Malicious Intent

Tiansheng Mountain Range!

Under the scorching sun, thick mist steamed through the mountains. In a patch of forest, Xue Fangsheng led Zhang Yong and the others through the ancient trees.

If I come here a few more times, even if I don't manage to hunt an exotic beast, I'm confident I can succeed in gathering qi. Surpassing Xu Yang will be a piece of cake.

Feeling the surge of energy within his body over the past few days, Zhang Yong couldn't help but feel secretly excited.

Following a true martial artist into the mountains meant that whenever they were hungry, they would hunt wild beasts for food. Not only was every meal meat, but it was the kind where they could eat as much as they wanted.

Although their time for practicing martial arts had decreased significantly, their blood and qi were growing faster than when they trained at the martial arts hall.

"Brother Fang, should we continue deeper?" Luo Dehu asked, his tone betraying a hint of hesitation.

They had already been deep in the Tiansheng Mountain Range for three days. If they continued any further, they would enter the heart of the range.

The center of the Tiansheng Mountain Range was home to powerful exotic beasts, which were said to be able to easily kill a marrow-cleansing martial master.

"Luo Dehu, if you're scared, you can turn back. That just means one less person to split the money with."

Before Xue Fangsheng could speak, Tang Ruiyang chimed in first.

Going deeper was dangerous, but the rewards were equally great. If they managed to bag a rare-grade exotic beast, they could split over a dozen taels of silver each, meaning they wouldn't have to worry about money before reaching the qi-gathering stage.

"Quiet!" Xue Fangsheng growled, tilting his head to listen.

No one dared to speak again.

After a while, Xue Fangsheng smiled and said, "There's no birdsong nearby, and I don't see any other animal tracks. An exotic beast must be lurking here. Find it for me, quickly."

They had actually found another exotic beast!

Zhang Yong and the other six were overjoyed and immediately scattered in all directions.

"I found tracks!"

A short while later, Tang Ruiyang returned to report the good news.

"Once the prey is in hand, I'll give you an extra tael of silver."

Xue Fangsheng climbed a tree and mimicked bird calls for a moment. Before long, Zhang Yong and the others returned, and they followed Tang Ruiyang to another spot.

"The tracks are very fresh; it must be nearby. It's a leopard. Let me lure it out."

Xue Fangsheng took a piece of pre-prepared meat from the pack on his back and placed it on the ground, then pulled out a paper packet and sprinkled the powder inside evenly over the meat.

"Brother Fang, what are you sprinkling?" Luo Dehu asked curiously.

When they hunted exotic beasts last time, Xue Fangsheng hadn't used such methods.

"This is Ten-Fragrance Muscle-Softening Powder. I spent a fortune on it at the black market. Even a qi-gathering martial artist would collapse after one whiff, and its unique scent is something exotic beasts absolutely love."

As he spoke, he pulled out a dagger. "You guys, shed some blood. If we add human blood to the mix, this leopard will be drooling with greed. We'll take it down without any effort."

Hearing that they had to shed blood, the group hesitated, but when Xue Fangsheng promised an extra tael of silver to those who did, all seven scrambled to grab the dagger.

As it happened, the first to grab the dagger was Luo Dehu.

He had a ruthless streak; he sliced his hand open on the spot, and blood began to gush out.

"Three people are enough. The rest of you save your strength for hauling the beast out of the mountains."

Seeing the state of the seven, Xue Fangsheng immediately pointed to two others to join Luo Dehu in shedding blood.

One of them was Tang Ruiyang, and the other was Yang Dacai.

Tang Ruiyang was secretly pleased, knowing that Xue Fangsheng was looking out for him. This way, he would get an extra two taels of silver this time.

The three men, faces pale, finished bleeding. A bloody scent permeated the forest and drifted away on the wind. Xue Fangsheng then led the others to hide far away.

"It's here!"

Half an hour later, a leopard poked its head out from behind a large rock.

It looked no different from an ordinary leopard, but in the center of its forehead, there was a small, one-inch-long horn.

Where there is a natural anomaly, there is a monster.

Every exotic beast possessed some unusual characteristics.

"We're rich!"

Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and their breathing grew rapid.

Exotic leopard meat was very expensive, usually selling for a tael of silver per catty. The size of the leopard before them was likely around two hundred catties.

Even if Zhang Yong and his group only got a thirty percent cut, each person would still walk away with seven or eight taels.

After the exotic leopard scanned its surroundings vigilantly for a while, it finally couldn't wait any longer and began to gorge itself, using its tongue to lick up all the blood scattered on the leaves.

Once it finished, it didn't linger, turning to leave immediately. However, it had only taken a few steps before it let out a low growl and collapsed to the ground, limp.

"It's done! Bleed it and let's get out of here fast!"

The leaves covering his body exploded outward as Xue Fangsheng rose from the ground and sprinted toward the fallen beast.

Exotic beasts had vigorous vitality; even something like the Ten-Fragrance Muscle-Softening Powder could only paralyze it temporarily. They had to kill it quickly.

Otherwise, if such a powerful exotic beast were to recover, he might not necessarily come out on top.

Zhang Yong and the others, who had been hiding nearby, also stood up from their respective cover and rushed quickly toward the exotic beast.

They could take the opportunity to drink some of the beast's blood once it was drained, which would be a significant benefit.

"Bang!"

Xue Fangsheng struck out with a palm, and the exotic beast's forehead immediately caved in. Its brains were pulverized into paste by the force, and it was left with more breath going out than coming in.

Immediately after, he hoisted it up, wanting to test its weight.

"Roar..."

Suddenly, a roar erupted, shaking the trees.

Xue Fangsheng looked over in horror to see a tiger leaping out from somewhere nearby, its eyes fixed on the leopard he held in his hand.

Wind whipped up from the flat ground, and leaves rustled violently. Xue Fangsheng's pupils contracted sharply as he saw two fist-sized, fleshy lumps growing on the tiger's back, covered in dense, overlapping scales.

This was clearly also a tiger that possessed an anomaly.

"Run!"

An ordinary tiger could contend with a Qi Gathering martial artist, let alone this kind of exotic variant. Even a Marrow Cleansing martial master might not be a match for it, and he had never expected another exotic beast to be lurking nearby.

Fortunately, he had prepared for this, and there was a poor wretch near where this beast had appeared.

Xue Fangsheng took to his heels, sprinting for his life back the way he came.

"Brother Fang, save me!" A scream filled with terror rang out from behind; it was the person who had been closest to the exotic beast.

"Save you? Did you really think that thirty percent share was so easy to take?"

Xue Fangsheng sneered inwardly. He had recruited so many people not just to drain the blood, but specifically so that if they encountered an unbeatable exotic beast, he could run faster than everyone else.

He glanced back to see that the poor wretch had already been pounced upon by the tiger, which bit his head clean off—a scene both bloody and horrific.

"Scatter and run, or none of us will survive!"

Seeing these peasants running toward him, Xue Fangsheng shouted loudly.

"Xue Fangsheng, you will die a miserable death!" Tang Ruiyang's eyes were split with rage.

Even if he were slow-witted, he understood at this moment why Xue Fangsheng had gathered so many of them to hunt the beast: they were nothing more than food prepared for the exotic beast.

Regrettably, he had only run a short distance before being pounced on by the tiger.

He tried to fight back, but his fists hitting the tiger's body didn't even count as a scratch. One of his arms was torn off on the spot, his screams echoing through the mountains and forests.

Luo Dehu, sprinting wildly, heard this and knew Tang Ruiyang was finished.

He was panicked and running for his life; the conviction of risking everything to become a martial artist shattered in that instant. He only wanted to live.

"Ah..."

Yang Dacai's scream rang out. Zhang Hong regretted his actions deeply; he had failed to see Xue Fangsheng's sinister intentions.

However, he was somewhat lucky, as the tiger-turned-exotic-beast was not chasing in his direction.

He only stopped when he could no longer run, looking around to find that of the eight people in their group, he was the only one left. He had no idea if the others were dead or alive.