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

Little Beard was tightly bound to a thick tree trunk by Gou An using flexible vines.

This place is a desolate, remote mountain, with no travelers in sight, not even any large animals. The deathly silence is chilling.

Gou An squatted down beside a blue stone not far away, holding a piece of gravel, carefully polishing his long knife bit by bit.

Sizzle, sizzle...

The monotonous, grating sound of sharpening blades reached the little mustache's ears like a death knell, each sound trembling in his heart.

"Grandpa Demon, spare me! Please don't kill me!"

The little mustache trembled all over, pleading again and again with tears streaming down his face.

Gou Anquan remained oblivious, focusing only on sharpening the blade, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

He didn't intend to end the man's life quickly; that would be too lenient on this villain who had tried to kill for money.

Only through layers of torture can the other party experience the ultimate pain and repay the blood debt.

Ultimately, the reason why the He family father and daughter ended up like this is inextricably linked to themselves.

If the He family hadn't rescued him, there wouldn't have been a dedicated hunter like He Dazhuang, nor would there have been the incident of him going into the mountains to hunt bears and obtain precious bear skins.

That way, the person wouldn't be tempted by the money and kill him.

When the blade was sharpened to a chilling gleam, Gou An slowly rose, walked to the tree, and placed the cold blade directly against Little Beard's neck.

"If you have any last words, say them now." Gou An's tone was indifferent, devoid of any warmth.

The little mustache cried, his face streaked with tears, his body trembling like a leaf, his words broken and fragmented: "Grandpa Demon, please have mercy, please don't kill me!"

"I have elderly parents and young children to support. If I die, they simply cannot survive!"

Upon hearing this, Gou An suddenly gave a cold smile: "That's easy. After I send you on your way, I'll take your whole family with me so you can be reunited."

Upon hearing this, Little Mustache panicked and struggled desperately, crying out, "No! Absolutely not! Grandpa Demon, I know I was wrong, please spare my life!"

Gou An remained unmoved, and questioned in a deep, stern voice: "When you broke into the He family's house at night and brutally murdered them, why didn't you think of sparing their lives?"

One sentence left the bearded man speechless, his mind filled with endless horror.

Even now, he still can't understand how the mongrel dog the He family kept could actually be a transformed demon.

"Therefore, you should go down and be buried with the He family father and daughter."

Before he could finish speaking, Gou An flicked his wrist slightly, and with a swift motion, the blade sliced ​​off one of his ears.

"Ah...ah!!"

A heart-wrenching scream suddenly echoed through the dense forest, and scalding blood flowed continuously down his jaw, soaking his clothes.

"I know I was wrong! I really know I was wrong!" The little mustache convulsed in pain, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for mercy: "Grandpa Demon, spare my life! I'll never dare to do it again!"

"No, no, no!" Gou An shook his head slightly, his tone indifferent: "You don't know you're wrong, you're just afraid of dying."

The next instant, the longsword swung down again, severing one of the bearded man's arms.

A mournful wail echoed through the mountains and forests.

It lasted for a long time, until the sound changed from high-pitched to faint, and finally it fell into complete silence.

As for the little mustache, it turned into chunks of flesh, which Gou An carelessly tossed around in various parts of the forest.

Such a bloody smell would inevitably attract wild animals from the mountains.

Little Mustache could only eventually transform into a wild beast; he was so utterly destroyed that not even a trace remained.

On the other side...

The tragic deaths of the He family father and daughter had already left the entire village in a state of panic and shock.

But just as dawn broke the next day, the bad news spread throughout the village once again.

The Little Beard family also perished entirely in their home, and each of their deaths was even more gruesome.

Not a single chicken or dog was spared; not a single living creature in the yard escaped.

The entire village was instantly plunged into extreme panic, with every household and every person feeling insecure.

Rumors were circulating that it was a bandit raid, and everyone was afraid that their family would be the next victim.

Many villagers even hurriedly packed their belongings, intending to go to neighboring villages to temporarily escape the disaster.

When the group rushed to the neighboring village, they heard that three families had been brutally murdered the night before. Terrified, they dared not linger and had no choice but to slink back to their own village.

The world was in chaos, and murders broke out one after another. The people in the surrounding villages and towns were terrified when they heard about the series of tragedies, and they lived in constant fear.

Meanwhile, Gou An, who witnessed the entire process, had already embarked on his journey back to the Monster Mountain Range.

Having ventured out of the mountains, he encountered numerous unexpected events and a multitude of complicated matters, all of which required him to calmly sort out and process them.

The original intention was very simple: to go to the Spirit Storage Manor to retrieve the hundred spirit stones and then return to the mountains.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Master Fuhai and his gang on the way, and were then inexplicably attacked by unknown cultivators. The follower, Lai Pi, is still missing and his fate is unknown.

He had hoped to find peace in the village to recover from his injuries, but instead he encountered an eighth-tier insect demon lurking in an underground cave.

The He family father and daughter, who had saved his life, were brutally murdered by the villains.

Even though he personally killed the murderer and avenged his blood feud, the dead could never be brought back to life.

Looking back on his journey, Gou An felt that the days in the Monster Mountain Range were much simpler and purer.

They forage and rest daily, diligently accumulating demonic power. There is no wickedness in human hearts, no needless killing, and they live a peaceful and carefree life.

Human settlements are fraught with danger, rife with unpredictable human nature and lurking threats.

Thinking of this, Gou An quickened his pace.

Without that lazy bum dragging me along, my travel speed increased several times over.

He deliberately chose to travel through deep, dense forests, avoiding all villages, towns, and paths, speeding along the way.

Several days later, Gou An arrived at the outskirts of Lin Yao Town.

The town looked much the same as before, with little change, except that there were now a large number of cultivators and hunters on the streets, carrying weapons and surrounded by spiritual energy.

Sensing something amiss, Gou An did not rush into the city, but planned to bypass it and travel through the mountains and forests on the side.

However, during his detour, the sounds of conversation coming from a makeshift hunter's camp immediately caught his attention.

"Did we really manage to catch that insect demon after coming all this way?"

"We can only try our luck; what if we're lucky enough to run into one?"

"That's right. Rumor has it that although that insect demon is an eighth-tier demon beast, it's heavily injured. If we happen to stumble upon it and seize its demon core, we won't have to worry about food and drink for the next few decades!"

"It's not just the demon core that's valuable!" another person quickly chimed in. "Judging from the bounty notice posted by the Star Sect that day, rumors say that the insect demon is carrying a Blood Essence Pearl, which is even more valuable than the demon core!"

Gou An was just passing by, but upon hearing these words, he suddenly stopped.

Blood Essence Pearl?

Isn't this thing right in the storage space inside my mouth?

Is this thing more valuable than an eighth-tier demon core?

If that's the case, Gou An suddenly understood why the old female insect was so angry that her back was about to explode.

Before Gou An could think it over carefully, the group of hunters started talking again.

"What kind of treasure is the Blood Essence Pearl?" someone asked curiously.

Another hunter explained, "I heard that the Blood Essence Pearl is a treasure of the Heavenly Star Sect. I also heard that the insect demon sneaked into the Heavenly Star Sect and stole it, so it was hunted down by the cultivators of the Heavenly Path Sect."

"It's a pity that the insect demon was highly skilled; in the end, it was only seriously injured but managed to escape."

"They just don't know where they've gone to hide, and they've escaped the Tianxing Sect's search."

"As for what the bead is used for... I don't know yet. I'll have to study it carefully after I get the bead."

The hunters then began drinking, eating meat, and chatting about other topics.

Hearing this from afar, Gou An became even more curious.

Once I get back, I need to study those two beads carefully.