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

Early the next morning.

Gou An put on the black ring, and Xuan Kongzi's figure flickered and transformed into a stream of light, shooting into the ring's space.

Just as he stepped out of the cave, a sparrow suddenly fell from the sky and landed right on Gou An's shoulder.

"Let's go!" Sparrow suddenly spoke, the voice belonging to Xuan Kongzi.

"You're already inside the ring, how can you still use this trick?" Gou An asked curiously.

Xuan Kongzi simply said through the sparrow, "It's just a little trick, no need to worry about it."

"From now on, do not use any sorcery. Just act like an ordinary mortal, relax, and don't give yourself away."

"Okay!" Gou An nodded and continued heading towards the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

Arriving at the nearest town, Gou An even spent money to buy a set of herbalist's equipment in order to avoid attracting attention.

A bamboo basket, a sickle, and a coarse linen outfit.

After changing into these clothes, Gou An was no different from an ordinary mortal.

Gou An even smeared some mud on his face to make himself look even more inconspicuous, giving himself a disheveled appearance.

After making these preparations, Gou An finally set off.

After leaving the town, we started walking up the mountain road.

Take it one step at a time and move forward honestly.

Gou An even picked some herbs along the way and put them in his basket, deliberately slowing down his pace.

Not long after, Gou An encountered several cultivators on duty at the entrance of a valley.

Upon seeing someone approaching, several cultivators immediately stepped forward to question them.

"Where did you come from?" A middle-aged monk blocked the road and questioned Gou An.

"I'm from Pilin Town, and I want to go up the mountain to collect herbs." Gou An smiled sincerely and nodded repeatedly.

The middle-aged cultivator looked Gou An up and down carefully, and then checked Gou An's basket.

They didn't seem to notice anything unusual, so they prepared to let them pass.

"Then you can go!" The middle-aged cultivator stepped aside, then added a reminder: "This area has been rather unsafe lately. If you spot anyone suspicious, remember to report to us immediately."

"Okay, okay!" Gou An nodded quickly and was about to walk over.

"Wait a minute!" Just then, another older cultivator suddenly called out to Gou An.

Gou An stopped in his tracks, thinking he had been exposed.

"Come and touch this stone!" The older monk pointed to the stone pillar next to him, which had a smooth sphere at the top.

A cultivator nearby even demonstrated for Gou An: "Press your entire palm on it and hold for three breaths."

Gou An gave an awkward smile. Although he had the Demon-Slaying Pearl on him, which theoretically could fool this thing, he hadn't tested it yet.

If the button is pressed and the situation is exposed, am I confident that I can kill all these cultivators before they send out a message?

"What are you standing there for? Press it now!" a cultivator urged immediately.

"Press it right away, press it right away!" Gou An nodded repeatedly, but deliberately slowed down and took the opportunity to observe the positions of the others, thinking about what to do if he was exposed.

There were six cultivators at the mouth of the valley.

They didn't seem to have high cultivation levels; most were at the Qi Refining stage, except for the oldest cultivator, who appeared to be at the Core Formation stage.

As soon as Gou An placed his hand on the stone, all the cultivators' eyes turned to him.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths!

Three breaths later, the stone pillar showed no reaction whatsoever.

Seeing this, the cultivators then looked away.

"He's just a mortal, go!" Seeing this, the older cultivator stopped trying to stop him and waved his hand to let Gou An pass.

After passing through the valley entrance, Gou An finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if they were exposed, Gou An could still take them all out in a short time.

But once they manage to send a signal, cultivators from the Xuan Guard will immediately surround them.

Even if they were fast enough, they didn't get to send a signal.

However, all the sentry monks here are dead, and if the Xuanwei discovers this, it will attract their attention.

Fortunately, the items given by Xuan Kongzi were reliable and there were no problems.

Just as they were safe, a sparrow landed on Gou An's shoulder.

"Look at you, so spineless. I told you nothing would happen. Be brave, will you?" Xuan Kongzi said through the sparrow, his tone slightly disdainful.

Gou An was immediately annoyed upon hearing this: "Senior, since you can control birds, why don't you just let the bird carry the ring away? Why do I have to take you?"

"After saying a few words to you, fellow Daoist, are you feeling unwell?" Xuan Kongzi chuckled lightly and said, "These little beasts are too weak. If you forcibly control them for a period of time, they will die from exhaustion."

"If there are no other suitable small beasts nearby to control, I will have to come out of the ring, which will risk being exposed."

Gou An smiled gently after hearing this: "In that case, senior, please be quiet. I have my own way and know how to get there."

"Alright, alright!" Xuan Kongzi controlled the sparrow to flap its wings and take off: "Since you think I talk too much, I'll go take a look around the neighborhood."

Gou An continued forward, and although he had chosen the most remote path, he was stopped and questioned by cultivators every so often.

Having learned from his past successes, Gou An was no longer worried and passed through the checkpoints with great ease.

This journey lasted for more than ten days, and they were getting closer and closer to the Monster Mountain Range.

The closer they got, the more numerous and heavily guarded the checkpoints became, and groups of cultivators could be seen flying overhead from time to time.

Even though Gou An had disguised himself very well, he still didn't dare to move too fast.

Who knows if these sentry posts are in contact with each other? It's a bit strange to think that a lone herbalist has been traveling hundreds of miles from north to south for more than ten days.

Therefore, Gou An would enter the mortal town to change his clothes every now and then, and by slowing down, he did not attract the attention of these cultivators.

However, Xuan Kongzi was somewhat impatient with Gou An's cautiousness.

That day, he brought a black mongrel dog over and said to Gou An, "There are still two or three hundred li to go. At this rate, how long will it take you to get there?"

"Senior, we are now deep within the area heavily searched by the Zhixuan Guard. If we are accidentally exposed now, none of us will escape."

Gou An sat resting in an empty pavilion at the entrance of town: "There's no need to rush now."

"You little demon are really overly vigilant." Xuan Kongzi was helpless but had no choice: "If you move quickly, you can cover two or three hundred miles in half a day. Once we enter the Demon Beast Mountain Range, even if we are discovered, it won't be so easy for them to catch us."

Gou An immediately retorted, "It's certainly not easy for them to capture the senior, but it seems not so difficult for them to find me. I have to think more about myself."

"Fine, fine, fine!" Xuan Kongzi had no choice but to control the black dog to get up and leave: "Whatever you say."

Just then, Gou An noticed a group of people gathered together at the entrance of the town, discussing something.

Upon seeing this, Gou An immediately had an idea, so he got up and walked towards them.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that they were medicinal herb farmers from nearby villages and towns. In addition to cultivating their own herbs, they would occasionally gather together to collect herbs in the mountains, since wild herbs were much more expensive than cultivated ones.

The mountains they were heading to this time happened to be the same direction Gou An was going.

So Gou An found the leader, a strong-looking man with a stubble beard.

"Brother, could you give me a ride?" Gou An asked with a polite smile.

Upon seeing Gou An, the burly man frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"

"I'm from the next town!" Gou An said respectfully. "Could I come with you this time? I'd like to gather more good herbs."

"Why would someone from the next town come all the way here?" the burly man asked with a suspicious look.

Seeing this, Gou An could only explain, "I accidentally ended up here while gathering herbs. I just happened to see you two wanting to travel together, so I thought I'd go with you and try my luck. It's safer with more people, right?"

"Heh!" The burly man sneered, then retorted, "Do you know where we're going? Want to come with us?"

Before Gou An could answer, the burly man continued, "The place we're going to this time is Black Stone Ridge. Although there are many spiritual herbs there, there may be demonic beasts, so it's very dangerous."

"With your skinny arms and legs, you'd be a burden to us."

After listening, Gou An glanced around at the crowd and saw that the herbalists who had gathered were all strong men, each carrying weapons, and some were even wearing leather armor and carrying bows and arrows.

"Don't worry about that!" Gou An patted his chest and assured the burly man, "Don't let my thin appearance fool you, I'm got plenty of strength."

"Oh?" The burly man clearly didn't believe him, but simply stretched out his right arm and sneered, "If you can break one of my arms, I'll let you come along."

"Alright!" Gou An didn't hesitate when he saw this. He immediately reached out and grabbed the strong man's wrist, then applied a little force.

The next second, the burly man's confident smile froze instantly. He felt as if what was holding his arm was not a hand, but a huge pair of pincers, and he was completely unable to resist.

Before Gou An could even raise his voice, the burly man immediately spoke up: "Our team is in dire need of talent like you."

Seeing the burly man's sudden change of expression, Gou An wisely said, "Then thank you very much, brother."

After introduction, the burly man was named Luo Meng, and he was originally a hunter.

I also collect medicinal herbs when I hunt, so I got to know many herb farmers.

Over time, Luo Meng discovered that gathering herbs could sometimes earn more than hunting, so he later became a full-time herb gatherer while also hunting on the side.

Because of his good skills, many herb farmers were willing to follow Luo Meng, and he became the leader of this group.

Once everyone arrived, there were a total of 26 people, plus Gou An, making a total of 27.

Everyone brought their own things, and some even carried tents, indicating that they would be staying at Black Stone Ridge for several days.

Black Stone Ridge is located southeast of the town. The road is rugged and difficult to travel, with many steep cliffs.

It is precisely because of this terrain that it is rarely visited by humans, and thus many spiritual herbs grow there.

If you're lucky, you might find a plant that's hundreds of years old. If you sell it to a pharmacy, you'll be set for life.

So even though it's dangerous, there are still many people willing to take the risk.

Gou An mingled with the group and followed them toward Black Stone Ridge.

After traveling for about an hour, the group encountered a roadblock set up by several cultivators at the intersection near Black Stone Ridge.

Gou An hid in the crowd, a golden light flashing in his eyes, and he could tell the cultivation levels of these people.

There were seven people in total, all dressed in the same uniform, and they were clearly disciples of a sect.

Five Qi Sea stage cultivators, one Void Core stage cultivator, and one Yuan Core stage cultivator.

Most importantly, the magical artifact they used for detection was not the stone pillar they had encountered before, but rather a floating bronze mirror.