Three more days passed. During this time,
That was just the number he could detect. Those farther away hadn't even been counted yet.
"Something major must have happened in the south. But the more spirit beasts leave, the better our chances. From what I can tell, some of these beasts are definitely in their nursing period. If I'm not mistaken, there must be spirit beast cubs up ahead. Now we just have to see when this woman finds them!"
Jiang Chen wasn't as optimistic as Consort Dan. No matter how she urged him to speed up, he kept to his own pace, unhurried as always.
It wasn't until the afternoon of the sixth day that Consort Dan finally made a discovery.
"Jiang Chen, I'll bet my life on it — in that valley ahead, there are spirit beast cubs."
"Are you sure?"
Consort Dan's voice trembled with excitement. "I'm sure. I've studied this area for many years. I know how to tell whether there are cubs around."
Jiang Chen twitched his nose slightly and nodded. "The scent in the air does seem to carry that particular smell unique to nursing beasts. But how do you know it isn't just a nursing beast passing through?"
"There's a difference between passing through and making a home."
"If it were just passing through, the scent would follow a trail. But if it's a resident, it would spread fairly evenly. That's only one clue. Look at the spiritual herbs and plants around here — they all have bite marks from cubs gnawing on them."
"Besides, spirit beast cubs emit a unique scent of their own. It's different from the mother's."
Consort Dan clenched her delicate fist and said excitedly, "Jiang Chen, I guarantee there are cubs here. This time, I can finally see real hope of success!"
"Don't get carried away!" Jiang Chen promptly threw cold water on her enthusiasm. "Even if there are cubs here, how can you guarantee their mother has left? How can you be sure there aren't other beasts guarding them?"
"Remember, any spirit beast that discovers its cub is threatened will unleash ferocity that's nearly impossible to withstand. We need to outsmart them, not fight head-on."
In the end, the two discussed a plan: Jiang Chen would scout the area first, roughly locate the cubs, and then they would make their move.
Jiang Chen had cultivated the Seven Apertures Spiritual Resonance divine ability, so he naturally had ways to draw all his aura inward through the seven senses, turning external awareness inward.
There was a cave in the valley.
The cave's entrance was surrounded by jagged rocks on slightly steep terrain. But for a martial artist, this wasn't much of an obstacle.
Jiang Chen observed for a moment, then used the Seven Apertures Spiritual Resonance technique to probe further. A chill ran through his heart.
"Sure enough — there are cubs, and four of them, no less!"
His heart rate quickened involuntarily, but then he sensed another powerful aura.
"Not good — there really is a guardian beast there. I knew it wouldn't be easy to snatch spirit beast cubs," Jiang Chen muttered inwardly, deciding not to act just yet.
He retreated to where Consort Dan waited and gave her a rough report.
"Four? That many?" Consort Dan's eyes lit up.
"Don't celebrate too early. Besides the four cubs, there's a guardian beast at least equivalent to a human cultivator at the third level of the Spirit Realm. Do you have a way to deal with it?"
"This…" Consort Dan's elegant brows furrowed. This was a real problem. "Since all the other spirit beasts went south, why didn't this one?"
"You're asking me? Who would I ask?"
Consort Dan was silent for a moment. "This scenario was part of my plan too. If an adult spirit beast is guarding them, we just need to lure it away. Draw the tiger from the mountain, then steal the cubs."
"Draw the tiger from the mountain — easy to say, hard to do," Jiang Chen said with a wry smile. "If you lure it wrong, you might just lure yourself into danger."
"Crow's mouth!" Consort Dan lightly scolded. "Jiang Chen, I have a special medicine that Grand Tutor Ye personally prepared. It can put a spirit beast into a sleep state and temporarily strip it of its ability to fight. If we can make the guardian beast sleep for a short time, we won't be without a chance."
"How long will it last?" Jiang Chen asked.
"About a quarter of an hour, I think," Consort Dan considered, then answered.
"A quarter of an hour? That's way too short. In fifteen minutes we won't have gone far, and the beast could easily track us through the cubs' scent."
Consort Dan smiled. "Don't worry about that. Once the cubs are in hand, I have ways to mask their scent so the adult beast can't follow us."
Jiang Chen still shook his head. He believed Grand Tutor
A quarter of an hour wasn't exactly short, but on the enemy's territory, it might not be enough to get clear.
"Jiang Chen, are you even a man? Don't men always say that fortune favors the bold? So what if we take a little risk? Get those four spirit beast cubs and we're set! Once we're out, no matter how many trophies the others have, we're guaranteed first place, one hundred percent."
A mountain of ordinary beast cores wouldn't be as convincing as a single spirit beast's crystal core.
And ten spirit beast crystal cores sitting there still wouldn't compare to one living spirit beast.