Chapter 0725 Entering the Mountains

Chapter 0725 Entering the Mountains

The reason those young masters brought their elders along was that the elders didn’t trust them with valuable items, so they came personally to verify if there truly was a member of the Long family here.

Now that the elders had arrived and seen the Long family member—an outstanding and well-mannered young woman—they were eager to facilitate a marriage alliance with a major family. Doing so would elevate their status within their own clans.

This Lawless Moon City wasn’t a pleasant place. Even those assigned here from major families were considered peripheral members.

Now, they were all scheming against Xiao Yuemei.

These smiling old men believed that if they could arrange for their young masters to force a marriage with the young lady of a major family, the marriage would be secured.

They saw this "Long Xiangyue" as gullible and easy to handle, thinking she would be simple to manage.

The elder from the Ji family smiled and said, "Miss Long, this is a humble gift from our Ji family—three King-Grade Mystic Fruits, each grown for twenty thousand years before ripening!"

The three crimson fruits were enveloped in a hazy red glow, clearly indicating their extraordinary quality.

"This..." Xiao Yuemei frowned slightly and shook her head. "I can’t accept any more gifts, or my elders would reprimand me."

"Miss Long, you mustn’t play favorites! Our gifts are no less valuable than that Dao Artifact armor. You can’t just accept his and refuse ours!" the Ji family elder insisted.

"Alright then. I’ll consider it a gift from the Ji family to the Long family and deliver it to my elders." Xiao Yuemei nodded and accepted the fruits.

Though the King-Grade Mystic Fruits were decent, they fell short compared to Qin Yun’s Dao Artifact armor. Steward Li and the other Runes Masters knew this but kept silent.

These elders were only Martial Lords at the Profound Martial Realm, so the best they could offer was limited.

Next, the Xia family presented their gift—a small piece of Dao Crystal Jade, weighing only five taels!

Despite its small size, it drew awed reactions among the elders present.

"Those ordinary fruits from the Ji family can’t compare to our Xia family’s Dao Crystal Jade! Miss Long, since you’re at the Spirit Martial Realm, this small piece can cut five years off your cultivation when breaking through to the peak of the Spirit Martial Realm and condensing a Profound Spirit Dao Crystal!" the Xia family elder chuckled.

The Ji family elder’s expression twitched in annoyance. Dao Crystal Jade was rare, especially precious for those aiming to reach the peak of the Spirit Martial Realm.

The elder from the Jiang family produced a crystal and said, "Miss Long, this is a Profound Heart Crystal, another treasure that aids in cultivating a Profound Spirit Dao Crystal!"

Steward Li exclaimed in shock, "With a Profound Heart Crystal, condensing a Profound Spirit Dao Crystal becomes much easier during cultivation! Moreover, it never wears out and can be used indefinitely!"

The gifts kept getting better and better!

Though stationed in this remote city, they were still from major families and had access to rare treasures.

To avoid showing favoritism, Xiao Yuemei accepted each gift with repeated gratitude.

Qin Yun watched from the side, inwardly thrilled, curious about what other treasures Xiao Yuemei and Hong Mengshu had conned out of them.

Finally, it was the Ye family elder’s turn. He had waited until last, clearly confident in his offering, his face beaming with pride.

Unfurling a beast hide, he declared, "Miss Long, as a prodigious Runes Master, I present you with a King-Grade Mystic Rune. May it aid your craft!"

Steward Li gasped in astonishment. "Could it be the ancient Fire Tiger Mystic Rune you recently obtained? Rumor has it this was adapted from a tiger totem—when forged into a Mystic Rune, it can conjure a fiery tiger in battle!"

The Ye family elder and Young Master Ye shared a self-satisfied grin.

The members of the other three families seethed in quiet envy. They had to admit—the Ye family’s King-Grade Mystic Rune surpassed their own offerings.

What's more, this was no loss for the Ye family, as they had already recorded the Flame Tiger Rune and were merely giving away a copy. Not only was there no loss, but it was still a precious gift.

Of course, none of the gifts they gave to Xiao Yuemei could compare to the artifact-grade weapon Qin Yun gifted.

"Thank you all for your generous gifts. I will definitely hand them over to my elders and inform them of the details!" Xiao Yuemei said.

"Miss Long, you must be tired from your long journey. We won’t disturb your rest any further!" the elder of the Ye family said with a smile.

Just then, a faint tremor was felt!

Steward Li frowned and said, "There must be intense fighting in the Lunar Eclipse Mountains! The tremors have reached here!"

At the same time, someone knocked on the door.

When Steward Li opened it, he saw a middle-aged man with an anxious expression.

The man said, "Chief Steward, we have an emergency! A large star has suddenly descended deep in the Lunar Eclipse Mountains! Reports from the front say it's a Celestial Beast Star, and many powerful Star Beasts have appeared in the mountains!"

The elder of the Ye family quickly said, "This is excellent news! Star Beast cores are extremely beneficial to us! Let’s organize a team immediately and head in early to hunt more Star Beasts!"

Young Master Ye smiled at Miss Long and asked, "Miss Long, would you like to join us? Of course, I’ll also invite Young Master Mu Rong!"

"My Master once said that Star Beast cores and materials from Star Beasts are very helpful for my artifact crafting. I’d like to go and see for myself!" Xiao Yuemei replied. Having already gotten plenty of treasures from them, she was genuinely interested in exploring now.

"Star Beasts are treasures from head to toe. If we can capture them alive, they’ll surely fetch a hefty sum of purple spirit crystals!" Qin Yun said. "I’d like to go as well!"

"Excellent, let’s all go together!" the Jiang family elder chuckled.

Originally, they had urged Miss Long to rest, but she declined, so they all set off together.

Qin Yun knew full well that these fellows had ulterior motives for inviting him along. He wanted to see what they were really up to.

After leaving the Arcane Rune Hall, they saw powerhouses from other factions from Disorderly Moon City, accompanied by their juniors, soaring through the skies toward the Lunar Eclipse Mountains.

Qin Yun was no stranger to falling stars—he had experienced one before on Demon Martial Island.

He suddenly wondered if that star had been summoned by Yang Shiyue.

Flying through the air with the group, Qin Yun headed toward the Lunar Eclipse Mountains.

"Yuemei, what’s next?" Qin Yun sent a voice transmission.

"Once we’re inside, we’ll find a chance to split off, then team up to hunt Star Beasts!" Xiao Yuemei replied. "These families don’t have anything good left to offer, so there’s nothing left to gain."

Qin Yun agreed. Unless a Martial King intervened, there wouldn’t be anything better to gain.

...

The Lunar Eclipse Mountains, from the outside, appeared as an ordinary mountain range, with the occasional towering peak looming tens of thousands of feet high, surrounded by clusters of smaller mountains.

Some of the higher peaks were capped with snow, which had begun melting for unknown reasons, sending cascades of water down in thundering waterfalls, their roaring currents filling the air.

The Lunar Eclipse Mountains appeared picturesque, with numerous rivers and peaks.

Yet, lurking beneath this beauty lay countless dangers.

Qin Yun and the others left Disorderly Moon City and quickly reached the Lunar Eclipse Mountains.

"Juniors, stay in the outer regions. The inner areas are too dangerous—don't even think about going there! If you get bored, you can always turn back quickly!" the elder of the Ye family advised.

The young masters also agreed. Not to mention the sudden appearance of numerous Star Beasts, even before this, they wouldn’t dare to casually enter the inner regions, as it was extremely dangerous inside.

That’s why many admired Yang Shiyue—even though she was only at the Spirit Martial Realm, she dared to venture inside and had been pursued by numerous Martial Kings and Martial Emperors for so long without being caught.

Qin Yun, Xiao Yuemei, and the four young masters remained in the outer regions.

Xiao Yuemei was pissed, as she had thought she could follow those Martial Lords into the deeper areas but was instead left here.

At that moment, Young Master Ye took out a cylindrical object, shot a flare into the sky, which exploded with a loud bang, lighting up the sky.

Young Master Ji, Young Master Xia, and Young Master Jiang were doing the same thing.

"Miss Long, we’re calling our crew! They must have also entered the Darkmoon Mountains—we’re calling them here!" Young Master Ye explained upon seeing the confusion in Xiao Yuemei’s eyes.

Xiao Yuemei wore a veil, revealing only half her face, yet her beauty was still evident.

"Hey Mu Rong, where’s your squad?" Young Master Ji sneered at Qin Yun, who stood there. "Don’t tell me you’re flying solo?"

"Alone? Nah, I’ve got Miss Long right here!" Qin Yun laughed.

"Young Master Mu Rong, are you even from a noble family? You don’t even have a crew!" Young Master Ye scoffed. "If shit goes down, you’re on your own!"

Qin Yun just scoffed and brushed them off.

"Miss Long, they’ll arrive soon. Once they do, we can safely venture deeper! There’s nothing good out here!" Young Master Ye said cheerfully.

"But what if the elders find out?" Xiao Yuemei feigned concern.

"Don’t worry! It’ll be fine—we’re only going a little further in!" Young Master Ye laughed. "I’ve done this tons of times—no big deal!"

Before long, a bunch of guys showed up, yelling "Big Bro!" in greeting to the young masters.

These young masters had formed their own small gangs and acted as leaders.

Being hailed as "Big Bro" by so many underlings had the young masters feeling smug, especially in front of Xiao Yuemei.

Soon, the underlings learned that this woman was from the Long family and a Runes Master. They had heard of her before but didn’t expect to meet her so soon.

"You’re from the Mu Rong family? Beat it!" One of Young Master Ye’s arrogant underlings, a youth, pointed at Qin Yun and shouted.