Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

For the next month or two, the area around the mountains and forests remained peaceful.

Gou An led Lai Pi to roam and hunt around the outer edges of the mountains.

With his strength as a fourth-tier demon beast, he never had any problem with food and clothing.

Lai Pi, by following Gou An, finally got to eat meat every meal.

It was precisely because of the improved nutrition that Lai Pi's previously bald and mottled fur became thick and shiny.

He's gotten much stronger, and life is a hundred times better than it was when he was with the pack of dogs.

Lai Pi never gave up the idea of ​​restoring his tribe, and would mention it to Gou An every now and then, but Gou An always refused him firmly.

On one occasion, it even brought a lone female dog to Gou An from who-knows-where, which enraged Gou An, who then beat it severely.

In Lai Pi's mind, the lifelong pursuit of all stray dogs is to become the king of dogs, find a female dog, and reproduce.

This is the pinnacle of his dog life in the world.

But Gou An's preference for being alone was something it could never understand.

Along the way, they stumbled upon another pack of wild dogs nearby, and Lai Pi almost ran straight to them.

But upon closer reflection, he realized that if he went there, he would most likely have to go back to the hard life he had before.

Following Gou An meant he could eat meat every day, and after much hesitation, he still chose to continue following Gou An.

For the past two months, Gou An has been hunting every day, consuming the cores of various low-level demonic beasts, but his demonic power has increased very little.

He gradually figured out the pattern.

The higher the realm of a demon beast, the less demon power a low-level demon core will provide.

At the second tier, consuming a first-tier demon core can increase demon power by more than fifty points.

However, at the fourth tier, the increase is only twenty or thirty points, and the bonus from the second-tier demon core has been reduced by more than half.

Third-tier demonic beasts are powerful. Although Gou An had encountered them before, he did not rashly hunt them down in order to play it safe.

For two whole months, his demonic power level only increased to a little over 400 points.

At this rate of slow progress, it would take at least three or four years to gather enough demonic power to break through to the fifth rank.

Logically speaking, this speed is not slow.

But after experiencing a sudden surge of two realms in a single day, Gou An missed that situation very much.

It's like when someone suddenly becomes rich, it's hard for them to adapt to a life of hardship.

The only way to quickly improve now is to hunt down high-level demonic beasts to obtain their cores, or to seek out high-level elixirs from human cultivators.

However, the areas where human cultivators gather are too risky. If he were to approach them rashly with his current strength, he would be very likely to encounter unforeseen dangers.

Therefore, the only way out right now is to venture deep into the heart of the Monster Mountain Range and try our luck.

Having made up his mind, Gou An summoned Lai Pi to set off together.

Lai Pi had never set foot deep into the mountains since birth, and upon hearing that he was to go deeper into the mountains, he was so frightened that his limbs went weak.

"Brother Gou, you absolutely mustn't!" Lai Pi hurriedly advised.

"Old Dog King once said that the deep mountains are full of fifth- and sixth-tier demonic beasts, and even seventh- and eighth-tier ones. For us lowly outer demons to go in is simply suicide!"

Gou An glanced at it: "Can't you be a little more dignified? As the old saying goes, the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish."

Lai Pi, being slow-witted, had never heard such philosophical words before, and looked completely bewildered: "Brother Gou wants to eat fish? I heard fish bones prick your mouth and don't taste good at all."

Gou An explained helplessly, "What I mean is, the more dangerous the place, the more opportunities and treasures there are."

Lai Pi seemed to understand but not quite. Seeing Gou An's resolute attitude, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow along, heading deeper into the mountains.

But in less than an hour, Gou An led Lai Pi back to the outer woods.

Lai Pi was full of doubt: "Brother Gou, how did we get back?"

"There's an old saying that goes, 'Better safe than sorry,' and the depths of the mountains are not a place we should go."

Lai Pi tilted his head and pressed on, "I know what shit is, but what's a boat?"

Gou An was too lazy to explain in detail, so he could only state bluntly: "Our strength is insufficient at the moment, so it is not advisable to go deeper."

Lai Pi's eyes darted around, and he suddenly realized, "Brother Gou, were you scared back by that fifth-tier Blazing Bear we just encountered?"

Gou An glared at it fiercely and warned, "Don't spout nonsense here. That was a tactical retreat!"

Although Gou Anwai outwardly denies it, his words are actually quite scathing.

We hadn't gone far into the mountains, and just after crossing a ridge, we saw a giant bear, its fur a deep red, wandering around in the canyon.

The bear's aura clearly indicated it was a fifth-tier demon beast, and its massive and robust body could easily swallow Gou An whole in one gulp.

Just seeing this one monstrous beast is enough to glimpse the dangers hidden deep within the mountains.

With his fourth-tier level, he could easily crush low-level monsters on the outskirts, but venturing deep into the heartland to fight high-level monsters would be tantamount to courting death.

Therefore, Gou An immediately chose to return and abandoned his idea of ​​going in for an adventure.

Just as Gou An was about to take Lai Pi to a safe place to rest, a low rumble suddenly came from the dense forest ahead, as if a large monster was rapidly approaching.

Gou An immediately stopped and warned Lai Pi behind him, "Be careful, there's movement ahead!"

But there was no response from behind.

Gou An turned around and saw that Lai Pi had already changed direction and was running away.

"Good heavens!" Gou An was shocked. This guy was even more cunning than himself.

Without a second thought, Gou An immediately followed Lai Pi and they fled together.

The first rule of survival in the Monster Mountain Range: when in danger, run away first.

As soon as Er Gou's front paws moved, a white figure darted out from the direction from which the sound had come.

It was a white fox spirit covered in wounds and with several tails!

Following closely behind the fox demon were the same group of hunters from before, numbering more than ten.

"It's just ahead! Don't let that fifth-tier demon fox escape!"

"This is a five-tailed fox; a single demon core is worth hundreds of spirit stones!"

"It's badly injured and won't last much longer. Hurry up and give chase!"

A group of hunters, armed with knives, spears, and various other weapons, surrounded by a faint aura of spiritual energy, charged forward at full speed with light steps.

However, everyone's attention was focused on the fleeing white fox ahead, and no one noticed the two wild dogs hiding in the bushes to the side.

In the grass, Gou An stepped on Lai Pi with one paw, pinning it to the ground. The two dogs held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Only when the hunter's figure completely disappeared into the forest and the sound of his departing footsteps could no longer be heard did Gou An slowly relax his strength.

He looked down at the still-shaken rascal at his feet and coldly scolded, "It just so happens that you can run fast. All the meat I fed you these past two months has been for nothing."

Lai Pi drooped his ears sheepishly and forced a smile, "Brother Gou, I'm innocent! My cultivation is too low; staying here would only be a burden to you, so I thought I'd stay away for now."

Gou An wasn't buying it at all, and warned in a stern voice, "If you still want to follow me in the future, you're not allowed to run away faster than me when there's danger, understand?"

Lai Pi nodded vigorously, his tail wagging frantically: "I've got it, I've got it! From now on, Gou-ge, you run first, then I'll run!"

Seeing that it had given in, Gou An nodded in satisfaction, moved its paws, and let it get up.

He then turned to look into the depths of the dense forest where the hunter had chased the white fox, his curiosity growing stronger.

A fifth-tier demonic beast, a five-tailed fox!

If one could eat his demon core, it would surely be a great tonic.

Let's follow them and see!