Chapter 598: Attacked Halfway
Bai Zhiyi brought Ou Yangming along and bid farewell with everyone else, then they left the mountain in a hurry. The young fellow noticed that the elder avoided the main road on purpose when they hastened away. In particular, the elder ended his conversations quickly when he met the elders that walked out from the crystal wall.
It was naturally suspicious, but Ou Yangming did not sense any ill intention Bai Zhiyi because he could guess why the elder had such abnormal behavior.
Bai Zhiyi wanted Ou Yangming to join the so-called Beast King Sect, hence he did not want any mishaps to happen before his wish was fulfilled.
Nonetheless, although Bai Zhiyi and Ou Yangming did not want any trouble, they would not be able to do anything if trouble came.
After several days, they finally left the 10,000 Beasts Ridge.
Right after leaving the ridge, Ou Yangming felt extremely uneasy.
It was as though they were instantly being watched by a powerful yet vicious powerhouse after they left the range that was protected by the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One. The further they were from the 10,000 Beasts Ridge, the stronger it felt.
Perhaps Bai Zhiyi noticed that Ou Yangming was slowly becoming anxious, he asked, “Lil’ Ou, are you feeling unwell?”
It was worth noting that unless a cultivator was injured, one was immune to cough or flu. Therefore, the elder found it strange after seeing that Ou Yangming did not look right.
Ou Yangming asked the elder in return after some thought, “Elder Bai, after leaving the 10,000 Beasts Ridge, do you feel like someone’s watching us?”
“Watching us?” Bai Zhiyi was stunned for a brief moment, then he could not help but laugh. “Lil’ Ou, don’t worry, we’re cultivators from the Beast King Sect, so nobody in Danzhou will scheme anything against us.”
He sounded incredibly confident, and he curled his lips into a proud smile.
Ou Yangming smiled bitterly. He did not know the specific situation in Danzhou, but he figured that Bai Zhiyi must have a strong reliance to be able to say that.
Unquestionably, the Beast King Sect was closely connected with the 10,000 Beasts Ridge, which was why someone like Bai Zhiyi would show up at the meet. Moreover, he was more natural and unrestrained as compared to the other masters beyond the crystal wall.
If they were still on the 10,000 Beasts Ridge, Ou Yangming believed that nobody would harm them, but he was somehow worried after leaving the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One’s territory.
After crossing another mountain, Bai Zhiyi flashed a smile and said, “Lil’ Ou, look, we’ll enter the Humans’ boundary after crossing that tall mountain ahead. Hehe, the Beast King Sect almost borders the 10,000 Beasts Ridge, so we’ll arrive soon.”
When Bai Zhiyi thought about having the opportunity of roping in the young fellow with unparalleled talent in smithing art into his sect, he was overjoyed such that the wrinkles on his forehead could almost not be seen.
Ou Yangming nodded and questioned, “Elder Bai, what exactly is the relationship between the Beast King Sect and the 10,000 Beasts Ridge?”
“This…” Bai Zhiyi hesitated for a while before he answered, “It’s considered a partnership. Hehe, don’t be so impatient, I’ll definitely let you know one day.”
The young fellow curled his lips and thought, ‘Looks like the 2 parties are very close indeed.’
It was early in the morning at the moment. The more they advanced, the denser the fog in the ravine became.
Lin Feifeng looked around him in confusion and commented, “This is odd—I don’t remember seeing so much fog when I came?”
Bai Zhiyi was startled for a while, then he chuckled and responded, “There’s nothing strange about having a lot of fog on a mountain but…” He shook his head and remarked, “The fog is indeed denser today.”
Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard followed behind Ou Yangming and Big Yellow. They had already put on their pieces of equipment after leaving the 10,000 Beasts Ridge. Even though the antelope had a full equipment set and looked majestic, in terms of a single piece of equipment’s quality, it was inferior to the spirit leopard.
Nevertheless, Fat Antelope knew it was not the time to smith pieces of equipment. Furthermore, Ou Yangming had promised it that he would change its equipment set after he returned to the Humans’ boundary, thus it did not complain at all throughout the journey.
On the other hand, the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard was cautious. It cast flattering looks at Big Yellow, let alone Ou Yangming.
After hearing Bai Zhiyi, the giant leopard twitched its nose and stated, “This is weird—I don’t remember the fog on the mountains nearby to be this dense…”
Ou Yangming was suddenly moved as he immediately recalled his experience when he hurried back to Changlong City with the goshawk in the lower realm. Back then, they were trapped in some mist but fortunately, the mist was not targeted at them, or they could not have escaped unscathed.
“Woof…”
Big Yellow stopped abruptly and had a fierce look in its eyes. It seemed unusually nervous when it looked around.
Bai Zhiyi and the others turned to look at it as they were shocked. At this point, anyone could tell that something was off about the big yellow dog.
“Lil’ Ou, what’s going on?” Bai Zhiyi asked in a deep voice. He turned to look at the thick fog as though he wanted to perceive the situation.
Ou Yangming took a deep breath and answered, “Elder Bai, a spirit beast is lying in ambush ahead!”
Bai Zhiyi raised another question, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Ou Yangming answered without any hesitation.
The elder pondered for some time and nodded. He did not believe that any being would be so bold as to lie in ambush in this place, but he was not pedantic. Since Ou Yangming behaved like that, Bai Zhiyi was more or less alert.
As he gently waved his hand, his 3 juniors went forward right away and surrounded him in a triangular formation.
Bai Zhiyi scoffed and noted, “I’d like to see who exactly dares to defy the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One’s decree and attack us halfway.”
They were invited by the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One to participate in the Trading Meet this time. During this period, none of the spirit beasts on the 10,000 Beasts Ridge could attack human blacksmiths and alchemists, or they would be severely punished by the Venerable One.
This was also what was promised by the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One to the human masters. Without the assurance, who would have gone deep into the 10,000 Beasts Ridge to smith pieces of equipment or refine pills for the powerhouses from the Beasts?
Needless to say, the human masters did not busy themselves for nothing; they benefited a lot during every Trading Meet.
Due to the profits and guaranteed safety, the Trading Meet flourished year after year.
If it was not because Ou Yangming guaranteed solemnly and something was indeed fishy about the fog, Bai Zhiyi would not have believed it.
The 4 of them stood still and retrieved a bell each at the same time. Following that, with Bai Zhiyi as the center, the 4 bells began to shake and gave off queer sounds.
Lin Feifeng quietly approached Ou Yangming and whispered, “Brother Ou, why would a spirit beast rob us? Have the Walking Beasts really gone mad…”
Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard glared at him and said internally, ‘You’re the one that has gone mad.’
Ou Yangming sighed and replied to him, “Brother Lin, it might not be from the Walking Beasts.”
“Oh, if it isn’t the Walking Beasts, what is it?” Lin Feifeng widened his eyes in disbelief. “This is the Walking Beasts’ territory!”
“You’ll find out if you wait and see.” Ou Yangming shook his head with a bitter smile.
He opened his interspatial bag and retrieved a set of magic tools. It was a brand new equipment set, which he had smithed during the last few days in the crystal wall as he had nothing to do. The pieces of equipment were all Good Grade magic tools, but what made them formidable were the various skills attached to them.
Big Yellow opened its enormous mouth and spat out its equipment set to put it on.
Seeing how careful Ou Yangming and Big Yellow were, Lin Feifeng panicked too. He retrieved his pieces of equipment without any hesitation and put them on as well.
After all, Lin Feifeng was a blacksmith that could smith magic tools, so he was not perfunctory about preparing pieces of equipment for himself.
At this moment, Bai Zhiyi and his 3 juniors kept shaking their bells. It was surprising because the frequencies of the sounds from their bells slowly became close and eventually merged perfectly.
The 4 of them were shaking their respective bells but if one did not look at them, based on the single sound that could be heard, it would sound like only a person was shaking a bell.
Ou Yangming found it odd and wondered, ‘What ability is that? Sure enough, powerhouses in the Spiritual Realm are unordinary.’
Despite that, before he could gasp in admiration, the bells stopped making sounds. Bai Zhiyi and his 3 juniors quivered, by which the 3 blacksmiths simply rolled their eyes and collapsed. While the elder did not pass out, he was not in a much better situation.
His body swayed, and it seemed like he no longer had the power to stand still.
Ou Yangming’s face changed. He darted toward the elder to support him, then he slowly helped him sit on the ground.
While holding Bai Zhiyi, Ou Yangming inadvertently glanced warily in a certain direction behind him.
Bai Zhiyi opened its mouth and spat out a blood clot, then he uttered, “The Insects—the dense fog is from the Insects!” He gritted his teeth and said, “Damn Insects, how dare they sneak an attack on me? If the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One finds out, it’ll definitely crush it into pieces!”
Ou Yangming forced a smile and rejoined, “Elder Bai, the problem is that the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One isn’t aware of this.”
The elder was lost for words, but he added after a moment of hesitation, “Once Sir Venerable One knows I’m injured or didn’t return on time, it’ll surely inspect this matter. This fella won’t be able to escape for sure.”
“Hiss, hiss, hiss…” A weird voice was heard coming from the fog ahead. “So what if Sir Venerable One finds out? Will you still be alive then?”
Bai Zhiyi raised his eyebrows and questioned fiercely, “Which powerhouse from the Insects has come? Why are you hiding so shamelessly?”
“Hmph, I didn’t come as the Beast King Sect’s enemy. Take your juniors with you and leave.” A faint voice was heard.
The elder was dumbfounded, and he suddenly looked at Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming shrugged and said, “Elder Bai, please leave first.”
Bai Zhiyi looked seriously at the young fellow and said with a smile, “Lil’ Ou, I told you that I’m going to bring you to the Beast King Sect, so I can’t give up halfway no matter what.” He later exerted force through his legs to get up, then he shook his bell quickly with a red face.
The voice in the fog was heard again. “Hmph, trying to subdue me with a petty trick? Get… Lost!”