Congyun Mountains.
Within the mountain forest.
"Be careful everyone, try not to make too much noise. This area is the territory of that white-striped tiger. Although that Spirit Beast is strong, it usually sleeps during the day and only comes out to hunt at night, so we can rest in this area for a while."
A group of over ten people found shelter under a thick ancient tree. Leaning against the tree, they sat on the ground, took out food from their bags, and began to rest.
Among these dozen or so people, there were young and old, male and female. They were dressed like herbalists, carrying woven baskets on their backs. Their exposed skin was smeared with a certain green ointment, emitting a grassy smell, but everyone seemed oblivious, heartily gnawing on dried meat jerky and flatbread.
"Leader, our luck is pretty good this trip. We actually found over a dozen Vermilion Grasses. When we get back to the County Town, we can definitely sell them for a good price."
"Yeah, besides Vermilion Grasses, there are also some Lotus Leaf Flowers. This trip is bound to make us a fortune."
Everyone kept their voices low, but smiles were evident on every face, indicating a good harvest. In the Congyun Mountains, those who work as herbalists essentially risk their lives.
A slight carelessness can result in death. However, high risk also comes with high reward. There are many rare herbs in the Congyun Mountains. If you're lucky enough to bring some back safely, you can sell them for a lot of money.
So, despite the high mortality rate, many herbalists venture deep into the mountains every year, but not many are able to return safely.
The one leading was an old man in his 50s. He looked quite old, but his aura was genuinely at the Late Stage of Blood Transportation.
The weakest among these dozen or so people were also at the Early Stage of Blood Transportation. Otherwise, they wouldn't have the guts to enter the Congyun Mountains.
The old man took a large bite of the meat jerky but didn't pay attention to the others' conversation. Instead, he looked around with some doubt.
"Strange, although this place is the territory of that white-striped tiger, there are usually some birds and beasts around. Why is it so quiet today? I haven't even seen a bird..."
The old man had been an herbalist for many years and had always been safe. Naturally, he prioritized caution. As soon as he noticed something was off, he immediately moved away.
Feeling that this forest was different from before, he frowned, threw the last bite of jerky into his mouth, and immediately urged everyone.
"Alright, hurry up and get up, let's leave here."
"What's wrong, Leader? Didn't we just sit down? This is the safest place around here."
Hearing the old man's words, someone in the team asked in confusion.
"Yeah, Brother, if we don't rest properly here, it will take us a long time to get down the mountain..."
"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and pack up and leave here."
The old man's face turned serious, and he immediately frowned and cursed.
Seeing that the old man's angry expression wasn't feigned, the group didn't dare to treat it as a joke. They quickly got up, packed their things, and were about to follow the old man to leave.
"Huh, there are people here?"
And just then, a voice tinged with amusement and surprise rang out from the mountain forest not far away.
Then Sha Ha, holding a meteor hammer, walked out from the forest, a look of surprise appearing on his face as he looked at the group of herbalists.
His eyes constantly scanned everyone, but that gaze gave them a chilling feeling, as if in the other party's eyes, they were not people but prey.
"Esteemed Senior, we are just herbalists who entered the mountains. We don't have anything valuable on us, just some Vermilion Grasses. If Senior is interested, please take them."
Looking at the strong man in front of him with strange attire and a slightly odd accent, the old man immediately lowered his posture and spoke with great respect. As he spoke, he took off the herbal basket from his back and placed it on the ground, while also scolding his companions beside him.
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and take out the herbs and offer them to Senior."
Although the group was unwilling, seeing the old man act like this, they also took off their herbal baskets and placed them in front.
Seeing this scene, Sha Ha tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over the herbal baskets, but he quickly moved his eyes away, focusing on the group again, especially lingering on the women and a few younger, strong men among them, before revealing a cruel smile.
"You are very lucky... It is your fortune to be able to merge with me."
"Run!"
At this moment, the old man suddenly roared and was the first to turn around and rush towards the forest behind him.
The other dozen or so people also reacted and quickly scattered in all directions with all their might.
However, the sound of breaking wind quickly rang out. A meteor hammer continuously extended, and in the blink of an eye, it wrapped around several herbalists and pulled them back.
Hearing the shouts from behind, the old man's heart pounded wildly, but his steps did not stop at all. As the strongest among them and the first to flee, he ran the furthest.
Just as he was feeling fortunate that the strange black-clothed person hadn't caught up, his heart suddenly sank.
Because at some point, another black-clothed person had appeared in front.
His attire was identical to the previous black-clothed person, but what he held in his hand was a dark black chain.
Before the old man could react, the dark black chain wrapped around his neck like a venomous snake. Instantly, the old man's body stiffened, unable to move at all.
The old man's eyes widened, and a look of despair appeared on his face. However, not much time was given to him. The next moment, the black-clothed person was close to him, his palm like a hook, directly piercing his chest. Instantly, a still-beating heart was pulled out.
A strong bloody smell emanated, but a hint of greed appeared on the black-clothed person's face. He swallowed the heart in one gulp, then showed a look of enjoyment.
He somewhat lingeringly extended his long, thin tongue, licked the blood from his lips clean, and then took out the old man's internal organs, swallowing them one by one.
After a while, of the original dozen or so people, only 8 were left and brought to the side of the white tiger's corpse.
"Leader, our luck is good. First, we have this white tiger, and now we have these living people."
Sha Ha herded these people back. There were also streaks of blood on his lips, the reason for which was self-evident.
The Leader among the four, Sha Han, the black-clothed person with a long whip, scanned these terrified herbalists and also revealed a hint of greed.
"Alright, the bloody smell of this white tiger is too strong. Although it's quite effective for us, when it comes to taste, human organs are still the best."
Sha Han flicked his hand, and the long whip had already pulled three herbalists close. His palm extended, and the next moment, the three herbalists were disemboweled.
Soon, the 4 black-clothed people successively joined this feast.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the 4 black-clothed people finally stopped, satisfied.
"Okay, let's rest here for a while and then be on our way. The saintly elephant's tusk is already in hand, there's no need to stay here any longer."
Sha Han wiped the bloodstains from the corners of his mouth and spoke indifferently.
"Alright, it's just a shame about such a good place, unlike our Holy Domain which is so boring."
Hearing this, Sha Ha nodded with a hint of regret on his face.
...
Swoosh...
A cyan energy flash passed by, cutting a completely green venomous snake on the ancient tree into two sections.
"This is the area."
Lin Sheng stood atop the ancient tree, his figure light as nothing. His gaze fell upon the dense blood-red forest sea ahead.
This forest sea is mostly filled with large trees called Blood Maple Trees.
And it's linear. Extending north-south, it's quite long and narrow.
According to the information Wan Yanbei gave him, the person he was looking for was likely within this Blood Maple Forest Sea.
He didn't care much whether the information was accurate. He had gained a lot from this trip. He would explore this Blood Maple Forest Sea one last time, and if he didn't find anyone, he would go back to cultivate in seclusion.
These past few days, every night, in addition to wood carving, he would swallow a piece of youming soul grass. Every day, he could genuinely feel the improvement of his spirit.
It won't be long before it triggers a qualitative change and further increases his spirit attribute.
While contemplating, he tapped his toe, his figure transforming into a blur, quickly descending into this blood-red forest sea.
Half a day quickly passed.
Lin Sheng's rapidly moving figure suddenly stopped. His nostrils twitched, and he quickly changed direction, heading towards the mountain forest on the left. However, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn passed.
A wolf beast had already appeared in his line of sight.
This was a wolf-type Spirit Beast that was completely black. At this moment, it was lying in front of the corpse of a large white tiger, continuously gnawing on it.
Seemingly noticing the extra aura behind it, this wolf beast immediately turned around. Upon seeing Lin Sheng, it immediately bared its fangs and let out a low growl, and the next moment it pounced towards Lin Sheng.
"Seeking death."
Lin Sheng merely pointed a finger, and a cyan beam of light pierced through the wolf beast's head.
Its large body fell to the ground, stirring up a large cloud of dust. Lin Sheng stepped forward and placed his hand on the wound, instantly incorporating it into his body.
After glancing at its information, he didn't have much interest. This wolf beast's attribute increase was only 15 points, which is the lower limit for an Elementary Level Spirit Beast. Its talent was also quite ordinary, there was really nothing noteworthy about it.
"It's just this tiger beast..."
He cast his gaze upon the white tiger corpse beside him.
Then he reached out and placed his hand on the damaged head.
The information of this tiger beast immediately popped up in the consciousness panel.
【Beast Name: White-Striped Tiger (Spirit Beast)】
【White-striped forehead, hanging eyes, boundless strength, swift as wind...】
【Incorporation Requirement: Strength 7】
【Incorporation Effect: Agility Increase 7, Strength Increase 7, Constitution Increase 5】
【Talent: Tiger's Might】
【Talent: Iron Bone】
The moment he saw the White-Striped Tiger's information, Lin Sheng revealed a look of surprise. It actually had a total of 19 points in attribute increase, and it even possessed two talents.
Tiger-type Spirit Beasts are already somewhat rare, and this white tiger in front of him was already close to entering the ranks of High-Level Spirit Beasts.
Truly calculated, it might even be three parts stronger than that Mystic Dark Yin Python.
After all, Spirit Beasts with two talents are quite rare.
A Spirit Beast of this level definitely couldn't have been killed by that wolf beast just now. Clearly, someone or some beast else killed this white tiger.
He carefully examined the white tiger's injuries and found that its internal organs had been completely removed, and the blood in its body seemed to have evaporated, with hardly any left.
This strange method doesn't seem like something a beast would do, but rather something a human would do.
Being able to kill such a Spirit Beast, the person who did it is clearly not weak.
"It's a pity I can't incorporate this White-Striped Tiger."
He felt a bit regretful. After all, Spirit Beasts like the White-Striped Tiger are quite rare.
Soon, he smelled a different bloody scent. He tapped his toe and leaped a hundred zhang away, finding the corpses of herbalists lying on the ground.
These corpses had tragic appearances, some with looks of terror still on their faces.
Their chests and abdomens were slit open, and the internal organs inside had disappeared.
Seeing this scene, Lin Sheng couldn't help but frown.
He didn't know what had happened here, but he was certain that this was done by humans.
He immediately switched all his incorporated alien beasts to high-perception alien beasts.
When traveling, he basically chose to incorporate the Green-Eyed Fierce Eagle, Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey, and also chose a perception-type Spirit Beast.
He would only switch entirely to high-perception alien beasts when needed.
After switching at this moment, he instantly felt the chaotic auras around him.
Besides the auras of these corpses, the white tiger, and some other beasts, he quickly identified four unique auras.
The auras of these 4 people were strange, clearly not those of beasts.
"Are there four people?"
He murmured to himself, then his figure quickly sped forward.
These people are likely the ones he is looking for.
...
Two days later.
Glancing at the blood-red forest sea behind him, Sha Han took out a map from his pocket and looked at it.
"In another 7 days, we'll be able to get out of this mountain range. Remember to disguise yourselves and change your appearance. After leaving the mountains, try not to get into conflicts with people to avoid any accidents."
Sha Han glanced at the other three and instructed them.
Hiss—
Sha Ha reached out and slit open the chest of a young man in front of him, took out the heart, licked it fondly, and then swallowed it in one gulp before responding.
"Understood, Brother."
At this moment, several white-clothed figures lay on the ground.
The figures were similarly dressed, clearly from the same force, but it was a pity they encountered these people.
"Before leaving, we should enjoy ourselves properly, otherwise we'll have to hold back for quite a while again."
Sha Ha, still unsatisfied, dug out the liver and kidneys and ate them one by one.
The Tianluo Sect was able to become a major power in the Southern Qi Country because its internal cultivation methods progressed extremely quickly.
Moreover, the requirements for the mind and spirit were not high. Instead, it deliberately amplified the beast nature in the Bloodline, allowing the cultivation methods to exert strength beyond their own.
However, there were pros and cons. While the cultivation speed was extremely fast, it also made the Tianluo Sect members' temperaments brutal.
In severe cases, they were more like beasts than humans.
Therefore, most of them needed to rely on external objects to maintain their clarity and not be overly affected by their beast nature, becoming half-human, half-beast monsters.
Sha Han glanced at his three companions and took out a white cloth package from his pocket.
Through the white cloth, he could feel a warm and comforting sensation coming from it.
It made one's mind and spirit feel instantly clear.
"As expected of the saintly elephant's tusk, it is indeed a marvel for suppressing beast nature."
He opened the white cloth and looked at the pure white tusk inside, which was only the length of an adult's forearm. A hint of greed flashed across his face.
However, he knew very well that he only possessed this item temporarily. Upon returning to the sect, he would definitely have to hand it over.
With a feeling of regret in his heart, he put the white cloth package away again. A hint of tyrannical and bloodthirsty intent rose in his heart. He immediately pulled a white-clothed figure from the ground, disemboweled it, and began to feast heartily.
And seven or eight li away from here.
Lin Sheng stopped his steps.
Feeling the bloody aura in the distance.
"It's just ahead..."
His eyes flickered. With this strong bloody aura, he knew exactly what these 4 people were doing. Tracking them all the way here, he had seen those disemboweled and mutilated corpses more than once.