Chapter 77, Caught a Big Black Dog

Translator: Tamon

 

Ten people rested in a forest clearing, all panting and wretched. Their original team of twenty was cut in half. Even the five Foundation Establishment true disciples suffered.

 

The worst of them was Hua Yuntian. The Terror Gator King didn’t hurt him, but on his way back after receiving the message he ran into the wild mammoth.

 

The mammoth was enraged at the sight of the once enemy he thought trampled.

 

He had to tank Wu Mochou’s timely intervention from being splattered for good this time.

 

“The demon is so devious, harming us five. It can’t be ignored!”

 

“Yeah, we can’t let this stand!”

 

“I want to rip him apart like a wishbone!”

 

Wu Mochou’s team complained.

 

Their rage towards Xu Hei knew no bounds. The cruel irony of it all was being snake catchers that ended up toyed by a snake.

 

“Do we keep chasing?” Wang Ping asked.

 

Silence predominated, looking at each other, lost and pale.

 

“Of course we chase, but not blindly. Next time we’ll take Zhao Wenzhuo along to divine the right trail!” Liu Fei gnashed his teeth.

 

That said, they all knew divination didn’t happen just because they wanted to.

 

After a short deliberation, they all dragged their sorry selves back.

 

…

 

Xu Hei’s target was west of Drifting Geese River, the middle stretches.

 

It was called the Wicked Mountain Range, steep and rugged, a wilderness with scarce human activity, if any. It even housed rare ancient beasts as deadly as Golden Core cultivators.

 

Some steep peeks even had thousand-year-old coffins of even deader old coots absorbing the essence of the sun and moon to train their spirit. At least according to Hei Huang.

 

Xu Hei didn’t go deep, staying at the very fringe of Wicked Mountain Range, in a valley.

 

He’d scouted it out some time ago. The previous owner, a demon python, got annoyed by Xu Hei’s puppet’s incessant harassment and left for greener and peaceful pastures.

 

“We’re here.” Xu Hei eased a breath.

 

To his surprise, the valley had illegal tenants, a pack of monkeys.

 

The monkey guarding the valley entrance saw a stoneman and shrieked.

 

“Ki~!”

 

The monkeys rushed to surround it on the trees on either side of it as they stared at Xu Hei’s group, snarling and challenging.

 

Xu Hei didn’t bother with them and went right into the valley and the monkeies balked, fleeing at once.

 

He arrived at the demon python’s cave and threw Xiao Qiu inside.

 

He used earth magical arts to carve a new cave next door for Xu Bai.

 

Taking out an array flag and planting it at the cave’s entrance, he activated a defensive barrier for some basic protection.

 

The monkeys were outraged by the gall of this snake, taking over their lair, though none stepped in to challenge him, only glared and snarled from a safe distance. Some even threw rocks.

 

Xu Hei sneered inside. He took out the sealed Divine Rousing Pill and made the tiniest gap in it.

 

The filth and stench wafted out and spread faster than wildfire, covering hundreds of meters.

 

It was a soul-deep blight!

 

“Ki~!”

 

The monkeys wailed before vomiting and fled like rats. Quite the effective way to settle noisy neighbors.

 

In two seconds flat, there was no monkey in sight.

 

“It’s a killer move to the enemy and the user!”

 

Xu Hei couldn’t fight the disgust, resealing the pill and stuffing it back in his storage bag.

 

He’d rather avoid triggering the nearby mighty demons by flaring his killing intent. Hence this unconventional biological weapon.

 

…

 

Come night, Xu Hei’s ex-cave had a new visitor.

 

A big black dog popped from the ground and looked around. “The kid ran off and didn’t have the modicum of decency to tell me. Just great.”

 

Sniffing the air, he picked up a scent. To his surprise, the scent split many times.

 

“Curses! Hasn’t the brute learned by now to stop with these petty tricks?”

 

Hei Huang was incensed. [The trail goes round and round and round. Who the hell taught him this?]

 

“Whatever, there’s nothing in this world the Wandering Heavenly Devil can’t handle. I’ll just have to check all of them.”

 

Hei Huang sneered and sank into the earth.

 

…

 

The next day, bright and early, the monkeys returned with a vengeance in the form of an old white ape similar to an ancestor of theirs.

 

The ape was hunched, thin, and with white brows and a beard. It was as sharp as a human, having lived for countless years, standing at peak Awareness Stage.

 

As he stared at Xu Hei and his stonemen from afar, he just took his monkeies and left.

 

The next days were quiet.

 

Xu Hei spent them breathing qi and cultivating all day, every day. By spring next year, he’d reach Foundation Establishment. It was a baseless feeling, a vague guidance that he’d be forming his foundation then.

 

Two weeks passed, the time in which Xu Hei reached the peak of the 8th layer of the Awareness Stage, his cultivation solid. There’d be no walls to hit, not with enough resources on hand.

 

Next was the 9th layer.

 

Both Qi Refining Stage and Awareness Stage had nine layers, and this was the last. Xu Hei got ready to cross it in one go.

 

He’d tested Xiao Qiu countless times these weeks and was assured the human had no intent to run away. Even when released, he’d come back sooner or later that day with some game.

 

It saved Xu Hei the trouble of hunting.

 

Xu Hei’s paranoia wasn’t that easily swayed, so he left the Beast Trapping Ring on his neck.

 

The mere thought of escaping would notify Xu Hei and he’d seize him back.

 

“To reach the 9th layer, I need around five days of seclusion. I won’t be able to stop him if he plans to escape.” Xu Hei pondered it over.

 

After thinking it over, he found the best solution was to tenderize the bloke to such a degree, that he wouldn’t wake up for a week.

 

Xiao Qiu came back just as the thought formed, shouting in excitement at his kill. “Ha-ha, Senior, I caught a big black dog today.”

 

Xu Hei flinched. He looked over at Xiao Qiu carrying the black dog and dashing over while waving his haul.

 

“Ha-ha! The pooch is so old it’s balding. It’ll make for a good tonic! We’re having black dog meat tonight!”

 

Xiao Qiu was in high spirits as he took out a pot.

 

Xu Hei’s heart twitched at the sight of the black dog.

 

The dog returned a thin smile, growing bigger as he turned to Xiao Qiu.