The monster was surprised that this small human could unleash such a powerful attack. Sensing the energy contained in the greatsword, it had no choice but to go all out to meet the attack once again.
With a muffled "thud," Xiangli Yanran was surprised to find that her greatsword had actually knocked the monster to the ground.
Sheathed his sword and took a closer look. The monster was lying there convulsing, and it looked like it was about to die. He was certain it wasn't faking it, and only then did he feel relieved.
At this moment, Bu Mang walked over and drew his curved sword from behind the monster. It turned out that when the monster was attacked by Xiangli Yanran, it was also trying its best to fight back. Every time the monster exerted its full strength and activated its internal spiritual energy, its five tails would stand upright. Only at these times did its tails remain still and upright for a relatively long period.
Bu Mang seized the opportunity, and took the chance to fly its curved blade towards the monster's unspeakable rear, a vulnerable spot for both humans and beasts. Bu Mang hadn't expected that such a single strike would actually kill the monster.
In fact, it wasn't far off. The monster was just gathering its spiritual energy, and before it could unleash it, a vital area was attacked. The attack on that spot caused its body to tense involuntarily, and then another blow landed on its head. This caused its spiritual energy to spiral out of control, and coincidentally, the point where it unleashed its spiritual technique was its head.
It's easy to imagine the terrible outcome of a brain overwhelmed by uncontrolled spiritual energy. One would instantly die.
"We won!" Seeing Bu Mang draw his sword, everyone immediately knew the result. Qin Yue said with a happy expression, then her body went limp and she sat down on the ground.
The others were similar, all smiling, while some began to groan in pain. Qin Yue quickly stepped forward to help treat their wounds.
"Brother Bu, are you alright?" Qin Mu asked with concern as he stepped forward, noticing the considerable amount of blood on Bu Mang's body.
"I'm fine!" Even though he said he was fine, Bu Mang still swayed and grabbed Qin Mu's shoulder to steady himself.
Qin Mu didn't laugh at him for showing off. Just now, apart from the soldiers formed by the Righteous Qi, he had always been at the forefront.
"Brother Qin Mu, quickly collect the beast blood!" Xiangli Yanran, as energetic as ever, shouted excitedly.
Beast blood has many uses: talismans, Dao patterns, array patterns, and even good ink. The more potent the beast blood, the stronger its spiritual energy, and naturally, the better its effects. That's why Xiangli Yanran was so eager to call him over. If she hadn't been short of things to carry and if that part of her body hadn't been somewhat inconvenient to access, she would have already done it herself.
Qin Mu found a large vat, and with Qin Yue's help, he used his backhand sword to make a cut on the monster's neck and collected the blood. To be honest, the thought of blood from that spot was a bit disgusting.
"Let's hurry down the mountain. If we encounter another monster, I'm afraid no one will be able to deal with it," Bu Mang warned.
"Brother Bu is right. Although there are no other creatures near the same ferocious beast, it's still best to be careful," Qin Yue nodded in agreement.
The group then helped each other down the mountain. As for the monster, Qin Mu had already subdued it. Luckily, almost everyone in their group was injured, but thankfully no one died; the most serious injuries were just a few broken bones.
Going up the mountain is easy, but coming down is difficult, especially with their injuries. It took them an hour to reach the foot of the mountain. The people left behind were shocked to see their miserable state.
"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. How could there be such a powerful guy here?" Bu Fang breathed a sigh of relief after listening to Bu Mang's explanation.
"I don't know. I've never heard of such a strange beast before. It doesn't look like a ferocious animal either," Qin Yue said, shaking his head.
Generally speaking, if ordinary people discover a wild beast near their village, they will definitely organize a group to hunt it down. If they cannot defeat it, they will report it to the government. If there really is such a strange thing, the Qin family must know about it.
"Let's go back first and talk about it later," Qin Yue said seriously.
Wild beasts rarely exist alone. Even if two tigers cannot share one mountain, there will still be others within a radius of dozens of miles. Since there is a monster here, it means there are probably others elsewhere. They had such a difficult time killing just one; if it were ordinary people, an entire village probably wouldn't be a match for it. Therefore, she was anxious to go back and tell Qin Yao.
Although someone was injured, no one objected to Qin Yue's opinion, and the group, disregarding the lunch issue, hurriedly began their return journey.
Upon returning to the Qin family, Qin Yao, having received the news, quickly arrived. He glanced at the monster's corpse and frowned, clearly not recognizing the creature.
"Someone come here!"
"Master!"
"Go and check if any people have recently spotted any strange or ferocious beasts."
"Here you go!"
"Go and invite Master Yuan and the Mohists to come here," Qin Yao ordered in quick succession.
"Here you go!"
While arranging for them to eat, we waited. Soon, Yuan Tiangang and the others arrived one after another.
"Gentlemen, you have all seen it. Could you tell me what this is?" Qin Yao asked, cupping his hands in greeting.
"I have never seen or heard of such a strange beast before. It also has no aura of a ferocious beast. Where did Your Majesty hunt it from?" Xiangli Yanlin asked, stroking his beard.
"This happened when my son and his men were hunting in the mountains outside the city. They injured seven or eight of their guards. If it weren't for the presence of a general-level expert, it would have been questionable whether they could have escaped," Qin Yao explained.
“Yes! Grandpa, this monster is amazing! It’s incredibly fast and strong. But it seems a bit strange; its ability to use spiritual energy is inferior to that of ordinary beasts,” Xiangli Yanran said, pulling on her great-grandfather’s arm.
"That's true. Thinking about it now, it's really strange. I didn't notice it at first. Logically speaking, a beast of this level should be quite intelligent. If it suddenly attacked or unleashed its full power, I wouldn't be able to withstand it," Qin Yue said, frowning.
Even when wild beasts play with their prey, it's only after the prey has lost the ability to resist. They can't possibly hold back from the start; they don't have any concept of showing mercy.
"Since you invited us to come and see, it means we've never seen anything like this around here before," Xiangli Yanlin asked.
"I haven't seen it before," Qin Yao nodded in reply.
"Hearing you say that reminds me of two things," Yuan Tiangang said.
"In the fifth year of the Daye era, a strange fish appeared in the rivers of Sichuan. It had the body of a fish, the head of a snake, and six legs. It attacked a large ship, leaving only one survivor. At the time, everyone thought he was frightened or that it was an illusion created by a beastman. However, I know that this person was not mistaken, because he is a disciple of the Daoist sect and his cultivation is not weak."
Another incident occurred in the seventh year of the Wude era. Inside the Pingjin Pass, a tiger with a cow's tail suddenly appeared, and its roar sounded like a dog's. It killed more than a hundred soldiers. This had a bad influence, so the court issued a gag order. "Yuan Tiangang recalled.
"What does what the Taoist priest said have to do with this monster?" Qin Yao asked, puzzled.
“They have several things in common: they all appear suddenly; there are no other similar species nearby; they are very strong; they look very strange; and they can use spiritual energy to attack,” Yuan Tiangang analyzed.
“They do indeed have these characteristics. Does anyone know where the first two monsters came from?” Qin Yao asked.
"No one knows where it came from, but this kind of thing must have happened more than once or twice. In the past, we just treated it as rumors among the people and didn't pay any attention to it. The ox-tailed tiger, I have found out its name," Yuan Tiangang said. Then, without keeping him in suspense, he continued, "This kind of monster belongs to the ancient mythical beasts. I have seen it in a book. The beast looks like a tiger with an ox's tail, its cry is like a barking dog, and its name is Zhi. It eats people."
"An ancient mythical beast?" Qin Yao asked in surprise.
"Indeed, it was recorded in a travelogue of an elder."
"Now that you mention it, I remember too," Qin Mu said.
Just now, when Yuan Tiangang mentioned ancient mythical beasts, a flash of inspiration struck him. He suddenly remembered reading about various strange and unusual birds and beasts in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. After recalling this, he actually found the source.
"Oh! What is this?" Qin Yue asked curiously.
"I remember the original text recorded it like this: Mount Yingdi, from which the Wan River originates, flows north into the Lingyang Marsh. There are many Ranyi fish there, with the body of a fish, the head of a snake, and six legs. Their eyes are like horse ears. Eating them can prevent people from squinting and can ward off evil."
"Mount Zhang'e is barren of vegetation, but abundant in jade and jasper. Its features are quite strange. There is a beast there, resembling a red leopard with five tails and one horn. Its cry is like striking stones, and its name is Zheng," Qin Mu recalled.
"So that fish was called Duoran, and this monster is called Zheng," Qin Yue said, looking at the monster.
"I wonder which book Mr. Qin has seen it in?" Yuan Tiangang hesitated for a moment, then asked curiously.
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas! It records all sorts of strange and unusual things. I only looked at it because I found it interesting. I never expected that these things actually existed," Qin Mu said excitedly.
For a time, he really enjoyed reading those ancient legends. He initially thought they were just exaggerations by the ancients, perhaps with some unusual aspects, but not that strange, considering that birds and beasts are extremely fast and mostly live deep in the mountains and forests. He thought that if he could only glimpse them quickly and couldn't see them clearly, he would go back and boast, and the more he thought about it, the stranger the time travel seemed.
Now that it's actually in front of me, thinking about the magical things recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, I can't help but feel excited and expectant.
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas?" Yuan Tiangang looked at Qin Mu blankly, then turned to look at Xiangli Yanlin, the oldest among them. After all, the Mohist school had a long history and they might have heard of it.
"The old man hasn't heard of it either," Xiangli Yanlin said, shaking his head.
Upon hearing this, Qin Mu immediately felt strange. This book was very famous in another world. From ancient times to the present, there have been many people who were interested in it, and many people have devoted themselves to studying it.
It was rather strange that neither Yuan Tiangang nor Xiangli Yanlin had ever heard of him. Perhaps he didn't even exist in this world, or perhaps his knowledge had been lost long ago. Therefore, Qin Mu decided not to say anything more. After all, the things recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas were all very strange, even though this world was strange enough as it was.
Fortunately, the others didn't press the matter. Turning to look at Zheng, Yuan Tiangang frowned and asked, "An ancient beast, why did it suddenly appear?"
"What's the difference between exotic beasts, spirit beasts, and ferocious beasts?" Qin Yue asked curiously.
“Strange beasts, strange beasts, as the name suggests, must have something special about them. It’s just that even spirit beasts are rarely seen nowadays, so strange beasts are even rarer,” Xiangli Yanlin said.
“Great upheavals occurred in ancient times, and many things are still unclear to this day. Even we only know bits and pieces of information about them,” Yuan Tiangang said with a shake of his head.
“Yes, there are only a few spirit beasts left in the depths of the mountains. If you want to see ferocious beasts, that’s easy, there are some in the Nightmare Mountains,” Xiangli Yanlin said with a smile.
"Hehe, I don't want to see the ferocious beast." Seeing Xiangli Yanlin looking over, Qin Yue hurriedly shook his head and said.
The Nightmare Mountains are called Nightmare Mountains because they are teeming with ferocious beasts. If it weren't for the numerous sects and families sealing off the mountains with their own grand formations, these creatures would have already broken out.
Of course, these families and sects have their own reasons for guarding the Nightmare Mountains, but we'll talk about that another time.
"I'll send people to search the area no matter what. We can't afford any accidents during the construction of the reservoir," Qin Yao said.
"It would be best for the Prince to report this to the court," Yuan Tiangang advised.
"Hmm!" Qin Yao nodded thoughtfully.
"What a waste of this skin, it's almost completely ruined," Yan Liben said, shaking his head.
Of course, they were all ruined. Dozens of people surrounded and attacked them, using swords, arrows, and spiritual energy to attack. The entire body of the beast was covered in wounds, and its beast patterns were naturally damaged countless times.
"The lower abdomen isn't badly damaged, but it's the area with the fewest animal markings. With proper treatment, it could be used to make a leather coat. As for the tail, combined with the tendons inside the body, it would make a pretty good zither," Xiangli Yanlin said, reaching out to touch it.
"Beast cores and unicorn horns are the most precious items. Handle them carefully and don't waste them," Yan Liben reminded them.
"I was just saying I was missing a good beast core to inlay into this jade seal, and unexpectedly it appeared. It's truly the will of Heaven!" Xiangli Yanlin said, taking the jade seal out of his sleeve.
"Hehe, Huai Dao also put in a lot of effort for the sake of the beast, so the beast core is perfect for him," Qin Yao said with a smile. Everyone knows that the jade seal was made by Xiang Liyanlin using that piece of jade essence.
No one else objected, and they all nodded in agreement. Qin Mu smiled gratefully, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you all for your kind consideration."
"What are you saying! Don't try to take this zither from me, I'm in dire need of a good one!" Qin Yue patted him on the shoulder and said.
"After taking the beast core, I only need half of the beast blood; I don't want the rest," Qin Mu said hurriedly.
“Then I’ll take this animal hide. It’ll be perfect for making a dress for Mother,” Xiangli Yanran said, raising her arm.
“These horns and animal bones can be used in medicine. Why don’t you give them to me, and I’ll refine a batch of pills to share with you?” Yuan Tiangang said with a smile.
"Thank you very much, Daoist Master, for thinking of the younger generation." Qin Yao hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
"It was nothing," Yuan Tiangang waved his hand and said.
"Hehe, today is the perfect time to eat the meat of this strange beast! Huai Dao, have you read any books? Is it recorded that this meat is edible?" Without much formality, as being too polite would seem distant, Qin Yao smiled and nodded to Yuan Tiangang, indicating that he remembered this favor, and then turned to ask.
"There's no record of it. The book only mentions a place name, its appearance, and the name of the strange beast," Qin Mu said, shaking his head.
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