Lu Heng circled the snake mountain, and indeed there were quite a few snakes in the area. Fortunately, the nearby Fire Phoenixes often came here to forage, which kept the snake population under control.
However, Lu Heng observed that most of these snakes had not evolved magic crystals and were ordinary magical beasts, making them worthless, so he didn't bother to kill them.
This was probably why the snake mountain had continued to exist. At least, human cultivators didn't like to hunt ordinary magical beasts without magic crystals.
Leaving the snake mountain, Lu Heng found a small town to rest. When he arrived at the town riding the Fire Phoenix, it caused quite a stir.
Riders of flying mounts were rare in such small towns, but even then, people had only ever seen cultivators riding gryphons. No one had ever seen a mount as vibrant and beautiful as the Fire Phoenix.
"Sir, we don't allow mounts to enter the city here."
Despite this, Lu Heng was stopped outside the city. Without exception, all towns prohibited flying mounts from entering.
"Ah, no problem. My mount can be put away, so it doesn't need to enter the city."
With that, Lu Heng put the Fire Phoenix into his spatial storage in front of everyone and then presented his travel permit to the guards.
After the guards verified and stamped his permit, they let Lu Heng pass, bowing respectfully.
In this world, besides the power of the ruling class, there was also respect for the strong. As long as one was strong enough, they would be treated with courtesy everywhere.
The fact that Lu Heng could ride such a beautiful mount already indicated his extraordinary status. Even though the document he showed the guards was very ordinary, they would imagine that Lu Heng might have a hidden identity that he couldn't reveal.
However, people were still somewhat surprised by Lu Heng's ability to make his mount disappear into thin air. Some of them knew about storage accessories, but they also knew that living creatures could not be stored in them.
Therefore, when they saw Lu Heng somehow stow the Fire Phoenix away, they became even more convinced that Lu Heng's status was extraordinary and his abilities were strong to an unimaginable degree.
Once Lu Heng entered the city, he didn't think much of it and found a decent-looking inn to stay in.
The environment within his spatial storage might be more suitable for rest, but whenever he was in a place without humans, he would feel a strange sense of loneliness.
Therefore, as long as he was on the Divine Origin Continent, unless the conditions were extremely poor, such as needing to camp outdoors, he would return to his spatial storage to rest.
The innkeeper enthusiastically opened a room for Lu Heng and handed him a sign.
"Guest, if you need water, you can hang this sign outside your door, and we will naturally deliver it to you."
"Hmm, do you have any good restaurants here?"
It wasn't that Lu Heng didn't want to dine at the inn, but rather that ordinary inns usually didn't have great chefs, and the food they served was just enough to stave off hunger.
Seeing Lu Heng's question, the innkeeper enthusiastically introduced him to several restaurants in the city.
After listening, Lu Heng gave the innkeeper a crystal as a tip. The innkeeper happily accepted it and left.
Sitting at a table in his room, Lu Heng took out a map of the area and studied it carefully. This time, he needed to go to the extremely cold regions in the northern part of the Divine Origin Continent.
There were also very few people there, similar to Fiery Island. Places with harsh environments on the Divine Origin Continent were rarely frequented by cultivators.
Not only were these places difficult for humans to adapt to, but even cultivators with similar elemental affinities couldn't adapt to the environment.
Furthermore, in such harsh environments, the magical beasts were often of high levels.
Lu Heng flipped through several travelogues and compared them, finally confirming a region in the north as his destination for this trip.
Ice Thorn Mountain.
Ice Thorn Mountain was covered in snow year-round, with mountain ranges stretching for tens of kilometers. The entire area was not only vast but also lacked any life that could survive in such conditions.
Of course, there were always exceptions, regardless of the conditions.
Ice Thorn Mountain was home to ice-elemental magical beasts. Some hunters had managed to capture a few lower-level ones on the outskirts. However, these ice-elemental magical beasts, like fire-elemental ones, preferred to live in environments of their own element. Therefore, high-level ice-elemental magic crystals were rarely seen in the wild.
Having decided on his destination, Lu Heng opened the door and walked out. The innkeeper had mentioned a few restaurants, and Lu Heng planned to try one.
He soon arrived at a decent-looking restaurant. The restaurant had three floors, and Lu Heng found a window seat in the lobby. He ordered a few specialty dishes and began to eat.
The people of the Divine Origin Continent were quite simple in their cooking of magical beast meat.
However, it was often these primitive cooking methods that best preserved the meat's natural aroma, preventing it from being masked by any seasonings.
Of course, this was also related to the existence of storage rings, such a miraculous item.
Cultivators who hunted magical beasts could store the meat in their rings, preserving its quality. When the meat was sold to restaurants, it was as fresh as if it had just been killed.
While enjoying the delicious food, Lu Heng listened to the discussions of the diners around him.
"Did you hear? Lingbao Pavilion is collecting all sorts of high-level magic crystals, and the starting prices they're offering are astonishing, almost always above ten thousand crystals."
"What kind of magic crystals are so expensive?"
"It seems to be magic crystals of level six or higher. They weren't collecting them so frantically before. Usually, when someone sent them for auction, they would auction them once they had stock. But for some reason, a while ago, they started actively collecting level six and above magic crystals."
"Alas, that has nothing to do with us. Level six magic crystals, I wouldn't even dare to think about them.
As a level two cultivator, what can you do if you encounter a level six magical beast besides offering yourself up?"
"Alas, I'm just saying. Let's not talk about it. I'm planning to go to Jinyang City to see if there are any opportunities. That place seems to be developing well, and I heard the city lord has even changed."
"Really? What's different about that place compared to here? I remember Jinyang City was similar to us, both border towns with not many people. If you go to an unfamiliar place, wouldn't it be better to stay in your hometown?"
"I heard it from friends who transport goods. Trade has increased in that region recently, and more people are transporting goods."
"Then you should try it. If it doesn't work out, you can always come back. We're always in a state of half-life here, and there's really no way forward."