Chapter 54: The Miserable Monster (Bonus Chapter)

A sudden unfamiliar presence invaded, causing the beasts to erupt into chaos. The stampede of a hundred creatures surged like a tidal wave, hooves pounding the earth with thunderous resonance as they charged in from all directions, intent on annihilation.

Su Li, however, remained utterly unperturbed. Her feline eyes narrowed slightly, and in an instant, profound energy cascaded from her. Centered on their group, a dark crimson barrier swiftly expanded outward until it filled the entire mountainside.

For a moment, all the savage and violent beasts fell silent, ceasing their howls and halting their charge. One after another, they knelt obediently on the ground.

They could not have appeared more docile.

Even the ever-buzzing flies and mosquitoes now fell silent as if struck dumb.

The three young beast followers exclaimed in unison: “Boss, you’re incredible!”

Shen Luo’s expression remained calm.

Jiang Tong: …

Good heavens! A zero-tier beast could be so formidable.

He stared in disbelief, reaching up to touch his forehead, wondering if the tension had been stretched too long and he was hallucinating. Seeing the respected master and the young man step into the defensive array, he hurriedly followed.

Submission!

All the beasts could sense the terror emanating from that dark red spiritual force—absolute submission.

“Boss.”

Amidst the silence, a weak voice rang out with startling clarity.

Su Li turned toward the sound. From the southeast, an extremely familiar eighth-rank ice ape was dragging itself her way, battered and stumbling. She couldn’t help but be surprised.

Why was it here? Shouldn’t it be in Youzhou, staying by its master’s side?

She patted Feng Xi’s head, signaling it to fly over.

The ice ape was covered in wounds, one leg lame, three or four deep claw marks gouged across its back, fur almost completely gone. After narrowly escaping death, it broke down at the sight of familiar beasts, tears streaming down its face as it opened its mouth to speak.

“Tsk! You’re really down on your luck,” an untimely voice interjected.

The ice ape felt a lump in its chest, its expression stiffening as it hesitantly looked at the orange-furred beast. “Feng, Feng Xi?”

Last time they parted, Feng Xi’s cultivation had only just entered the Bone Tempering stage. In just over a month, his strength had soared, now with a foot already in the Core Formation realm. Meanwhile, the ice ape had made no progress, the gap only widening.

The thought weighed heavily on its heart.

Noticing its dejection, Feng Xi immediately put on the air of a caring big brother and comforted, “Even though you’re pretty weak, you’re still lucky to have met us.” With that, he felt like the kindest beast in the world.

The ice ape wanted to hit him.

Thanks, but there’s no need to remind it how weak it was.

Though angered, it stood no chance in a fight, so the resentment could only fester inside.

Su Li lightly patted the silly bird’s head, a touch of reproach and helplessness in her gesture. The youngest was too blunt—call it naively honest, but really, it was just low emotional intelligence. She glanced at the ice ape and asked, “Why are you here? Where’s your master? What happened after we parted?”

Bombarded by her barrage of questions, the ice ape snapped back to its senses. It answered anxiously, “I don’t know where my master is, but our contract is still intact, so he’s still alive.”

A beast and its tamer could sense each other’s location through the contract. If they couldn’t, there were only two possibilities: the distance was too great, or the master was trapped within some energy field, cut off from the outside world.

Either way, Shen Fan’s prospects were grim.

It wasn’t that Su Li underestimated Shen Fan. Tamers relied on their beasts in battle—without them, they were practically defenseless, unable to protect themselves.

That was precisely why she’d forced Ah Hua to contract with Shen Luo.

With that in mind, Su Li pressed, “Why are you all showing up here?”

The ice ape’s expression shifted suddenly, as if recalling something terrifying. It trembled, swallowing hard as it replied, “Not long after you left, someone very powerful appeared. None of us could defeat him. My master tried to escape with me, but we ran into a group of masked people dressed strangely. My master said they were demonic cultivators. After that… it’s all a blur.”

A chill ran through Su Li. Suddenly, she remembered the story of the Shen clan’s massacre in the comics—a sense of foreboding crept in. She asked, “What did that powerful person look like?”

The ice ape hesitated for a long time, then answered gravely, “Ugly—does that count?”

Su Li: …

“How ugly?” Feng Xi interjected with interest, “Uglier than Brother Yu Jiao?”

With his keen hearing, Lan Yu Jiao: …

There’s a difference between ordinary and ugly! Forget it, why argue with a beast who hasn’t even grown all its fur yet.

Bang! Bang!

The two young beasts were suddenly slammed to the ground by a heavy paw, their heads smashing craters into the earth.

So, so brutal!

Silence fell instantly.

Not a single beast dared to breathe.

Witnessing the scene, Lan Yu Jiao was deeply moved. Though the boss always bullied his underlings, in crucial moments, he always had their backs. He’d never admired or acknowledged anyone in his life—his boss was the only one.

Realizing this, his gaze grew fervent, making his plain features seem almost radiant.

Su Li shot him a light glance, offering no explanation. Suddenly, she moved—launching herself from the ground and into the arms of the young man.

The force nearly knocked him over, but Shen Luo quickly tightened his embrace, steadying her. Looking down, he saw the beast’s round, dark red cat eyes gazing innocently up at him, little paws pressed to his chest, tail flicking as if nothing had happened.

A soft laugh escaped him, and he indulgently rubbed her head. Then, lifting his gaze to the battered ice ape ahead, his smile faded and his expression grew cold. When he finally approached the beast, his face was grim.

“How are you here? Where’s Shen Fan? What happened?” Shen Luo’s voice was unexpectedly calm.

The ice ape, again bombarded with similar questions, felt dizzy.

Su Li’s cheeks flushed for no reason—she hadn’t expected them to be so in sync. Curling up in the young man’s arms, she lifted her chin at the ice ape, signaling it to speak.

Without the slightest hesitation, the ice ape hurriedly repeated what it had said before.

As Lan Yu Jiao relayed the message, the young man’s breathing quickened and his lips pressed into a tight line.

The Sacred Whip of the Soaring Serpent, a mysterious expert, demonic cultivators… Piecing together the clues, he was more convinced than ever that this was a plot targeting the Shen clan. But for now, it was only a suspicion. The urgent task was to find Shen Fan and learn the truth.

After a brief silence, Shen Luo turned and asked Jiang Tong, “Where are the ‘afflicted’ cultivators being kept?”

Jiang Tong, always adept at reading people, had long realized this was no ordinary youth. He answered with utmost respect, not daring to conceal anything, “They’re being held in… the dungeon.”

‘Isolated’ sounded nice, but the reality was they were imprisoned.

A single cold glance from the young man felt like a serpent slithering down his spine; Jiang Tong’s heart turned to ice. He hurriedly explained, “The afflicted cultivators are gradually turning into mad beasts!”