Chapter 20

"‘Yao’? What is that?"

Su Baozhang, hearing Yang Junshan mutter to himself, clearly did not know what the "Yao" he mentioned was.

This was not surprising. From Yang Junshan’s memories of his previous life, the cultivators in this world originally did not understand what "Yao" was. This world had fierce beasts, barbaric beasts, and wild beasts that lived purely by instinct, and even the most powerful wild beasts could match the top cultivators. However, the only beings with intelligence were humans, the supreme beings among all living things. This was why cultivators could hold a decisive position in the cultivation world, while beasts could only be their prey.

Yao did not exist in this world originally.

However, over a decade later, this world had undergone many changes that were not widely known. Many beasts with intelligence began to appear, and the cultivation world gradually became aware of these intelligent beasts. However, the name "Yao" and the designation of this large group of beings only truly emerged two to three decades later, subsequently causing a huge upheaval in the entire cultivation world.

In fact, even Yang Junshan himself had not expected that, with the great change in the world still over a decade away, the fierce beasts in this world had already shown signs of becoming Yao. He had originally been tracking this Ground Stepping Bear based on the information he heard in his previous life, but he did not expect to accidentally discover this scene.

After confirming that the Ground Stepping Bear before him showed signs of developing intelligence and becoming a Yao, Yang Junshan finally understood some of the inexplicable events that occurred during the Bai Que Mountain hunt in his previous life.

At this moment, Su Baozhang lowered his voice again, worriedly asking, "Brother Junshan, you’re not thinking of targeting this Ground Stepping Bear, are you? This is a top-tier fierce beast, far beyond the level of a Mountain-Crashing Ox. We can’t possibly deal with it."

Looking at the giant bear still playing merrily dozens of feet away, Yang Junshan said solemnly, "Brother Baozhang, you’re right. We can’t deal with it, but others might be able to!"

"You mean Zhang Yueming and the others?"

Su Baozhang immediately thought of this and his eyes lit up. "That’s true. The Ground Stepping Bear is a top-tier fierce beast, and the possibility of it producing a high-grade immortal spirit is even higher than the Mountain-Crashing Ox producing a medium-grade immortal spirit. Zhang Yueming is a genius that even the Heaven-Shaking Sect has noticed. The immortal spirits he values are at least high-grade. Perhaps the few mountain-guarding cultivators of the Heaven-Shaking Sect specifically told him about this Ground Stepping Bear."

Su Baozhang paused, seemingly thinking of something else, and asked doubtfully, "But I wonder why, after the first two rounds of selection and hunting, a top-tier fierce beast like the Ground Stepping Bear is still left behind. It can’t be that the Heaven-Shaking Sect deliberately kept it or brought it from elsewhere for him, can it? Why would the Heaven-Shaking Sect value Zhang Yueming so much?"

Zhang Yueming certainly wouldn’t be valued so much!

Yang Junshan had this thought in his mind but said nothing. In fact, Yang Junshan had only come here based on the information that spread after the Bai Que Mountain hunt in his previous life. He did not expect to encounter this Ground Stepping Bear so quickly.

According to the information from his previous life, the fierce beast the Heaven-Shaking Sect arranged for Zhang Yueming should have been a Purple-Skinned Striped Pig. Although the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig was not as powerful as the Ground Stepping Bear, it was still a fierce beast capable of producing a high-grade immortal spirit. Indeed, in his previous life, after Zhang Yueming killed the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig, he obtained a high-grade immortal spirit, the Purple Cloud Skin, which laid the foundation for his future status in the Heaven-Shaking Sect.

However, while Zhang Yueming and his companions were tracking the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig, a Mountain Tiger that had gone out to hunt also targeted the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig and launched an attack first.

Although the Mountain Tiger was far more ferocious than the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig, both were top-tier fierce beasts. In the end, the Mountain Tiger defeated the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig but was also severely injured.

At this moment, Zhang Yueming and his companions rushed in and easily took advantage of the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig. They even wanted to keep the Mountain Tiger, knowing that if the tiger’s bones condensed into a high-grade immortal spirit, it would be far more valuable than the Purple Cloud Skin.

Unfortunately, although the Mountain Tiger was injured again under the group’s attack, it eventually broke through Zhang Yueming’s encirclement and fled into the Bai Que Mountain, disappearing without a trace.

Afterward, the unsatisfied Zhang Yueming tried to find the Mountain Tiger and kill it, but until the hunting grounds were closed, the Mountain Tiger never appeared again.

With the combined strength of Yang Junshan and Su Baozhang, they could not directly compete with Zhang Yueming and his group. Therefore, from the beginning, Yang Junshan had decided to look for opportunities. The Purple-Skinned Striped Pig was out of the question, and he did not want to confront Zhang Yueming directly.

What Yang Junshan truly aimed for was the Mountain Tiger. After breaking through Zhang Yueming’s encirclement, the Mountain Tiger was already at the end of its strength. If Yang Junshan could seize the opportunity and kill it, the thought of the high-grade immortal spirit tiger bone made him feel hot all over!

But why did a Ground Stepping Bear appear here now?

Could it be that the events from the Bai Que Mountain hunt in his previous life were incorrect, and the place where Zhang Yueming and his group encountered the Mountain Tiger was not here?

The Ground Stepping Bear and the Mountain Tiger were equally powerful fierce beasts, and they were natural enemies. If a Ground Stepping Bear was present at the scene in his previous life, it would be unlikely for the Mountain Tiger to enter the Ground Stepping Bear’s territory, let alone ambush and hunt the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig without being discovered by the Ground Stepping Bear.

Moreover, the Ground Stepping Bear before him was much larger than its kind, and Yang Junshan suspected it was already developing intelligence and slowly becoming a Yao. If so, even the Mountain Tiger might not be its match.

Unless the information from his previous life was false, and the Mountain Tiger did not ambush the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig here!

If that were true, their presence here would be meaningless.

As Yang Junshan was hesitating whether to wait here, the Ground Stepping Bear suddenly stopped its play, raised its face, and sniffed the air a few times. Then it turned and slowly ran down the slope along a gully formed by a mountain flood.

Yang Junshan was slightly taken aback and then signaled Su Baozhang to follow. The two of them used the vegetation on the slope to stay about fifty to sixty feet behind the giant bear. Fortunately, the bear was so large that they did not have to worry about losing it, even on the rugged mountain path.

Yang Junshan’s eyes never left the giant bear, but he suddenly felt Su Baozhang tugging at the back of his clothes. Turning around, he saw Su Baozhang looking in surprise at the roots of the half-broken tree stump.

Due to their hiding spot, they had not noticed that under the broken tree stump was a nest made of branches and dry grass, with relatively fresh droppings around it.

This was a wild boar’s nest!

Yang Junshan immediately recognized the nest and thought of the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig. Could the giant bear be targeting the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig? Wasn’t it said that the Mountain Tiger ambushed the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig?

Yang Junshan glanced at the giant bear still moving along the gully. In the mountains, wild boars indeed liked to walk in gullies, and this Ground Stepping Bear, which was almost becoming a Yao, was clearly targeting the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig.

Should he follow or not?

Yang Junshan gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Let’s go!"

Su Baozhang’s face changed, but he finally gripped the Hundred-Linked Cold Light Dagger tightly and followed Yang Junshan.

The giant bear moved along the gully for nearly half a mile and stopped at a patch of shrubs. It looked around as if checking the terrain, then lay down, its massive body hidden from view.

The gully formed by the mountain flood was very long, and if the bear was indeed ambushing the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig, Yang Junshan could not determine where the Purple-Skinned Striped Pig would come from. Therefore, the two of them circled around and hid behind a pile of rocks dozens of feet behind the bear.

Just as they had hidden themselves, a strange wind suddenly blew through the forest, carrying with it dead branches and leaves.

"Where did this strange wind come from?"

Su Baozhang tried to brush off the dead leaves that had fallen on him but was suddenly pulled back by Yang Junshan. Confused, Su Baozhang saw Yang Junshan staring intently at a patch of forest a few hundred feet away.

Following Yang Junshan’s gaze, Su Baozhang saw a dense forest with lush branches and leaves. It seemed as if something was moving through the forest, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the wind shaking the branches, creating an illusion. However, this forest was not far from the wild boar’s nest.

"Did you see something?"

Although he saw nothing, Su Baozhang, seeing Yang Junshan’s tense expression, asked in a low, anxious voice.

"Shh—!"

Yang Junshan whispered in Su Baozhang’s ear, "It’s coming. The show is about to begin."

For some reason, Su Baozhang suddenly felt that although Yang Junshan was trying to suppress his excitement, it was impossible to hide the intense emotion that was bursting out from within him.

At this moment, a patch of shrubs at the end of the slope began to shake violently, as if a fierce beast was charging through it, heading straight for the half-broken tree stump on the slope.