Summoning

The news that the Dark Gold Red Tiger had been deliberately lured to its death off the cliff caused an uproar among the upper echelons of the Firewood Gang, who immediately ordered a thorough investigation to find the culprit.

Ultimately, the two Market Masters guarding Emerald Cloud Valley stepped forward, leading a team to the top of the cliff to investigate the specific location where the beast had fallen and determine the primary cause of the incident.

It was only then that the reason for the Dark Gold Red Tiger's fall was finally brought to light.

Someone had meticulously set a trap atop the cliff, using an extremely ingenious method.

They had constructed a flat platform extending out from the cliff edge, placed a live goat inside, and inflicted several wounds on the animal to use the scent of blood to lure nearby demonic beasts.

Except for the spot where the goat was placed, the platform was hollow; once a beast lunged to bite the prey, it would lose its footing and plummet down the cliff.

This explained why the Dark Gold Red Tiger, despite its keen night vision, had fallen off the cliff for no apparent reason.

It seems this was a well-prepared and premeditated plan.

When Shen Mu heard about this from the other Guardians, he could not help but knit his brows.

If the perpetrators had only wanted to steal the Origin Mulberry Fruit, there would have been no need to create such a massive disturbance.

In fact, luring a common, unranked demonic beast to its death would have been more than enough to cause a commotion in Emerald Cloud Valley.

Shen Mu speculated that the person who set the trap likely intended to attract a common beast initially.

By creating chaos within the valley, they could have seized the opportunity to slip in and steal the Origin Mulberry Fruit.

However, they had not expected the trap to lure a Dark Gold Red Tiger instead, causing massive losses for the Firewood Gang.

At the same time, the perpetrators had not been idle; while the Dark Gold Red Tiger diverted everyone's attention, they had still chosen to take the risk, entering the valley from above to steal the Origin Mulberry Fruit.

All the Guardians had been too busy dealing with the aftermath of the Dark Gold Red Tiger to ever imagine that a group of uninvited guests had infiltrated the valley.

These fellows really have mastered the art of feinting to the east while attacking in the west.

Shen Mu could not help but marvel; it was indeed a plan with minimal cost but immense potential rewards.

At the time, everyone's attention had been fixed on the Dark Gold Red Tiger; who could have guessed that someone was sneaking into the valley to steal the fruit?

They had not even paid much of a price, needing only a live goat to set the trap.

However, since so many Origin Mulberry Fields had been picked clean, it would have required many people to accomplish such a feat.

As long as they were people from Cloud Dragon County, who could guarantee that none of them would leak the news?

Once the stolen Origin Mulberry Fruit appeared on the market, the Firewood Gang would be able to follow the trail and uncover the mastermind behind this disaster!

Shen Mu, however, did not care much about all of this, immersing himself once again in his cultivation to digest the beast meat and increase his blood energy.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

Several days passed, and after Shen Mu finished practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique once more, his stomach let out a series of growls.

Digested another two pounds of beast meat.

Shen Mu felt a surge of joy, turning his gaze toward the remaining two pounds of Dark Gold Red Tiger meat.

Let me see what the difference really is between first-rank beast meat and unranked meat.

Shen Mu simply blanched the Dark Gold Red Tiger meat before tucking in with gusto.

Perhaps he had grown accustomed to the raw, primal way of eating; he no longer found the bloody taste as repulsive as he had at the beginning. In fact, having been cured with salt, it even added a bit of flavor.

Once the two pounds of Dark Gold Red Tiger meat were in his stomach, a strong sense of satiety washed over him.

At the same time, Shen Mu could clearly perceive that as the meat was digested, the energy he had depleted from practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique was restored almost instantly.

Could it be that first-rank beast meat allows those in the Boiling Blood Stage to recover their strength faster, thereby gaining more energy to temper the body and practice martial arts?

I just don't know how much blood energy a first-rank beast meat can provide.

But I suspect that two pounds of first-rank meat cannot provide more blood energy than ten pounds of unranked meat, otherwise everyone would just buy the first-rank stuff.

Shen Mu thought to himself.

The price of first-rank beast meat was five times that of unranked meat; how could an ordinary family afford such an expense?

Shen Mu estimated that if two pounds of first-rank meat provided the same blood energy as five pounds of unranked meat, that would already be quite impressive.

Fed and satisfied, Shen Mu picked up Moon Embroidery and stepped out of the bamboo shed, ready to begin a new round of body tempering.

However, just as Shen Mu finished practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique and was lying on the grass for a short rest, Wei Bo came looking for him.

"Brother Shen, practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique again?"

Wei Bo greeted Shen Mu with a smile from a distance.

Shen Mu had only been in the valley for two months, yet he had successfully advanced to the second stage of the Boiling Blood Stage, which had undoubtedly earned him Wei Bo's respect.

After all, at Shen Mu's current rate of cultivation, he might well advance to the third stage and reach parity with him in another three months.

"Brother Wei, what brings you here?"

Shen Mu stood up and asked, "Is something the matter?"

Meeting Shen Mu's questioning gaze, Wei Bo got straight to the point: "Incense Master Ren has come to Emerald Cloud Valley."

"Incense Master Ren?"

Shen Mu was taken aback, asking in surprise, "What is Incense Master Ren doing in Emerald Cloud Valley?"

Wei Bo said, "Brother Shen, you must already know the specifics of how the Dark Gold Red Tiger fell into Emerald Cloud Valley a few days ago, right?"

Shen Mu nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Because the Dark Gold Red Tiger fell off the cliff, our Firewood Gang has suffered heavy losses. The Origin Mulberry Fruit stolen alone is estimated to be worth over ten thousand taels of silver, and the compensation for the gang members injured by the Dark Gold Red Tiger amounts to another ten thousand taels."

"Now, not only does the upper management know about this, but even the other eight major factions are using it as fodder for their after-dinner gossip."

"The Gang Leader has ordered that the culprit behind the scenes must be found within a month to serve as a warning to others!"

"As the person primarily responsible for Emerald Cloud Valley, the task of investigating the culprit naturally fell into the hands of Incense Master Ren."

After explaining, Wei Bo continued, "Incense Master Ren has summoned all the Guardians in the valley to the valley entrance, saying he has something to announce. I was sent to notify all the Guardians."

Shen Mu asked in confusion, "The culprit behind this is an outsider, so why summon us Guardians?"

"I don't know about that."

Wei Bo shook his head, then glanced at the bare Origin Mulberry Field with a strange expression, saying, "Maybe it's because they think we're too idle?"

Shen Mu's mouth twitched as he immediately guessed the reason Ren Yunzhao was summoning the Guardians.

With the Origin Mulberry Fruit having been stolen, all the Guardians in Emerald Cloud Valley were currently in a state of having nothing to do.

In the past, the Guardians could use the excuse of guarding the Origin Mulberry Field and preventing thieves from sneaking into the valley to steal the fruit as a reason to focus entirely on body tempering and increasing their blood energy every day.

Now that the Origin Mulberry Fruit had been picked clean—especially by thieves—the higher-ups were likely annoyed just looking at these Guardians. How could they stand by and watch them collect their salaries for doing nothing?

It seems that even if there's nothing to do, the higher-ups will still find work for everyone.

Shen Mu sighed inwardly.

"Brother Shen, I still have to notify the other Guardians. If you have nothing else to do, you should head over quickly."

Wei Bo waved his hand, said no more, and walked quickly toward the Bamboo Shed where the next Guardian was located.

Watching Wei Bo's retreating figure, Shen Mu put on his clothes and walked toward the valley entrance.

He was also very curious: what exactly was the reason for Ren Yunzhao summoning all the Guardians?