Come, Behold!

The Demon Hunting Pavilion stood in the busiest part of the market's center.

It purchased all kinds of Demon Beast materials, making it a must-visit destination for hunting teams returning from the mountains.

Hunting teams fought Demon Beasts year-round, and every member lived by licking blood from the edge of a blade. They resisted discipline, and fights often broke out among them.

Strangely enough, however, once these people came to the Demon Hunting Pavilion, even those with a blood feud dared not run wild there.

Some said the Lin Household stood behind the Demon Hunting Pavilion.

Others said the Demon Hunting Pavilion was a property of an immortal sect in Great Qi.

In any case, it was a place where no one dared cause trouble.

With their safety assured, more and more people naturally came to trade.

As it happened, two hunting teams had just returned from the mountains and come to the Demon Hunting Pavilion to sell their materials.

One captain held his head high, his face wreathed in smiles. It seemed he had made quite a haul.

The other captain looked rather unhappy. His team members were all dejected, and quite a few of them were wounded.

Both men were at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, and they appeared to have known each other for some time.

"Isn't this Fellow Daoist Shen? Why do you look so unhappy? I heard you hunted a Rock Rhinoceros. You must have made quite a profit, no?"

The cultivator surnamed Shen's face instantly turned cold when he heard that:

"Have you come to laugh at me, Fellow Daoist He?"

He was already nursing a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it.

His hunting team had set their sights on a Rock Rhinoceros and spent a full half month laying their plans before finally using a formation to kill it.

But the Rock Rhinoceros's hide had been as hard as iron, and none of their Law Artifacts could cut through it. In the end, they could only dig a hole in its softest part, its belly, and take some organs, blood, and flesh.

After going to so much trouble, they had gotten only a little hide and fur, and everyone was on the verge of breaking down.

Worst of all, someone had spread word of the incident, making them the laughingstock of the hunting teams for a time.

"I wouldn't say I came to laugh at you. I only wanted to remind you, Fellow Daoist Shen, to consider your abilities when choosing your prey next time. A large Demon Beast like a Rock Rhinoceros isn't something your little hunting team can swallow."

At the other man's mockery, the cultivator surnamed Shen's face grew so dark it could have dripped water.

His team members said nothing, but they surely bore some resentment in their hearts as well.

But with the man bullying him to his face, he naturally wasn't going to take it lying down.

His experience hunting Demon Beasts might not have been up to much, but he had a vicious tongue.

"I heard you injured your 'foundation' the first time you entered the mountains, Fellow Daoist He, and still have no children to this day. My Rock Rhinoceros flesh is known to nourish yin and strengthen yang. Would you like to try some?"

"Old Ghost Shen, are you courting death?"

With someone jabbing at his sore spot, the cultivator surnamed He instantly stopped smiling.

"This is the Demon Hunting Pavilion. Do you dare make a move here?"

The cultivator surnamed Shen, however, showed no fear. He felt he had won back a round, and his heart was immensely at ease.

Just as the two stood with swords drawn and crossbows cocked, a commotion suddenly arose at the back of the crowd.

"It's Wang Hu's hunting team. Make way!"

"Brother Hu, how was your haul today?"

"A hunting team led by a Late Qi Refining cultivator really is impressive. Brother Hu, are you still taking recruits?"

Wang Hu's hunting team arrived in a great procession. At a glance, there were at least thirty or forty of them, far more than either of the other two teams.

Wang Hu, in particular, walked at the very front, his Late Qi Refining strength on full display. The Rogue Cultivators hurried to make way, and none dared block his path.

Wang Hu was only one minor realm above the other two, but that small difference put their status and strength as far apart as heaven and earth.

"Brother Hu."

"Brother Hu."

The two men each greeted him, neither daring to mention their earlier conflict.

A middle-aged man dressed in fine silk and jade also emerged from the Demon Hunting Pavilion and went to meet Wang Hu while he was still some distance away.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, you're here! What fine goods have you brought today?"

The hunting team of every great Late Qi Refining cultivator received a dedicated attendant from the Demon Hunting Pavilion.

This man was Wang Hu's attendant.

"Naturally, I have fine goods. Otherwise, why would I make the trip myself? But I'll need a larger space."

"Oh? Have you filled all your team members' Storage Bags, Fellow Daoist?"

The attendant joked, but he did not neglect Wang Hu's request, leading him to a vast square in front of the Demon Hunting Pavilion.

"This place should be big enough for you to show what you've got, Fellow Daoist Wang."

Wang Hu laughed heartily, then waved a hand behind him.

A horse-shaped puppet with a slender frame and a green glow over its entire body slowly walked out.

The puppet had a long, slender head and neck and a streamlined belly. From a distance, it looked like a fine green-bay steed poised to spring into action, with a nimble, mechanical air about it.

"This is..."

"Nothing much, just a puppet for carrying things."

A stir ran through the crowd. They could not tell what Wang Hu was up to.

Surely a Storage Bag was enough for storing things. Why use a puppet and make things needlessly complicated?

Unless...

Wang Hu's next action confirmed everyone's suspicions.

He patted the horse's back. A flash of green light suddenly appeared, and an enormous creature materialized on the ground.

It was a Rock Rhinoceros!

The Rock Rhinoceros was seven or eight zhang tall, standing before everyone like a small building.

A thick stench of blood hit them in the face, shaking everyone present to the core.

"Isn't that the Rock Rhinoceros we killed? How did it end up here?"

"Could you have mistaken it? There are quite a few Rock Rhinoceroses around Luoping Mountain."

"No, look, the bloody hole in its belly is still there."

The members of the hunting team led by Shen broke into discussion. Unable to butcher the Rock Rhinoceros at the time, they had had no choice but to give it up.

Who would have thought Wang Hu would now bring the whole thing back?

How much storage space would that take?

The others also realized the crux of the matter and were astounded.

Everything before them seemed to have something to do with that horse-shaped puppet.

"Fellow Daoist, you truly have remarkable means. This is the first time our Demon Hunting Pavilion has taken in a beast this large."

"It was just luck. We meant to go hunting in the mountains, but we picked up one already dead on the way. What a waste! I wonder who killed it. Why didn't they bring it back?"

Wang Hu complained bluntly, roundly berating the team for wasting heaven's gifts.

The members of Shen's hunting team wanted to cry but had no tears. If they could have brought it back, why would they have left it out in the wilderness?

But they dared not argue with Wang Hu, so they could only swallow their broken teeth.

The attendant, meanwhile, walked several circles around the Flowing Horse, clicking his tongue from time to time.

"Fellow Daoist, are you saying you brought this Rock Rhinoceros back with this little fellow?"

Wang Hu had brought his men to the Demon Hunting Pavilion with such swagger precisely because he was waiting for the attendant to ask that question.

Compared with marketplace rumors, the attendant's words undoubtedly carried a hundred times more weight.

If he could win the attendant's approval, why would he have to worry about finding buyers for the puppets?

This was the plan he and Qin Fei had devised after secretly discussing it for half a day.

"That's right. This puppet is called the Flowing Horse. It contains ten zhang of storage space, can carry thirty thousand jin, and can also travel a thousand li in a day."

Wang Hu pushed his thoughts aside and spoke with considerable pride.

Ten zhang, thirty thousand jin, a thousand li...

Each number hammered at everyone's nerves.

"May I inspect it?"

The attendant's interest soared, and he felt an immediate urge to get to the bottom of it.

"Of course."

Wang Hu naturally would not miss this opportunity. He immediately withdrew his Divine Sense and allowed the attendant to attach his own to it.

The crowd then watched as the attendant's expression changed from curiosity to surprise, then to profound shock.

Finally, he actually said "good" three times in a row.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, is this puppet of yours for sale? Our Demon Hunting Pavilion is willing to purchase a batch!"

Wang Hu thought to himself, Finally, here it comes. Brother Qin's guess was right after all, but his face remained composed.

"Don't be hasty, Fellow Daoist. I haven't taken all my goods out yet."

He raised his hands and clapped twice, and another puppet stepped out of the team.

This time, however, it was shaped like an ox.

"Everyone, make way. Wouldn't want anyone to get crushed."

Though he said that, he gave them no time to prepare at all.

A flash of yellow light appeared, and then an enormous object like a small mountain fell from the sky.

"Boom!"

Dust and smoke billowed up, accompanied by a clamor of panic.

Several people failed to dodge in time and were pinned beneath the enormous object, howling in pain.

Yet no one paid any attention to their plight. Everyone was shocked by what stood before them.

Someone in the crowd was the first to make out the "small mountain" and cried out in horror:

"Th-this is a Purple Cloud Mammoth!"