Chapter 440: Chapter 156: Breaking Through Fifth Grade, Unprecedented in History

Xiao Mo Mountain, deep within, a certain unremarkable hill.

Outside the rock, the strange beast that was about to turn away stopped in its tracks.

Tonight there’s no moonlight, but you can vaguely see that this beast looks like a tiger yet also like an elephant, with a nose tip resembling a snake’s head...

"Goo..."

A faint sound traveled through the air.

The strange beast moved in the direction of the sound.

Inside the rock, Gu Xuejian was extremely nervous, clutching Li Yuan tightly, leaving him speechless.

"Goo..."

"Goo goo..."

The calls grew more frequent.

All of a sudden, from the weeds behind the rock, a mountain bird flapped its wings and soared into the air.

The snake head at the beast’s nose tip suddenly opened, spewing out a green smoke that enveloped the mountain bird.

The mountain bird was instantly corroded into residue.

Only then did the beast turn around and step away.

Inside the rock, upon hearing the sounds leaving, Gu Xuejian finally breathed a sigh of relief, her heart involuntarily pounding.

Gasping for breath, she whispered into Li Yuan’s ear, "Uncle, this is so thrilling... It’s a monst..."

Smack!

Without a word, Li Yuan covered her mouth, speaking in a near-crying voice into her ear, "Sister, calm down, don’t let your heart race like that."

Gu Xuejian, quick to react, hurriedly took a deep breath to calm her heartbeat. Though naive, her strength was clear, and even in severe injury, it was easy for her to conceal her breath.

Just as she calmed her heartbeat, faint yet rapid footsteps could be heard outside the rock again.

The strange beast that had left now ran back with a "da da da".

"Boom..."

"Boom boom..."

"Boom boom boom..."

The beast slowly approached the rock, only to see a mountain bird beside the rock, using its claws to grab a stone, knocking it up and down on another rock, creating a dense "boom boom" sound.

As if sensing the approaching terrifying beast, the stone-knocking mountain bird let out a cry of "goo" and once again flapped its wings to fly away.

The beast raised its head, and from its long snake nose, spewed out a mouthful of green smoke, corroding the mountain bird into residue.

After doing so, the beast seemed still uneasy, rushing into a cave to search again before leaving.

Inside the rock,

Li Yuan held Gu Xuejian’s mouth tightly, afraid she would speak again.

He was really speechless, such a cliché "enemy searches, leaves, and then comes back because of noise" kind of scene was something he only watched on TV before his time travel.

Gu Xuejian, who should be playing at a high level, why would she make such a foolish mistake?

Maybe it was the force of his slap that made Gu Xuejian grow a Heart Eye, and she stayed completely still for a long time.

One stick of incense time passed... 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Two sticks of incense time passed...

Gu Xuejian twisted her head: "Mmm..."

Li Yuan said softly, "I’ll let go, but you mustn’t make any noise."

Gu Xuejian nodded repeatedly.

Li Yuan let go, then took out a Grain Avoidance Pill and a Hundred Herbs Pill, stuffing them into Lady Hall Master’s small mouth beside him.

This Hall Master’s alertness was evidently not high, feeding her was easy.

Even though it felt strange to Li Yuan, it saved effort.

An hour passed quickly...

Inside the rock, the two sat quietly.

Gu Xuejian began healing her wounds.

Li Yuan started pondering about the "chance felt on the beast".

He didn’t regret not going out just now because it wasn’t the right time to go out then.

In this world, how many are like fish, losing their lives for bait, thinking they can safely eat it? But in reality... who is really special?

If the other side releases beasts to search the mountain, there are surely stronger ones watching from above.

If not, Li Yuan would look down on them because it’s clearly the necessary step.

He’d rather overestimate the enemy than underestimate or be careless.

He believed that even a slight noise would prompt the expert above to descend and act.

If a fight broke out, Li Yuan wasn’t afraid since he could escape, but Gu Xuejian would be in danger. Besides, it would alarm the enemy, revealing someone who can disappear instantly around Lotus Sect, leading them to set traps specifically targeting him in future defenses. Not worth it.

Moreover, he didn’t come out empty-handed.

"Awareness with opportunities" was his gain.

Through observing other birds and his senses, he vaguely confirmed this awareness had a range of three to four li.

With this radar-like awareness, how could he not find it?

Time ticked by, second by second.

Suddenly, Li Yuan felt a warmth on the outer side of his left thigh, as if a warm and tingling stream ignited it, and it enveloped his thigh, causing some blood and qi to stir...

His vision shifted slightly, realizing that somehow Gu Xuejian beside him was half leaning on him.

With such a small distance, after all that shuffling, naturally they leaned together.

How could thin layers of fabric fend off a burning warmth?

So, Li Yuan quietly flicked the short knife hidden in his sleeve, wedging it between the two layers of fabric.

Gu Xuejian trembled slightly, pretending not to know.

With this short knife, the two remained separate, and the ambiguous atmosphere was thoroughly cut off.

Li Yuan glanced at Gu Xuejian, unsure of what to say, for this woman bore no resemblance to the one in his impression.

As for the slight ambiguity just now, he decided to pretend it never happened, after all... he felt nothing for Gu Xuejian.

In his heart, there was always Yan Yu, and as for "marriages for certain purposes" or "beauty," they could be secondary, as the former served his growth, and the latter his desires...