Looking at the purple forest in front of him, Shun Long was taken aback for a second.
Turning his head to the side to look at Liu Mei, he noticed the astounded expression on her face as well.
It was truly a forest that resembled a dreamland.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the forest, Shun Long placed the 'Silver-winged panther king' inside the 'Stone of Time' along with Little Black, before he and Liu Mei entered inside on foot.
After all, this was a tempering exercise for the 2 of them, and having a high-level magic beast with them like the black panther, would make any other beast in the vicinity afraid to even get out of their lairs.
Liu Mei wasn't surprised when she saw the black panther disappearing.
Since she had already seen Little Black appear and disappear yesterday, she understood that the 2 beasts were always near her and Shun Long.
After looking around him, Shun Long started walking towards the south-west.
From the mission that they had accepted, he knew the general location of the rank 3 'Fire-toothed hyenas' and the 'Meridian heating fruit'.
While they walked through the forest, Shun Long and Liu Mei encountered many magic beasts that attacked them on the way.
Thankfully, since they were still in the outskirts, even the strongest magic beast didn't exceed the early rank 3.
Walking through this forest was akin to a refreshing stroll for Liu Mei with her early rank 6 Heaven grade cultivation, since no magic beast could pose even the slightest danger to her.
She didn't even need to use a martial skill to deal with the magic beasts around them.
Waving around the 'Four seasons azure sword', she easily minced through the beasts, as the 2 of them walked deeper inside the forest.
An hour later, Shun Long and Liu Mei had arrived at the foot of a small mountain.
Shun Long activated the 'Monarch's Hourglass' along with his golden eyes, but he still allowed Liu Mei to take the lead.
He knew that with his cultivation that had reached the early rank 9 in Heaven grade, any magic beast below the early rank 4 couldn't pose a threat to him.
He estimated, that with his 'Monarch's Eternal body' that was in the middle of the third stage, even if he allowed a middle rank 3 beast to freely attack him, it would still do little to no harm to his body.
Shun Long and Liu Mei didn't meet with any magic beasts as they were ascending the mountain.
When they reached near the mountain's peak, in between the purple trees, Shun Long saw 2 brown-furred beasts guarding a large crimson-colored tree.
The crimson tree stood out among the other trees around it. Not only was it taller than the rest, but its bright red color was also extremely eye-catching.
A single red fruit was growing in one of the tree's branches, that Shun Long recognized immediately as the rank 4 'Meridian heating fruit'.
Once refined into a pill, the 'Meridian heating fruit' could enlarge the thickness of the meridians in a cultivator, allowing their qi to flow faster inside their body.
Looking at the 2 magic beasts that were guarding the crimson tree, Shun Long warned Liu Mei
''Mei'er, your Dao of Ice won't be very effective against the 'Fire-toothed hyenas'. Use your sword to fight against them, but be careful. Their teeth will also emit a fire poison in the air, and as soon as you breath it, you will feel your senses being dulled.''
Liu Mei nodded her head at Shun Long as she understood what he wanted to say.
Waving her hand, she took out a pill bottle filled with the rank 3 anti-toxin pills that Shun Long had refined before she swallowed one of them.
That way, even if she ended up inhaling the poison in the air, the pill would still protect her body.
Shun Long nodded his head as he took a step back, allowing Liu Mei to fight against the 2 middle-rank 3 'Fire-toothed hyenas'.
Normally, a middle rank 3 magic beast would be at least as strong, if not even stronger, than an average rank 6 Heaven grade cultivator.
However, since Liu Mei was cultivating in a Saint low-grade cultivation technique, Shun Long knew that her qi was purer than normal cultivators who were at the same level as her.
Additionally, with the 'Four seasons azure sword' as well as her proficiency in using the sword, Shun Long was confident, that Liu Mei would be able to win against the 2 middle-rank 3 'Fire-toothed hyenas'.
Liu Mei circulated the 'Moonlight Sigil', as a gust of wind suddenly appeared beneath her feet.
Shun Long had already taught her the Gale steps, and although Liu Mei had only reached the first rank, it still boosted her speed by quite a bit.
The 2 'Fire-toothed hyenas' instantly felt the aura of an early rank 6 Heaven grade cultivator, as they turned their heads to look at Liu Mei's direction.
Looking at the white-veiled young woman who was running towards them, the 2 hyenas growled threateningly, before one of them jumped in the air towards her.
Liu Mei didn't back off once she saw the middle rank 3 'Fire-toothed hyena' bearing its fangs towards her.
Instead, she slashed forward with the 'Four seasons azure sword', bringing forth a gust of wind that was filled with ice shards.
The shards of ice were immediately disintegrated under the heat that the 'Fire-toothed hyena's' teeth were emitting.
However, Liu Mei didn't let up.
She had practiced the moves of her sword countless times alone in the past.
Her repeated sword slashes quickly sent the 'Fire-toothed hyena' on the defensive.
The other hyena that was watching over the 'Meridian heating fruit' looked at Liu Mei with cold eyes, and after surveying its surroundings a few times, it also went to attack the white-veiled woman.
Fighting against 2 middle rank 3 'Fire-toothed hyenas', Liu Mei soon found herself in a losing position, as she was quickly suppressed by the 2 magic beasts.
And yet, even though she was suppressed, still defended herself against the attacks from the 2 magic beasts.
As the fight continued, Liu Mei started to extricate herself from her losing position.
Although she wasn't winning, she could now hold her own against the hyenas' combined attacks.
More than an hour passed like this, as Liu Mei finally started to get the upper hand in her battle.
Beneath her white veil, there was a dazzling smile on her face, as she could feel her sword arts improving under the pressure from the hyenas.
Only under pressure could a person truly go past their limits.
Finally, 2 hours later, Liu Mei's 'Four seasons azure sword' stabbed through the eye of the first hyena, and continued all the way to its brain.
The middle-rank 3 magic beast instantly collapsed on the ground.
Less than 10 minutes passed since then, and soon, Liu Mei took care of the second magic beast as well.
This was the second time that Liu Mei had to fight by herself since she and Shun Long had come to the Night star continent, and yet, the pressure from the 2 middle-rank 3 magic beasts, was much higher than the pressure that the low-level guild members of the 'Dark Blade guild' had posed to her in the past.
This was a battle where she was truly pressured hard earlier, allowing herself to become even stronger this way.
Shun Long had a smile on his face as well, watching Liu Mei deal with the 2 middle-rank 3 magic beasts that had attacked her, all by herself.
However, just as Liu Mei started to move towards the 'Meridian heating fruit', Shun Long's eyes flashed with a blue light, while an ugly expression suddenly appeared on his face.