Chapter 14: Entering the Mountain

The next day — one day remained before the Ancient Relic would open.

Many family factions had already mobilized, arriving at Ten Thousand Demon Valley several days earlier to scout the terrain and seize an early advantage.

Nan Yunqi led a group of over ten family disciples to Ten Thousand Demon Valley as well.

"Father, which entrance should we take?" Nan Qiao asked, eyeing the several mountain entrances before them.

"Let's take the far right one. More people enter through that side, and the Demon Beasts in that area are relatively weaker — it's safer," Nan Yunqi said after a moment's thought.

"Wait!"

Just as the group was about to head toward the rightmost entrance, Qin Guan suddenly called out to stop them.

Everyone halted and turned to look at him. Qin Guan turned to Nan Rou: "Rou'er, which direction has the strongest fluctuation of Spiritual Energy?"

"That way!" Nan Rou pointed toward the leftmost entrance — the exact opposite direction from the right.

Nan Rou possessed the Supreme Yin Sacred Body, which gave her an innately sharper sensitivity to Spiritual Energy than ordinary people. The location where the Ancient Relic was opening would naturally have far more intense Spiritual Energy fluctuations than anywhere else.

"Father-in-law, let's enter through the leftmost entrance," Qin Guan said to Nan Yunqi after hearing her.

Nan Qiao immediately looked exasperated:

"Do you think this is some kind of game? You want to rely on someone with zero Cultivation to sense Spiritual Energy fluctuations — and then have us enter through the most dangerous left entrance?"

Over the past two days, Qin Guan had taught Nan Rou many cultivation techniques, including a method to conceal her aura. No one outside knew she had already reached the third level of the Qi Refining Stage.

Jiaquan also spoke up urgently:

"Son-in-law, Second Young Miss is right. The left entrance is extremely dangerous. Even in the outer areas, you might encounter third or even fourth-rank Demon Beasts. You and the Family Head could handle third-rank ones, but a fourth-rank Demon Beast would be truly perilous!"

"That path really is dangerous!"

The others nodded in agreement. Ten Thousand Demon Valley was no place to take lightly — one moment of carelessness could mean death.

Yang Hongmei glanced at Nan Yunqi, then couldn't help but speak up:

"Why did we even bring her today? She has no Cultivation whatsoever, and now she's giving orders — isn't she just deliberately causing trouble?"

"Rou'er, can you truly sense the Spiritual Energy fluctuations from that direction?" Nan Yunqi asked, looking at Nan Rou with uncertainty.

The location of the Ancient Relic would inevitably produce Spiritual Energy fluctuations. If they could truly pinpoint its location, the Nan Family would absolutely be able to seize the initiative.

"Yes, the Spiritual Energy fluctuations in that direction are very intense," Nan Rou nodded and said softly.

Nan Yunqi furrowed his brow and looked toward Qin Guan, who said: "If you want to get ahead of everyone else, listen to my wife."

Nan Yunqi's brow creased slightly. Since Qin Guan spoke with such certainty, there had to be a reason behind it. With the Nan Family's strength, taking the popular route offered no advantage whatsoever — finding a different path was actually a sound strategy.

"All right. We'll take the leftmost entrance, the one with the fewest people." After deliberating for a moment, Nan Yunqi made his decision.

"Father, why are you listening to their nonsense? Let's hurry up and go — if we wait any longer, all the good spots will be taken!" Nan Qiao said anxiously.

Qin Guan shook his head and, pulling Nan Rou along, said:

"How about this — you all take the far right, and my wife and I will take the far left."

"Stop fooling around. We need to stick together right now!"

Seeing Qin Guan about to act alone, Nan Yunqi quickly stopped him. Right now, Qin Guan was the Nan Family's strongest fighter — there was no way he could be allowed to leave the group.

The other Nan Family disciples nodded in agreement. Qin Guan was the backbone of the Nan Family at this moment; he absolutely could not be allowed to go off on his own.

Nan Qiao's delicate brows knitted together in displeasure. If Qin Guan weren't a third-realm Martial Artist, she would have told him to leave long ago. She had been irritated the moment she saw Nan Rou tag along — bringing her was nothing but dead weight.

"Enough. Listen to me. When we enter the mountain, Qin Guan and I will lead from the front. The rest of you follow behind. At the first sign of danger, retreat immediately!"

And so, the group made their way toward the leftmost entrance.

"Brother Nan, quite bold of you, taking the left side!" called out a middle-aged man in ornate robes with a laugh. Behind him followed over forty family disciples — an impressively large contingent.

"Brother Song, shall we cooperate?" Nan Yunqi smiled upon seeing the man in ornate robes.

"Father, why don't we join up with Uncle Nan? It'd be good to have each other's backs!"

Before the man in ornate robes could respond, a young man behind him quickly spoke up. As he did, his gaze couldn't help but drift over Nan Qiao and Nan Rou. He had to admit — these two girls were absolutely stunning. If they happened to get separated in the mountain later... heh heh...

As the young man sized up Nan Qiao and Nan Rou, the clansmen behind him were also letting their greedy gazes wander over the two women.

"You worthless brat — what day do you think today is? You'd better rein in those filthy thoughts of yours, or I'll break your legs!" The man in ornate robes shot the young man a fierce glare, then turned to Nan Yunqi with a smile:

"Brother Nan, we have over forty people on our side, and not a single one is below the Qi Refinement Realm. You'd be better off finding allies closer to your own level."

The man in ornate robes gave a contemptuous smile and led the Song Family members toward the right.

In Luyun City, after Tianbao Pavilion, the City Lord's Manor, and the Xiao Family, the Song Family was the next most powerful. For a third-rate minor clan like the Nan Family to seek an alliance with the Song Family — Song Dengge genuinely found it laughable.

"Hmph. What's so great about having more people!"

Nan Yunqi let out a cold snort and led his group of ten-odd people into the leftmost entrance.

The moment they stepped into the mountain forest, the light dimmed immediately. A bone-chilling cold air rushed at them head-on.

The narrow mountain path was overgrown with weeds, and a thick layer of dead branches and fallen leaves blanketed the ground — clearly, very few people had walked this way in a long time.

Taking in the scene, everyone grew visibly on guard, even their breathing becoming careful and measured.

"Are you cold?" Qin Guan pulled Nan Rou closer into his arms.

"Not cold," Nan Rou smiled.

"Can you two keep it down?" Seeing Qin Guan and Nan Rou being affectionate without the slightest concern for attracting Demon Beasts, Nan Qiao felt an inexplicable surge of irritation.

"You should hurry up and find someone to marry. A girl your age still single — that's just not right," Qin Guan said, glancing at Nan Qiao with mild annoyance.

"You—" Nan Qiao was instantly rendered speechless.

"All right, stop bickering. Ten Thousand Demon Valley is no place for jokes!" Nan Yunqi quickly hushed them in a low voice.

Nan Rou also quickly made a silencing gesture at Qin Guan.

The group of over ten people walked for about two hours before stopping. The noise from outside the mountain had long since faded, and the forest had grown gradually quiet and eerie. Fortunately, they hadn't encountered a single Demon Beast along the way, which allowed everyone to relax somewhat.

"Rou'er, sense it again." Throughout the journey, Qin Guan would periodically stop and ask Nan Rou to point the way.

The others found Qin Guan's habit of consulting Nan Rou quite baffling — First Young Miss had no Cultivation at all, so how could she be their guide? Yang Hongmei in particular kept making snide remarks every so often.

"Still ahead. The fluctuations are getting more intense," Nan Rou said, pointing forward.

Nan Yunqi glanced ahead and said quietly, "Everyone, tighten up the formation."

The words had barely left his mouth when a pack of demon wolves silently materialized from the thicket of shrubs ahead.

They moved with light, coordinated steps — like assassins who had been lying in wait for a long time. There were over twenty of them.

At the sight of the muscular demon wolves baring their sharp fangs and closing in on them, everyone's souls nearly leapt from their bodies in terror.

Second-rank demon wolves — their strength was equivalent to that of a human Qi Refinement Realm Cultivator. What made them especially dangerous was that demon wolves were pack hunters: their coordination was seamless, and they excelled at ambush and encirclement. They were arguably the most troublesome and dangerous second-rank Demon Beasts in existence. Even a Spirit Refinement Realm Cultivator would feel their scalp tingle upon encountering a pack.

"Fall back! Everyone stay calm. Those with stronger Cultivation stand on the outside; the weaker ones stay in the center!" Nan Yunqi's expression was grave. He quickly ordered everyone to retreat while positioning himself at the very front.

"We should have taken the right entrance, but no — we had to listen to a jinx. Now look at us. We're all done for!" Yang Hongmei fumed with a torrent of complaints.

"No one else takes the left entrance precisely because it's dangerous. And you listened to the two of them, Father — you were truly muddleheaded!" Nan Qiao couldn't hold back her grievances either.

The dozen or so family disciples also nodded, feeling that Nan Yunqi shouldn't have listened to Qin Guan and Nan Rou. For a Family Head, a poor decision came with a heavy price.

Things often go smoothly without incident, but the moment something goes wrong, complaints and blame erupt immediately.

"All of you, shut your mouths! We're seeking a Fortuitous Encounter — isn't it perfectly normal to face danger? If you think you can gain something for nothing without any risk, you're dreaming!"

Nan Yunqi's voice was low and firm, silencing the complaints.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have—"

"What do you mean your fault? These people are just hopeless — they don't deserve to have you lead them!"

Nan Rou had just begun to speak, her face full of self-reproach, when Qin Guan cut her off. His expression was displeased: "Anyone who has another complaint can get out of this group right now!"

In that moment, Qin Guan seemed like a completely different person. An invisible pressure radiated from him, and the words he spoke left no one with the courage to argue back.

Then, without another word, he strode directly toward the wolf pack. His voice dropped to a low, measured tone:

"A few small wolves have you all in a panic like this. Even if the greatest Fortuitous Encounter in the world were laid out right in front of you, you wouldn't be able to claim it."

Hearing Qin Guan's words, everyone fell silent, their expressions deeply uncomfortable.

"Qin Guan, come back!" Seeing Qin Guan walking alone toward over twenty demon wolves, Nan Yunqi called out urgently.

But the moment Nan Yunqi finished speaking, Qin Guan suddenly stamped his foot. His figure shot forward with a sound like a tiger's roar and a dragon's cry tearing through the air, and he flew straight into the thicket of shrubs ahead.

He had leapt clean over the wolf pack!

Awoooo!

Before anyone could understand what Qin Guan was doing, a shrill, agonized howl suddenly rang out from within the shrubs.

The next moment, a massive demon wolf — its entire coat a bloody crimson — came crashing down from the air and slammed into the ground between Nan Yunqi's group and the wolf pack.