"Priestess, I'm going to sleep." Ze changed the subject, closing his eyes directly, while the arm holding Shen Nong's waist tightened its grip.
Shen Nong sighed helplessly and said nothing in the end, letting Ze continue to hold her.
...
Quanfeng quickly recounted the incident involving Wuqing to the clansmen, repeatedly emphasizing that they should act as if nothing was amiss and that Muqi must not notice anything unusual.
The people of the Wushan tribe knew they had to hide their emotions and endure. When the sun rose to its highest point again, the person who killed their Wuqing priest would receive his due punishment.
However, they just couldn't do it the way they always did.
Muqi felt something was off about the orcs in the tribe today; they were too quiet, as quiet as the dead.
But thinking about it, spring is almost over, and the weather is getting hotter and hotter. They work all day and don't have enough to eat, so they must be exhausted.
It's better to be quiet, as long as he's not dead and it doesn't interfere with his mining of black stones.
Quanfeng spent another night in fear and trepidation. Muqi didn't ask him anything and acted as usual.
As the sun rose again, it slowly climbed to its highest point, just like every day. Mu Qi, as usual, entered his cave and said what he said every day, "Don't come near here."
At this moment, Quanfeng's tense emotions finally got a chance to catch his breath, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was only because Mu Qi cared about nothing but Wu Shi and didn't pay attention to anything else in the tribe, let alone these changes among the tribesmen, that things proceeded so smoothly.
In the past, when the sun was at its highest point, it was a rare time for the people of the Wushan tribe to relax.
They were not forced by the priests to mine the incredibly hard black stone, nor did they have to suffer the priests' wrath for failing to properly burn it.
At this time every day, the people of the Wushan tribe sit or lie under the trees, close their eyes, and listen to the sound of the wind and birds.
But today, they didn't act as usual.
Quanfeng and Yangwu led away the Wushan tribe members in batches, while the Yu tribe's beastmen waited outside to meet them.
For this plan, Yu Ji also called back the Feather Tribe beastmen who were on the beach to help.
With the help of the Feather Tribe orcs, the Wushan Tribe members were able to hide further away.
After settling the tribesmen in, Quanfeng stayed behind with the orc warriors from the hunting party, as they had agreed upon beforehand.
Wu Qing is their priest, and no one knows better than the people of the Wushan tribe how terrifying Mu Qi's abilities are.
They couldn't just send others on the risk, but they also knew their orc level was low. Staying behind might not be of much help, but their ultimate goal wasn't to help anyway.
Instead, in critical moments, they risk their own lives to save others.
The Feather Tribe orcs heard from their priest that they were going to take everyone from the Wushan Tribe back with them. Now that so many people were not leaving, they didn't know what to do.
Quanfeng's mind was made up and could not be changed. He said to Queshui, "Go quickly, Yuji won't blame you. However, there is a message for me to pass on to Yuji."
Que Shui knew she couldn't persuade her, so she asked, "Tell me."
"If I die, please ask him to allow the surviving members of the Wushan tribe to join the Yu tribe, considering that Wuqing used to provide food to the Yu tribe."
Que Shui was stunned for a moment. She had a feeling that when Quan Feng said those words, he was already determined to die.
"I will tell the priest." After a slight pause, Que Shui couldn't help but say, "Chief Quanfeng, the merger of tribes is a major event. You'd better go back alive and tell our priest yourself."
Quanfeng didn't respond; he had no way of knowing whether he could survive under Muqi's powerful abilities.
Having already wasted a lot of time, Que Shui didn't have time to wait for Quan Feng's reply. She led the Feather Tribe orcs into the air, away from the Wushan Tribe.
As Quanfeng watched his people disappear from sight, he felt relieved. He beckoned to the eleven remaining orcs and said, "Come with me."
...
After the Wushan tribe members all left, Shen Nong, Ze, Bao Qiu, Lang Yu, and Ying Xi slowly approached the entrance of Mu Qi's cave, while Lu Chun and Ying Ya led the orcs to guard the area not far away.
Apart from the rustling of leaves in the wind, there was no other sound around.
As always, Ze Yi shielded Shen Nong behind him. His position was clever, neither obstructing Shen Nong's view nor hindering her from being attacked. He was able to stand in front of Shen Nong immediately.
Shen Nong stared intently at the dark cave entrance, her fingers clenched so tightly they turned white, her entire being poised to strike.
Eagle Creek transformed into a beast and hovered in the sky. Leopard Autumn and Wolf Rain also transformed into beasts and walked ahead of Ze and Shen Nong, slowly approaching the cave entrance.
Just as Leopard Autumn was only a few steps away from the cave, Shen Nong keenly sensed something unusual about the surrounding trees.
He himself is a wood-type ability user, and his sensitivity to the movements of plants is even greater than that of a high-level beast god.
"Leopard Autumn, Wolf Rain, watch out!"
After Shen Nong warned the two of them, he also moved to the right. The next second, a withered vine suddenly emerged from the ground where he had been standing.
Although it is a withered vine, its swift force makes its attack power no less than that of a sharp blade.
Ze also noticed the disturbance, took a step back, and dodged the attack.
Leopard Autumn and Wolf Rain received a warning from Shen Nong in advance, and their beast forms quickly scattered, causing the withered vines to miss their target.
Eagle Creek, hovering in the air, looked down at the numerous withered vines that had suddenly appeared below and became extremely anxious. He swooped down to lure the withered vines away.
As soon as Yingxi bent down, she heard a loud noise erupt from inside the cave, followed by a man's terrified scream, as if he had been frightened by something terrible.
Just as Yingxi looked curiously into the cave, a shadowy figure inside was moving rapidly toward the cave entrance.
He flew a little higher, maintaining a safe distance.
When he came to his senses and looked closely, he could finally see what the shadow that had emerged from the cave was.
Yingxi blinked, even thinking he must have seen wrong. Otherwise, why would he see the priest of the Wushan tribe bound tightly by vines at the cave entrance?
Shen Nong controlled the vines with his fingertips to tighten them. Since Mu Qi would use withered vines to ambush him, he could naturally use the vines to tie people up directly from the cave.
He's now a master at binding priests.
Mu Qi's gaze locked onto Shen Nong almost instantly. His eyes squinted from the sunlight as he stared straight at Shen Nong.
With just one glance, Mu Qi was certain that he had never seen the person in front of him in Beast City.
After all, with such an eye-catching appearance, it's hard to forget someone once you've seen them.
Suppressing his astonishment, Mu Qi asked coldly, "How do you possess the ability to control wood?"
Shen Nong did not answer Mu Qi's question, but instead asked, "You killed Wu Qing and took something from his brain. What do you want this thing for?"
Mu Qi's breath hitched, a brief look of panic flashing across his sinister face before he quickly regained his composure and asked sharply, "How did you know?"
Shen Nong tightened the vines even further, and Mu Qi's face showed obvious pain and endurance. Shen Nong said, "I want you to answer me."
Mu Qi gritted his teeth, staring coldly at Shen Nong. The pain on his face was gradually replaced by an infinitely magnified smile, and a terrifying madness appeared in his eyes. "If you want to know, you'll have to be alive!"
Shen Nong frowned slightly, not understanding what the other party wanted to do.
"Don't waste your energy struggling. You know better than anyone that there's no way you can break free."
Mu Qi sneered, "Is that so?"
When the vines touched Mu Qi, Shen Nong had already detected that Mu Qi's ability level was two levels lower than hers. Therefore, Shen Nong was certain that Mu Qi could not break free from her vines.
But Mu Qi's words served as a warning to Shen Nong: this person had a backup plan.
He needs to be careful.
"Sizzle—"
Flames suddenly erupted from Mu Qi's body, growing larger and larger, seemingly about to burn away the vines binding him.
He seemed completely unaware of the flames engulfing him; the fire did not harm Mu Qi in the slightest.
Shen Nong's eyelids twitched, and she sensed something was wrong.
Fire-based superpowers...
Shen Nong summoned more vines, preparing to win by sheer numbers.
He noticed that Mu Qi was holding a bright red spirit core in his hand, which he guessed was the source of the sudden fire.
Activate the superhuman's spiritual core, release its internal energy, and briefly use the superhuman abilities of others.
Why would people in the Beast World use such evil methods?
Leopard Autumn and Wolf Rain dodged and weaved through the sea of fire, but they couldn't get any closer to Mu Qi.
Shen Nong's expression turned solemn as she stepped back, manipulating numerous vines to fly towards the spreading sea of fire.
This can't go on. He wrapped his dagger in vines and handed it to Ze, saying, "Ze, find a way to get close to him."
After a slight pause, Shen Nong added with concern, "Just knock the thing out of his hand, but be careful."
He picked up the dagger, tucked it into the leather belt at his waist, and said to Shen Nong, "Don't worry."
Taking advantage of the "path" opened up by Shen Nong, he moved like lightning, leaving only a blur, and quickly approached Mu Qi.
Mu Qi's withered vines followed closely behind, preventing Ze from getting closer. After dodging twice, Ze grabbed the withered vines, pulled out Shen Nong's dagger from his waist, and swung his arm forcefully, instantly severing the withered vines.
The dagger gleamed brightly amidst the sea of fire. Mu Qi was captivated by the exquisite yet powerful dagger, silently murmuring, "A divine weapon!"
In Mu Qi's daze, Ze had already moved to his face, and the dagger that Mu Qi regarded as a divine weapon was only an inch away from his arm.
"puff."
The sound of a sharp object piercing flesh did not travel through the burning inferno.
But Shen Nong's eyes were filled with the blazing firelight as he watched a withered vine pierce through Ze's chest.
"select!!"
A bright red light flashed and fell into the sea of fire. Mu Qi, clutching his bleeding arm, looked at Ze as if he were a madman.
This person could have easily dodged it and wouldn't have gotten hurt.
But the other party actually chose to be pierced by the withered vines himself, just so that he would lose the crystal in his hand.
He grabbed the withered vine that was embedded in his body and pulled it out, causing a drop of blood to splatter onto the ground.
Shen Nong immediately manipulated the vines to bind Mu Qi completely, and then separated some vines to entangle him.
A slight force came from my waist. Looking down, I saw vines brimming with life.
He relaxed his body and let the vines pull him back.
Shen Nong was so concerned that he was confused, his mind filled with the image of Ze being pierced by the withered vines. Ze was being supported by the vines, and he saw a hole in Ze's fish skin coat, with bloodstains all over it.
His eyes were slightly red, and his hands were trembling as he tore open Ze's clothes to check Ze's wounds.
But beneath that fish-skin coat, on his powerful chest, there were only some bloodstains, no real wounds.