On the way back, He Shou shared a few more details about the habits of Horned Lizard-type Demon Beasts. They mostly lie motionless during the day and are most active at dusk and dawn. If you encounter one, you must never let it escape into deep bushes; with their short stature and dark gray Scales, they are extremely difficult to track once they enter the dense thicket.

At dusk, the four of them returned to the outpost. He Shou went to the main station to trade in their materials and returned shortly after, distributing the Spirit Stones to the other three.

Li Yuan received two and a half Spirit Stones, which he tucked into his sleeve. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Inside the wooden cabin, Xu Mao collapsed onto his bed, muttering about his sore arms. Before long, his breathing became slow and steady.

Li Yuan sat on the edge of his bed and took the Meridian Opening Pill from his sleeve.

The dark red pill glowed faintly in his palm, emitting a delicate medicinal scent. This was the last of the two he had received as his monthly stipend.

He placed it in his mouth, and the pill dissolved the moment it reached his stomach. A gentle medicinal energy slowly spread through his meridians, clearing several minor blockages.

[Meridian Opening Pill Permanence Progress: 4/10]

He cultivated the Spirit-Introducing Skill as he absorbed the pill’s energy.

Once he had fully absorbed the pill’s energy, Li Yuan stood up in the small, clear space in the room and began to practice the Nourishing Essence Skill.

...

For the next five or six days, after returning to the outpost each evening, Li Yuan followed his usual routine. He would first practice the Spirit-Introducing Skill and the Nourishing Essence Skill, followed by a few rounds of the Iron Bull Skill to stay sharp. Then, he would consume an Evil Essence Pill and cultivate the Spirit-Introducing Skill.

The four of them patrolled the southern route and encountered several Demon Beasts.

Most were solitary, Tier One Low Grade creatures like Horned Lizards or Gray Iguanas—small in size and mediocre in strength.

As before, He Shou had Li Yuan, Xu Mao, and Lin Xiaowu handle the fighting. He supervised from the sidelines, occasionally stepping in to correct their positioning.

He Shou also remarked on their good fortune, noting that the Demon Beasts they had faced could not use Magic. He said that facing one capable of Magic was when the real trouble started.

They dispatched the several Demon Beasts cleanly, and the materials were sold through the guard corps’ official channels.

However, they did encounter one Tier One Middle Grade Demon Beast. He Shou joined the fight this time, but as it was dying, the beast went berserk. It severely injured Lin Xiaowu, breaking his arm and several ribs, while Xu Mao sustained a minor wound to the webbing of his hand.

Lin Xiaowu had no choice but to withdraw from the patrol for the time being. Xu Mao, however, was fine. After taking a Healing Elixir, the wound on his hand had already scabbed over.

Their share of the materials from these few hunts was worth a total of eighteen Spirit Stones. The Tier One Middle Grade Demon Beast accounted for the largest portion. However, since He Shou had participated in that fight, Li Yuan’s cut was smaller this time. He had He Shou sell all the materials for him, and the Spirit Stones were now sitting safely in his bag.

He had finished the three Evil Essence Pills during the patrols, and his Cultivation had risen considerably.

[Meridian Opening Pill Permanence Progress: 7/10]

He was only three pills away from making the entry permanent.

——

The next day, the sky was overcast, with gray clouds hanging low.

Lin Xiaowu had returned to the marketplace to recover from his injuries. The wound on Xu Mao’s wrist was almost fully healed and didn’t hinder his movements, so the three of them went out on patrol as usual.

He Shou extended their patrol route, following the outermost dirt path as it curved to the west.

In the afternoon, the three of them passed by a low hillside.

The hill wasn’t high, its slope covered in waist-high weeds. At the crest, a few stunted, crooked trees were being tossed about by the wind.

As He Shou rounded the back of the hill, he suddenly stopped short.

Li Yuan stopped as well, his eyes following He Shou’s gaze.

The weeds on the gentle slope had been trampled down over a large area.

It wasn’t just one or two spots. The entire slope was covered in trampled marks. The weeds were crushed and flattened, forming a wide path that stretched from a dry creek bed at the base of the hill all the way to its crest, heading from southwest to northeast.

He Shou crouched down, and Li Yuan did the same.

The ground was densely packed with claw prints.

There were three-toed webbed prints, sharp five-toed claw marks, and wide, flat hoofprints—at least three or four different types of tracks overlapping, pressed to varying depths in the soil.

Mixed in with the prints were numerous droppings of various shapes: hard, fragmented chunks; long, thin strips; and semi-liquid piles, all jumbled together along the path.

He Shou used his scabbard to poke apart a fragmented dropping, then leaned in to sniff one of the long strips. His expression slowly grew grim.

"At least three different kinds."

He Shou stood up, his gaze tracing the trampled path in both directions. "Lizard, beast, and serpent tracks are all mixed together."

Li Yuan stared at the prints, all pointing in the same direction. ’Different kinds of Demon Beasts, all taking the same path, all heading in the same direction.’

He Shou walked a few dozen paces northeast along the path, with Li Yuan following. The trampled trail continued onward without forking, crushed into a distinct, ribbon-like track through the weeds.

"The marketplace is to the northeast," Li Yuan said.

He Shou didn’t answer, crouching down again to inspect several more prints. The edges of some were dry and cracked, while others were still caked with damp earth.

"They’re new and old. Not all from the same day."

He Shou’s voice dropped.

"This has been happening for several days."

’Different kinds of Demon Beasts, at different times, all following the same route toward the marketplace.’

He Shou fell silent for a few moments before standing up.

"Let’s go. We’re heading back to the outpost."

The two of them ventured no further, turning back and quickening their pace. Upon reaching the main station, He Shou went straight to the southern route’s supervisor to make his report.

Li Yuan stood to the side, concisely adding a few details he had observed: the varying ages of the prints, the mix of different types of droppings, and the direction the path was headed.

The supervisor’s expression soured as he listened. He called over another captain to cross-reference the recent patrol logs from all routes, then immediately had the situation reported to the guard corps headquarters and the Wang family.

Once they had finished their report, He Shou and Li Yuan left the main station.

He Shou took a few steps, then glanced back at Li Yuan.

"Something similar has happened before. Are you aware?"

"I am. Captain Wang mentioned it," Li Yuan said.

"The northern patrol ran into different kinds of Demon Beasts in the same spot for three days straight. They knew something was off."

He Shou grunted in response but said nothing more.

After returning to their post, Li Yuan didn’t rush to cultivate. He first headed to the small trading post within the station.

Guards were stationed at the outpost year-round, and over time, a simple marketplace had naturally formed.

It wasn’t as well-stocked as the city’s marketplace, but you could usually find someone selling common pills and healing medicines, though the prices were a bit steeper.

However, trade was conducted differently than in the marketplace. Since most guards had their own duties and couldn’t spend long periods at the station, they generally used a system of consignment and purchase requests.

Li Yuan looked around the trading post, then approached a guard and asked.

"Have the Meridian Opening Pills I requested arrived yet?"

"They’re here. Three Spirit Stones a piece. You wanted three, so... call it eight for you," the guard said, glancing at Li Yuan.

’Half a Spirit Stone more expensive than in the marketplace, but it saves me a trip.’

Li Yuan took out eight Spirit Stones and bought the three pills.

Three dark red pills lay in his palm. Their medicinal scent was faint and their quality seemed slightly inferior to those from the marketplace, but they were definitely Tier One Low Grade.

Back in his room, Li Yuan carefully stowed the pills away.

He was just three pills away from making the Meridian Opening Pill entry permanent. Once he consumed these three, he would succeed.

’But I can’t rush it,’ he thought. ’My body wouldn’t be able to handle taking so many pills in such a short time.’

Li Yuan sat down cross-legged, placed a Meridian Opening Pill in his mouth, and began to practice the Spirit-Introducing Skill.

Spiritual Qi, as pure as water, surged toward him from all directions, and the energy cycle within him began to turn with incredible speed.