Chapter 123: Big Head, You're The One!

Was Xu Hongqiu indeed like what Xu Nanling thought—just a naive girl, who didn't have much life experience?

It was true that it hadn't been long since Xu Hongqiu started working. Nevertheless, as the daughter of the Whale Gang's chief, Xu Hongqiu had always held herself to the highest standards and had never been willing to fall behind any of her peers. Thus, Xu Hongqiu was, of course, well aware of how she should conduct herself in public.

If the person standing before them now were someone else, then Xu Hongqiu would undoubtedly be more assertive than Xu Nanling imagined. However, the person in question was Di Nufeng.

Xu Nanling was only in his forties, too young to have witnessed Di Nufeng during her active years in the martial world. So, he didn't know much about Di Nufeng—just that she was perhaps the most obstinate and truculent of the Mount Shu Sect's thirty-six peak masters.

Xu Hongqiu, on the other hand, had carefully studied all the available information on the Eminent Ones belonging to the sects ranked in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten. Among the ones who left a deep impression on Xu Hongqiu, Di Nufeng was definitely at the top of the list.

Wherever Di Nufeng went... countless birds would gaze at the sky in worship, Flood Dragons would hide in the depths of bodies of water, jackals and wolves would bury their heads in the earth, and tigers would cry out like leopard cats...

Xu Nanling, what makes you think you can raise your voice at her? Is it because she's smiling right now?

"Esteemed senior, please quell your anger," Xu Hongqiu said, stepping forward to persuade Di Nufeng instead of retreating.

"You guys, go bring him back here," Di Nufeng ordered.

She casually gestured to a couple of Whale Gang members behind her as if she were ordering around servants of her household. Despite that, those Whale Gang members were extremely compliant; they immediately went to carry Xu Nanling over. No one dared to show any sign of defiance.

Then Di Nufeng reached out and placed her hand on Xu Hongqiu's shoulder.

Di Nufeng said, "I'm not angry. It's just that he gave me a fright when he suddenly shouted at me."

A moment later, the Whale Gang members brought Xu Nanling, who seemed limp all over, before everyone. Xu Nanling's bones were broken, and his internal organs were damaged; there was no way for him to escape now.

Despite his severe injuries, Xu Nanling was still conscious and quite alert. As he looked up at Di Nufeng, Xu Nanling didn't dare to say a word and even restrained from making any noise while gasping for air.

"Last night, you attacked my disciple indiscriminately. I came here just to seek justice for him," Di Nufeng stated with an aggrieved expression. "We'll leave immediately as long as you can give a satisfactory response."

"Esteemed Teacher, Miss Xu isn't a bad person. Let's not bother her so much about it..." Chu Liang tried to persuade Di Nufeng from behind her.

"Sure. Let's not bother the uninvolved parties." Di Nufeng nodded and turned her gaze to Xu Nanling, whose qi was now as thin as gossamer. "You struck my disciple with your palm, so I'll do the same to you. That's fair, isn't it?"

"I—" Xu Nanling began. However, he remembered what happened earlier and hurriedly lowered his voice as he said, "Didn't you already kick me earlier..."

"That's because you yelled at me," Di Nufeng replied with a frown. "I only used half of my strength earlier. The palm strike you're getting from me won't be as light as that."

Xu Nanling's expression was filled with despair as he hurriedly brought his arms before him defensively.

Di Nufeng hadn't lied. She had truly only used half her strength earlier. Moreover, she hadn't used her fire skills, which were her specialty.

Xu Nanling's cultivation level was a bit lower than that of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess... If Di Nufeng had used her fire to attack Xu Nanling, it would have been another instant kill.

"Esteemed senior!" Xu Hongqiu called out as she stepped in front of Xu Nanling protectively. She looked at Di Nufeng and offered, "We can compensate you."

Xu Hongqiu couldn’t think of any other solution. Di Nufeng had made it clear that she had come here to blackmail them.

Xu Hongqiu wanted to see her second uncle punished too, but she absolutely could not allow Di Nufeng to kill him here. After all, Xu Hongqiu currently held the highest authority in the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts. She was in charge of all the staff here, so she bore the responsibility for their welfare as well. If she were to allow her second uncle to get killed, then she would lose her credibility in the Whale Gang.

Ultimately, Xu Hongqiu still had to protect her second uncle.

"This is a bit embarrassing..." Di Nufeng finally smiled. "We're not unreasonable people. How about this? Just compensate us for my disciple's medical expenses."

"Esteemed teacher, we can't ask them for money!" Chu Liang quickly intervened. "Miss Xu is a good friend of mine. Involving money will damage that bond."

"Then, what should we request as compensation instead?" Di Nufeng asked.

"All the beasts in the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts are spirit beasts. How about we just take one back with us to the peak and raise it?" Chu Liang suggested. "It just so happens that Silver Sword Peak is still lacking a beast mount."

"We can't," Di Nufeng replied, shaking her head. "Don't you know about the mighty pressure of my Divine Phoenix constitution? Demonic beasts at a cultivation level below the fifth realm instantly die from fright. We can't raise a spirit beast."

"Then let's just take a fifth-realm spirit beast and raise it. It'll be a symbol of our friendship with the Whale Gang," Chu Liang proposed.

"Hmm?" Di Nufeng seemed to contemplate Chu Liang's suggestion for a moment. Then she said, "I think that's a pretty good idea. What do you think, Miss Xu?"

Xu Hongqiu looked at Di Nufeng and then at Chu Liang.

Xu Hongqiu couldn't help but smile as she replied, "All right."

...

There were many demonic beasts in the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts, but there were only a few that had a high cultivation level. The store might acquire a sixth-realm demonic beast perhaps only once every one to two years, so fifth-realm demonic beasts were usually the store's most expensive goods.

At present, there were four fifth-realm demonic beasts in the store's courtyard.

Demonic beasts were sold at extremely high prices in Taotie City. Even the fourth-realm demonic beast that Xu Hongqiu killed the other day had been priced at several thousand Vermilion-Bird coins. That meant the price of a fifth-realm demonic beast would definitely exceed ten thousand Vermillion-Bird coins!

"Take your pick. Once you've decided on one, you're free to take it away," Xu Hongqiu said.

After guiding them to the courtyard, she stepped back with her hands behind her back. It seemed that she did not intend to provide any explanations about the four demonic beasts in the courtyard. Di Nufeng and Chu Liang had to depend on their abilities to pick the best one.

The four fifth-realm demonic beasts, which were kept in huge cages, displayed different demeanors.

The first one Chu Liang and Di Nufeng looked at was a giant black tortoise, with a pitch-black body that was stout and rough and a thick turtle shell that resembled a small fortress. The tortoise appeared rather serene as it rested on a small mountain-like artificial rock.

Next was a massive tree demon with a thick trunk and a lush crown[1]. There seemed to be something mystical about it. Some of the branches had taken on the shape of wild beasts. The beasts had their closed eyes, but as Chu Liang gazed at them, he felt like they would open their eyes at any moment.

The third demonic beast was a cat demon with spotlessly white fur and three-colored irises. It was lying lazily on its stomach while exuding an air of arrogance. The cat demon saw the humans walk over, but it didn't even bother to open its eyes fully to take a good look at whoever had approached.

The last demonic beast appeared to be a rare beast of an unknown species with long and lustrous golden fur all over. Despite having long fur everywhere else on its body, the demonic beast's head was covered in short fur, making its head look larger in proportion to the rest of its body... or perhaps its head was indeed large to begin with. The golden demonic beast was currently asleep with drool leaking out of its open mouth, appearing rather foolish.

"Pick an expensive one," Di Nufeng whispered to Chu Liang after having a look around.

"I don't even know what they are," Chu Liang whispered back.

The teacher and disciple were equally clueless when it came to identifying rare beasts.

"They're all fifth-realm demonic beasts, but their prices will vary greatly. We need to choose one with the best condition," Di Nufeng said.

"I have an idea..." Chu Liang replied.

He approached Di Nufeng and whispered into her ear.

"Good idea," Di Nufeng said with a slight nod.

Then she straightened her posture and gazed at the four demonic beasts. Her pupils contracted, and...

Boom.

At the very next second, the mighty pressure of her Divine Phoenix constitution poured out in torrents, and the air around her suddenly seemed to become dense.

The staff of the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts standing around in the courtyard were not the targets of Di Nufeng's pressure. However, that pressure sent their pulse racing, and those with a lower level of cultivation almost fainted!

The four demonic beasts all reacted differently to Di Nufeng's pressure.

The giant turtle swiftly withdrew its limbs and head into its shell. It then closed its shelf off from the world as if to say,

Whatever's going on outside has nothing to do with me.

All of the wild beasts in the branches of the tree demon immediately opened their eyes. It turned out that the beasts in the branches weren't merely shapes that the branches had formed; they were living creatures. The moment they opened their eyes, they fearfully and frantically scurried in retreat into the treetop!

As for that arrogant white cat demon, an expression of fear filled its three-colored eyes, and it was no longer arrogant. The cat demon lay flat on the ground, seemingly in submission.

On the contrary, the foolish-looking golden-furred demonic beast unleashed a deafening roar.

"

RAAAAAAAAR!!!

"

The golden fur all over its body stood on end like raised blades! The golden demonic beast glared at Di Nufeng, the source of the pressure, and arched its back with its head raised in a fighting stance!

Chu Liang raised his hand and pointed at the golden demonic beast, shouting, "Big Head[2]! You're the one!"

1. Everything above the trunk of a tree ☜

2. Chu Liang’s nickname for the golden-furred demonic beast. ☜