Chapter 40: Bestowing a Name (Seeking Recommendations)
Along the main road, a small boy could be seen crying and running, stopping intermittently along the way. It was Gou'er.
"What happened?"
With their robes fluttering, Fang Xi and the other two had already surrounded Gou'er.
"Wuwuwu. . . Quick, save big brother! Big brother is being attacked by a monster! " Gou'er, seeing Fang Xi and the others, clung to them as if they were saviors.
"What? Another monster? " Mu Cang Long felt a headache coming on. "What kind of monster?"
"Wuwu. . . I. . . I don't know. . . I couldn't see it at all, but blood was flowing from big brother, and from Xiao Yun, and Xiao Shu. . ."
Gou'er was sobbing so hard he could barely breathe.
"Could it be. . . another 'demon'?"
Mu Cang Long's expression turned grim.
"A yao?"
Fang Xi rubbed his chin.
If Zhang Jun Ming had encountered another demon, he would have turned around and left without a word.
But a yao was different.
He had already been considering hunting demon beasts to sell their meat!
His cultivation in the Longevity Art had been slow to progress, so it seemed it was time to buy pills and rely on their power to cultivate.
And that required Spirit Stones, many, many Spirit Stones!
"Master Mu, you take Gou'er back to the convoy. Han Pang Zi and I will go take a look! " Fang Xi thought for a moment, then immediately made his decision.
"Why Old Han and not me? " Han Pang Zi looked a bit vexed.
"Naturally, because your strength is greater. " Fang Xi chuckled, thinking to himself that even if they encountered danger, this 'mountain of flesh' could both block attacks and presented a larger target than himself. Why would he choose Mu Cang Long?
...
Inside the dense forest.
Bloodstains covered the gnarled roots of ancient trees.
Fang Xi's brow twitched. He pulled a piece of cloth from a tree branch.
"It's what Zhang Jun Ming was wearing!"
Han Pang Zi pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the greasy sweat from his face. "It looks like Zhang Jun Ming is gone for good, Brother Fang. How about we just leave? This place is seriously creepy."
"Indeed. . . an invisible yao, quite interesting."
Fang Xi mused, "Perhaps. . . it hasn't left after hunting?"
With that thought, he secretly circulated the Longevity Art, sending two strands of wood-attribute magical power into his eyes.
This was the 'spiritual eye technique' of cultivators!
Of course, spiritual eyes that hadn't undergone special cultivation weren't actually very useful in the cultivation world. Their main purpose in the mortal world was to find items with spiritual energy.
But in Da Liang?
Demon meat and the like were also considered to be quite rich in spiritual energy.
A green glow flashed in Fang Xi's eyes as he scanned his surroundings.
Suddenly, his body stiffened.
Between the ancient trees beside Han Pang Zi, a translucent monster was coiled!
It seemed as if its entire body was made of glass, moving tracelessly through the jungle. A long tongue had slowly descended, reaching Han Pang Zi's side.
"Wretch!"
Fang Xi's voice boomed like thunder, and he punched towards Han Pang Zi.
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, Han Pang Zi instinctively activated his 'Devouring Heaven Art' to defend with all his might. Immediately, he felt an extremely long object wrap around his waist, bringing with it a sticky fluid and a foul stench.
"What the hell is this thing? !"
He roared, his entire body of fat swelling like a sphere, actually forcing the monster's tongue to stretch open.
At the same time, Fang Xi's punch landed on the monster's body, and his 'Primal Chaos Force' erupted!
Bang!
A series of powerful impacts exploded, sending green blood splashing.
A heavy thud echoed as something hit the ground.
It was then that Han Pang Zi finally saw it: on the ground lay a beast, made seemingly of glazed material, gradually regaining its dark green color. . .
This monster was over a 'zhang' — more than three meters long — with sharp, scaly limbs and bulging, extremely agile eyes that spun around. At its neck was a frill-like collar of skin, making it look quite formidable from afar.
"What a massive chameleon demon beast!"
For some reason, seeing that collar-like membrane, Fang Xi was suddenly reminded of a dog's protective cone, and he felt like laughing. "Hahahaha. . . Han Pang Zi, you almost served yourself up as meat just now!"
He had to admit, this fat man made a pretty good meat shield.
In his vision, there was a huge bloody hole on the chameleon demon's back, surrounded by scattered green scales.
"Damn it, I almost bit the dust today."
Han Pang Zi's face also held a hint of ferocity. "Tonight, Old Han is eating this demon beast meat!"
With a roar, his massive body leaped up and descended like a collapsing mountain: "Devouring Heaven Palm!"
Fang Xi shook his head. "You probably won't be able to eat it!"
As he spoke, he coordinated his attack with Han Pang Zi.
This demon beast's actual strength wasn't that great; it was only its ability to hide its form and move tracelessly that made it so troublesome.
However, once Fang Xi broke its 'Invisibility Art', it became quite ordinary.
Before long, it was lying on its back, belly up, a corpse on the ground.
Fang Xi didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled out a dagger and directly disemboweled the demon beast, finding Zhang Jun Ming's mangled remains inside.
"Ugh. . . looks like it really can't be eaten. . ."
Han Pang Zi shook his head, a hint of regret on his face.
"Alas. . . to think that saying goodbye this morning would be a farewell forever! Still, I didn't see Xiao Yun's body, so perhaps she escaped?"
Fang Xi suddenly felt the impermanence of life.
Since they had known each other, he and Han Pang Zi buried Zhang Jun Ming's body together, then sent Han Pang Zi ahead.
After confirming Han Pang Zi had left, Fang Xi patted his storage bag, took out his Ghost Head Saber, a hint of excitement on his face. "This demon beast's hide should be usable for some special artifacts. . . and the meat and bones are good too, not bad, can sell for some Spirit Stones."
At this moment, he inwardly thanked the 'treasure-sending boy' once more.
Without the storage bag generously provided by that fellow, hiding the chameleon demon beast's corpse would have been quite troublesome indeed.
...
The convoy.
"Don't worry. . . Big Senior Brother's martial arts are exceptional, he's already a Martial Master-level expert. He'll surely bring your big brother back."
Mu Piao Miao was comforting Gou'er.
Suddenly, a mountain of flesh gracefully flew from the distance and landed in front of Gou'er.
"Where's my big brother? " Gou'er immediately asked.
"Dead!"
Han Pang Zi sighed, handing a blood-stained piece of clothing to Gou'er.
Gou'er immediately burst into uncontrollable sobs.
"Such is life in this world, just try to accept it. . . " Han Pang Zi shook his head and returned to his own carriage to enjoy himself.
Ah, after giving up one carriage, he had called all his concubines into his own carriage, making everyone admire his magnificent pulling horse—it was truly a divine steed!
"Master is back!"
Han Pang Zi returned to his carriage, immediately enveloped by several tender arms.
"Heh heh. . ."
He casually retrieved a bottle of fine wine from under the seat and took a swig. "Mmm. . . back home."
His eyes narrowed in contentment, leaving only a slit:
"That Fang Xi definitely has secrets, but it's none of Old Han's business."
"Being carefree and joyful, that's the way to longevity. . . I'm not greedy, no, not greedy at all. Just happy to have beautiful concubines and full meals every day, happy, just happy. . ."
...
Not long after, Fang Xi also returned to the convoy.
"Set off, continue forward!"
He looked at the people in the convoy and issued the command.
The team slowly moved forward. Fang Xi came up to Gou'er. "Do you have anywhere else to go?"
"No. . ."
Gou'er's eyes were vacant as he gazed ahead.
"Then come with us to Three Yuan City. I'll introduce you to the White Cloud Martial Arts Hall; you'll at least be able to earn a living there!"
Fang Xi prepared to casually shift the burden to Mu Piao Miao.
After all, when Mu Cang Long arrived in Three Yuan City, he would most likely be forced by livelihood to open a martial arts hall again.
"By the way, do you have a name?"
"No! " Gou'er replied.
"Then I'll give you one. You can take Zhang Jun Ming's surname, Zhang. . . As for your given name? 'Imperial ambitions are discussed with a laugh, but none compare to a life well-drunk. . . ' So, how about Zhang Zui. . . no, Zhang Minting!"
"Zhang? " Gou'er thought for a moment, then nodded heavily. "I'll be called Zhang Minting!"
"Excellent!"
Fang Xi nodded, suddenly feeling that a piece of Zhang Jun Ming's existence had found a continuation in this world.
This was precisely what the ancients pursued.
"Heh heh. . . Too bad such continuation is merely an illusion!"
"What family, bloodline, spiritual legacy, or leaving a name in history. . . none compare to living long enough to become history yourself!"
"I must achieve Foundation Establishment and enjoy longevity!"
Fang Xi's eyes flickered with a deep resolve, firming his ambition even further.
...
Several days later.
Green Bamboo Mountain Cultivation City.
Fang Xi returned to the shanty town with a normal expression.
The 'Three-Day Fragrance' had long since dissipated, and along the way, he hadn't noticed any signs of widespread panic.
After all, people frequently died outside the Cultivation City; everyone was used to it.
As long as no important figures died, they would quickly be forgotten.
"Moreover. . . if the Hundred Arts Tower were looking, they'd be searching for a fierce, burly man selling Taisui meat. What does that have to do with me, a humble Spirit Farmer?"
Fang Xi gathered some information, secretly feeling relieved.
However, his neighbor Chen Ping wasn't around, probably either in secluded cultivation or gone to pester Fellow Daoist Lu.
Fang Xi ignored him. After some thought, he directly sought out Di Qi.
"What? Fellow Daoist Fang, you actually killed a demon beast?"
Di Qi looked Fang Xi up and down, as if re-evaluating this Spirit Farmer.
"It was just good luck; coincidentally, this demon beast wasn't very strong either. . ."
Fang Xi displayed a shy smile. "The corpse is all at my place; I'll take you to see it. . ."
Of course, he wouldn't expose his storage bag in front of Di Qi, so he had directly placed the butchered demon beast meat at home.
Di Qi arrived at Fang Xi's wooden hut and, seeing the chunks of beast meat and the stark white bones, finally believed him. "Fellow Daoist, you truly have good fortune. . . Are you planning to. . . sell it?"
"Yes, I am!"
Fang Xi rubbed his hands, seemingly a bit embarrassed to speak. "This Cultivation City is full of intrigue, and I don't dare to parade it around. So, I could only trouble Fellow Daoist to handle it for me, couldn't I? If Fellow Daoist is willing, I can give you ten percent of the proceeds!"
"What a deal!"
Di Qi's eyes immediately lit up. His family had a demand for such things, and bringing this back would also count as a small contribution.
The key was. . . he could earn from both ends!
He immediately perked up. "What rank is this demon beast? How many jin (catty) does it weigh?"
"Roughly a first-order, low-grade. . . the meat is about three to four hundred jin, bones are extra. . . as for the hide, I kept that."
Fang Xi answered frankly.
Even for a Spirit Farmer, getting lucky and killing a demon beast was considered reasonably plausible.
After all, who could predict luck?
In any case, he didn't plan to sell a second demon beast through Di Qi.
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