Night fell, the moon hazy in the sky.
The soft sound of footsteps echoed from a small path in a remote corner of Beast Valley.
Looking closer, one large and one small Tusked Pig ambled forward.
The smaller Tusked Pig carried a basket on one side of its back and a large bundle of vines on the other.
A pale-faced, exceptionally drowsy-looking young man was slumped over the back of the larger Tusked Pig.
Soon, they arrived before a three-stall beast pen.
"We’re back."
Li Changsheng let out a breath of relief. He sat up, rubbing his throbbing temples, and slid off Big Flower’s back.
He unloaded the basket and the Blood Bamboo Vines from Xiaohua’s back, then, holding the basket, herded both Xiaohua and Big Flower into the beast pen.
After settling Big Flower and Xiaohua in, he walked out of the pen. He looked at the Blood Bamboo Vines on the ground, and a thought flickered through his mind.
Beneath the silent night sky, a buzzing sound suddenly arose, and the Blood Bamboo Vines began to float slowly into the air.
A closer look revealed that hundreds of Red-winged Blood Bamboo insects were lifting it with their six legs.
"Heh, convenient," he chuckled.
A smile touched Li Changsheng’s lips as he stepped into the small courtyard, the Blood Bamboo Vines following close behind.
He entered the kitchen and lit a lamp.
Li Changsheng plopped down onto a stool. After resting for a moment, he got up and started bustling about.
Not only had the Tusked Pigs not eaten all day, but neither had he. His stomach was already rumbling with hunger.
The backlash from his insect sigil made it hard to concentrate, and a constant wave of exhaustion washed over his mind. If he weren’t afraid something unexpected might happen tonight, he would have already gone back to his room and collapsed into bed.
Too tired to make anything complicated, Li Changsheng chopped some vegetables, rinsed some rice, and threw it all into a large pot to cook.
Wisps of smoke began to rise from the roof.
「A quarter of an hour later.」
He lifted the pot lid, and the room filled with steam.
Li Changsheng first ladled out a bowl for himself and began to eat.
The white porridge was bland, and he didn’t have much of an appetite anyway. After quickly finishing his bowl, he scooped the rest into a wooden bucket and carried it into the beast pen.
After feeding Big Flower and Xiaohua, Li Changsheng had intended to return to his room. But after some thought, he decided to just move a chair into the beast pen and sit there.
He positioned the Red-winged Blood Bamboo on the roof of the pen as a defense against intruders.
Li Changsheng closed his eyes to rest, trying to ease the exhaustion in his mind.
Time passed slowly.
Under the inky black sky, an uninvited guest ran slowly toward the beast pen.
The person carried a bundle on their back. Seeming to know the pen was unoccupied, their footsteps were hurried, showing no intention of being stealthy.
Inside the beast pen, Li Changsheng’s eyes snapped open, a murderous glint within them.
By now, the intruder had reached the outside of the pen. Seeing the closed wooden gate, a flash of surprise crossed their eyes.
’Could someone else be hiding in this remote beast pen, just like me?’
At this thought, a wary look appeared in his eyes. He pulled a talisman from his robes and cautiously approached the pen.
BUZZ...
’Huh? What’s that sound?’
Just then, he heard a faint buzzing like mosquitoes from above. He instinctively looked up, his pupils constricting.
In the darkness, a dense black mass of something was diving toward him.
He subconsciously channeled his Spiritual Power into the talisman. A flash of red light appeared, and a Fireball the size of a watermelon shot toward the sky.
BOOM...
The scorching Fireball exploded, its flames burning fiercely.
The light illuminated the night sky, making it as bright as day.
He could also now see clearly what that dense black mass was.
They were insects with bodies like bamboo and vicious-looking mouthparts.
As the flames burned, the smell of something scorching filled the air.
But before he could celebrate, the swarm of insects suddenly erupted with Spiritual Qi. Their flight speed skyrocketed, and trailing sparks of fire, they were in front of his face in an instant.
"AHH!!"
The intruder’s expression changed drastically. He quickly reached into his robes, but it was too late. The swarm descended upon his face, and an intense wave of pain washed over him before his consciousness faded to black.
THUD...
The figure crumpled to the ground. The bundle on his back came loose and fell beside him.
CREAK...
The beast pen gate opened, and Li Changsheng walked out, his face impassive. He looked at the figure on the ground, and a thought crossed his mind.
The swarm of insects flew away, revealing the intruder’s face—a mangled, pitted mess of flesh and blood, with bone visible in some places.
Li Changsheng’s gaze was calm. He knelt and searched the body, finding only three Spirit Stones and one talisman.
Other than that, there was only the bundle on the ground.
Li Changsheng walked over, drew his knife, and cut open the bundle, revealing a verdant bamboo cage.
When he saw what was inside, a look of shocked suspicion appeared on his face.
Inside the cage lay a palm-sized fox, its fur a creamy white.
Li Changsheng whispered, "A first-rank, mid-grade mutated Spirit Beast... a White Jade Fox."
He turned to look at the corpse on the ground, then back at the White Jade Fox cub in the cage, a puzzled expression on his face.
’His cultivation is only at the second layer of the Qi Cultivation Stage, and it seems he doesn’t even know any Magic. How could he have a White Jade Fox?’
After all, only one mutated White Jade Fox might be born from among thousands of Red Foxes, which showed just how rare it was.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Changsheng shook his head, clearing his mind of stray thoughts.
’How he got it has nothing to do with me. In any case, it’s mine now.’
He commanded the swarm of insects to drag the body to a crevice in the cliff behind his house. He then filled it in with some dirt, completely burying all traces of the man.
Before re-entering the beast pen, Li Changsheng checked on the condition of his insect swarm.
Aside from a dozen or so Red-winged Blood Bamboo with slightly scorched wings, the rest were unharmed.
"Excellent!"
Li Changsheng looked satisfied.
Although the Fireball Talisman was only a first-rank, low-grade talisman, the temperature it produced could reach several hundred degrees.
The fact that the Red-winged Blood Bamboo had sustained so little damage from such high heat showed that they were indeed one of the best spirit insects for a Spirit Binder in the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Of course, the fact that the Fireball’s power had been dispersed when it exploded was also a factor.
After having the swarm settle back on the roof, Li Changsheng carried the bamboo cage into the beast pen.
He sat down on the chair, his gaze fixed on the White Jade Fox in the cage.
[Target: Cub]
[Race: Mutated White Jade Fox (Female)]
[First-Rank, Low-Grade: 1%]
[Innate Talent: Fox Fragrance.]
[Status: Healthy.]
A smile touched Li Changsheng’s lips. "It really is a mutated Spirit Beast, a White Jade Fox," he said softly.
Red Foxes are fiery red all over and have a terribly pungent, musky odor. The White Jade Fox was the exact opposite; not only did it not stink, but it also emitted a faint, pleasant fragrance.
It was said that their pelts were highly sought after by female cultivators and fetched an extremely high price.
Then, Li Changsheng’s gaze fixed on the cultivation column.
[Nurturing Requirement: One stalk of Jade Grass (Daily)]
’Jade Grass...’
Li Changsheng suddenly recalled that, back at the Beast Valley Marketplace, he had bought ten stalks of Jade Grass from a senior sister because his Red-winged Blood Bamboo had reacted strangely.
"Huh."
’She seemed to have a White Jade Fox, too.’
Li Changsheng’s expression froze for a moment. As he looked at the little fox in the cage, a host of connections suddenly formed in his mind.
Time passed slowly.
By the time the sky began to brighten, no other intruders had appeared.
Li Changsheng yawned, stood up from his chair, and stretched his body. Then, carrying the bamboo cage, he walked out of the beast pen.
「Morning.」
Within the Hundred Beasts Valley, wisps of cooking smoke curled into the air.
Li Changsheng twitched his nose slightly. The faint scent of blood reached his nostrils, and his expression instantly changed.
’Is it from a beast or a person?’