Chapter Eight: Xiao Qing Captured, the Mysterious Stranger Guides the Way

An ancient ferocious beast truly lived up to its name—even a juvenile was so formidable. Once it reached adulthood, wouldn’t it be nearly omnipotent? Not only did Fire Qilin and Little Azure have such thoughts, but a group of hunters nearby were thinking the same. That was why they intended to wait until the beasts were wounded, then capture the ancient beast cub.

As for how to tame such a creature, that would be left to the great clans themselves.

Yet, it seemed today was destined to disappoint them. Still, it wasn’t all bad; the group of hunters had already set their sights on Little Azure, who stood at a diagonal distance.

There is a saying: fortune comes unbidden. That perfectly described the current situation.

Chen Ergou muttered, “Big Brother, look over there. There’s one ready for the taking. The breed might not be the best, but at least it’ll satisfy our commission.”

Huang Si replied, “Alright, she’ll do. We can’t just waste a whole day here and come away empty-handed. Let’s move, brothers.”

With that, over a dozen hunters used their lightfoot skills, swiftly approaching Fire Qilin and Little Azure, blocking their path.

Hunters were a type of itinerant cultivator who earned silver by taking on commissions. With the money they earned, they exchanged it for manuals or cultivation stones to improve themselves.

Generally, though, they didn’t get the best jobs—wealthy patrons or high-level cultivators rarely needed their services, preferring to do things themselves. However, sometimes people commissioned them just to gather intelligence, such as locating ancient beasts.

After all, everyone had their specialty. Most hunters followed the Earth Dao, and their first learned skills were usually escape arts like Earth Dive or tracking techniques. Without these, they’d be at a great disadvantage in their trade.

Fire Qilin said, “Uncle, could you please let us pass? We’re in a hurry.”

In his naivety, he had no idea of the malice in the man before him, treating him as he would a clansman back in Flame Village.

This was his first encounter with an outsider, and he had no inkling that this so-called “Uncle” was actually a villain with ulterior motives.

This was his first lesson: the world was treacherous, and not everyone could be considered a friend.

Whether the man didn’t hear or simply ignored him, he remained unmoved. Every time Fire Qilin tried to move forward, the man blocked his way, making his intentions clear—he wasn’t going to let them pass.

Then, Huang Si signaled his subordinates, who quickly surrounded Fire Qilin and Little Azure.

Even now, Fire Qilin didn’t understand what the “uncle” wanted, why he blocked their path and had his men surround them.

Was this how outsiders treated guests?

But in the next instant, he was forced to abandon such naïve thoughts. At Huang Si’s command, “Go!” the hunters swarmed toward Fire Qilin.

Chen Ergou shouted, “Earth Art—Earthen Boundary Wall!”

His lackeys echoed, “Earth Art—Earthen Boundary Wall!”

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. Infusing their hands with spiritual power, the hunters knelt and slammed their palms down, causing layers of earth to rise up and form walls over two meters high.

These walls surged toward Fire Qilin and Little Azure. The hunters aimed to use the defensive might of earth arts to trap the two completely.

Since few of them were skilled in killing techniques, they simply adapted this escape art for capturing instead—only in this way could they subdue this greenhorn and his pet.

In this moment of crisis, Little Azure instinctively shoved Fire Qilin, enabling him to slip out through a gap between four merging walls and escape.

Next, the hunter in the rear with a spatial pouch played his part.

A tremendous suction instantly pulled Little Azure, who was trapped, into the hunter’s pouch.

Seeing their plan succeed, the hunters quickly activated their earth-diving technique and vanished without delay.

They didn’t fear Fire Qilin, but rather the possibility of unforeseen complications. This was their usual style—swift action with no loose ends, ensuring their own and their team’s long-term survival.

By the time Fire Qilin realized what had happened, it was too late. Little Azure was gone from his sight, and the hunters were already thousands of miles away.

The memory of the recent events still lingered, but now he was alone. Little Azure had been with him for five years, second only to his mother in closeness.

Now, her absence ignited a burning rage in his heart. Tears welled up and fell from his eyes. Only now did he truly understand the world’s dangers.

The outside world was far more complex than Flame Village. Only now did he grasp the meaning behind Uncle Yang Zilin’s warnings about the wickedness of human hearts.

Not everyone outside would be as open and kind as the elders of his village. From now on, he would have to be wary—never treat strangers with blind trust. He would always have to be on guard, as this very incident had shown.

As the saying goes, “A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.” He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

But his most urgent task was to find Little Azure and rescue her before she was harmed—otherwise, he would never forgive himself.

A mysterious voice spoke: “The one you seek is in Xuanlin City, ten thousand miles away. If you set out now, you should make it in time to save your companion.”

The voice seemed to come from all directions, making it impossible to discern the speaker’s location.

After his earlier experience, Fire Qilin was half-believing, half-doubting the mysterious figure’s words. But for Little Azure’s sake, he had no choice but to trust the information.

He sped away in the direction indicated by the mysterious voice.

When tired, he rested briefly and ate a few bites of flatbread before setting out again.

Throughout his journey, wild beasts occasionally tried to attack him. If not for his own cultivation, he might have been devoured by them.

Strangely, as he ran through the great forest, he encountered no truly powerful beasts—only those weaker than himself, or at best, those on par with him, at the Foundation Realm.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was Little Azure—second in his heart only to his mother.

Several days later, Fire Qilin finally arrived at the city called Xuanlin.

At the city gates, people bustled about: farmers carrying bamboo baskets to sell firewood, families entering the city for leisure, lone servants coming to work, and more. Compared to Flame Village, it was a lively scene.

Fire Qilin didn’t linger, entering the city with the crowd.

Lacking any silver in the outside world, he decided to exchange his valuables for money to investigate Little Azure’s whereabouts.

Inside the city, the commotion was even greater. Hawkers’ cries filled the air. One vendor quickly noticed this greenhorn.

“Sir, care to browse my wares? Fair prices, satisfaction guaranteed!” the vendor called.

“Big brother, do you barter here?” Fire Qilin asked.

“Of course! What would you like in exchange?” the vendor replied.

“Silver,” Fire Qilin said simply.

The shrewd vendor beckoned him aside and began whispering.

After a brief exchange, the vendor made his terms clear: trades were possible, but only for goods of clear origin—no stolen or illicit items. He would also need to judge the value first; the price would be negotiable.

Fire Qilin assured him his goods were legitimate, not stolen or looted.

He then produced some items from his own spatial pouch for the vendor to see.

First, he brought out several beast essence pills. Though not top-tier, in such a remote city, they were considered high quality.

Demon beast cores were graded from fourth to special grade. Each grade also had levels—starting with the Foundation Realm, termed first-level cores. With each major advancement, the core’s level increased: second-level, third-level, and so on.

How high one could refine their core depended on their own abilities.

Seeing over a dozen first-level cores, the vendor’s eyes sparkled with greed. Better yet, there was even a special-grade first-level core among them.

This was a treasure—a rare pill with a ninety percent success rate for refining low-level elixirs. With a bonus alchemy furnace, a perfect result was almost guaranteed.

The commotion inevitably attracted other envious vendors nearby. Soon, several crowded over, each trying to outbid the other.

Bidding soared from several hundred silver taels to five thousand.

If Fire Qilin had any worldly experience, he wouldn’t have let a single vendor walk away with such a bargain. Still, the vendor who eventually won the deal was kinder than the first. After acquiring the special-grade core, he also handed Fire Qilin a pitch-black stone as a bonus.

No one else wanted the stone anyway, so the vendor gave it as a goodwill gesture, adding that if Fire Qilin ever had more cores, he should come to him and the price would be the same.

He was joking, of course—the stone was worth far more than five thousand taels, at least ten thousand to start. With a single flip, the vendor could double his profit, enough to make him laugh in his sleep.

He had truly chanced upon an easy mark that day.

The remaining first- and second-grade cores were also sold. Fire Qilin had no use for them—he saw cores only as necessary items for bathing rituals, unaware they could be used for alchemy.

Even if he had known, he would have sold them anyway—he couldn’t refine pills himself, and he certainly wasn’t going to eat them.

With the silver in hand, Fire Qilin found a small tavern and checked in. Since he was in such a hurry, the hunters had not yet arrived in the city. He decided to rest for the night and planned to intercept those villains at the city gate the next day, hoping to rescue Little Azure.

But the night proved far from peaceful. He soon found himself entangled in another danger—one that nearly cost him his life.