Poisoning to Death

" A'gu Shi, what do you mean by this?" Guxiong Mu recognized the newcomer at a glance. He was from Crimson Blood Stockade.

Accompanied by that malicious, icy laugh, a burly bald man stepped out of the woods. He carried a hand axe and had a short spear strapped to his back.

Behind him were more than a dozen similarly burly men carrying hunting knives and short spears. They also had hunting dogs with them, but those dogs were pitch-black all over—not the White Dogs that could sense danger.

"Guxiong Mu, stop putting on that act in front of me. This area is the hunting ground of Crimson Blood Stockade. You've been sneaking around and poaching quite a few of our prey lately, haven't you?" A savage grin spread across A'gu Shi's face. "Hand over all the prey right now, and don't set foot in this hunting ground again. Otherwise..."

He raised the hand axe in his grip and barked, "I'll show you what happens when you offend Crimson Blood Stockade."

Guxiong Mu glanced at the White Dog pinned dead to the ground. A foul rage churned in his chest, and he wanted nothing more than to release the Jade Centipede and kill every one of these people before him.

But Crimson Blood Stockade was a great stockade. They couldn't afford to provoke it.

He clenched his teeth hard and growled in a low voice, "Put down the things. We're leaving."

"Chief?!"

"Leader?!!"

Hearing Guxiong Mu's words, unwillingness and fury showed on the faces of the Hunting Team members. One of them even drew his hunting knife and shouted angrily, "What are we afraid of? Let's fight them!"

"Didn't you hear me? Put down the things and leave!" Guxiong Mu roared. Blood rushed to his head, the veins on his neck bulging. He looked furious to the extreme.

He held great prestige in the stockade. No matter how dissatisfied the others were, they could only grit their teeth and set down the prey.

"Hahahaha, Guxiong Mu, at least you know how to read the situation. A bunch of worthless trash like you dares bare your teeth at me? I'll chop every last one of you into mincemeat. What a bunch of fools courting death." A'gu Shi and the other people from Crimson Blood Stockade burst into unrestrained laughter.

Guxiong Mu said nothing. He led the Hunting Team away at once.

Yet no one noticed that a Jade Centipede had somehow crawled out of his sleeve and slipped silently into the lush woods.

Its body was jade-green all over, blending into the branches and leaves of the great trees so perfectly that no one could detect it.

Wu Tian, however, noticed Guxiong Mu's little move. His heightened sensitivity had not only greatly improved his speed and reaction time; even his perception had become extraordinarily sharp.

"Looks like Guxiong Mu is a ruthless man too!"

White Dog Stockade truly couldn't afford to provoke Crimson Blood Stockade. That was why he had not wanted to clash with them head-on.

But he had secretly used the Jade Centipede to strike. By then, who knew how many of the people from Crimson Blood Stockade would still be alive?

In these savage, primordial mountains, the law of the jungle was displayed in the starkest possible way: the tyranny of Crimson Blood Stockade, and the ruthlessness of Guxiong Mu.

Wu Tian did not interfere with the Jade Centipede's hunt. Once the people from Crimson Blood Stockade discovered traces of the White Dogs, it would only backfire.

"Hahahaha, a bunch of cowards. If it weren't for Skull Mountain, I would've wiped out White Dog Stockade long ago." A'gu Shi laughed arrogantly and ordered his clansmen to take away all the prey White Dog Stockade had left behind.

One of the people beside him asked in confusion, "Lord A'gu Shi, what connection does White Dog Stockade have with the immortals on Skull Mountain?"

A'gu Shi reined in his laughter and said solemnly, "There's someone from White Dog Stockade who went up Skull Mountain too. Although he doesn't hold as high a position there as Lord Chi Mangshi of our Crimson Blood Stockade, he did enter the immortal's cave."

"Every spring, that person returns to White Dog Stockade. So we can suppress White Dog Stockade, but we can't go too far. Otherwise, if we anger the immortal, we'll be in deep trouble too."

The clansmen of Crimson Blood Stockade nearby showed awe on their faces when they heard this.

"Enough. You don't need to worry so much. Three lords from our Crimson Blood Stockade have gone up Skull Mountain, and Lord Chi Mangshi even became the Skull Cave Master's disciple."

"Hahaha, even if Guxiong Mu and the others grew the hearts of bears and leopards, White Dog Stockade still wouldn't dare offend us."

As they spoke, a palm-sized Jade Centipede suddenly pounced onto a man who was bending down to carry the prey, moving at a terrifying speed beneath the cover of the woods.

Splurt!

The Jade Centipede bit down, and venom entered his body.

Blood stained its claws and fangs, making it look even more ferocious.

The centipede burrowed into the ground and went searching for its next prey. The man it had bitten was already frozen stiff, standing motionless in place.

Only after the Jade Centipede had bitten three people to death did the others realize that something was wrong.

"Ah, this is bad..." someone suddenly cried out. "They seem to have been poisoned?"

"Go and take a look."

Hearing the clansmen's cries, A'gu Shi also sensed that something was wrong. He instinctively shouted, "Wait! Don't go near them."

But it was already too late. Those who touched the poisoned corpses with their hands collapsed onto the ground after only a few breaths. Their faces turned blue, and they were clearly beyond saving.

A'gu Mu's expression changed drastically. He shouted harshly, "No one go near the corpses! Everyone retreat!"

All those still alive were terrified by the dreadful poison and began fleeing in panic.

But the Jade Centipede showed no intention of stopping. Hidden among the woods, it stretched out its bloodstained claws and fangs, looking vicious and sinister.

It followed behind the people from Crimson Blood Stockade. Whenever it found an opening, it drove its venom into one of the fleeing men.

As time passed, corpse after corpse fell.

A'gu Shi's face had gone deathly pale. "What in the world is happening? Is it a poisonous creature that has gained sentience, or a Gu?"

All kinds of guesses flashed through his mind, but he did not dare look back.

Their frenzied flight, however, also alarmed the other hunters in the jungle. The hungry Wolf Pack and the spotted cloud forest leopards all fixed their gazes on the fleeing people.

Some crows could not withstand their hunger and began pecking at the corpses that had fallen to the ground. Before long, those crows also dropped dead one after another.

The sight caused even the predators lurking in the jungle to grow fearful.

When the last corpse fell in the forest, the reflection of a jade-green centipede appeared in A'gu Shi's wide pupils.

With his remaining consciousness, he instantly thought of a terrifying Gu Art from Skull Cave—the Six-Winged Sky-Flying Centipede Gu.

"They said the person from White Dog Stockade was refining the Six-Winged Sky-Flying Centipede..."

"It was someone from White Dog Stockade who attacked me..."

His eyes remained stretched wide as his consciousness sank into darkness.

The people of White Dog Stockade knew nothing about the slaughter in the forest. Since all the prey had been given to Crimson Blood Stockade, Guxiong Mu had no choice but to lead his clansmen elsewhere to continue hunting. They hunted until dusk approached, but still gained little.

By evening, Wu Tian noticed that the Jade Centipede had quietly returned. Blood stained the back of the Gu Worm, making it look especially vicious.

Guxiong Mu acted as though nothing had happened. He did not even return to the stretch of forest where the people from Crimson Blood Stockade had appeared, despite the scarcity of the prey they managed to hunt.

Wu Tian quietly watched it all. From this man, he had learned even more of the skills needed to survive in the primordial mountains: restraint, ruthlessness, and patience. That was what a true hunter was.