Xiang Ning had learned a lot after talking with Qi Longxiang and his team. It was especially helpful to learn about the various taboos regarding this place. The fewer problems Xiang Ning would run into, the better it was.

“Alright, time to move.” Qi Longxiang opened the car door and jumped down.

Xiang Ning consolidated his thoughts and followed them. He stepped out of the car and was immediately plunged into darkness. Exploring the wilderness during the night was so much more exciting than exploring during the day and adrenaline coursed through his veins, as he was now in an unexplored region. With his heightened senses and the tense atmosphere, he didn’t dare to let his guard down as he carefully surveyed the region and didn’t miss even a single moving blade of grass.

Being in an unexplored region might subject them to unknown dangers, but there were bountiful rewards that had yet to be claimed by others. They were ecstatic!

“Alright, I pray to Kunlun’s benevolence that you return safely.” The driver wished them luck as his carefree smile faded away.

Qi Longxiang thanked him. “Thanks. Too bad those prayers won’t work or we would’ve had more people coming back from the wilderness every year. See ya.”

The driver rolled his eyes. “I’d rather believe in a little hope. Come back alive, you hear me? You owe me a drink.”

“Yeah yeah. Quickly leave, now. It isn’t safe here.”

The armored vehicle swiftly left the way it had come. Qi Longxiang checked the map on his wrist to determine where they were. “Alright, looks like we’re at the right place. Let’s move.”

Yeesh. He was just praying for our safety. Xiang Ning wanted to retort to him after seeing how rude he was toward the driver. How much did he not trust the driver? But then he realized that the other two people were heaving a sigh of relief, too. Hmm… maybe he was a bit of a jinx. He shook off his thoughts and the team started their exploration.

Nighttime in the wilderness was truly a heavenly time for beasts. Usually, the wilderness was fairly quiet during the day, but now various grunts, howls, and other noises from the beasts filled the air. It was a cacophonous mixture of voices.

How could this be? Shouldn’t they be quiet if they wanted to hide from the predator or hunt down prey?

Qi Longxiang seemed to have sensed Xiang Ning’s question and chuckled, “Don’t think too much about it. This is the specialty of Kunlun’s mountain ranges. None of the beasts are weak here, so they’re all both predator and prey. The noise usually lasts a bit. We’re just lucky.” He had just finished saying that when the surrounding noise died down followed by the intense sound of rustling as the trees and grass shook.

“Looks like it's over. Now the beasts who need to run will run, while the hunters will chase down their prey,” Qi Longxiang chuckled as he explained.

“It’s just a pain in the ass.” Li Qimu unsheathed his sword with lightning speed and stabbed it toward a tree on their right. Xiang Ning barely saw the sword coming out from its sheath when a primate-type beast was killed by him.

“A tier three Hungry Monkey.” Zhou Yuanyuan examined the monkey with disgust. “Just throw it away. While it’s a primate-type beast, its intelligence is at least four to five times lower than others. It’s one of the lower-ranking beasts on the Kunlun mountain range.”

“Oh?” Zhou Yuanyuan detected something as she cracked her knuckles. In the next instant, she shot out a fist toward her back. Xiang Ning wasn’t anywhere near her but he still heard how the air ripped and tore as her fist compressed it. Her punch was incredibly fast and strong!

A cat-type beast howled in pain. “An Umbra Jaguar. Was it hunting the monkey?”

The Umbra Jaguar was alertly eyeing Zhou Yuanyuan as it stared at the Hungry Monkey. Li Qimu forcefully threw the monkey toward the Umbra Jaguar.

The Umbra Jaguar opened its large mouth and caught the monkey in mid-air.

But what surprised Xiang Ning the most was that the Umbra Jaguar was also launched backward as the momentum from the monkey carried it tens of meters away.

“Alright. Warmup’s over. Let’s move.” Qi Longxiang took out a black robe and covered himself up. He was also wearing a black hat. Xiang Ning somehow thought he looked like a member of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Xiang Ning also received his own set from Zhou Yuanyuan in the car. It smelled nice, but he disregarded the smell and happily took it. The robe wasn’t only aesthetic, but was also doused in a special liquid that suppressed their smell to the minimum.

The strength of the beasts roaming in the wilderness during the night was at least a tier higher than during day. For example, a tier four Umbra Jaguar was almost impossible to find during the day. And while they could easily kill the beasts, there was no reason to. Not only would it be a waste of time, but it was also a waste of their precious energy. It was critical that they could hide from the weaker beasts’ harassment as they traveled.

Just like that, the four of them quickly navigated the complicated terrain and arrived at Astra Valley within twenty minutes.

Astra Valley looked different during the night. Xiang Ning didn’t expect that it would be so bright, as various plants and animals lit up the place with their bioluminescence. If they ignored the human-eating beasts, it was a fairly romantic place that would be considered a prime dating spot for couples during the night!

“Alright, we’ve arrived at Astra Valley. We need to explore these regions.” Qi Longxiang circled the various regions on his map.

Xiang Ning saw the waypoints on the map. The first three hundred kilometers of the valley had already been explored. For this mission, they needed to traverse three hundred kilometers deep into the valley. From there, they would be on uncharted ground. Once there, they needed to explore a hundred kilometers toward the end of the valley. The more they explored, recorded, and collected, the higher their rewards would be.

“Alright. Let’s try to wrap this up in a week.”

Xiang Ning activated his Combat Instinct. It was time to enter the dangerous Astra Valley. He planned to not use Eight Gates if possible, so as to temper his body.

Their speed wasn’t fast, but it was by no means slow and they arrived at the unexplored region at two in the morning. Qi Longxiang carefully surveyed their surroundings as he instructed, “Be alert. The beasts around here are by no means weak. If possible, we should also collect valuable data from undocumented beasts. But be careful! Only engage if there are no other beasts surrounding it!” He threw a fist-sized drone into the air. The drone scanned the surroundings with a laser grid and automatically recorded the data of the surrounding terrain in a database.

Sus driver. JK probably just a jinx haha