Where Immortals Once Walked

However, they were already not far from the Giant Thunderclap Beast’s territory, and the two aberrant creatures ahead possessed powerful ice divine techniques. He Lingchuan wanted to try his luck and see whether they could produce stones similar to frost pellets.

After all, frost-silver beasts were not necessarily harder to fight than those two creatures, but their whereabouts were still technically a mystery to him. In the end, this was He Lingchuan’s first time entering the Fu Realm, so trying to find them in the vast mountains would be somewhat equivalent to searching for a needle in a haystack.

The farther southwest they went, the more open the terrain became, and the larger the beast herd grew. From the original few hundred, it gradually gathered into several thousand. In the end, the wilderness was so densely packed that the land's original color could almost no longer be seen.

He Lingchuan estimated that there were at least ten thousand of them.

Both predators and prey were present, and each looked irritable and violent, yet they all moved in the same direction.

Behind the enormous beast herd were several small black dots moving so quickly that the naked eye could barely catch them.

Wherever they sprinted, the duonao beasts there fought and shoved one another in terror, surging forward.

So there’s actually more than just two of those creatures?

Even an experienced hunter like Captain Zhou was astonished after watching for a while. “They’re actually herding the duonao beasts.”

Those creatures knew how to circle around, how to flank, and how to coordinate. They worked together as seamlessly as herding sheepdogs.

For duonao beasts, that was unbelievable.

“See that giant white boulder up ahead? Once we pass it, we’ll be in the Giant Thunderclap Beast’s territory.”

He Lingchuan looked over and saw that the ground there was deep black, completely different from the multicolored land outside. Occasionally, small lightning snakes even darted across the surface, bursting with blue-white light.

“Thunderclap beasts occasionally come over to patrol and reinforce its borders.”

He Lingchuan noticed that he had said “thunderclap beasts,” not “Giant Thunderclap Beast,” so he asked, “Are there many thunderclap beasts?”

“Teams rarely enter this place, and no one has counted them in recent years, but there should be quite a number.” Captain Zhou said, “After all, once a lord is born among their race, the whole group receives protection.”

Once they passed the white boundary stone, “kang, kang, kang” calls rang across the plain, rising and falling one after another.

It appeared that the aberrant creatures driving the beast herd were communicating with one another.

Almost at the same time, they sped up.

Under this strange pressure, the beast tide covering the mountains and plains began to accelerate, running faster and faster.

In the end, it became a rushing flood, rolling forward.

The dust it kicked up blotted out the sky.

Just then, several more hunters arrived from behind, drenched in sweat.

As they regrouped with everyone, they brought a piece of terrible news: “A sandstorm is coming.”

He Lingchuan immediately heard gasps all around him. A sandstorm? Is it that bad?

He lifted his eyes and looked into the distance. Sure enough, there was movement along the far horizon.

Clouds of sand whirled and danced, seemingly mixed with violet-red lightning. It looked strangely dreamlike.

Although it was still very far away, He Lingchuan could already faintly sense the pressure of what was coming.

Right, the Fu Realm’s got almost no plants. Once a sandstorm blows up, its scale would be... Tsk.

The hunters wailed and cursed.

“Why are we so unlucky this time? A beast tide and a sandstorm, both at once!”

Captain Zhou shouted at the top of his lungs, “Disperse! Disperse! Hurry and collect rinsing beads!”

There was no time to explain. The crowd scattered at once, with no one needing a second reminder.

The Chiyan team also sprinted outward, and one member informed He Lingchuan, “We need to gather rinsing beads. The faster, the better. The more, the better!”

Everyone spread out. They scoured the ravines, rocky hollows, and open plains; wherever they saw beads, they harvested them.

He Lingchuan humbly asked, “What’s going on?”

“The Fu Realm’s sandstorms are no joke. One blew through ten years ago, and over a hundred hunters died!”

I mean, there’s nothing weird about a sandstorm killing people. Still, the hunters entering the Fu Realm aren’t ordinary people. At minimum, they’re cultivators or monsters, so their ability to withstand harsh natural environments should be quite strong, so how were there so many deaths?

“They weren’t necessarily blown to death, but the sandstorms here don’t pass quickly. They last at least four hours, and usually at least six!” His teammate bent to harvest beads while speaking rapidly. “Most people died because they couldn’t keep up their rinsing bead supply and suffocated!”

He Lingchuan understood.

The key to surviving in the Fu Realm was rinsing beads. Once the sandstorm arrived, it would very likely blow them all away.

That meant there would be at least four hours during which they could not gather beads.

Moreover, rinsing bead grass grew flat against the ground, and one look was enough to tell that its roots were very shallow. Once a gale came, it would probably be ripped apart, grass and rinsing beads alike swept away.

After one sandstorm, survival would become a serious problem for all outsiders.

Therefore, before the storm arrived, everyone had to gather as much as possible and stockpile enough rinsing beads to stay alive.

Once He Lingchuan understood the severity of the situation, he did not dare delay. He made use of the Swallow’s Return movement technique and darted about everywhere.

Each clump of grass usually bore three to seven rinsing beads. After being harvested, it would take another four to six hours for new ones to grow.

In other words, from the beginning of the sandstorm to the moment they survived the disaster and could come back out to gather beads again, at least ten to twelve hours would pass.

Each hunter consumed four rinsing beads per hour. To survive ten to twelve hours, each person needed more than forty beads.

Only now did everyone realize how bad things were.

Earlier, they had all been following behind the beast tide, and who knew how much rinsing bead grass those creatures had crushed as they passed? This vast plain had become a barren harvest ground instead. He Lingchuan ran dozens of meters and found only two clumps.

On such an open plain, there were too few beads and too many people.

This is trouble.

He raised his head and looked northeast. The distant sandstorm was already advancing across the land and had long since crossed the horizon.

In this barren place, it moved far faster than a fine horse.

He Lingchuan lowered his head and cut quickly. Thanks to the Swallow’s Return movement technique, his hands and feet were more agile than others’.

Hunters in the Fu Realm had an old, unspoken rule: take the beads, but do not harm the grass.

That way, four to six hours later, the rinsing bead grass could produce beads again. If the roots and stems were severed, who knew how long it would take for a new plant to grow?

Convenience for others was convenience for oneself.

But in the face of disaster, no one cared anymore. One slash to cut down the stalks, harvesting grass and beads together, was fastest.

He Lingchuan was too fast. In the time others harvested three or four clumps, he had already cut down ten.

There was only so much rinsing bead grass on the plain. If he gathered more, others gathered less. Another hunter grew dissatisfied and shouted at him, “Leave some for others, will you? Don’t be so ruthless!”

There happened to be three or four surviving clusters of rinsing bead grass between those rocks. He Lingchuan’s blade flashed like rain, cutting them all down.

The man flew into a rage, looking as though he was about to charge over with his axe.

He Lingchuan tossed two whole clumps of rinsing bead grass over to him. “You’re too slow.”

The man caught them instinctively and froze. He Lingchuan had already leaped away in two steps.

Time was precious. He did not want to waste it fighting.

He was just about to harvest the rinsing bead grass about twenty meters away. Those few little clumps had grown beside the edge of a stone formation and had not been trampled. But another hunter was already racing toward them like the wind.

Judging the distance, He Lingchuan gave up.

Before he could turn, however, he saw the hunter retreating step by step, head raised and great hammer clenched in hand.

Although He Lingchuan stood behind him and could not see his face, he could feel that every muscle in the man’s body was taut with extreme tension.

Following the direction of the man’s stare, he saw an enormous beast slowly stroll out from behind the giant stones.

It was still that unknown aberrant creature, but this one was over ten meters long. When it stood on its hind legs, it was nearly three meters tall.

With its size on full display, the pressure it exerted could not be compared to that of the smaller ones.

There was still one person standing between He Lingchuan and the strange beast, but when those yellow eyes locked on him, he still felt the pressure crash over him head-on.

Those eyes were bloodthirsty and violent, yet cunning and suspicious.

He Lingchuan even saw disdain in them.

Is there really such a highly intelligent species among the duonao beasts?

Most terrifying of all, it had originally been gray-black. Lying within the stone formation, even He Lingchuan had failed to notice it. But as it walked out step by step, its skin quickly turned a dark red mottled with spots.

It can even camouflage itself?

It had to be noted that when people from Lingxu City entered the Fu Realm, whether they were Tongxin Guards or imperial guards, their origin energy vanished, making it very difficult to see through such camouflage.

A different world had different laws. The mortal realm’s origin energy could not be brought here.

The aberrant creature stared at the retreating hunter. It did not pursue him, but instead lifted a foot and crushed the rinsing bead grass beside the rock.

It had not been easy for three or four little plants to grow together there, and with one step, it crushed them all. The beads popped and shattered across the ground, turning into vapor and dissipating.

Everyone who saw this was left speechless.

He Lingchuan was certain the aberrant creature had deliberately crushed the clumps of rinsing bead grass in front of them.

In other words, it knew very well how important rinsing bead grass was to visitors from the mortal realm.

And that act itself brought it no benefit, yet it still did it. Evidently, it was the sort of creature that found joy in hurting others even when there was nothing for it to gain.

Joy, revenge, malice, mockery—could a duonao beast truly possess such complex emotions?

Immediately after, the aberrant creature walked over.

Despite its massive body and the high gravity, its movements made no sound. The ground did not even tremble.

The hunter in front turned ashen. Finally unable to bear the pressure, he spun around and ran.

“Idiot!” The others cursed as soon as they saw this.

Turning and running in front of a fierce beast was not called escaping with your life. It was called provocation.

Provoking a giant beast’s desire to kill did no one any good. Even before ordinary duonao beasts, one could not play like this. They would chase too.

Yet the giant beast only glanced at him indifferently and remained unmoved.

It even turned and walked toward He Lingchuan.

His scalp went numb. Why is this thing coming for me specifically?

Looking up at the giant beast from up close truly gave him the perspective of prey. Every hair on He Lingchuan’s back stood on end.

However, the aberrant creature did not pounce. It merely lowered its head and sniffed twice.

He Lingchuan could see its nostrils flaring, as though it were identifying some scent.

Fleeting Life was already in his hand. Every muscle in his body was drawn tight, and he was ready to leap back at any moment.

In the end, the giant beast snorted, shook its neck, turned, and swaggered away.

In the blink of an eye, it chased after the beast tide and vanished from sight. Its enormous body somehow ran with light, graceful ease.

The hunter who had just escaped disaster watched its back disappear and murmured, “Could that thing be at the level of a lord?”

The pressure it gave off was overwhelming, but no one could be sure whether this was a new beast lord of the Fu Realm unless they fought it, and no one present cared to verify. They turned back and continued gathering beads.

He Lingchuan, however, was inwardly puzzled as to why the giant beast had paid attention to him specifically.

While everyone busied themselves, the sandstorm drew closer and closer.

By then, both duonao beasts and hunters had already entered the Giant Thunderclap Beast’s territory and continued southwest.