Later the next morning, Feng Yun and Xia Qing were instructed by their peers to resume their journey. Some time had passed and they had been held back slightly because of the bandit attack. Though this was the case however, it was not completely out of expectations. Dong Fuzhen had accounted for possible factors that may hinder the journey and this was one of them, except he hadn't expected it to be this large of a threat. With the bandit attack now quelled, it was safe to go on.

Feng Yun had decided to travel with the 5th Battalion despite numerous invitations from Dong Fuzhen to sit with him as a personal guest and commander under him. Feng Yun had kindly refused saying,

"I am much more comfortable with the people of the 5th Battalion. If you're worried I will place special preference on them, don't. I work well in a group that I have been a part of and is familiar with. To put it simply, better efficiency. I will pay attention to the rest of the mercenaries if that's what you want." Eventually, Dong Fuzhen had given in to Feng Yun's wishes and allowed him to remain with the group. Not that he needed Dong Fuzhen's permission to do whatever he wanted.

The group went on and regained their original strong mentality and determination. After surviving this sort of ordeal, they felt that there couldn't possibly be anything that could be worse than what they saw before. Of course, this was completely untrue. On this journey, there was something even more terrifying.

Meanwhile, Feng Yun mostly relaxed and conversed with his battalion about the matters of the world. He found talking with others a much easier source for learning of important matters than merely reading it in a library. Reading ten thousand books truly is not equivalent to traveling ten thousand Li. He learned from them many things, such as the royal families of the respective countries. He learned of the many talents that existed within them and the fame that they had gained from their exploits. What his battalion couldn't tell him much about however, was the Mystic Sacred Realm. When asked they said,

"Those guys are the weirdest out of all of them. They are the overlords of the continent and possess unfathomable power. However, most of their activities are shrouded in secrecy. They usually don't make a public appearance. Cultivators of the Mystic Sacred Realm are separated from worldly affairs and focus their whole lives on cultivation. They don't really care too much if countries invade and attempt to conquer each other. The only time they act is when someone openly challenge their strength. The Omni Beast King of the Immortal Fiendlands did this and was ultimately defeated by the Hundred Stars Adjudicator as you have probably heard of." Feng Yun was filled with a lot of curiosity towards this seemingly neutral country. He would have to visit it once he was powerful enough. Supposedly, it was a place of congregation for cultivators everywhere. If that was so, there had to be a good environment for cultivation.

As they moved on and talked about the various matters of the world, they didn't realize that they had traveled quite a long distance. They also didn't notice the gargantuan mountain range entering their line of sight until the pressure came. The mountain range gave off a feeling of danger, as if merely stepping on it could spell death for you. It scared the mercenaries who had begun to feel confident that hey could make it through the journey. The peaks were far higher than the clouds that hid them. It was impossible for the cultivators below to see them even with their enhanced vision. Suddenly, the mercenaries heard an ear piercing shriek resound through the air from the mountain. This further spooked the Death Singer Mercenaries more and a few younger ones came close to pissing in their pants. Feng Yun's face turned grim. Even the conversations had completely died down. There was a solemn atmosphere that materialized with the appearance of these mountains. Feng Yun leaped up to Dong Fuzhen's side, who was staring at the mountains in silence.

"Chief, what is this place?"

"This...my friend is the Kaidu Mountains."

"The Kaidu Mountains?" Feng Yun knew about much of the places in the continent due to him having memorized a few maps. However, he had never heard of this mountain range before. This made him curious and a bit wary of the unknown danger.

"This place gives a vile feel to it. Dong Fuzhen, do you know if we can avoid it?" Feng Yun got bad vibes from the aura it was giving off. This mountain range likely contained unspeakable dangers. Unfortunately, Dong Fuzhen shook his head.

"I too would love to take a different route, but this is the only path that we can take. If we were to go around the mountain, it would take up to a couple extra months to reach Azure Sky City! Those two Zhou clansmen have a set date and will not like it if we try to change it. We will have to go through."

"This is madness. They can wait for another couple of months can't they? This mountain could very well jeopardize the safety of the mercenaries." Dong Fuzhen looked at him and sighed.

"Not everyone is a noble like you Qiu Yun. We must get the money in order to survive. The faster the better. We will have to brave the danger. I will tell my men to be on high alert." Dong Fuzhen of course knew that the boy before him was a noble even though he didn't know his true identity. Feng Yun sighed and shook his head. He didn't feel like arguing anymore and went back to his battalion. When he was asked by the other members and Xia Qing, he told them what Dong Fuzhen said. The reactions were quite diverse but all of them agreed that it was not too good of an idea to go through the mountains. However, they could not go against the orders of the chief and thus they had to go.

As all the battalions were informed of the chief's decision, the Zhou clansmen heard about the mountain rang as well. They looked a bit worried as they heard the name of the mountain range. Zhou Yanling looked at her grandfather and said,

"Grandfather, is it that mountain range where my ancestor had traveled and was nearly killed?"

"Yes, it appears so. We are actually going through this mountain range! Well, there is nothing we can do about it. We have an appointment with the young master of the Du Gu clan for your engagement that you absolutely must arrive on time for. If the worst case scenario happens and the mercenaries are thrust into mortal danger, we will abandon them and find another mercenary group to hire! They are not worth our lives."

"But Grandfather, what about the Truth Artifact? I must recover it else Father will be angry! Also, I need to get revenge on that brat Qiu Yun!"

"The Truth Artifact cannot be compared to your life, it is inconsequential. I will persuade your father to lighten the punishment on you. As for Qiu Yun, he will die anyways in the Kaidu Mountains. It is inevitable. Do not worry. While they are dying, we will make our escape." Zhou Yanling was hesitant to abandon her revenge plan but she slowly nodded her head. She knew the dangers of the mountains as well as her grandfather did. Thus, she wasn't going to argue with him. She took delight in the fact that Qiu Yun would inevitably die without her raising a finger. She smiled evilly from the thought of this.

KAIDU MOUNTAINS

A large cave could be seen on the top of a mountain, looking incredibly dark and eerie. It gave off a dangerous and thick killing intent. It was so powerful that just a slight ripple could probably cut a whole forest down. At this moment, the cave was shaking uncontrollably and tremors could be felt all over the mountain. The cave which was originally dark now emitted an awe inspiring light that was so bright that it could blind anything that came near. The cave began to break off rocks from the pressure that was being displayed.

The ground gave way under the enormous pressure and the area under the cave caved in. The cave had completely collapsed and now only a pile of rubble could be seen.

Amazingly, an object stretched itself above the rubble. The object was full of hairs and had pink colored palms. It resembled an arm. Suddenly, the rubble shook as a body flew outside of it. It was enshrouded in a holy light and seemed completely cleansed. The figure was over five meters tall and was covered from head to toe in hairs. It had two feet and two arms and intelligent eyes that showed wisdom. The beast resembled a monkey very much. The colossal monkey looked around and reached its hand into the ground. With a sharp jerk, it pulled a large spear from the rubble. It glowed as well and complemented the monkey quite well. The monkey sensed the changes within itself and gave a large beaming smile that seemed slightly crooked.

"HAHA, YES! I, the Great Devil Ape have actually broken through to the Tyrant Realm! With my new strength, there is almost no one that can match me in the Kaidu Mountains. With an enhanced body given to me by the heavens, I can withstand long period battles and even experience a greater increase in physical strength. Truly Truly bloody good!" The Great Devil Ape raised its head to the heavens and laughed maniacally. Then, its eyebrow twitched as it sensed everything in the mountain. It noticed a very strange thing when it surveyed the whole mountain.

"What's this? A group of Xiantian Realm cultivators? Hmm, to train and stabilize the new power in my blood, I am required to engage in slaughter and absorb their essence. I have a great idea! I shall find these humans and I shall slaughter them. By doing this, I should be able to stabilize the aura in my body. You know what? I am also quite hungry from secluded meditation. I will eat them as well." The ape then began to depart going at a very leisurely pace as if the actions he was about to commit was of no matter to him. He would engage in a slaughter and no one could stop him.

Unfortunately, Feng Yun and the others had no idea of the carnage and slaughter that would commence soon.