Chapter 513: Strange Phenomena

Actually, if another two-star beast tamer had said that, he wouldn't have been angry. What truly mattered was the expression of the guy who had just spoken—it was simply asking for a punch. He looked as if he was saying, "You'll regret not listening to my wisdom," with an infuriating air, especially that slightly disdainful look...

He, a dignified four-star pinnacle beast tamer, was actually being disdained by a junior... Disdain him? The nerve!

This Demon-Sun Beast has dragon bloodline; it's incredibly proud, and it's perfectly normal for it to be difficult to tame. Did he think Han Tang-zhu wanted to use force? All good methods had already been exhausted!

Hmph, so self-important and utterly ignorant of his own limitations!

He truly didn't know how Pavilion Master Sai could be friends with someone like that.

"Ignore them! Hurry up and grill, the more fragrant, the better!" Hall Master Han instructed, suppressing his raging anger.

"Yes, sir!" Elder Hu and the others nodded, increased the heat, and immediately the aroma became even richer, drifting continuously in all directions.

While anger was boiling over on this side, the group on the other side stopped a few hundred meters away.

"This spot will do!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"Teacher Zhang..." The others looked at him, full of doubt.

They had considerable trust in Teacher Zhang's abilities, so if he said something was going to happen, he certainly wouldn't be talking nonsense.

"Is Teacher Zhang worried about a beast tide?" Pavilion Master Sai remembered something and frowned: "The deer meat is incredibly fragrant, a treasure coveted by all spirit beasts. Once it's fully cooked, it's highly likely to attract countless spirit beasts... But... if it really is a beast tide, hiding this close won't be much use, will it?"

If a beast tide truly occurred, with countless beasts stampeding, they would tear apart any other living creature on the spot. Let alone hiding a few hundred meters away, even hiding several or dozens of kilometers away would likely not be enough to escape.

"That's right!"

Only then did the others realize.

They also shared Pavilion Master Sai's thought, speculating whether Teacher Zhang was worried about a beast tide. Such occurrences in Warmbrook Ridge were historically documented, not baseless rumors.

Given how strong the aroma of the deer meat was, it was perfectly normal for it to attract spirit beasts. If a tide truly happened, they should hide as far as possible. Remaining here, wasn't that just seeking death?

"A beast tide? You've got to be kidding!" Hearing this, he finally realized what everyone was thinking. Zhang Xuan was speechless: "Even you can tell that the deer meat's strong aroma would attract other spirit beasts to covet it. Would the most formidable beast tamer of the dignified Beast Hall not know that?"

"Uh..."

Blinking, everyone simultaneously blushed.

That's right, even they, as outsiders, could tell, so how could Han Chong, as the Hall Master of the Beast Hall, not think of it?

He was a four-star pinnacle beast tamer, having dealt with savage beasts his entire life. He even anticipated the Demon-Sun Beast's disagreement and prepared countermeasures. If a beast tide were truly imminent, he would certainly have made preparations long ago.

"Don't worry, that won't happen!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Why not?" Zhao Feiwu asked, completely puzzled.

The deer meat was so fragrant, even they, as humans, found it hard to resist. How could spirit beasts possibly resist?

Seeing the usually incredibly smart "Young Master" ask this question, Zhang Xuan rolled his eyes: "Even if the deer meat is very fragrant, how far can its scent spread?"

"Uh..." Zhao Feiwu was speechless.

The meat was indeed fragrant; they had retreated to this spot, and the scent was already faint. If they retreated a few hundred more meters, they probably wouldn't smell it at all. Even if spirit beasts had a better sense of smell than humans, they couldn't possibly detect a scent from several kilometers away, could they?

"Besides, what kind of place is this?" Zhang Xuan continued. "This is the Demon-Sun Beast's territory. Even if other savage beasts or spirit beasts smelled the aroma, would they dare to come here?"

"Uh..." Zhao Feiwu looked utterly embarrassed.

Spirit beasts and savage beasts have territorial divisions. Weaker creatures dare not approach the dwelling places of powerful ones; if they do, they are highly likely to be hunted down as prey. The Demon-Sun Beast is renowned throughout the entire Kingdom Alliance, considered the most powerful spirit beast in the entire Nine Bends Mountain. It has lived here for an unknown number of years, so how could any other beasts dare to reside in the vicinity?

Wasn't that just seeking death?

"If I'm not mistaken," Zhang Xuan explained, "there are no other spirit beasts within a ten-kilometer radius of where the Demon-Sun Beast resides. No matter how fragrant the deer meat is, it's impossible for it to agitate spirit beasts ten kilometers away!"

"Ten kilometers?" Only then did everyone understand.

They had come down from two kilometers away and traveled all this way, and indeed hadn't seen any spirit beasts. Even if they saw some footprints, they were very sparse, virtually non-existent. They likely belonged to creatures passing through who, upon sensing the traces left by the Demon-Sun Beast, immediately fled in terror.

Otherwise, with such a large group and a clear target, how could not a single spirit beast have come to cause trouble?

Even if the deer meat was very fragrant, its scent couldn't possibly spread ten kilometers away. Moreover, even if it did, would other spirit beasts dare to come?

This was the lair of Nine Bends Mountain's strongest spirit beast!

No wonder Hall Master Han was so confident and unconcerned; he had known all along that a beast tide was utterly impossible.

"If it's not a beast tide... then what is it?"

Returning to the original topic, everyone looked at him again.

"You'll know if you just keep watching!" Zhang Xuan offered no further explanation.

"If there's any danger, please, Teacher Zhang, save Hall Master Han," Pavilion Master Sai said, slightly embarrassed. "He only treated you lightly because he didn't know your capabilities. He's not a bad person, actually..."

"Hmm, if that situation truly arises, I will intervene," Zhang Xuan said with a faint smile, suddenly raising an eyebrow. "However, I'm just afraid they won't be happy if I do! Keep watching, the unexpected turn of events is about to begin!"

Hearing this, everyone simultaneously looked forward.

At this moment, the deer meat was almost fully cooked, and its aroma grew increasingly rich.

Many of the elders were well-versed in wilderness survival and had brought plenty of seasonings with them. Although grilled in haste, the result was no worse than what a master chef from Honghai City could produce. Not only was the taste superb, but the color was also excellent, making anyone who glanced at it drool uncontrollably.

"Brother Demon-Sun, do you smell that?" Hall Master Han continued. "Become my beast pet, and this will be yours. Besides, you'd just be accompanying me; you wouldn't be wronged. Once my lifespan ends, you'll naturally regain your freedom. What's there to be conflicted about!"

"Make your decision quickly. If you hesitate any longer, we'll eat the deer meat ourselves. By then, it will be too late, even if you decide to yield! I don't need to tell you how precious this is. There's only one of these in the entire Nine Bends Mountain. Miss it, and you'll regret it for life!"

It had to be said, Hall Master Han's words were very persuasive. Any other spirit beast would surely have wavered long ago and been unable to resist. However, the Demon-Sun Beast in the mirror kept its eyes tightly closed, neither struggling nor resisting, as if asleep.

"Since when has the Demon-Sun Beast been so agreeable?"

Zhao Feiwu also noticed the anomaly at this point.

According to popular legends in the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance, this massive creature was fierce and brutal. In the past, someone had once used a grand formation to trap it. However, its physical strength seemed endless; it quickly thrashed around until the spirit stones in the formation's foundation were depleted, breaking free!

Formations could be sustained by absorbing ambient spiritual energy or by using spirit stones. The former required a long period of accumulation, while the latter, as long as there were enough spirit stones, didn't require energy absorption.

Regardless, both required an energy supply. Formations were not perpetual motion machines; constant assault would generate immense energy consumption. Once the spirit stones in the formation's foundation were depleted, even without knowing how to break the formation, it would still collapse.

Precisely because of this, the Formation Master Guild's corridors had a one-hour time limit.

Otherwise, if encountering a trapping formation, there wouldn't be much danger; one could just recklessly charge and ram. Once the formation was running, its energy would eventually be depleted. In such a case, even if one escaped, it wouldn't be considered breaking the formation.

The Demon-Sun Beast was so fierce, yet after being trapped, it had completely quieted down, as docile as a good little baby. Although it coveted the deer meat somewhat, it showed no intention of crashing through... This clearly did not fit its personality.

"Hall Master, it's done!"

While everyone was wondering, Elder Hu and the others had fully roasted the deer meat. The golden-brown spirit beast meat's aroma filled the air, making it utterly irresistible.

"Good, bring it over!"

Hall Master Han nodded.

Elder Hu and the others acknowledged him and brought the roasted deer meat forward.

"See? If you hesitate any longer, we're going to start eating..."

Hall Master Han smiled faintly and looked down at the deer meat before him. Just as he was about to pick it up to continue tempting the beast, his eyes suddenly widened, practically bulging from his head, and he nearly exploded on the spot: "What the heck! Which one of you... took a bite?!"

"Took a bite?"

Everyone simultaneously looked over, only to discover that the previously intact deer meat had, at some unknown point, lost a whole leg, with only the bare bone hanging there, eerily empty.

In other words... a leg had already been eaten by someone!

Hall Master Han was utterly furious.

Who was so unethical?

Although he had said aloud that he would eat it, it was actually a trick to lure the beast. If he truly ate it, it would be almost impossible to tame the beast afterward.

Therefore, it was merely talk, not an action he would take. How... in the blink of an eye, was a leg already gone? Eaten so cleanly?

You guys are too ruthless! Don't you know how much effort I expended just to capture this creature?

His eyes wide with fury, he glared coldly at Elder Hu and the others.

Pavilion Master Sai and that clueless two-star beast tamer had walked away as soon as the grilling started, so it couldn't have been them. It could only be the few people right in front of him.

"Hall Master, we... we didn't!"

Under his direct gaze, Elder Hu and the others simultaneously flinched, waving their hands repeatedly, almost on the verge of tears.

They had been grilling the meat while constantly swallowing their saliva, suppressing their inner desires, and hadn't dared to touch it even once. How could a leg suddenly be missing when they weren't looking?

"Didn't? Did the meat just fly away by itself?"

Hall Master Han was seething.

What kind of teammates had he found? He had told them to grill the meat to lure the Demon-Sun Beast and make it yield. Instead, they started eating first, and even took a whole leg...

Were they serious?

"Hall Master, it really wasn't us, we can swear..." Seeing that he didn't believe them, Elder Hu raised his palm, about to continue explaining, when he suddenly froze, as if he had seen a ghost: "Hall Master..."

"What's wrong?"

Hearing the cry and following his gaze, Hall Master Han staggered again, nearly spitting out blood.

He saw that the deer meat, which had just been missing one leg, now had its other leg gone as well. Only bare bones hung there, an indescribably eerie sight.