Chapter 49

The Tiansheng Mountain Range!

Under the scorching sun, thick fog billowed in the mountains. In a patch of forest, Xue Fangsheng led Zhang Yong and his group through the ancient trees.

"If we come a few more times, even if we don't hunt any exotic beasts, I'm confident I can successfully gather Qi. Surpassing Xu Yang will be a breeze."

Feeling the surge of energy in his body over the past few days, Zhang Yong couldn't help but feel secretly excited.

Following a real martial artist into the mountains, they hunted wild beasts to satisfy their hunger whenever they were hungry. Not only was every meal meat, but it was the kind where they could eat as much as they wanted.

Although there was much less time for practicing, the growth of their Qi and blood was faster than practicing at the martial arts hall.

"Brother Fang, should we continue deeper?" Luo Dehu's tone carried a hint of retreat.

They had already been deep in the Tiansheng Mountain Range for three days; if they continued, they would enter the center of the range.

Powerful exotic beasts lived in the center of the Tiansheng Mountain Range, which were said to be able to easily kill Marrow Cleansing martial masters.

"Luo Dehu, if you're scared, you can quit. That way, there will be one less person to split the money."

Before Xue Fangsheng could speak, Tang Ruiyang spoke up first.

Going deeper was dangerous, but the rewards were also great. If they managed to get a rare-level exotic beast, they could split over a dozen silver taels at once, and they wouldn't have to worry about money before gathering Qi.

"Quiet!" Xue Fangsheng growled, tilting his head to listen.

No one dared to speak again.

After a while, Xue Fangsheng said with a smile, "I can't hear any bird calls nearby, and I don't see any other wild beast tracks. There must be an exotic beast lurking here. Find it for me, quickly."

They had actually found another exotic beast!

The seven people, including Zhang Yong, were overjoyed and immediately scattered in all directions.

"Found tracks!"

After another while, Tang Ruiyang returned to report the good news.

"Once the prey is in hand, I'll give you an extra tael of silver."

Xue Fangsheng climbed a tree and imitated bird calls for a while. Before long, Zhang Yong and the others all returned, then followed Tang Ruiyang to another location.

"The tracks are very fresh; it should be nearby. It's a leopard. Let me lure it out."

Xue Fangsheng took a piece of meat he had prepared from the bag behind him and placed it on the ground, then took out a paper packet and sprinkled the medicinal powder inside evenly over the meat.

"Brother Fang, what are you sprinkling?" Luo Dehu asked curiously.

Last time they hunted an exotic beast, Xue Fangsheng didn't use this method.

"This is Ten-Fragrance Soft-Muscle Powder. I spent a lot of money on it at the black market. Even a Qi Gathering martial artist would collapse after one breath, and its unique fragrance is beloved by exotic beasts."

As he spoke, he took out a dagger: "You guys shed some blood. If we add human blood, this leopard will surely drool with greed, and we'll take it down without any effort."

Hearing that they needed to shed blood, several of them hesitated, but upon hearing Xue Fangsheng say that those who shed blood could get an extra tael, all seven scrambled to grab the dagger.

Unfortunately, the first one to grab the dagger was Luo Dehu.

He had a bit of ruthlessness in him and immediately cut a gash on his hand, with fresh blood gushing out.

"Three people shedding blood is enough. The rest of you save your strength to transport the exotic beast out of the mountains."

Seeing the state of the seven, Xue Fangsheng immediately pointed to two others to be responsible for shedding blood along with Luo Dehu.

One of them was Tang Ruiyang, and the other was named Yang Dacai.

Tang Ruiyang was secretly happy, knowing that Xue Fangsheng was looking after him. This way, he could get an extra two taels this time.

The three pale-faced men finished shedding blood. A bloody smell permeated the forest, drifting away with the wind, and then Xue Fangsheng took the others and hid far away.

"It's here!"

Half an hour later, a leopard poked its head out from behind a large rock.

It looked no different from an ordinary leopard, but in the center of its forehead, there was a small, one-inch-long horn.

Where there is an unnatural omen, there must be a demon.

Every exotic beast has some unusual characteristics.

"We're rich!"

Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and their breathing suddenly became rapid.

The price of an exotic beast transformed from a leopard is very high, usually selling for one tael of silver per jin. The size of the leopard in front of them should be around two hundred jin.

Even if the seven of them could only split thirty percent, one person could still get seven or eight taels.

After the exotic leopard looked around vigilantly for a while, it finally couldn't wait and began to eat greedily, using its tongue to lick up all the blood scattered on the leaves.

After eating, it didn't stay long and immediately turned to leave, but after walking only a few steps, it growled and collapsed to the ground.

"It's done. Shed blood, leave quickly!"

The fallen leaves covering his body burst open, and Xue Fangsheng floated up from the ground, running quickly toward the fallen exotic beast.

The exotic beast had strong vitality; even something like Ten-Fragrance Soft-Muscle Powder could only temporarily paralyze it. He had to kill it quickly.

Otherwise, if such a powerful exotic beast recovered, he might not necessarily get the upper hand.

Zhang Yong and the others, who were hiding on the sides, also stood up from their respective hiding places and ran quickly toward the exotic beast.

They could take the opportunity to drink some of the exotic beast's blood while it was being shed; the benefits were not small.

"Bang!"

Xue Fangsheng slapped out with his palm, and the exotic beast's forehead immediately caved in. Its brain was turned into paste by the force, and it was immediately on its last breath.

Immediately after, he lifted it up to see how much it weighed.

"Roar..."

Suddenly, a roar rang out, and the trees shook.

Xue Fangsheng looked on in horror, only to see a tiger leaping out from somewhere not far away, its eyes fixed on the leopard he was holding in his hand.

Wind rose on the flat ground, and the leaves rustled. Xue Fangsheng's pupils contracted violently, seeing that on the tiger's back, there were two fist-sized fleshy balls, covered with dense scales.

This was also a tiger with an unnatural omen.

"Run!"

Ordinary tigers can fight Qi Gathering martial artists, let alone this kind of exotic species that has become an exotic beast. Even a Marrow Cleansing martial master might not be a match for it. He hadn't expected there to be another exotic beast nearby.

But fortunately, he was well-prepared, and there was a poor soul near where this exotic beast appeared.

Xue Fangsheng turned and ran, fleeing for his life along the path he came from.

"Brother Fang, help!" A scream full of fear rang out from behind, coming from the person closest to the exotic beast.

"Save you? Do you really think that thirty percent of the profit is so easy to take!"

Xue Fangsheng sneered in his heart. Finding so many people, besides having someone to shed blood, was precisely so that when encountering a powerful exotic beast that couldn't be fought, he could run faster than everyone else.

He looked back and saw that the poor soul had already been pounced on by the exotic tiger and had his head bitten off, which was both bloody and terrifying.

"Split up and run, otherwise none of us will survive!"

Seeing these mud-legged people actually running toward him, Xue Fangsheng shouted loudly.

"Xue Fangsheng, you will die a horrible death!" Tang Ruiyang's eyes were splitting with rage.

No matter how stupid he was, at this moment he understood why Xue Fangsheng had found so many of them to hunt exotic beasts together. It turned out they were the food Xue Fangsheng had prepared for the exotic beast.

Unfortunately, he had only run a short distance before being pounced on by the exotic tiger.