Volume Three: Rising Fame Chapter Thirty-Nine: Tuman Xiang

There were still many unanswered questions.

For instance, which clan could possibly trade with wild beasts?

What was the covenant between that demon tree and the human beings?

Li Yu had not recognized at first that the demon tree was a beast, but when it began to move, he still sensed the spiritual power within its trunk at the peak of the fifth rank.

"Judging by this, this clan really is hiding dragons and crouching tigers."

As Li Yu headed west, he mused to himself.

Any force capable of trading with an untamed beast would have to be at least on par with the demon tree itself; otherwise, with that bloodthirsty nature, it would have devoured the talkative intruder before a single word could be finished.

It would never have the patience to sit there listening to human chatter.

Qingyuan had only just reached the fifth rank, yet someone here could actually cultivate to the peak of that realm.

Was it someone from the royal house of Great Ming? Or from some other great clan?

The farther west Li Yu went, the more obvious the changes became. At first it was only subtle, but as the distance grew he could clearly feel the heat in the air ebbing away; the temperature was steadily dropping.

That change put Li Yu at ease. It indeed matched the habits of the White Fox clan.

As expected, beasts were not as cunning as humans... they could not even lie properly. Still, that was better; it spared him some needless detours.

By the time night fell, Li Yu had already found a cave to rest in.

Traveling by night was extremely dangerous, especially in lands overrun by beasts. These creatures possessed spiritual power yet retained the instincts of wild animals, and in the wilderness they held a distinct advantage.

Their innate talent for ambush and predation made them impossible to guard against.

Take that demon tree, for example. Had it not intended to prey on Li Yu, it would have been mistaken for nothing more than an ordinary towering tree.

After all, no one was bored enough to climb into the canopy while first digging up the roots just to see whether they hid a mound of bleached bones.

Flames flickered up among a few dead branches, but the long, winding cave swallowed the light, keeping the fire from being seen outside.

This cave had been carefully chosen by Li Yu. From the marks inside, it had once been the lair of a beast, though only a few old claw marks remained. Clearly, after one excursion, its former owner had never returned.

Because the cave was so concealed, no new occupant had followed. Only when Li Yu arrived did fresh traces begin to appear within.

A stick was laid across the fire, and some unidentified beast meat sizzled, dripping oil as it roasted. Li Yu then took the seasonings he had just brought back from Blue Star and sprinkled them over the meat. In an instant, the fragrance exploded outward.

"Xiaocui even worried about my meals..." Li Yu gave a contemptuous laugh. "What a ridiculous joke!"

At worst, he could always return to Blue Star, order takeout, and bring it back to eat. He could even fetch a mattress and the like from Blue Star, eat well, drink well, and sleep comfortably!

Life in the wilderness was no challenge for him at all.

He took the beast meat off the fire and ate with relish, all the while commenting, "Not bad. The heat is perfect. One minute more and it would be too dry; one minute less and it would be undercooked. With my secret sauce, it is simply unbeatable!"

"What do you think?" Li Yu finished the last bite and asked calmly.

Only the crackle of the fire answered him. As the flames swayed, his shadow was cast against the cave wall, wavering and twisting, claws and fangs bared, making it look chillingly sinister.

The question seemed to answer itself; no one replied.

Li Yu merely spoke again. "If you do not come out now, I will have to invite you out. Do you think I am deaf, with my stomach growling this loudly?"

The cave remained silent, but the next moment a woman stepped out from within the stone wall.

She looked tiny and delicate, with brown hair, and her spiritual aura seemed to be at the middle of the sixth rank, though somewhat unstable, suggesting she had only recently broken through.

"Earth spiritual power," Li Yu said thoughtfully.

He had no memory of this person, but he did recognize the clan from which her ability likely came.

It was only a small clan, occupying merely one city, and even that was a small city.

"Don't kill me. I'm willing to hand over my points to you right now!" Tumanxiang's cheeks were slightly flushed, and her voice carried a pleading tone.

Her cheeks were red because he had pointed out the sound of her growling stomach.

As she spoke, she had already gripped her token with both hands and held it out to him, her knuckles turning white around it.

She looked extremely nervous.

Li Yu glanced at the number on the token: it was still a "1." And by the look of it, she had clearly been hiding from the very beginning...

He directly transferred the points from Tumanxiang's token.

They were merely strangers who had met by chance. There was no reason to show undue tenderness, and besides, if he had not already locked onto her with his spiritual power, she would likely have fled far away by now.

"Thank you," Tumanxiang said softly, without the slightest complaint.

"I only want the points. No need to kill anyone," Li Yu said with a wave of his hand, then asked her about what she had seen during the day.

From Tumanxiang's detailed account, he quickly understood the reason for the current situation.

"This should improve soon. Once the crowds begin to gather a little, the underhanded attacks will be curbed," Li Yu said after some thought.

Right now everyone was scattered. No one knew who had gone missing, which left room for foul play. But as time passed and the people of the various clans gathered together, their mutual distrust would grow, and then no one would dare strike anymore.

"But if that is the case, won't most people end up dying by the end?" Li Yu suddenly thought of this possibility.

The dead had no chance of rising again. Anyone with even a little ruthlessness would probably resort to dirty tricks.

"Which direction did you come from?"

Li Yu sat on a rock and asked casually.

"The west," Tumanxiang answered honestly.

"Are there many beasts over there? What level are they generally?"

A flash of keen light passed through Li Yu's eyes, but he suppressed his urge to ask in detail and instead showed that he was concerned about the situation in the west.

Tumanxiang suspected nothing. The question was perfectly normal. She only assumed Li Yu wanted to know how safe that side was before deciding where to go.

"Think carefully before you answer. Don't leave anything out."

"All right," Tumanxiang said. "When I first entered the secret realm, I appeared on a snowy mountain. There were no beasts around at all, and at first I headed in the other direction. But I ran into several people from different clans over there, so I changed course."

"The snowy mountain was huge. I must have been near the edge of it. After I came down, I found myself in a dense mountain forest, and there were many beasts there. I could sense several pressure waves so strong that I could hardly breathe."

As she said this, Tumanxiang even looked up at Li Yu, though she did not voice the thought in her heart: just like the pressure you give me!

She paused, then continued, "There were a lot of beasts in the forest, far denser than here. I had to avoid the beasts and also avoid three or four groups of contestants in the woods. Then, after I came out, I met you."

"Three or four groups?"

Li Yu was somewhat surprised. Wasn't that a little too crowded?

What were so many people doing in the forest? Or were they all targeting him, preparing in advance for the White Fox clan?

At the thought of this, his expression darkened.