Mountain Spirits and Wild Monsters

Early the next morning.

Shi Yi and Zhao Cheng arrived at the yamen again.

Although the Divine Constable Bureau had said they would follow yesterday's schedule, Xu Tianlei had sent someone to relay a message, asking them to fully cooperate with the Divine Constable Bureau's actions and, during this period, to refrain from causing trouble within Anyuan Town.

The message concluded with a request for those going to depart early so as not to keep the Divine Constable Bureau waiting.

This was the reason Shi Yi and Zhao Cheng had gone so early.

It was well-known among those with some influence in Anyuan Town that Xu Tianlei was an associate of the Town Magistrate Zhu Zhuoyu. Xu Tianlei sending this message clearly indicated it was a request from the Town Magistrate Zhu Zhuoyu.

"Today, we should be heading to Mount Jiuhua by the East Gate. The investigation route should be a bit wider than yesterday's," Zhao Cheng said to Shi Yi.

Many people had seen yesterday's map, and the marked route was obvious. As long as the mission hadn't changed, the location could basically be confirmed.

"Mount Jiuhua is over five hundred meters high. It will take considerable effort to complete the investigation," Shi Yi said, having a decent understanding of the surroundings from his previous investigations. He hadn't visited many of the nearby places, but he had a general idea of them.

"I heard someone encountered mountain spirits and wild monsters inside. I wonder if that's true?" Shi Yi continued. Among the information he had gathered were some unusual details. If this were on Earth, he would dismiss it as baseless, as Earth lacked such environments. However, in the Central Great World, it was different. Both the Martial Path and Immortal Daoist Magic proved the two worlds were distinct. It was normal for wild beasts in certain special environments to develop sentience and become mountain spirits and wild monsters. It was only because his current status was not high and the information he could gather was limited that he couldn't confirm the truth of these matters.

"I've heard about it too. As far as I know, it's true," Zhao Cheng nodded. "A wild wolf in Mount Jiuhua had a fortuitous encounter, transformed into an oddity, and injured herb gatherers who entered the mountain. Later, some people banded together to enter Mount Jiuhua and killed that wolf oddity."

Having grown up in Anyuan Town, Zhao Cheng was more familiar with local events.

"The essence and blood of that oddity are extremely precious. They are rare treasures that can aid Martial Path cultivation, truly hard to come by," Zhao Cheng said with some emotion. His Martial Path cultivation had slowed considerably after reaching the Flesh and Blood Realm as a Martial Student. With his current progress, he would essentially be at the same level as his master, Lu Feng, his entire life! While this level of cultivation was sufficient in Anyuan Town, he desired to go further. If he could obtain the flesh and blood of an oddity, it might allow him to progress further on his Martial Path cultivation journey. This was because the flesh and blood of oddities contained special substances that had remarkable effects on Martial Path cultivation.

"When we enter the mountain, we won't encounter mountain spirits and wild monsters, will we?" Shi Yi asked, chuckling. From Zhao Cheng's words, he understood that even if there were mountain spirits and wild monsters, they were merely considered blood food to aid cultivation.

"It's basically impossible. The last time a wolf oddity appeared was more than ten years ago!" Zhao Cheng shook his head. "In recent years, many people have entered Mount Jiuhua to gather herbs, but no one has reported encountering mountain spirits or wild monsters. I've also been to Mount Jiuhua myself, and I only saw wild beasts, never encountering any mountain spirits or wild monsters."

He didn't believe such a thing would happen. After an oddity appeared in Mount Jiuhua, many people had explored the mountain, and he had been among them, but he hadn't found what he was looking for. Furthermore, Mount Jiuhua wasn't particularly high, the forests weren't extremely dense, and it wasn't connected to continuous mountain ranges, offering no conditions for mountain spirits and wild monsters to hide. Only in places with harsh environments like miasma-filled areas or vast wildernesses with continuous mountain ranges could mountain spirits and wild monsters exist, and possibly even great demons. However, even Martial Path experts and Daoist Masters wouldn't dare to tread lightly in such places.

"That's good then. We just need to cooperate and complete the investigation mission this time," Shi Yi said with a smile. Inwardly, however, he was deep in thought. Mount Jiuhua might not have them, but that didn't mean other places didn't. As long as he gathered more information, he would find out! At the same time, Shi Yi also thought of places like the sea, great rivers, and lakes. Humans didn't live in water, so the possibility of oddities emerging in these places was greater. Moreover, due to their remoteness and lack of human activity, more powerful beings could potentially emerge. It was hard to say how strong they could grow if they remained undiscovered. The deep sea was even more so, containing countless rare treasures and likely being an undeveloped treasure trove.

"We also need to improve our status on Earth. If we could get a nuclear submarine, exploring the deep sea would be much easier!"

This thought popped into Shi Yi's mind and he couldn't shake it off!

With the aid of Earth's technology, some problems would no longer be problems.

However, achieving this was no simple matter.

"The Divine Constable Bureau is here!"

Someone spoke up at this moment.

Just like yesterday, the four members of the Divine Constable Bureau arrived, covered in dust.

It was clear they must have had other tasks after leaving Anyuan Town.

After entering the yamen, the four separated.

Seeing this, Shi Yi and the others moved to stand beside those who had followed the Divine Constable Bureau yesterday.

"Today, we'll be investigating outside the town. The search area is fifty li."

"We must complete the entire investigation within two days."

The strongest person from the Divine Constable Bureau spoke.

This was an order.

"Yes."

Everyone responded in unison.

Four teams, covering an area of fifty li in two days, was no easy task.

This was because the areas to be investigated were not all flat ground; they included high mountains and forests, making the search more troublesome.

However, since the remaining three members of the Divine Constable Bureau didn't voice any objections, Shi Yi and the others naturally wouldn't either.

After all, their role was to assist and cooperate with the Divine Constable Bureau in using special methods to find Buddhist Treasures.

"We'll investigate Mount Jiuhua first today and finish that area."

"We'll continue with the rest tomorrow."

"You lead the way, and you record the map information. Let's go now."

The Divine Constable Bureau member arranged, pointing at one person and handing the map to the person next to him.

After speaking, he directly took out a compass, showing no intention of wasting time.

This person, just like yesterday, took out that special compass inside the yamen.

And the person he pointed to lead the way was none other than Zhao Cheng.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng led the way.

As a resident of Anyuan Town, he was very familiar with the surrounding areas, as some of the tasks he received were related to nearby locations.

He had also been to Mount Jiuhua and naturally knew the route.

The group moved quickly, heading east, and soon they left Anyuan Town.

After leaving Anyuan Town, the Divine Constable Bureau member's expression became serious, clearly indicating that the investigation had already begun!