The Stone Wolves Mountain is divided into five parts.
First, there is the Core Region, where the true Demonic Stone Wolf tribe lives in complete isolation.
Then, there are the four outer regions of the mountain.
The eastern part,this area is filled with many caves, most of which were created and are now used by exiled Demonic Stone Wolves. Other than the river that crosses in all four directions, there is nothing else notable. Just a few relatively big and small mountains, surrounded by numerous caves, and constant battles between different packs of stone wolves.
Next is the western region.This part of the Stone Wolves Mountain has the most other demonic beasts races, mostly because it has a forest that stretches down the mountain.
Aside from that, it's mostly a green land filled with grass, scattered trees, and the river flowing down from the Core Region.
Even though this region is the most populated when it comes to demonic beasts, most of them are wolves as well or demonic beasts that share a similar bloodline lineage with the Demonic Stone Wolves.
Then, there is the southern region.
Here, one finds countless small mountain peaks, with the river flowing across a rocky terrain.
This area is filled with nothing but stone, and if someone were to look toward the western edge, they'd see just a few trees and grass at the borderline.
The south is the least populated region in the entire mountain range.
There are nearly no Demonic Stone Wolves, or any other demonic beasts for that matter.
Then there was the last region,the northern region.
The north was a mix between the west and the south. It had many trees, but it wasn't completely covered in them, and there wasn't much grass either. Aside from the trees, there were countless small mountains scattered everywhere, with a few caves hidden in between.
Because of the type of trees that managed to grow there, the environment gradually evolved to suit the Demonic Stone Wolves. Over many years, most of the trees turned into spiritual fruit trees.
And because of these spiritual fruit trees, The northern part became the most overpopulated region in the entire Stone Wolves Mountain, with even a few exiled Demonic Stone Wolves at the Meridian Awakening Stage.
As for Yuan, he was currently in the southern part of the mountain range.
According to a few books from the sect, the southern region was said to be the best place for going into seclusion, mostly because there were almost no demonic beasts around to disturb anyone.
It was the perfect spot for loose cultivators looking to meditate, refine pills, or build a cultivation cave in peace.
But even though the south was barren and had far fewer Demonic Stone Wolves compared to the other regions, there were still many of them,at least a thousand.
And if that number existed in the least populated area, the other regions may have about five times more... or even more than that.
But well.Who would be surprised?
This was a demonic beast race that had become the tigers of the mountain, all because of their overwhelming numbers.
Finding so many of them in one place should be simply normal.
But for an alchemist, living in the southern region wasn't exactly ideal for building a cultivation cave.
However, if someone were to settle near the western edge of the south part, there was still some life growing there. The number of other demonic beasts was low,not as few as the center of the south, but still far fewer compared to the rest of the mountain.
So, the western edge of the south was most likely the best place for an alchemist to peacefully grow spiritual plants, far away from the territorial fights of the Demonic Stone Wolves.
These were all just Yuan's guesses.Guesses he made while trying to think like an alchemist, someone who didn't want to fight but only wished to cultivate in peace.
And his thoughts were most likely right.
But still… it could very well be that this alchemist lived somewhere in the middle of the western part, or even somewhere else entirely.
After all, who could truly understand the thoughts of an unknown cultivator?
Yuan hadn't even had the time to investigate further, let alone learn this alchemist's name.
Even if this alchemist was a newly advanced Bone Forging Stage cultivator, Yuan was no longer as helpless as he had been with Wu Shen.
And even if that turned out to be the case, he would still use the Azure Basilisk Flame directly.
After all, he didn't come to make friends.
He came to kill.
"Haaa…" Yuan sighed, his thoughts wandering inside his mind.
He could only prepare himself to use the Azure Basilisk Flame if the alchemist turned out to be a Bone Forging cultivator.
But until then, he could only hope for the best and remain cautious.
After all, he needed many resources to advance further in his cultivation stage and something like that wouldnot simply end at the blood purification stage,no needing resources is a part of ones cultivation itself,if someone doesnt have resources to stastify his cultivation he wouldnot advance fast and must only relay on absorbing normal spiritual essence,which is unprodactive.
So Yuan began to wander around the western edges of the southern part of the mountain. Other than finding a few Demonic Stone Wolves, he didn't find anything else.
But Yuan wasn't someone who gave up so easily.
He searched every small mountain peak he could find, one after another,until he finally came across a strange, little peak.
This small peak wasn't covered with even a single Demonic Stone Wolf.
Instead, it was filled with more trees and grass than any other place he had seen along the western edges.
And not only that,after observing for a while, he noticed something odd.
A few Demonic Stone Wolves were actively avoiding this small peak.
So, he could only chuckle a bit and smile faintly as he whispered under his breath,"Found it."
At least, he thought this was the alchemist's cultivation cave.
Maybe it wasn't.
Either way, Yuan began to move in a completely silent manner, becoming extremely cautious as he kept an eye out for formations and hidden runes.
And sure enough,after circling around the edge of the small peak,
He did find something.
Alarming meaning runes!
As the name of the runes say these Alarming meaning runes were there to alarm about something and though they were of an low grade and didn't carry much power and meaning, Yuan could immediately tell from the way they were drawn that these were man made runes and not natural.
And if they were man-made, then this place had definitely been tampered with by someone.
So, Yuan continued circling around the small peak, discovering even more of the same kind of runes.
After committing their positions to memory, he pulled a small knife from his bag of holding and knelt down.
Carefully and patiently, he began drawing the exact positions of the alarming meaning runes onto the ground.
After doing that, he began to think about where the runes would lead someone or where the alarm signal would be sent. So he started connecting each rune with lines, mapping out their possible pathways. After finishing, he noticed that many of the lines intersected, creating multiple crossing points.
But other than just forming an intricate pattern, Yuan had a feeling that there were more runes hidden somewhere,ones that would complete the formation by linking all the alarm runes together into a larger structure.
"Clever," Yuan muttered, complimenting the one who had set this up.
However, even though this was a well-placed defense, these kinds of runes alone couldn't form a true runic formation. At most, it was a regular formation strengthened with runes,something anyone could set up after studying formations and rune inscriptions for a while.
Still, Yuan didn't let his guard down.
He slowly began analyzing the structure of the formation and the runes. Even if it wasn't a runic formation, it was still something unknown to him. And unknown formations could be dangerous. For all he knew, stepping into the wrong area could trigger a deadly trap.
After all, he wasn't some invincible cultivator who could ignore formations and runes. They were still a threat to him, and he had to tread carefully.
As he continued drawing the lines on the ground, Yuan slowly gained a clearer understanding of the formation's structure.
And soon, he realized,this wasn't a deadly formation at all.
It was an illusion formation.
Anyone who entered the formation's range would experience a mild illusion, making them feel lost. It would cause them to unknowingly wander in circles around the small peak or even be compelled to climb to the top of it.
Aside from that, this formation also served as a trigger for the alarm runes. Once the illusion was activated, the alarm runes would immediately send a signal to the person who had created the formation.
This was everything Yuan could deduce about the formation.
But the most important information this illusion formation gave him was that it was only useful for beings below the Bone Forging Stage.
This meant one thing.The person who created this formation and these runes was not at the Bone Forging Stage.
After all, who would use such a weak formation against an enemy at a higher cultivation stage? It would be completely useless,a pure waste of resources.
With this realization, Yuan began moving toward each rune he had mapped out earlier.
He carefully started drawing disturbing meaning runes to interfere with the formation, along with an energy supporting meaning rune that would redirect spiritual energy through the runes from a distance.
The use of these runes was simple.
To prevent the alarm runes from properly functioning.
Because the person who made these runes wasn't a true rune expert, they had set the illusion formation to trigger the alarm runes instead of directly linking them together.
If they had made it more rune focused, it would have been much harder to block the signal.
But with just this?
Yuan could stop these alarming meaning runes from sending any warning at all without much problems.
After spending an entire day dealing with all the runes, he had successfully formed his disturbing meaning runes and the energy supporting meaning runes.
Now, all that remained was the illusion formation itself.
But this formation wasn't a problem.
After all, it only weakened his sense of direction.It didn't affect his mind.
Which meant…
Yuan could walk right through it without any issues.
And so, with every preparation done, Yuan walked toward one of the energy supporting meaning runes and let a drop of his spiritual blood fall onto it.
As the blood drop touched the rune, it slowly began to glow red, a faint shimmer spreading across its surface.
This was the signal.His spiritual blood was now being given to all the disturbance meaning runes around the energy supporting meaning runes.
Watching carefully, Yuan waited a moment before adding a second drop… and then a third.
The moment the third drop was absorbed, the rune flashed crimson, as if it had been freshly burned by fire.
This glow was the final confirmation,the disturbance meaning runes were now fully active and looked at one of the disturbance meaning runes before him to confirm it for himself a second time.
Yuan gave himself a small nod of approval as everything goes without problems,before shifting his focus elsewhere.
Without hesitation, he changed into a simple azure robe, free of any patterns or unnecessary fancy.
Just simple and practical.
Then, he carefully adjusted his robes, ensuring a perfect fit.
The last thing he wanted was to trip while running or have his sleeves interfere when wielding his sword in battle.
Mistakes like that could be fatal.
After slightly shortening his sleeves and trimming the lower part of his robe for better mobility, Yuan tested his range of motion.
Now, he could walk freely and swing his arms with ease, completely unhindered.
Satisfied, he turned his gaze toward the illusion formation surrounding the small peak.
Without a second thought, Yuan stepped forward and entered.