The Legend of Fangren

The village dinner was simple, but the old village chief, who had once been a cultivator, knew what cultivators ate, so he ordered some golden rice, fruit, and vegetables to be sent over.

The sect doesn't have much rice prepared here; it's specifically for receiving passing cultivators.

Besides, along with the food came the villagers, young and old. Most of them were the breadwinners of their families. Hearing from the old village chief that a cultivator had settled down, they came in groups to discuss some matters and see if the immortal could lend a hand.

Cultivators have passed through every year, and the first few times each day offer the best chance. After discussion, the villagers will give the opportunity to those who are more eager.

The old village chief was capable; everyone in the village listened to him. With a reasonable person in charge of everything, big and small, the relationship between neighbors was so good.

The villagers who came to express their feelings lined up at the door. The first one to come in was an old man. He hesitated to come in when he saw that there were fairies of all ages inside. He only agreed to come in when Elder Xian beckoned him. As soon as he sat down, he praised her, saying that if his daughter could grow up to be so beautiful, he would be considered successful.

After the pleasantries, it was time to get down to business.

"Master, alas... to tell you the truth, this problem doesn't just concern one family; it's a difficult matter for most of the village."

"Yes, sir, please speak," said Qianshaoyun.

The old man said, "Master, this matter dates back to a few months ago. About a month ago, some wild animals started attacking people near our Hekou Village. Although this has happened in previous years, it has never been as fierce as it has recently. Several young people from several families in the village have been injured. If this continues, I'm afraid no one will be able to go to the fields to harvest fruit."

Although Hekou Village is bordered by a river to the south, it is still surrounded by mountains and rivers in other directions, and is essentially a remote mountain village.

The old village chief has managed the village well over the years, and the population has increased. But with more mouths to feed, there are more people to eat. The village elders have seen the village chief's cultivation skills when he was young, and they always think about feeding their children well so that even if they don't become immortals in the future, they can at least learn some martial arts to protect themselves.

Over time, the villagers expanded their harvesting area considerably, and under the village chief's leadership, they were doing quite well.

Recently, however, there have been more wild animals in the mountains. Occasionally, they may injure people, but some of them often wander into the grain and vegetable fields when they hunt, wasting the food. Some even set up dens in the fields, posing a danger to anyone who gets close.

Those inside the room frowned upon hearing this.

It's not that this is particularly difficult; it's just that there are many wild animals in the mountains, and even if they help to control some, they can't completely eradicate them. Ultimately, it's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

However, Qianshaoyun still agreed, because the increase in wild beasts must be due to the damage to the Azure Dragon Peak's great formation. The sect failed to discover the problem in time. Although there were external factors, there was also internal responsibility. Both morally and logically, they could not sit idly by.

The reason why it is called "Beast Calamity" is not because there are many beasts in a certain place, but because the ecology of the mystical beasts in the entire Eastern Wilderness has shifted to the inner world.

Qingye City at the foot of Canglong Peak is merely the area most severely affected by the shift. Among the beasts, those who eat and those who are eaten are all part of the whole, with one leading ten. In this way, beasts will naturally come from both the north and south.

When the mystical beasts of the Eastern Wilderness invade, they endanger all the beasts within the realm. As their territories are squeezed, the wild beasts that were originally within the realm are forced to migrate further in, thus triggering a chain reaction. Like a spreading wave of water, disaster follows wherever it passes.

The people of Hekou Village have been affected by a "wave" of the beast tide these days.

"Elder, how can we help the villagers avert this disaster? There are so many wild animals in the mountains; this is probably just a drop in the ocean."

After the villagers finished telling their stories and left, the disciples gathered around the table and asked questions.

Qianshao said, "We are not headless flies. The beasts are surging like waves. It is because the beasts are migrating that some places along the way are overcrowded with beasts. Even if we do not do anything about it, after some time, the number of beasts in this area will return to normal."

The disciple then asked, "Does that mean we don't need to worry about it?"

"No," Qianshaoyun shook her head. "The migration of beasts will inevitably lead to territorial conflicts and battles. Such excitement may very well cause some wild beasts to evolve into mystical beasts..."

Once a mythical beast appears in a region, a leader effect will emerge, and non-predator groups may evolve collectively, while predators will also have a higher chance of evolution due to fighting and conflict.

"Therefore, we should focus on killing the mystical beasts that appear near the village. As for the other ordinary beasts, once the flood has passed, the villagers can cross the river to the city to report to the authorities. Alright... everyone should rest well tonight, and we will go to do our work for the villagers first thing tomorrow morning."

After the meal, Qianshaoyun waved her sleeves and urged the girls to go to bed and rest. The food in the village didn't have much mystical energy, so there was no need to practice much; they might as well rest early.

There were plenty of wooden beds in the room, enough for eight people to rest comfortably.

Fang Shi found a corner bed, separating himself from the other girls, since this was inside the house, and this way there would be less gossip.

However, Luohe still ran over and sat down next to him, their heads touching, so they could whisper to each other.

Rather than saying it was a private conversation, it was more like Luohe was pouring out her grievances to Fang Shi.

"What's bothering you?"

"Hey, it's not..." Luo He always spoke freely to Fang Shi, and once Fang Shi had listened to everything, she fell asleep.

Even geniuses have their troubles.

Fang Shi stared at the ceiling, recalling what Luo He had just said.

After many days down the mountain, everyone had experienced a lot. Fang Shi had forgotten that besides training, the other disciples also had a task along the way: to collect materials for mystical artifacts.

Although Luo He, as a Heavenly Rank disciple, received the most monthly stipends, it was still only three thousand. Most of it was spent on zodiac spirit items, and he had to diligently cultivate during his daily life, so he didn't do many errands to earn money.

Now that she's come down the mountain, she's heard from her senior and junior sisters that collecting materials also depends on luck. If she doesn't encounter any good materials along the way, she'll have to buy them herself. But with her meager savings, what good things could she possibly buy? She probably wouldn't even be able to buy much of these materials. Her weapon is a spear, which theoretically requires a lot of materials, which is really worrying her.

Luohe had just whispered to him, and he knew she was just venting her frustrations. After all, this silly girl clearly didn't have much money left, but when she heard that he had been promoted to a high-ranking official in the mountains, she said she would help him out.

You'd never guess that someone as dense as her would think of borrowing money from her childhood friend.

Fang Shi didn't intend to lend her money either, since good materials weren't necessarily easy to buy even with money, so it was better to look around and dig more along the way.

It's just materials. He'll dig up a whole bunch later, and he can pick whatever he wants.

Secondly, he did need to collect some good materials. After using the gray iron axe for several days, he found that the durability of ordinary tools was used up quite quickly. In particular, his great strength became a disadvantage, causing the durability of an axe to be exhausted in less than a day.

Come to think of it, even the easiest to fight, the Azure Branch Deer, is a proper first-tier Xuan Beast. His ordinary-grade axe, whether for attacking or dissolving bones, is exerting its power beyond its tier, which greatly consumes its durability.