The group continued fighting for quite some time, cutting down more than twenty of these Golden Eyed Silver-Back Pythons before escaping this predicament.
This was only the most peripheral region of Nether Mountain yet they had encountered such a crisis; this Forbidden Zone's reputation was clearly not groundless.
After this battle, the older generation had obviously experienced some consumption, but the old woman still silently lead them forward, traveling a hundred kilometers or so before they found a relatively safe place to stop and rest.
The seniors needed to maintain their peak condition, while the juniors had to restore their physical strength.
After stopping, the Ten Thousand Flower Palace's old woman grumbled, coldly glaring at Gui Li, "That kind of farce, I will let pass this time, but this old woman does not want to see a repeat, if you cannot guarantee this then we shall part ways here, my Ten Thousand Flower Palace does not want to act together with unscrupulous people who put our lives at risk."
Gui Li only laughed mischievously, "Please rest assured Yan Palace Lord, previously was this old master's mistake. My disciple was just a bit too enthusiastic, it was all a misunderstanding."
"Very well!" The old woman nodded lightly then stepped away to meditate and recover.
The two groups put some distance between themselves, each remaining silent.
After a short while, Yang Kai opened his eyes and saw the Ghost King Valley disciple who had plotted against him earlier walking over.
When he was about ten steps away, the man stopped, staring coldly at Yang Kai with a malicious grin. "My name is Jin Hao. You'd better roll far away from me, otherwise I'll kill you without mercy!"
Yang Kai looked at him and suddenly chuckled, "Brother Jin, dogs that bite usually don't bark first."
*Puchi* Several muted noises suddenly were heard; it was the Ten Thousand Flower Palace girls unable to hold back their laughter.
The young woman quickly stared at them and the girls quickly sealed their lips, pretending to meditate.
Jin Hao fumed, "You have a sharp tongue, but you'd better pray we don't meet inside!"
He snorted then turned away.
Watching his back, Yang Kai's heart also filled with murderous intent. These three Ghost King Valley disciples were destined to be his enemies, if they met again, there would be a battle.
After a while, the old woman stood up, and Gui Li also opened his eyes. Arranging themselves as before, the group continued deeper into Nether Mountain.
Along the way, they were often harassed by Monster Beasts. Nether Mountain's Monster Beasts were numerous, and their distribution was also chaotic, they encountered third-order, fourth-order, fifth-order, and even two sixth- order Monster Beasts.
However, the two sixth-order Monster Beasts clearly knew that this group was not easy to mess with, only probing them a bit before giving up; they were obviously significantly more intelligent than the others they had met.
In killing these Monster Beasts, the Ten Thousand Flower Palace's four girls reaped the greatest harvest, flourishing their ribbons and snatching up the Beast Cores that appeared. The trio from Ghost King Valley also worked together with Gui Li to obtain a number of Beast Cores, accumulating no small amount of wealth.
Only Yang Kai's performance was shabby, collecting just two fifth-order Beast Cores along the entire journey, However, he did not care. This was deliberate; by performing ordinarily, the others would pay less attention to him. In this way, he could bide his time, keep a low profile, avoid unnecessary danger, and steadily increase his strength.
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After half a day's travel, they finally arrived at their destination.
Before them lay a massive lake, its waters clear and sparkling, yet the strangely calm surface exuded an eerie aura that made Yang Kai feel uneasy.
Looking around, he saw that surrounding the lake were many groups of people. These were the various forces from the Great Han Dynasty, each having brought their disciples here to gain life experience. Their numbers varied—some larger groups had seven or eight people, while the smaller ones numbered only three or four.
Each group kept a distance of about three hundred meters from the others, quietly waiting at the lake's edge. The Ten Thousand Flower Palace's old woman gave only the faintest nod to her companions before leading the beautiful woman and her four disciples toward the shore.
When this group of flirtatious and alluring women appeared, they instantly drew the attention of countless young men. The girls, clearly accustomed to such stares, treated them like a passing breeze, ignoring the gazes as they neatly followed behind the old woman, searching for an open spot.
Gui Li shot Yang Kai a look filled with profound meaning.
Jin Hao also gave a cold snort, glaring at Yang Kai while dragging a finger across his neck in a silent threat, before following Gui Li and the Ten Thousand Flower Palace group toward the lake.
Most of the positions near the shore had already been taken by those who had arrived earlier, forcing Yang Kai to keep walking past the gathered groups. As he moved, he secretly observed each one, committing every detail to memory.
After circling more than half the lake, he finally found an unoccupied area. Sitting down cross-legged, Yang Kai continued to listen carefully while keeping a sharp eye on his surroundings.
The more he learned, the clearer the danger of this experience became.
Each of these groups represented a major force of the Great Han Dynasty. Most hailed from first- or second-class Sects, though a few third-class Sects were present as well. Every one of these powers had at least two or three disciples—Yang Kai being the sole representative of his Sect was a unique sight. It also made him an easy target.