Dark Gold Red Tiger

After resting for a full half-hour, Shen Mu gathered his change of clothes and headed to the river to wash away the sweat.

As night fell, all things grew silent.

Shen Mu slipped into the Origin Mulberry Field he was assigned to guard, picking Origin Mulberry fruits to brew into Origin Mulberry Wine.

"This is likely the last time I will be able to brew Origin Mulberry Wine."

Under the cover of night, Shen Mu plucked the fully ripened Origin Mulberry fruits and placed them into the cloth bag at his waist, a wave of sentimentality washing over him.

If not for the Origin Mulberry Wine, he would never have been able to advance to the third level of Boiling Blood so quickly.

"After this month, the Origin Mulberry fruits will surely be picked clean. If I want to brew more, I'll likely have to wait until next year. By this time next year, even if I haven't reached the ranked stages, I should at least have the cultivation of the ninth level of Boiling Blood."

Shen Mu picked a full forty pounds of Origin Mulberry fruits before turning back, feeling quite satisfied.

"Boom!"

In the quiet of the night, a violent tremor suddenly erupted.

"Roar!"

Shen Mu had just added the Origin Mulberry fruits into the strong liquor to begin brewing when a deafening roar suddenly tore through the silent night, echoing throughout the valley for a long time.

"What is this?"

Shen Mu's expression shifted instantly. He stepped out of the Bamboo Shed and leaped onto the roof, looking toward the direction of the sound.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Dozens of Signal Arrows shot into the sky at once, exploding with a roar that illuminated the entire Emerald Cloud Valley.

With the help of this fleeting daylight, Shen Mu finally saw the anomaly in the distance.

In the Origin Mulberry Field a mile away, a beastly tiger, several yards long with dark gold stripes and two horns on its head, was charging forward.

The Guardian responsible for that patch of the Origin Mulberry Field hadn't even run a few steps before the fierce tiger caught up, opening its blood-stained maw to clamp down on him.

"Ah!"

The Guardian let out a shrill, miserable scream before dying instantly in the tiger's jaws.

The artificial daylight provided by the Signal Arrows faded, but several more were immediately launched into the sky.

Shen Mu saw the fierce tiger chewing on the Guardian's corpse, swallowing it in a few gulps, with fresh blood streaming down its jowls.

"A demonic beast?"

Watching this scene, Shen Mu's face turned deathly pale, his scalp tingling with terror.

He didn't even think to return to the Bamboo Shed to grab his own Signal Arrows; instead, he jumped down and bolted toward the valley entrance without looking back.

One didn't need to guess to know that this fierce tiger had accidentally wandered into Emerald Cloud Valley from the cliffs above.

To be even a step slow now meant potentially becoming the beast's next meal.

As Shen Mu sprinted, more and more Signal Arrows rose from various parts of Emerald Cloud Valley, exploding in the high air.

"Brother Shen, what happened?"

Seeing Shen Mu sprinting toward him, Luo Tao stumbled out of his Bamboo Shed, eyes bleary with sleep, his face showing signs of panic.

"Don't ask, just run!"

Shen Mu didn't slow his pace, shouting at him before continuing to run along the field path toward the valley entrance.

Seeing this, Luo Tao sobered up instantly.

Without a moment's hesitation, he hurried to follow Shen Mu toward the valley entrance.

At this moment, the entire Emerald Cloud Valley had become a scene of chaos.

Every Guardian was running toward the valley entrance, terrified that being a step slow would make them the fierce tiger's dinner.

At the valley entrance, two figures darted out, heading straight toward the location of the fierce tiger.

Clearly, the two Market Masters guarding Emerald Cloud Valley had sensed something was wrong and were rushing to kill the beast.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

Shen Mu reached the valley entrance, his long sprint leaving him gasping for air like a bellows.

Only then did he feel a sense of relief, accompanied by a surge of fortune.

It was fortunate that the fierce tiger had appeared some distance away from his Bamboo Shed.

Had that beast fallen from the cliffs and landed right in his patch of the Origin Mulberry Field, his fate would likely have been the same as the Guardian he had just witnessed.

Meanwhile, Guardians from all corners of Emerald Cloud Valley arrived at the entrance, all of them as breathless and exhausted as Shen Mu.

"Shen Mu, what happened?"

Seeing Shen Mu in the crowd, Hong Jingcheng walked over quickly and asked in a low voice.

Meeting Hong Jingcheng's gaze, Shen Mu steadied his breathing and spoke rapidly: "A fierce tiger fell into the valley. It has dark gold stripes all over its fur, about a yard tall and three yards long..."

After hearing Shen Mu's description, Hong Jingcheng's expression shifted, and he gasped: "Could it be a first-rank demonic beast, a Dark Gold Red Tiger?!"

Dark Gold Red Tiger?

Upon hearing this name, Shen Mu finally understood the origin of that ferocious tiger.

Although he had already consumed dozens of catties of unranked beast meat, this was his first time seeing a living, ranked demonic beast.

It had to be said that a ranked demonic beast was truly terrifying.

At this moment, several other deacons hurried over.

"Brother Hong, what happened?"

One of the deacons looked at Hong Jingcheng and asked in a deep voice.

Meeting the gazes of the other deacons, Hong Jingcheng quickly replied, "It is estimated that a Dark Gold Red Tiger accidentally fell into the valley..."

Dark Gold Red Tiger?

The expressions of the several deacons changed in unison.

This kind of ranked demonic beast was not something those in the Boiling Blood Stage could meddle with; even the two Market Masters might not be its match.

At this time, more and more Guardians arrived at the valley entrance. Meanwhile, inside the valley, the two Market Masters responsible for guarding Emerald Cloud Valley had already engaged the Dark Gold Red Tiger in battle. The roaring sounds could be clearly heard by everyone, even from several miles away.

A deacon said in a deep voice, "We must request assistance from headquarters immediately and have the Incense Master sent to reinforce us. Market Master Lin and Market Master Kong are likely no match for the Dark Gold Red Tiger."

Hong Jingcheng and the other deacons all nodded with grave expressions.

Two years ago, a similar incident occurred in Emerald Cloud Valley when a ranked Jade Blood Monkey fell into the valley for no reason. The two Market Masters were unable to defeat it even by joining forces, and it was only after the Incense Master in charge of Emerald Cloud Valley intervened that they successfully drove the Jade Blood Monkey away.

"Brother Chu, go quickly to send word to the Incense Master. We will be responsible for gathering men to push open the fence first. When the Incense Master arrives, we may need to drive the Dark Gold Red Tiger out through the valley entrance."

One deacon said quickly.

"Understood."

The deacon surnamed Chu responded and turned to leave immediately.

"Everyone, listen up! Work together to push open the fence!"

That deacon looked at all the Guardians gathered at the valley entrance and shouted loudly.

This was precisely why the valley entrance used a wooden fence; it was to guard against such unexpected situations.

Once a demonic beast fell from above into Emerald Cloud Valley and the Firewood Gang's current strength was insufficient to kill it, they would open the fence at the valley entrance to drive it out.

Under the call of the five deacons, everyone began to push the fence.

The fence was like a massive, closed door, and it required the Guardians to work in unison to push it open.

"Push!"

The five deacons gave the order.

"Hah!"

Everyone pushed the fence with all their might.

"Creeeak..."

Under their combined efforts, the fence began to open slowly.

By the time the fence was fully opened, everyone was already drenched in sweat and could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

"Brother Shen, what do we do now?"

Luo Tao, who was sitting slumped on the ground nearby, couldn't help but ask.

"What else can we do? We'll hide further away first and wait for reinforcements from above," Shen Mu said with a bitter smile.

Now, he could only pray in his heart that the Dark Gold Red Tiger wouldn't ravage his Bamboo Shed.

Inside it were over twenty catties of beast meat and more than a hundred catties of Origin Mulberry Wine.

That was a large sum of silver; if it were ruined by the Dark Gold Red Tiger just like that, it would truly be an unmerited disaster for him.

"I really didn't expect such a huge event to happen on my first day here," Luo Tao couldn't help but sigh.

Hearing this, Shen Mu's expression turned somewhat strange.

What exactly had this guy done to spread his bad luck to the entire Emerald Cloud Valley?

Of course, he also knew that the Dark Gold Red Tiger falling into Emerald Cloud Valley was purely an accident and had nothing to do with Luo Tao.