Chapter 101 Butterfly Effects

Thunder Mountain Range.

The Thunder Crowned Wolf crashed heavily to the ground, its mountain-like body raising a thick cloud of dust. With their Myriad Beast King dead, the surviving Lightning Wolves scattered in all directions. It would probably take a long time before the remaining wolf pack gathered together again.

The badly wounded Blood River Python opened its enormous mouth, and Lin Feng emerged from within before landing steadily on the ground. With a casual wave of his hand, the massive python rapidly shrank until it became a palm-sized blood-red snake and fell into his hand.

“Finally, I’ve subdued this Blood River Python. A Rank Five Gu really is a blessing in disguise.” Lin Feng examined the small snake with satisfaction, though he remained vigilant. “Still, I must be wary of the first-generation Gu Yue. If that old monster becomes desperate enough to personally come looking for his Blood River Python, things could become troublesome.”

After putting away the Blood River Python, Lin Feng looked over the battlefield. Lightning Wolf corpses were scattered everywhere, including the enormous body of the Thunder Crowned Wolf. Unwilling to waste such valuable materials, he released a semi-transparent Blood Toad Gu, which immediately began extracting blood from the corpses. Another Gu was released to gather their bones, while Soul Burial Frog was responsible for collecting their souls.

Being diligent and thrifty was always a virtue. Lin Feng’s actions naturally disturbed the surviving wild Gu worms within the Thunder Crowned Wolf’s corpse, causing several streaks of light to suddenly fly out and attempt to escape.

The Thunder Crowned Wolf had possessed six wild Gu in total: three Rank Four, two Rank Three, and one Rank Two. Three had been destroyed during its battle with the Blood River Python, leaving behind two Rank Four Gu and one Rank Three Gu.

“Trying to escape? How could I let you go?”

Lin Feng sneered as blood surged upward and split into three streams. Each stream rapidly formed a blood bubble around one of the fleeing Gu, trapping all three with remarkable precision. His control over Blood Path Gu was extremely refined.

The three blood bubbles descended into Lin Feng’s hand, firmly suppressing the wild Gu inside. However, he made no attempt to refine them immediately. They were Rank Four and Rank Three Gu, and unlike Fang Yuan, Lin Feng did not possess the Spring Autumn Cicada to suppress their wills. Refining them would still require some effort.

“As expected, it really was this Gu. No wonder the Blood River Python suffered such serious injuries.”

Lin Feng picked up one of the Rank Four Gu. It resembled a small purple maple leaf with delicate golden edges.

Rank Four Breath Concealment Gu!

Breath Concealment Gu allowed a Gu Master to hide their aura and cultivation, providing an extremely effective means of disguise. Even among Rank Four concealment Gu, its effect was quite remarkable.

This Gu had allowed the Thunder Crowned Wolf to suppress its powerful aura and disguise itself among the ordinary Lightning Wolves. When the Blood River Python entered its territory, the Thunder Crowned Wolf had used the opportunity to launch a sudden ambush, which was one of the main reasons the Rank Five Gu had suffered such severe injuries.

Lin Feng already possessed a Breath Concealment Gu, but his was only Rank Three. He had obtained it from a Ghost Leopard that died unexpectedly on Purple Nether Mountain. Now that he had acquired a Rank Four version directly, there was naturally no longer any need to search for its advancement recipe.

Just as Lin Feng was about to examine the remaining Gu, movement near the Thunder Crowned Wolf’s corpse caught his attention. A Lightning Wolf, frightened by the Soul Burial Frog, suddenly rushed out from beneath the enormous body and fled into the distance.

“Hmm? This is…” Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and examined the fleeing wolf more carefully. A moment later, he recognized it.

A variant beast, Cunning Lightning Wolf!

Although a Cunning Lightning Wolf could not compare with a Thunder Crowned Wolf in physical strength, its intelligence far surpassed that of an ordinary Frenzied Lightning Wolf. Because of this intelligence, the threat it posed could sometimes be even greater.

“Wait, no. It can’t be considered a true Cunning Lightning Wolf yet.” Lin Feng carefully observed the fleeing wolf. Its aura fluctuated wildly and had yet to stabilize. “It seems to have been an unusual Frenzied Lightning Wolf before and only started transforming recently.”

Normally, a wolf pack ruled by a Myriad Beast King would not tolerate another variant beast capable of threatening its position. Lin Feng glanced toward the corpse of the Thunder Crowned Wolf and quickly formed a guess. “Could its transformation have begun because the Thunder Crowned Wolf died?”

Similar situations occurred among insect swarms. After countless generations of reproduction, there was always a small possibility that an unusual individual would emerge and undergo a special transformation.

Most wild beasts depended upon their bloodlines for their innate abilities. The Green Wolves of Northern Plains, for example, possessed traces of the Desolate Beast Sky Wolf’s bloodline and could therefore fly through the air. However, bloodline was not the only way unusual beasts could appear. Ordinary wild beasts could occasionally give birth to variants, while members of an existing beast group could also undergo rare mutations under special circumstances.

“I didn’t expect to encounter a Cunning Lightning Wolf here. I wonder if this is the same one that eventually attacks Xiong Clan Village.” Lin Feng watched the fleeing wolf thoughtfully. “That would also explain why the Thunder Crowned Wolf suddenly made a mistake in commanding the pack. This fellow was probably already waiting for an opportunity to replace it.”

He soon put the matter aside. “Forget it. If I stay away any longer, Jia Fu might notice something strange. It’s time to return to Gu Yue Village.”

By the time Lin Feng returned, everything in Gu Yue Village remained strangely peaceful. The first-generation Gu Yue had not appeared again, which made Lin Feng somewhat suspicious. Perhaps the old monster was secretly preparing something, or perhaps he simply intended to remain hidden to avoid attracting the Tie Clan and other righteous forces while cultivating Blood Path.

When Lin Feng returned to Hundred Refinements Pavilion, he happened to pass Fang Yuan, who had come to collect his Gu. The young man held a green bamboo-paper umbrella above his head, his gaze calm and clear beneath the falling rain. The two merely passed each other without exchanging more than a few words.

So Fang Yuan really survived. In the end, only that unlucky Jia Jinsheng died.

Lin Feng stopped outside and looked back briefly. Did Fang Yuan somehow activate the Spring Autumn Cicada and experience another rebirth, or did the first-generation Gu Yue save him?

He shook his head and raised his face toward the cold rain. Even with the advantage of being a transmigrator who knew the original story, he still could not completely control how events developed in this world.

But perhaps that was what made things interesting. If everything always unfolded exactly as Lin Feng expected, he might eventually begin wondering whether he was merely a brain in a vat, dreaming up an entire world for his own amusement.

What Lin Feng could not have known was that the Blood Embryo Gu inside Jia Jinsheng’s aperture had fallen into the hands of the first-generation Gu Yue. That single unexpected event had already caused the old monster’s original plans to change dramatically, while the predetermined fate of Qing Mao Mountain was gradually being pushed in an entirely different direction.