Lord of the Magical Beasts

Could it be that Master…

The Heavenly Fox Yuna, steeped in doubt, suddenly realized something. She ran toward the Spider Monster’s corpse without consideration for her own safety. Behind her, the Twin-headed Ogre also seemed to have sensed something, and he followed close behind her.

Rustle, rustle…

As the group watched, confused, the Spider Monster’s body trembled gently, giving off waves of a strange sound. It sounded a little like Giant Crab Spiders spitting venom, or some wild beast tearing meat from its prey. Below the billowing white fog, in the palace covered in blood and corpses, the sounds were exceptionally frightening.

“Be careful!”

The Fox Elder, wearing a grave expression, called out to the Heavenly Fox Yuna and the Twin-headed Ogre, hoping to stop them from running to the Spider Monster’s brutalized corpse. It was rumored that the Summoner of Beast Blood Abbas was the incarnation of an evil demon and had several strange abilities. No one could guarantee that no accidents would occur if one carelessly approached its body.

“Elder, Master is still alive! Let us get over there!” exclaimed the Heavenly Fox Yuna to the Fox Elder who stood in her path. Her excitement grew as she felt the familiar ripple strengthen. She was more certain than ever that Yang Ling was alive. She wanted desperately to slice open the Spider Monster’s corpse and release Yang Ling.

While the Heavenly Fox Yuna explained to the Fox Elder, the Twin-headed Ogre opted to push through the Dogmen blocking his path and stride toward the corpse. Compared to Yuna, who had an exceptional mental energy, he did not feel any familiar ripples. But his instincts said that Yang Ling was still alive.

“I’ll tear anyone who blocks my path in two!” yelled the Twin-headed Ogre, noticing both Dogmen and Bullmen gearing up to stop him.

Bellowing, he once again slipped into a Bloodthirsty Frenzy despite the possibility of him being consumed by it. It was only safe for him to enter the frenzy three times in a day, or there was a high risk that the spell might consume him. But he had decided to risk it all to save Yang Ling. Brandishing his club, he would smash anyone who dared to try to stop him.

Observing the Twin-headed Ogre become frenzied again, and observing the giant club in his hands, both the Dogmen and Bullmen paused. No one dared step forward to stop him.

The Spider Monster’s corpse was trembling even harder, as if every muscle in its body was shivering. At the same time, the strange sound was getting louder and more clear, as if some monster was about to emerge from the corpse!

“Get into formation, quick!”

The Fox Elder shook his head, frustrated. He ordered the rest of the people to prepare for a monster to emerge from the Spider Monster’s corpse, not knowing what to expect.

Rustle, rustle…

Just as the Beastmen were nocking their arrows, on high alert, a sharp black horn emerged. Following that, a fist-sized Horned Bee Beast covered in blood emerged from the body.

Rustle, rustle…

With the sound getting clearer and clearer, multiple small holes bloomed all over the Spider Monster’s corpse. A bloodied Horned Bee Beast emerged from each hole. The small holes widened bit by bit, tearing apart as Tarantulas followed the Horned Bee Beasts, baring their fangs. Each and every one of them was covered in blood!

Yang Ling emerged from the bloodied corpse with dagger in hand after the calf-sized Tarantula King dug its way out. No one could be sure if Yang Ling was injured, or if all of the gore that covered him belonged to the vanquished foe.

“Oh Yiblis, I didn’t get bitten to death, but I nearly suffocated!” Taking a deep breath of air, Yang Ling sat down on the ground.

After summoning his Horned Bee Beasts and spiders, he had grabbed his dagger and charged around inside the Spider Monster’s body, protected by his Wizard Power. He stabbed, sliced, hacked and cut, using every technique that he knew.

Other than causing destruction, he found and dug out the Spider Monster’s Essence Core. The Spider Monster was very powerful, far more powerful than the Nine-headed Snake Monster Yang Ling had fought before. It was probably a high-level stage nine Magical Beast. If not for the white fog exhausting many of its abilities, his group would not have had any chance of obtaining victory.

In addition to its Essence Crystal, Yang Ling had also found several strange items within the Spider Monster. There was a steel box about the size of a cell phone, a badge carved with images of various Magical Beasts, a shiny Space Ring… in fact, there was even a mottled magical staff. It looked like the Spider Monster had once consumed a number of intelligent life forms, devouring the treasures they carried.

“Sir, are you alright?” Goode walked over quickly, recovering from his shock.

Goode had felt as though his heart had been sliced to pieces by a blade after the Spider Monster swallowed Yang Ling, blaming himself for being unable to save him in time. He had unleashed his fury on the Giant Crab Spiders and Twin-headed Horse Spiders. He never expected that Yang Ling would survive being consumed, and that he would use the opportunity to finish off the powerful Spider Monster from within.

“Hehe, the weather is cold and I have not had a shower for some time now. I accidentally stank the Spider Monster to death. It is my fault, my fault!” Yang Ling said as he took off his bloodstained outer jacket. He then took a clean jacket out from the Space Ring and continued, “Goode, order Argus to lead a team here to clean out the battlefield, the sooner the better. There’s nothing but treasures here!”

There’s nothing but treasures here?

The Fox Elder was confused. He watched Yang Ling collecting the Spider Monster’s corpse. Around them were the scattered corpses of Giant Crab Spiders and Twin-headed Horse Spiders. He could not see anything that looked like treasure. He did acknowledge to himself that it was a great treasure by itself to have vanquished the terrifying Spider Monster with such few casualties.

Killing the Spider Monster meant that he no longer had to worry about his tribe being attacked by spider armies. Killing the Spider Monster not only avenged the Heavenly Fox race; it also meant that they could successfully conduct a large scale development on the sulfur mine in the valley and from there, accelerate the growth of their Black Pulp Trees.

The sulfur mine in the Taildon Valley was massive and easy to excavate. Even though they only had twenty percent of whatever they excavated, it was more than enough for the Beastmen! They only needed the sulfur to cultivate the Black Pulp Trees and make a few mud balls for illumination. They did not need to earn a large amount of crystal coins like Yang Ling.

To the aborigines scattered around the Ladak Mountain Range, the most precious item was not crystal coins, but rations, weapons, and armor, and the Beastmen were no exception.

Goode left quickly after receiving his order. The Fox Elder did not understand Yang Ling’s intentions, but he knew that the corpses of the Giant Crab Spiders and Twin-headed Horse Spiders, and even their fresh blood, had various uses. While he was with Yang Ling, Goode began to understand the other man. He was clear in his heart, even if he did not speak of it.

After circling the hall and realizing that there were no obvious treasures, Yang Ling sat cross legged in a corner, prepared to rest for some time within the hall. Of course, as a safety precaution, he summoned all of his Magical Beasts like the Withered Tree Warriors and Unicorn, in case a monster suddenly charged out from the Magical Spell Formation in the hall.

The Earth Evasion spell was very useful, having proven itself in his multiple successful surprise attacks on the Spider Monster. Unfortunately, it took a lot of Wizard Power to use that technique. The Wizard Power expended was proportional to the distance of his teleportation. While he was inside the Spider Monster, he had been running on sheer willpower. Even though it would be safer to rest outside the cave, he was honestly too tired to move.

After consuming a few Magical Beast Blood Essences, Yang Ling closed his eyes to rest. Even though there was a sufficient amount of energy within the hall, Yang Ling did not dare absorb it carelessly. If he was at his peak, he could have slowly investigated the energies, but since he was fatigued, it would be dangerous to act recklessly. He did not wish to be frozen into a popsicle by the billowing white fog.

Could the entire cave be a relic left behind by an Ancient Wizard?

Thinking back to the mysterious Wizard Formation in the stone forest outside the cave, and considering the immensely powerful Starlight Wizard Mantra, Yang Ling began his deliberation. According to the Spider Monster Abbas’ explanation, it had always been searching for traces of an Ancient Wizard. It was clear that it did not barge into this cave by coincidence. Perhaps it had discovered some secret long ago!

How unfortunate, thought Yang Ling. It would have been great if he could have tamed the Spider Monster!

Yang Ling smiled bitterly and shook his head. The Spider Monster’s unfathomably deep abilities and power meant it was amazing that he had escaped with his life. There was no way he could have tamed the Monster.

Furthermore, the Spider Monster had a massive amount of mental energy. Merely a few roars from it could directly attack its enemies’ souls. He still did not have the ability to tame it given his current abilities. In fact, it might even backfire on him and cause him to be consumed by his own Wizard Powers.

According to the explanation on the stele in the Wizard’s Pagoda, it was risky to try to tame a fierce beast that was at a higher level than oneself, especially when it came to taming creatures that had a higher mental energy. A moment’s carelessness could cause him to be consumed by the spell. He would at least mess up his mind, turn immediately into an idiot, or worse, vomit blood and die on the spot.

After resting for a moment and feeling that he had regained a portion of his Wizard Power and stamina, Yang Ling retrieved the metal box that he had picked up from inside the Spider Monster. He could feel a familiar ripple coming from within. Even though the ripples were faint, they were definitely there.

The metal box was light, its surface carved with the images of various Magical Beasts. A cursory look seemed to suggest that it was like the images on the Wizard’s Pagoda. But closer observation seemed to suggest a difference!

After knocking on it and tossing it around a bit, yet being unable to open the box, Yang Ling had a thought. He bit his index finger and pressed it onto the metal box. Mysterious symbols appeared on the box’s surface, and it shone with a red light. It then clicked open, revealing a thin piece of vellum.

Could this be another cultivating spell by the Tree Shepherds?

Seeing the vellum, Yang Ling thought of the beast hide Sofia had gifted him, on which the Psychic Mantra was recorded. It was about the same size, and roughly the same material. In fact, even its contents were written in the same language…

Temper the Blood Essence of Magical Beasts, gather the essence of all living things, strengthen the body and soul…

After silently reading the words, Yang Ling got excited. It turned out that it was not a Psychic Spell recorded there, but a unique Wizard Mantra. It was used to strengthen the body by absorbing various energies.

The Wizard Mantra on the stele taught him to come into contact with the origin of power in this world by training the soul. This new Wizard Mantra recorded on the vellum taught how to continuously refine the body and encounter the power source in this world by strengthening his physical body. They were two different means to the same end!