Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Chapter 659 Team Up to Slay the Ferocious Beast

As they walked along a less crowded bamboo fence, someone finally called out from behind, "Young man, wait a moment! I overheard you asking about that ferocious beast in the North Mountain. We're on our way there too, why don't we chat for a bit?"

Xilun stopped and turned around: "Do you know where it is?"

The white-haired old man smiled and pointed to himself first: "My name is Moen. I know a little about fields. Friends outside are too kind and call me Master. This is Fick, who uses a knife; Bran, who uses an axe. We've been collecting herbs for a few small pharmacies in the south, and we just happened to be passing by here recently."

He spoke calmly, fabricated an ordinary identity, and did not invoke any easily verifiable powerful forces.

Xilun glanced at the three of them: "What do you want with me?"

Moen said, "You heard it too. That thing can't be eaten by one person. We have some arrangements in hand, but we need someone to take charge. I see that you are also a third-level extraordinary person. Your physique is probably already perfected, and your strength is also quite strong. You have the strength, and we are prepared. It's better to join forces than to die on our own."

"If the three of you can't handle it, then adding me will do?" Xilun asked directly.

Fick's smile faded slightly, but Moen wasn't angry: "If we only rely on swords and guns, even one more person might not be enough. That's why I said there are some arrangements."

He took out a thin stone slab from his bag, on which several overlapping lines were engraved, and then took out a small piece of black scale.

Xilun's eyes flickered slightly, the edges of his scales were scorched yellow, and when his fingernail touched them lightly, a faint heat emanated from them.

Seeing that he noticed the scales, Moen lowered his voice slightly: "We've explored it twice. It's not an ordinary third-tier, it's a third-tier peak realm, and its aura shows signs of rising further. Saying it's halfway to the fourth tier wouldn't be an exaggeration. There's a Thunder Spirit Treasure where it's coiled."

1. A small tree.

Xilun raised his eyes, and seeing his reaction, Moen felt reassured and continued, "The fruit has grown, it's lightning-type, and you have lightning energy, so you should be able to use it. We'll take most of it, and the rest will be yours. After the ferocious beast dies, the materials will also be counted as yours. Since you arrived late, you don't need to contribute materials to set up the field; you'll only be responsible for one of the positions. This way of dividing it is not unfair to you."

Xilun didn't immediately agree, instead asking, "How many fruits are on the tree? How should the area be set up? Where should I stand?"

Moen's expression turned serious, abandoning his casual conversation, and he unfolded the Pitot.

The four nodes in the picture surround a depression. The nodes are not connected by simple straight lines, but by following the contours of the surrounding rocks.

He needed to use ores, animal bone powder, and several materials to guide the energy to build a binding field, and then have four people each suppress a corner to weaken the ferocious beast's momentum by using the terrain.

As Xilun listened, his fingers slowly traced the edge of Pitu.

Moen is indeed capable; he's not just using a few scribbles to fool laymen.

But when he talked about the impact on the four positions, he deliberately made the outer position sound easy. Bran chimed in, "Just stay steady, it's not difficult," as if afraid he would ask too many questions.

More subtly, when Moen said he was going to divide the fruit, he was looking at Siron's face; but Fick was looking at his waist pouch and gun.

Greed doesn't necessarily mean killing, but these people hadn't even asked his name yet, but they were already inquiring whether he was traveling alone and whether any of his fellow disciples were coming to join him.

This order was all too familiar to Xilun.

"I'm all alone." Xilun pushed Pitu back. "A rogue cultivator named Lund. No one's there to help me, and I don't have a master."

Moen's smile remained unchanged, but Bran's tense shoulders relaxed slightly. "Rogue cultivators should look out for each other."

Moen said, "We got through it step by step like this too."

Xilun nodded, as if accepting the offer: "We can join forces, but first clarify our location and retreat route. If it's different from what you've said, I won't go to my death with you."

Fick finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Of course, no one's life is given away for nothing."

The four of them checked the approximate time of the beast's activity and their respective areas of expertise once again.

Xilun only said that he used a gun and practiced thunder magic, but he didn't reveal anything else.

The information provided by the other party was much more detailed than that of the restaurant owner, even specifying which patch of mud outside the cave had new claw marks and which ditch led to a sheltered spot.

In the afternoon, the four left the Fire Ghost Tribe and entered the mountains and forests in the northeast direction.

Xilun walked to the side and slightly behind, taking his time to catch his breath as they continued their journey.

Moen didn't rush him, and occasionally stopped to let him drink water and rest, showing great consideration for his injuries.

Along the way, the old man kept explaining the habits of the ferocious beast, saying that when it was frightened, its scales would tighten, its belly defense would be slightly weaker, and its hot breath could not be withstood directly; it was best to use the stone wall for cover.

He inquired, intentionally or unintentionally, about where Xilun had learned to shoot and which caravans he had served as a guard for.

Xilun responded casually, taking advantage of his status as a rogue cultivator, neither making his statement too convincing nor leaving any details that could be immediately exposed.

The more reassured the three elderly people became, the more he began to have his own plans.

These people can produce a complete set of field materials, so they must have accumulated things over decades.

If he truly intends to kill, then he need not be polite.

The further into the mountains you go, the more humid the air becomes, and the sound of ocean waves can be faintly heard from behind the peaks.

Several tree trunks bore scorched marks, while huge claw marks appeared on the ground. The soil around the claw marks was dry, hard, and cracked, standing out starkly against the backdrop of the damp, decaying leaves.

Moen squatted down and touched the soil, his expression finally becoming serious, and gestured for the others to tread lightly.

Xilun also put aside his distracting thoughts and gripped the Thunder Spear tightly. He could use the preparations of these three people to get close to the ferocious beast, but he would not underestimate the real prey because of it.

After turning past a row of craggy stone beams, the mountain wall ahead suddenly caved inward, revealing a huge cave entrance at the end of the forest.

Scattered bones lay outside the cave, and the faint scent of burning metal emanated from near the rock wall. A warm, fishy breeze blew slowly from the depths.

Moen raised his hand, and all four of them stopped at the same time.

The cave entrance was dark and deep; sunlight could only penetrate a few steps before it seemed to be swallowed up by something.

Xilun looked into the darkness, then glanced at the three people beside him.

Once we get here, it's still far from certain who will scout ahead for whom and who will die for whom.

A warm, fishy wind blew out of the cave, sweeping over the scattered bones on the ground.

A layer of dark brown mucus had accumulated between the bones, which, when illuminated by the sunlight, faintly shimmered with an oily sheen.

Several black worms, each the size of a fingernail, had just crawled out of the rotting flesh when they suddenly seemed to sense something and retreated back under the bones.

Moen raised his hand, not giving the order immediately.

He squinted at the depths of the cave, the amiable smile on his face completely gone, leaving only the caution of a seasoned hunter.

Fick slowly drew his short-backed longsword, the blade only half an inch from the sheath, reflecting a sliver of grayish-white sunlight.

Bran took the double-edged axe off his back and stretched his large wrists.

All three moved very quietly.

Xilun stood at the back, holding the Thunder Spear, his chest rising and falling slightly with his breath.

The injuries from the fall from a great height have not yet fully healed, and the broken ribs on the right side cause a sharp pain with every breath.

However, the Golden Tortoise's Cicada Shedding talent had already repaired the most severe damage, and the Abyss Qi within its body was gradually returning to a stable state.

As long as you don't unleash your full power for an extended period, you can at least unleash 70% of your strength.

"Is it inside?"

"Sirlen asked in a low voice."

"It should be there." Moen took a dusty earthenware bottle from his waist and brought the mouth of the bottle close to the cave entrance. "The wind is blowing outwards, so the scent inside won't dissipate. The bait we left behind last time is also gone."

A thin, white worm was found inside the earthenware bottle.

The worm, which had been curled up and motionless, suddenly began to writhe wildly after the stopper was opened, and red liquid quickly seeped from its body surface.

Moen immediately pushed the cork back in.

"Bloodworms," ​​he explained, "are extremely sensitive to the aura of powerful alien species. The stronger the reaction, the closer the target is."

Fick licked his chapped lips: "Should we set up the area first, or lure it out?"

"Make arrangements first."

Moen glanced at Xilen, his tone much more serious than when he arrived.

"Lund, you're in charge of the southwest corner. No matter what you see later, don't leave that domain-suppressing stone by more than three steps. After the ferocious beast enters the arena, I will activate the domain. You just need to channel your energy into the domain-suppressing stone to keep the patterns from dissipating."

He pointed to a depression outside the cave.

The depression is about a hundred paces wide, surrounded on three sides by grayish-white rocks, and on the other side by a low, dense forest.

The ground was littered with a lot of weathered rock fragments, and in the center grew a few stunted trees that had been scorched black.

Xilun had seen Pitu and immediately recognized that it was the core of the field.

"Who will lure it in?"

"Bran".

Moen had already made arrangements: "He has the strongest physique and brought concealment powder, which is enough to lure the thing out. Fick will provide support from the side, and you and I will go and bury the domain-suppressing stone first."

Bran didn't say anything, he just glanced at Moen.

Xilun took it all in, but his expression remained unchanged.

The four of them went around the cave entrance and came to the depression.

Moen took out a dozen palm-sized bluish-gray stone slabs from his bag.

Each stone slab is engraved with curved lines and has obvious wear on the edges, indicating that it has been used more than once.

He first buried four thicker stone slabs in the four corners according to the terrain, and then arranged the remaining stone slabs in the shadow of the rocks, connecting the patterns with a red liquid mixed with animal bone powder.

The old man set things up very slowly.

Every so often, he would squat down, dip his finger in the liquid, and add a small arc to the soil.

He even revised some seemingly ordinary patterns three times.

Xilun watched from the side the whole time.

Moen's mastery of field techniques is indeed quite high.

The entire area does not rely solely on materials for operation, but rather borrows the earth's energy from the mountains and rocks, and incorporates the moisture brought by the sea breeze.

Once fully activated, pressure from all sides will converge on the center simultaneously.

However, its function is not limited to trapping ferocious beasts.

The town's southwestern corner stone is connected by three backflow patterns.

When the impact on the field exceeds a certain limit, the pressure from the other three directions will be directed towards the southwest corner.

In other words, the person standing in that position is not just the one hosting the event.

It's still a living stake used to withstand the backlash.

"Do you understand?"

Moen Siping noticed Xilun's gaze.

"I know a little bit." Xilun withdrew his gaze. "The pattern on yours is a little different from the one on the skin map."

Moen paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "The terrain in the mountains has changed somewhat since my last exploration, so adjustments are necessary. You can't just apply the rules rigidly to a field."

"I see."

Xilun nodded and did not ask any further questions.

Moen secretly observed his expression, and seeing that he didn't seem to have seen through it, he continued to bury the stone slabs.

After a full half hour, all the patterns were connected.

On the surface, the depression appears perfectly normal. Only with careful observation can one detect a deep, subtle fluctuation beneath the soil.

Moen walked to the northeast corner, sat down, and took a small sip of a potion to restore his strength.

"Take a 15-minute break."

"Once you regain your strength, take action immediately."

Xilun leaned against a rock, slowly adjusting his breathing.

Fick sat not far away, wiping his knife, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the Thunder Spear.

Bran ate a large piece of mixed jerky, his cheeks bulging as he chewed, as if he were storing up energy for the fight to come.

On the surface, the four of them had a clear division of labor, and they did indeed look like a hastily assembled hunting team.

But Xiren could sense that Fick and Bran's auras were subtly locked onto him.

Especially Fick.

When this person wipes the knife, he appears to be looking down, but the tip of the knife always points diagonally to the southwest.

If Siron were to suddenly attack, he could cross the depression within three breaths and block the path back to the woods.

As for Moen, he kept a small array plate in his hand.

That thing can most likely control the field independently.

"Lund".

Bran suddenly spoke up: "Your spear is nice. Where did you get it?"

"I found it."

"Silen said with his eyes closed."

"Found it?" Fick chuckled softly. "You're really lucky."

"Found it next to a dead person."

Xilen opened her eyes and looked at him, her tone flat, "When I found him, there were seven corpses lying next to him. Later..."

People have asked me the same question, and now they are all dead.

Fick's smile froze for a moment.

Bran gave a low snort, seemingly somewhat displeased.

Moen, however, chuckled and smoothed things over: "Which extraordinary individual hasn't had a few unspeakable experiences? Since we're hunting together, let's not pry into these things. After we kill the ferocious beast and get our share, we might be able to continue cooperating in the future."

Xilun did not respond and closed his eyes again.

A quarter of an hour passed quickly.

Bran smeared grayish-white powder on his body and tied his cuffs and trouser legs tightly with strips of cloth. He took the ceramic bottle and a fist-sized piece of flesh from Moen.

The flesh and blood, taken from some unknown alien species, emitted a strong, nauseatingly sweet and fishy odor the moment it was exposed to the air.

"Same old method," Moen instructed. "Throw the bait ten paces into the cave, then immediately retreat. If it doesn't come out, smash the bloodworm."

Bran nodded, picked up his axe, and walked towards the cave entrance.

Fick followed closely behind.

Xilun and Moen each went to a corner of the field. Xilun placed his palm on the domain stone, but did not immediately pour his energy into it.

The mountains and forests gradually quieted down.

The roar of the waves crashing against the cliffs seemed to fade into the distance.

A moment later, the sound of rolling stones came from the direction of the cave.

Bran has arrived at the cave entrance.

He threw the piece of flesh far into the darkness and waited for more than a dozen breaths, but there was no movement inside.

"No response."

Fick stood to the side and whispered a reminder.