The journey was silent, and soon the group made a discovery.
Zhang Ding squatted on the ground, using a branch to poke at the small, black, round droppings on the ground, and even brought the branch to his nose to sniff it.
"That's right, these are the droppings of the Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger). Those beasts were active here. Judging by the droppings, it must have been several hours ago. If we stake out a nearby water source, we should be able to find that group of beasts."
A smile appeared on Zhang Ding's face. With the activity range of the Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) confirmed, everything became simple.
Zhang Ding was undoubtedly an excellent hunter. Along the way, he could distinguish which wild beast had passed by just from the traces on the surrounding vegetation.
As a veteran of the Hunting Beast Hall, who wouldn't have some skill?
The following time was quite tedious. A group of people spread out around a nearby spring, quietly staking out and waiting for their prey to arrive.
And so, a day and a night passed while they waited. At night, everyone took turns on watch and resting. Fortunately, they were all experienced and often spent the night in Yangping Mountain. Apart from a wild boar that was sent away in the evening, there were no further incidents.
They waited until noon on the second day. Lin Sheng chewed on the Rock Sheep jerky in his hand while looking at an old booklet in his hand.
This was the hundred beast compendium, given to everyone after joining the Hunting Beast Hall. It mainly recorded information about various wild beasts in Yangping Mountain. The value of this booklet to him was naturally extraordinary.
Ranked first in the booklet was a bear-type Spirit Beast, the Silver Ring Scale Bear, eight meters tall, covered in silver-patterned black scales, possessing immense strength, astonishing defense, and Blood Transportation level combat power.
In addition, the top seven Spirit Beasts in the booklet were all marked as having Blood Transportation Realm combat power.
This made Lin Sheng quite surprised. He hadn't expected that Yangping Mountain would have such powerful Spirit Beasts, and as many as seven of them.
"Blood Transportation level combat power, this can already be considered the highest combat power in the entire Lin'an County. I wonder if there are seven Blood Transportation Realm Martial Artists in the entire County Town?"
Lin Sheng thought to himself, raising the perceived danger level of Yangping Mountain by several notches in his mind.
Noticing the hundred beast compendium in Lin Sheng's hand, Zhang Ding, who was nearby, said with a grin.
"So, seeing so many Blood Transportation Realm exotic beasts, are you scared?"
"A little bit."
Lin Sheng nodded cooperatively.
"I didn't expect there to be so many exotic beasts in Yangping Mountain."
"Of course, the secrets within Yangping Mountain run deep. But Brother Lin, you don't need to worry too much. The powerful Blood Transportation Realm Spirit Beasts ranked high up are basically deep within Yangping Mountain, far from our outer area. Moreover, those Blood Transportation Spirit Beasts are very lazy and might not come out even once in decades."
"Anyway, I, your older brother, have been in the Hunting Beast Hall for three or four years and have never seen these things. Let alone Blood Transportation Realm Spirit Beasts, even Crimson Belly Spirit Snake, which is a Forging Tendons Realm Spirit Beast, is quite rare."
Zhang Ding explained with a light smile.
Lin Sheng also nodded slightly. He naturally understood this point. If Blood Transportation Realm Spirit Beasts frequently appeared, the people of the Hunting Beast Hall would probably have died countless times by now.
As for the Crimson Belly Spirit Snake, it is also recorded in this hundred beast compendium, ranked eleventh. Its ranking is quite high, showing that this Spirit Beast is definitely among the top contenders in the Forging Tendons Realm.
The two chatted for a few more sentences, then stopped talking because a series of cicada chirps had already started in the distance. This was the secret signal between the Hunting Beast Hall members. Clearly, after waiting for a day and a night, they had finally waited for the main target.
Squeak... chirp...
Everyone held their breath and waited quietly. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a strange series of calls sounded from a distance, and as time passed, the sound grew louder.
The continuous squeaking and chirping sounds proved that there were quite a few things coming.
"Be careful everyone, don't make any noise. The Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) has sharp ears."
Zhang Ding lowered his voice and instructed the few people behind him. Everyone nodded to indicate they understood.
Lin Sheng naturally did the same. He stared intently ahead, wanting to see the true appearance of the Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger).
Before long, as the calls grew closer, there was a rustling in the dense bushes ahead. A furry head with two horns resembling sheep horns peeked out. Its two round eyes occasionally scanned the surroundings.
Then this furry thing completely emerged from the bushes. It had a plump body, short legs, and a round shape, covered in thick black and white fur. Its size was slightly smaller than a Rock Sheep, but similar to the size of a wild boar in his previous life.
"Is this the Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger)?"
Seeing this bizarre and strange exotic beast, Lin Sheng thought to himself.
At this moment, the bushes not far away rustled, and one Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) after another walked out. After confirming that there was no danger around, these exotic beasts slowly walked towards the spring.
A few wild rabbits resting by the spring noticed the movement behind them and were so scared that they quickly scurried into the nearby bushes. However, they had only run a few yards before being bitten by a Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) and swallowed whole.
At this time, there were already over thirty Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) by the spring, which was more than thirty percent more than originally planned.
"Why are there so many more? The rope traps we originally set up probably can't handle this many."
Zhang Ding said in a low voice, his brows furrowed, unsure of what to do for a moment.
After all, although the Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) is not very threatening, it possesses considerable strength. Individually, it is much stronger than things like Rock Sheep. Ordinary exotic beasts would not provoke a group of Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) of this size.
"Never mind, let's see what Chief Wang arranges."
Soon, Zhang Ding shook his head and stopped worrying about these things. After all, Wang Sanyang was still above, and the decision was up to him.
At this point, most of the Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) had arrived at the spring, lowered their heads, and began drinking greedily.
"Attack!!"
After another dozen breaths, a loud shout suddenly sounded from above. It was Wang Sanyang's voice.
The next moment, figures leaped out from the ancient trees around and from the dry grass on the ground.
Lin Sheng also jumped out behind Zhang Ding.
At this time, all the hunters of the Hunting Beast Hall held ropes as thick as a child's forearm in their hands.
As the ropes were pulled, the rope net buried in the ground around the spring directly broke through the soil, trapping most of the Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger). Only seven or eight were left outside, startled and panicked by this sudden scene, and they ran off in all directions.
"Don't worry about those few, first secure the net!"
Wang Sanyang's voice sounded. He was gripping two ropes in his hands, and the veins on his wrists were bulging, clearly using great strength.
After all, the number of Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) this time was too large, forcing him to use his full strength.
The other hunters also held ropes and quickly secured them to the nearby ancient trees.
As long as the ropes were completely secured, these Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) would be like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
At this moment, the Yangjiao Huan (ram-horned badger) in the net seemed to realize this and began frantically charging at the net in front of them.