"Master Chang, the Treasure-Seeking Mouse must be right ahead!"
A group of people emerged from the Myriad Beast Forest, covered in dust and grime, looking as though they had just been through numerous dangers.
And isn't that right? They had only just escaped from that damned group of monkeys, nearly losing their lives!
Dong Xunchang looked at the buildings ahead and immediately released his divine sense.
The houses looked ordinary, like dwellings meant for common people, but there was still a spirit-isolating formation set up.
However, this spirit-isolating formation was very crude and could only block divine sense below Golden Core Stage.
Dong Xunchang didn't forcefully break the formation to probe further inside. From how crude the formation was, it was obvious that cultivators did live inside, but their strength wouldn't be very high.
The outer wall of the house was clearly built somewhat crookedly. It was obvious that the person who built it had average skill and paid no attention to refinement at all.
Just from this house alone, one could infer many things.
But one thing was certain, the people living here were definitely not very strong.
At the very least, there wouldn't be any Nascent Soul Stage experts!
Dong Xunchang felt more confident. He waved his hand, "Go over!"
"Yes!"
The group behind him immediately nodded.
Aside from Dong Xunchang, who had only recently advanced to Nascent Soul Stage, the rest were all Golden Core Stage cultivators.
A group like this would be considered fairly strong no matter where they went.
After all, ever since the upheaval a thousand years ago, this world was no longer filled with Nascent Soul cultivators everywhere.
A Nascent Soul cultivator was already capable of founding a sect.
Dong Xunchang was an elder of the Dong Family!
Over the past ten-plus years, the Dong Family had developed extremely quickly. Sooner or later, they would beat down the top ten sects and trample the top ten families, becoming the dominant power!
This time, following the family head's instructions, they had come to the Myriad Beast Forest to search for a Treasure-Seeking Mouse.
They didn't know how the family head had learned of this information, but that's a Treasure-Seeking Mouse!
If they could obtain a Treasure-Seeking Mouse, they would make a fortune!
With a Treasure-Seeking Mouse, they could obtain countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
Would they still need to worry about advancing in cultivation then?
Thus, the group swore oaths to the heavens that they would absolutely not leak this information.
Then, under Dong Xunchang's leadership, and carrying the treasure-seeking spirit artifact given by the family head, they entered the Myriad Beast Forest.
Yes, the family head had given them a spirit artifact.
Although it was a low-grade spirit artifact and required an enormous amount of spiritual power each time it's used, this still made them incomparably excited!
No wonder Dong Xunchang was full of confidence. With a spirit artifact and a roughly marked area, they were certain they could find the Treasure-Seeking Mouse!
Thinking of the wonderful future that would come after obtaining the Treasure-Seeking Mouse, everyone was brimming with energy!
After entering the Myriad Beast Forest, they began searching for the Treasure-Seeking Mouse.
And indeed, after several days, they actually found its trail.
When they saw that little ball of fur, they were ecstatic.
But unexpectedly, that little thing, which looked inconspicuous and rather cute, was astonishingly fast at running away!
The Myriad Beast Forest was filled with dangers. Weeds and trees were everywhere, severely obstructing vision and movement.
Moreover, that little thing was quite cunning, it even used schemes!
When everyone chased it, it would suddenly dart straight into the middle of the group.
If they reacted too slowly, they would almost strike their own companions.
And it would then take advantage of the chaos to escape.
Dong Xunchang was at Nascent Soul Stage and the strongest among them.
However, when they discovered the Treasure-Seeking Mouse, he had just finished using the spirit artifact and had consumed a great deal of strength.
Furthermore, the Myriad Beast Forest wasn't like the open plains outside, it was cramped and restrictive. For a moment, he couldn't fully exert himself, allowing the little thing to escape.
The group chased the Treasure-Seeking Mouse forward, only for that little thing to lead them straight into the territory of a group of Golden-Leaf Monkeys!
Golden-Leaf Monkeys were third-rank spirit beasts. With Dong Xunchang, a Nascent Soul cultivator, present, this wouldn't normally be a problem.
But Golden-Leaf Monkeys lived in groups!
And their temperaments were especially overbearing.
Even people or beasts merely passing by the edge of their territory would get bullied by them. They would pluck the feathers off even wild chickens, let alone a group of people barging straight in!
Thus, the Golden-Leaf Monkeys immediately launched an attack.
They were also particularly sly, refusing to come down to the ground and instead hurling things at them from the trees.
These monkeys had accumulated strength over many years, and their bombardment made the group howl in misery.
If not for the many defensive talismans and magical treasures they carried, they might've perished inside!
The group was chased by these Golden-Leaf Monkeys for half a day, nearly getting lost in the Myriad Beast Forest.
Fortunately, the monkeys were unwilling to cross into others' territory and turned back halfway, allowing them to escape.
After being tricked so badly by the Treasure-Seeking Mouse, how could they be willing to give up?
Luckily, the treasure-seeking spirit artifact they carried hadn't broken.
Following the artifact's guidance, they arrived here.
"That damned beast actually ran outside, it really knew how to run away!" someone couldn't help grinding their teeth.
They had nearly died inside the Myriad Beast Forest!
Thankfully, their luck was good and their lives were spared!
Even so, not a single one of them was without injuries.
Most of the pills they had prepared beforehand were nearly used up, and many of their magical treasures and talismans had also been consumed.
If they didn't take the Treasure-Seeking Mouse back, their losses would be catastrophic!
Thinking of this, they no longer cared about anything else and immediately stepped forward to knock on the door.
No, rather than knock, it was more accurate to say they smashed it.
They struck the door with great force, as if they were about to tear it down.
Watching them smash the door violently, Dong Xunchang remained expressionless and said nothing.
In his view, the fact that he was even willing to knock was already giving the people inside face.
Not breaking in directly was already extremely courteous.
He had checked again earlier, this residence wasn't large, and there probably weren't many people living inside, since he hadn't heard any sounds at all.
Thus, he was certain there was no danger here.
So knocking was already the height of their courtesy.
Meanwhile, the two people smashing the door were secretly surprised, the door panels were surprisingly sturdy!
They were both Golden Core cultivators, and after being toyed with by the Golden-Leaf Monkeys for so long, they were full of pent-up anger. They hadn't held back much strength at all.
Under normal circumstances, the door should have been smashed open already, literally smashed apart.
But now, this door was unexpectedly solid, stubbornly holding firm.
Fortunately, just as they were growing impatient and preparing to force their way in, the door finally opened.
The moment it opened, they couldn't help but curse aloud, "Are you deaf? We knocked for so long and you still didn't…ah!"
Before the words even finished, they screamed as they were sent flying backward.
The expressions of the Dong family members immediately changed. Dong Xunchang waved his hand, releasing spiritual power to catch the two who were flung away.
After the two landed safely, Dong Xunchang finally had time to look at the other party.
The one who attacked without a word was a tall man.
The man was handsome, but his cheeks were somewhat flushed, making him look rather strange.
But what truly shocked Dong Xunchang was that the moment the man appeared, his gaze locked directly onto him, sharp and cold, "You came here to cause trouble?"
"I didn't…ah!!"
Before he could finish speaking, he felt a force yank him forward.
Everyone watched in horror as Dong Xunchang was seized by the throat, his face turning deathly pale.