Chapter 662: Dispute

A rough estimate put the casualties of the Danau beasts at three to four thousand. He Lingchuan had no idea whether the Thunderclast Beasts or the violent hurricane had caused more deaths.

At the cost of their companions' flesh and blood, the remaining Danau beast herd had waded through the rock formations and charged into the stone mountains behind them.

He Lingchuan surveyed the devastation and suddenly felt that his own cultivators were not much different from the Danau beasts.

Lightning still flashed and thunder rumbled among the rock formations. Everyone could tell at a glance that the Thunderclast Beasts were still alive. Their leader was also alive.

"Go dig for floating stones, quickly!" He Lingchuan pointed at the Danau beast corpses stretching for several miles and told his teammates, "Work in pairs, and watch out for sneak attacks!"

For hunters, this was a golden opportunity.

Others entered the Fjord realm for livelihood and money, but He Lingchuan's objective differed from theirs. He ignored the Danau beast corpses scattered everywhere and focused solely on moving towards the rock formations. Many others shared his resolve. It seemed everyone understood that the closer the beast corpses were to the rock formations, the higher the potential yield.

However, the battle within the rock formations was far from over. As He Lingchuan approached, he realized the scene was truly horrific.

The lightning barrier set up by the enormous Thunderclast Beast had been breached. The area around the barrier had the most beast corpses, piled two or three zhang high, most of them charred. But over half of its own kind had also been killed or wounded. Powerful as this lord-level monster was, it finally succumbed to the dual assault of the beast tide and the sandstorm, its body covered in wounds. When He Lingchuan spotted it from a distance, he even noticed blood spewing from its mouth and nose. The sandstorm had lasted for three and a half hours, and it had endured here for three and a half hours. It was now utterly exhausted, with thick bloody mist accompanying each breath.

However, its opponents had also suffered casualties. He Lingchuan counted: there had originally been seven No-Beasts, but now only five remained standing. The leader, in particular, was covered in burns, its skin ripped open, seemingly without a single intact patch of hide on its entire body. The enormous Thunderclast Beast, hating it the most, had naturally targeted it the most.

He Lingchuan dared not provoke these two monsters, keeping a wide berth as he circled around them, searching for dead No-Beasts. That was his primary objective.

There were none to be found anywhere. Suppressing his anxiety, he began a second search. Danau beast corpses lay strewn haphazardly, making it difficult to find a No-Beast corpse here.

This time, he remembered the mirror and tucked it onto his arm. The Soul-Capturing Mirror had no eyes, but its ability to locate items was far superior to his own.

Soon, the mirror spoke up, "Stop, stop, stop! To your left, your left! No, a little more to the right."

Five zhang away, there was only a pile of Thunderclast Beast corpses.

"Look down!" the Soul-Capturing Mirror said curtly. "That small Thunderclast Beast, you need to look at its belly!"

He Lingchuan did see a small beast with its back exposed, seemingly crushed beneath an adult Thunderclast Beast, its size only half that of an adult. But the Soul-Capturing Mirror said, "belly"? He turned to look from the front and was startled: Inside the small Thunderclast Beast's belly was a No-Beast!

The No-Beast's upper body was outside, its head flattened, while its lower half was inside the small Thunderclast Beast's belly. It looked as if it had been trying to burrow out of the small beast's body, but before it could escape, an enraged adult Thunderclast Beast had charged over, stomped it violently, killing it.

Seeing this, He Lingchuan could instantly reconstruct the scene. Most likely, the No-Beast had killed the small Thunderclast Beast and then burrowed into its belly, hollowing it out into a half-sack before crawling inside itself. What was the benefit of doing this? Perhaps, at least, it could escape the fierce winds outside?

However, he immediately noticed fragments on the No-Beast's claws, body, and on the ground nearby. The fragments didn't look like stones, as they had blue-green, snowflake-like speckles. When whole, they must have been exceptionally beautiful.

In a flash, He Lingchuan glanced and was about to step forward, when someone suddenly darted out from the side and severed the No-Beast's head with a single swift cut!

The cut was fluid and effortless. Even in the Fjord realm, where gravity was over three times stronger, it lost none of its precision, accuracy, or ruthlessness. What skill! He Lingchuan's pupils instinctively contracted as he looked at the newcomer. It was Hu Bin?

"Oh, Young Master He." He seemed to have just noticed He Lingchuan, greeting him with a grin. "You've come over too?"

But everyone knew this was no place for casual conversation.

"Brother Hu, would you be willing to part with the No-Beast's head?" He Lingchuan wasted no words. "I'll pay a high price." If he could buy it, he wouldn't resort to stealing, which would be a waste of time.

"This?" Hu Bin held up the No-Beast's head and shook it twice. "Why do you want this? There are floating stones everywhere to pick up." Corpses lay everywhere, and everyone was busy severing heads. Time was precious, and digging for floating stones was too troublesome. Unless a beast's head was too large, everyone would simply sever it, store it, and extract the stones later when they had time.

"I need its brain pearl to forge a magical artifact."

Hu Bin made an "oh" sound and said with a smile, "Alright, bring forty Mouth-Cleansing Pearls, and this head is yours."

Forty? He Lingchuan was displeased. "Brother Hu, how about we change the terms?" Everyone had just endured the sandstorm; nobody would have so many Mouth-Cleansing Pearls on hand. Furthermore, the storm had just passed, and it was unknown how far they would have to travel to find Mouth-Cleansing Grass again. At this moment, every Mouth-Cleansing Pearl was a life-saving pearl. Yet Hu Bin dared to demand forty at once? This was intentional extortion.

"No change, this is it," Hu Bin shook his head. "Otherwise, you can kill a No-Beast yourself. There are still five or six alive over there."

He Lingchuan's eyes flickered. Since this person wouldn't accept a reasonable offer, perhaps...? He had been involved in deadly fights and double-crosses more than once.

However, as this thought arose, three or four more people appeared around him, all members of the Golden Horn family's team. Commander Zhou looked at the two of them and asked, "Is there a problem?"

Considering that this fellow had just mediated a dispute for someone, He Lingchuan tried once: "I want the No-Beast's head, but he refuses to sell."

"I only want forty Mouth-Cleansing Pearls; bring the pearls, and the beast's head is yours," Hu Bin said unhurriedly. "Mouth-Cleansing Pearls are worthless outside, while a No-Beast's head can sell for at least seven or eight thousand taels. In the end, you're still making a profit."

Commander Zhou gave a light cough. "Young Master He, trade is voluntary; it cannot be forced." The others also gathered around, supporting Hu Bin.

To fight or not to fight? During the three-and-a-half-hour sandstorm, He Lingchuan had slowed his breathing and only used seventeen Mouth-Cleansing Pearls. However, he had given three to his teammates, leaving him with nineteen in hand. This seemed more than enough, but Mouth-Cleansing Pearls were quickly depleted during a fight. Furthermore, no one knew how far they would have to travel to find more Mouth-Cleansing Grass to replenish their stock. Therefore, each one was precious. Time and Mouth-Cleansing Pearls were the most crucial combat resources at present.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror also quickly urged its master: "Isn't there another dead No-Beast? Look again! Fighting them isn't worth it."

He Lingchuan glanced at Hu Bin, then turned and walked away. The man's voice still drifted from behind him: "The deal is valid for one more hour!"

He Lingchuan said nothing and continued searching for No-Beast corpses.

"This person is targeting me."

The Soul-Capturing Mirror let out a sound of surprise. "Aren't all hunters like this?"

"Forty pearls—that's a very clever price. If it were less, I could gather them; if it were more, I definitely wouldn't want it." He Lingchuan looked back and saw Hu Bin still watching him. "Normally, I could ask my teammates to help me gather Mouth-Cleansing Pearls, but at this crucial moment, no one can spare any for me."

After enduring the extraordinarily long sandstorm, his teammates also had few Mouth-Cleansing Pearls left. Each one was life-saving. At this point, asking for pearls was like asking for their lives! Furthermore, everyone was currently facing a time trap: with time ticking away, they had to leave the sandstorm's affected area and collect Mouth-Cleansing Pearls in other regions before their current supply ran out. The length of this journey was unknown, so they had to conserve enough pearls. All things considered, most hunters' Mouth-Cleansing Pearls wouldn't last even two hours. Some teams had already started moving out after the sandstorm, reluctantly leaving behind the Danau beast corpses scattered everywhere because there wasn't enough time. The Fjord realm's sandstorm had an extremely wide area of effect, so sending someone out specifically to collect was impractical; the round trip alone would take more than two hours. No one dared to take such a risk. Therefore, teams like the Scarlet Yan's could stay for half an hour at most before they, too, had to leave.

Was Hu Bin hoping He Lingchuan would turn against the Scarlet Yan people, or perhaps attack other teams? After all, robbery was the fastest way to acquire goods. But since Hu Bin was intentionally staying with the Golden Family's team, He Lingchuan truly couldn't openly rob him.

A hunter from the Golden Family's team jumped down from the top of a pile of corpses, landing precisely on the No-Beast's claw. With a "splat," the fragments shattered into even smaller pieces.

"So this is a No-Beast?" The man took out his knife and began cutting its hide and claws. Danau beast materials could be sold for money, with rarer ones fetching higher prices. After walking two steps, he noticed some pale greenish-white mucus clinging to the sole of his shoe. "What is this stuff?" But on this chaotic battlefield, what strange things weren't there? He paid it no mind, scraped his shoe sole, and went to harvest floating stones from other Danau beasts.

Meanwhile, He Lingchuan, with the mirror, began a new round of searching. However, there was nothing. He was already sweating profusely, his legs feeling like lead, yet he couldn't find the remaining No-Beast corpse anywhere. Perhaps it was buried by sand, or perhaps someone else had already beheaded it. On such an utterly chaotic battlefield, who could say for sure?

He Lingchuan could only turn his attention to the living No-Beasts. The leader was out of the question; among the other No-Beasts, were there any easier targets? After observing for a while, he found one. One No-Beast had a fractured left leg and two clear burn marks on its belly, one of which had created a hole in its stomach. Not only did it limp, but it also hung its head low, clearly too heavily injured to endure. The problem was that another No-Beast stayed by its side, almost inseparable. Such monsters, surprisingly, also had emotions and bonds. The most troublesome part was that they were not far from the two giant beasts fighting in the center of the field.

If He Lingchuan wanted to kill a No-Beast, he would have to approach the center of the battlefield. A battle was inevitable after all. He sighed, placed a pill in his mouth, and advanced with his knife. The closer He Lingchuan got to the center of the rock formations, the more his hair stood on end. The free-floating electricity in the air almost made his hair stand on end. Dozens of living Thunderclast Beasts remained, still gathered in their nest, forming a circle with their heads facing outward, collectively resisting the No-Beasts' attacks.

When he climbed onto a pile of corpses and looked, the sight before him made He Lingchuan realize something: On the sand mound in the very center of the beast nest lay two distinct round eggs!