Chapter 161: Chapter 22 Turning Point of Destiny
This confusion didn’t last long, the door creaked open, and everyone saw “Ling Buyang” emerge with a smile, apologizing as he walked, “I’m so sorry, this fellow has been a bit disobedient lately, causing everyone trouble…”
Yu Longqing hurriedly looked, and saw the once unruly Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk now obediently following behind, its eyes, previously full of killing intent, now filled with flattery, as the giant head rubbed against Zhang Xuan’s leg, making “cheep cheep cheep cheep” sounds, like a chick that had just hatched, encountering its mother.
“Lord Ling is amazing!”
“Truly worthy of being a Fate Master…”
Many Elders exclaimed, their eyes filled with admiration.
In their eyes, it was just his beast pet being taught a lesson and obediently listening, which seemed only natural. Only Yu Longqing knew what was really going on, too shocked to speak.
Truly tamed?
To tame someone else’s beast pet as one’s own… Initially, he thought that his beast taming skills were only effective on horses, or half-dead Cangbai Eagles. It turns out he isn’t picky at all!
A Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk of the Divine Soul Realm, its strength nearly matched his own, didn’t it!
“Let’s go! It’s just the right time for a stroll…”
Paying no heed to his thoughts, Zhang Xuan nodded, lightly jumped onto the back of the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk, and with a command, the eagle immediately let out a sharp cry, its massive wings violently flapping, and in the blink of an eye, it soared into the sky.
“So fast!”
Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction from the back of the eagle.
He had been worrying about when he would reach the capital, but with this fellow, he estimated the speed would be much faster.
After flying the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk around in the sky for a while, Zhang Xuan lost interest. Just as he was about to return to his residence, an idea struck him, “I remember the task that Sun Qiang gave me included killing a Peak of Jade Bone Realm Primordial Beast in Golden Leaf Canyon of Huaiyuan Mountain, and Baiyan Medicine Shop would reward a million Origin Currency. Since I’m free, might as well take a trip there…”
The School’s Book Collection Vault had a map of Huaiyuan Mountain; he had specifically looked at it last time when he was collecting cultivation methods, and knew exactly where it was. With a thought, the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk pierced through the clouds, flying swiftly towards the destination.
Golden Leaf Canyon was covered with basket flowers; these flowers’ petals were golden yellow, covering the mountainside in spring, turning the valley golden, hence the name Golden Leaf Valley.
At the moment, outside the valley, several herb gatherers, bloodied and disheveled, rushed out.
“That was close…”
Stopping their march, recalling the recent ordeal, one of the gatherers, looking like a scholar, couldn’t shake off the fear in his eyes.
Golden Leaf Canyon, stretching for hundreds of miles, was filled with various medicinal herbs, a paradise for gatherers. In the past, one could always return loaded with herbs, but now, ever since that Primordial Beast appeared, every entry felt like a descent into hell.
“Su Zhao and I knew each other for twenty years, I never thought he’d die at the hands of that Primordial Beast…” a muscular man sighed next to him.
The scholar-like person said, “He had no choice, his wife is severely ill, his son was hit by a carriage, and an old mother who also developed madness last year, all are holes draining money. He himself wanted to practice, but couldn’t bear to buy resources. He heard the medicine shop was urgently in need of Egret Grass, which grows in thick patches deep in Golden Leaf Canyon. He didn’t ask for much, just a basketful to solve all his family’s problems… never in his dreams expecting, to encounter such bad luck and run into that behemoth!”
“Ah, which of us isn’t like that, who would risk their lives to gather herbs if not for lack of money!”
The muscular man lamented, “Luckily we ran fast, or we’d have fallen in there too! Ah, heaven is blind, to treat us poor guys like this! If someone could kill that Primordial Beast, I’d be willing to provide a Longevity Plaque for him every day, wishing him health and long life!”
The scholar nodded, “I’d also be willing to worship!”
“It’s not that we don’t want toItem_Handlebinary(‘kill’), but that creature is too powerful to kill! Baiyan Medicine Shop’s million Origin Currency reward has been up for over a year now, the hunters that came, not two hundred then one hundred and fifty, ended up dead, not a single one made it back!”
“Exactly, my cousin’s brother’s aunt’s third uncle’s nephew, I heard also joined the hunt, that time they brought more than 20 good hands, the highest of them reached the Peak of Jade Bone Realm, but not even one made it out of the valley… that we could escape really counts as good luck!”
“That’s true…”
Recalling the fearsomeness of that behemoth in the woods, everyone sighed at the same time.
“Let’s go! If we don’t leave now, once it chases after us, no one will escape…”
After catching their breath and feeling somewhat recovered, the scholarly gatherer called out, just as they were about to leave, a furious roar echoed from the depths of the valley, like the roar of a tiger, shaking the entire mountain relentlessly.
“It’s that Primordial Beast…”
As their pupils constricted, the tension rose again among them, “Could it be chasing us?”
“Doesn’t seem like it, the sound is still deep in the valley, and how come it sounds frightened?”
“Frightened?”
Being frequent gatherers, they were very sensitive to the sounds of Primordial Beasts, able to distinguish whether it was anger or a roar in an instant. Thinking back, indeed, there was a sense of that flavor in the sound just now.
A Peak of Jade Bone Realm Primordial Beast, among the top few in the entire Huaiyuan Mountain, just now chasing them to the point of wetting themselves, and now you’re telling me it’s frightened?
Must be joking, right?
“Let’s find out,”
Said by someone unsure who, the scholarly gatherer hesitated for a moment, finally clenched his teeth, “Alright!”
The group immediately retraced their path, and not long after, they reached a small hill where they could clearly see the situation inside the valley.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As they steadied themselves, they heard a series of intense roars ahead. Trees, as if struck by some colossal creature, fell in swathes. What followed was the pitiful howling of a Primordial Beast.
The crowd exchanged panic-stricken glances.
What on earth happened to cause such fear in this seemingly invincible beast?
“Look over there…”
Suddenly, someone pointed in a direction, and everyone followed their gaze.
At a distance of two to three thousand meters, a figure whose face wasn’t clear stood proudly on a treetop. The Primordial Beast that had been chasing them let out an enraged roar and then leaped towards it.
“Be careful…”
Seeing that he was so careless as to boldly stand there, everyone perspired with tension for him.
But their tension quickly evaporated, because the fearsome beast, before even reaching him, was sent flying with a palm strike that broke tree trunks along its spine…
After several more palm strikes, the beast seemed frightened and turned to flee. But before it got far, the figure appeared again on a treetop in front of it and struck with another palm.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
With each palm strike, the beast at the Peak of Jade Bone Realm went from initial panic to increasingly weak cries and its radiance diminished.
“To defeat the Primordial Beast with bare palms?”
The crowd swallowed nervously.
The skin of the Primordial Beast was thick and its body massive. Ordinary cultivators, even if able to kill one, would typically rely on weapons; yet this person did it with sheer palm forces without any tricks, rendering the beast unable to move…
What kind of power was this?
“Enough of this, too weak, can’t even take 20% of my Xuanlong Palm…”
Suddenly, an unhappy muttering was heard, as if carried by the wind down the valley. Soon after, the figure flashed in front of the beast and struck once again.
Bang!
This time the beast didn’t escape; it was sent flying seventy to eighty meters into the air, then heavily crashed to the ground, twitching a few times before moving no more.
With a light grasp, the Primordial Beast vanished. In the next moment, a giant bird-like beast flew over and landed on its back, and the figure disappeared into the sky.
“Is that big guy dead?”
“Did this master kill it? Does that mean we can go into the mountain to gather herbs now?”
“That’s great, let’s move quickly, otherwise, others will get to the good herbs before us…”
After their shock subsided, excitement took over, and paying no heed to anything else, the crowd rushed towards the valley.
Although they didn’t know who he was, since he had saved them, they were determined to honor his Longevity Plaque!
“Are you saying… Lord Ling Buyang ran to Huaiyuan Mountain, killed that Primordial Beast, and collected a reward of one million Origin Currency?”
In the dean’s office, after hearing Dean Wu’s words, Lu Mingrong was speechless.
How short of money was this Mr. Zhang… He always thought the man was notably low-key, but who would have guessed that someone so low-key could clean out all the bounties in the city in one day?
That’s too conspicuous!
Ignoring the commotion he had caused in Baiyan City while completing his mission, Zhang Xuan was now looking at the three students in front of him, his expression indifferent.
“…That’s the situation. I impersonated Ling Buyang to go to Heaven Mandate Hall, which is a grievous sin in itself. If exposed, I might never recover. If you decide to come with me, you’ll be complicit in the conspiracy, with no chance of clearing your names! Most importantly, we’ll constantly face grave dangers with our lives not in our own hands… It’s up to you whether to go or not. I will not force you, but I ask that once you leave, don’t tell anyone that you’ve studied under me.”
Returning home, he saw three students had come and Zhang Xuan didn’t bother with formalities; he quickly made his thoughts known.
Whether they would betray him later was an issue for another time.
Those who chose to follow him were naturally unlikely to betray him; for those uncertain, he had other measures.
“This…”
They hadn’t expected that their teacher could even kill a Fate Master, let alone impersonate him to enter Heaven Mandate Hall. Yu Xiaoyu and the others stood frozen, unable to comprehend the revelation for a long while.
After the shock came contemplation.
To follow or not to follow?
Being alive afforded opportunities; death did not… any path then only led to hell.
Fate changed, present at each significant turn in life, and this moment was arguably the most pivotal.