Where Immortals Once Walked

The compass showed that the two aberrant creatures had stopped moving.

Perhaps they had fled far enough, perhaps this stretch of towering mountains was dangerous enough, or perhaps the injured nothing beast could no longer keep going.

There were no trees here, and cover was sparse. He Lingchuan pulled out Mountain Monarch Bo’s camouflage snakeskin and draped it over himself, then kept downwind as he silently crept forward.

Once he drew close enough, he saw that the two nothing beasts were indeed resting in a mountain hollow, panting heavily. The injured one had even lain down, its legs curled under it in obvious pain.

Even so, it still clung tightly to the beast egg.

Its companion extended its tongue and licked its wounds, while one claw quietly reached out, trying to hook the beast egg over.

The injured nothing beast immediately hissed a warning at it.

It had stolen the egg but was guarding it without eating it. That meant it was waiting for its companions, or perhaps waiting for its boss?

After taking a look, He Lingchuan still did not attack. Instead, he quietly withdrew.

There were two targets, both highly aggressive and quick on their feet. It would be best to build a trap first.

Back when he was patrolling the Panlong Wasteland, he had often set snares to catch wild game and satisfy his cravings. Now, setting up traps was mere child’s play to him. He was Willow’s proud disciple, after all.

The Fu Realm had no trees, so he was missing the most useful materials. Fortunately, Lingxu City had no shortage of unscrupulous profiteers. Long before the Grass Sea Hunt began, they had already started selling all kinds of hunting gear. The classic models were heavy iron beast traps and spikes.

The beast traps were suitable for all duonao beasts, while the spikes were mainly used against larger-bodied creatures. The way to use these spikes was simple: dig a large pit in the ground, bury the boards holding the spikes inside, and when a duonao beast passed over it, it would fall in and have its belly and guts pierced through—basically, a standard spike trap.

Thirty breaths later.

The two nothing beasts had just steadied their breathing. The injured one closed its eyes to recover its strength, while the other rose and prepared to stand guard on higher ground.

Just then, a person suddenly stepped out from behind the rocks and roared at them.

The beast that had taken the role of a sentry was startled and rushed out on instinct.

He Lingchuan turned and ran.

However, after the sentry ran a little over thirty meters, it stopped advancing and even slowly backed away, clearly unwilling to stray too far from its companion.

So this thing even knows to be wary of tactics like luring the tiger away from the mountain?

He Lingchuan had a trick for that. Whenever it retreated, he picked up pebbles and pelted it, even letting out wildly arrogant laughter. Whenever it chased, he ran.

After several rounds of this, the nothing beast’s temper was also provoked.

Anything with intelligence had a temper. It was unavoidable.

On the final attempt, He Lingchuan even raised his hand and fired two sleeve arrows at it.

The nothing beast nimbly dodged one arrow, but how could it know that He Lingchuan had already predicted its movement? The instant it dodged to the side, it was struck by the second sleeve arrow head-on.

With a hiss, the arrow sank into its nostril—an unlucky hit, yet perfectly timed.

The nothing beast flew into a rage. Finally throwing its companion to the back of its mind, it shrieked and charged up at him with particular determination.

He Lingchuan turned and fled into the mountain col.

When the nothing beast followed him around the bend, it saw him climbing along the cracks in the rock, the distance between them now only fifteen meters.

For the creature, that was no more than two body lengths. The nothing beast did not think twice and sprang into pursuit.

Ahead, two massive boulders happened to intersect, forming a natural stone gate beneath them.

He Lingchuan ducked through the stone gate.

The gap was about a meter and a half wide. He could pass through, and the long, slender nothing beast could pass through as well.

However, he suddenly slowed. The nothing beast closed in with great strides, following so closely that its nose almost brushed the hem of his clothes.

It charged into the stone gate, lunged forward impatiently, and opened its great mouth—

Snap!

Then, a sharp, resounding clang rang out.

But that sound was far crisper and more metallic than the nothing beast’s jaws closing.

The beast trap had snapped shut, clamping around its neck in one bite.

The force was so great that the nothing beast was flipped head over heels.

It wanted to scream, but its windpipe was firmly choked by the iron teeth of the beast trap, leaving it unable to make a sound. It could only claw frantically with both of its forelegs.

However, beast traps were designed precisely so that the prey they caught could not escape. Seventy shark-tooth-like spikes above and below had pierced straight through the prey’s skin and locked around its throat. The more it struggled, the deeper and wider the wounds in its neck were torn.

Violet blood sprayed out and stained the rock beneath.

Its two hind legs scraped wildly against the ground, sending chips of stone and clods of dirt flying everywhere.

The nothing beast could not understand where this strange thing had come from. When it had darted into the stone gate after its prey, there had clearly been nothing ahead.

How could it know that He Lingchuan had wedged the heavy-iron beast trap into the stone crack in advance and covered its surface with Mountain Monarch Bo’s snakeskin? From the front of the stone gate, it looked as if there was nothing there at all.

He Lingchuan could dodge it himself, but the simple-minded nothing beast had shoved its own head into the trap.

It got a proper taste of what human treachery meant.

This beast trap was the second-largest model, capable of hunting thunderclap beasts. Against a nothing beast with less strength and a slimmer body, it was more than enough.

Seeing it thrash and squawk, He Lingchuan wasted no words. He lifted his blade and went to chop off its head.

Last time, someone else had gotten there first. This time, surely he would have his harvest.

His blade rose and fell. In two strikes, he separated that unlucky nothing beast’s head from its body, finally giving it complete release.

Afraid that delays would invite trouble, he immediately swept both the beast head and the trap into his storage ring.

Whether this trip’s objective could be completed smoothly would depend on whether this blind-box head could produce what he wanted.

Only after finishing this step did he quietly let out a breath. This risky excursion had at least secured a minimum return.

He put away Mountain Monarch Bo’s snakeskin and ran back toward the stone hollow.

He was not certain whether nothing beasts could produce frost pellets, but two of them offered better odds than one.

Sure enough, the other injured nothing beast was no longer where it had been. The mountain wilderness was deathly quiet.

Its companion fought so desperately for it, yet it actually slipped away without even bothering to wait?

Only the wind whimpered through the stone hollow.

He Lingchuan changed to a fresh rinsing bead, reopened the tracking bee compass, and examined it carefully. Then he made a few arrangements around the hollow before circling upward.

Above his head was a slit of sky. Sheer rock rose beyond sight on both sides, leaving between them a narrow stone path no more than three meters wide.

After finishing his preparations, he suddenly threw several firecrackers under a huge boulder.

There had seemingly been nothing beneath the boulder, but after several bangs, something appeared to be struck and moved.

It was the injured nothing beast.

It had been lying under the rock the whole time, its camouflage coloring activated and its body blended into the surrounding environment.

However, the moment it moved, its invisibility faded within a few breaths.

Only when it stood did He Lingchuan understand why it had been lying flat against the ground. Even though it could change colors, the thunderclap beast egg could not. It had to use its body to shield the egg from sight.

Unfortunately for it, the tracking bee had long since marked it. No matter how well it blended into the environment, the compass still pinpointed it clearly.

There was nothing more to say. The battle between man and beast began.

This aberrant creature even used its frost breath, but He Lingchuan had already witnessed it earlier and had prepared himself for it.

On top of that, it was badly injured. Its movements were far less agile than before. After seven or eight exchanges, it died with hatred, its head taken from its shoulders.

However, the beast egg it had been holding flew far away during the fight and dropped into a rock crevice.

After cutting off its head, He Lingchuan still had to go into the narrow path to pick up the egg.

Who could bear to let go of spoils that had fallen right into their hands?

He Lingchuan bent down, picked up the beast egg, and put it straight into his storage ring. If it were anyone else, this would have been the moment to turn and run, quickly going off to search for rinsing beads. But instead, he took out clean water and rinsed the blood from his blade and hands, then rubbed on scent-removing powder.

Fleeting Life had a spirit, and it would probably be angry. But he remembered that this place was very likely the nothing beasts’ meeting point, and their leader would also come here. These creatures seemed to have very sharp noses. With him having killed two of its kin and seized the Giant Thunderclap Beast’s egg, if he then got targeted by the nothing beasts’ leader, things would become troublesome.

He had blended this scent-removing powder himself. The formula had come from Panlong City’s patrol guards.

While hunting the two nothing beasts, he had kept using true energy to seal every pore in his body, preventing his own scent from leaking out. This way, once he left, the nothing beasts should not be able to track him.

Ever since entering Lingxu City, He Lingchuan had become even more cautious in everything he did.

A faint breeze brushed the back of his head.

The Fu Realm was windy year-round, so that was not strange. Yet he sensed a trace of chilling killing intent.

An ambush!

There was a third party lurking to the side, waiting to strike the instant he rose while completely unguarded!

He twisted his body with difficulty, but a flying nail struck his left shoulder. A shadow shot over from above, a figure tumbling toward him along with a blade.

The figure unfolded in midair, and a changdao slashed downward with the momentum, unleashing a slash of absolute ferocity.

The arc of that slash was perfect, and the force of the saber qi that came with it surged menacingly.

In that instant, the flash of the saber was like lightning, even illuminating the dim mountain ground.

Facing this long-prepared, full-strength strike from an enemy in peak condition, He Lingchuan had no time to block. Instead, he flung out a dagger, shooting it at the attacker’s lower abdomen from an extremely tricky angle.

He could not block it anyway. The opponent had built up this move for a long time, killing intent surging through it. The moment it was released, the move was earth-shattering. Caught off guard, He Lingchuan simply could not meet its edge head-on.

Although his reaction was quick, it was not enough to force the enemy to save himself.

The attacker chose to take the thrown dagger head-on. His strike’s power did not falter, and it swept across He Lingchuan’s neck.

Fast, steady, precise, and ruthless, leaving not the slightest margin.

Even the Tongxin Guard’s deputy commander, Fan Sheng, fell far short in terms of killing power.

In a single exchange, He Lingchuan’s head parted from his body.

The saber qi nearly shredded both his clothes and armor. Then, with a soft pop, a cloud of yellow mist suddenly burst open where he stood.

An indescribable stench rushed out.

Anyone who smelled it would almost immediately bend over and retch without end.

This was the power of the “stink dumpling.” It had gone through several improved versions, now requiring less material while producing a thicker stench that was not easily scattered by the wind and could linger for over ten whole breaths.

The ambusher was also a seasoned veteran. The moment the yellow mist rose, he held his breath and sealed his pores at once. Even so, he still caught the tiniest whiff.

That stench was so overpowering that even he could not help turning and leaping away.

His willpower was impressively strong. He actually managed to suppress his discomfort and avoid bending over to vomit on the spot.

Surprisingly, he had actually fallen into a trap too!

Just then, the ambusher felt his entire body tighten as something wrapped around him and bound him fast.

He focused his gaze and saw, shockingly, several strands of unbelievably fine spider silk.

The light in the Fu Realm was already dim, and the place had become filled with yellow mist. It would have been strange if he could see those spider threads clearly.

Yet those spider threads had originally been pressed close around the rock crevice, forming a double-loop snare shaped like the character “回.” Once a living creature rushed inside, all the hunter had to do was lightly tug the guide line, and both loops would tighten together, binding the prey firmly.

This move had originally been saved for the nothing beast. He Lingchuan had set it inside the rock crevice to prevent the creature from escaping that way. His experience patrolling the Chipa Highland had taught him that, when setting traps, the best practice was to add an extra layer of insurance.

As it turned out, the nothing beast had not gotten to enjoy it. The ambusher did instead.

Only then did a figure leap through the yellow mist and emerge from behind a black rock several meters away.

This was the real He Lingchuan.