Otherworldly Desert Dust

The Black Glaze Sword hovered by Wu Hen's side.

As if wary that the Qiong Qi, now a heap of corpse, might suddenly lunge.

Wu Hen walked over, and after confirming there were no signs of life, he reached out to lift...

"Strange, why isn't there any soul breath? Could it have been blasted into oblivion?" Wu Hen felt a bit puzzled.

With the loss of life, the soul breath should separate from the flesh. However, there was no soul breath drifting out; such cases are rather rare.

Little Yi remained on guard, in case the Qiong Qi was playing dead.

Wu Hen kicked it and found a complete Qiong Qi skin lifted up, but inside, there was no meat or bone, not even a single organ left.

"No way, did it perform the Golden Cicada Shell??" Wu Hen stared in shock at the heap of tiger skin, his face full of astonishment.

Beneath the tiger skin was a pool of blood mist. As time passed, the blood mist no longer supported the form of the Qiong Qi, leaving only a skin behind.

Qiong Qi could actually perform the Golden Cicada Shell???

When did it execute this ability!

Could it be that after getting injured by his Cangxia Fist, it burrowed underground and fled, and what flew into the sky was just its blood-mist-filled tiger skin??

Goodness, it didn't die after all!

"Did you think Qiong Qi is so easy to hunt? For every thousand years of cultivation, Qiong Qi gains an extra life skin. The one you dealt with earlier was a three-life Qiong Qi," Bai Ze from the gourd spoke.

"Why didn't you say earlier!" Wu Hen retorted irritably.

"If I had told you, you would've held back your strength. Did you ever consider that once it discovered you were just an empty shell holding a divine weapon, it would forsake a life to fight you to the death? Are you sure you could have left alive then?" Bai Ze said.

"Makes sense. My momentum defeated it, causing it to shed a life skin and escape. I wouldn't have much strength left afterward," Wu Hen nodded.

This was already his full strength.

Being able to knock off one of Qiong Qi's life skins in such a situation is enough to show how fierce Qiong Qi was among mythical species.

Gaining a Qiong Qi skin wasn't a loss; in the Ancient Clan, very few could wear tiger skin.

...

Carrying the wild boar home, now draped in the tiger skin for warmth, Wu Hen instantly became the center of attention in the village.

He placed the wild boar in his backyard and vividly recounted how he fought the Qiong Qi. A large group of Ancient Clan youths gathered around, their eyes full of envy. They never imagined their leader was not only full of romantic artistic cells but also so strong.

"Qiong Qi is a very intelligent species. When a group of us goes up the mountain, it hides very far away. Only when someone gets lost or hunts alone does it appear. This beast has taken many young lives from nearby villages. You managed to peel off one of its skins, that's quite impressive," Xiao Jiang, a young man from the Ancient Clan, highly praised.

"This tiger skin is big enough. I'll alter it for you, making a tiger cloak, and also make a tiger-pattern skirt for your Gong Qin," Yaoqing, a woman, said.

Fairy in leopard print??

It seemed to have a wild charm!

Wu Hen handed the tiger skin to Yaoqing and then asked, "Auntie, is uncle wearing true Qiong Qi skin?"

Yaoqing nodded and said, "It's from a ten-life Qiong Qi. Back then, Chongli Mountain fought it for several months, and our family almost couldn't make ends meet."

Ten-life Qiong Qi???

Wu Hen couldn't help but take a deep breath.

That must mean ten thousand years of cultivation, and for such a fierce mythical species as Qiong Qi – no wonder his uncle was so formidable!

...

After resting for a day, Wu Hen set out into the mountains again.
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Wu Hen was quite curious about where the Qiong Qi, having lost a life, would hide.

If he could find its lair, it would surely be a great benefit for both him and Little Yi.

However, after the Qiong Qi fled, it left no trace behind. In the vast mountains, Wu Hen couldn't find any clue.

Better to hunt wild boars steadily.

The Cold Era was approaching, and Wu Hen didn't want to rely on poisonous mushrooms to get through winter. Eating too many of those, he felt like mushrooms would start growing in his stomach...

Being alone, Wu Hen dared not take too many risks. Especially with the Cold Era coming, mythical species' predatory beasts would also emerge during this time to stock up on supplies, turning the mountains into a battlefield where all sorts of dangerous creatures roamed.

Wu Hen needed to stockpile meat as well as some fruits.

Following Divine Beast Bai Ze's guidance, Wu Hen arrived at a Cave Forest.

The Cave Forest was still warm, and many divine birds built nests here. This time, Wu Hen's target was a Biluo Xuan Bird. It was plump, with peacock-like feathers, exuding not only mystic bird's spiritual energy but also a hint of divine bird's ferocity.

Biluo Xuan Birds generally lived in groups, making them hard even for the Ancient Clan to hunt. This particular Biluo Xuan Bird, being super-male, was ostracized by its kind, leading it to camp alone, giving Wu Hen a chance to hunt it.

Generally, Biluo Xuan Birds were docile and benevolent, but the super-male Xuan Bird was different. Fiercer than raptors and nastier than vultures, it would destroy others' nests and smash their eggs, a true menace.

This Biluo Xuan Bird had a very social characteristic: a scar on its left eye. Though it didn't harm the eye, it marked its distinctiveness.

In Bai Ze's eyes, though, a Xuan Bird was just food. Who cared if it was ugly or beautiful; being plump meant it was the most delectable.

"Usually, such super-male Xuan Birds aren't too bright. We might not need to use force but strategy," Wu Hen said.

"Do as you wish," Divine Beast Bai Ze in the gourd seemed indifferent, maintaining its stance of not taking initiative even when seeing its food.

To tame me, you'd need to show some feeding sincerity.

Why does that sword get food and lodging?

"Previously, when dealing with you, there's still some Rainbow Rock Tea juice left. This super-male Xuan Bird should fall for it," Wu Hen said.

Hearing this, Divine Beast Bai Ze got triggered.

Inside the gourd, its small mouth started spewing all the trash talk it learned in the Ancient Village, then sternly warned Wu Hen never to mention this again, or it would self-destruct with the gourd!

Wu Hen chuckled, mocking Divine Beast Bai Ze before starting his carefully thought-out work.

He had learned many skills from Chongli Mountain. The most important trait of a hunter is courage and meticulousness. Based on his observations, this super-male Xuan Bird, perhaps because of its fiery nature, occasionally sucked on a piece of spring ice to dampen internal fire and hydrate itself.

On the spring ice, he could play some tricks. Smearing the Rainbow Rock Tea juice that could paralyze even Divine Beast Bai Ze onto the spring ice.

Having thought of the plan, he began to execute it.

The difficulty lay in ensuring the super-male Xuan Bird would definitely consume the tea-dosed spring ice.

"Bang~ Bang~ Bang~~"

While Wu Hen pondered, hiding above the Spring Cave, he saw the super-male Xuan Bird causing havoc again.

The super-male Xuan Bird used its hard beak to crash down the ice columns hanging from the Spring Cave, shattering hundreds into ice shards falling into the shrubbery below.

During the Cold Era, Xuan Birds fetched water simply by grabbing an ice column, placing it in a tree hole, and licking it when in need of water.

It seemed the whole flock of Biluo Xuan Birds was coming to fetch ice, their greenish feathers flying from another direction, evidently headed for the Spring Cave.

But the super-male Xuan Bird, aware of its kin's behavior, arrived early, smashing all the ice columns, leaving the other Xuan Birds unable to take any complete pieces...

"Wow, this makes me want to kill it!"

Wu Hen became enraged, feeling the super-male Xuan Bird was courting death. Instead of confronting it, the other Xuan Birds, too saintly, turned and flew to a farther source...

Wu Hen had been thinking about precise poisoning.

Now it became clear; the super-male Xuan Bird only left an ice column for itself. No skill needed; as it boasted to its kind, Wu Hen dripped the juice on the ice column, waiting for the super-male Xuan Bird to carry it away.

Sure enough, the super-male Xuan Bird, not noticing the different color on the ice, grabbed it and flew back to its nest...

That night, it slept exceptionally soundly!

...

In the Cave Forest, Wu Hen also gathered many Biluo fruits.

Perhaps his removal of their notorious menace made the process of collecting Biluo fruits in the Xuan Bird domain unusually smooth. These fragrant fruits would keep Bai Ze fed for a while, and Fairy Gong Qin, being a vegetarian, would have a basketful stored.

Returning home smoothly with the Biluo berries, he found Fairy's eyes full of joy. She warmly greeted him, worried he might have been injured in the mountains.

"Where's Divine Beast Bai Ze? Strange, why haven't I heard it grumbling?" Fairy Gong Qin asked puzzledly.

Usually, Bai Ze chattered non-stop in the gourd. Used to its beautiful voice, today's unusual silence felt odd.

Wu Hen chuckled at Gong Qin's query.

Gong Qin looked puzzled, "Why are you laughing?"

Wu Hen finally said, "Did you know Saint Fighters never fall in the same place twice?"

Fairy Gong Qin didn't understand Wu Hen's nerdy talk.

Then Wu Hen opened the gourd, releasing the half-paralyzed Bai Ze, who looked like a wicked villain, "But Divine Beasts do!"

Divine Beast Bai Ze, limp, looked like a drunken sheep, its pupils full of shame and anger!

"What's going on again?"

"I caught a Xuan Bird with Rainbow Rock Tea leaves in the mountains, and before I could say anything, Divine Beast Bai Ze eagerly devoured it..."

"What's the issue?" Fairy didn't quite get it initially.

"The issue is, that's how it was caught by me and uncle," Wu Hen laughed so hard his face contorted.

Fairy Gong Qin, understanding now, smiled with cheeks blooming like beautiful peach blossoms.

Divine Beast Bai Ze had fallen in the same place twice.