The Animal inside

In a grove of trees located between the walls of Tianbao and the area covered by the fog from the Heaven & Earth pavilion, a giant tree stump had 5 spiritual beasts sitting around it. A lynx, an elk, a bear, a hawk, and a fox had just arrived with each one giving the others different expressions.

"Tie E", the hawk broke the silence first, "You called us here. Since we're here, shouldn't you explain your purpose for this meeting now?"

The bear gave the hawk an annoyed glance, "Feng Lei Yu, aren't you afraid you won't be able to escape into the sky one day? One day, your sharp tongue will catch up to you."

"She has a point", the elk interjected, "We have already allowed those humans to return to the walls after they left that accursed place. Not only have we been evicted from our home and unable to return, but four of the weaker humans were able to breakthrough after entering. They were just supposed to be canon fodder to test the danger of the fog, and now they're stronger."

"I'm aware Gu Lin Wang", Tie E snorted.

Life had taken a drastic turn recently when the fog appeared, and he found himself removed from his territory. As much as he wanted to charge at the elk, kill him, and devour the remains, Tie E knew it wasn't wise. Should Gu Lin Wang get lucky and harm him during the attack, the other three attendees could take advantage of him.

"I might have a suggestion", a white fox added in a teasing tone.

"Then what are you waiting for?", the lynx snapped at her.

Han Sha of the Snowshade foxes had never gotten along with Jing Zhao of the Duskwind Lynxes since the very first day they met.

As much as she wanted to, Han Sha knew it was not the time to antagonize the silly cat, "For many days now, myself and others have been testing the fog and we found that if you show no threat, the fog will disperse. Likewise, once someone starts to scheme or prepare to show their strength, the fog returns and they must walk their way out."

"Then your suggestion is that we stroll in defenseless?", Fei Lei Yu laughed, "Sure, why not? Perhaps Bis sister Han should show us how it's done."

Han Shan's expression didn't change, but internally, she despised the hawk the same as everyone else.

"There is no reason for that", Han Sha replied, "We aren't the only tribes and clans here in the wilds. It's not like the Nacent souls from the wall came right? Let's form our own team from the smaller tribes, and see if they can also have success entering the formation."

Fei Lei Yu was about to ridicule Han Sha again, but when she saw that the other three seemed to agree with her suggestion, she shut up.

"I guess even a fox can say something good sometimes", Jing Zhao replied.

"I suggest the weasels, owls, sparrows, or rabbits", Gu Lin Wang spoke to keep the fox and lynx from further conflicts.

The five beasts nodded to each other before sending signals to nearby subordinates. No small talk was made, and in the time it would took for the sun to move a bear's paw width in the sky, the five of them heard several approaching beasts. A weasel, rabbit, owl, sparrow, and hedgehog entered the grove.

"We greet the great tribe leaders of the Blackwoods forest", the group of newcomers said, but it was apparent they were very nervous.

"There's no need to despair", Gu Lin Wang took it upon himself to speak, "We've all had to do our best to adjust to the recent changes, and want to do our best to return to how things were. The snowshade fox clan has brought to our attention some new information about the situation in the inner forest, and we've invited you here because we believe you have the most capable scouts to confirm our suspicions. Can I ask each of you to volunteer a talented junior from your tribe or clan to assist in this endeavor?"

"Of course, Lord Gu", all five answered.

Despite their quick response, the elk lord could tell that the five smaller leaders were cursing him and the other four in their heads.

"Please do not worry", Gu Lin Wang continued, "I will also ask someone from my tribe to go along with you. I wish we could provide more, but the activity at the human's city has increased recently, and we'll need everyone else to prevent them from entering the forest again."

"Thank you for your benevolence", the weasel replied.

"Just a reminder", Gu Lin Wang has remembered something, "Make sure that who ever you select, they have to be able to transform. It doesn't have to be perfect, but just enough to trick whoever is inside."

The five leaders of the smaller clans left first, and an attendant of Gu Lin Wang left after to prepare the team that would explore the fog.

"Since that's taken care of for now, let's head to the front", Tie E advised, "It won't be long before at least one of the Nascent Souls make their appearance."

The other four leaders nodded in agreement, and each one headed to their respective territories.

Fang Shi was sitting on top of the highest building of the new store. Since the departure of the cultivators, no one had came back, and all the shops were empty awaiting guests. He had spent some of the time in the cultivation pod, but after awhile he decided to see how things were going. After arriving on the roof, Fang Shi placed a comfortable recliner down with a giant umbrella before taking out a familiar looking artifact. He took the telescope in his hand, and extended it out completely. Unlike telescopes in his past life, this one was empty inside until he activated it. Water was taken from the atmosphere, and moments later, lens of high clarity formed inside the telescope. Fang Shi took out a stand, and mounted the scope onto it before finally taking a look.

Pointing the scope towards the walled fortress city, Fang Shi was able to see city guards standing on top of the wall as they watched the herds of spiritual beasts continue to increase in number. He wanted to see the number spiritual beasts waiting at the forest's edge, but the treeline blocked the view of most of them with the exception of the the spiritual birds.

Just as he was about to sip a drink he had brought with him, he felt the arrival of six spiritual beasts in human form. He used the system panel to check the status of each one, and realized that these new guests were young. Being more interested in the showdown between the two bigger forces, Fang Shi decided to let the puppets handle the visitors. Just as he was getting comfortable, a notification played in his mind:

[New! War? What is it good for?]

[New! War? What is it good for?

For a business to survive, customers are required. While wars can make a merchant profit, in the long term peace is a better option. Conflict will never disappear, but you have a way for your customers to settle most conflicts without the dire consequences of war.

Task: Convince the cultivators and spiritual beasts to settle their disputes as peacefully as possibly.

Reward: Based on the percentage of combatants who survive, the system will reward you.

(74:59)]

Fang Shi took a moment to think, "Three days before one side attacks the other. Looking at the formations, it's safe to assume that the cultivators would be the aggressors in this scenario."

With his mood spoiled, Fang Shi quickly put away everything he had set outside to watch the fun and went back inside to plan how he would accomplish the task.

Xing Qiang was leading the five other beasts towards the fog that covered the deeper part of the forest that his clan had been forced out of. He had been waiting for his chance to comeback in the hopes that he would be instrumental in reclaiming the stolen land, but currently he was regulating himself. The elk ancient had told him that negative thoughts and emotions would cause the formations to block his path, so he could only obey and endure staying in his human form as the fog disappeared.

"Ji Ya, Chi Yue, Ye Yan, Ji Yu, and Jing Lin", he called into each member of the team, "Remember our goal. We are here to gathering information only, and to quickly report back to the elders.

The weasel, rabbit, owl, sparrow, and hedgehog answered back, but Xing Qiang could tell they held him in contempt. He wasn't worried though, as a member of the Timberherd, just the status of belonging to one of the five largest clans would prevent them from having ill intentions against him.

It didn't take long for the large gate to appear in front of them, but as animals have a stronger ability to sense danger, this gate caused him great concerns.

"Look, there are skulls of powerful beast on the top of the gate", Ji Yu melodious voice broke the silence.

Xing Qiang looked up to where she had pointed, and had to calm himself down. Even though it was just bones, they still generated a pressure that beasts with weaker bloodlines could feel and were afraid of.

"Let's press on", Xing Qiang urged the small group.

Collecting himself and using his blood essence to neutralize a portion of the oppressive aura, he entered the front gate with the others following. The group walked slowly as they took in the view.

"This doesn't look like a place of war", Ji Ya commented, "It looks like a hunter's den."

"Even though there's still snow on the ground here, it's doesn't feel as cold as outside the gate", Chi Yue observed, "And I feel better just breathing the air here."

"There's the front door", Xing Qiang pointed out, "Let's see what this place has to offer."

Once inside, they were quickly awed by all the high quality spiritual plants and meats when a young male human entered from the back.

The young man looked at each of them before making a comment to himself. Unfortunately for him, the transformed spiritual beasts could still hear very well.

The young man walked into a small doorway that closed behind them, leaving the group stunned.

"Can you believe what that guy said?", Ye Yan was irritated, "What does he mean I didn't blend my feathers with my hair right?"

"At least he didn't consider banning you from the shop because of a few quills", Jing Lin snorted.

"What's an elf?", Chi Yue asked.

Xing Qiang did his best to calm everyone down, "Let me speak with the employee, I believe they can deal with problem guests."

He walked over to the counter where the small cat like puppet humanoid was sitting, "Can you ask your manager to come down here? We've just been insulted by a rude guests."

"Dear guests", the puppet responded, "That man that just left was the manager."

Xing Qiang grew alarmed before thanking the clerk, and returning to the group.

"What do we do now?", Ji Yu complained.

"Our Mission", Xing Qiang decided to press on and ignore what just happened.

The rest of the day went as expected, the six of them were constantly amazed by everything, but they ran into a problem. Spiritual beasts don't use currency, and what little they do have is from the storage bags of cultivators who fell in the wilderness. In most cases, the spirit stones are kept to allow teams like this one blend in with others in human cities, and isn't meant to spent. But today, they had spent everything and had no other items that could be used to barter. After a satisfying meal, the team found they couldn't buy anything else so they finished checking each shop and hesitantly left through the front gate.

No long after their return, they were summoned with an elder to see the five forest kings. They were led back to the meeting spot where the giant tree stump was, and each of the six gave their reports. Once finished the scout team was released, and the five leader were silent contemplating what they heard.

It was Tie E to break the silence first, "What do you make of it?"

"Obviously I don't believe that Xing Qiang would try to deceive me", Gu Lin Wang replied, "Since this place is a place of business, strange as it is, I believe we can temporarily ignore it. The Nascent souls will make their presence known very soon since they are also aware what this store holds. That is a higher priority right now."

"Antlers has a point", Feng Lei Yu, "There is no way we could reasonably fight against the humans from the fortress, and the mysterious power behind this store at the same time. Better to face the threat we know, and once that's taken care of, we can look more into this unknown force."

"Even better", Han Sha said with a pleased tone, "Once we drive those meddlers off, we can use this store to rise in power and break the balance. Then the resources behind that wall will be ours for the taking."

No one seemed to be bringing up objections, so Tie E didn't want to waste time, "Let's end the meeting then, and finish our preparations for the attack we know is coming."

The five nodded and split up, each one returning to the area they were responsible for protecting.

Meanwhile Fang Shi was at home on the top floor of the main store, making preparations to accomplish the new tasks.

"Those spiritual beasts must have been young", he laughed, "If this was my past life, I would have assumed they're just cosplaying."

Realizing he had gotten off topic, Fang Shi return to the scroll in front of him. The scroll had a drawing of the area between Tianbao and the forest. He used several hours to move tokens around on the scroll before he stopped in frustration.

"I was hoping to solve this without spending too much", Fang Shi lamented, "But I guess it's impossible."

Fang Shi opened the system panel, and went the store tab ready to purchase everything he needed for his plan. Once he got everything he needed, he checked outside and was relieved when it was night. The moon was a tiny sliver in the sky, so he mentally summoned two puppets to his side before the three of them left the store heading to the potential battlefield.