Chapter 67: Addicted to the Taste, Mountain Cat Leaves the Nest

It was now the second morning of climbing the mountain to pick spiritual treasures, and Zhao Xing wasn't in a hurry to go to the Mountain God Temple.

While keeping an eye on the cave, he gathered materials on the spot to prepare for the "luring the tiger away from the mountain" plan.

If the fierce beast inside the cave went out to forage, that would be excellent; he could take the opportunity to sneak in and run.

If it didn't come out, he would lure it out.

Fortunately, the "All Grass and Trees are Soldiers" spell was already at the 4th turn. There were no other materials on this mountain, but there were plenty of various vines and willow branches; there was no shortage of materials for straw men.

Zhao Xing didn't plan to use the Vajra Warriors; the Vajra Bamboo was hard to replenish in a short time.

Facing an exotic beast, he couldn't fight it head-on, so what Zhao Xing needed to replenish now was the [God-Speed Straw Man].

"Go and move some stones for me."

Zhao Xing ordered the Entangling Straw Men.

"Go and catch some wild rabbits, mountain rats, and wild boars."

Zhao Xing ordered the Vajra Warriors again.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

The straw men began to execute the orders.

Immediately after, Zhao Xing retreated, moving further away from the cave.

He found a patch of soil.

He took two types of seedlings out of his Literary Bamboo Box.

The Literary Bamboo Box had been given by Xue Wenzhong and Chen Shijie two days before entering the mountain. Zhao Xing had spent some time cultivating some of the seeds into seedlings.

Now that he had a need, he could take them out and use them immediately.

"If this exotic beast eats meat, then I'll get some meat."

"If it eats vegetables, these Vine-Fragrant Berries and Hundred-Fragrance Grass should be able to attract its attention."

Both types of plants were Tier 2 low-grade.

The main effect of Vine-Fragrant Berries and Hundred-Fragrance Grass was one thing: addictive deliciousness!

They had quite an attraction for herbivorous exotic beasts.

Looking at the dead bones in the cave, Zhao Xing felt it was more likely that the exotic beast ate meat, but the Vine-Fragrant Berries and Hundred-Fragrance Grass also had some effect on carnivorous exotic beasts, just less effective.

"Cloud Walking!"

Zhao Xing's Cloud Walking was already at the 9th turn. After breaking through to Tier 6 of Yuan Gathering, his control had greatly increased.

Now, this Cloud Walking was as large as a bed, and the height could be controlled relatively low. The vital energy was condensed and did not disperse, so it wouldn't cause any disturbance.

"Rain Spreading!"

Pitter-patter~

Rain began to water the seedlings.

"Thriving Growth!"

The max-level Thriving Growth caused the seedlings to begin changing.

The Spirit Mountain's land fertility was sufficient; Zhao Xing didn't use Earth Vein Synthesis. These two types of plants didn't have long growth cycles. Once they entered the growth stage, he could just cast Savage Growth; there was no need to waste vital energy casting Earth Vein Synthesis.

An hour later, the Fragrant Berry Vines and Hundred-Fragrance Grass entered the growth stage.

Zhao Xing opened his eyes and began to cast spells.

"Savage Growth!"

Both types of plants began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye. Among them, the Fragrant Berry Vine quickly bloomed and bore fruit, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Wind Rising!"

Zhao Xing condensed a ring-shaped wind wall around the area, controlling the fragrance so it wouldn't dissipate, to avoid attracting other wild beasts to peek.

After doing all this, he waited quietly for the two types of plants to mature.

At the same time, he closely monitored the movements at the cave entrance.

"I hope this exotic beast is hungry and goes out to find food on its own..." Zhao Xing prayed in his heart.

If that happened, it would be best; he wouldn't have to waste straw men or time.

Time passed slowly.

It was almost noon. The Hundred-Fragrance Grass had long since matured, and the berries had already bloomed a second batch, but there was still no movement inside the cave.

"What kind of exotic beast is so lazy? Sleeping until noon?" Zhao Xing complained, "Could it be that it forages at night and sleeps during the day?"

But even so, Zhao Xing still waited patiently.

"I only need to get to the Mountain God Temple before the Zi hour (11 PM - 1 AM)."

"If I have a harvest today, I can compete for the first incense."

"If I don't have much of a harvest, I'll compete for the top ten incense sticks."

There must be a Mountain God Temple on Spirit Mountain. Climbing Spirit Mountain to pick spiritual treasures, everything was uncertain.

Where are the spiritual treasures? How to pick them? Everything was unknown.

Just searching blindly, relying solely on luck, I fear very few people would have a harvest.

Even if they found the place, they might not be able to pick it.

For example, the master riding the bamboo horse; Zhao Xing had already seen him jumping around in the mountain stream for half a day.

Or like now, the spiritual treasure inside the cave was guarded by an exotic beast.

To ensure one has a harvest, the first thing a climber must do is go to the Mountain God Temple to offer incense and pray.

After the Zi hour every day, the True Person in the temple would manifest, telling the climbers where the spiritual treasures were and how to get them.

The first incense was the best, with the highest possibility of obtaining a spiritual treasure.

The effects decreased sequentially afterward, and one would be subjected to the True Person's test.

The first night, Zhao Xing didn't go to compete for incense.

The second night, he was going to participate.

But it was still early before the Zi hour, just past noon, and he wasn't in a hurry.

"How long does this Senior intend to keep us? Could it be that if he doesn't leave, we have to stay here forever?" Fang Jie muttered in a low voice.

"Are you afraid?" Zhou Gang asked.

"Afraid!" Fang Jie said honestly, "That Senior's strength is profound; he can escape from the mouth of an exotic beast, but you and I might not. If we continue to stay here..."

Zhou Gang thought about it and nodded: "I'll go ask."

But just as he stood up, he heard the straw man next to him turn and leave. At the same time, a voice came through the wind: "The movement will be relatively large next. You two can leave on your own. If fate permits, we shall meet before the temple tonight."

"Many thanks, Senior." Zhou Gang and Fang Jie were overjoyed and immediately left quickly.

Time approached the Shen hour (3 PM - 5 PM). Zhao Xing, who had plenty of patience, finally couldn't hold back anymore.

He strongly suspected that the exotic beast hunted at night and slept during the day.

Continuing to wait was a waste of time, so he started the "luring the tiger away from the mountain" plan.

First, using two God-Speed Straw Men as a group, they approached the cave in pairs and began to take turns throwing stones, the kidnapped small animals, and the Vine-Fragrant Berries into the cave.

There was no reaction when throwing stones, and no reaction to the small animals.

But when throwing the Vine-Fragrant Berries, there was finally a reaction inside the cave.

A black shadow darted out quickly, heading straight for the straw men throwing the items.

It was still fast enough to become a blur, but Zhao Xing, staying far away, finally captured the appearance of the exotic beast.

"It's actually... a mountain cat cub?"

The mountain cat was very small, which didn't fit the identity of the cave owner at all.

However, the plan was still in progress.

The two groups of God-Speed Straw Men were destroyed by the mountain cat before they could run a few steps.

After confirming that the vine berries worked on it, Zhao Xing decisively gave the order, letting the second group of straw men, standing a hundred meters away, stand up and throw berries in the direction of the mountain cat.

"Swish~" The mountain cat indeed rushed toward the second group of straw men again. It didn't charge at people; it just lightly touched the straw men with its claws while snatching the berries, and they disintegrated.

But it didn't matter; soon a third group of straw men stood up at a short distance, continuing to attract it.

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the mountain cat had already appeared three miles away.

Three miles away was the limit of the straw men's control.

But Zhao Xing wasn't in a hurry. Along the way there, he had transplanted the Hundred-Fragrance Grass, connecting them in a line, attracting it to walk further away, with the final goal of attracting the mountain cat to the area where the Vine-Fragrant Berries were planted.

"It's about time, do it!"