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Hundreds of miles past the gorge within the Blackwood Forest.
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It took many days for him to arrive at Serpent Mountain, even with the speed of a cultivator it was a cumbersome journey. Many initial tier one beasts that lacked intelligence attacked him on the way only to lose their lives in a single strike.
Wu Tianmo had gotten much stronger and initial tier one beasts no longer interested him, beasts that could cause a massacre against mortals were nothing more than child's play in front of him.
He finally arrived, three mountains that were connected through a series of long platforms high above the clouds. An imposing sight that caused all the scouts to flee for their lives.
All over the mountains were trees that had curved trunks, and their long branches were covered in green vines. Crimson leaves shielded them like a veil yet a sense of danger was apparent.
Nearby the main road, mysterious spirit flowers grew in patches leading up the mountain, and overgrown weeds sprouted from the stone pathway.
At the base of the mountain stood a red gate with black curved tiles, whose signboard had been removed and under it stood a man, Wu Tianmo.
"This place... it seems no human has lived here for a long time. Though long ago someone did call this place home, those structures high above aren't natural..."
He looked to the side of the path where the grass was stained red and many gold-robed skeletons laid.
"It seems not all the scouts were lucky enough to escape"
Wu Tianmo's eyes narrowed as a slight hissing sound came from the surrounding trees,
He smirked and gripped the handle of his sword,
"It looks like I have a welcoming party. Let's begin."
A large mid tier one serpent with blue scales and red eyes leapt from a large branch of a nearby tree, eager for a meal.
*Hiss!*
Wu Tianmo drew his sword executing Crescent draw, immediately decapitating the Mid Tier One Serpent.
He looked reluctantly at the ring on his finger,
"If only I was already at the Meridian Opening Realm, I'd be able to collect all the important parts of these beasts and take back a massive haul.
He sighed, cut open the serpent and grabbed the gall.
He tucked it in a large leather bag he prepared and took a large gourd out to drain the blood from the beast.
After taking his first supplies the subtle sounds of slithering and hissing started to come from all directions.
Wu Tianmo rested his unsheathed sword on his shoulder,
"Time to prepare some snake soup..."
Five large mid tier one blue scaled serpents revealed themselves, their large hoods flapping and red eyes glaring.
Wu Tianmo revealed a bit of his killing intent causing the snakes to shudder and turn around,
"Where do you think you're going!"
Moments later the sounds of sword cutting through scales caused all the birds to flee from their nests and snakes to coil tightly around large branches.
The smell of blood overwhelmed the previous pleasant smell of the spirit flowers.
He looked at the ground disappointed,
Why are these snakes fleeing? Since when do beasts flee in terror from a human.
Wu Tianmo once again flayed them for their parts and stored them in a large sack, his gourds now mostly full of tier one blood.
Doesn't matter... I will see if this tier one blood has any effect. First though, lets explore this mountain.
Wu Tianmo made his way up the mountain, as he progressed farther along the path many tier 1 snakes fled from his presence, as another beast was coming to claim their territory.
What he didn't know was that these snakes weren't simply running but gathering.
Wu Tianmo arrived at the second gate of the mountain where a walled courtyard hid three small houses.
He pushed open the large Blackwood gates which revealed a dust covered stone courtyard.
Cups of wine were set out on a table, preserved in time and covered in dust. Wu Tianmo walked towards the house until he sensed danger.
A large blue/black serpent lunged through the doors of the home breaking the entry door.
A peak tier 1 serpent... It's over 20 meters, how intimidating.
Wu Tianmo dodged out of the way slightly as the snake lunged through the table with the wine glasses.
The Serpent raised its head and looked at Wu Tianmo, drool dripped from its mouth as it hissed loudly into the air.
It swung its large tail towards him.
"You dare?!"
He dodged and dragged his blade across the scales of the serpent as its tail flew past him like a flowing river.
Wu Tianmo jumped into the air to dodge its next attack, and raised his sword above his head,
"Falling Moon!"
The serpent's eyes widened, it felt fear, had its greed really gotten the better of it?
The human was fiercer than it anticipated.
Wu Tianmo's tier two sword sliced its head in two causing its upper body to split like two sides of a peeled banana.
He smiled and swiped his sword removing the excess blood from its blade,
"This sword dance has taught me many useful things, and the intent from my sword is sharp enough to rival a tier 3 weapon. I will need to bring some good wine to Chen Jinshi as thanks, even if he is a brat, this is a good sword."
He began carving up the peak tier one serpent, replacing the mid tier blood with the peak. This was a great haul and only the beginning of his ascent of Serpent Mountain.
He walked towards the first building where the Peak Tier One Serpent was nesting, the furniture had been ground into rubble and most of the items were destroyed. Yet surprisingly there were a few scrolls hidden beneath the rubble.
Wu Tianmo used his divine sense to see the area around him, he was alone.
He took a breath and unraveled the first bamboo scroll,
"Entry requirements of the ... Thousand Serpent Sect?"