The young man was instantly furious.

He was born into a Daoist School Family. Although they weren’t one of the Five Great Surnames, his family did have Foundation Establishment Cultivators. The legacy continued endlessly, flourishing, and he was a prodigy raised with great effort by his family, always confident and successful.

This time, he ventured into Spirit Peak alone to conquer Wave Mountain. It took him just half a day to subdue demon beasts and fend off fellow cultivators, then sit cross-legged on the mountain, ready to set up an array disc.

Everything was going smoothly.

But he never expected someone to come and take advantage of him.

"How audacious!"

He shouted angrily, throwing his hand, and a golden hoop shimmering with brilliance went straight down to strike at the little thief.

This golden hoop was given by a Foundation Establishment elder in his family. It could imprison a Qi Refining cultivator’s mana with formidable power and was one of his trump cards.

Relying on this dharma artifact, in past magical combats within the same realm, he had hardly met an opponent and even once killed someone beyond his level in a counterattack.

Today, had he not been so outraged, he wouldn’t have used this dharma artifact right off the bat.

"I don’t even know where this character comes from, really thinking of themselves as a mighty dragon, actually learning to plunder Spirit Peaks!"

"Today I’ll teach you a lesson..." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The young man sneered coldly, as if he already saw the opponent’s mana being imprisoned, looking like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

"Thunk!"

But at that moment, a sound of something falling to the ground suddenly came from the valley.

The young man’s expression changed as he focused his gaze, discovering that his highly valued golden hoop had been caught by a mysterious golden ring. A deep and terrifying power surged from the golden ring, firmly imprisoning the golden hoop.

All the Dao Patterns on the golden hoop extinguished, dim and dull, resembling a gilded toy, it fell straight from high above into the cliff.

"Swipe!"

"Swipe!"

The little thief on the mountain didn’t even look back, continuing to pick spiritual herbs in the corners of the peak.

Not only that, but he also climbed higher and higher, ultimately meeting the young man face to face at the summit.

"How audacious!"

The young man’s face flushed with anger, feeling a great shame, and with a thought, two dazzling Dharma Seals and two dharma artifacts flew rapidly towards the little thief in front of him.

"Crash!"

But at that moment, a thick fog and torrential rain suddenly fell from the surrounding heavens and earth, obscuring the sky and blocking the young man’s vision.

"Cloud-Walking Seal?"

The young man’s face slightly changed, with no hesitation at all, as his tumultuous Spiritual Sense surged out like a black falcon, soaring in the thick fog, seemingly wanting to disperse the mist.

"Roar!"

But amidst the vast fog, the roar of a flood dragon suddenly echoed.

The young man’s face changed drastically. He wanted to retract his Spiritual Sense, but it was too late. Silver scales shimmered brightly, and an invisible shadow in the fog soared through the clouds, taking a gentle bite.

The young man’s expression instantly froze, standing still, his whole being seemingly in a daze.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, a pair of large hands reached out from the fog, plucking a green spirit grass from under the young man’s feet, resembling a little snake.

After picking the spirit grass, the large hands seemed unsatisfied and tried to grab the storage bag and jade pendant at the young man’s waist.

However, the golden talisman hanging on the young man’s neck suddenly lit up, hanging down strands of golden light, protecting him.

"Hmm... a life-saving Golden Seal crafted by Foundation Establishment."

"What a pity..."

A sigh echoed in the fog, then the mist dissipated, and the shadow within disappeared.

After a long time, the young man seemed to come back to his senses, his face as pale as gold paper. He looked at the empty cliff edge and touched the slightly dull golden seal on his body, showing a look of lingering fear.

"Flood Dragon Spirit... Top-Grade Spiritual Sense!"

"Is this someone from a Golden Core Family, or perhaps a Seven Vein Inheritor?"

"This isn’t a little thief; it’s clearly a mighty dragon..."

Staring at the empty cliff top, the young man’s face was uncertain.

...

...

"You brat, daring to wreak havoc on my Spirit Peak!"

On a Spirit Peak shaped like a Cyan Lotus, a burly Daoist in an Eight-leaf Daoist Robe, with a beard on his chin, couldn’t help but shout angrily at the sudden intruder.

With a wave of his wide sleeves, a blazing fire cloud descended like a fiery red sky, suppressing towards the figure.

"Boom!"

Amid peach blossom petals, thick fog spread, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi shook intensely, erupting in a brief yet fierce magical combat.

After a long while, the Daoist looked at the completely plundered Spirit Peak, his face turning dark.

But in the end, he didn’t dare to chase outside, choosing instead to lay down an array disc, preparing to occupy the Spirit Peak.

...

...

A similar scene played out on another Spirit Peak.

After a long while, a young man extinguished the flames on his sleeve and fled quickly by controlling his Jade Shuttle.

On the Spirit Peak, a deeply powerful disciple of a Noble Family watched the receding figure, snorting coldly, but in the end, didn’t pursue.

There wasn’t much time, and laying down an array disc required a day’s time. During that period, others might also come to contest the Spirit Peak, so chasing was not an option.

In fact, after the Daoist Cultivators subdued the various Great Demon Races in the mountain, the situation shifted to a defending the peak tactic.

Every Spirit Mountain became an arena, where holding one’s ground for a day without defeat ensured successful occupation of the Spirit Peak.

...

...

Gu Yuan stopped in a hidden valley within the corners of many Spirit Peaks.

After surveying the surroundings and confirming no one else was around, Gu Yuan finally smiled and took out the storage bag from his sleeve.

"The reserves from three Spirit Peaks, plus the spiritual herbs and exotic fruits from three Spirit Peaks, counting it all, I’ve already pillaged—no, conquered six Spirit Peaks..."

Looking at the abundant supplies on the ground, the smile on Gu Yuan’s lips grew wider.

Just this one "conquest" would bring in at least a thousand Spiritual Stones.

If it weren’t for the fact that most of the spiritual herbs and exotic fruits from the last three Spirit Peaks had already been collected by the Demon Race and Daoist Cultivators, this number could have been even higher.

However, even so, it was quite a fortune.

Once everything from the storage bag was accounted for, there might even be some surprises.

But this was not the time for inventory; he didn’t have much time left.

This time around, even though he moved swiftly, it still took over a day.

And now in the Spirit Peaks, the overall victors were almost decided. Those occupying the Spirit Peaks all had extraordinary methods. Gu Yuan realized that further plundering would become increasingly difficult.

The most critical point was that the news of his raids seemed to have spread.

If he continued, it might really incite the wrath of many, making it not worth the risk.

"It’s time to stop and choose a Spirit Peak to occupy."

Gu Yuan sighed, then turned his hand to take out a stone vial.

How to choose his Spirit Peak, Gu Yuan didn’t plan to rely on himself.

"Boom!"

Gu Yuan took out the stone vial and dropped Stone Liquid into his eyes.

In an instant, the world became clear, stars and rivers flowing, and everything presented itself clearly in Gu Yuan’s vision.

Countless white light spots flickered endlessly, densely scattered throughout Gu Yuan’s view.

But his gaze did not linger on these white light spots. Instead, he looked directly toward a Spirit Peak near the center of Wave Mountain.

There, an almost entirely silver opportunity floated unsteadily.

However, this light spot of opportunity wasn’t dazzlingly brilliant, but somewhat hazy, as if far away, remarkably similar to what Gu Yuan had seen before on Silverfish Island.