Mountain Spirits and Wild Monsters

Early the next morning.

Shi Yi and Zhao Cheng arrived at the yamen once more.

Although the Divine Constable Bureau had said to follow yesterday's schedule, Xu Tianlei had also sent someone to deliver a message, telling them to fully cooperate with the Divine Constable Bureau's operation and not cause trouble in Anyuan Town during this time.

He added one final sentence: those going should get there early and not keep the Divine Constable Bureau waiting.

That was why Shi Yi and Zhao Cheng had gone over so early in the morning.

Xu Tianlei was Town Magistrate Zhu Zhuoyu's man. Anyone with a little influence in Anyuan Town knew that. Since Xu Tianlei had sent word, it was clearly Town Magistrate Zhu Zhuoyu's instruction.

"Today, we should be heading to Mount Jiuhua east of the town. The search route will probably cover a wider area than yesterday."

Zhao Cheng spoke to Shi Yi.

Many people had looked over yesterday's map, and the marked route had been obvious.

As long as the mission had not changed, they could basically confirm the locations.

"Mount Jiuhua is over five hundred meters high. Fully searching it will take quite a bit of effort."

Shi Yi was fairly familiar with the surrounding area. This was information he had investigated before.

There were quite a few nearby places he had never visited, but he still had a general understanding of them.

"I heard that some people encountered mountain spirits and wild monsters inside. I wonder whether that is true?"

Shi Yi continued.

Among the information he had gathered were several unusual reports.

On Blue Star, he could have confirmed that such things were nothing but castles in the air, because Blue Star did not have an environment suited for them.

But in the Central Great World, things were different.

Whether martial arts or Immortal Daoist Magic, both proved that the two worlds were not the same.

When savage beasts of the wilderness gained intelligence in certain special environments and became mountain spirits or wild monsters, it was only natural.

His status was still too low, and the information he could gather was limited. That was why he could not determine whether those reports were true or false.

"I've heard of it too. As far as I know, it's true."

"A wild wolf encountered a stroke of fortune in Mount Jiuhua and transformed into an oddity. It injured herb gatherers who entered the mountain."

"Later, several people joined forces and entered Mount Jiuhua, killing that wolf oddity."

Zhao Cheng nodded.

He had grown up in Anyuan Town, so he knew more clearly what had happened nearby.

"The essence of an oddity's flesh and blood is extremely precious. It is a rare treasure that can aid martial cultivation, worth a thousand pieces of gold and still impossible to obtain."

Zhao Cheng sounded somewhat wistful as he said this.

After his martial cultivation entered the Flesh and Blood Realm as a Martial Scholar, his progress had slowed considerably. At his current pace, he would basically only reach the same level as his master, Lu Feng, in this lifetime.

That level of cultivation was enough in Anyuan Town, but he wanted to go farther.

If he could obtain oddity flesh and blood, perhaps he could travel farther down the path of martial cultivation.

That was because oddity flesh and blood contained special substances that had miraculous effects on martial cultivation.

"When we enter the mountain, we won't run into mountain spirits and wild monsters too, will we?"

Shi Yi asked, then laughed.

From Zhao Cheng's meaning, he understood that even if mountain spirits and wild monsters existed, people merely treated them as bloody food to aid cultivation.

"Basically impossible. The last time that wolf oddity appeared was more than ten years ago!"

"In recent years, plenty of people have entered Mount Jiuhua to gather herbs, yet no one has said they encountered mountain spirits or wild monsters."

"I've entered Mount Jiuhua myself. I only saw wild beasts and never came across mountain spirits or wild monsters."

Zhao Cheng shook his head at that.

He did not think such a thing would happen.

After mountain spirits and wild oddities had appeared in Mount Jiuhua, quite a few people went into the mountain to investigate. He had been one of them, but he had not found what he sought.

Furthermore, Mount Jiuhua was not especially high, its forests were not particularly vast, and it was not connected to an endless mountain range. It simply did not have the conditions to hide mountain spirits and wild monsters.

Only harsh miasma-filled lands or wilderness areas within sprawling mountain ranges could have mountain spirits and wild monsters. Great demons might even be hidden there.

But even martial arts experts and masters of Daoist magic would not dare set foot in such places lightly.

"That's good, then. This time, we just need to cooperate and complete the search mission."

Shi Yi smiled at those words.

Yet inwardly, he was thoughtful.

Mount Jiuhua might not have any, but that did not mean other places did not. So long as he gathered more information, he would find out.

Shi Yi also thought of the sea, great rivers, lakes, and similar places.

People did not live underwater, so such places had a greater chance of producing oddities. And because they were rarely visited by humans, even more powerful existences might arise there. If they remained undiscovered, it was hard to say just how strong they could grow.

The deep sea was even more so. The rare treasures hidden within were countless as the stars, and it should still be an undeveloped treasure land.

"I need to raise my status on Blue Star too. If I can get my hands on a nuclear submarine, exploring the deep sea will become much easier!"

Once that thought surfaced in Shi Yi's mind, he could no longer drive it away.

With Blue Star's technology as support, some difficult problems would no longer be problems.

But accomplishing that would be far from simple.

"The Divine Constable Bureau is here!"

Someone spoke at that moment.

Just like yesterday, the four people from the Divine Constable Bureau arrived looking travel-worn and dusty.

Clearly, after leaving Anyuan Town, they had other missions to carry out.

After the four entered the yamen, they split up.

Seeing this, Shi Yi and the others walked toward the people who had followed the Divine Constable Bureau yesterday.

"Today, we'll search outside the town. The search range is fifty li."

"We must finish searching the entire area within two days."

The strongest person from the Divine Constable Bureau spoke.

This was also an order.

"Yes."

Everyone answered in unison.

Four teams had to finish searching an area within a fifty-li radius in two days. That was no easy task.

The places they needed to search were not all flat ground. There were mountains, forests, and other areas, making the search even more troublesome.

However, the other three members of the Divine Constable Bureau remained silent, so Shi Yi and the others naturally would not voice any objection.

After all, their role was to assist and cooperate with the other side in using a special method to search for the Buddhist treasure.

"Today, we'll search Mount Jiuhua first and finish investigating it."

"We'll continue searching the remaining areas tomorrow."

"You lead the way. You record the information on the map. We leave now."

The Divine Constable Bureau man began making arrangements, pointing at one person before handing the map to the person beside him.

After speaking, he directly took out the compass, with no intention of wasting time.

Just like yesterday, he took out that special compass while still inside the yamen.

The person he pointed to lead the way happened to be Zhao Cheng.

At those words, Zhao Cheng went ahead to lead them.

As someone from Anyuan Town, he knew the surrounding area well. After all, some missions he received were related to nearby locations.

He had been to Mount Jiuhua before, so he naturally knew the route.

Everyone moved quickly, heading east without pause. Before long, they had left Anyuan Town.

After leaving Anyuan Town, the Divine Constable Bureau man's expression turned serious. Clearly, the search had already begun.