Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Wildebeest Caravan

Watching the Gu Gu chickens roasting in the Soul-Refining Fire, Wang Luo carefully controlled the temperature of the flames. The Gu Gu chicken was a type of livestock commonly raised by ordinary families on the Tianxuan Continent, named for its daily “gu gu” calls. These chickens looked much like those on Earth, but were larger and plumper. When Wang Luo had visited Raviel Town, he had bought out an entire Gu Gu chicken shop—three hundred birds in total. Yet, with one person and three beasts who all had hearty appetites, only ten remained now. Five were roasting in the Soul-Refining Fire, while the other five were buried underground, being prepared as Beggar’s Gu Gu Chicken.

As the fire roasted them, a rich aroma filled the air. The three beasts couldn’t help but swallow secretly, their eyes fixed intently on the roasting chickens, but none dared make a move—they knew the chickens weren’t yet at their most delicious.

At last, Wang Luo withdrew the Soul-Refining Fire. Producing a large plate, he caught the five roasted chickens and the three beasts immediately gathered around, each grabbing one and tearing into their meal with ravenous glee.

Not to be outdone, Wang Luo drew a dagger and, with a few swift strokes, sliced his chicken into thin pieces. He sprinkled on his own blend of spices and began to savor his share. But before he’d eaten more than a few pieces, the prepared slices were already snatched up by the three beasts and devoured.

Resigned, Wang Luo helped slice up half of the chicken for the beasts, seasoned it, and then fetched the Gu Gu chickens wrapped in mud and fragrant lotus leaves from underground. A subtle, fresh aroma mingled with the scent of chicken wafted into the beasts’ noses.

Just as the three beasts were about to pounce, Wang Luo promptly stored the five fragrant Beggar’s Gu Gu Chickens in his spatial ring. He turned and said to them, “If you don’t finish the roast chicken, don’t even think about eating the Beggar’s Chicken!”

Hearing this, the three beasts had no choice but to obediently wolf down the roast chickens, while Wang Luo took out a Beggar’s Gu Gu Chicken for himself and began to enjoy it leisurely on the side.

Beneath the scorching sun, a small boy with a beast hide—about the size of a hand—pasted to his back, marked with strange ochre runes, trudged forward step by determined step. Three unique little beasts perched on him, and wherever he went, he left a trail of deep footprints behind.

Naturally, this boy was Wang Luo. The strange beast hide was a Gravity Magic Scroll from his spatial ring; once infused with earth-attribute magic, it made the body extremely heavy. The more magic he channeled into it, the greater the gravity. Wang Luo used this to train his body, increasing its strength, which aided the absorption of blood energy and lessened the pain of body refining—much like training beneath a waterfall.

As the setting sun cast its light on the beast hide upon Wang Luo’s back, his shadow stretched long across the ground. Occasionally, he paused to wipe sweat from his brow before pressing on, never showing a hint of impatience on his face.

The blood wolf and black panther lying on his shoulders exchanged a glance, then returned to their feigned slumber. Atop Wang Luo’s head, the little white lion, out of boredom, began counting his hairs. Now and then, a stray lock would poke the lion’s nose, causing it to sneeze, and then it would start counting all over again.

Magical beasts were unlike humans; they were always cultivating, and their energy requirements were several times greater than a human’s. The black panther, for instance, was already a hundred years old but had only reached the seventh rank, while the blood wolf, several decades old, was at the fifth.

The little white lion was something of an anomaly among magical beasts—perhaps because it had consumed blood pearls from a young age, its cultivation speed outstripped even Wang Luo’s. Of course, magical beasts, having weathered the passage of time, were far more formidable than humans of the same rank.

By devouring and refining magic crystals or rare treasures, a beast could cultivate much faster. Swallowing a higher-level magic crystal of the same attribute might even trigger advancement. However, a beast would usually enter a period of slumber upon breaking through; the lion’s parents, for example, had slept for over two years.

There were quite a few high-grade magic cores in Wang Luo’s spatial ring, but he dared not let the three beasts consume them—not for fear that they’d die from an energy overload, but because he worried they’d enter a deep sleep after eating them, and then he’d be unable to protect them if danger arose.

Still, if a beast at the peak of its rank swallowed a higher-grade crystal of the matching attribute, they could generally advance smoothly. Wang Luo planned to let the blood wolf eat a sixth-rank crystal when he had the chance, since the wolf, after refining the remaining blood energy in its body, was already at the peak of the fifth rank.

Comparing the power levels of the Tianxuan Continent with those in his mind from cultivation techniques, Wang Luo found them roughly analogous: ranks one to three corresponded to the early, middle, and late stages of Qi Training; ranks four to six matched the Foundation Building stage; ranks seven to nine paralleled the Core Formation stage; and the Saint Domain was akin to the Nascent Soul stage.

High above, two full moons hung quietly in the sky, their silvery light spilling over a great tree and casting the shadows of one boy and three beasts. Wang Luo sat cross-legged in the branches, with the three beasts sprawled nearby.

As they breathed in unison, different elemental energies streamed into their bodies. Suddenly, the little white lion and black panther opened their eyes at almost the same moment, followed by Wang Luo and the blood wolf.

The three beasts leapt to their usual spots on Wang Luo’s body, settling silently in the tree. Soon, a shadowy figure crept beneath the branches, and before long, distant lantern lights began to flicker into view.

Not much later, a caravan of horned horse-drawn wagons came into sight of the boy and his beasts. The convoy moved at a steady pace. At the forefront rode a man in his thirties, astride a sturdy horned horse and carrying a greatsword on his back.

Behind him followed two burly men, also riding horned horses. Further back, many on foot walked alongside the wagons, each one alert and watchful of their surroundings. The wagons drew closer and closer to the tree where Wang Luo and his beasts waited.

By engraving an illumination magic array onto a magic item that could transmit energy, and then supplying fire-attribute magic or inlaying a fire-attribute magic crystal, the array would activate, gathering light and acting as a lamp—what people called a magic lamp.

Horned horses were rank-one wind-attribute magical beasts, resembling earthly horses but with a single horn on their heads, much like the legendary unicorn. However, unlike the unicorn’s immaculate white coat, horned horses were a pale, sandy yellow.

Gentle by nature and relatively swift, horned horses, once tamed, made excellent mounts and were the most common means of transport on the Tianxuan Continent. Many made their livelihoods breeding and training these beasts.

The convoy kept moving forward. When they were about fifty meters from the great tree, a man by one of the wagons hurried to the side of the leading rider and whispered a few words. The leader immediately gripped his sword, raising it high as it flared with dazzling red light.

The entire group halted at once, every hand moving to a weapon, ready for battle. A tense silence fell over them, as if the air itself had grown thick with anticipation.

End of Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Horned Horse Caravan.