He led one team himself, Diao Chan led another, and Sun Shangxiang also led a team.
He arranged for people familiar with the road to follow Sun Shangxiang so that they would not get lost.
Their strength was enough to explore the area ten kilometers away, and as long as they were careful, there would be no accidents.
Liu Yue quickly had her maids serve the dishes. Zhou Yan smelled them and found them to be very fragrant.
"My lord, please try it and see how it tastes," Liu Yue said from the side.
"Alright!"
He picked up his chopsticks but found that the dishes had other attributes.
[Dish: Stir-fried Pork with Green Peppers]
[Quality: SS]
[Attributes: Within one hour, stamina recovery speed +100%, spiritual power recovery speed +50%, strength +30.]
[Description: This dish is made with ingredients full of spiritual energy. Long-term consumption will improve physical attributes.]
"I didn't expect these dishes to have such a function."
But thinking about it, Liu Yue was an S-quality chef herself, and the ingredients were all imbued with spiritual energy, so it was understandable that the dishes she made had additional attribute bonuses.
He looked at the other dishes and found that each one had a different effect. Her culinary skills were truly remarkable.
He immediately started eating.
As he swallowed, he exclaimed, "It's so delicious!"
The taste was indeed excellent, the best food he had ever eaten.
Using these spiritually infused foods and Liu Yue's S-class culinary skills was simply a treat.
Although he had never eaten at a five-star hotel, he felt that the chefs in those five-star establishments could not compare to Liu Yue's cooking.
"Very good!"
Even Sun Shangxiang was eating with relish and greatly admired Liu Yue's culinary skills.
"It's indeed very delicious."
Zhen Mi said with a sweet smile.
"This is the best food we dwarves have ever eaten."
Jerry and the others also spoke, eating heartily while drinking their wine.
Everyone praised the food, which made Liu Yue very happy.
"Let's eat together."
Zhou Yan said quickly.
"It's fine, I'll go make more."
Liu Yue hurried to the kitchen. Receiving recognition from others was her value, so she had to satisfy everyone's hunger.
...
After eating and drinking their fill, Zhou Yan, as planned, divided his forces into three teams and headed out of the territory.
Zhou Yan led a group of soldiers west.
Zhen Mi led a group south.
Sun Shangxiang led her people north.
The east had already been cleared yesterday.
Shortly after, Zhou Yan and his men arrived at the outskirts of the mist area ten kilometers away.
The monsters here were all level 10 and above, and there was a high probability of encountering elite or higher-level monsters.
They were here to kill monsters and explore the mist.
He wished they could encounter a few lord-level monsters, but leader-level monsters were not easy to come by.
They entered the mist area, and the surrounding mist began to dissipate.
However, he found that the place he had chosen was not a good one.
This was because the terrain was clearly a swamp.
What was most to be feared in a swamp was the quicksand hidden beneath the surface.
Once trapped, there was a danger of being swallowed.
"Follow behind me and don't venture into unexplored areas lightly," Zhou Yan said, leading the way.
"My lord, why don't you let me go ahead?" Zhang San asked.
They were all worried about Zhou Yan encountering danger.
"No need. My strength is greater, and I can escape from traps immediately if encountered," Zhou Yan replied.
This touched Zhang San and the others greatly. Their lord was concerned for their safety.
It was their good fortune to have such a thoughtful lord.
Zhou Yan was completely unaware that his standing in their hearts had risen again, and even if he knew, he would only smile.
Everyone in the territory, regardless of race, was a living individual, a flesh-and-blood "person" with emotions and desires.
Zhou Yan did not treat them as tools but as his subordinates. Every subordinate was the foundation of his strength, and he would naturally not casually let them die.
Walking in the swamp, one had to constantly be wary of traps on the ground.
He could detect many swamp traps. Although they were well hidden, he could sense danger in those places.
He specifically used stones to check those areas, and as he expected, after throwing in a stone, it quickly sank.
"This should be due to my strong mental power."
He was not only strong in attributes now but had also awakened a powerful innate physique, though he had not yet fully awakened it.
Furthermore, he had cultivated to the fifteenth level of martial arts, and a powerful Extreme Yang spiritual energy flowed through his body.
Ordinary traps could not escape his eyes.
Even for traps that were relatively well hidden, he had a strange feeling that there was something wrong with those places.
His body's potential was still immense, and what he had discovered so far was only a fraction.
There were many more miraculous abilities waiting for him to discover.
A pool of water appeared ahead. Zhou Yan raised his hand and said, "Be careful of the situation in the water."
He sensed many life fluctuations in the water, and they were approaching him.
Indeed, in the next moment, several figures leaped out of the water and emitted a wave of water from their mouths.
Zhou Yan raised his long sword, spiritual power surging, and a powerful Extreme Yang energy flowed into the sword, causing it to emit a golden light.
Zhou Yan swung his sword, and a golden sword energy shot towards the sky, instantly breaking through the attacks and hitting several monsters with undiminished power.
"Plop!"
The monsters fell into the water, dyeing it a shade of red.
Upon closer inspection of the other areas, Zhou Yan said, "Water Frog Demons!"
These were a group of blue frogs, about half a meter tall, leaping out of the water. He also sensed that there were still many Water Frog Demons in the pool.
[Monster: Water Frog Demon]
[Quality: Mutated Elite]
[Level: 18]
[Special: Water Jet]
[Description: Originally ordinary water frogs, they mutated due to special energy and gained the ability to spew water.]
"Oh, mutated by special energy? What could it be?"
After seeing the attributes of the Water Frog Demons, he became curious.
"We can't let them surround us."
Zhou Yan sensed that the monsters in the pool were increasing in number. Facing these ranged monsters, one needed to be cautious.
"Form a defensive formation and charge through this water."
This was a water area, which was very unfavorable for their combat. Once they reached safe land, they could fight them with confidence.
[White Robe Ghost Soldiers] heard the order and, without a word, quickly formed a defensive formation and then followed Qin Chuan's pace, charging forward rapidly.
Water Frog Demons leaped out of the water one after another, spewing a stream of water, and then re-entering the pool.
However, the soldiers in the defensive formation were not afraid of these attacks. Their movements were orderly, and they struck down all the attacks. A series of clanging sounds could be heard as the attacks were annihilated into nothingness.
With Zhou Yan paving the way, there was no need to worry about traps or monsters.
Each time he unleashed a sword energy, he could kill many monsters.