Pacifying the Chaos Mountain (Please support with recommendations and bookmarks!)

After the events at the hot spring manor, Jiang Feng had been exceptionally cautious for several days. The deaths of so many young members of the Jiang family were bound to cause a massive stir. He couldn’t predict what actions the family might take next and could only remain vigilant himself.

Yet, after observing the area from Lu Ming Town all the way to the peaks near Dawn and Dusk, everything remained eerily quiet. Aside from the occasional solitary cultivator venturing into the mountains to hunt beasts, not a single member of the Jiang family was to be seen.

This struck him as odd.

The younger generation of the Jiang family, besides those killed last time, still included outstanding individuals like Jiang Huaiming. They, too, faced the approaching examinations and should have been training diligently. Why, then, were they nowhere to be found?

Feeling uneasy, Jiang Feng even risked sneaking back to the Jiang estate for a look. The southern branch showed no change, but the atmosphere at the northern branch was heavy and somber—though he didn’t see the white mourning garlands he had expected.

He faintly recalled something. At the entrance to the mysterious manor, the old man had told the girl named Yue Le, “Remember to send Jiang family my regards.”

Was this the result of those regards?

So many had been killed, and the Jiang family… shrank back? Who were the people in that mysterious manor? Not only did they kill so decisively, but they also crushed the Jiang family into silence.

Jiang Feng looked up at the sky and exhaled deeply, feeling an indescribable mix of emotions. Those who had pursued him ended up dead, and he’d felt fortunate. Yet seeing the Jiang family’s reaction, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of shame.

Is this the family to which I belong?

Heh!

He kept these thoughts hidden from Chong Fan. Aside from that one trip to the Jiang estate to gather information, he maintained his usual routine: cultivating, practicing martial arts, hunting, and reading. His days were so fully occupied there was scarcely a moment of leisure, let alone time to pay attention to Chong Fan.

Chong Fan, however, seemed utterly unconcerned. It was as if he was simply on a holiday, following Jiang Feng’s schedule to exercise, then spending the rest of his time reading in the valley or wandering about. He even began to learn cooking.

Somehow, he had found a book detailing methods to cook luminous beasts and started experimenting. Perhaps it was the brilliance of the intelligent, or maybe his innate refinement, but the dishes he prepared were far more delicious than anything Jiang Feng had made.

Moreover, after special treatment of the beast meat, eating it was no longer a torment. Every mouthful sent a warm current sliding down Jiang Feng’s throat, flooding into his stomach, then spreading throughout his body, leaving him feeling comfortably warm all over.

That warmth was luminous energy, of course. Jiang Feng also discovered that the energy was highly directional. Within a period after eating, it could either be stored as long-term luminous power or temporarily enhance certain attributes of his body.

If eaten before battle, it could significantly boost his combat strength!

He reported this to Chong Fan, who grew even more enthusiastic, continuing to tweak his recipes. Jiang Feng became his test subject, and in just a few days, consumed a variety of strange meats.

Honestly, about half of them tasted odd, but Jiang Feng was a pragmatist. As long as it was useful, he could always eat in silence.

By contrast, Night Snack was even less picky. Its time with Jiang Feng had dwindled lately, and it spent most of its hours waiting by Chong Fan’s pot for food.

Now, Jiang Feng could distinguish between the rabbit and the white shadow called Night Veil. Had that white shadow gone dormant again?

That morning, as usual, Jiang Feng went hunting. Ten days had passed since his last visit to Dawn and Dusk Peak, and he hadn’t missed a single day of cultivation, having opened the sixth aperture. For an ordinary person, opening one more would allow them to advance to the Dawn Realm. But Jiang Feng’s branch contained nine apertures, so he still had some way to go.

His hunting targets had shifted to seventh-grade luminous beasts. After all, his main purpose in hunting them was cultivation; the greater the danger, the more it pushed his combat ability and accelerated his improvement.

As he moved, he continued to observe his surroundings, but saw no traces of the Jiang family. He frowned, turned away from Dawn and Dusk Peak, and headed west, soon approaching a small mountain called Elephant Trunk Peak.

The upper half of the mountain resembled an elephant’s trunk, making it easily recognizable. Below lay a grassland, with wild stones rising amid the tangled grass. Beasts often prowled among the rocks, most of them fierce seventh-grade types.

Jiang Feng drew near, and after a short walk, he sniffed the air, paused, and slipped behind a large stone.

A strong scent of alcohol drifted from ahead, accompanied by faint snoring carried on the wind. Someone seemed to have gotten drunk and fallen asleep—right here among the beasts?

Sleeping in such a place?

Jiang Feng squinted and looked ahead. Amid the wild grass, a tall stone stood, and atop it lay a burly man, legs crossed, sleeping soundly.

Above the grassland, several grass hawks circled. They were fifth-grade luminous beasts, living in flocks. Usually, they preyed on weaker land beasts, but occasionally engaged stronger beasts two grades above themselves, relying on their aerial advantage to win.

Now, those grass hawks circled above the man’s head, ready to swoop at any moment!

Jiang Feng frowned and moved closer.

It was a bearded man clad in armor made from luminous beast hides, clutching a wine gourd even in sleep.

Jiang Feng studied him carefully, and suddenly noticed a faint mark at the center of the man’s brow. It resembled a leaf, though on closer inspection it looked more like a whirlpool.

This was the sign of someone who had opened the first source branch and advanced to the Dawn Realm!

He was observing when the man suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing in his gaze as he looked toward Jiang Feng’s hiding place.

He wiped his face and sat up, squinting at the sky.

Just then, a grass hawk fixed on its target and shot down from above like an arrow, its sharp beak aimed straight at the man’s forehead!

The man let out a long laugh, tapped his toe lightly on the stone, and sprang upward to meet the hawk head-on!

His leap was high and swift, and as he passed the hawk, his toe tapped its body with a crisp sound. The hawk, unable to recover, plunged toward the ground, crashing into the stone and falling dead.

Using that momentum, the man soared higher, facing the circling hawks overhead.

In an instant, Jiang Feng was dazzled by the sight.

The man’s figure flickered through the sky like lightning, and every landing point struck a hawk. Each collision propelled him farther, while the hawk inevitably suffered broken bones and fell from the sky like a stone.

In moments, the sky over this area was cleared—the man had slain all the hawks. With a clear cry, he landed lightly in front of Jiang Feng, regarding him curiously.

“Hey, kid, you’ve only opened six apertures, and you’re already here? Isn’t it a bit early?”

Jiang Feng smiled and replied, “You’ve already entered the Dawn Realm, and you’re here—don’t you think it’s a bit late?”

The man paused, then burst out laughing. He slapped Jiang Feng’s shoulder and said, “Good lad, you’ve got spirit! My name’s Ping Luanshan. What’s yours?”

After exchanging names, Ping Luanshan turned to harvest the hawks, extracting the source cores and discarding the rest.

Jiang Feng shook his head and sighed, which Ping Luanshan noticed. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Feng said, “The breast meat of fifth-grade Red-eyed Grass Hawks is tender and delicious. Throwing it away is such a waste.”

Ping Luanshan gave him a peculiar look. “Kid, I didn’t expect you to have such a background.”

Jiang Feng was surprised. “How so?”

Ping Luanshan gestured at the hawk corpses. “The meat of luminous beasts is infused with mixed energies. Without special treatment, it’s simply inedible. To handle those energies, you need at least the control of someone in the Body Luminous Realm…”

He looked Jiang Feng up and down, clicking his tongue in wonder. “Kid, you’re full of surprises!”

Jiang Feng said nothing.

The control of the Body Luminous Realm… Yet Chong Fan hadn’t even reached the age to fuse the Luminous Mind Seed—he was just an ordinary person…

Ping Luanshan was about to speak when a beast’s roar sounded from the other side. His expression changed, and he motioned urgently, “Hide quickly!”

Jiang Feng looked up and immediately understood why Ping Luanshan was here.

From the opposite valley, a luminous beast with an eagle’s head and a lion’s body strode out. Embedded in its forehead was a diamond-shaped crystal, beside which two small drops of the same color gleamed.

Jiang Feng knew: when a martial cultivator advanced to the Dawn Realm, a luminous beast that rose a grade would display obvious new features. The whirlpool on Ping Luanshan’s forehead meant he was at Dawn Second Aperture, and this eagle-lion was also first grade, second level—matching his strength.

Ping Luanshan was here for it!

Following his instructions, Jiang Feng hid behind a large stone and soon witnessed a thrilling battle.

The eagle-lion was a wood-type luminous beast. When enraged, all the tall grasses in the area responded, reaching for Ping Luanshan like countless tentacles.

Ping Luanshan moved like the wind, swift as lightning. The grass barely touched him before he vanished meters away, impossible to bind.

He circled broadly, and every time he neared the eagle-lion, blood blossomed.

Wood-type beasts had average defense and attack, but exceptional endurance. Ping Luanshan inflicted countless wounds, yet it healed rapidly every time.

Finally, with a long cry, Ping Luanshan slipped behind it and punched straight through its body!

Jiang Feng felt his own body tense at the sight. The eagle-lion roared furiously, but its voice gradually faded. With a thud, it collapsed and died.

Ping Luanshan approached, panting, and Jiang Feng instinctively took a step back.

The big man looked at his right hand and smiled bitterly. “Its weak spot was there… How annoying.”

Before he finished speaking, both Jiang Feng and Ping Luanshan’s faces changed.

The ground beneath their feet trembled violently. Moments later, the grass split apart, and a dark shadow burst from below, biting the eagle-lion whole and devouring it!

“Deep Rock Earth Dragon!” Jiang Feng cried out.