After walking down a small path, a winding mountain road about two meters wide appeared before him.
Li Changsheng looked left and right, and seeing no one around, he quickly ducked into the nearby bushes.
As he left, he deliberately disturbed his tracks.
It was no wonder he was so cautious. Ever since half a year ago, when Li Changsheng went into the mountains to search for ironwood and found a mutilated corpse in a mountain stream—one that was clearly the result of foul play—he had known that the area outside the Hundred Beasts Valley was far from safe.
And the death of this person, who wore the uniform of a Cyan Yang Sect outer disciple, caused not the slightest ripple.
It wasn’t until half a month later that he heard a disciple who raised ptarmigans had disappeared.
The news had come from his neighbor, who said they smelled a rotten stench and, upon checking, discovered that the ptarmigans in the man’s beast pen had already starved to death several days prior.
The Cyan Yang Sect’s outer sect Law Enforcement Hall merely went through the motions, conducting a cursory investigation before dropping the matter entirely.
Since then, Li Changsheng had become even more cautious and discreet. After stumbling upon a small trail, he no longer used the main road to enter the mountains.
Fortunately, there were almost no demonic beasts within a hundred-li radius of the Hundred Beasts Valley, allowing him, with his meager Qi Cultivation First Layer cultivation, to enter the mountains several times unscathed.
Soon, Li Changsheng disappeared into the dense woods.
What he didn’t know was that not long after he left, a furtive figure had arrived at the edge of his beast pen.
The man had a sallow complexion and a gaunt frame, and he looked to be about fifty years old. He seemed somewhat fearful; his body was stooped, and his eyes constantly darted around.
At this time, most of the outer disciples were feeding the Spirit Beasts they were raising. Li Changsheng’s beast pen was in a relatively remote location, with no one around.
Ma Wu let out a quiet sigh of relief, leaned against the side of the beast pen, and peered inside through a crack.
When he saw Big Flower and her piglets, he froze for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.
’This kid’s luck is too good. The mission deadline is just around the corner, and his Tusked Pig actually gave birth.’
"One, two, three... eleven."
’She actually had eleven of them. That’s more than enough to complete the sect mission.’
After counting the piglets, Ma Wu couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy.
Thinking about how he was about to be kicked out of the sect for failing to complete his mission, a greedy light flickered in Ma Wu’s eyes.
After watching for a few more moments, he silently withdrew and began to wander around the valley, just as he usually did.
Before long, Ma Wu arrived in front of a spacious beast pen that was a full five rooms wide. Looking at the high pile of Tusked Pig dung, a look of envy appeared in Ma Wu’s eyes.
"What do you think you’re doing!"
Just as he was about to step forward and peer into the pen, a tall figure suddenly loomed over him.
Ma Wu flinched and quickly turned around. When he saw the man’s face, a sycophantic smile spread across his own.
"Senior Brother Wang, you’re back."
Wang Li frowned and barked, "I asked what you’re doing!" Three purplish-red scars ran from his brow to his lip, looking like ghastly centipedes.
Thinking of the man’s brutal reputation, Ma Wu trembled and stammered, "I... I want to make a deal with you, Senior Brother Wang."
"Make a deal with me?"
Wang Li obviously didn’t believe him. A look of disdain in his eyes, he slapped him across the face. "You think you’re worthy?"
Although Ma Wu was at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, Wang Li was not only at the same level but also practiced a body Cultivation Technique. The immense force of the slap sent him sprawling to the ground, his cheek instantly swelling and turning red.
Wang Li didn’t even glance at him, shouldering a dripping bundle as he walked toward the wooden hut behind the beast pen.
Ma Wu kept his head down, his eyes filled with venomous hatred and his heart seething with rage.
’Damn it,’ he thought, ’If it weren’t for the plague spread by the ptarmigans of that guy who died half a year ago, how could all of my own have died?’
Ma Wu’s expression shifted constantly.
After a long moment, the sycophantic smile returned to Ma Wu’s face. He scrambled to his feet and walked to the front of the wooden hut.
THUD! THUD!
Inside, Wang Li was using a Bone-Chopping Knife to butcher a deer-like beast. His apron was stained with blood, which also dyed the ground red.
Seeing this, Ma Wu was terrified that the half-meter-long Bone-Chopping Knife might land on him, and he didn’t dare get any closer.
"Senior Brother Wang, are you sure you don’t want to hear about the deal?" Ma Wu shouted from a distance.
THUD! THUD!
"You’re really serious, old man?"
Having finished separating the leg bones and spine, Wang Li looked up and gave Ma Wu a ferocious grin.
Overjoyed that he had gotten a response, Ma Wu hurriedly said, "This deal will get you an adult Tusked Pig for free. What do you say?"
Hearing this, Wang Li, who was cutting meat, immediately stopped. He looked up at Ma Wu, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Old man, are you planning to prey on one of our own?"
Ma Wu hadn’t expected his intentions to be seen through so quickly. He didn’t deny it, just gave an awkward laugh.
"Tsk, tsk..." Wang Li casually jammed the Bone-Chopping Knife into a wooden board, wiped the splattered blood from his face, and sneered, "Go on, tell me. Who are you targeting? Who do you even have the guts to target?"
Ma Wu held nothing back, laying out all the details: the location of Li Changsheng’s beast pen and the entire situation.
After hearing him out, Wang Li fell into thought.
Ma Wu added obsequiously, "Senior Brother Wang, I just need to get through this sect mission. You can have both of that kid’s adult Tusked Pigs."
Hearing this, Wang Li looked up, his eyes mocking him. "Heh, do you take me for a fool? Both of them? Are you trying to get me caught and flayed alive by the Law Enforcement Hall?"
"No, no."
Ma Wu frantically waved his hands in denial, but only heaven knew if he was telling the truth.
Wang Li couldn’t be bothered with him—he was just a bedbug that could be crushed at any moment. Instead, he began to carefully consider the feasibility of the plan.
Having spent so many years in the Hundred Beasts Valley, he knew full well that whenever the sect mission deadline approached, a few people would always mysteriously disappear.
With hundreds of outer disciples in the Beast Valley, it was only natural for someone to get lost in the mountains, wasn’t it?
As long as not too many died, and as long as they didn’t meet a gruesome end within the Hundred Beasts Valley itself, the Law Enforcement Hall generally wouldn’t conduct a thorough investigation.
After a moment of thought, Wang Li beckoned Ma Wu over, draped an arm around his neck, and said with a grin, "Go and find out if he has any close friends. Come back and see me tomorrow."
"Don’t worry. Do this well, and your sect mission will be taken care of..."
"Yes, yes, of course! Don’t you worry, Senior Brother Wang. I’ll get it done for you," Ma Wu said, overjoyed.
"Go on. Just remember not to make a scene," Wang Li said with a dismissive wave. He then turned, picked up his Bone-Chopping Knife, and resumed butchering the deer carcass.
Ma Wu bowed once more before turning to leave.
Only after he was a good distance away did Wang Li look up, his eyes filled with scorn. ’Heh, you want to make a deal with me? You think you’re worthy?’
THUD! THUD!
Beneath the Bone-Chopping Knife, bone shattered and flesh was parted.
After leaving Wang Li’s beast pen, Ma Wu walked without stopping and soon arrived before a dilapidated, two-room beast pen.
This was his own beast pen, which had once housed over a hundred Tier One Low-grade Spirit Beast ptarmigans.
Ma Wu entered the pen and peered out through a crack in the wall. After a full quarter-hour, he walked to a corner of the pen and began digging with his bare hands.
A moment later, a meter-deep hole had been dug, revealing a faint flash of bright yellow at the bottom.
Without stopping, Ma Wu quickly dug it out.
It was a bundle about the size of two adult fists.
Ma Wu quickly tucked it into his robes, filled the hole, and covered it with a layer of dry soil and withered grass before turning and walking out of the pen.
He didn’t go to gather information. Instead, he returned to his own wooden hut, carefully closed the door, went into the inner room, and took the bundle from his robes.
As the silk cloth was slowly unwrapped, two items were revealed: a palm-sized sachet embroidered with insects and fierce beasts, and a jade tablet engraved with a golden flame pattern.
Ma Wu picked up the jade tablet, felt the immense energy contained within, and his expression turned grim. "Hmph. Thinking of double-crossing me?"
’After I complete the mission, I’ll need assets if I want to stay in the Hundred Beasts Valley...’