148: Chapter 148 Second-Order Monster

The Silver-Backed Bull lay in the Spirit-Taming Tower Space for a whole day before it stood up again.

Lin Xuan was in no rush to continue his journey. He found a sheltered cave upstream of the riverbed, set up a warning Restriction, and while waiting for the Silver-Backed Bull to recover, he began to nourish the damaged cloud-piercing shuttle.

The cracks in the cloud-piercing shuttle were deeper than he had imagined. Although the fissure extending from the bow to the stern of the shuttle was not spreading any further, every time he injected Spiritual Qi to activate it, the edges of the cracks would emit a faint humming sound, like the groaning of metal under unbearable pressure.

Lin Xuan estimated that at the current rate of nourishment, it would take at least another half a month to fully repair it.

On the morning of the third day, Lin Xuan opened his eyes from Cultivating.

He walked out of the cave. Pale purple sunlight had already blanketed the entire dried-up riverbed, stretching the shadows of the ironwood trees long.

The air was dry and crisp, carrying the fragrant scent of sun-warmed vegetation.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath and felt the thunder seed in his Dantian jump slightly—the concentration of Thunder Spiritual Energy here was a sliver higher than when he had stopped three days ago.

He took an internal look at the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

The Silver-Backed Bull had already stood up and was lowering its head, sniffing the soil at the edge of the spirit field.

The wound on its throat had already scabbed over, and a circle of pale pink new flesh had grown between the dark red blood scab and the thick grey-brown skin.

The Pangolin was dozing under the thunder-attracting vine, occasionally turning over, its scales scraping against the ground with a rustling sound.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse was curled up sleeping under the thunder essence fruit tree, its tail draped over its nose, breathing evenly.

The Purple-Feathered Roc was standing on a branch of the golden-veined fruit tree, its golden pupils half-open and half-closed, its wings tucked in tightly.

The Silver-Backed Bull seemed to have sensed his gaze; it raised its head, looked toward the "sky," snorted a breath of coarse air from its nostrils, and lowered its head again to continue sniffing the soil.

Lin Xuan exited the space and stepped toward the north.

The pale purple pillar of light at the center of the Secret Realm was much clearer than it had been three days ago.

Now, he could vaguely see the outline of a slender building at the base of the pillar of light—the Nine-Story Stone Tower.

At the base of the pillar of light, thunderous light faintly swirled. Even from a great distance, Lin Xuan could feel that pure Thunder Spiritual Energy vibrating slightly in the air.

The hilly terrain began to change on the fourth day.

The valleys between the hills became deeper and deeper, and large areas of exposed rock began to appear on the slopes.

Grey-brown rock layers turned up from beneath the turf, eroded by the wind into honeycomb-like holes.

At noon, Lin Xuan climbed over a hill, and an open rocky beach appeared before him.

Not a blade of grass grew on the rocky beach. The ground was covered with grey-black gravel, extending from the foot of the mountain to another ridge in the distance.

The gravel varied in size, some as small as a fist, others as large as a millstone, with sharp edges, as if they had been forcibly torn from the mountain by some immense force and scattered here at will.

There was no soil filling the gaps between the gravel; it was purely stone piled upon stone. Stepping on it produced a crunching sound, and the gaps between the stones were bottomless.

The wind swept across the rocky beach, bringing with it a sharp whistling sound.

The sound bounced back and forth between the sharp edges of the stones, like someone blowing into a cracked whistle, making his eardrums itch.

Lin Xuan stopped at the edge of the rocky beach.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse pricked up its ears on his shoulder, twitched its nose toward the rocky beach, its whiskers trembling a few times, and then it retreated—ears pressed against its scalp, tail curled under its belly.

He was familiar with this reaction; it meant there was a life form nearby with a level far higher than its own, causing it unease.

He released the Pangolin.

"Go down and take a look." Lin Xuan crouched down and patted the Pangolin's head.

The Pangolin looked up at him, its small dark purple eyes blinking, and then it dove headfirst into the pile of gravel.

Its scales collided with the gravel, making a faint clicking sound, and within a few breaths, it had disappeared.

Lin Xuan crouched at the edge of the rocky beach and waited. The sunlight beat down on his back, making his Dharma robe scorching hot, and sweat beads on the back of his neck trickled down his spine.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, the Pangolin drilled its way back out of the gravel.

Its scales were slightly raised, and its breathing was much faster than before it went down.

It used its claws to gesture on the sandy ground: it first drew a large circle, then made a dot in the middle of the circle, and then used its claws to make a deep mark next to the circle.

Lin Xuan stared at its gestures and narrowed his eyes.

"How big?"

The Pangolin spread its two front paws as wide as possible, gesturing an outline even larger than the Silver-Backed Bull.

Then it added another stroke on the ground—it drew a horn next to the circle, and then used its claws to scratch back and forth over that deep mark several times, emphasizing the position of that horn.

At least Tier 2. It has both Earth and Metal attributes.

And that horn—the Pangolin gestured it repeatedly three times, clearly leaving a very deep impression on it.

Lin Xuan did not hesitate and immediately decided to take a detour.

A Tier 2 Yao Beast was not something he could face head-on right now.

The defense of the Silver-Backed Bull had already cost him quite a bit of effort; a single Thunder Net Talisman couldn't hold it at all, and in the end, it was only by relying on the Pangolin's continuous sneak attacks that he found a weakness.

A Tier 2 Yao Beast's defensive power would only be stronger, and its means of attack would be even more numerous.

The Tier 2 Talismans he had on hand now were only two Vajra Talismans, one God-Speed Talisman, one earth-escaping talisman, and one Thunderstorm Talisman—and the Thunderstorm Talisman might not even be able to break through a Tier 2 Yao Beast's defense.

But the rocky beach was too long. It extended for several miles to both sides, with no end in sight.

Taking a detour meant walking for at least two more hours, and the terrain on both sides was unclear—the east side was a low ridge, and the west side was a steep cliff.

He chose the detour route on the east side. The vegetation on that ridge was relatively dense, growing some low shrubs and ironwood trees, making it easier to conceal his figure.

After walking for less than half an hour, Lin Xuan suddenly stopped.

The ground beneath his feet was vibrating.

It was not the violent shaking of an earthquake, but a continuous low-frequency tremor, as if a huge millstone were slowly turning underground.

The soles of his feet could clearly feel the frequency of that vibration—not high, but very powerful, beat by beat, with intervals of about two or three breaths; every vibration caused a slight rustling sound between the soles of his shoes and the ground.

Gravel began to roll down from the slope of the ridge.

First, it was the small, finger-sized gravel chips sliding down the slope, hitting the tops of Lin Xuan's shoes.

Then came the fist-sized ones, which, as they rolled, bumped into other stones, making a clicking sound.

Finally, even millstone-sized boulders were sliding down, trailing dust, rolling down the ridge with a rumbling sound.

Lin Xuan turned his head abruptly.

The grey-black gravel ground in the center of the rocky beach was rising.

It was not a localized bulge, but the entire central area of the rocky beach was arching upward—gravel for a dozen zhang around rippled outward like the surface of water.

The gaps between the stones were widened, and the gravel slid down from the top of the bulge with a clattering sound, revealing what was underneath.

A giant beast.