Chapter 218 - Ink Jade Jackals
Chapter 218: Ink Jade Jackals
Despite riding on 16 rhinos to travel through the forest, the party’s pace wasn’t slowed down by it.
The one in the lead was a Giant Horn Bull while the rest were Single Horn Bulls.
Other than the Giant Horn Bull, all of the rest of the demonic beasts were well-decorated.
Other than saddles, some had ropes and even wooden stools on them.
These were prepared by the cultivators as they traveled since it wasn’t even hard for them to do so.
Even though they were inside the Woods Ocean Ancient Path where danger lurked in every corner, it felt as if the group was going on a trip.
However, with Ni Honger leading the way, the Black-face Humanoid Puppet guarding every possible attack point, and the immense pressure from the powerful demons, the other beasts were reluctant to approach the human party.
They were now in a more relaxed state compared to when they had just entered the forest.
“Master, we will be entering the Ink Jade Jackal’s territory soon,” Ni Honger said as she sat on Chen Jingzhai’s shoulder. “These jackals have skins as black as ink and their fangs are as clear as jade. They use poison attacks and are very agile. They are also very stealthy. Please be careful.”
After witnessing Chen Jingzhai facing a demon king without being fazed, and the power of the tower boy, the Illusion Light Rat was now willing to obey all of his orders.
She would even get spiritual stones as a reward when Chen Jingzhai was in a good mood.
That was a better treatment than having to roam throughout the forest.
Also, with another tamed beast now added to the list, the Illusion Light Rat knew that she had to do more to become her master’s favorite.
“I’ve heard of them before. They are a ruthless tribe and love to fight. Has anyone run into them before?” Chen Jingzhai asked the rest of the group through telepathy.
“The tribes that live deep in the forest rarely head to the human’s kingdom. We’ve never run into one. Although there exists a tribe of jackals in the Luanyun Mountain Range, they aren’t the Ink Jade Jackals,” Sage Lu Tao replied.
Chen Jingzhai nodded and warned the rest to be on high alert.
Even if he was the Master Uncle, he had entered the clan way later than the sages.
He had never entered the mountain range to train. The only time he had headed deep into the mountains was during the expedition into the secret zone.
That was one of his bigger regrets.
“Master, can you let the puppet check around the trees and underground? These jackals love to hide behind the thick leaves to launch a surprise attack. Also, we can’t kill them. We can capture them if we have to, but we’ll have to let them go free after we are out of their territory. If we killed one of them, they would chase us until all of us are dead,” the Giant Horn Bull reminded.
Although the demonic bull was still a little unhappy with being tamed as a mount, he had already accepted its fate after realizing that even the demon king could not help him anymore.
The outcome wasn’t as bad as Chen Jingzhai had proven himself to be powerful. That was why the beast had warned its master.
As for wanting to become the master’s favorite, there was no need for it to fight with Ni Honger for that.
In the end, it was the elite of the prideful Giant Rhino Tribe and its pride would never allow it to do that.
“I see…” Chen Jingzhai nodded as the puppet began to move out.
The puppet had already returned the ax to the Giant Horn Bull and only had a spear hanging on her back.
However, the puppet’s body was made out of advanced Grade 3 Ocean Star Black Metals. Its body was already a magic treasure.
It only took the puppet a short while to find a jackal hiding.
The puppet grabbed the spear behind her back and threw it forward.
The spear struck an extremely thick tree and pierced through it.
A black figure then jumped out of one of the tree’s branches.
The next second, a curved sword was swung toward the puppet’s arm.
That happened so fast that even the Golden Core Sages were late to react to it. It was a very swift attack.
Chen Jingzhai was taken by surprise as well and he quickly controlled the puppet to counter the attack. The puppet’s arm detached from her body and flew towards the black figure.
However, the figure was fast to realize that its target was a puppet and quickly moved back.
The puppet grabbed the black spear that had returned back to her arm and thrust it toward the attacker.
The figure had no choice but to block with its sword. The sound of the tip of the spear clashing with the sword echoed throughout the area.
The shockwave from that kicked the dust around them into the air. The black figure wanted to use that chance to escape, but before it could do so, the puppet managed to land a kick on it.
The figure was sent flying and landed in front of Chen Jingzhai.
An inferior Grade 3 magic treasure chain as thick as a person’s arm dropped down from Chen Jingzhai’s hand and the chain quickly wrapped itself around the figure. It was now completely tied up and the young man raised it up into the air.
“Damn! He’s as black as the ink we use! Still, it’s kind of rare for a Grade 3 powerful demon that had taken a human form to keep its original legs.
“This is actually my first time seeing one.”
The group of cultivators stood on top of their mounts as they discussed the jackal demonic beast in front of them.
Unlike the Giant Rhino Tribe, the Ink Jade Jackal Tribe kept their legs when they partly transformed into humans.
They did that so that they could retain their powerful leaping ability and speed.
At the very least, they wouldn’t need to adapt to a new fighting style after their transformation.
The jackal that was tied up had the face of a normal male human. However, it had sharp teeth and scary-looking eyes. Despite being a captive now, it didn’t show any sign of admitting its defeat.
Its skin was smooth and its figure was long and slender. However, its skin was completely black which helped the beast hide through reflection. Its eyes were white with a hint of green.
Chen Jingzhai looked at the jackal beast in front of him, not having any interest to question it.
Every beast tribe had its unique language and culture.
Although he had never really studied those, he still knew that the jackal tribe and the horn bull tribe were completely different.
The latter could be conversed with but the former could not.
These differences were caused by the beast’s temperament and other factors.
That was why Chen Jingzhai decided to not question the jackal and sealed its power with a restriction instead.
He then let the jackal follow them as they continued to move forward.
Although the party looked calm on the outside, everyone was on high alert.
After a few minutes, the cultivators were surrounded by a group of Ink Jade Jackals.
More than 20 jackals had suddenly appeared, either on trees or on the ground.
They held their curved swords up as they glared at the humans.
A female jackal who had fully transformed into a human and was dressed in a long robe stopped the cultivators’ path.
“Is the Jade Ink Jackal Tribe planning on breaking the rule as well?” Chen Jingzhai calmly asked.
“We are not like those barbaric bulls!” The lady jackal scoffed. “Let’s have a 3-on-3 match and a bet. If you guys win, I’ll let you guys pass.”
“And the bet?” Chen Jingzhai was intrigued.
“Bring them up!” The leader waved her arm.
Three jackals immediately brought three stones out.
One was as black as the darkest night, one was completely golden, and the other was green with a hint of blue.
“Advanced Grade 3 Black Magnet, Essence Gold Stone, and a Multi-colored Stone?” Chen Jingzhai raised a brow. “Those are worth a lot. Are you so sure that you can win?”
The cultivators behind him shifted a little as their eyes were filled with excitement, especially the three disciples from the sword branches. They could not avert their gazes from the stones.
The three ores were extremely hard to find, and yet, the jackals were willing to bet all three that were as tall as a human.
The Black Magnet possessed the Essence Magnet Power and could be used to create magnetic magic treasures.
Magnetic stones were already rare, to begin with, but the beasts were actually able to secure such a huge one.
The Essence Gold Stone could be used to obtain pure Essence Gold to create magic treasure-grade swords. It was an ingredient that the disciples of the Golden Jade Sword Branch would die just to get their hands on.
The Multi-colored Stone was also known as the Peacock’s Gut and possessed water, wood, earth, and metal elements. By mixing it with a similar graded fire element ingredient, one could create a magic treasure or sword that possessed all five elements.
All these three ingredients were impossible to find in the Pulao Kingdom and the Eastern Ocean.
These were items that one who needed them could not obtain even with all of their assets.
“We request Advanced Grade 3 elixirs made by the Elixir Twilight Clan from you. If not, Grade 3 magic apparel of the Soaring Clouds Clan and magic treasures of the Luo sheng Sword School should suffice. We’ll have three battles. Killing the opponent is allowed,” the female jackal said.
Despite her dark black skin, she looked extremely beautiful and charming.
Unfortunately, Chen Jingzhai wasn’t attracted to her.
“That’s agreeable. But, we would only allow battles between the same level. Also, let’s set a time limit. The fight will on last 30 minutes and we’ll call it a draw.” Chen Jingzhai added.
And just as he had expected, the female beast agreed to his condition.