Chapter 43

Undoubtedly, this fish scale, still carrying a faint fishy smell, comes from the Demon Beast Body!

It is a fish scale that accidentally stuck to the mouth of the Turtle Demon Beast Body when it had just eaten fish meat.

It is tiny, with no trace of Spiritual Power, simply an extremely ordinary fish scale.

But the meaning of its appearance here is extraordinarily special to Yunhe.

This means that between his Cultivator Body and Demon Beast Body, the interaction is no longer merely an invisible one—not just sharing consciousness, Cultivation Base, techniques, lifespan, etc. —but also a visible interaction exists.

It also represents that between the two bodies, Elixirs, spiritual plants, Magical Artifacts, etc., can be transmitted.

Of course.

Not now.

Now, just this tiny, insignificant fish scale leaves Yunhe spiritually listless and his consciousness muddled.

So Yunhe is fortunate that he chose just a fish scale for his test, very cautiously, rather than some special object.

Otherwise, before anything could be transmitted, his consciousness might completely faint, even dissipate.

But no matter what, this is absolutely a good start.

'It should be related to Spirit Sense.'

The somewhat weak Yunhe wiped the sweat from his forehead and came to a conclusion in his heart.

It is also related to Cultivation Base, but what truly determines the size and quality of carried items should be Spirit Sense.

In other words, the stronger his Spirit Sense, the larger the items he can carry, and the more likely they are to possess spirituality.

"Huu—"

He slowly exhaled.

Yunhe closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and attempted to restore his depleted Spirit Sense through meditation.

'The advantage of the Demon Beast Body side is abundant Spiritual Qi, with spiritual plants, heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and even the Demon Beasts themselves being relatively well-off in the natural environment.'

'The advantage of the Cultivator Body side lies in Magical Artifacts, Elixirs, talismans, etc., being more systematic.'

As he entered meditation, his chaotic thoughts gradually calmed.

The final thought that flashed through his mind was——

'I don't know if there will ever be a day when the interaction is not limited to objects, allowing the two bodies to swap.'

Thin mist at dawn.

The golden crow playfully leapt above the horizon, dyeing the distant skyline with a thin layer of red glow.

However, the mountain hollow where Yunhe resides is perpetually shrouded in mountain shadows, so the light remains quite dim.

Having awakened from cultivation, Yunhe felt that although his condition had not fully recovered to its peak, it had improved considerably.

'Good, nothing unexpected happened tonight.'

He opened the spirit insect bag.

Buzz—

The fully energized Red Pattern Spirit Bee Queen flew out.

"Not bad."

Yunhe nodded in satisfaction.

Judging by its aura alone, the queen has already reached the First Stage Middle level of Demon Beast; with it now leading the Red Pattern Spirit Bee swarm, the swarm's combat power should increase significantly.

'Even without me, a plain Middle Stage Demon Beast or an ordinary Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator with a regular Magical Artifact would likely not be a match for the Red Pattern Spirit Bee swarm.'

He gathered all the Red Pattern Spirit Bees hidden in the cave back into the spirit insect bag.

He walked out of the cave.

The faintly bright mountain wind swept through the hills, bringing a thin mist, and the refreshing sensation lifted one's spirits.

The Red Pattern Spirit Bees outside the cave, summoned by Yunhe, flew back one by one to report last night's situation.

"Three Demon Beasts? Two at early stage and one at middle stage?"

Yunhe silently clicked his tongue.

Despite the Spiritual Qi being so thin, a mountain harbors so many Demon Beasts.

Presumably, these Demon Beasts have each cultivated for decades or so.

"Huh? Did human cultivators also pass through? Three people?"

Yunhe narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had thought it was Wang Jinglan, but he never expected that three human cultivators would actually traverse the mountains last night.

Cultivators who dare to do such a thing in the darkness must either have some backing or possess absolute confidence in their own strength.

"Heading toward the direction of River Gully Market?"

For some unknown reason, he inexplicably felt a sense of impending mountain rain.

His mind involuntarily flashed with some changes and anomalies in the market during this period.

He shook his head.

"First, find Wang Jinglan."

But given the vastness of this mountain forest, plus the obvious signs of Demon Beast activity, even with the help of the Red Pattern Spirit Bees, finding a person is no easy task.

"Bang!!"

The Golden Killer Sword flashed and sent flying a Demon Beast jackal clad in brownish-red fur, its tail fluffy like a fox's, tipped with a black streak.

Yunhe, standing in the forest, wore a look of helplessness as he controlled the flying sword with the "Metal Control Technique" while observing his surroundings.

He saw that several dozen jackals resembling wolves had vaguely surrounded him.

Although Yunhe had been extremely careful, he still inevitably entered the territory of a pack of Demon Beasts.

Even with the assistance of the Red Pattern Spirit Bees' warnings, when facing Demon Beasts that live in groups, the effectiveness of the warnings inevitably diminishes considerably.

Especially, the jackals that are naturally ferocious and cunning.

"Yesterday I encountered a pack of wolves, today another pack of jackals—do we have to meet tigers, leopards, and jackals all in one go?"

Yunhe couldn't help but complain in his heart.

However, this jackal pack is much more formidable than yesterday's wolf pack.

At least, every jackal in his sight right now is a first-stage early demon beast, with demonic power circulating; relying on the demon beast's strong body, the Golden Slaughter Sword just now only wounded that probing jackal, without directly killing it.

"White-furred Jackal King."

Of course, Yunhe's main focus was still on the jackal king.

That was a jackal king whose fur was completely different from ordinary jackals, entirely snow-white, and the demonic power surging on its body indicated it had the strength of a first-stage middle.

Actually, in the wild, what's most feared is encountering such demon beasts that live in groups.

Because they have a leader, they are more orderly and also more clever.

"Bang! bang!!"

Again driving the Golden Slaughter Sword to send two jackals flying, the jackal king watched this scene from afar, seemingly assessing Yunhe's strength to decide where to strike.

Yunhe let out a light sigh, and the spiritual power within his body surged suddenly.

But before he could launch the "Green Wood Banner", his hand movement stalled, his whole body tensed and tightly guarded.

The next second.

Whoosh—

Then a sound of breaking air suddenly rang out.

Immediately, a four-foot-long sword glowing with green light sliced through the air, its chilling sword aura humming, and the jackal king's back not far away instantly arched, baring its teeth and growling low.

Thud!

See that jackal preparing to pounce on Yunhe was directly blocked by the flying sword, then pinned to a nearby tree.

"Fellow Daoist Yun!"

The familiar voice arrived first, then came that slender figure in white robes.

Wang Jinglan!

However, she now also looks a bit disheveled.

Her white dress was stained with much blood and dust, her hair somewhat messy, even her face had mud smudges.

Considering yesterday all day plus night, she probably didn't have a good time.

But after this tempering, her demeanor also underwent some change.

She lost some of the aristocratic air of a clan young lady, gaining some of the cultivator's sternness.

Seeing the attack wasn't aimed at himself, Yunhe remained vigilant inside, while relaxing outwardly.

"Fellow Daoist Wang!"

With her sleeves fluttering, Wang Jinglan landed beside him.

Seeing Yunhe, Wang Jinglan's eyes seemed to show some excitement, as well as an inability to hide her apology, after she nodded deeply.

"Use this first."

After saying that, under Yunhe's astonished gaze, she took out a sword with a glimmering scale light from her storage bag and slipped it into his embrace.

Middle-grade magical artifact, Azure Scale Sword!

Moreover, Yunhe could clearly feel that this magical artifact had no spiritual power imprint on it; he only needed to inject a little mana to be able to use it.

A middle-grade magical artifact, just given away like that?

Yunhe thus got to see what a clan cultivator is.

"Go!"

Wang Jinglan warily eyed the white-furred jackal king, with no intention to linger in battle, and swiftly retreated with Yunhe.

"Grown."

Yunhe secretly sighed.

After leaving the market and entering the mountains, Wang Jinglan gave him the feeling—she had strength, wealth, but was a clan cultivator inexperienced in worldly affairs.

The white-furred jackal king whimpered low, watching the two recede, after much consideration still chose to give up.

"Wuu—"

After the long howl, it disappeared into the mountains with the remaining jackal pack.

On the green bamboo boat.

"All dead?"

After hearing Yunhe's evasive account, Wang Jinglan's eyes dimmed.

"This sword."

Yunhe took out the Azure Scale Sword, but Wang Jinglan stopped him.

Seeing her take a deep breath, full of apology, she said:

"This time, it's all Jinglan acting on her own initiative and lacking experience, which led to the deaths of Fellow Daoists Zhou Shouxin and two others by this sword; Fellow Daoist Yun, you may keep it."

Seeing her not pretending, Yunhe's mind moved, and he tentatively asked:

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I've always wondered why, for the matter of seeking the bee king, the Wang Clan needs to borrow our hands?"

Upon hearing that, Wang Jinglan startled, then let out a light sigh and slowly said:

"This matter."

Subsequently, under Yunhe's indirect probing.

Wang Jinglan explained the general reason.

Recently, there have been internal changes in the Wang Clan, and Wang Jinglan's father, the eighth son of the current head of the Wang Clan, was assigned the interests of the spirit bees and spirit honey.

You should know, the Wang Clan's heads total twenty-three sons!

Although the father of Wang Jinglan, who is ranked eighth, only has mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation base, he is very unnoticeable in the family.

Speaking of this, the long-term gains from Spirit Bees are actually not small; the Wang Clan still treats the Wang Jinglan family well.

But Wang Jinglan's father is addicted to poetry and painting and such worldly things, not handling household affairs much, so the Spirit Bee business fell to Wang Jinglan.

With internal changes causing a shortage of manpower, and the Wang Jinglan family of three having low status, few could be mobilized, so she could only recruit Yunhe and a few Spirit Bee Farmers to help.

I thought it would be just a simple thing, but Wang Jinglan, who seldom goes out, really didn't expect the demonic beasts in the mountains to be so dangerous.

But for her, this counts as a trial.

Her experience last night was probably not small.

"Wang Fellow Daoist's apologetic heart is sincere and earnest; I think Fellow Daoist Zhou Shouxin and the others will surely understand." Yunhe said while silently putting away the Green Scale Sword.

"Understanding? Probably."

Wang Jinglan tugged at the corner of her mouth, revealing a somewhat forced smile.

"Wang Fellow Daoist, we are now."

"Go back."

Wang Jinglan stood at the prow of the Green Bamboo Boat, her voice ethereal, her eyes resolute.

"Huh? Not looking for the Bee King anymore?"

"No." Wang Jinglan's faint voice came: "After this incident, Jinglan has gained insight; upon returning to complete the breakthrough, next time I come, I will surely succeed in one go."

Breakthrough?

Looking at Wang Jinglan at the boat's prow, Yunhe froze.

Breaking through from the sixth layer of Qi Refining, it becomes the seventh layer, which is a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator!

"I didn't expect this demonic beast to give her a 'lesson'; she actually 'learned' from it?"

Is it just the difference between people?

"Then I will first congratulate Fellow Daoist Wang on his cultivation progress."

After that, the two had no further communication.

Only the whistling strong wind past their ears spoke of their direction of travel.

"This time returning, cultivation base need not be hidden too much; mid-stage Qi Refining can move to live inside the market; there the spiritual qi is relatively more abundant."

Yunhe, sitting cross-legged inside the boat, was making plans for what comes next.

But sometimes, things happen unexpectedly, beyond anticipation, and faintly seem to transmit signals unconsciously through the invisible.

When the Green Bamboo Boat arrived near River Stream Market, the scene that unfolded before their eyes filled Yunhe and Wang Jinglan with astonishment.

Only see, not far away, above River Stream Market, a strange and ominous red light glows, flickering on and off, accompanied by muffled thunder-like explosions that continue without cease.

Screams, wails, roars, and wanton laughter surged like a tumultuous wave.

Countless cultivators panicked and rushed out of the market, but many also released their inner beasts at this moment, grinning ferociously as they charged toward the market center.

River Stream Market was attacked!

(End of Chapter)