Chapter Forty-One: That Damn Dog’s Nose

The ability to construct formations seems to be innate. Even so, beasts can only construct the most rudimentary of arrays, such as Spirit Gathering Arrays, defensive arrays, and offensive arrays.

There is no need to elaborate on the Spirit Gathering Array; it creates something out of nothing and sustains itself indefinitely. It merely gathers a certain amount of spiritual energy and then uses that primal energy to plunder the surrounding essence, greedily devouring spiritual power like a whirlpool.

Defensive arrays are simple; the goal is merely to make the formation as sturdy as possible to repel enemies.

Offensive arrays, however, focus on the concept of "triggering." The source of spiritual energy must be placed on the periphery of the array to drive the energy into an attack. These three types of arrays are simple to set up and lack any flashy or complex maneuvers.

Once the arrays were laid out, Jiang Xuan and his companions vanished into the dense forest, scattering to hide.

"Jiang Xuan, don't sit so close to me. I—"

"You say that, but this is all to kill the enemy. I don't have any other intentions."

"But, aren't there other branches over there?"

The Empress pointed to a nearby branch, her pretty face flushed, her breathing becoming noticeably shallow. Jiang Xuan chuckled inwardly; it was clear that the Empress no longer pushed him away! If this were before, she would have flown off long ago; how could she possibly be sitting on the same branch, shoulder-to-shoulder with him?

"Staying together means we can focus our strength when the time comes." He paused, then added, "By the way, I’ve always had a question. Your real name can’t possibly be 'Empress,' right?"

"That is only natural."

"Then..."

"Forget it. My real name passed away with my previous life."

A faint sadness permeated the Empress’s words. Seeing this, Jiang Xuan did not press further. He wondered if she had suffered some kind of trauma.

"Jiang Xuan, they're here!"

"I know. Once they trigger the array, we strike!"

As he was chatting with the Empress, the Demon Lord’s voice came from a distant branch, much to Jiang Xuan's annoyance. The underlings all held their breath, not daring to let out a sound. Although they had eaten meat just two days ago, their desire for resources had reached a new level. Success or failure hinged on this one moment; two sixth-rank Great Demons would certainly be enough for a feast!

Rustling sounds drifted in with the breeze. Jiang Xuan swept his gaze across the gloomy forest ahead, focusing his full attention. Everything that needed to be交代 was already covered: no leaking spiritual energy beforehand to avoid alerting the enemy, and absolute silence was required. Once the targets triggered the array, everyone had to swarm them to catch them off guard.

Jiang Xuan was confident. Having worn down that Returning Swallow in a battle that lasted a full day and night previously, he knew that even an invincible opponent could be defeated through strategy. Furthermore, the trap was already set; the plan was airtight! If the attacks from himself, the Empress, and the Demon Lord landed true, even a Spirit Demon would struggle to endure them. His underlings were also fierce fighters who brawled daily! These two sixth-rank Great Demons would surely be taken down.

"They're here!" The Empress whispered, her voice barely audible.

Jiang Xuan nodded slightly without answering. In his line of sight, two dark figures gradually became clear. One tall, one short, one fat, one thin—their auras were suppressed so low that it was difficult to even perceive their strength. If Jiang Xuan hadn't overheard their conversation earlier, he would have misjudged them. Even now, he couldn't identify their species.

Talent is crucial for beasts. For example, the seventh-rank Returning Swallow Jiang Xuan had killed was strong, but only relative to him; among seventh-rank Great Demons, it was not particularly outstanding.

"Why did they suddenly disappear? Could we have been discovered?"

"Something is wrong. This is suspicious!"

"Brother Cai, your tracking method can follow a target from ten miles away without losing them. How could we have been discovered?"

The short, fat man was baffled and stopped in his tracks.

"My Dog Clan’s tracking method cannot be discovered. Ten miles? Hah! I can lock onto a target’s position from twenty miles away! Even the Eagle Clan—unless they are flying high in the sky—could not possibly detect us from such a distance!"

Although the tall, thin man was also puzzled, he didn't know what had gone wrong. But soon, he sniffed the air aggressively and raised an eyebrow.

"It’s not right. Their aura disappears here, or rather, it stopped! We’ve walked into an ambush! They are right here!"

*Damn it! Discovered already?*

Hiding on the branch, Jiang Xuan’s heart jumped into his throat. They were Dog Demons! No wonder they could track them from so far away! The two men were only a few hundred meters from the array—seemingly far, but for beasts, it was only a few steps. As long as they moved forward, they would fall into the trap. But they simply refused to move!

"Brother Cai, what exactly is going on? Where are they? With that nose of yours, can’t you smell where they are?"

"It’s being blocked! It must be a formation!"

*Hiss!*

Jiang Xuan and his underlings turned deathly pale. *That dog nose! Damn it!*

"Ding!"

"Host, you and your underlings are in danger. These two sixth-rank Great Demons are beyond your ability to defeat. Please retreat immediately! Reward for successful escape: one second-rank Beast Pill!"

*Not now, Big Brother! Couldn't you have said that earlier? Do you really think we can escape in this situation?* Jiang Xuan retorted frantically in his mind.

"Host, if you can break through your bottleneck and defeat a stronger opponent, you will receive the technique: 'Supreme Lotus Sword'!"

"'Supreme Lotus Sword': Contains nine forms, used by the Ancient Chaos Immortal Emperor, Xiao Chenshan! When unleashed at full power, it can decide the past, present, and future, command ten thousand beasts as mounts, annihilate ten thousand demons, and even manipulate the heavens and earth, shaking the sun, moon, and stars!"

*Are you kidding me? Isn't that bragging a bit too much?*

Was this truly a life-or-death situation? He had fought a seventh-rank Great Demon; were these two sixth-rank ones really that hard to handle? The technique the system offered sounded heaven-defying. Yet, the more powerful the reward, the more Jiang Xuan realized the gravity of the situation. To be honest, he was intimidated. The deaths of the Hot-tempered Kid and Orange were still fresh in his memory. Jiang Xuan struggled: should he gamble?

"System, fuse the remaining five points of Golden Crow bloodline! Consume two evolution points! Speed up the breakthrough!"

"The Supreme Lotus Sword! I must have it!"

Jiang Xuan was never an indecisive person. Since the system described the sword technique as so formidable, he knew he couldn't miss this opportunity.

"Host, beginning fusion!"

"Wait! I have something to say first!"

"Oh, call me when you're done."

Jiang Xuan: "..."