This beast was even larger than the rank 4 'Ironhide cows' that were pulling the carriages, as it kept clawing with its front feet at the cell non-stop, trying to destroy the bars.
Its eyes were filled with endless killing intent, obviously unwilling to stay trapped in this place, while every single one of its attacks ended up slightly shaking the entire carriage.
However, it didn't matter how hard the beast clawed at the cell bars as the protective formations lit up every time they were attacked, completely absorbing the damage inflicted on them.
Even from a distance away, Shun Long could clearly sense that this magic beast had actually reached the peak of rank 5, as he asked in a voice that didn't hide his surprise
''A peak rank 5 'Solar hound'?''
''Young master Shun Long is truly knowledgeable! Indeed, this is a rare peak rank 5 'Solar hound'!''
Ying Gui's eyes instantly lit up when he saw that Shun Long had immediately recognized the magic beast, as he praised him with a truly sincere expression on his face.
Of course, 'Solar hounds' were extremely rare rank 5 magic beasts, whose rarity to find them was at the same level as a 'Silver-winged panther king'. However, the reason why Shun Long was shocked wasn't just due to how rare this magic beast was, but how did Ying Gui manage to get his hands on it in the first place.
After all, even the strongest person on his caravan, Zou Qiang, was only a peak rank 5 Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Even with his entire team of guards as support, Zou Qiang wouldn't be able to fight against a 'Solar hound' who was still at the middle of rank 5, let alone a peak rank 5 one!
Hurriedly covering the carriage with the white sheet afraid that someone would see the peak rank 5 'Solar hound', Ying Gui first looked around to make sure that no one was watching them before he heaved out a sigh of relief. A self-mocking smile appeared on his face a moment later, and almost as if he had guessed Shun Long's thoughts he then explained
''As young master Shun Long can guess, it is impossible for me to hunt a peak rank 5 magic beast, especially one as powerful as the 'Solar hound'. Even if I asked Zou Qiang and the rest to risk their lives for me, I still know that it would be impossible to achieve something like this, and that we would all end up dying in the end.
The truth is that these 4 magic beasts that we are transporting today don't belong to me, but to a relatively powerful family of Yanzhu city who purchased them from a large shop in the Holy city.
Of course, the person who gave me this mission didn't want to use the channels of his family lest their family's enemies found out about this and stopped them on the way, otherwise how could I ever get my hands on 4 peak rank 5 magic beasts?
I was simply asked to transport them from the Holy city to Yanzhu city.
Normally I would reject such a mission since I don't know what dangers await us and we are simply incapable of handling even a single peak rank 5 magic beast by ourselves, let alone 4 of them.
However, the reward for this mission was too big and we only have to transport them from the Holy city to Yanzhu city in the end, so I couldn't refuse.''
Shun Long's eyes instantly turned serious when he heard this, as he realized that Ying Gui had probably bitten more than he could chew this time.
Without a moment to waste, Shun Long's eyes started to scan his surroundings to see if anyone from the Holy city was following after their caravan, but even after a full minute had passed, he noticed that there wasn't anyone coming after them.
And yet, this didn't make Shun Long feel at ease, but instead, it made him even more certain that something was going to happen.
Ying Gui had indeed been too greedy this time, and he didn't wait to think of the repercussions that his actions may cause to him and his guards.
A family that could afford to buy 4 peak rank 5 magic beasts, especially rare magic beasts like the 'Solar hound', it was certain that they must have at least a couple of early-stage Dao Kings backing them.
If that family was truly afraid of transporting the magic beasts that they had purchased from the Holy city using their own channels, it could only mean that their family's enemies were at least at the same level as them, if not even stronger.
Shun Long wasn't certain if Ying Gui hadn't realized this point or if he had simply been too blinded due to his greed for the reward that he had been promised, but from his last sentence, Shun Long assumed that it was the latter.
However, could such a huge transaction really go unnoticed?
Shun Long had already seen in the Holy city, that a single peak rank 5 magic beast was usually sold for 200.000 to 250.000 middle-grade spirit stones. As for rare magic beasts like the 'Solar hound', it wasn't impossible for their price to exceed the 300.000 middle-grade spirit stones mark.
Naturally, he also knew that it was impossible for the family that had assigned this mission to Ying Gui, to simply allow him to be robbed by their enemies Dao Kings.
If any Dao Kings from either side really meddled in this fight, Shun Long believed that the other family wouldn't stay still either and watch that scene unfold, thus this was most likely going to be a fight between Nascent Soul stage experts.
Unfortunately, neither Shun Long nor Ying Gui had any idea of the enemies forces that they would have to face, but if Ying Gui really believed that he could safely arrive in Yanzhu city and easily transport 4 peak rank 5 magic beasts to that family, Shun Long knew that was definitely going to be a fool's dream!