STNS: Chapter 497 (Patreon)

Hou Jingshu was surprised to hear a magical beast speak the human tongue. She knew it was possible, of course, since Youmei could speak it, but she had been living among humans. It was highly doubtful that a human would ever wander around here. How had this massive beast learned to speak the human language?

It’s not at the Deva Realm…

Not only could Hou Jingshu sense its cultivation, but it hadn’t attained a human form. Youmei had first begun speaking after reaching the Human Limit Realm. That was the cultivation this magical beast had achieved.

“What is the matter, human? Too afraid to speak? Very well then. I shall carve the flesh from your--”

Hou Jingshu had heard enough.

Before the creature could finish speaking, she had swung her spear with a combination of elegance and raw power. She used no technique. She didn’t need to. Those at the Seeker Realm like her were so much more powerful than someone at the Human Limit Realm that it wasn’t even funny. This beast had acted so arrogant, but it didn’t even realize the difference in their strength. She appeared behind the creature as its head separated from its shoulders, blood spraying from the stump in a mass of gore.

She turned toward the twitching carcass and walked over. After wiping the blood off her spear using its fur, she eyed the creature in closer detail.

Its fur wasn’t black like she originally thought but more of a dark blue. Could she use this fur to make a blanket or something for Wu Jian? She also wondered if this animal was edible. Magical beasts were considered a delicacy in many nations, so by that logic, this wolf creature probably was. The carcass would have to cleaned and she’d need to carve it up, but…

With that thought in mind, she held out her hand and channeled her chi. The storage ring in her hand glowed and the corpse vanished into particles of light that disappeared inside of the ring.

She continued on her way. No other magical beasts attacked her, though she sensed several eying her warily. Hou Jingshu glanced around with a frown. All she could see was dense coniferous trees. All she could hear was the babbling of a nearby brook.

The creatures had stopped chirping.

This was normal. Animals had incredible senses for danger and likely bolted when that giant wolf appeared. Speaking of, she was beginning to get hungry. Cultivators could go for long periods without food, but even they still needed to eat, and it had been several days since her last meal.

Maybe I should actually clean up that wolf… I don’t have much rations and no source of protein right now.

The first step toward cleaning a carcass was to let it bleed out. Hou Jingshu had done this several times already while living with her master. Loong Chen taught her how to bleed, clean, and prepare a carcass, and she had done it several times already. Since she was in a dangerous area and had no idea what sort of magical beasts were around here, she decided not to hang the carcass while it drained. Instead, she’d find a river.

Unfortunately, it took way longer to find a river than she would have liked. The sun was going down by the time she did and her mind was clouded by pangs of hunger. She eyed the river, judging its width and potential depth, determined it was enough, then summoned the corpse and dragged it into the water with her after removing her shoes.

Her plan was to let the blood flow downstream, assuming that the smell would be less likely to attract attention in the water than it would on land.

She only realized the folly of her plan several seconds after placing the corpse into the water. An icy chill ran made the blood around her legs freeze. She at first thought it was a metaphorical feeling, but she soon realized it was not when she glanced down, shock written across her features when she saw the entire river was frozen solid.

Alarm bells rang in her head. She broke the ice and leapt away from the river just as something long and serpentine slithered past her. The shock she felt reached alarming heights as she watched her catch get snatched up and swallowed by the large gullet of a magical beast several dozen times bigger than the wolf.

What is this creature?

It appeared similar to a snake at first glance, with a long body that extended for several dozens of mǎ long. She couldn’t even begin to guess how long it actually was at just a glance. Bright silver scales glistened in the low lighting of the sun, causing the many colors of the sunset to reflect of its glossy surface. Hou Jingshu would have called it beautiful if she had been so inclined, but when the creature turned to her with its bright yellow eyes, she found herself unable to even think about its beauty.

While it resembled a snake, that was only a surface level resemblance. Aside from being far bigger than any snake she had ever seen, its head bore a closer resemblance to a dragon. Larger and more robust, the head had a mix of reptilian and mammalian features, with a broader jaw and more pronounced snout. Expressive eyes were more forward-facing than a typical snake as well. They were bright yellow, almost gold, and contained vertical split pupils that seemed both intelligent and dangerous. It opened its mouth…

“A human girl? How deliciously interesting?”

… It spoke. In a tone that was half-sibilant hiss and half guttural growl, it voiced words that felt as though they would penetrate her skull. The very tone of its voice caused the hairs on Hou Jingshu’s neck to rise. It flicked its forked tongue in her direction, and she thought it had smiled.

A viper’s smile.

“I smell the scent of a dragon, too. This is most fortuitous. Just when I had decided to seek one who bears the blood of a dragon, karma delivers you into my waiting jaws. Come, child. You shall be but one stepping stone on my path to becoming a true dragon!”

As the creature spoke, Hou Jingshu came to a startling realization.

Unlike the wolf, she could not sense this creature’s cultivation.

It was stronger than her.

Much stronger.

***

Because the idea of traveling so far on foot didn’t appeal to him, Shuchang spread his crimson wings and flew low to the ground, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. He wanted to soar higher. Perhaps it was because of the Vermillion Bird’s blood, but the idea of not showing off his wings to the heavens bothered him intensely. He wanted to proudly show them to everyone. However, he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea right now. There was no telling what sort of dangers he might run into if he flew into the sky.

His friend’s life and legs were more important than his pride.

Several days passed before he reached the forest he had seen in the distance. It was located near the base of an active volcano, and the heat from the volcanic activity had caused the flora and fauna to adapt in order to survive such extreme temperatures. The bark on the trees gleamed like molten lava and the leaves shimmered in shades of fiery red and bright orange, giving the impression that the forest was on fire. Even the ground was covered with a fine layer of volcanic ash and intermittent streams of lava carved through the landscape, creating natural barriers and heat vents.

While the temperature was sweltering, obvious from the heat waves, Shuchang found it to be quite comfortable.

He landed near the outskirts of the forest and walked in on foot. Fortune favored him as he hadn’t run into any trouble on the way there. It seemed even on this continent, truly powerful magical beasts were rare.

Shuchang whistled. This forest was quite vibrant. Bright trees with crimson leaves hung from branches. The trees’ bark resembled flowing lava. Several bushes that produced berries sat underneath and around the trees, and he saw a variety of crimson animals eating them. Orchids growing near heat vents and lava veins absorbed and stored thermal energy. They glowed during the night as though to release the chi stored inside of them. Covering much of the forest floor was bright red grass.

The air was thick with yang chi.

“This place would be perfect for cultivators… though the air is a little thin for me,” Shuchang mumbled to himself.

If there had been a bit more chi in the air, he would have sat down and begun cultivating right away, but there wasn’t enough for him to gain any benefits. Perhaps that would change if he went deeper? He was already heading that way, so he could check it out.

This place had many strange geographical features that didn’t exist on the Xaio Continent. Scattered throughout the forest were volcanic vents, which released steam and gas into the atmosphere. Instead of water, rivers of lava flowed. They created natural barriers that influenced the migration patterns of several animals. There were also thermal springs, pockets of water heated by geothermal activity. Those contained a strong chi. Though still not enough to benefit Shuchang, he enjoyed soaking in them when he wanted to bathe.

Shuchang determined that there must have been a leyline underneath this land. It was the only thing in existence that could cause a phenomena like this.

There were also quite a few magical beasts roaming this forest. He didn’t know what they were called, but serpentine creatures with glistening scales swam through the molten lava rivers with ease, giant turtles with shells made of hardened lava rock lounged on the shores of bubbling magma lakes, majestic birds of prey with feathers that glowed with embers nested on the highest treetops, and small beings that looked like tiny flame bugs with wings fluttered all around.

None of them attacked him.

He had already taken a measure of these magical beasts, and not a single one had a cultivation level higher than his. That gave him the confidence to stride through this forest as though he owned the place.

Those magical beasts were not the only creatures that lived here, though they were the only magical beasts. The rest were just regular animals that had adapted to the environment. Flare foxes that fed on berries and small animals, tiny fire rats with bright red fur, and hounds with ash-gray fur that roamed the outskirts were the most numerous creatures around.

He at first assumed there would be nothing else in this forest and continued to travel deeper, following a river of lava that flowed from the volcano.

[Inferno Blaze]

Yet just as he stepped around a tree, a massive burst of chi and fire slammed into him like a torrent. Shuchang blinked several times as the flames struck him. They didn’t hurt. He was immune to fire, after all, but he was so stunned that he didn’t respond at first.

Shuchang soon found himself surrounded by… humans? No, they only looked human. It didn’t take him more than a split second to realize that, like Youmei, the humanoid people before him were actually magical beasts. He couldn’t immediately figure out what kind since they looked indistinguishable from humans. None of them carried a weapon, but that was because they didn’t need one. He could tell from their admirable physiques that they had honed their very bodies into weapons.

“Halt, human!” the one in front shouted.

Shuchang focused on him. He had flaming red hair much like his own, but unlike Shuchang’s, which looked like the plumage of a bird, this guy’s hair looked like a dragon’s main. He wore no clothes except for a basic loin cloth. As a fellow man who believed strength reigned supreme, Shuchang admired this guy’s muscles. They weren’t quite as strong-looking as Wu Jian’s, but that was like comparing apples to oranges, and honestly, few people were as stupidly ripped as that guy.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the man began speaking. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but this place is forbidden to humans. I’m not the type to show mercy. Because you tread on our territory, I’ll see to it that your body is turned into fertilizer for the forest.”