Chapter 107: Sneak Attack

Chapter 107: Ambush

The little Sticky Mud Beast shivered for a while, then discovered that the wind blades from the Blue-crested Red Eagle’s wings couldn’t penetrate the spirit shield of the flying ship. It mustered its courage, wriggled onto the deck, and squeaked at the distant Blue-crested Red Eagle, even spitting at it.

Shang Yunduo controlled the flying ship to accelerate while hurling Fireballs at the Blue-crested Red Eagle. They had no coordination—either the saliva extinguished the fireballs, or Shang Yunduo’s fireballs scorched the sticky saliva dry.

The little Sticky Mud Beast chirped even more vigorously, making Shang Yunduo wonder if it was cursing him.

“Your home is almost there!”

The moment the marsh came into view, Shang Yunduo grabbed the little Sticky Mud Beast. “Get your targets straight—I’m the good guy. I came to rescue you. Don’t let your parents hit me!”

The little Sticky Mud Beast: “Squeak!”

Not caring whether it understood, Shang Yunduo dove sharply, threw it into the swamp, and turned to flee.

The little Sticky Mud Beast burrowed into the mud, then raised its head. The pursuing Blue-crested Red Eagle and Shang Yunduo were locked in battle above the marsh—fire blazing, wind blades flying wildly, shredding the sparse vegetation and leaving broken branches and fallen leaves.

It burrowed deep into the mud and let out a long “Squeak.” A special sound wave traveled through the mud and water, causing the Sticky Mud Beasts that were halfway in pursuit to turn and race back home. They rushed back in a frenzy, only to see the little one spitting futilely at the sky.

Unfortunately, both Shang Yunduo and the Blue-crested Red Eagle were flying too high—it couldn’t reach them.

The large Sticky Mud Beast also roared, a low sound echoing across the marsh. The female beast suddenly sprayed mucus into the swamp and slapped the water surface. The marsh quivered like a drum, and a water column shot up. The male beast leaped onto the column, rising high, and spat a torrent of mucus at the Blue-crested Red Eagle.

The mucus shot out like sharp arrows. Shang Yunduo hurriedly lifted the ship, veering left while the Blue-crested Red Eagle veered right, scattering in different directions. The female beast below controlled the water column, while the male above acted like a bow-wielding general, flinging mucus in a barrage worthy of ten thousand arrows, spraying it high into the sky.

The defensive formation of the flying ship flickered non-stop. Shang Yunduo cursed inwardly: why was it attacking indiscriminately, dragging him into this?

But then he thought: if it weren’t for him, the little Sticky Mud Beast probably wouldn’t have wandered to the swamp’s edge and been caught in the first place. The parents’ anger was understandable.

He shrugged sheepishly and continued to raise the flying ship higher, keeping away from the furious and unreasonable parents.

Fortunately, he wasn’t the primary target. When the little beasts took over from their mother and the female also jumped onto the water column, that was when the true fury of a Fourth-order Beast was revealed—

The entire marsh was showered with mucus rain. It first flew upward from below, reached its peak, then descended from above. The mucus, rising and falling like a torrential downpour, frightened Shang Yunduo into covering his head and scurrying away. The targeted Blue-crested Red Eagle furiously flapped its wings, relying on its extreme speed and wind blades to brush aside the “rain threads,” barely escaping. But its wings and body were still stuck with many clumps of feathers.

Indeed, within the marsh’s domain, the Sticky Mud Beasts were invincible.

Shang Yunduo swallowed hard, not daring to linger—he was afraid of being caught in the backlash and beaten. He quickly fled.

As soon as he got home, before Shang Yunduo could speak, Pei Jie caught a whiff of the rotten mud’s foul odor.

He knew Shang Yunduo had been playing around with those Sticky Mud Beasts these past days, but he never came back with such a strong smell.

Pei Jie frowned: “What did you do?”

Had he finally lost his temper and jumped into the mud to wrestle with those Sticky Mud Beasts?

Seeing his expression of disgust, Shang Yunduo instinctively sniffed himself—he had only held that little Sticky Mud Beast for a little while!

“Today I...” He used a Cleansing Spell while recounting the experience of snatching the Sticky Mud Beast from the Blue-crested Red Eagle in a rapid stream of words.

Pei Jie frowned: “You chased it near its nest?”

Shang Yunduo nodded.

Pei Jie stood up: “Let’s go.”

Shang Yunduo: “Where?”

Pei Jie: “Blue-crested birds hold grudges most fiercely. You interrupted its hunt and even injured it. It won’t dare to provoke that nest of Sticky Mud Beasts, so it will naturally take its revenge on you.”

Shang Yunduo was stunned.

Pei Jie: “Let’s go. While it’s still injured, strike first.”

Pei Jie concealed the flying ship and approached slowly. The Blue-crested Red Eagle had indeed returned to its nest, busy cleaning the hardened mucus off its body. It seemed to have torn off quite a few downy feathers, and its cries were irritable.

Once they were close, Pei Jie instead became unhurried. He stopped on a nearby mountain peak, waiting for nightfall.

Shang Yunduo lowered his voice: “We’re waiting until it’s completely dark?”

Pei Jie: “Mm. Beasts and animals aren’t much different in habits. Those that like to hunt during the day generally have poor night vision. But they are sensitive to spiritual power and scent, so don’t ambush from the upwind side.”

Shang Yunduo nodded: “Mmm hmm hmm!”

This Blue-crested Red Eagle’s nest was perfectly situated—on the highest peak among all nearby mountains, a solitary peak with an excellent view. Ambushing it would be extremely difficult.

But Pei Jie clearly had more experience. He had asked about the nest’s location along the way and concealed the flying ship before even seeing the peak. Determined to ambush, Pei Jie didn’t intend to let it discover them at all. He controlled the flying speed according to the wind, approaching silently. They had flown straight into the Blue-crested Red Eagle’s line of sight, yet even after landing on this small peak for a full half-hour, the Blue-crested Red Eagle hadn’t noticed them.

It wasn’t overconfidence, nor was it distracted by pulling out mud. The Blue-crested Red Eagle wasn’t careless at all—it had detected another beast that had the same idea as them, an ambusher that approached, almost as soon as it appeared.

Shang Yunduo lay at the edge of the ship’s cabin, watching a life-or-death struggle between two Fourth-order Beasts. That Black-gold Leopard and the Blue-crested Red Eagle fought fiercely among the cliffs for an entire night. Rocks shattered, and the peak where the Blue-crested Red Eagle had built its nest was knocked askew by several degrees. Unfortunately, the Black-gold Leopard couldn’t fly and was slightly weaker in size, unable to deliver a fatal blow to the Blue-crested Red Eagle. It left grudgingly before dawn.

The Blue-crested Red Eagle, taking advantage of the terrain, drove off the unwelcome neighbor in victory. With a wing that was slightly broken, it hobbled back into its nest.

The sun leaped over the southeastern mountains, shining into the nest, and in that instant, it reflected a piercing cold light.

The Blue-crested Red Eagle was startled for a moment. It wanted to spread its wings and leap up, but it was too late.

Its movement and cry were a step too slow. The cold, gleaming sword pierced through its chest.

One sword.

One sword.

And another sword.

The continuous Sword Formation was more like a rain of arrows than the flying mucus from the day before—but it all struck the same place, until it pierced through its body, through its heart.

The formidable Fourth-order Beast struggled to rise stubbornly, flapping its wings and charging through the sword formation. Dark red demon blood splattered everywhere. It wasn’t until it was knocked back into its nest and the light in its eyes faded that it realized it never even saw where its ambusher was hiding.

The dying cry of the Blue-crested Red Eagle echoed through the mountains. The Black-gold Leopard, slowly retreating, looked up and paused. Seeing the flying ship suddenly appear on a neighboring peak, it fled headlong in terror, disappearing like the wind.

Shang Yunduo was dazed.

He mechanically followed Pei Jie to clean out the nest.

Pei Jie: “What’s wrong?”

Shang Yunduo shook his head.

It was just that every time Pei Jie made a move, it shocked him.

Too simple.

Too effortless.

Effortless enough to surpass his imagination.

If he had the same flying ship and the same magic tools—as long as he wanted to use them, Pei Jie would definitely lend him flying swords—but would he fight like this?

Shang Yunduo imagined it himself: if it were him today, he'd probably rely on the ship's speed to circle and clash head-on with the Blue-crested Red Eagle...

Even if he were to ambush it, he'd probably try to sneak into the nest, land a punch, then get caught, and end up in a brawl.

The more he thought about it, the more silent Shang Yunduo became.

"Senior, if you were training, would you just kill all those third-order beasts?"

Pei Jie glanced at him: "I'm not a killer."

"... That's true." Shang Yunduo nodded.

Pei Jie: "Kill when necessary; why waste effort killing what's not needed?"

Shang Yunduo: "..."

Pei Jie cut off the Blue-crested Red Eagle's wings, crest, and claws. "The rest is useless."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

He silently stepped forward to pack up the rest, also pocketed the soft cushion made of down and fur in the nest, searched through again, and even found a storage pouch in the corner.

"..."

Take it. Take it all.

He even rummaged through the branches to make sure there were no rare spiritual items before jumping back onto the ship.

"Blue-crested Red Eagle..." Shang Yunduo turned back to look at the poor nest that now held only a corpse, trying hard to look calm and worldly. "Probably not edible, right?"

Pei Jie was taken aback by the question, then got off the ship again.

Shang Yunduo: "???"

Pei Jie picked and chose, cutting a few whole pieces of meat from the Blue-crested Red Eagle's breast and legs. "No need to eat the rest."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

No, he didn't want to eat it!

For some reason, Pei Jie also tied the remaining carcass under the ship, flew all the way to the swamp of the Sticky Mud Beast, and, as Shang Yunduo watched in shock, dropped the Blue-crested Red Eagle corpse down.

Shang Yunduo: "..."

What does that mean?

Is he afraid he'll secretly roast the leftover scraps, or is he making a show of force to this nest of Sticky Mud Beasts?

They flew arrogantly across the swamp, and not once did that hot-tempered nest of Sticky Mud Beasts show their heads, not even after the corpse fully sank into the mud.

Shang Yunduo felt the need to reassert his image: "Senior, I don't eat just anything."

Pei Jie: "Hm?"

Shang Yunduo: "If you're worried, you can give those pieces to them too."

Pei Jie chuckled: "I'm not forbidding you to eat. Eating is one way for beasts and demon cultivators to enhance their cultivation, no different from human cultivators using pills. But meat from third-order and above beasts isn't as tender and tasty as lower-order ones; only the organs and a few parts are palatable. You don't seem to like offal."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

His brain froze for a moment, then restarted with crossed wires, and suddenly wondered: Had Pei Jie been treating him like a beast all along, feeding him spiritual herbs?

Since they met, Pei Jie had never stopped him from eating. Even when he reached Foundation Establishment and could have undergone fasting, Pei Jie still let him eat and drink freely.

He used to say things like 'it won't hurt you', 'it won't kill you', 'you're fine after eating'...

He's been treating him like a beast all along, hasn't he?!

Shang Yunduo's eyes widened in shock as he glared at Pei Jie.

Pei Jie: "What, do you actually like offal?"

Shang Yunduo: "..."

No, now he wants to eat someone.

Specifically, the one in front of him.

Shang Yunduo: "Senior, have you been treating me like a demon cultivator from the very beginning?"

Pei Jie: "You're already on the path of cultivation. What difference does your origin make?"

Shang Yunduo thought about it; of course there are differences, but when he really thought about it, it didn't seem that important.

Because he is human—if demon clan techniques suited him better, would he refuse to practice them?

Because he has demon blood and likes to eat, should he stop eating just because others undergo fasting after reaching Foundation Establishment?

So many unnecessary rules and restrictions—how could he be carefree and follow his heart?

Thinking this way, no wonder the Lin family was going downhill. Look at real experts—did they ever care whether he was demon or human? Pei Jie hadn't even cared that he wasn't the original "Shang Yunduo."

For a moment, Shang Yunduo didn't know what to make of it.

"In that case, why throw that bird into the swamp?" Pei Jie wasn't the type to take responsibility for Small Sticky Mud Beast and come to apologize on his behalf.

Pei Jie: "The mucus and saliva of Sticky Mud Beasts can naturally refine artifacts that are not metal, stone, wood, or earth. After they've eaten the meat, you go and fish out the bones..."

Shang Yunduo: "...Wha—What?!"

Pei Jie: "Exactly what you need for practicing your Seven Baleful Fire."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

Ah!!!!

Author's note:

Pei Jie: I'll teach you once what an ambush means. Have you learned it?

Yunduo: ...I learned it but messed it up.

—

Yunduo: Senior, I have one more question!

Pei Jie: Ask.

Yunduo: How do I fish out those bones!

Pei Jie: Is it you or me who's cultivating?

Yunduo: Me [crying heavily]