Chapter 863: Sword-Toothed Spirit Tiger

"Master Zhang!"

Walking out of the thatched hut, he saw Hu Yaoyao, Xue Zhenyang, and the others jumping down from the back of a huge spirit beast.

The four society presidents, who had been full of vigor and arrogance half a month ago, now looked at him like chicks seeing a hawk—not only had they lost all their previous swagger, but each of them was also extremely embarrassed.

Having opposed him and now become his juniors, even if they wanted to be proud, they couldn't.

"Master Zhang, are we setting off now?"

Hu Yaoyao looked over with a puzzled expression.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Then... let's mount the spirit beast!" Hu Yaoyao called out, about to leap onto the back of the nearby spirit beast.

"Not this one, it's too slow..."

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan's mind stirred, and he called out. An ape-shaped sacred beast emerged from behind the thatched hut.

"The Ziyang Beast?"

"The old dean's sacred beast, Senior Ziyang?"

"Wasn't the senior missing?"

Hu Yaoyao, Xue Zhenyang, and the others were startled, staring at the young man before them as if he were a monster.

They were almost all direct disciples of the deans, and had all heard about the ten deans sending people to search for the Ziyang Beast. How could it be... with Master Zhang?

And from the looks of it, the relationship between the man and the beast was so unusual?

Only Dong Xin was not surprised.

She had personally witnessed the ten elders electing this man as dean and had seen the Ziyang Beast call him master.

But this matter was confidential and not to be disclosed, so she couldn't say anything.

"It's faster; we should be able to make a round trip within three days."

Without explaining, Zhang Xuan gave an order: "Ziyang, carry us on a long journey!"

"Yes, master!"

The Ziyang Beast nodded, and its entire skeleton emitted a series of crisp sounds. Its size instantly swelled more than threefold; before, it was only slightly taller than a human, but now it was like a small mountain.

Reaching out, it removed the house from Dong Xin's spirit beast's back and placed it on its own back.

"Let's go!"

Seeing the esteemed sacred beast that guarded the academy turned into a mount, Hu Yaoyao, Xue Zhenyang, and Long Cangyue were still unable to process it, their faces full of stupefaction, as if they were going mad.

They had heard of how proud the Ziyang Beast was, yet now this proud and immensely powerful sacred beast not only acknowledged Zhang Xuan as its master but also... willingly served as a mount... Even seeing it with their own eyes, they found it incredible.

Settling into the wooden house on the beast's back, watching the Ziyang Beast fly like the wind beneath them, the group still hadn't snapped out of it.

"I heard from my teacher that whoever finds Senior Ziyang becomes the dean..."

After a long, dull silence, Xue Zhenyang's face flushed red.

His teacher, Xu Changqing, the dean of the Martial Arts Academy, had specifically said that Master Mu had decreed that whoever found the Ziyang Beast would become the dean. Now this sacred beast had acknowledged Zhang Xuan as its master.

Could it be...

"It was forced upon me, alas, not my wish!"

Seeing that he had guessed it, Zhang Xuan saw no need to hide it. He sighed and shook his head.

If it weren't for the fact that the dean could read books freely, he wouldn't have been willing to take the position—it was too troublesome.

It was never a good job, no need to make a big fuss.

"Forced... upon you?"

"Not your wish?"

Hu Yaoyao, Xue Zhenyang, and the others exchanged glances, each rolling their eyes.

Could being dean be forced upon someone?

Why doesn't such good fortune ever come to us?

Actually, we'd also like to be forced a bit...

"Hu Yaoyao, throw a punch for me to see."

Not dwelling on this issue, Zhang Xuan looked at Hu Yaoyao.

Having promised Wu Yangzi to take care of his descendants, he naturally wouldn't break his word.

"Alright!"

Knowing that he might offer guidance, Hu Yaoyao nodded and threw a punch.

After watching for a while, he identified the flaws in her cultivation and began to instruct her.

It must be said that Hu Yaoyao came from a well-established family and had strong talent, so her foundation was quite solid. With guidance, she improved rapidly, especially in the Jinghong profession. Combined with her stunning figure, once she danced, even half-sage masters found it hard to resist her charm.

Seeing Hu Yaoyao's obvious progress, the others could no longer hold back and came forward to ask questions.

Zhang Xuan guided each of them one by one.

All four benefited greatly.

Although it was difficult for them to break through to half-sage, their cultivation became more stable. As long as they obtained the Red Firefly Fruit, a breakthrough was almost certain.

Half a day passed in a flash.

When they arrived at the location of the Red Firefly Fruit, the sun had just leaped out from the eastern sky.

That is to say, the Ziyang Beast was even faster than Zhang Xuan had anticipated, reaching the destination in half a night—more than ten times faster than riding Dong Xin's spirit beast.

No wonder; the Ziyang Beast's strength had reached the second level of the Saint Domain, so its speed and endurance were naturally far greater than before.

"Stop here!"

Arriving at a valley, everyone descended.

"Senior Ziyang, it's best not to go in. Outside the Red Firefly Fruit tree, there are two spirit beasts guarding it. If they discover you, knowing they can't protect it, they might directly destroy the sacred herb. If that happens, even killing them would be useless..."

Dong Xin spoke up.

Spirit beasts were not stupid; they understood the importance of medicinal herbs. Once they found themselves unable to resist, they would most likely destroy the herb.

If that happened, it would be a wasted trip.

"That's right. The four of us are all weaker than them. If we go, they won't be on guard, and we can catch them off guard and get the herb..."

Long Cangyue also nodded.

They had specifically studied this medicinal herb and the spirit beasts guarding it. Otherwise, they could have invited their teacher or any elder; there was no need to specifically seek out Zhang Xuan.

"I can conceal my aura so they won't detect me!" said the Purple Sun Beast.

As a Saint Realm tier-2 sacred beast, concealing its aura to avoid detection by spirit beasts was very simple.

"It's not that simple... Senior, look at this valley!"

Dong Xin shook her head.

"Valley?"

Zhang Xuan and the Purple Sun Beast both looked ahead.

The valley was narrow, resembling a sealed box, with dense spiritual energy that gave the impression of occupying a prime geomantic location.

The valley was covered in vermilion flowers resembling mimosa, densely packed, dyeing the entire valley that color.

"Could it be... Vermilion Mimosa?"

The name of a plant appeared in his mind, and Zhang Xuan frowned.

Vermilion Mimosa was somewhat similar to the mimosa of his previous life; it would give an early warning when touched by a foreign object and would change color depending on the strength of the toucher.

A Saint Realm expert and a Mortal Realm expert would cause different changes.

Because of this, this plant was often used in medicines to test a cultivator's strength.

"Correct, it is Vermilion Mimosa!"

Dong Xin smiled bitterly.

"I see..."

Zhang Xuan understood.

Although the Purple Sun Beast could suppress its cultivation to avoid detection, when walking, any leaked power would come into contact with these Vermilion Mimosas, easily revealing its true strength.

Although the chance of the opponent destroying the Red Fire Fruit upon seeing a strong person enter was low, they dared not take the risk.

"Alright then, Purple Sun, you go rest for now!"

Knowing the situation, Zhang Xuan waved his hand: "If danger really arises and we need your help, you can come out then."

"Yes, Master!"

The Purple Sun Beast said nothing more, flew into the distance, and when it reached a place where no one could see, it was taken into the hive.

With Zhang Xuan's current strength, as long as the opponent hadn't reached Half-Saint, they couldn't be his match. Moreover, if he really couldn't win, he had the Thousand Ant Hive in hand and could release the Purple Sun at any time; there was no major problem.

"Let's go in!"

Without further hesitation, the group walked into the valley.

The Vermilion Mimosas inside immediately rippled, as if transmitting some message.

"What spirit beast is guarding the Red Fire Fruit?"

As they walked forward, Zhang Xuan asked.

"It's two peak Silkworm Seal realm Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers!" said Hu Yaoyao.

"Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers? No wonder..."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers were known as the strongest land spirit beasts below Half-Saint, and that reputation was well-deserved. At the same peak Silkworm Seal realm, Hu Yaoyao and the others combined probably couldn't defeat even one.

With these two big fellows guarding it, the Red Fire Fruit was indeed not easy to obtain.

Of course, if it were just them, to him, it was nothing.

If he really wanted to fight, it would only take two punches.

"Not only that, these two Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers are very cunning. No matter what happens outside, one of them will definitely stay by the Red Fire Fruit. If something goes wrong, the one guarding it might destroy the fruit tree... So we can't just attack directly; we need to find a way to lure both of them out!"

Dong Xin said.

She had come specifically to study for several days and knew the habits of the two Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers.

"Lure both out?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Yes, so we prepared their favorite One-Yuan Heavy Water in advance, but... the amount of heavy water is limited, only about three bottles..."

Dong Xin smiled bitterly.

According to previous years when new students came, they could have made a big profit and easily bought dozens of bottles of One-Yuan Heavy Water. Unfortunately, this year's new students all joined the Xuanxuan Society, and their four societies not only earned nothing but also had many old students defect...

As a result, their income plummeted, and after spending all their savings, they only obtained four bottles.

"Four bottles of One-Yuan Heavy Water?"

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

One bottle was enough for him to cultivate the third level of the Five Radiance Golden Body.

"How is this used?"

He couldn't help asking.

"Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers are very sensitive to the smell of One-Yuan Heavy Water. My idea is simple: when we get there, open the jade bottle to lure them to snatch it. Once one is lured away, another person can set out the heavy water again, which should lure out the second one..."

Dong Xin hesitated for a moment and then spoke her thoughts: "Of course, we must first confirm that the Red Fire Fruit is ripe. If it's not ripe, even if we lure them out, it's useless..."

"This will be difficult!"

Hearing her words, Zhang Xuan shook his head: "Once the Red Fire Fruit is ripe, even if the two Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers don't swallow it, they will definitely pick it. At that time, the temptation of breaking through to Half-Saint will definitely surpass One-Yuan Heavy Water. No matter how good the thing is, it will be hard to lure them away! Even if the fruit isn't ripe yet, if you do this, their intelligence is not inferior to humans; they probably won't fall for it."

Only a hair's breadth away from Half-Saint, the Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers' intelligence was already not inferior to humans. Trying to trick them with this method would be difficult!

"Then what should we do?"

Dong Xin couldn't help asking, and the others also looked over.

"Like this: give me the One-Yuan Heavy Water, and I'll help you find a way to lure those two fellows out!"

Zhang Xuan said.