There was no other way; this creature's level wasn't as high as that of the Golden Crested Snake, but its toxicity was still extremely potent, Qin Fang had the protection of the Dragon King, so he wasn't afraid of its virulent poison. However, the expert beside him wasn't so lucky, and nearly fell prey to the serpent's venom. It was Qin Fang's Detoxification Pill that saved his life.

After killing the giant python, Qin Fang's experience points soared once again, though it was still quite a distance from reaching Level 5.

What Qin Fang needed was experience points, as well as various materials from the giant python's body. His Herb Gathering Technique would be quite useful here. While he began to collect various potion-crafting materials, the expert, perhaps stimulated by something, actually went straight to the side of the python's corpse, grabbed a piece of the wound, and went on a fierce drinking spree of the blood still gushing from the body!

"Damn, this guy is really wild, just started drinking like that..."

Watching this nameless expert's actions, Qin Fang realized something he couldn't even dare to imagine - drinking snake blood raw.

As a prospective doctor, he was very much aware that, although snake blood might seem like normal blood, in reality it was teeming with parasites beyond count. While Qin Fang's unique constitution wasn't afraid of these parasites, the thought alone was nauseating. He didn't have the courage to drink that stuff.

However, the expert seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit, gulping it down until his belly swelled round, and even let out a satisfied belch!

"Dude, since you can't remember who you are, why not just take my last name... My name is Qin Fang, and you... just be called Qin Shou... um, beast... heh heh!"

Qin Fang had to admire this expert; his ability to drink snake blood like that was something he couldn't help but respect.

Maybe it was a joke, or perhaps he just wanted a bit of mischief, but Qin Fang patted the expert's shoulder and seriously suggested the idea to him.

"Qin Shou... alright, I'll be called Qin Shou!"

The expert merely paused for a moment, his brow slightly furrowed as if trying to recall his own name. Unfortunately, despite a severe headache, he still couldn't think of anything and ultimately accepted the name Qin Fang had offered.

"Eh..."

Qin Fang was somewhat taken aback; he had only intended it as a joke, having seen the expert – no, now Qin Shou – drink snake blood so boldly, he hadn't expected him to agree to it.

Cautiously casting the Mind Reading Technique, Qin Shou's mind was clearly still scattered and not fully recovered, making Qin Fang's technique take effect quite easily. Only then did Qin Fang understand Qin Shou's thoughts.

Perhaps because he had never experienced amnesia, Qin Fang couldn't imagine how excruciating it must be to go through days not knowing who one was or one's own name.

It turned out that giving him a name, although possibly not a very nice one, made him feel somewhat better compared to having no name at all, which is why he readily accepted it.

"Let's go, beast bro! We'll keep on our journey..."

Having understood this, Qin Fang felt a bit sorry for the fellow, and his only thought was to leave the mountain as quickly as possible. After all, Qin Fang wasn't short on money, and once they got out, he could take beast bro to a hospital. Maybe there would still be a chance for his memory to recover.

...

Deep in the mountains, in a valley filled with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers.

"Something has happened, something big has happened..."

A voice started to ring out in the valley, full of anxiety and urgency, immediately drawing the attention of many people. Residents of various parts of the valley began to gather together.

"Qi Rui, what's the big panic? If you disturb the masters, be careful of the sect rules!"

"Yeah, what's the day today that anything significant could possibly happen!"

"The Martial World tournament has ended, and to wait for another chance, we must wait five years. We should focus on practicing now, so perhaps at the next one, there might be an opportunity to make a name for oneself. Stop fussing over these trivial matters!"

"..."

The first to rush over were some young disciples, who quickly gathered together and began discussing, each voicing their own thoughts. No one asked about the significant event that had occurred, rather they criticized the junior brother for making a fuss over nothing.

Qin Fang and his company had been missing in the mountain for three days, and with the time delayed in Jincheng, the once-in-five-years Martial World tournament had already ended.

As a result, not a single one of the Tian Nan Four Shows, representing the strongest of the younger generation in the Southern Martial Arts World, made an appearance. The young masters of the Northern Martial Arts World swept through with an absolute advantage, leaving no face for the young masters from the south.

And this sect, hidden deep in the mountains, held a prominent place in the Southern Martial Arts World, especially known for producing many excellent young masters.

Among them, the most renowned was the leader of the Tian Nan Four Shows, Iron Claw Divine Eagle Song Qingshan...

Unfortunately, Song Qingshan was nothing but a martial fanatic.

A year ago, he went north alone and with his own power, he swept through many of the young masters of the Northern Martial Arts World, returning triumphant. This secured his position as the leader of the Tian Nan Four Shows and the number one young master of the Southern Martial Arts World.

Because of this, he showed no interest in this year's Martial World tournament. The young masters from the north, who had eagerly awaited this chance to seek revenge, were left unable to even catch a glimpse of Song Qingshan's shadow. The rest of the Tian Nan Four Shows, who were slightly inferior to Song Qingshan, were also absent. This truly frustrated the northern masters, who ended up taking out all their resentment on the other young masters of the Southern Martial Arts World, leading to the current embarrassing and pale situation.

"Qi Rui, what's happened that you're shouting so frantically?"

The chatter of the many brothers and sisters made Qi Rui's complexion very ugly. Only when an elder from the inner courtyard came out to ask did his complexion improve slightly.

"Uncle Chen, Brother Song... Brother Song is missing!"

Qi Rui, looking at Uncle Chen, who managed the affairs of the sect's outer court, immediately reported the shocking news with difficulty, even though Uncle Chen's status was not very high, but he was certainly much more powerful than Qi Rui.

"Hm?"

Uncle Chen was momentarily startled, "Are you mistaken? You know the capability of your Brother Song. He has been body refining by Tranquil Heart Lake these days. How could he go missing?"

Obviously, Uncle Chen was skeptical; he was in charge of the external affairs and every disciple would report their cultivation location or route to him before leaving the sect or heading into the mountains for cultivation.

Song Qingshan was the most outstanding disciple in the sect, not even thirty years old, yet his cultivation had already reached the Peak of Level 5, just one step away from entering the Level 6 Grandmaster level.

The reason Song Qingshan hadn't made this step was not because he couldn't break through, but because he wanted to raise his Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training Golden Bell Cover to Grandmaster Level as well. In this way, both his attack technique, the Great Strength Eagle Claw Technique, and his defensive technique, the Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training Golden Bell Shield, would be at the Grandmaster Level, making him an exceptionally formidable figure even among Grandmaster-level experts.

Thus, he gave up the chance to shine at the Martial World tournament and was body refining alone near Tranquil Heart Lake, using the impact of the waterfall to elevate his Golden Bell Shield to the Grandmaster level...

"I've been to Tranquil Heart Lake and saw that Brother Song's clothes and socks were still there, but the man himself was missing! And... and..."

Seeing Uncle Chen's disbelief, Qi Rui became even more agitated.

He was one of Song Qingshan's admirers, also responsible for delivering meals to Song Qingshan, so he was the person in the entire sect who knew the most about Song Qingshan's whereabouts.

But the problem was, Song Qingshan disappeared at Tranquil Heart Lake three days ago.

Normally this wouldn't have been considered an issue as occasionally Song Qingshan would do so, but this time was different. For three continuous days, there had been no news from Song Qingshan, who hadn't taken a single item with him. What surprised him the most was the cliff face where Song Qingshan had been body refining by the waterfall; it looked as though it had been bombed, with large chunks of rock fallen from above...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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