Chapter 664: Praying Mantis Catching the Cicada

The compass showed that the two monsters had stopped.

Perhaps they had escaped far enough, perhaps these towering mountains were rugged enough, or perhaps the injured Beast of Naught was unable to move.

There were no trees here, and insufficient cover. He took out Boshan-jun’s invisible hide and draped it over himself, then quietly moved forward, taking the downwind position.

Upon approaching, he saw that the two Beasts of Naught were indeed resting in a mountain hollow, gasping for breath. The injured one was lying down, its legs curled, clearly in great pain.

But it still held onto the beast egg tightly.

Its companion extended its tongue, licking its wounds, while subtly extending a claw, attempting to hook the beast egg.

The injured Beast of Naught immediately hissed a warning at it.

It had snatched the egg but was guarding it without eating it. Was it waiting for a companion, or for its leader?

After observing, He Lingchuan did not act; he quietly retreated.

There were two targets, both aggressive and nimble-footed; it would be best for him to set a trap.

While patrolling the Panlong Wasteland, he often set snares for wild game to supplement his diet. Setting traps was child's play for him; he was Willow's prized student.

The Fù Realm had no trees, lacking the most convenient materials. Fortunately, there was no shortage of unscrupulous merchants in Spirit Void City, who had been selling various hunting tools even before the Grass Sea Hunt began. The most classic models were the heavy-iron beast traps and spiked boards.

Beast traps were suitable for all Danube Beasts. Spiked boards were primarily for larger creatures; a large pit would be dug in the ground and the spiked boards buried, causing a Danube Beast to fall in and be impaled through its intestines and belly.

Thirty breaths later.

The two Beasts of Naught had just settled their breathing; the injured one closed its eyes to regain strength, while the other stood up to take a high vantage point for lookout.

Just then, a figure suddenly emerged from behind the rocks and roared at them.

The sentinel was startled and instinctively charged out.

He Lingchuan turned and fled.

But the sentinel stopped after running a dozen paces, even slowly retreating, clearly not wanting to stray too far from its companion.

Such a creature, it even knew the tactic of luring the tiger from its mountain?

He Lingchuan had a trick: when it retreated, he would pick up pebbles and throw them at it, letting out a wild laugh; when it chased, he would run.

After several such back-and-forth exchanges, the Beast of Naught's temper was thoroughly provoked.

Where there is intelligence, there is inevitably a temper.

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

The Beast of Naught deftly dodged one arrow, but little did it know He Lingchuan had anticipated its movement. It darted to the side, directly into the path of the second sleeve arrow.

Splat! The arrow pierced right into its nostril, a stroke of uncanny luck.

The Beast of Naught flew into a rage, abandoning its companion, and finally screamed as it charged forward, exceptionally determined.

He Lingchuan turned and fled into the mountain hollow.

When the Beast of Naught turned to follow, it found him moving upwards along a rock crevice, the distance between them only five zhang.

For it, that was merely a matter of two body lengths. The Beast of Naught didn't think twice and charged in pursuit.

Ahead, two massive boulders intersected, forming a natural stone gate beneath.

He Lingchuan slipped through the stone gate.

This gate was five chi wide; he could pass through, and so could the slender Beast of Naught.

But he suddenly slowed down. The Beast of Naught strode closer, right behind him, its nose almost touching his clothing.

It rushed into the stone gate, charged forward impatiently, and opened its large maw—

SNAP! A resonant clang.

But the sound was far clearer and more forceful than the Beast of Naught closing its mouth.

It was the beast trap snapping shut, firmly clamping its neck.

The force was so great that it even sent the Beast of Naught into a somersault.

It tried to shriek, but its windpipe was firmly constricted by iron teeth, preventing any sound. It could only frantically claw with its two front paws.

However, the trap was designed so that caught prey could not escape; seventy shark-tooth-like spikes, both upper and lower, pierced directly through the creature's skin, constricting its throat. The more it struggled, the deeper and wider the wounds on its throat became.

Purple blood spurted, staining the solid rock red.

Its two hind legs frantically clawed at the ground, sending rock fragments and clumps of mud flying.

The Beast of Naught couldn't understand: where did this strange thing come from? When it chased its prey into the stone gate, there had been nothing there.

Little did it know that He Lingchuan had already wedged the heavy-iron beast trap into the rock crevice, its surface obscured by Boshan-jun’s hide. From the front of the stone gate, it had appeared empty.

He Lingchuan himself could dodge it, but the simple-minded Beast of Naught had thrust its head right into the trap.

It certainly got a good taste of human treachery.

This beast trap was a medium-large size, capable of catching Thunder-quelling Beasts. Dealing with the weaker, leaner Beasts of Naught was even easier.

Seeing it screeching wildly, He Lingchuan wasted no words. He raised his blade and went to hack off its head.

Last time, someone had beaten him to it; this time, he ought to have a harvest.

With two swift strokes of his blade, the unfortunate Beast of Naught was decapitated, granting it a complete release.

Fearing delays, he immediately put both the beast's head and the beast trap into his storage ring.

Whether the goal of this trip could be successfully accomplished depended on whether this 'head blind box' would yield what he desired.

After completing this step, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief; this adventure had at least secured him a baseline reward.

He put away Boshan-jun’s hide and ran back towards the stone hollow.

He wasn't sure if Beasts of Naught could produce Frost Pellets, but two were certainly more likely to yield one than just one.

The other injured Beast of Naught was indeed no longer there; the mountains and fields were utterly silent.

Its companion had fought tooth and nail for it, yet it had actually slipped away first?

Only the wailing wind remained in the stone hollow.

He Lingchuan replaced his mouth-cleansing pearl, reopened the Tracking Bee Compass, examined it carefully, then set up some arrangements around the stone hollow, and finally circled above it.

Looking up here, there was a ‘first-line sky’; solid rocks on both sides rose out of sight, leaving a narrow path, at most seven chi wide, in the middle.

After doing all this, he suddenly threw a few firecrackers under a large boulder.

The area under the boulder had originally been empty, but with a few bangs, something that had been hit moved.

It was the injured Beast of Naught.

It had been lying under the rock, its camouflage active, blending seamlessly with its surroundings.

But once it moved, its invisibility color would fade within a few breaths.

Only when it stood up did He Lingchuan understand why it had been lying on the ground: it could change color, but the Thunder-quelling Beast egg could not. It had used its body to shield the egg.

However, it had already been marked by the tracking bees, so even if it blended perfectly with its environment, it was still clearly located on the compass.

Without further ado, the battle between man and beast commenced.

The monster even employed its frost breath, but He Lingchuan had already witnessed it before and was prepared.

Moreover, it was severely wounded, its movements far less agile than before. After seven or eight rounds, it met its demise in regret.

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

After severing its head, He Lingchuan still had to retrieve the egg from the narrow path.

Who would let go of such easily obtainable spoils of war?

He Lingchuan bent down, picked up the beast egg, and immediately placed it in his storage ring. Anyone else would have already taken off running to find a mouth-cleansing pearl by now. But he instead used clean water to rinse the bloodstains from his blade and hands, then applied odor-removing powder.

The Spirit of Transient Life might be angry. But he kept in mind that this was likely a rendezvous point for the Beasts of Naught, and their leader might also arrive. These creatures seemed to have keen senses of smell; if he killed a beast and took its egg here, and their leader caught his scent, he would be in trouble.

This odor-removing powder was his own concoction, the formula obtained from the patrols of Panlong City.

While hunting the two Beasts of Naught, he had continuously used his true energy to seal his pores, preventing his scent from escaping. This way, when he left, the Beasts of Naught should not be able to track him.

Since entering Spirit Void City, He Lingchuan's level of caution had risen another notch.

A faint breeze suddenly brushed past the back of his head.

The Fù Realm was constantly windy, so this was not strange, but he perceived a trace of biting killing intent.

An ambush!

There was also a third party lurking nearby, waiting to strike suddenly when he stood up unsuspecting!

He strained to twist his body, but a flying nail struck his left shoulder. A shadow swept from above, tumbling, person and blade together, charging at him!

The figure unfolded in mid-air, its long blade sweeping with the momentum, delivering a ferocious and peerless arc slash.

The arc was perfect, imbued with formidable qi.

In that instant, the blade light was like lightning, even illuminating the dim mountain terrain.

Facing this long-prepared and fully powered strike, He Lingchuan, in his haste, did not parry. Instead, he flung his short blade with an incredibly tricky posture, aiming for the opponent's lower abdomen.

Anyway, it was impossible to block; the opponent's move had been long-brewed, brimming with murderous intent, and its execution was earth-shattering. He Lingchuan's hasty response was utterly incapable of meeting its sharp edge.

Although his reaction was swift, it could not be called an attack that the enemy absolutely had to defend against.

The opponent chose to take the hidden stab head-on, and the momentum of the slash continued, cutting across He Lingchuan's neck.

Swift, steady, accurate, and ruthless, leaving no room for escape.

Compared to such refined killing techniques, Vice-Commander Fan Sheng of the Unity Guard was far inferior.

In a single exchange, He Lingchuan was decapitated.

The blade energy almost pulverized his armor and clothing. With a soft pop, a cloud of yellow mist suddenly erupted on the spot.

An indescribable stench filled the air.

Anyone who smelled this odor would almost immediately bend over, retching uncontrollably.

It was the ‘Fragrant Pellet’ unleashing its power. It had been refined through several versions, using less material, producing a stronger stench that was not easily dispersed by wind, and capable of lingering... for over ten breaths.

The attacker was also battle-hardened. The moment he saw the yellow mist, he immediately held his breath and sealed his pores, but he still caught a faint whiff.

The vile stench was so overpowering that even he couldn't help but turn and leap away.

His willpower was truly formidable, as he managed to strongly endure the discomfort without immediately bending over to vomit.

A trap! He had actually fallen into a trap himself!

Just then, the attacker felt his body tighten, bound tightly by something.

Upon closer inspection, they were incredibly fine strands of spider silk.

The Fù Realm was inherently dim, and with the yellow mist pervading the area, it was a wonder he could see these spider silks at all.

However, these spider silks had originally been tightly affixed around the rock crevice, forming a ‘hui’ character-shaped snare. The moment a living creature rushed in, the hunter would gently tug a tripwire, and the two loops would tighten together, binding the prey securely.

This particular setup was originally intended for the Beast of Naught, placed within the rock crevice to prevent its escape through this path. His experience patrolling the Chipa Plateau had taught He Lingchuan that it was best to set an extra layer of traps as a safeguard.

As it turned out, the Beast of Naught didn't need it, but the attacker certainly got to experience it.

It was then that a figure leaped over the yellow mist, emerging from behind the dark rocks a few zhang away.

This was the true He Lingchuan.