Chapter 270: News of Death from the Southern Barbarian Land

Everyone was exhausted after the battle. Once the food was distributed, almost no one bothered to cook, opting to eat it raw instead.

This wasn’t an issue, however. Beastmen have hardy stomachs, so eating raw food was nothing to them.

This crude approach didn’t apply to Chu Liangyu’s group, however. As soon as the battle ended, Chi Yizhong and He Yushu immediately started a campfire.

“Female Master, see how you like the fish I grilled.”

He Yushu’s diet was no longer as monotonous as it once was, when he only ate grass carp. Still, when conditions allowed, he always chose his favorite food.

He had grilled a grass carp to a glistening gold, and it exuded the unique aroma of roasted fish. The sight alone was enough to whet one’s appetite.

He had also sprinkled the juice of some wild berries over it. As a result, it had none of the usual fishiness, but instead carried the sweet and sour fragrance of the fruit. Even the fattier parts of the fish weren’t greasy.

“There’s this, too.”

Before Chu Liangyu could even finish, Chi Yizhong offered her a roasted chicken, along with a waterskin.

Chu Liangyu managed to wave a hand. “Hold on, let me finish this first.”

“No rush. Take your time. Have a sip of water first.”

Chi Yizhong’s expression softened as he watched her eat. Seeing that her hands were full, he opened the waterskin for her before handing it over again.

“Okay.”

By the time they finished eating, the sky had already darkened. The group set up their tents and prepared to rest. Of course, a night watch was still essential.

The night was long, and relying on just a few people for the watch was out of the question. The leaders, Chi Yizhong included, had already made the necessary arrangements.

At this pace, the group continued toward the Beiyuan Salt Land. The journey was uneventful, and the progress bar for subjugating tribes slowly ticked upward.

Ten days later, just as they were about to reach their final destination, a message arrived. It was about the front lines in the Southern Barbarian Land.

“Female Master! Terrible news! Captain Yu and Leader Xiong… they’ve been killed!”

The messenger was He Yushu’s friend, Qu Jing. His face was pale, and his body was covered in injuries.

As one of the officers in charge of logistics on that front, he shouldn’t have been able to leave his post so easily. The fact that he was now standing before Chu Liangyu spoke volumes about the severity of the situation.

“Wait, brother, are you serious?” He Yushu asked in disbelief, steadying the staggering man.

It wasn’t just He Yushu; Chu Liangyu also found the news hard to believe. While those two might not have been as strong as some of her other Beast Husbands, they were by no means easy to kill.

Furthermore, their bloodlines had been tempered by Chu Liangyu’s Creation Power, allowing them to reach a state of atavistic regression.

‘The two of them are dead… what about Jinling? Did he die too?’

“Team Leader Jin isn’t dead, but he’s severely wounded. He’s leading the survivors in a retreat.”

Chu Liangyu’s gaze fell on his waist. She noticed the storage bag she had given him was missing. Frowning, she asked, “I thought I gave orders that a member of a flying race must be on hand for messages. Why did they send you? And where is the storage bag I gave you?”

“The one who killed the two leaders is overwhelmingly powerful. When she saw some of us trying to leave to deliver a message, she targeted them first. In the end, Team Leader Jin had to use all his strength just to ensure my escape.”

“I was worried they wouldn’t have any supplies, so I gave the storage bag with all the resources to Team Leader Jin before I left.”

After just a few sentences, Qu Jing’s face grew even paler, and his breathing weakened. Without a moment’s hesitation, Chu Liangyu took a Revitalizing Pill from her own storage bag and pushed it into his mouth.

Once the elixir was down, the color returned to his face, visible to the naked eye. However, the wounds on his body were still bleeding. Seeing this, Chu Liangyu quickly formed a hand seal and cast a healing Spell on him.

The combination was remarkably effective. He was now able to stand on his own, without He Yushu needing to support him.

“To be able to kill both Yu He and Xiong Xianhui… What do you know about this person?”

“She’s a Beastman from the Red Snake Clan. She only appeared in public recently. She’s always surrounded by handsome Beastmen—word is she has exactly twelve Beast Husbands, too.”

Qu Jing thought for a moment before adding, “According to our scouts, she was also subjugating nearby tribes before we arrived in the area.”

“But she’s different from our Xihe Tribe. After she subjugates a tribe, that female Beastman seeks out the most handsome males and makes them her Beast Husbands. She doesn’t even spare those who are already mated.”

‘A Snake Beastman…’ Chu Liangyu felt something was off as soon as she heard that. ‘Could this person be the Demon Cultivator Lou Sang mentioned?’

‘If that’s the case, then with Jinling’s looks, he’s probably in grave danger right now.’

‘But she was puzzled by one thing. Yu He and Xiong Xianhui were also quite handsome. Why were they killed instead of being added to her collection?’

“You said that female Beastman has a taste for handsome men. So why were those two…”

Chu Liangyu didn’t finish her sentence, but Qu Jing understood her meaning. A flicker of awkwardness crossed his face before he explained, “Because the moment that female Beastman saw them, she tried to take them by force. As leaders, they would never surrender, of course. They just never expected that even with the three of them fighting together, they still couldn’t defeat her.”

“Our forces were decimated. The sole surviving leader, Team Leader Jin, had no choice but to lead the others in a retreat.”

Chu Liangyu was now ninety percent certain that the woman was the Demon Cultivator. Otherwise, there was no way her two Beast Husbands could have been killed so easily.

“I understand. You rest here. I’m going to help them.”

As she spoke, Chu Liangyu sent a message to Lou Sang to confirm the situation while simultaneously tearing open a spatial tunnel that led directly to the Southern Barbarian Land.

Chu Liangyu emerged from the spatial tunnel onto a barren mountain in the Southern Barbarian Land. At the same moment, Lou Sang, having sensed her arrival, appeared at her side.

“Um, it’s not that I intentionally didn’t help. You know, with my status, I can’t easily interfere in these things. I only realized who she was when I saw that Snake Demon make her move.”

“But by then it was already too late, so…”

Having lost two of her Beast Husbands, Chu Liangyu was in no mood for excuses, but she also understood Lou Sang’s predicament. As a World Spirit, he couldn’t easily become stained with the blood of living creatures. Doing so would saddle him with a baleful aura, which would be detrimental to maintaining the Barrier.

“I know. Let’s not talk about that now. Dealing with that Demon Cultivator is what’s most important,” Chu Liangyu said, turning her head to look at him. After a moment of silence, she commanded, “Take me to her.”

“Oh, right.” Lou Sang was clearly a bit embarrassed. As he started to lead the way, he whispered, “But you don’t have to worry. I managed to retrieve both of their bodies for you. I’ve already buried them in a place with excellent feng shui.”