Chapter 22: Medicine Livestock

Xu Yuan clearly felt that a terrifying giant beast lay ahead, its blood-filled maw open, waiting silently for him.

Yet he could not suppress this "instinct," still moving toward that dangerous maw like a worm, wriggling forward incessantly.

The alluring scent grew stronger and stronger, and Xu Yuan drew closer and closer to that blood-filled maw.

Xu Yuan wanted to pinch himself hard to wake from this "nightmare" state, but he could not command his own hands.

Wriggling out from a thicket of miscellaneous trees like a worm, a mountain peak appeared ahead, and the instinct within Xu Yuan's body became overwhelmingly intense!

An idea suddenly sprang from the instinct in his heart: Once he passed this mountain peak, he could eat that deliciousness!

Then Xu Yuan immediately realized: I am clearly delivering myself up to become "deliciousness."

He could no longer hesitate—Xu Yuan could not control his body, but he could control the Fire in the Stomach.

"Hoo..."

Sparks flew from Xu Yuan's seven orifices, quickly transforming from sparks into a gushing torrent of flame.

The flames burned his own body; his tattered short jacket quickly turned to ash, and then the "Fire in the Stomach" began to spread throughout his body, rapidly turning Xu Yuan into a man of fire!

When a Rank Dan Xiu controls the Fire in the Stomach to cover their entire body, they do not burn themselves.

But now, Xu Yuan was simply "self-immolating"!

Yet even so, his body remained controlled by the "instinct," wriggling forward incessantly on the ground.

If anyone saw this scene, they would surely find it extremely horrifying.

Xu Yuan was in excruciating pain, wanting to scream but unable to make a sound, his body completely beyond his control.

And his own "Fire in the Stomach" had already burned his entire skin into a layer of charcoal!

With a single thought from Xu Yuan, the Fire in the Stomach could be withdrawn.

Yet Xu Yuan gritted his teeth and persisted, enduring this terrible pain.

That "instinct" lurked deep within his body; until the fire reached that level, the "instinct" remained entirely unaware.

Enduring this stubbornly for quite a while, the "instinct" finally took notice.

Xu Yuan was crawling past an ancient pine tree; the heat from his full-body flames caused a few large drops of pine resin to drip from the tree.

The flames surged violently as a result.

Under the excruciating pain, the instinct finally could not hold out and abandoned control of the body.

Xu Yuan withdrew the "Fire in the Stomach" at maximum speed, then lay on the ground breathing in short, thin gasps—daring not even to make any larger movements with his chest or abdomen, as any motion caused heart-piercing pain.

Now, Xu Yuan's entire body was scorched black, covered in cracks, with dark red flesh visible beneath!

After quite a while, Xu Yuan mustered a sliver of strength, then activated his "Fate."

A thick, heavy layer of charred shell shed away!

This "molting" was not due to eerie infection, but simply utilizing the power of Fate to shed the burnt skin.

Thus, it brought no improvement to himself; even the ghostly scar on his back remained stubbornly entrenched.

This layer of "skin" possessed no special function—yet Xu Yuan felt that this thing seemed to have some kind of "connection" with himself.

Xu Yuan dug a shallow pit and buried it.

Within a short time, having used his Fate twice in succession, Xu Yuan felt a weakness emanating from the very root of his life.

"I must exercise restraint..."

Xu Yuan muttered to himself.

That scent drifted continuously over the mountain peak, and Xu Yuan felt that "instinct" within his body stirring again.

However, having been refined by the "Fire in the Stomach," Xu Yuan could barely suppress this impulse.

Xu Yuan crouched low, did not flee immediately, but instead, like a mountain tiger, rushed swiftly up the mountain peak ahead, hiding behind a few trees to glance down:

Xu Yuan never intended to engage in a head-on clash; he knew very well his own capabilities, and Xu Yuan wanted to see clearly who exactly was behind him, employing these tactics.

At the very least, he must know himself and know his enemy.

This look revealed nothing unexpected; it was indeed the group of the Holy Maiden.

That long bamboo pole mountain carried a wooden bowl, inside which lay a handful of rice.

It was exactly the same as the one the stepmother had given him. Only the rice in the bowl was slightly more abundant.

Placing the rice in the wooden bowl seemed to share the same clever purpose as the stepmother's instruction to place it in the tree hollow.

Whether this was a necessary condition for luring the June Beetle remained unknown.

Xu Yuan silently withdrew, then slipped away quietly from another direction.

In the riverside camp, lunch was already prepared.

Water drawn from the river had boiled and cooked the dried meat; the steam was also used to soften the flatbreads.

One of the assistants, seeking to please the Holy Maiden, had specially gathered some wild vegetables to put into the meat soup, sprinkling on seasonings.

He ladled a large bowl and presented it to the Holy Maiden: "Holy Maiden, please partake."

The Holy Maiden endured and finished eating, yet there was still no movement in the surrounding mountains.

The Holy Maiden, with a grim face, smashed the bowl; the dozen or so assistants under Zhao Langzhong fell silent as crickets, not knowing how they had provoked the goddess's displeasure.

The Holy Maiden hurried to Wen Xiu's side and said, "That thing has surely fled! Search the mountain immediately!"

Four people sent by the sect to deliver the bait were present, the leader being a Rank Dan Xiu dressed as a traveling physician.

The Rank Dan Xiu nodded, his gaze sweeping over those assistants, his eyes suddenly turning cold and sinister.

The Holy Maiden said indifferently, "Leave two for me."

Wen Xiu flicked his hand; a paper talisman rose with the wind, upon which four large characters were written: "Cannot Move."

The assistants under Zhao Langzhong discovered in terror that they truly could not move!

The Rank Dan Xiu reached into the satchel on his shoulder, pulled out a small gourd, poured out some pills, pried open their mouths, and fed one pill to each of them.

He left behind two at random.

The two who hadn't been fed the pill watched in even greater terror as, after swallowing the pill, their companions suddenly twisted, their bones deforming!

Thick black fur sprouted over their bodies, their hands and feet turned into sharp claws, their lower jaws jutted forward, four pointed canine teeth extended from beneath their lips, their ears grew backward and became pointed, with several long hairs sprouting at the tips.

They crawled on all fours like beasts, continuously snarling and roaring, their eyes crimson red, devoid of any human emotion.

The Wen Xiu rolled up the calligraphy copy, while the Dan Xiu waved his hand: "Search the mountains!"

The eight monsters, like obedient hounds, lowered their heads and shot off like arrows toward the surrounding Shanfeng.

These creatures, transformed from humans, are called "Yao Chu." These eight are the lowest rank: "Quan Xiao." They move with extreme speed, possess devastating biting power, and have highly acute hearing and smell.

The two men left behind felt uneasily that they might not be so "lucky" after all — their fate might be even worse than their companions'.

Half an hour later, two Quan Xiao dug up the charred shed skin buried by Xu Yuan.

The Sheng Gu and the others formed a circle around the lu renxing creature, staring in confusion: "What is this thing?"

The Dan Xiu examined the surrounding traces: "That boy definitely came here — but how, at the last moment, did he resist the bait's scent and slip away?"

"This batch of 'Jiu Sui Liang' is extremely precious. The guild sent twelve Hu Fa, and seven died to obtain it. It should not be ineffective."

"The brat… is unusual." A flicker of wariness rose in the Dan Xiu's heart.

The Sheng Gu snorted coldly and declared without hesitation: "Send the Quan Xiao after him!"

(End of Chapter)