Fang Howler

In the Southern Mountain, Huo Hai clearly witnessed the spectacle of Black Dragon Devours the Sun. He did not know what it meant, but he could not help feeling somewhat panicked. Any unknown thing could inspire fear.

His understanding of the Heavenly Spirit Continent was still far too limited; he had no idea what others thought of such a phenomenon. Thinking of this, Huo Hai suddenly remembered Ji Mu beside him and asked, "Ji... Ji Mu, do you know what this is? Where did this black smoke come from?" Huo Hai gazed at the black smoke in the distance, fear still lingering in his heart.

Ji Mu frowned. After a long while, she helplessly shook her head. "I don't know either. Let alone seeing it, I've never even heard of it before. Once this trial is over, let's go out and ask around. I think something major must be about to happen."

Unlike Huo Hai, Ji Mu had lived on this continent her whole life and understood such phenomena deeply. With such a tremendous disturbance, it was absolutely impossible for nothing major to be happening. She simply did not know what it was.

No one knew how much time passed before the black dragon in the sky slowly began to dissipate, its black smoke growing thinner and thinner. The black clouds gradually parted, and sunlight spilled down from the heavens. In the end, the sun had not been directly swallowed by the black dragon.

Though he knew it was impossible, Huo Hai still felt a sigh of relief. This was simply too thrilling. Even this single image was more exciting than countless blockbusters he had watched back on Earth. This was real—not something illusory special effects could compare to. About ten minutes later, the sunlight fully returned and shone over the entire world.

The black dragon had completely vanished. Yet far in the north, a wisp of black smoke still seemed to rise continuously, like a bonfire lit in the distance. But its location remained impossible to investigate; no one knew where it was.

"Forget it. No point worrying about that. Let's earn points first and join Imperial City Academy." Huo Hai did not care in the slightest that he already qualified to enter Imperial City Academy. He only knew that he did not have enough points.

Though he did not know what the earlier black dragon had been, Huo Hai felt an urgency in his heart. It was as if failing to rapidly raise his cultivation would lead him into terrible danger. This sense of danger was utterly inexplicable, and he did not know where it came from, yet Huo Hai believed in it without question. No matter what, improving his cultivation could never be wrong.

He had to use the most perfect Foundation Establishment method and complete it as quickly as possible. As Huo Hai set off, Ji Mu followed after him. Just as before, except neither of them had the mood to talk. She seemed to have something on her mind as well.

In order to move faster, Huo Hai simply stopped deliberately hiding himself. Sooner or later, people would learn that he used insects anyway. Even if Ji Mu knew now, it did not matter. Huo Hai had finally thought it through completely.

What could one Ji Mu accomplish, even if she told others? Without reaching Profound Grade, one could not possess one's own special attribute, much less become a Profound Spirit Master with special abilities. No one would believe it if she told them. Someone who controlled insects was either a Beast Spirit Master or an Insect Spirit Master—both experts above the Spirit Practitioner Realm. How could such a person possibly be a little fellow in the Spirit Blood Realm?

Once Huo Hai stopped hiding, Ji Mu finally learned what he had used before. Before her horrified eyes, those sparkling, even rather beautiful little insects transformed into terrifying things.

"Th-this is the hidden weapon you used before?" Ji Mu phrased it as a question, but her tone was utterly certain. That light was clearly the flash from the hidden weapon he had used earlier. Without getting close enough to inspect them carefully, one truly could not tell what those things were.

The adorable little beetles were not adorable at all when they attacked. A Spirit Blood Realm spirit beast that even Ji Mu did not dare provoke casually was struck in a vital spot by the insects and died outright. Then its body rapidly shriveled up. Looking closely, Ji Mu discovered that the cute beetles were eating the corpse. Not just corpses—those insects ate everything.

Even Ji Mu, who had long grown accustomed to slaughter, could not help feeling her scalp go numb at the sight. Thinking that Huo Hai might use these things to dispose of corpses, letting them devour human bodies, made her stomach churn.

No wonder this fellow had vomited. Anyone would react the same way to something so disgusting. She truly did not know how he had adapted to it. Even looking at Huo Hai, Ji Mu felt a little afraid.

"What, are you scared now? If you're scared, then hurry up and leave. I don't have time to play with you." Play? He actually said she was playing. That instantly infuriated Ji Mu. So what if he had insects? So what if he was strong? Did that mean he could ignore her? Wait, why did she even care about that?

No matter what, Ji Mu had no intention of leaving. "Hmph, what's so frightening about this? I've seen plenty of cases where people directly ** corpses. Why would I be afraid of such a little scene?" Ji Mu deliberately put on an expression that said he had seen too little.

But once she thought of it that way, the insects eating corpses did not seem quite so unbearable. What remained was her intense curiosity toward Huo Hai. Just what was going on with this fellow? How did he possess so many strange and bizarre methods?

As for whether Huo Hai would harm her, Ji Mu did not care at all. In her eyes, this little fellow was a good person who had only just stepped out of his home. Otherwise, he would not have saved her. Not only had he saved her, he had exposed himself because of her and had not even killed her to silence her. How could she know that she was Huo Hai's greatest concern when it came to killing someone to silence them?

"Forget it, I can't be bothered talking to you. Huh, there are so many points cards here." Huo Hai suddenly spotted the cards and became extremely excited.

Ji Mu truly did not care about the cards. As long as she could join Imperial City Academy, that was enough. Her Lineage could help her obtain any other cards she needed. The Ji Family was the wealthiest Lineage in the entire Western Frontier, a mercantile clan.

The Huo Family was different. Though its individual strength was the greatest, it did not possess much wealth, and it did not even have many members. The Huo Family could be called a rising star among the Western Frontier's top Lineages, without much deep-rooted foundation.

Following Huo Hai, the two hurried forward. Soon, after rounding a hillside, they finally discovered their target ahead. "Th-this is a Fang Howler, isn't it? You want to make a move against this thing?" Ji Mu covered her mouth, her face full of shock. What was this little fellow trying to do? An adult Fang Howler could absolutely reach the Spirit Bone Realm.

Even if she went up against it, she would probably be destroyed within a few moves. Did he think his little insects could deal with a Spirit Bone Realm spirit beast? Ji Mu wanted to persuade Huo Hai not to set his sights on this thing.

So this thing was called a Fang Howler. Huo Hai thought silently to himself. He had just learned of its existence through the Star Gu. Sure enough, the nest behind it contained a large number of cards—an enormous number.

This Fang Howler had definitely reached the Spirit Bone Realm. Given the special nature of spirit beasts, it was even far stronger than human experts in the Spirit Bone Realm. The Fang Howler's greatest feature was the four fangs in its mouth. Two pointed upward and two pointed downward, like four sharp treasured swords, incomparably keen. One bite was equivalent to being stabbed four more times.

Several sharp bone spikes also grew from its body, making it look like an enlarged hedgehog. Yet its main body resembled a large cat, with a hint of wolf about it as well.

"Ji Mu, since you know this thing, where is its weakness?" Huo Hai's former memories had vanished, so he did not recognize it at all. Only then did Ji Mu remember that Huo Hai had lost his memory; it was perfectly normal for him not to know it.

"The Fang Howler's weakness is actually its upper jaw. You can see it once it opens its mouth. The area between its brain and upper jaw is extremely fragile, but Fang Howlers rarely open their mouths to bite people. Only after they have won might they do so. Even among Spirit Bone Realm spirit beasts, this one is among the strongest. I'm afraid no one participating in this trial would dare deal with it. We should leave while we still can."

The points cards this thing guarded were indeed plentiful, but that was only meaningful if they could defeat it. In every trial, most points cards were actually impossible to obtain. These places were simply too dangerous.

Hearing Ji Mu's explanation, Huo Hai finally formed an idea. With so many points sitting there, were they merely for decoration? If he got them, would he not easily obtain enough Blood Refining Pills for use in the Spirit Blood Realm, and perhaps even some Gu Refining Pills?

"Good. In that case, we'll just kill it." Ji Mu had not expected that Huo Hai would not only refuse to leave, but would instead be eager to give it a try. A Spirit Bone Realm battle beast—this was an exceptionally good test subject.

If he could kill it, then Huo Hai would have a certain degree of confidence even when facing humans in the Spirit Practitioner Realm. This fellow was simply an unreasonable madman. Did he really think his insects had such powerful abilities? Seeing Huo Hai prepare to act, Ji Mu even had the urge to leave immediately. Yet curiosity still made her remain.

"Hmph, I'd like to see how you deal with it. If you can't handle it and the Fang Howler attacks you, don't expect me to save you." Ji Mu grumbled resentfully in her heart. Huo Hai had no idea what Ji Mu was thinking. All he thought about now was killing the Fang Howler.

Putting aside everything else, just the Fang Howler's teeth would fetch a considerable sum when sold. Money was useless to others, but Huo Hai was different. He needed a large amount of spirit herbs to feed and strengthen his Gu Insects. After eating so many things these past days, the Star Gu's power was constantly growing stronger. But if it wanted to break through, it needed medicinal substances and spiritual power as catalysts.

Huo Hai said calmly, "Its weakness is in its brain? Its upper jaw... Hmph, insects aren't humans. If they enter through its nostrils, wouldn't they be even closer to its brain?" Huo Hai observed it for a while and determined his method of attack.