Chapter 67: Delicious Bait, The Wildcat Leaves Its Den

It was the second morning of Climbing Spirit Mountain to gather spiritual herbs, and Zhao Xing was in no rush to head to the Mountain God Temple. He kept an eye on the mountain cave while gathering materials from the surroundings, preparing for his plan to lure the tiger from the mountain. If the beast inside the cave went out to hunt, that would be ideal, allowing him to sneak in and escape. If it didn't come out, he would have to draw it out.

Fortunately, the Every Tree and Bush an Enemy Soldier technique had already turned four times, and there were no other materials on this mountain, but there were plenty of vines and willow branches, enough to make scarecrows. Zhao Xing didn't plan to use the Great Strength Golden Steel, as it was difficult to replenish the Diamond Bamboo in a short time. Facing the beast, he had no method to fight it, so now Zhao Xing needed to replenish the "Divine Action Scarecrow."

"Go move some stones for me," Zhao Xing ordered the scarecrow. "Go catch some wild rabbits, mountain rats, and wild boars," he instructed the Great Strength Golden Steel.

The scarecrows began to execute the orders. Zhao Xing retreated further from the mountain cave, finding a spot with a mound of earth. From the Wenzhu Box, he took out two kinds of seedlings. The Wenzhu Box was given to him by Xue Wen and Chen Shi two days before entering the mountain. Zhao Xing had spent some time cultivating some of the seeds into seedlings. Now that he needed them, he could use them immediately.

"If this beast eats meat, then I'll prepare some meat dishes. If it eats plants, these Fragrant Berry Vines and Hundred Fragrance Grass should attract its attention." Both plants were second-tier lower-grade. The Fragrant Berry Vines and Hundred Fragrance Grass had one main effect: they were delicious! For plant-eating beasts, they had considerable attraction.

Seeing the dry bones in the cave, Zhao Xing felt the likelihood of the beast being carnivorous was greater. However, the Fragrant Berry Vines and Hundred Fragrance Grass also had some effect on carnivorous beasts, though the effect was somewhat weaker.

"Cloud Walking!" Zhao Xing's Cloud Walking had already turned nine times, and after breaking through to the sixth stage of Gathering Essence, his control had greatly improved. Now, this Cloud Walking was as large as a bed, and the height could be controlled to be quite low, with the Yuan Qi condensed and not dispersed, causing no disturbance.

"Rainfall!" The rainwater began to irrigate the seedlings. "Vigorous Growth!" The full-level Vigorous Growth caused the seedlings to start transforming. The Spirit Mountain's earth was rich enough, so Zhao Xing didn't use the Earth Vein Comprehensive Yuan, as the growth period of these two plants wasn't long. Once they entered the growth period, using the Wild Growth technique would suffice, without wasting Yuan Qi on the Earth Vein Comprehensive Yuan.

After a moment, the Fragrant Berry Vines and Hundred Fragrance Grass entered the growth period. Zhao Xing opened his eyes and began to cast Magic Arts. "Wild Growth!" The two plants began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye, with the Fragrant Berry Vines quickly flowering and bearing fruit, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Rising Wind!" Zhao Xing condensed a circular wind wall around the area, controlling the fragrance from dispersing, to avoid attracting other wild beasts.

Having done all this, he waited quietly for the two plants to mature, while also closely monitoring the cave entrance for any movement.

"I hope this beast is hungry and goes out to find food on its own..." Zhao Xing prayed in his heart. If so, that would be best, and he wouldn't have to waste the scarecrows and time.

Time slowly passed. As noon approached, the Hundred Fragrance Grass had already matured, and the berries had produced a second batch, yet there was no movement in the mountain cave.

"What kind of beast is so lazy, sleeping until noon?" Zhao Xing muttered, "Could it be nocturnal, hunting at night and sleeping during the day?"

Even so, Zhao Xing remained patient. "As long as I reach the Mountain God Temple before midnight, it'll be fine."

"If I gain something today, I can compete for the top incense. If not, I'll aim for the top ten incense."

Spirit Mountain must have a Mountain God Temple, and climbing Spirit Mountain to gather spiritual herbs was uncertain. Where were the spiritual herbs? How to gather them? Everything was unknown.

Just searching like this, relying solely on luck, few people could gain anything. Even if they found the place, they might not be able to gather anything. For example, the expert riding the Bamboo Horse, Zhao Xing had already seen it jumping around the mountain for half a day. And now, the spiritual herbs in the mountain cave were guarded by a beast.

To ensure he gained something, climbers first had to go to the Mountain God Temple to offer incense and seek guidance. Every day after midnight, the true lord would appear in the temple, telling climbers where the spiritual herbs were and how to obtain them. The top incense was the best, with the greatest chance of obtaining spiritual herbs. The effect of subsequent incense diminished, and they would also face the true lord's test.

On the first night, Zhao Xing didn't compete for incense. On the second night, he planned to participate. But now, it was still early, just past noon, and he wasn't in a hurry.

"How long does this senior plan to keep us here? If he doesn't leave, are we supposed to stay here forever?" Fang Jie whispered.

"Are you scared?" Zhou Gang asked.

"Yes!" Fang Jie admitted honestly, "That senior is powerful, escaping from the beast's mouth. You and I might not be so lucky. If we continue to stay here..."

Zhou Gang thought for a moment and agreed, nodding, "I'll go ask."

But just as he stood up, he heard the scarecrow beside him turn and leave, and at the same time, a voice came through the wind: "There will be more movement soon, you two can leave on your own. If fate allows, see you at the temple tonight."

"Thank you, senior." Zhou Gang and Fang Jie were overjoyed and quickly left.

As the time approached Shen Hour, the patient Zhao Xing finally couldn't hold back. He seriously suspected that the beast hunted at night and slept during the day. Continuing to wait would waste time, so he began his plan to lure the tiger from the mountain.

First, he grouped the scarecrows into pairs, each pair approaching the mountain cave, starting to throw stones and small animals tied with vines and berries into the cave.

When throwing stones, there was no response, and the small animals also elicited no reaction. But when the berries were thrown, there was finally a response from the cave.

A black shadow swiftly darted out, heading straight for the scarecrow throwing things. It was still a fleeting shadow, but Zhao Xing, watching from afar, finally caught a glimpse of the beast's form.

"It's actually... a young wildcat?" The wildcat was very small, completely unfit for the cave owner's identity.

However, the plan continued. The two groups of scarecrows hadn't run far before being destroyed by the wildcat. After confirming the berries' effect on it, Zhao Xing decisively ordered the second group of scarecrows, standing a hundred meters away, to throw berries in the wildcat's direction.

"Meow~" The wildcat indeed rushed towards the second group of scarecrows. It didn't even charge at them, just lightly touched them with its claws, and the scarecrows disintegrated.

But it didn't matter, soon a third group of scarecrows stood not far away, continuing to attract it.

In this way, in the blink of an eye, the wildcat was already three miles away. Three miles was the operational limit for the scarecrows.

But Zhao Xing wasn't in a hurry. Along the way, he transplanted the Hundred Fragrance Grass, forming a line to lure it further away, ultimately aiming to attract the wildcat to the area where the Fragrant Berry Vines were planted.

"Almost there, time to act!"

(End of Chapter)