CHAPTER 119: FINALLY OUT OF THE INNER REGION

Adrian was following the path beside the river with the silver-winged tiger cub in his hand. Luckily for them, they hadn’t encountered any magical beasts along the way. Well, it wasn’t so much luck as it was the claw that Adrian was wearing around his neck like a necklace.

Before she left, the silver-winged tiger broke off one of its claws and gave it to Adrian. It knew that it would be hard for them to leave the inner region, given how weak they were.

Therefore, it infused its aura into its claw before breaking it off and giving it to Adrian. The claw that possessed the aura of the Rank 7 silver-winged tiger worked like a talisman that warded away all beasts from them.

It was her final gift to Adrian and her cub, to make sure they left the Msity mountains alive. However, it wasn’t a foolproof method. The piece of the claw was not large, only small enough to serve as a necklace.

The aura infused in it wouldn’t last long, only a maximum of a few days. He had already been travelling for a day now and could see that the mist in the area was starting to thin out. He could tell that he was close to the outer region.

Adrian’s gaze drifted toward the trees ahead. The shadows moved unnaturally sometimes, curling at the corners of his vision like tendrils of mist. The Misty Mountains certainly had its name for a good reason.

He paused briefly to crouch beside the river, letting the cub sip from the edge. It lapped at the water eagerly, unaware of the beasts whose instincts would normally draw them to such a vulnerable moment. But the claw’s aura worked its magic.

In the distance, a shadow loomed. A giant, fanged silhouette of a creature lumbering near the river. Adrian froze, his breath caught in his throat. The beast’s head turned toward them.

A Rank 4 Ironhide Crocodile.

Its thick, stone-like scales glistened with moisture, its massive tail carving deep furrows into the muddy bank. Eyes like polished obsidian locked onto Adrian.

Adrian’s hand instinctively wanted to retrieve his sword, but he. But he held back.

The crocodile’s nostrils flared.

It took one step forward... then abruptly stopped. Its eyes narrowed, sensing something. The air around Adrian was not that of a mere human. The beast sniffed once more and then recoiled, releasing a low rumble of warning. Without another sound, it slithered back into the river, disappearing beneath the current.

Adrian exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

That had been close. His mind wandered back to the first interaction with that beast. How powerless he had been against it, and how all he could do was run away.

He touched the claw again. The warmth had faded slightly. Not gone, but noticeably dimmer.

’The aura’s fading faster than I thought...’

He stood and resumed walking, more urgently now.

The claw would buy him time. Nothing more. He couldn’t afford to waste it.

As the river curved eastward, the terrain began to shift. The thick trees gave way to jagged rocks and narrow cliffs. The path was harder to walk, and the roar of the river turned to a distant echo below. Up ahead, he could just make out a stone ridge with scattered patches of moss.

That was when the cub stirred in his arms and let out a small cry. Its tiny wings fluttered against his chest, trembling.

Adrian’s eyes sharpened. He has to move faster. With that in mind, he activated the Astral Steps and quickly vanished from the area. The day passed without any other incident.

The next day, Adrian was running through the forest when he noticed something in the distance. He could see the clear distinction in the density of the mist there. It was so clear, almost like there was a divide separating the two regions.

He had finally escaped from the inner region. He rushed towards the outer region with the cub in his arms, a feeling of joy and relief washing through him. Though he didn’t show it, these past few days had been filled with tension for him.

From meeting the silver-winged tiger to having to escape from the inner regions by himself, he felt like he had been at death’s door the whole time. The only silver lining was that he didn’t have to go through it all alone.

He glanced down at the cub in his arms as this thought ran through his mind. It had been a great companion for him in this lonely and dangerous region. It was also surprisingly very smart.

It didn’t make a fuss most of the time, and it even recognized when it had to be quiet. When they were passing through areas with powerful beasts, they wouldn’t make any sounds and kept quiet, avoiding drawing attention to themselves.

Adrian didn’t know if this was something that all beasts could do. Perhaps it was simply the instincts that magic beasts were born with. Anyway, the cub had made the journey less miserable for him.

However, he wasn’t out of danger just yet. The beasts in the outer regions weren’t something to be taken lightly. Without proper considerations, he could easily lose his life here.

Adrian continued his journey with the same caution that he had been maintaining throughout the journey. However, this time, he was traveling much faster than before.

When he reached a small overhang jutting out from the side of a slope, Adrian came to a sudden stop. His eyes narrowed as he took in the scene ahead.

There was a narrow valley just below him, where a shallow stream curved through the trees and rocks. But more importantly, he saw movement; there were people there.

A group of cultivators was resting by the banks of the stream. From the looks of it, there were at least a dozen of them, and they bore different sect insignias on their robes. They were clearly not a single unified group, but rather, a temporary alliance.

Adrian crouched low and observed from the shade of a twisted tree root. His senses sharpened. None of them seemed overwhelmingly powerful. There were a few in the Golden Core realm, but most of them were at the peak of Foundation Establishment or close.

Still dangerous, especially for someone in his state who was carrying a beast cub and was not even in the Golden Core realm. He could probably take a few of them if he launched an ambush, but that was as far as he would go.

However, he had no need to fight them. It’s not like they had tried to kill him. Heck, they didn’t even know he was there.

He was about to turn and leave, slipping silently around them, when he caught the faint murmur of their conversation.

That reminds me, when we were entering the Misty Mountains, we saw some individuals inspecting those who were just returning. What was that about?" a woman asked, her voice low but clear.

"Ahh, I also noticed that. A friend of mine told me they were searching for someone. Apparently, it was some mysterious Foundation Establishment realm. A man replied.

"A Foundation Establishment realm cultivator? What would they want with him?" The woman asked in surprise.

"Don’t know. All I know is that they are taking it very seriously. Word is, even the City Lord of Stonehold City is involved." The man said while taking a sip of water.

"Hmm? Is it that serious that even such a powerful person is involved?" Another man asked, joining the conversation.

"I’ve heard about that, too. I don’t know if it’s true, but they said it had something to do with the weird movements of beasts."

"Ehh, really?" The woman wondered.

"Heh, he had to have done something terribly wrong to attract the attention of the City Lord."

"How are they even going to find him?" Another chimed in.

"Yeah, won’t they just take any random cultivator and make them the culprit?" Suddenly, a tense atmosphere surrounded the group. Especially among the Foundation establishment realm cultivators.

They were all afraid that one of them could be made into the scapegoat if they didn’t find who they were looking for. However, the words of someone immediately dispelled their concerns.

"Don’t worry. I heard there was a disciple of the War Machine sect working with them. It seems he had met this person before, and would be the one in charge of identifying him."

A wave of relief washed through the group, and they continued discussing other topics. They weren’t aware that someone else was also listening to their conversation, and it was even the person that was being searched for.

Adrian quietly left without any of them knowing that they had been spied on. His mind was racing with different thoughts that were not hard to figure out.

He wondered why they were looking for him. The rumor about him being related to the beast tide was not true. He had only recently discovered the cause and was sure that no one else knew about it, the silver-winged tiger.

He had initially speculated that it was another cultivator, but immediately dismissed that thought when he heard that a disciple of the War Machine sect was involved.