"I've seen similar records as well. I would estimate that I could take care of a single one of those Three-eyed Dark Beasts, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to take on two at once. As for those golden Dark Beasts, they can lead packs of their kind, so they must be far more powerful than even Three-eyed Dark Beasts. In that case, it's most likely the case that we'd be no match for them even if the three of us were to combine our powers. However, seeing as they're beast monarchs, there shouldn't be all that many of them even in the entire Dark Beast Forest, so surely we won't be unlucky enough to encounter one," Han Li said in a slow voice.
"That's a valid point. We have no intention of bothering these Dark Beasts anyway; all we want to do is sneak through this forest, so we'll be doing our best to avoid them. It's a pity that we can't fly over this forest. Otherwise, it would only take us a few days to cross through it," Liu Shui'er sighed.
"It's alright, we can afford a slight delay like this. Besides, we have no other alternative anyway. If we were to try and fly over the forest, we'd quickly be surrounded by countless Dark Beasts at once," Han Li said with a wry smile.
"I'm naturally aware of that. According to our predecessors who have trekked through the Dark Beast Forest, Dark Beasts are severely weaker during the day than they are during the night, so the forest is much more heavily guarded during the day. Many Three-eyed Dark Beasts would even come out to patrol the forest during daylight hours. In contrast, fewer guards patrol the forest during the night and all of the high-grade Dark Beasts will return to their caves to rest and cultivate, but the Dark Beasts are a lot more powerful during that time," Liu Shui'er continued.
"In that case, we should travel through the night, then rest during the day. I thought it'd be the other way around!" Shi Kun was rather surprised to hear this.
"I also support what Fairy Liu is saying. Not only will there be more high-grade Dark Beasts patrolling the forest during the day, a lot of our concealment techniques will also be hampered greatly during the day, so it's very likely that we won't be able to escape the notice of those Three-eyed Dark Beasts. After all, most beasts with additional demonic eyes have abilities that can allow them to see through illusions and concealment techniques, so that'll certainly work against our favor. Regardless of how severely debilitated Dark Beasts are during the day, we'll still be in a dire situation if we get surrounded by 100 at once. As such, it's better to travel during the night," Han Li said after a brief pause.
"Hmm, that does indeed make a lot of sense. Alright then, we'll travel during the night as opposed to during daylight hours." Shi Kun seemed to have been convinced.
Liu Shui'er nodded before asking, "In that case, let's set off soon. The earlier we can get through the forest, the safer we'll be. By the way, do you two have any suitable concealment techniques?"
"Oh? From the sounds of it, do you perhaps possess a superior concealment technique that can help the two us?" Han Li was immediately able to read between the lines and glean the purpose behind Liu Shui'er's question.
"You really are a smart man, Brother Han. Prior to coming here, I borrowed three Thousand Transformation Faces from my master. With these treasures, we can transform into anything we want, and no one will be able to discover anything amiss unless they were to carefully inspect us with their spiritual sense. I know that the two of you must also have other brilliant concealment techniques, but these treasures are perfect for this situation. Even if we get discovered by other Dark Beasts, we'll be able to conceal ourselves with these treasures," Liu Shui'er explained with a smile as she flipped a hand over to produce three thin silver objects.
"Thousand Transformation Faces! These treasures are extremely renowned, and I've heard that only your master knows how to refine them. If you're willing to lend them to us, then that would naturally be fantastic!" Shi Kun was elated at the sight of the three thin treasures, and he immediately made a grabbing motion to draw one of them into his grasp before carefully appraising it.
Han Li hadn't stayed in Cloud City for a very long time, so it was the first time he'd heard of this treasure. However, it was quite apparent from Shi Kun's excited reaction that these were definitely no ordinary treasures.
Thus, he expressed his gratitude toward Liu Shui'er before also grabbing one of the treasures and inspecting it with a curious look on his face.
This so-called Thousand Transformation Face was as thin as a silk handkerchief, yet slightly warm to the touch. Even with Han Li's vast wealth of knowledge and experience, he was unable to identify what kind of material this treasure was refined from.
However, there were a few pea-sized silver runes of different sizes inscribed onto the surface of the treasure, and they immediately caught his eye.
After focusing his gaze on this silver runes, Han Li's expression changed ever-so-slightly, but his reaction still didn't escape the notice of Liu Shui'er.
A peculiar look flashed through her eyes as she asked, "Brother Han, have you seen this treasure before?"
Han Li's heart stirred slightly, but his expression had already returned to normal as he replied, "This is a treasure that can only be refined by Senior Cai, so of course I've never had the chance to see it before."
"Then what was your reaction just then?" Liu Shui'er wasn't willing to let the issue slide.
"Hehe, the material used for this treasure is very unique. I thought myself to be quite knowledgeable, but I don't have the slightest inkling what this material could step from, and I'm feeling rather embarrassed," Han Li explained with a nonchalant smile.
Liu Shui'er seemed to have believed Han Li's excuse, and she explained, "I see. I don't know the refinement method, but I've heard from Master that these treasures were refined through combining the skins of seven types of extremely rare spirit beasts, so it's no wonder that you can't identify the material used."
"Thank you for telling me this," Han Li replied as he feigned an expression of enlightenment.
At the same time, he was gently stroking the silver runes on the treasure while many thoughts surged through his mind.
The silver runes on this Thousand Transformation Face were none other than beveled silver text, and it was naturally very surprising to him to see this text here.
If this was a treasure that only Cai Liuying knew how to refine, did that mean that she also had an outer page of the Golden Jade Tome?
Just as he was thinking this, Liu Shui'er continued, "These treasures are quite extraordinary, but the transformations won't happen as soon as you put them on. If you want to transform into another living being, it would be best to obtain some of its blood, flesh, or skin first. If you could obtain the entire hide of a beast, the transformation would be absolutely perfect."
"It shouldn't be that hard to find complete beast hides; we'll just have to find a few Dark Beasts and kill them. Hehe, the one that we just saw would be perfect for this. In such a short time, it couldn't have gotten very far away," Shi Kun chuckled a ferocious look flashed through his eyes.
Immediately thereafter, yellow light flashed beneath his feet, and he slowly sunk into the ground.
Liu Shui'er's eyes flashed upon seeing this, but she didn't say anything to stop him in the end.
Thus, Shi Kun unleashed his earth movement technique, and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"There won't be any issues letting Brother Shi go on his own, will there?" Liu Shui'er asked in a low voice as she glanced at Han Li.
"Seeing as you didn't say anything to stop him, you must be of the opinion that everything should be fine, and I also think the same. We've already carefully assessed this area and ascertained that there are no other Dark Beasts within a radius of 50 kilometers. On top of that, Fellow Daoist Shi has the element of surprise on his side, so this should be an easy task for him," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
Liu Shui'er fell silent upon seeing this.
An hour later, yellow light flashed from the spot where Shi Kun had disappeared, and a humanoid figure emerged from the groun
d.
It was none other than Shi Kun himself.
As soon as he emerged, he smiled at Han Li and Liu Shui'er, then abruptly swept a sleeve through the air, upon which a black object flew out from within.
It was none other than a complete set of Dark Beast hide.
"Fellow Daoist Liu, do you think this beast hide is suitable for me to use?" Shi Kun asked in a proud manner.
After briefly appraising the sheet of beast hide, Liu Shui'er smiled, and replied, "It doesn't have any wounds on it at all! In that case, there would naturally be no issues. I'll teach both of you the mantra, and you can give it a try, Brother Shi."
After that, she tossed back the sheet of beast hide, then transmitted her voice to Han Li and Shi Kun, teaching them a profound mantra.
Han Li and the Shi Kun naturally listened with rapt focus and committed the mantra to memory.
Moments later, Liu Shui'er's voice transmission trailed off, and Shi Kun's eyes lit up as he tossed the beast hide in his hands into the air, following which he raised both hands at once.
The Thousand Transformation Face vanished into the beast hide as a ball of silver light, following which a series of silver runes appeared.
The entire sheet of Dark Beast hide then descended onto his body.
Chapter 1688: Hunting for Beasts
Silver light flashed, and as soon as Shi Kun was encompassed within the sheet of beast hide, he transformed into a living Dark Beast.
He had the same black fur and identical sharp claws as those of the Dark Beast from before.
"This is incredible! I almost don't feel any different, yet I've completely transformed into another being!" Shi Kun inspected his front paws with amazement before bursting into laughter.
"If the Thousand Transformation Faces didn't have such abilities, I wouldn't have brought them out for you two to use," Liu Shui'er said with a smile.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Liu. With these treasures, all of us will have flawless disguises for the journey up ahead," the Dark Beast said with an elated expression.
After witnessing Shi Kun's transformation, Han Li also became quite confident in these treasures, and after expressing his gratitude to Liu Shui'er again, he suggested, "Fairy Liu and I still don't have beast hides at the moment, but it won't be good to delay any further. Why don't we set off, and if we encounter any Dark Beast stragglers, we can pick them off along the way."
"My thoughts exactly Brother Han. We're on a tight schedule, so it's naturally best not to waste any time," Liu Shui'er immediately agreed.
Shi Kun didn't have any objections to this either, so the three of them crept silently out of the hold in the tree and into the night.
After that, Shi Kun expelled a yellow cloud from his mouth, and his body instantly transformed into a burst of faint yellow Qi.
The Dark Beast Forest had extremely low visibility to begin with at night, and after unleashing this technique, it would be impossible for anyone to discover Shi Kun's presence unless they were to look carefully at him from within 100 feet away.
Meanwhile, Liu Shui'er removed a jade-pendant-like treasure from around her waist, and she tossed it into the air, upon which it transformed into a pristine white mouse that was around 10 feet in length.
Her body then swayed, and she drifted onto the mouse's back, following which faint white light began to emanate from its body, enshrouding both itself and Liu Shui'er within.
The two gradually turned transparent in the white light, transforming into a barely visible transparent shadow in the end.
As for Han Li, the measures he took were even simpler.
After the latest refinement, his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had become pure wood-attribute treasures, and in a forest with such abundant wood-attribute spiritual Qi, it was extremely easy for him to conceal himself with his swords.
As such, he raised an arm, and a small azure sword shot forth out of his sleeve, then transformed into a streak of azure light that was several tens of feet in length before sweeping toward his body.
Moments later, a barely visible streak of azure light shot forth through the air.
Thus, the three of them officially began their journey into the Dark Beast Forest in a discreet and stealthy manner.
Several days later, a thin Dark Beast was slowly treading over a thick bed of leaves and branches as it traversed through the forest in a graceful manner.
All of a sudden, a burst of blue light flew toward it from a nearby tree, then swept up its entire body.
The female Dark Beast was naturally quite alarmed, and it let loose a sharp cry as it sent several black claw projections hurtling toward the blue light.
However, the blue light merely swirled before transforming into a massive ball of light that completely encapsulated the female Dark Beast's body.
As such, the sharp cries escaping from its mouth became completely inaudible to those outside the ball of light, and its sharp claws were also only able to send a few ripples surging through the blue light without actually being able to penetrate through it.
At this moment, white light flashed from the massive tree, and a gorgeous figure emerged from within.
It was none other than Liu Shui'er.
She was making a hand seal with one hand while carrying a fist-sized blue crystal ball in her other hand, and she was chanting something at the same time.
A peculiar scene then unfolded.
The blue ball of light slowly spread in all directions at her behest, forming a blue light barrier that covered a full acre in mere moments.
After that, she stowed away the blue crystal ball in her hand, following her body swayed, and she vanished into the light barrier as a white shadow.
The Dark Beast within the light barrier immediately pounced toward her without any hesitation, and along the way, it manifested three more identical black shadows.
However, Liu Shui'er remained completely unflustered as she opened her mouth to expel a clump of thin blue threads, which dispersed to form a blue net of light that surged toward the Dark Beast and its projections.
The Dark Beast also opened its mouth to blast forth a pillar of black light upon seeing this, then slashed its claws through the air in a menacing manner, conjuring up countless claw projections that hurtled directly toward the massive blue net.
A string of resounding booms rang out as black and blue light intertwined with one another amid a series of explosions.
However, the loud commotion and violent spiritual Qi fluctuations were all greatly buffered by the light barrier, making it almost impossible to hear the battle from outside.
Thus, Liu Shui'er and the Dark Beast engaged in battle.
Outside the blue light barrier, azure light and yellow Qi flashed, following which Han Li and Shi Kun emerged in unison.
Both of them were staring at the blue light barrier with different expressions on their faces.
"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Liu sure is picky; refusing to go with any target other than a female Dark Beast." Shi Kun chuckled with a shake of his head.
"I'm sure she has her considerations," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
"As a woman, it makes sense that Fellow Daoist Liu is averse to adopting the form of a male Dark Beast, but I'm quite curious about why you decided against killing the Dark Beast that we encountered two days ago," Shi Kun continued as a peculiar look appeared in his eyes.
"That Dark Beast was already riddled with wounds, so even if I were to secure its hide, it wouldn't look right after I transform into it, so I decided to wait for the next one we encounter instead," Han Li explained in an indifferent voice.
"I see. I thought you let it go out of the kindness of your heart after seeing the cubs that were traveling with that wounded Dark Beast. But then again, cultivators like us are beyond such shallow thoughts," Shi Kun said in a nonchalant manner.
Han Li merely smiled and offered no response to this.
Just as the two of them were chatting with one another, a dull thump su
ddenly rang out from within the blue light barrier, following which the entire barrier tremored slightly, but immediately settled again.
Han Li was slightly startled by this, as was Shi Kun.
All of a sudden, the blue light barrier suddenly shattered, then vanished as specks of spiritual light.
At the very center of the light barrier stood Liu Shui'er, and beside her lay the female Dark Beast in a completely motionless manner. Its fur was rather wet, but there was not a single wound on its body.
Han Li only had to scan this beast with his spiritual sense to know that it was definitely already dead.
"Nicely done! I didn't think your water-attribute abilities would be so potent, Fellow Daoist Liu; you took care of that beast even faster than I slew mine a few days ago," Shi Kun praised as he clicked his tongue with wonder.
Liu Shui'er raised a hand to draw the Dark Beast into her grasp, then smiled as she replied, "There's no need to flatter me, Brother Shi; Fellow Daoist Han and I have both witnessed the power of your body, and my little tricks certainly can't compare with your immense strength."
"Haha, if your abilities are nothing more than little tricks, then my pitiful abilities are even less than that. Fellow Daoist Han, both Fairy Liu and myself have obtained beast hides, so you're the only one left now. The deeper we go into this forest, the greater the probability that we'll encounter packs of Dark Beasts, so you need to think about how to proceed from here," Shi Kun said to Han Li with a meaningful look on his face.
"Rest assured, Brother Shi, I definitely won't be playing games with my life on the line," Han Li replied with a faint smile.
Three days later, beside a small creek in the Dark Beast Forest, a Dark Beast that was around 30% larger than the average Dark Beast had been enshrouded under an azure light barrier.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 966