RAAAAAAGGG!!!
A loud roar woke Malehit from his reverie in the darkness of the night. He was by the fire when he turned his head and looked in the direction of the noise. There was no smile on his face. The sound hadn't come from as far away as he'd expected. The fire burned, and while the smoke wouldn't be visible from as far away as the sound, anyone fleeing there would be noticed. He glanced at the large man sleeping beside the fire. It was clear that he was unaffected by the cold and heat. Even though he was awake and by the fire, he didn't look as relaxed as this man did. He didn't feel it either. He glanced at Maria. She had washed off the dirt and mud, but her hair was still wet. She had wrapped it in grass to keep it from getting wet later.
He might be a cultivator, but he could still get sick. In a mysterious forest like this, they could contract stronger illnesses.
"You're not sleeping, are you?"
Malehit asked suddenly. A light breeze blew over her, ruffling her hair slightly. Maria opened her eyes. He looked in the direction of the monster's voice. His expression wasn't happy. He must have realized the noise wasn't coming from far away enough.
"Who could sleep with such a noise?" Maria asked. They both looked at the big man sleeping soundly next to them. The man frowned. He hadn't opened his eyes.
"Don't wake me unless we're leaving."
It seemed like Gomez didn't really want to wake up. Still, he would inevitably wake up soon. His natural fear wouldn't allow him to stay asleep for long. Eternal sleep would disturb everyone's sleep.
"Can you gauge the monster's level?" Maria asked. She also loosened her hair. It was much drier now. It wasn't as tidy, but it was still attractive. This made Malehit turn his head away.
"It's hard to tell from the sound alone, but it must be in the middle of the Sage Realm at least. Unless the person facing it is one of the other three group leaders, they don't stand much of a chance. They can only try to escape."
After a while, the sounds grew louder. It didn't look like they were going to stop anytime soon. At that point, Malehit and Maria were completely focused on listening to the battle.
"One of them."
Someone was fighting the monster, and they were getting closer. Clearly, at least a few people had died in this fight.
"Wake up, Gomez. We need to go. It would be better for us not to engage in this battle at all."
Malehit quickly waved his hand, extinguishing the fire with a gust of wind. Maria didn't even see the gesture. It would be better for her not to think about Malehit's cultivation level at this point.
She woke Gomez, and as the burly man left with the impressive-looking Malehit, she glanced once more in the direction of the sounds of battle. The face of one person flashed through her mind. Malehit thought that only three people besides himself could handle such a disaster, but Maria knew that wasn't true. There was someone else who could face this disaster and continue fighting.
However, with Mais's alchemy skills and the little cat, Maria wasn't sure if they could fight this monster.
"How close do you think they are?" Gomez asked. As he walked, he tore off a piece of meat from their night hunt. The meat looked tough. Yet Gomez looked as if he had sharp enough teeth to tear it apart.
"Ten kilometers. Maybe a little closer."
Ten kilometers was still far enough for a Sage Realm-level battle. Besides, this was a battle, and they weren't approaching with all their might. They still had plenty of time. Right now, they were just being careful.
Besides, the sun was about to rise. They had to leave soon anyway, and disturbing the other Sage monsters would be difficult.
"So, how far do you think we are from receiving the inheritance?"
"I believe we'll reach it by the end of the day."
RAAAAAAGGRRR!
Gomez looked back, then at Malehit.
"I hope you're right."
***
At the same time, another group arrived a short distance away. Jalal, with Mais on his back, looked tired. Mais had fed him pills throughout the night, though, and he'd managed to level up. He certainly wasn't going to tell them to stop.
Evra, though equally tired, took pills given to him by his brother and father to maintain his stamina. Thanks to them, he had lasted this far.
They moved throughout the night and passed by the place where Maria had been chased by a Sage beast. However, they saw nothing but ordinary animals. Still, they weren't far from the awakened Sage beast. They had heard the monster's roar, and now Evra didn't know what to do.
They had been very lucky so far. They hadn't encountered any monsters, so they were left undisturbed by their weak fighting strength. Now, however, a Sage Beast had appeared not far away.
"Let's keep moving. It doesn't look like the monster is heading our way anyway."
Surprisingly, Mais was the calmest at this point. He and Jalal were similar in age. Evra was older yet he was panicking the most. Jalal focused solely on his work and would continue to follow them unless the decision was absurd.
It was the only way he could earn money and, apparently, increase his cultivation. He wasn't afraid to take risks.
If he entered the inheritance trial in his current state and obtained a piece of the inheritance, he could instantly reach the peak of the Origin Energy Realm. Thus, he would have a chance of reaching the Core Realm before turning 13. Even the young man next to him with the golden spoon had entered the Core Realm at 16. Maria hadn't even stepped into it by 13!
Her life was very comfortable at this point!
But he also had to take risks. As the weakest person pursuing this treasure, he had the highest risk of dying. Only Mais could rival his chances of dying, and even though he was blind, he still pursued the legacy. So why wouldn't he dare?
Evra couldn't bear Mais's careless urging to keep moving forward. Finally, he turned to him. He longed for the boy to see his angry gaze.
"With the sage beast so close, wouldn't it make more sense to try to get away first? What if the beast suddenly turns toward us?" he asked. Jalal had wondered about this, too, but since he realized that Mais was the team's focus from the beginning, and Evra had voiced all his complaints, he hadn't said anything.
Mais looked behind Jalal, toward the source of the monster's voice. The sound wasn't very loud, but it was audible. A battle was taking place.
"The monster is heading in the direction of the Legacy's voice. Or rather, it's being dragged there. We'll head that way, too. As long as we follow the parallel path, nothing will happen to us. We can change our path at any moment."
Even though Evra was still unsure, he chose to listen to Mais. He knew there was something different about this boy. Maria must have let him come for a reason. She wouldn't let a blind child die here just like that.
As they moved forward, Mais continued to listen to the monster's sounds. He also noticed that the White Immortal was moving around less. The little monster hadn't fought in a long time and was nervous.
'If the monster suddenly appears before us, it will be wounded. I believe the Little Immortal could defeat it, but I wonder if someone in the ruins is planning to use the monster as a weapon. Could they truly subdue it?'
In the next moment, the monster's voice stopped. Mais had expected to hear the monster's voice again soon, but it never came. A smile appeared on the blind boy's face. The scenario that had occurred was completely opposite to what he had thought.
'Interesting.'
***
Similarly, there was a cave in a small hill nearby. Kasuur blocked the exit with his large belly. Inside, an old man and his two children in their thirties were preparing food. Kasuur was like a chimney. He allowed smoke to escape, yet kept out the cold and wind. When asked if he was cold, he certainly was. However, after eating several times and still not feeling full, the old man told Kasuur to block the exit, otherwise he wouldn't be able to eat.
"At this rate, we won't make it to tomorrow night. We must leave immediately at dawn," said Master John. Once they reached the inheritance, they would have enough food to eat.
At that moment, Kasuur felt like a shish kebab. One side was freezing, and the other was burning. But he could still hear. At least, he thought he should be able to. Yet, he doubted whether he could hear at all.
"I haven't heard the monster's voice in a while. I wonder if my ears are frozen. Could you warm them up a bit?"
Master John frowned at these words. Then, he looked at Kasuur's ears. There was nothing wrong with them, and Master John couldn't hear the monster's sounds either.
"What does this mean?" Mang asked his father. Master John paused, confused, but then he saw a shadow moving through the trees through the opening Kasuur had made.
"No way."
John's expression fell suddenly as the children looked out after him. Kasuur looked in that direction and his face fell.
"Fuck."
A bloodied figure staggered toward them from the forest. He was breathing heavily and rested his hand on a tree. Though he had black hair and a frail-looking body, he was actually strong. Origin energy mixed with the Tao oozed from him. And those eyes... the sharp, piercing eyes of a predator stared directly at Kasuur and the large piece of meat in his hand. Having seen its prey, the predator was filled with excitement and cried out.
"Did you miss me, piggy?!"