Qin Lu walked slowly back to his home.

He handed the Spirit Rice and demon beast meat given by Cao Yunxi to Steward Chen to store in the kitchen. Then, he walked over to the square table in the main room, sat down, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and drank it in one gulp.

A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes as he recalled what had just happened at the Cao residence.

Cao Yunxi’s family had very ample food stores. The demon beast meat went without saying, but they had over two hundred jin of Spirit Rice alone, enough for the family of three to eat for more than a month.

Without the pressure of food scarcity, that kid Cao Mo could peacefully practice drawing talismans at home. Qin Lu also noticed his skill in talisman drawing had improved quite a bit compared to before.

The Cao family was very hospitable, giving him a good amount of Spirit Rice and demon beast meat. Even when Qin Lu offered to pay, they refused.

Both sides could be said to have enjoyed themselves as host and guest.

But what Qin Lu was recalling now wasn’t these minor matters. It was a sentence Cao Yunxi said when seeing him off at the end.

It was an invitation.

“Tomorrow we’re going to East Head Ridge to hunt beasts. Are you interested in coming along?”

To be honest, when Qin Lu heard Cao Yunxi say that a single demon beast could now earn three hundred Spirit Stones, he was tempted.

Three hundred Spirit Stones—that was no small sum, far more than what he earned from drawing talismans. And most importantly, Qin Lu currently had considerable confidence in his own strength.

“East Head Ridge… I am genuinely a bit curious….”

“Cao Yunxi is at the eighth level of Qi Refining, Qi Xiaofeng is at the seventh level. They’ve been operating around East Head Ridge for so long without losing their lives. With my strength, protecting myself shouldn’t be a problem, right…”

“Should I… go take a look?”

Qin Lu’s thoughts swirled as he considered the feasibility of this matter.

Since crossing over, adhering to his cautious nature, he had always kept a respectful distance from such dangerous activities, especially places like East Head Ridge where demon beasts ran rampant.

If someone had invited him to hunt beasts at East Head Ridge a few months ago, he would have refused without hesitation.

But times were different now. Unconsciously, he had already reached the late-stage Qi Refining realm. In the eyes of ordinary Loose Cultivators, this realm was already that of a super powerhouse.

It seemed he already had the ability to venture into the so-called demon beast forest.

After pondering for a moment, a sharp glint appeared in Qin Lu’s eyes, his gaze turning resolute.

“Then I’ll go along and take a look! Anyway, there’s not much food left now. Hunting some meat to eat myself while earning some money on the side! And I’ve gotten stronger! Demon beasts probably aren’t my match anymore!”

Having made up his mind, Qin Lu hesitated no longer and began checking his magical tools to ensure everything was in order.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, a refreshed and energetic Qin Lu went out early and headed straight to Cao Yunxi’s home.

The husband and wife were quite pleasantly surprised by Qin Lu’s arrival and immediately welcomed him.

“With Brother Qin joining us, we might just be able to hunt more demon beasts this time!” Cao Yunxi said with a smile.

“This is my first time going to East Head Ridge. I’ll need Brother Cao to look out for me,” Qin Lu replied.

“Brother Qin needn’t be so modest. We neighbors all heard about that fight you had on the street back then. Your strength is definitely top-notch!”

Cao Yunxi gave a thumbs-up, his face full of smiles.

“That’s right!” Qi Xiaofeng, who was packing items nearby, laughed. “Brother Qin doesn’t need to worry. We’re familiar with East Head Ridge now. As long as you don’t run off randomly, there won’t be any major danger.”

Qin Lu nodded lightly. “That’s good, then.”

After packing up their things, the three of them walked toward the outskirts of the market district. Soon, they reached the outer perimeter.

Although dawn had just broken, there were already quite a few cultivators on the road. All carrying magical tools, they walked in groups of three or five toward the direction of East Head Ridge.

It seemed they were all hunting teams.

Seeing so many cultivators, Qin Lu focused his mind. Gathering spiritual energy in his eyes, he used the [Heavenly Eye Technique].

In an instant, it was as if an invisible wave of light emanated from his body, enveloping everything within a hundred-meter radius.

Within this area covered by the light wave, Qin Lu could clearly sense each person’s cultivation level.

“Indeed, there are quite a few early-stage Qi Refining Loose Cultivators daring enough to form teams and go to East Head Ridge…”

“It seems I really have been too cautious. East Head Ridge probably isn’t some monstrously dangerous place of certain death…”

Qin Lu sighed inwardly twice, feeling much more relaxed overall.

“Oh right, Brother Qin,” Cao Yunxi suddenly said. “I need to remind you of something. After entering East Head Ridge, it’s easy to encounter some sinister spirits or malevolent entities. This happens especially in places with abundant spiritual energy. So you must prepare [Evil-Warding Talismans].”

“Ah? I haven’t heard about this before… I didn’t prepare any…”

“It’s fine. I brought two extra for you here. Remember to activate and use them if things seem off.” Cao Yunxi handed over two yellow talismans.

“Alright. Thanks.” Qin Lu didn’t refuse and directly reached out to take them.

Having grown more familiar with the Cao couple lately, Qin Lu wouldn’t put on an act of polite refusal anymore. If they gave it, he would use it.

As they were walking along, a greeting suddenly came from beside them.

“Yo! The Black Ape Duo! Running into you again today!”

Qin Lu turned his head and saw five people approaching nearby. The one who greeted them was burly with a full beard and currently wore a smiling expression on his face.

Looking at him, Qin Lu found him somewhat familiar; he seemed like a neighbor from back when he lived in The Slums named Jiang Yao.

Seeing him, Cao Yunxi immediately laughed and scolded, “You Old Ghost Jiang! What kind of nickname are you giving me!”

“Hehe! Haven’t you two been specializing in hunting [Black Ape Beasts] lately? Must have earned quite a few Spirit Stones! Tsk tsk! Truly daring!”

“What daring? Just trying to make ends meet!”

“Huh?” Jiang Yao looked at Qin Lu, standing nearby in surprise. “Isn’t this Big Mouth Qin? Going hunting at East Head Ridge today, too?”

Qin Lu gave a slight cupped-hand salute. “That’s right. Planning to go take a look.”

Jiang Yao laughed. “Then why are you tagging along with the Black Ape Duo? Their [Black Ape Beast] is a late-stage First-Rank demon beast! With your cultivation level, it’s best not to get involved with that excitement. Come with us instead; we deal with mid-stage First-Rank beasts—more suitable for you.”

Before Qin Lu could speak up, Qi Xiaofeng spoke loudly beside him.

“Old Ghost Jiang! Your eyes must really be failing you! Brother Qin is now at the seventh level of Qi Refining! With you? What an absolute joke!”

“Seventh level of Qi Refining?!” Jiang Yao stared at Qin Lu with utter disbelief. Then, he focused his senses, actually detecting an aura of formidable power emanating from him!

“This… wasn’t he at the second level of Qi Refining before? How did he suddenly reach the seventh level…” Jiang Yao stammered, while those behind him also wore expressions of shock.

“Haha, just luck, pure luck.” Qin Lu smiled faintly, cupping his hands respectfully.

Then, without paying further attention to Jiang Yao’s dumbfounded group, Qin Lu and his two companions simply left.

After putting some distance between themselves and the market district outskirts, Qin Lu took out a piece of paper from within his robes, then activated it.

The paper instantly enlarged and floated mid-air.

“This is… a flying magical tool!” Cao Yunxi exclaimed, startled.

“That’s right, bought this saving up money usually. Come on up!” Qin Lu called out, beckoning them aboard.

Standing atop the [Flying Cloud Paper], Qi Xiaofeng sighed emotionally. “Brother Qin, you really become more unfathomable every day…”

“This is nothing much. Now hold tight, we are setting off!”

Controlling the [Flying Cloud Paper] to rise slowly into the air, Qin Lu followed the directions given by Cao Yunxi and flew straight toward East Head Ridge.