Spirit Beast

"A Spirit Beast, the Red-bellied Spirit Snake!?"

Lin Sheng's heart stirred.

Possessing the Mountain Sea Scroll, he was quite interested in these exotic beasts.

Wild beasts like the rock sheep and iron yak were all considered common grade. The improvements he'd gained from integrating them into his body were already quite significant. He wondered what miraculous effects integrating a spirit beast, clearly of a much higher grade than the iron yak, would bring.

As he thought about it, a flicker of excitement ignited within him. Although the work at the Beast Hunter Hall was dangerous, it suited him quite well.

At this moment, an old hunter behind him spoke with a hint of helplessness.

"Lin Sheng, don't always listen to what Captain Zhang says. It's best if those so-called spirit beasts appear as little as possible. The last time, to deal with that Red-bellied Spirit Snake, our Beast Hunter Hall lost nearly a hundred men. If it happens a few more times, the Beast Hunter Hall might as well be wiped out."

"Old Li, what are you talking about? While hunting spirit beasts is extremely dangerous, the rewards are equally generous. Last time, everyone in our Beast Hunter Hall received an extra ten taels of silver. Those hunters who managed to hold off the spirit beasts, the survivors each received a Blood Condensing Pill. That's a precious medicine that greatly aids in breaking through to Muscle Forging," Zhang Ding retorted directly to the old hunter's words.

"For people like us with no background, what else can we rely on but daring to fight and kill? If we can break through to Muscle Forging, it would be like defying fate. Then we could leave the Beast Hunter Hall and find a good job in the county town, no longer living on the edge of a knife."

Hearing this, the old hunter didn't argue back, clearly acknowledging that Zhang Ding was right. The Beast Hunter Hall, if not exactly precarious, was not far from it. Even if nothing happened now, there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen later.

The reality was indeed that while the Beast Hunter Hall offered generous treatment, its casualty rate was also the highest among all the halls in the Town Mountain Tower.

For a moment, several old-timers from the Town Mountain Hall, including Zhang Ding, fell silent.

Lin Sheng, however, didn't pay much attention to this. He knew that with enough time, his strength would definitely improve considerably. Although he didn't have the follow-up cultivation methods for the Raging Bull Fist, the White Ape Leg Technique he received from Liu Ergou was enough for him to cultivate to Minor Accomplishment in Muscle Forging.

Of course, the most important thing was the Mountain Sea Scroll. As long as he could find some powerful exotic beasts in Yangping Mountain to integrate into his body, his strength would undoubtedly surge, and he would be able to protect himself in Yangping Mountain.

"Hiss!"

"Ah!!"

A roar echoed from not far away, followed by a scream.

The few people quickly turned their heads, only to see a hunter clutching his shoulder and wailing. In front of him, on the leaves and branches, a long branch was shaking continuously.

Lin Sheng had good eyesight, and since he was only about a hundred meters away, he focused his vision and saw that within the shaking branch, there was a dark green poisonous snake.

The snake was only as thick as a child's arm, with dense patterns on its body. Its flat, oval head had a protrusion resembling a crest, and it was constantly flicking its tongue, looking quite chilling.

"It's bad, it's a Crested Snake! Quick, scatter the realgar powder!!"

Someone in the team quickly shouted, and then someone fumbled in their pocket and roughly tore open a cloth bag, scattering a cloud of orange powder towards the branch.

The Crested Snake seemed to greatly dislike the powder. It probed forward a few times, but ultimately turned and disappeared into the tree branches.

At this time, the bitten hunter was still wailing in pain. An old hunter quickly stepped forward to examine him, but shook his head with a grim expression.

"Idiot, didn't you sprinkle insect repellent powder on yourself before entering the mountain!!"

"I... I forgot... It hurts... Save me quickly... I don't want to die!!"

The injured hunter wailed intermittently, his body convulsing on the ground.

By now, Lin Sheng had followed Zhang Ding and the others over, watching the terrified and pained expression on the young hunter's face.

"What do we do??"

Lin Sheng looked at Zhang Ding beside him. Judging from the young hunter's condition and the cautious expressions of everyone when they saw the snake earlier, it was clear that the Crested Snake was highly venomous.

"If bitten by a Crested Snake, there's only one way to survive..."

Zhang Ding shook his head slightly, not finishing his sentence.

"Get out of the way!"

At this moment, Wang Sanyang quickly walked over, passing through the crowd. He directly pinned down the convulsing young hunter, pried open his hand gripping his arm, and pulled open his upper clothing.

Two bloody holes could be clearly seen on his forearm, from which streams of black blood were constantly gushing out.

Wang Sanyang took one look, then swiftly drew a hemp rope from his waist and tightly bound it above the injured hunter's shoulder. He then took out a small wine flask from his bosom, took a deep swig, spat it onto his shoulder, and then tore off a piece of cloth to stuff into the hunter's mouth.

Just as he finished these actions, an old hunter beside him handed over a steel knife.

"No... don't..."

Seeing this, the young hunter seemed to understand something. His eyes widened, and he continuously shouted.

Wang Sanyang ignored him, raised his arm, and brought it down quickly. With a flash of cold light, an arm was severed at the shoulder.

A large amount of blood splattered, and this blood had already turned a dark color, clearly stained by the venom.

However, as a large amount of blood spurted from the severed limb, within a few breaths, the flowing blood gradually turned bright red.

"That should be enough," Wang Sanyang said in a deep voice after seeing this.

At this moment, someone nearby had already taken out a thick medicinal powder and applied it to a white cloth. Hearing Wang Sanyang's words, they immediately used the cloth to bandage the young hunter's wound.

"Most of the poisoned blood has been drained. Liu Le, Wang Er, you two take him and immediately go down the mountain to find Physician Qian. His life should be saved."

"Yes, Captain Wang."

Two people from the team stepped forward, lifted the young hunter onto their backs, and quickly ran towards the foot of the mountain.

After the two figures disappeared, Wang Sanyang scanned the surrounding crowd with a serious expression.

"Once you enter Yangping Mountain, there is no room for the slightest carelessness. I don't want to repeat these tired old sayings, because your lives are your own. However, if you endanger everyone due to your own negligence, it will be more than just a matter of one life."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the newcomers in the team, and after a while, he finally withdrew his eyes.

"Alright, let's go. Regardless, the mission must be completed."

After this interlude, Lin Sheng clearly felt that the originally relaxed atmosphere in the team had become somewhat somber, especially among the newcomers. As for the veterans, their faces showed no change, clearly indicating that such situations were not uncommon for them.

"So this is Yangping Mountain? It truly is dangerous."

Lin Sheng thought to himself as he followed Zhang Ding and the others forward.

They had only entered Yangping Mountain not long ago, and at most, they had only walked a few miles into the mountain.

As far as he knew, the deeper they went into Yangping Mountain, the more dangerous it became, especially in the depths where powerful fierce beasts were not uncommon. Of course, most missions from the Beast Hunter Hall were in the outer areas and did not venture too deep into Yangping Mountain.

He dismissed the slight complacency he had felt due to his recent strength improvement. Although he believed his current strength was no less than Zhang Ding's, if he had been bitten by that Crested Snake just now, the outcome would likely not have been much better than that young hunter's.

Losing an arm in this world clearly meant being crippled. Even if that young hunter survived, his future days would not be easy.