Chapter 107 - 95: Sacrifice to the Goddess of Nature and Hunting

Chapter 107: Chapter 95: Sacrifice to the Goddess of Nature and Hunting

The Celestial Tiger Demon Fire was an extremely special type of Rare Material, although it was more fitting to call it a fire seed.

Only the Flame of the Celestial Tiger Demon Fire could fuse all the materials Fang Xiu needed onto Kajimi.

Only then would Kajimi have a chance to advance to Tier Two.

So, obtaining this last component, the Celestial Tiger Demon Fire, was a must.

"Master, it seems like there’s something going on over there."

While they were Flying toward the location of the Celestial Tiger Demon Fire marked on the map, Kajimi suddenly spoke to Fang Xiu.

"What is it?"

Fang Xiu glanced toward the ground but couldn’t see anything clearly.

"Hmm? I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I can feel a pack of Demon Beasts running at high speed."

Kajimi said after a moment’s thought.

"A pack of Demon Beasts? You mean a stampede?"

Fang Xiu frowned slightly.

They were near the territory of the Celestial Tiger Demon Beast.

If a stampede of Demon Beasts really appeared, it would be a huge hassle.

"Perhaps, but I get the feeling they’re..."

Kajimi hesitated before adding, "It feels like they’re fleeing for their lives."

"Fleeing for their lives?"

Fang Xiu was suddenly intrigued.

There are only two reasons a Demon Beast would flee for its life: one, it has encountered a mortal threat, and two... it has encountered a mortal threat.

That’s right. Demon Beasts only run when they encounter mortal danger.

And in this case, it wasn’t just one or two Demon Beasts fleeing, but an entire pack.

The only things that could make an entire pack of Demon Beasts flee were either a much more powerful Demon Beast or a natural disaster.

But now, the sky was clear and the breeze was gentle—it certainly didn’t look like a natural disaster was brewing.

That left only one possibility.

"Kajimi, let’s go down and take a look."

If there was a more powerful Demon Beast, Fang Xiu naturally wanted to go have a look and see what it was.

’If it’s an Elite Monster, I’ll just take it down!’

"Yes, Master!"

Kajimi responded and flew directly toward the direction of the Demon Beast stampede below.

Soon, after passing through the dense forest, Fang Xiu finally saw the pack of Demon Beasts Kajimi had mentioned.

’These are all Level 20 Demon Beasts. The ones behind them are probably Level 25 or 30, and there might even be a Level 20 Elite Monster!’

Fang Xiu felt a little disappointed as he watched the fleeing Demon Beasts.

A Level 20 Elite Monster was simply too Low Level for him now.

After all, he’d even killed a Level 30 Elite Monster before.

"Kajimi, let’s see what kind of Demon Beast is up ahead!"

Fang Xiu said. ’Even if it’s just a Level 20 Elite Monster, every little bit helps!’

’Since we’ve already run into it, we might as well take it down!’

"Yes, Master!"

Kajimi nodded slightly.

She picked up speed.

With the Bone Whip Equipment, Kajimi’s Flying speed had increased considerably.

Before, she was a visible streak of red light; now, she was completely invisible to the naked eye.

Before long, they had reached the rear of the fleeing pack of Demon Beasts.

"ROAR!!!"

A roar echoed from deep within the forest.

Fang Xiu couldn’t make out what kind of Demon Beast was inside.

But when the roar sounded...

Fang Xiu could see the surrounding Demon Beasts, already fleeing at top speed, tremble.

Then they fled even faster.

"What’s going on with these Demon Beasts?"

Watching the Demon Beasts’ reactions only made Fang Xiu more curious.

"It must be bloodline suppression!"

Kajimi said suddenly.

"Bloodline suppression?"

’I hadn’t thought of that.’

"Mhm. It’s also called bloodline dominance. It happens between Demon Beasts of the same species. The one with a stronger bloodline suppresses the one with a Low Level bloodline!"

Kajimi explained with a nod.

Fang Xiu nodded slightly. "Then the two Demon Beasts should share the same bloodline. But the ones fleeing are a motley crew! Besides, creatures of the same bloodline rarely kill each other!"

Fang Xiu was well aware of this.

But the Demon Beasts before him were clearly not all the same species.

If it were bloodline suppression, any conflict would be limited to a single species of Demon Beast!

"I don’t know!"

Kajimi shook her head.

She picked up speed again, zipping toward the source of the Demon Beast’s cry.

Soon, Fang Xiu finally laid eyes on the Demon Beast responsible for the roar.

"What the... is that thing?"

Fang Xiu stared at the Demon Beast before him.

He finally understood why all those Demon Beasts had fled.

The Demon Beast before him had three heads.

And each head belonged to a different species.

One was an ox’s head, one was a tiger’s, and the last looked like a wolf’s head, but with a single horn.

Most importantly, the Demon Beast’s body was that of a snake.

In other words, from what Fang Xiu could see, this Demon Beast was a hybrid of at least Four different Demon Beasts.

In short...

"What the hell, is this thing a mutt?"

Fang Xiu blurted out.

The Demon Beast looked like a total mutt. No wonder the other Demon Beasts had all fled.

The roar had come from the tiger head in the center.

’Don’t tell me this thing possesses the bloodlines of all those different Demon Beasts?’

Fang Xiu suddenly recalled that the other Demon Beasts had fled due to bloodline suppression.

’Does that mean this Demon Beast possesses the bloodline power of all those creatures at once?’

’Otherwise, how could it have scared away so many Demon Beasts with a single roar?’

It wasn’t just that it scared them off—they were trembling in fear.

That could only be achieved through bloodline suppression.

When he thought about how this... mutt... possessed the bloodlines of no fewer than Four Demon Beasts, Fang Xiu couldn’t help but feel sorry for its mother.

"Kajimi, can you tell what kind of Demon Beast this is?"

Fang Xiu looked at the Demon Beast.

The display read...

[???: Mutt!]

Clearly, no such Demon Beast had ever been recorded.

"I don’t know!"

Kajimi studied it for a moment and shook her head.

"Then the only thing to do is... huh?"

Just as Fang Xiu was about to have Kajimi kill it and see what it might drop...

The system, which hadn’t appeared in a long time, suddenly chimed in.

[Ding! Bizarre hybrid Demon Beast detected. This can be Sacrificed to the Goddess of Nature and Hunting, Artemis. She is currently researching how to fuse the powers of two different Demon Beasts. If Sacrificed now for her research, you will receive a reward!]

’This thing... can actually be Sacrificed to a goddess?’

Fang Xiu hadn’t expected this at all.

This bizarre-looking hybrid could actually be Sacrificed.

Although he didn’t know what he would get from the Sacrifice...

But Fang Xiu knew that the reward for the Sacrifice would undoubtedly be far better than anything he’d get from simply killing the hybrid Demon Beast.

’Then I’ll just Sacrifice it!’

Fang Xiu didn’t hesitate at all.

His Skill could forcibly Sacrifice a target, whether the target consented or not.

Activating his Sacrifice Skill was only affected by two factors.

The first was whether the target of the Sacrifice was something the Deities genuinely desired—something that would bring a reward, not a punishment.

The second was whether Fang Xiu himself had enough Spiritual Power to perform the Sacrifice.

The amount of Spiritual Power required for a Sacrifice depended on the target being Sacrificed.

If the target Fang Xiu currently wanted to Sacrifice required an enormous amount of Spiritual Power...

...and Fang Xiu’s Spiritual Power was insufficient, then the Sacrifice would fail.

The Demon Beast before him was probably only around Level 20.

For Fang Xiu, that was a target he could definitely Sacrifice.

"O great Goddess of Nature and Hunting, I now Sacrifice this hybrid to you. May it prove useful in your research!"

Since he could perform the Sacrifice...

Fang Xiu didn’t hesitate, immediately using his Sacrifice Skill.

Instantly, a white light enveloped the hybrid Demon Beast.

"ROAR!!"

"MOO!!!"

"AWOOO!!!!"

All three heads roared in unison.

The sound was deafening.

The hybrid Demon Beast was still struggling violently.

Just then, Fang Xiu felt his Spiritual Power almost completely drain away in an instant.

This was the first time such a thing had happened in all the Sacrifices Fang Xiu had performed.

"Master!"

Seeing Fang Xiu’s pale face, Kajimi rushed to his side in concern.

"I’m... I’m fine!"

Fang Xiu shook his head.

’This Demon Beast really is powerful.’

Fang Xiu hadn’t even used this much Spiritual Power when he Sacrificed Lu Yu’Er.

He pulled out a Spiritual Power Recovery Potion and drank it down.

He managed to recover a bit of his Spiritual Power.

’I wonder what I’ll get for Sacrificing this Demon Beast. I hope it’s not too disappointing!’

He watched the hybrid Demon Beast, which, despite its struggles, was steadily being consumed by the light.

At last, Fang Xiu let out a sigh of relief.

’Looks like I’ll have to assess my targets more carefully before I try to Sacrifice them in the future.’

Otherwise, if something like this happened again, he might find his Spiritual Power insufficient at a critical moment.

If the target of the Sacrifice failed to reach the Deities...

...Fang Xiu truly had no idea what the consequences would be.

There certainly wouldn’t be a reward.

As for the punishment... what were the consequences for a Sacrifice failing due to a lack of Spiritual Power? Probably no Sacrificial Master had ever dared to find out.

As the light grew ever brighter, the Demon Beast’s body stopped struggling.

Only its furious roars still echoed in Fang Xiu’s ears.

This wasn’t a sign of weakness from the Goddess of Nature and Hunting, but rather a result of Fang Xiu’s insufficient Spiritual Power.

If his Spiritual Power had been strong enough, he could have Sacrificed the hybrid Demon Beast in an instant.

And none of this would have happened.

’I hope nothing goes wrong!’

Fang Xiu prayed inwardly.

If the Sacrifice failed in the end because of insufficient Spiritual Power...

...Fang Xiu would really be spitting blood.

Fortunately, the Demon Beast had stopped struggling, and its roars were growing fainter.

As the light completely enveloped the Demon Beast...

...the roaring finally ceased.

"Phew!"

Only now did Fang Xiu truly breathe a sigh of relief.

This meant the Sacrifice was a success.

Now, all he had to do was wait for the reward from the Goddess of Nature and Hunting to arrive.

The wait was not long.

Just a dozen seconds later, as the light faded...

...the reward from the Goddess of Nature and Hunting appeared right where the hybrid Demon Beast had vanished!

Waiting for Fang Xiu to collect it!