Otherworldly Desert Dust

"Uncle, will you really teach me?" Wu Hen asked, unable to believe it.

"I'll make sure you learn it, but there's one condition," Desert Dust said.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I've always seen Chong Xue as my own sister; I won't have any other thoughts," Wu Hen said very earnestly.

Desert Dust's face showed a hint of confusion, then he frowned and said, "I'm telling you to stop teaching Chong Hua that rapping nonsense. He's mumbling all the time now; I'm really worried he's going to go out into the world one day and become what you call an idol."

Wu Hen scratched his head awkwardly. So it was about this.

"Uncle, you can't stifle a pure-hearted child's most genuine dreams..."

"Of course I can't, but today I can teach you something else, like feeding horses and chopping wood..."

"Hunting genes run through boys' veins. Those of us in our fifties are obsessed with fishing because our hunting instincts have been suppressed for too long during long, tedious work. Chong Hua is indeed very fortunate; I won't let him get addicted to those things," Wu Hen said righteously.

Desert Dust nodded satisfied, then finally said, "About Chong Xue, didn't I already pair you up with a fair... fairy? I'm not worried."

Wu Hen's face darkened!

He had said it was for the joy of the entire Ancient Clan and his personal happiness.

It turned out he was worried Wu Hen would mess with his daughter, so he dragged him to the market to find other families' prodigies to pair up with. It was too much, treating him like livestock and locking him in the barn with only one match. He should've seen more families and matched more people!

...

Following Desert Dust across the plains.

This time, Desert Dust only brought one bow and arrow, named Bifang.

Bifang was a legendary, savage bird, entirely crimson. Wu Hen had seen it in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, revered among birds, not inferior to the Phoenix.

Even by simply guessing, one could tell that Desert Dust had hunted a mythical creature and made this ancient bow from its bones, tendons, and feathers.

The ancient bow was red, simple in design, yet exuded a murderous aura. With a slight pull on the bowstring, the Bifang bird's call could be heard, and when the arrow was released, a crimson Bifang bird would appear, powerful and domineering. Even if there were more suns in the sky, they'd be shot down by this bow and arrow.

Little Yi had actually been craving this Bifang bow for a long time. If only he could gnaw on it, he too could harness the fierce and mighty power of the Bifang bird. But Desert Dust only had this one treasured bow and would never allow Little Yi to use it as food.

This time, Desert Dust brought a special kind of arrow. It was a binding net arrow, with netting wrapped around the arrowhead and shaft. The net material was similar to the rope used to bind Thunder Crossing Tai Peng, capable of suppressing the mighty aura of mythical species, quickly reducing them to their beastly nature.

"Originally, I should first teach you how to make bows and arrows. Only when you reach a certain level of craftsmanship would I teach you the taming skill. But seeing you're smart, diligent, and eager to learn, teaching you in advance isn't a problem," Desert Dust said.

"Uncle, if you're worried about Chong Hua going out, just say so."

"Heh heh. Do you know our target today?" Desert Dust asked.

Wu Hen lowered his head, his gaze fixed on a large mound of dung ahead.

On the plains, they had been following the hunting dogs for a while, watching them feed. It was hard not to guess they were tracking the owner of this pile of droppings.

"Given your keen sense of taste, you should master an important skill..." Desert Dust continued.

Wu Hen turned pale upon hearing this, hurriedly waving his hand, "Uncle, you want me to 'taste the flying beast'? No way!"

Desert Dust laughed mischievously, "Kid, you actually didn't fall for it. Remember that time you woke up from a huge pile of Heavenly Shit and then went to bathe in the Qingcao Creek..." Find more chapters on empire

"Uncle, have you always been this cheeky and never got beaten up by people from other villages?"

"Ahem. Keep up. The hunting dogs prefer fresh scat, which means our target is close," Desert Dust said.

They quickened their pace, following the food-seeking dogs into a patch of reed marshland.

The reeds were snow-white, looking like a vast stretch of swaying snow willows, standing four or five meters tall, rooted in the Purple Mud Swamp. Once inside, Wu Hen and Desert Dust entered a dreamlike swamp.

"It should be just ahead. The Cold Era is nearly here. Once this beast is full, it will cover itself in the Purple Mud and bask in the sun to arm itself with a hard Purple Ice Armor. It'll be very hard to hunt it when that happens," Desert Dust said.

"Are we catching a hippo?" Wu Hen wondered. Only hippos rolled in mud and used it as an outer layer.

Just imagining riding a hippo back to his homeland would likely bring some ridicule.

"How is that possible? Look closely..." Desert Dust pointed to a spot in the purple swamp.

The purple swamp's shape was very unique, forming a remarkably precise Tai Chi Circle, not something naturally occurring but left by some artistic deity...

However, upon closer inspection, Wu Hen noticed the Tai Chi Circle swamp was slowly rotating, as if a finely tuned instrument beneath the water was absorbing the essence of heaven and earth!

How wondrous. Wu Hen had never imagined he would encounter a wild Tai Chi Circle. Capturing it and meditating on it might enhance his cultivation!

"Swish!"

Desert Dust suddenly acted. His Bifang bow was already drawn, firing the Binding Net Arrow!

The arrow hung above the Tai Chi Swamp. Then, it spread out radially from a point; a well-formed net fell, precisely covering the Tai Chi Swamp!

In that instant, the Tai Chi Swamp churned, revealing a long creature moving within. But before the net even fell, an invisible force already pinned it down, as if a giant invisible hand was holding it in place. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't escape that area!

Wu Hen couldn't comprehend; Desert Dust's technique seemed like cheating.

If it were him, the creature in the swamp could finish a full set of Tai Chi moves before the net dropped, then fling the net in his face with its tail.

Honestly, Wu Hen couldn't understand. These mythical creatures were all formidable, but when faced with the Ancient Clan, they seemed to lose intelligence and divinity, giving the illusion that anyone could easily handle them.

Fortunately, Wu Hen had plenty of experience. He learned not to question the Ancient Clan's methods—practice makes perfect!

"How was it? Did you learn?" Desert Dust said smugly.

"Uncle, are you sure you're teaching?" Wu Hen couldn't be bothered to complain.

"It's the effect of the feathers. Bifang feathers seem light but are among the heaviest materials in the world. Upon shooting the arrow, I awakened the feather's power with my blood, creating the binding force. It's the best way to handle slippery creatures like this," Desert Dust explained.

Wu Hen twitched his mouth.

He understood the principle...

But how does one defeat a Bifang??

He needed to be able to defeat a Bifang, a mythical species known for its ferocity and strength—so powerful that even Thunder Crossing Tai Peng would massage it!

Wu Hen seriously doubted Desert Dust was insulting him.

It was like asking what to do if encountering a wolf in the wild, and someone says, "No big deal, just send a tiger to bite it."

"Boom!!!"

The net fell, crashing into the swamp. Who'd have thought a small net could weigh tons, pinning the Tai Chi Circle creature in place, writhing like a trampled eel.

Wu Hen never expected, for all the talk of learning taming skills, they were here catching eels.

Desert Dust stepped forward, arriving at the net, and pulled out a bronze knife, expertly scraping something off the Tai Chi Circle creature.

Wu Hen approached and realized the creature under the net was a Purple Chi, twisting itself into a Tai Chi Diagram for cultivation.

A mighty, majestic Purple Chi was now humiliated like an eel, being scraped of its purple mud by Desert Dust's bronze knife.

"Uncle, are you scraping its dead skin?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, I get it. To tame a mythical creature, you must first use sheer strength to defeat it and trample its pride, then offer a sweet reward, like helping it scrape off dead skin, showing human kindness to lay the groundwork for taming?" Wu Hen tried to understand the Ancient Clan's strange behavior.

Desert Dust stomped on the Purple Chi's head, turned to Wu Hen, and looked at him like an idiot, saying, "Did I say we're taming it? These swamp Chi haven't cultivated for thousands of years; capturing them can only help clean rice fields. What else can they do? Their meat smells like mud."

"Then why are you scraping it with the knife without cutting the skin?" Wu Hen asked, confused.

"To collect its scale skin mud fruit. Although it emits a stinky mud odor, its scale skin mud fruit is fragrant and a favorite of the Divine Wind Xuanluan."

"Oh, oh, our target is the Divine Wind Xuanluan. We're gathering bait, just like fishing requires digging worms first..." Wu Hen immediately understood.

But thinking about it...

Who uses a Chi as a worm? That's outrageous!

"Alright, you can go now. Roll in more mud; otherwise, you won't survive the winter." Finished scraping, Desert Dust kicked the dumb Chi, releasing it.

Wu Hen watched the delicious giant eel leave, feeling it was such a waste. "Uncle, just letting it go?"

"Have reverence for nature; take only what's needed, never kill wantonly," Desert Dust advised.

"Oh, may all Desert Dust predators take a course from you before coming out," Wu Hen said.