“Now release our young master!” the Elder in black said coldly.
“And the pouches you have at your waist,” Leo added, pointing at the small bag hanging from the Elder’s belt.
The Elder in black had a gloomy expression; within the small cloth bag hanging at his waist were the Essence-Building Pills belonging to him and Brian, totaling over two hundred. They had prepared them to exchange for what they needed at the Martial Arts Market.
Seeing the Elder in black hesitate, Leo raised an eyebrow. “Don’t want to give them up, huh?”
To ensure Brian’s safety, the Elder in black took a deep breath and suppressed his anger. He then took the small bag from his waist and tossed it in front of Leo.
Leo pushed Brian towards the Elder in black, and picked up the backpack and the small bag from the ground.
“Let’s go!” Brian looked at Leo with resentment and his group quickly left.
Leo retracted the Blue Phantom Sword, then sat down by the campfire with the backpack and the small bag, starting to inspect their loot.
Inside the backpack, there were three Dragon Saliva Fruits, five Wild Ginseng, six Phoenix Grass. In addition, there were several Bloodleaf Grass and Blood-Flow Vine.
These items were all relatively rare fiery spirit herbs, and it would still take some effort to find them, even within the Falling Sunset Mountain Range.
Leo checked the loot with a sense of contentment, and the woman in purple chuckled, sticking out her tongue. “I didn’t expect you to like taking other people’s stuff even more than I do.”
“Where there’s profit, there’s motivation. And when you’ve taken something, you still want to take more,” Leo playfully quipped. He had a good impression of the mischievous and cute woman in front of him.
“By the way, what’s your name?” Leo asked.
The woman in purple batted her pretty, big eyes and replied, “I’m Violet. And what do you and this beautiful lady call yourselves?”
“I’m Leo, and she’s Master Jennifer,” Leo answered. While putting the spirit herbs back into the bag, he asked, “It’s quite late; how did you end up here in the deep mountains and forests?”
Violet playfully smiled and said, “I… of course, snuck out of the house.”
Leo couldn’t help but chuckle, finding her answer quite amusing.
“By the way, Leo, Master Jennifer, are you two heading to East Town?” Violet asked.
Master Jennifer nodded, “Yes.”
Violet said, “Oh,” and an expression of disappointment appeared on her cute face.
Leo assumed that this girl was also going to East Town. Seeing the disappointment on her face, he couldn’t help but wonder, “Aren’t you heading to East Town?”
Violet pouted and said, “I’ve sneaked out from home before and gone to East Town. There are people from my family in the town, and I almost got caught and taken back.”
Hearing this, Leo and Master Jennifer exchanged smiles, thinking that this young lady seemed to sneak out quite frequently.
Master Jennifer asked curiously, “Do your family treat you poorly? Why do you keep sneaking out?”
“They’re not treating me poorly; my family is very good to me. But they’re just too old-fashioned and dull. They make me stay in a stuffy place to cultivate, and it’s so boring,” Violet frowned lightly, her cute little face appearing slightly distressed.
Hearing this, Leo and Master Jennifer understood. It seemed that this girl came from a martial arts family, and they were pressuring her to cultivate, which was why she had run away.
Violet turned to Leo with an expectant tone, “Leo, can you take me outside Falling Sunset Mountain for some fun, the farther, the better?”
“That’s not a problem, but Master Jennifer and I have to go to East Town now,” Leo replied.
Upon Leo’s affirmative answer, Violet became excited, “That’s great! Leo, Master Jennifer, I’ll take you to East Town tomorrow morning, and then you can take me out to have fun!”
“Aren’t you afraid your family will catch you again?” Leo chuckled.
Violet pouted, “I’m not afraid. I’ll just sneak out again.”
Leo and Master Jennifer couldn’t help but find this girl naive and cute.
The next morning, after a simple breakfast, the three of them set out.
Violet seemed quite familiar with the area. Under her guidance, it didn’t take long before they were near East Town.
Violet pointed ahead enthusiastically and said, “That’s the main peak of Falling Sunset Mountain, and East Town is right within Falling Sunset Mountain.”
The road leading to Falling Sunset Mountain seemed to have been split by an enormous axe, creating a wide cobblestone path down the center.
On both sides of the road, there were tall and lush maple forests. Whenever the wind blew, fiery red maple leaves would fall, creating a picturesque sight.
After walking along the cobblestone road for about half an hour, they spotted a somewhat old-looking walled city.
This city was built against the mountain, with thick and towering walls that exuded a sense of historical weight.
If ordinary people from the mundane world came here, they would surely think this was a tourist attraction.
Under the city walls was a large gate leading into the town. Guards dressed in fiery red stood on both sides of the gate, standing at attention and not diverting their gaze.
Like Leo’s group, many martial cultivators were heading toward the entrance of East Town.
As they approached the gate, Violet explained, “Leo, martial cultivators who want to enter East Town must pay a Essence-Building Pill as a toll.”
Leo nodded and took out three Cultivation Pills from his pocket, handing them to the guard in charge of collecting the toll.
Inside, the road was paved with specially-made blue stones, with an estimated width of at least three lanes.
Just like outside, the town had many maple trees, each at least a hundred years old, flourishing to a magnificent height, resembling giant flames burning brightly.
It would be even more impressive when viewed from above in a helicopter.
Violet picked up a maple leaf the size of an adult’s palm from the ground and said, “Leo, the maple trees in East Town never wither throughout the year, and the leaves are always a fiery red. It’s incredibly beautiful.”
Leo teased, “I think this town should be named ‘Maple Leaf Town.'”
“Huh, how did you know? This place used to be called Maple Leaf Town, and they changed the name to East Town later,” Violet seemed to be quite knowledgeable about East Town.
Leo sensed that the spiritual energy here was denser than in the mountains, making it a veritable treasure trove.
The town was predominantly populated by martial cultivators. People were coming and going, making it quite lively. Some individuals even rode their wild beasts as mounts.
The only thing not seen here were modern forms of transportation, such as cars and bicycles.
Violet grabbed Master Jennifer’s hand and said excitedly, “Master Jennifer, Leo, let’s go to the market now!”