Chapter 566: 558

“No need for formalities, Elder Xu. By the way, where did that little silver-horned snake go? My pet needs some food, and it would be nice if we could catch it.”

Qin Niu asked with a smile.

To him, helping Elder Xu with the poison was just a simple matter.

“That beast fled in that direction at the time. I reckon that’s where its lair is,” Elder Xu pointed to a spot not far away and then looked at Qin Niu with pleading eyes. “Could you please help me with one more thing?”

“Please speak!”

Qin Niu didn’t agree rashly.

“My Little Purple has also been poisoned by the snake, and it’s much more serious than mine. Its condition is quite bad; could you please help my Little Purple detoxify? I know this request is somewhat abrupt, but for us cultivators of the Myriad Beast Gang, a beast pet is our second life…”

“It’s a small matter. Bring it out!” Qin Niu promptly agreed.

The old man took off a bag from his waist, which had dense runes appearing on it.

This must be a magical treasure.

It was somewhat similar to Qin Niu’s storage bag and the Hundred Treasures Insect Bag.

The elder simply shook the bag, and a purple figure tumbled out–it was indeed that purple marten.

Currently, it looked entirely different from the spirited creature he had seen before. Curled up into a ball, it was constantly trembling.

Its eyes were lifeless, barely opening a small slit.

Martens naturally have some immunity to snake venom, and it was precisely because of this that the marten had not lost its life.

However, looking at its condition, it was hard to tell whether it could hold on.

Qin Niu gave it a quick examination and then proceeded to remove the snake venom from its body.

It seemed his Ink Blade Gu had consumed a very high-grade new poison, which made it very happy. Its strength also surged upward rapidly.

“All right, it should be fine now.”

Qin Niu easily cleared the snake venom from the marten’s body.

The marten’s condition also returned to normal, its lush tail rising up again like a lavish umbrella over its body.

“Squeak, squeak!”

It made a clear chirping sound at Qin Niu, a sign of gratitude.

The emotions of wild beasts are usually very straightforward.

They know gratitude and will remember it deeply for a lifetime.

“The little guy is quite humane!”

Qin Niu laughed and praised.

“Hehe, my Little Purple is very loyal. When it was young, its mother was eaten by a horned eagle, and all its siblings starved to death, only it was left half alive. I brought it home and raised it, and later, it became my beast pet, never leaving my side. Over the years, I’ve managed to cultivate to my current level of achievement — Little Purple has played an indispensable role. You’ve saved it, and it will surely remember you for a lifetime,”

Elder Xu spoke proudly of the marten’s backstory.

It was clear he had deep feelings for the marten.

“Right, I need to go find that little silver-horned snake. I wish Elder Xu an early passage through this barren land,”

Qin Niu headed straight in the direction Elder Xu had pointed to before.

He wanted to capture the injured silver-horned snake and feed it to the Red-eyed Golden Toad.

It was certain that the silver-horned snake was more powerful than an ordinary bi-horned snake, and its grade was higher. Since it could injure a Grade Eleven marten, it was very likely a demon beast.

This was a great opportunity for the Red-eyed Golden Toad.

“Young friend Qin, let me take you to that little snake! My Little Purple is the best at tracking prey,”

Elder Xu came up to Qin Niu and volunteered to help him find the little silver-horned snake.

The marten seemed to understand human speech, as it had already quickly jumped down from Elder Xu’s shoulder and took the lead, its tiny nostrils moving constantly.

“Then I’m in your debt!”

Qin Niu smiled and bowed in thanks.

“Seeing that these evil plants are quite afraid of young friend Qin, if you don’t mind, we might as well go together. It would be good to have someone to watch out for each other on the road.”

When Qin Niu stayed there, not a single evil plant dared to emerge from the ground.

As soon as Qin Niu left, Elder Xu suffered attacks from the evil plants, which made him realize that following Qin Niu could save him a lot of trouble.

“Okay!”

After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Niu readily agreed.

Elder Xu’s cultivation was much higher than Qin Niu’s, and he was experienced. Having such an elder as a companion on the road could teach Qin Niu a lot and reduce many unnecessary troubles.

The marten seemed to have already located the target up ahead, excitedly squeaking and moving forward quickly.

Qin Niu and the old man Xu followed closely behind.

Before long, the purple marten stopped in front of a withered tree.

This fallen withered tree must have been there for many years, as its smaller branches had already rotted away, leaving only the main trunk.

The purple marten screamed madly at the main trunk.

“Inside?”

An excited Qin Niu brandished his Ink Blade and chopped directly at the trunk.

Bang!

The trunk was split in half, and a silver-horned snake quickly scrambled out from the inside.

Its scales were cracked in several places, and it was stained with blood, looking seriously injured.

“Die!”

Qin Niu naturally did not miss the opportunity to kick someone while they were down.

He swung his blade at the silver-horned snake.

Whoosh!

Despite the snake’s serious injuries, it quickly escaped. Its movements were very agile.

Xu, standing by, made his move and drew his sword, continuously slashing at the snake and forcing it back.

Qin Niu seized the opportunity to strike again.

This time, he finally managed to hit the silver-horned snake.

However, a powerful demonic energy burst from the snake’s body, stubbornly blocking the Ink Blade.

“Hmph, do you think you can block me?”

Qin Niu withdrew his blade and delivered another Critical Chop.

This time, he executed a critical hit with a Rupture effect, fiercely splitting the snake’s demonic energy and striking its body.

“Quack!”

It let out a piercing scream.

Ultimately, it could not change its fate of being slain.

Qin Niu chopped it into two segments with a single stroke.

The Red-eyed Golden Toad had been waiting to take advantage of the situation. Its long tongue lashed out twice, swallowing the two halves of the silver-horned snake.

“Not bad!”

Qin Niu laughed happily, having successfully taken down the silver-horned snake.

“Xu, let’s hurry on our way!”

The two of them flew forward, Xu’s Step-Method Martial Skill appearing even more sophisticated than Qin Niu’s, his figure graceful. With a casual step, he would cover more than a dozen meters.

…

Five days later, the two of them had made their way through seven to eight hundred miles of mountain ridges.

Since Qin Niu was able to restrain evil plants and little snakes in the mountains, they continuously chose the mountainous path.

Others, adept at dealing with the dangers of swamps, chose to take the swamp routes.

“As soon as we cross the big snowy mountain up ahead, we’ll reach the Hundred-Tempering Immortal Sect’s grounds.”

On this journey, Xu had been greatly benefited from following Qin Niu.

He had never thought that passing through the challenge could be so easy.

“Xu, look over there, it seems some people have already started to climb the snowy mountain ahead of us.”

Qin Niu pointed to the small black dots on the distant snowy mountain.

Xu squinted and saw that they were indeed challengers climbing the snow-capped mountain.

“Let’s go, we should also hurry up and climb. I heard that this big snowy mountain is very sinister; it devours people at night. If we can’t cross over before dark, it’s easy to be devoured by the mountain.”

“Who did Xu hear that from? Is the information reliable?”

Qin Niu couldn’t help but think of the Ancient Banyan Tree, which also annihilated all life under it at night.

“It should be trustworthy. At the Water and Land Dharma Assembly held every ten years, the final challenge is always through this desolate place. Not to hide it from you, our Myriad Beast Gang has many people holding important positions in the Hundred-Tempering Immortal Sect, and they can provide some useful information and covert assistance to the sect’s disciples.”

Xu said calmly.

Having travelled together these last few days, both had found the other quite to their liking.

Xu was the more silent type, acting calmly and decisively when needed. He was also extremely sincere towards Qin Niu, his life-saver.

After a few days of companionship, the two had become good friends with a strong relationship.