. The path gradually grew steeper, transitioning from the main road to a narrow trail winding through the hills.
He was quite pleased with Qiao Yihong’s silence. In his estimation, this was how a Hua Xia man should behave: facing a superior power, facing a threat to his life, choosing compromise and submission.
Park Chengen assumed this was simply the nature of the Hua Xia people, unaware of what Qiao Yihong was truly thinking.
Qiao Yihong followed laboriously behind Park Chengen, making no move to escape or provoke him, because he knew that as long as the countermeasures he’d secretly put in place remained undiscovered, there was still a sliver of hope.
The reason he had suddenly shouted that sentence at Park Chengen back then was entirely intentional.
Qiao Yi deliberately mentioned Zhang Yang to draw Park Chengen's attention. He knew Zhang Yang had been on South Korea’s priority watch list from the start, especially after the murder case at the Kyungyang Four Flowers Hotel. Park Chengen couldn't possibly let his guard down completely around Zhang Yang, and that was precisely Qiao Yihong’s opening.
If Qiao Yihong hadn't drawn Park Chengen's attention then, the only thing awaiting him would have been death by poison, left to perish with the old man in that dilapidated courtyard. The poison from the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox was incredibly potent; once afflicted, he was entirely incapable of movement. Even if Park Chengen had left, he wouldn't have been able to fish the phone out of his pocket to call Zhang Yang for help.
He was certain that by mentioning Zhang Yang, Park Chengen would not leave him to die of the poison in the courtyard. No matter how Park Chengen treated him next, Qiao Yihong had bought himself time—perhaps just enough time to find a way to notify Zhang Yang.
In fact, Qiao Yihong had won the gamble.
Park Chengen’s arrogance had also inadvertently aided him. He intended to take Qiao Yihong to hunt another Third-Tier Spirit Beast, forcing Qiao Yihong to watch him act wantonly on Hua Xia soil. To do this, he had to temporarily suppress the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox poison in Qiao Yihong’s system. This afforded Qiao Yihong a golden, unrepeatable opportunity!
Seizing the moment when he swallowed the last three pills, Qiao Yihong deliberately used the excruciating pain as cover to roll close to the old man. With lightning speed, he pressed the call button on the phone in the old man’s pocket. On his own phone, whether in his call log or contacts, there was only one number: Zhang Yang’s. Pressing the call key automatically dialed Zhang Yang.
Leaving the phone in front of the old man was the most crucial step in Qiao Yihong’s scheme, a move that successfully deceived Park Chengen, who failed to notice it.
Things were progressing exceptionally smoothly, leading Qiao Yihong to trust that as long as Zhang Yang was alerted, he would undoubtedly find a way to locate them.
“We’re here.”
Just as Qiao Yihong fell into deep thought, Park Chengen finally halted his steps.
Unknowingly, they had penetrated deep into Purple Gold Mountain. Blocking their way was a sheer cliff wall constructed from several massive, smooth stone slabs. Due to several jagged protrusions in the bare, craggy rock, the structure resembled a reclining lion, projecting an imposing presence.
There was a reason the Changjing government designated Purple Gold Mountain as a key development area for natural scenery. If it weren't for the disruptive presence of Park Chengen, Qiao Yihong would certainly have paused to admire such a view.
But where were the Spirit Beasts in this vicinity?
Qiao Yihong looked around. The area was deathly quiet. Except for the rustling sound of the wind through the treetops, there was no other noise.
“Little fellow, go.”
Park Chengen wasn't inclined to explain anything to Qiao Yihong. Instead, he spoke softly to the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox perched on his shoulder.
Whoosh!
The Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox instantly darted toward the pile of bizarre rocks, where a cluster formed a cave entrance just large enough for the fox to squeeze through.
Rumble...
Not long after the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox entered the cave, the strangely rugged rock face suddenly emitted a deep rumbling sound. Then, the stones that had been tightly interlocking actually separated, revealing a cavernous opening.
Qiao Yihong’s eyes widened in disbelief. He never imagined a hidden mechanism existed here; this pile of jagged stones was actually a mountain gate!
Crucially, how had he, a Korean, found such a concealed location?
“Surprised, are you?”
Park Chengen sneered, then looked down upon Qiao Yihong with arrogance, mocking him, “I told you long ago, if you were smart, you should have submitted to us earlier and avoided this suffering. And for us to learn about this place? It’s not difficult if we apply ourselves. We have money and influence; we can satisfy those unwilling to spend their entire lives stuck in these deep mountains and old forests.”
Hearing this, Qiao Yihong was too stunned to speak. Park Chengen’s meaning was clear: someone had betrayed information about this place.
Park Chengen felt smug seeing Qiao Yihong rendered speechless by shock. He didn’t mind telling him these things, because in his eyes, Qiao Yihong would be dead after tonight anyway; that Zhang Yang couldn't possibly get the news in time to arrive.
By the time Zhang Yang figured things out, Park Chengen would have finished whatever he intended to do. He didn't believe Zhang Yang could do anything to him without concrete evidence.
And Qiao Yihong? He was merely a minor accessory. In reality, Park Chengen’s main reason for keeping him around was to satisfy his own perverse need to show off.
Park Chengen found hunting Spirit Beasts on Hua Xia territory and bringing them back to South Korea to be an extremely exhilarating act. He needed someone beside him to bear witness, especially if that witness was a Hua Xia person—the feeling of humiliating the other party brought Park Chengen immense satisfaction.
The Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox, having completed its task of activating the stone door mechanism, reappeared beside Park Chengen. Stroking the fox contentedly, Park Chengen told Qiao Yihong, “You go in first!”
Qiao Yihong had no right to refuse and could only walk into the stone cave.
The narrow passage wasn't long. Qiao Yihong felt he had walked perhaps only a dozen steps before the space suddenly opened up before him.
On the other side of the stone tunnel was a sheer cliff face, leading down into an area resembling a gorge or hidden valley. Listening closely, he could hear the sound of flowing water coming from the other end of the chasm below. Qiao Yihong surmised this was likely the sound of a small stream cascading down the steep cliff face.
“Who goes there!”
As Qiao Yihong emerged on the far side of the cave mouth, a fierce roar struck his ears. The voice was loud and resonant, immediately indicating the speaker was also an internal energy cultivator.
Turning his head, Qiao Yihong saw a powerfully built man dressed plainly, his muscles bulging under his skin, his face sallow—clearly a villager from the mountain.
Seeing this man, Qiao Yihong’s heart gave a sudden lurch. Considering the fate of the old man earlier, he knew exactly what kind of end awaited anyone guarding a Spirit Beast here, if one truly existed.
Swish!
Before Qiao Yihong could answer, a dark shadow flashed past his eyes. A puff of black, poisonous mist struck the big man's face. The man had no time to react before he stiffened and crashed to the ground, his face turning dark blue, identical to how Qiao Yihong looked when he was poisoned.
Qiao Yihong, possessing the late stage of Third-Tier Internal Energy, had at least some minor resistance to the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox’s poison. But this villager, at best, had only First-Tier Internal Energy. One breath of the fox’s poison mist was enough to make him slump backward, entirely weak, unable to even utter a word.
“Let’s go.”
Park Chengen didn’t spare the fallen man a glance. He strode past the body and urged Qiao Yihong forward.
The Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox’s poison wasn't instantly lethal, but it possessed an extremely effective paralyzing agent. After being poisoned, the man could only watch helplessly as Park Chengen and Qiao Yihong walked deeper in, his throat convulsing, yet utterly unable to make a sound.
The Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox left Park Chengen’s side and bolted ahead, whisking toward the lower end of the cliff face.
Qiao Yihong’s complexion grew increasingly pale, but he was powerless now, forced to follow Park Chengen onward.
Not much further ahead, Qiao Yihong spotted firelight.
After descending from the cave entrance into the innermost part of this gorge-like hidden realm, he saw a small stream, about two meters wide, rushing straight down the cliff face, falling into a pool like a miniature waterfall. Near the pool stood three or four simple wooden huts.
In front of the huts, a bonfire was burning fiercely. The light Qiao Yihong saw came from this fire, and at this very moment, beside the flames, the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox stood atop a massive bird of prey, its nine snow-white tails held high and swaying slightly in the breeze.
The bird of prey unfortunate enough to be caught by the fox was a colossal eagle, but unlike common eagles, it possessed a bright white fleshy crest on its grey head—the clear mark of its status as a Spirit Beast. It weakly flapped its wings a few times and let out a mournful cry.
The commotion outside quickly alerted the people inside the huts. Several grown men rushed out, only to freeze in stunned silence at the scene before them.
“Look, this is the Third-Tier Spirit Beast hiding here. According to the intelligence I obtained, the small sect called the Spirit Beast Gate guards this beast. But after tonight, this Spirit Beast will appear in South Korea, and this sect will disappear from this place.”
Park Chengen said this with a triumphant smirk, seeing the Spirit Beast captured by his Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox.
Suddenly, the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox standing on the eagle’s back fanned out all nine of its snow-white tails, like a peacock displaying its plumage!
“Chirp chirp!”
It let out several sharp calls toward the area behind Park Chengen!
A sound of hoofbeats approached rapidly from the distance. Park Chengen snapped his head around, instantly sensing the abnormality behind him, but it was too late!
Thud!
He felt a violent impact strike his waist, followed by a sharp cry. He pitched forward, tumbling end over end, landing flat on his face in a humiliating heap, his mouth filled with mud!
“Did you think you could just walk away?”
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