Chapter 389: Crisis Emerges

Something is not right...

Li Yan was suspicious in his heart and continued to observe the surroundings.

This place was mostly where Wu Ba's tribe used to be, later captured by the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect, but now it had clearly changed again.

Those skeletons were piled up in a mess, all showing a pale white state, and the meat on them had been picked clean, indicating that they had all been boiled and were just garbage piles thrown away randomly.

But the human skulls were different.

Being cast into a Jingguan, one was for showing off, and the second was for deterrence.

Beside them were torn clothes...

The target of deterrence was undoubtedly humans!

Li Yan quickly reached a conclusion in his heart.

This place had definitely been occupied by a wild man tribe, and it was very likely that they were also in an adversarial relationship with the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect!

Just at this moment, there was movement on the cliff.

He saw several huge black shadows drilling out of the ancient ancestor caves, standing on the stone platform and looking around.

When Li Yan saw this, he felt a chill.

These "things" had tall bodies, at least three meters tall when standing up. Their lower bodies were like bears, and their heads had dense hair. Although their lips were strangely thick and their brow bones were extremely wide, they had human facial contours.

Even stranger was that they only had one arm, growing on the chest cavity, and only one leg, as thick as their body.

Divine Kui, human face and beast body, one arm and one leg...

Seeing it in a book and seeing it with his own eyes were two completely different things. Li Yan couldn't figure out at all how such a thing could be born in the world?

Of course, this thing couldn't be considered an animal, purely classified as a strange monster in the mountains, born as a strange species.

Chirp—!

Chirp——!

Suddenly, a cry came from the sky, of varying lengths.

Immediately after, a gale blew up, and several black shadows flapped their wings and landed. They were also three meters tall, with wings spreading seven or eight meters, like night owls, but they had human faces.

It was exactly the thing that attacked the falcon earlier!

Li Yan then discovered that the facial contours of these "Human-Faced Owls" were almost exactly the same as the "Divine Kui," and their lower bodies also had only a single giant claw.

The "Human-Faced Owls" flapped their wings and circled in the sky. The "Divine Kui" below were not afraid, but moved out roasted meat chunks from the cave, throwing them into the sky one after another, to be grabbed and torn by the "Human-Faced Owls."

"Chirp chirp! Cluck cluck..."

Both sides talked to each other.

And they were using the upper language!

Looking at their similar faces, a thought suddenly popped into Li Yan's heart: this "Human-Faced Owl" was also a kind of "Divine Kui"!

They belonged to the same tribe, but their division of labor was different.

This Shennongjia was indeed extraordinary.

You know, the "Records of Strange Things" was a summary of demon hunters through the ages, the experience of countless predecessors, but it hadn't recorded this special situation.

After eating the meat, several "Human-Faced Owls" flapped their wings again, flew into the thick fog, and disappeared without a trace.

And those few "Divine Kui" yawned and drilled back into the cave, clearly wanting to sleep.

Li Yan took out his pocket watch and looked at it. It was just past noon.

These things mostly slept during the day and were active at night, while those night owls were specifically responsible for guarding and scouting.

They attacked the falcon as soon as they saw it, indicating they knew it was a scout, very likely learned during the fight with the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect...

Thinking of this, Li Yan retreated silently and quickly.

Returning to the hidden dense forest, Li Yan immediately told everyone what he had seen and heard.

"Trouble..."

Sha Lifei felt his head grow big after hearing this. "It seems the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect demons are right in front. They have to guard against these Divine Kui, so they must have deployed heavy troops. It won't be easy to sneak in and scout."

Everyone's face was solemn, and they had all thought of the key point.

The Divine Kui tribe could drive away the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect, which showed they had more than this strength. Who knows how many were sleeping in those ancient ancestor caves.

And the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect could make the Divine Kui tribe so vigilant.

Their strength was not to be underestimated.

They were caught in the middle, and no matter which one they disturbed, it would be trouble.

Li Yan pondered for a moment and turned his head. "Brother Lu San, can you control animals to scout the situation around?"

"No."

Lu San's face was solemn. "I've already tried. All the wild beasts in this area have been controlled by some kind of technique. At most, I can make them quiet and not expose our tracks."

"Earlier, when the Human-Faced Owls passed by, there were birds nearby trying to chirp, but I comforted them."

When Li Yan heard this, he frowned. "According to the 'Records of Strange Things,' these Divine Kui can not only control wild beasts but also control demons and monsters in the mountains."

"It will be even more dangerous at night. If we can't think of a way to pass before dark, we must leave immediately."

"Me! Me!"

Just at this moment, Wu Ba waved his arms anxiously, then pointed to the ground. "Little people, little people, find them!"

Wu Ba's talent was all in his muscles. After learning human language for so long, he still couldn't express himself clearly many times, but everyone could see that Wu Ba said he had a way.

Lu San hurriedly communicated with him in the upper language.

After the two talked for a while, Lu San frowned. "Wu Ba said, there are tunnels under the mountain, but they were blocked with mud to prevent the 'Jing people' from stealing things."

"The other end of the tunnel is in those ancient ancestor caves, but the nearby entrance is only known to the 'Jing people'."

Li Yan was lost in thought. "The 'Jing people' serve the gods and live. Could it be that there is also a deity nearby?"

Wu Ba beside him waved his hands again. "Eat, afraid... friend!"

Seeing this, Lu San explained: "Wu Ba said, they just drove them away, but those 'Divine Kui' like to catch and eat the 'Jing people,' so they should be able to persuade the 'Jing people' to help."

"Fine, let's find them first."

Li Yan immediately agreed to this method.

Whether they could pass the defense line was secondary; they had to find a hiding place before dark, otherwise they would be exposed.

No matter how absurd this method was, as long as there was hope, it was worth trying. After all, there was no better way now.

He pinched the Yang incantation with his left thumb on the second finger, activated his supernatural power, and took a deep breath.

In an instant, the surrounding smells poured into his nasal cavity.

With his current cultivation, he could smell the scent within three hundred meters and ten meters underground, but this was just a normal state.

If he urged all his potential, he could also increase it by another fold.

Within ten meters underground, he didn't find the "Jing people's" tunnel.

Li Yan immediately concentrated and exerted his full strength.

Finally, in the area twenty meters underground, he smelled some abnormal aura, wandering around, exactly the same as in Xianshan.

"Found it!"

Li Yan opened his eyes suddenly and led the group to the left.

The "Jing people's" tunnels extended in all directions, but when heading to the left, they clearly began to rise, which should be one of the exits.

Not long after walking, the whistling sound from above rang out again.

The group hurriedly hid and waited until the Human-Faced Owls passed three times before continuing forward.

According to what Wu Ba said, these "Human-Faced Owls" were extremely cunning and wouldn't land easily. Once they discovered an enemy, they would chirp loudly.

Some were responsible for continuing to track, and some were responsible for going back to report, like maggots on the tarsal bone, and would soon attract a large number of "Divine Kui."

"Divine Kui" were not only powerful but could also control fierce beasts and demons in the mountains. A large group would come, which was very troublesome.

Because of the "Human-Faced Owl" patrol, the group's speed was clearly slowed down.

Even so, they found their target after half an hour.

"Shh!"

Li Yan signaled everyone to be quiet and looked down through the bushes.

He saw a hill basin appear in front, with lush green plants, tangled vines, and tall trees forming green shade, making the light in the basin dim and very humid.

Between the vines, there were densely packed mushrooms, of various shapes, strange and bizarre, and the colors were also colorful.

Little human figures were shuttling between the mushrooms. They had dense hair, facial features like mice, wore leaf clothes, and had small jade pieces hanging around their necks, using jade axes to chop mushrooms.

On their bodies, there was also a rich scent of incense.

When Li Yan smelled this, he could be even more certain that there must be a deity nearby, otherwise the "Jing people" tribe would also have perished.

Those mushrooms looked highly poisonous.

But to the "Jing people," they seemed to be a delicacy. After someone chopped them down, they would secretly stuff a piece into their mouths.

After chewing, the "Jing people" who stole the food would have a flush on their faces, stumbling as if drunk, attracting other "Jing people" to chase and beat them.

Li Yan looked at Lu San beside him.

He hadn't forgotten that these "Jing people" could use earth escape; once startled, they would immediately drill into the soil and disappear.

To communicate, only Lu San could do it.

Lu San nodded and took out a bone flute from his bosom.

!.

In this situation, if he didn't want to scare all those "Jing people" away, he had to use the secret method of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas Spiritual Response" for the first time.

Swish!

Just at this moment, a black shadow flapped its wings and came.

"Quack! Quack! Quack!"

This black shadow chirped loudly, carrying a trace of soul-seizing power. The "Jing people" were immediately dizzy, but most of them instantly drilled into the soil and disappeared.

After this black shadow landed, the group saw clearly that it was a strange bird, somewhat similar to a pheasant, with a green body, red eyes, and beautiful fiery red tail feathers.

It looked like a pheasant, but its head was like a duck's.

After this strange bird landed, it shook its head, suddenly held a dizzy "Jing person" in its mouth, and swallowed it while shaking its neck.

A flash of light appeared in Li Yan's eyes, and he jumped out instantly.

In mid-air, the Soul-Severing Duanhun Feidao had already whistled out and circled around him.

Li Yan's feet exploded with dark energy, like an arrow off the string. With two jumps on the hillside, he leaped high and fell into the basin.

Swish!

The strange bird was startled and flapped its wings.

Li Yan was also in the air at this time, and the Soul-Severing Duanhun Feidao shot out immediately.

This strange bird was extremely agile. It shook its wings in the air, as if violating the laws of physics, and floated out obliquely, dodging the flying knife.

If it were an ordinary flying knife, it definitely wouldn't be able to catch this thing, but Li Yan just moved his mind, and the Soul-Severing Duanhun Feidao bent in the air, puffing into the strange bird's abdomen.

Li Yan scooped it up by the way. After landing, he couldn't be bothered to pay attention and picked up a leather pocket, loading all the dizzy "Jing people" who couldn't escape in time.

Sha Lifei and the others also hurriedly ran down from the valley.

"Little Brother Yan, what is this?"

They knew that if it weren't for Li Yan's timely shot, all the "Jing people" would have escaped, and finding them again would be even harder.

What the group was curious about was, why did Li Yan catch this strange bird?

Li Yan smiled and picked up the dead strange bird. "If I'm not mistaken, this is what Daoist Yun was looking for."

"It's a 'Yao'!"

Wang Daoxuan's eyes lit up, and he stroked his beard. "That's right, its shape is like a duck, with a green body and red eyes and red tail. Eating it is good for having children. It should be this thing."

The power of the Fei Yi, they had seen it.

This "Yao" might also be able to sell for a high price.

This "Yao" might even sell for a high price.

"It's really effortless to find..."

The medicine herb sent by the Jing people was called "Trillium." It could be used for calming spasms and relieving pain, stopping bleeding and detoxifying. Because of the black berries on the top, it was called "One Bead on the Head."

This was a spiritual medicine, and its efficacy was naturally even more extraordinary.

Just this small plant, Wang Jingxiu was willing to pay twenty thousand taels, and the key was that after being refined into pills, it could also be used to pay off debts.

Thinking of this, Sha Lifei's eyes rolled, and he said flatteringly: "Brother Lu San, talk to the Mountain God, give us all the spiritual medicines found, everything is negotiable."

"If you want to eat cakes, I'll get you hundreds of catties. Seeing it's bitter and cold here, building a temple for someone is also good..."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Lu San scolded in a muffled voice, but still stepped forward, his expression respectful, and communicated in the upper language.

After some communication, Lu San shook his head. "Don't think about good things. The spiritual medicines in the Shennongjia, how could the Mountain Gods let them go? They only wait for the time to be ripe to pick them."

Seeing this, Lu San explained in a low voice from the side.

"A waste of heaven's gifts!"

Sha Lifei was heartbroken, but there was nothing he could do.

However, the previous "Yao" meat, plus this Trillium, could be considered an unexpected harvest, plus the mission that was about to be completed, they could be considered to have gained quite a bit.

After a small episode, the group lay down to sleep, took turns on duty, burned fire to keep warm and heat food, and spent another night.

Early the next morning, the sky was slightly bright.

The sunlight shone down along the cave above, and the light and shadow in the cave were mottled.

Looking at this long-lost sunlight, Wang Daoxuan was also in a very good mood and stroked his beard. "This cave should be on the mountaintop, so it wasn't covered by clouds and mist..."

Hearing this, Lu San immediately used the Upper Language to communicate, while Wu Ba also chimed in from the side. After listening, the "Jingren" were suddenly quite hesitant.

It let out a low roar, shook its body, and climbed up. Squatting on the ground, under the sunlight, the black and white fur seemed to have golden dust flashing, showing the style of a mountain god.

Lu San turned his head and said, "They want us to let them go first so they can return and report to their 'God' before they can decide."

"I'll go first."

Li Yan was not afraid and walked up.

He had various means of protection for his soul, which was the safest.

Whoosh!

In an instant, Li Yan felt as if he had flown up.

God-Wandering!

He didn't have time to be surprised, and his vision changed rapidly. Passing through the cave entrance, passing through the clouds and mist, passing through the dense forest, he saw the surrounding mountains, rivers, and lakes...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 391 =====

Li Yan was also somewhat helpless. "Let's go, retreat to the vicinity of the hunting path first, then we'll think of a way..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly looked down at the ground.

He saw several "Jingren" drilling out, muttering to them and waving their hands incessantly.

Lu San's eyes lit up. "They agreed, follow them!"

Without a word, the group ran after the "Jingren," and before the sun set, they arrived in front of a deep pool.

The "Jingren" muttered, pointed at the pool water, and then used the Earth Escape Technique, drilling into the ground and disappearing.

Lu San hurriedly said, "The cave is right below!"

"I'll scout the path!"

Li Yan immediately used the Profound Water Escape, leaping into the deep pool to investigate. He soon surfaced and said, "Three meters to the right, the waterway isn't long, and there's a karst cave inside. It's not dangerous."

Hearing this, the group immediately packed their luggage and sealed all firearms with oil paper before jumping into the water.

Li Yan stood guard at the rear.

After everyone entered the water, the sun finally set. The sound of flapping wings and the howling of wild beasts arose, and dark mist rose between the trees; it was clear the Shen Kui tribe had begun their activities.

Li Yan took one deep look and immediately dove into the pool.

At the location of the former Renxiao tribe and the ancient ancestors' cave, Shen Kui emerged one by one, waving their single arms and roaring crazily, their eyes emitting blood-red light in the dark night.

Above the ruins' cliff, an even larger Shen Kui emerged, reaching five meters in height, covered in white fur, and holding a tattered banner in its hand.

As the banner shook, a cold wind whistled through the dense forest.

At the same time, in the area to the south where the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect was located, roars also arose, vast and resonant, like the sound of a dragon...

Second update in the afternoon.

(End of chapter)