Battle Through the Heaven: Purple Heaven

The crowd in the shop had pegged the newcomer as a greenhorn, but he turned out to be a fierce dragon crossing the river. The burly man on the floor—known to some as a four-star Dou Zhe—had been felled by a single, airy "Scram."

What's this white-haired, black-robed guy's cultivation level?

Xiao Bai ignored their stares. Sweeping his gaze across the room, he watched as eyes dropped, none daring to meet his. Turning to the trembling clerk, he noted the man's earlier impatience had vanished.

Catching Xiao Bai's look, the clerk forced a fawning smile. "S-sir, Xiao Yi Xian isn't here. She went into the mountains with a mercenary group this morning to gather herbs!"

"Any idea which direction they headed?" Xiao Bai asked.

"S-sir, I don't know. The mercenaries keep their routes secret. I swear, I'm not lying!" The clerk, fearing disbelief, raised a hand to vow.

"Alright, thanks for the help," Xiao Bai said, cutting him off with a nod.

With that, he strode out of the shop.

"S-sir!" A hesitant voice called from the crowd—a middle-aged mercenary, shrinking under Xiao Bai's gaze as he turned. The man's wife tugged at him, urging silence, but he patted her hand, mustering courage. "Sir, if Xiao Yi Xian has offended you, I'll apologize on her behalf. Please, spare her. She's just a young girl, barely grown!"

He'd thought Xiao Bai was a spoiled noble, but his display of power and questions about the mercenary group's whereabouts made the man fear he meant trouble for Xiao Yi Xian. She'd saved his life once, and he couldn't stand by, even if it cost him his own.

"What's your name?" Xiao Bai asked, his tone neutral, betraying no emotion.

The man swallowed, trembling. "S-sir, I'm called Jia En."

Gripping his wife's hand, his palms slick with sweat, he braced himself.

Xiao Bai gave him a glance, said nothing, and left.

Jia En exhaled, his wife collapsing into his arms, pounding his chest as she sobbed, "Why'd you play the hero? Why?"

As Xiao Bai departed, someone rushed to check the drunken man, relieved to find him merely unconscious. The crowd relaxed.

Outside Wan Yao Zhai, night had fallen. Spotting an inn across the square, Xiao Bai booked a deluxe room and settled in.

In his room, door locked, he spread out a map he'd bought at the inn. Qingshan's influx of treasure-hunters and beast-hunters had made map-selling a lucrative side hustle for inns, offering every variety. This one cost a thousand gold coins, prompting Xiao Bai to curse the inn as profiteers. Maps were a thousand if you stayed, two thousand if you didn't—conveniently, a room cost a thousand too.

The map detailed the Magical Beast Mountain Range's terrain. Xiao Bai counted over twenty cliffs alone near Qingshan Town, all in the outer range. Deeper in, there were countless more.

Where do I even start? He groaned inwardly.

Yao Lao floated out of the ring, eyeing Xiao Bai circling cliffs on the map. "Kid, don't tell me all you know is that the tomb's in a cliff, and nothing else?"

Mood sour, Xiao Bai shot him a sidelong glance. "Knowing it's on a cliff is enough. What else do I need?"

Yao Lao choked, glaring. "Where's my herb?"

Xiao Bai pulled the Yellow Lotus Essence from his storage ring, tossing it over casually.

"You're not curious why I had you grab this?" Yao Lao asked, surprised that Xiao Bai didn't inquire.

"Just a Blood Lotus Essence, right? What's the big deal?" Xiao Bai replied, still marking the map, unfazed.

"Huh? Blood Lotus Essence is a fifth-tier herb. Even some fifth-tier alchemists can't identify it without cutting it open. How'd you know?" Yao Lao's curiosity piqued. He'd relied on his eighth-tier expertise—what's this kid's trick? He hadn't even shared his alchemical inheritance yet.

Xiao Bai rolled his eyes inwardly. I know because I read Battle Through the Heavens. Ignoring the question, he kept working.

Yao Lao didn't press. This kid's always hiding something. Who knows what's in that head of his?

"You're not seriously planning to check every cliff one by one, are you?" Yao Lao asked, watching Xiao Bai plot a route based on proximity.

Rubbing his temples, Xiao Bai sighed, "For now, it's the only way."

Luckily, his soul force was strong. A quick scan at each cliff would reveal any cave below. Otherwise, climbing up and down each one would be a nightmare.

Yao Lao pondered, then nodded. With so little to go on, Xiao Bai's plan was the best they had.

After finalizing the route, Xiao Bai washed up, collapsed onto the bed, and exhaled deeply, drifting into sleep.

The night passed quietly. At dawn, Xiao Bai woke, stretched, and leapt out of bed. After preparing, he set out.

Strolling through Qingshan's streets, he reached the town's other exit—the entrance to the Magical Beast Mountain Range. It was packed with mercenaries gearing up for the day's expedition.

The range was rife with beasts and peril; a single misstep could draw a swarm. Except for the boldest, most mercenaries traveled in groups.

Qingshan's mercenaries came in three types:

Mercenary Bands: Over a hundred strong, led by a Dou Shi captain, with members ranging from high to low Dou Zhe.Mercenary Squads: Small, fixed, or temporary groups that might disband after a single trip.Lone Wolves: Ruthless survivors, each with a killer trump card.

Xiao Bai didn't need a group. He had his route, and the outer range's strongest threats were third-tier beasts. Fourth-tier and above stayed deeper, rarely venturing out.

He stepped quietly into the range's entrance, drawing surprised looks from mercenaries. Another noble brat wandering in alone to feed the beasts?