Chapter 458: Chapter 458: A Pair of Blue Eyes (3 more)
Soon, dozens of Genetic Stores’ base towns at the foot of the mountains around Shenlongjia were alerted to the presence of a Giant Eagle and a person using a bow and arrow.
Additionally, a hundred-man flying squadron dispatched by Zhong Cailing began flying along the periphery of Shenlongjia, searching for Yang Xiao’s whereabouts.
However, by this time, Yang Xiao and Monk Ben Yin, along with the Giant Eagle, had already ventured dozens of kilometers deep into the mountains of Shenlongjia, killing more than a dozen Mutant Giant Beasts along the way.
"Yang Xiao, it’s getting dark. Where shall we spend the night?"
"Of course, we’ll camp out in the mountains. This area is still on the outskirts of Shenlongjia, where the levels of most Mutant Monsters are either Primordial Gene Advanced or Enhanced Gene Primary Level. Our Giant Eagle itself is at the Enhanced Gene Intermediate, approaching High-Level. With it here, regular monsters wouldn’t dare come near, so we can sleep easy at night."
"While that may be true, what if we encounter a swarm of Mutant Monsters, like hornets or a pack of wolves, or higher-level monsters? Our night might be quite uncomfortable."
"You make a fair point. Since it’s still early, let’s look around for a cave or something. At night, the Giant Eagle can guard the entrance."
"Good idea."
So the two began looking for a natural cave or the like. After a long search, they found a recessed cave about three meters deep, surrounded by tough rocks with little vegetation.
In front of the recessed cave was a flat area of several hundred square meters.
"Monk Ben Yin, I think it would be good to rest here for the night. At the very least, it’s a cave. If we light a bonfire in front of the recessed cave, we should be able to get through the night."
Monk Ben Yin looked at the sky growing dark and nodded his head.
Having decided to stay here for the night, the two quickly chopped down several large trees as thick as bowls, dragging them with branches and leaves to the cave entrance.
They cut the branches and trunks into one-meter lengths and piled them all near the recessed cave.
By this time, the sun had set, and night slowly drew its curtain.
The two lit a bonfire at the cave entrance, and Yang Xiao took out a wild boar weighing thousands of pounds from his Space Ring, directly cutting off one of its huge legs with his sword.
That leg of pork weighed at least 200 pounds.
Yang Xiao threw the rest of the wild boar to the Giant Eagle, which let out a joyful cry and began tearing at the boar’s flesh with fervor.
This wild boar was a Fierce Beast with a Primary Enhanced Gene, also capable of providing a bit of energy for Genetic Evolution.
Yang Xiao and Monk Ben Yin used their swords to slice off pieces of pork, placing them on the bonfire to roast, seasoned with salt and pepper, then dug in heartily.
Feeling it wasn’t enough, Yang Xiao took out a packet of spicy fish snacks and shared them with Monk Ben Yin.
Watching Monk Ben Yin relish his food, Yang Xiao abruptly asked:
"Doesn’t breaking your religious vows make you feel guilty inside?"
Monk Ben Yin, who was tearing into a large piece of roasted meat, glared angrily at Yang Xiao upon hearing this sudden accusation.
"Be decent, can’t you just not bring that up while I’m eating meat? Are you trying to disgust me on purpose?"
Yang Xiao laughed:
"You can’t have meat without wine, how about we have a drink?"
"Alright, that’s more like it!"
Yang Xiao took out a bottle of alcohol given by Zhou Qiang from his Space Ring, uncapped it, and the aroma of soy sauce immediately wafted out. Monk Ben Yin hadn’t even drunk any, just sniffed it, and couldn’t resist, snatching the bottle and guzzling a large gulp, sighing with satisfaction.
"Ah, this is life!"
"Of course, having wine, meat, and friends, there is nothing more enjoyable in the world. Seriously, you should have never become a monk. You should return to secular life, marry a beauty, and enjoy worldly pleasures."
Monk Ben Yin listened, fell silent for a moment, then said:
"In this life, having already devoted myself to Buddha, I naturally will not consider returning to secular life. Eating meat and drinking alcohol are not significant matters;
if Buddha is seated in one’s heart, meat and alcohol simply pass through the bowels. As long as one’s heart is set on goodness, willing to help others, and possesses a compassionate heart, one is a disciple of Buddhism. Otherwise, Buddhism wouldn’t have so many lay disciples."
Yang Xiao nodded and said:
"Alright then, I’ll toast to you once more."
Ben Yin took the alcohol bottle and gulped down a large mouthful, then said with a sense of reluctant parting:
"Let’s call it quits for today, otherwise if we drink it all, there will be none left when we want a sip in the future, and that would feel too unbearable."
Yang Xiao wasn’t too attached to alcohol, so he simply smiled, screwed back the bottle cap, and placed the wine inside the Space Ring.
The two of them sat around the campfire, chatting while eating meat. There was too much meat on the pig leg, and after consuming more than twenty pounds, they couldn’t eat anymore.
Yang Xiao placed the remaining pig leg into the Space Ring, planning to save it for breakfast tomorrow.
Monk Ben Yin looked at the ring on Yang Xiao’s finger, and said:
"This thing is indeed good, but it’s a pity it’s too expensive, otherwise, I would buy one too."
"It might have seemed expensive before, but now a million Crystal Coins are no big deal. It’s just that we don’t have any Space Rings for sale in Nanmu City right now. When I return, I’ll ask Gu Bo to purchase ten Space Rings to bring back, so that everyone will have one. It’ll be more convenient for carrying things in the future."
"Uh-huh, that could work, it’s good to follow a rich man. Back when we were at the Songshan Shaolin Temple, resources were really too tight."
Songshan Shaolin Temple had a little over a hundred people, and even if they all went out to hunt monsters, they couldn’t compare to the six cities with over one million people that Yang Xiao now controlled. It was the difference between heaven and earth.
After chatting for a while, the two sat down inside the cave to sleep and rest. The Giant Eagle outside had finished eating the thousands of pounds of wild boar, and was now squatting at the entrance of the cave a few meters away, resting.
"Brother Ben Yin, you rest, I’m going to cultivate for a bit."
Ben Yin nodded and said:
"I’m also going to meditate."
Saying so, his eyes slightly closed as he entered the cultivation state.
Yang Xiao took out the Black Bottle, which contained the liquid form of the bodies of the dozen or so monsters they had hunted today. He immediately took a sip, feeling a faint sensation of electric current in his body.
After all, the monsters they hunted today were not of high Level, with only five or six being Enhanced Gene Primary Level, the rest were Primordial Gene Advanced.
Yang Xiao immediately tilted his head back and drained the liquid in the bottle, and the sensation of electric current in his body immediately intensified.
Yang Xiao closed his eyes and also began to cultivate the Yijin Scripture.
The campfire at the entrance of the cave was still burning vigorously, the dim light of the flames faintly flickering, shining brightly in the dark night of the deep mountains.
At this moment, thousands of meters away from the cave in the forest, a pair of blue eyes were closely watching the light of the fire outside the cave, having observed Yang Xiao and the others for some time now.
In the darkness, it slowly moved its body, advancing gradually.
The light of the fire at the entrance of the cave was intensely alluring to it, an object of its extreme desire.
Yang Xiao’s senses were extremely agile, capable of detecting movements hundreds of meters away, and the Giant Eagle outside the cave was even more impressive, able to notice the activities of animals kilometers away with its vision and hearing.
As the pair of blue eyes in the darkness tried to take a few more steps to closely observe the light of the fire at the entrance of the cave, the Giant Eagle suddenly lifted its head and let out an alert cry.
"Uh—"
(End of the third update)