26. Mutant

Meixiang's group arrived at the eye of the forest only in the span of two days. This speed was explained because of the presence of their amazing mount, Shi Jinhai. Because they stayed in the same place in that two weeks, Meixiang decided to asked for her Uncle Shi Jinhai's help.

They will travel by their own in daytime. Once the darkness enveloped the whole forest, they will eat at an open space and mount the majestic back of the patriarch of the Three Eyed Golden Eagle clan. This set up is with a reason of hiding Shi Jinhai's eye catching beast form.

Once they set up their camp, each of them do their own things as Meixiang's instruction.

Ping Lei started refining their scepters.

Tian Ling read prescriptions of level three heavenly doctors.

Uncle Tian improves his speed by roaming outside the forest after his cultivation.

Tian Feng cultivate and improves his physical strength by having a combat with his combat partner set as a martial artist. Sometimes he'll join his father or Bai Zihan roaming outside the camp.

Ping Chunhua mostly stay and cultivates.

Bai Zihan aside from cultivation, he improves his archery skill. He will combat using bow and arrow or his newly practiced sword technique by having a combat with his puppet or hunting beasts.

Old Leng study the properties of the resources Meixiang brought and use it to improve his project.

Auntie Tian do different delicacies and cook meals usually the spiritual beasts the others hunted.

Xian Ji cultivates and read the books Meixiang gave him.

After a week, the traumatize Little Little was set free from the claws of HuaHua's group. Starting that  day, he never leaves Xian Ji's side and will always help him in everything.

Meixiang on the other hand, she cultivate inside the sacred book and refine weapons for her companions. When bored, she'll roam outside the forest to hunt warlocks sometimes she'll bring a companion to observe them.

Today, after their breakfast, she brought Tian Feng and Ping Chunhua this time to wander the north part of the forest.

The two will kill spiritual beasts while Meixiang is observing on the sideline. Six hours had passed and the two are already tired physically.

Meixiang notice this and allow their three person group to stop by and have a rest. While having a rest, Meixiang is saying what she observed on their journey,

"Brother Feng's physical condition improved a lot. Your stamina and reflex got better. Brother Chun is also good. Your response to your sorrounding is outstanding. Your physical condition is not questionable. The both of you are wise. Both of you have your reserves. Both of you use your brains and know when and how to attack. Both of you are strong independently. Too independent that you almost forget you have one another. A while ago, you know that Gloom Kin Hummingbird is with a great gap of cultivation compared to the individuality of the both of you. You only think to cooperate after one of you almost got injured. In a battle, you have to know to use the available resources. You have the both of you. Use one another. Cooperate. You already knew one another's ability and capacity, you have to use that. See how you easily defeated the warlock in using the water and thunder element to monopolize the space around to attack it without the concern of it's speed?"

The both are silent and both nodded saying they understand Meixiang's words.

"Remember one of our goal here, it is to contract our beasts. You have to know to cooperate with your subordinates and soon to be beast partners."

Tian Feng and Ping Chunhua nodded obediently.

"After twenty minutes, we'll go back to the camp. Recuperate here first." Meixiang then left while the two didn't waste time and sat in a lotus position to cultivate.

Meixiang wander around and hunt the nearby beasts. In a short span of fifteen minutes, she harvested three beast cores. She was about to go back where she left Tian Feng and Ping Chunhua when the noise she heard long ago approach her direction.

A scream of a girl was heard. When she saw the faces of the people running towards her direction, she can't help but raise her left eyebrow. When she saw a cackle of Aard Spotted Hyena chasing these people, Meixiang's eyes brighten. This clan of hyena is with only sixth grade as the highest but there is something more about this cackle. Aard Spotted Hyena are born as fourth grade with dark magic attribute. This means these are piles of dark magic beast cores! Not only that, the leader of this hyenas is not an Aard Spotted Hyena but an Aard Striped Hyena. This leader is only on her sixth rank cultivation but it is not an ordinary aard striped hyena but a mutated one! It means not only a dark magic attribute but with another element attribute.

When the group of people saw Meixiang, the girl in front runs toward her and shouted, "Help! Help!" when she recognize Meixiang, she run towards her faster and said, "You're that girl! Yes you're that girl! Where are your companions? Help us. Where are they? Please help us."

This girl in disheveled appearance is called Yin Weiyan. It is the young lady joined by her younger sister Yin Daiyu and a mercenery group from central lead by the man they called Uncle Min, this group are met by Meixiang's group on their first night inside the White Forest. They are remarkable to Meixiang because of the hidden discord between the two sisters.

When Uncle Min saw this scene, he pulled Yin Weiyan and said, "Sorry for putting your life into danger. This old man will take the responsibility." he look at his subordinates and said, "We can no longer run. It's we kill them or we'll be killed by them."

Uncle Min's subordinate put out their weapons and scepters. They firstly encounter the aard striped hyena, a mere six grade warlock is not a problem to them. Uncle min with the highest cultivation among them is an eight grade beginning level magician. They firstly wanted to kill it for it's beast core because of the high price of a dark magic beast cores. But when they found out it is a mutated aard striped hyena with dark and earth attribute, Yin Weiyan wanted it alive and to contract it. Instead of killing it directly, they then plan to subdue it but before they succeeded, it escaped and even came back with a clan of aard spotted hyena.

They then found out the mutated aard striped hyena is part of a clan, not only a member but a leader of a clan with twenty and counting members of a dark attribute aard spotted hyenas! Their only choice was to run until they encounter an aid but unfortunately they met the local tyrant but weak little girl they encounter before. Unluckily to them, this weak little girl seems wandering around and lost a contact with her subordinates!

They can only swallow their frustration and pull their weapons and scepters.

The strongest among them is Uncle Min with eighth grade beginning level wind attribute. Two more magicians, sixth stage middle level water attribute and fifth stage peak level fire attribute. Four martial artists, two fifth stage middle level, one fifth stage peak level, and lastly sixth stage beginning level.

The two young ladies with them are both on their fourth stage beginning level also both earth attribute. They can help them or atleast protect themselves. But this local tyrant young miss they encounter for the second time around, she not just can't contribute to them but also would hold them back!

Meixiang didn't mind what others think.

The group of men are gripping their weapons and scepters tightly while the aard spotted hyenas are sorrounding their team, Meixiang's eyes are brightly shining towards the leader of these hyenas. The leader notice Meixiang's gaze and return it with a glare. She somehow irritated with Meixiang's stare. One of the aard spotted hyena notice this, he directly attack Meixiang with two small ball of dark magic flew towards Meixiang's eyes.

Meixiang didn't counterattack nor avoid the attack, she openly accepted it. Everyone although anxious with their situation, they are still aware with what's happening. They openly stare at Meixiang receiving the attack.

They goggle at the situation full of disbelief when Meixiang accepted the attack and nothing happened to her.

The leader of the aard spotted hyena frown. She didn't panic and think deeper of the possibilities. A glimpse of interest appeared on her eyes.

Meixiang smiled.

Light magic and dark magic are two contradicting magic that can never be together. They represent creation and destruction. Whatever light magic creates, dark magic can destroy vis versa. But dark magician himself can't be healed by a light magic and so with light magician can never be destructed by a dark magic.

The aard striped hyena concluded Meixiang is a light magician. She then gave her order to kill the others.

The battle against Uncle Min's group and the Aard Spotted Hyenas started. The leader only watch from the sideline while Meixiang stand still, smiling at the battle happening.

This is to make her harvest easily right?

Not long after, Uncle Min's subordinates died leaving only Uncle Min and the two young ladies no better than dead. On the Aard Spotted Hyena's side, because most of them are with low cultivation, only ten are left including their leader who didn't participate at the battle at all.

Meixiang on the other hand is still neat and clean like no battle occur on where she's standing just now.

"You! You have this ability but you didn't help! You are so heartless! Uncle Min is even promised to protect you with his own life!" Yin Weiyan shouted even she is in no better situation.

"Oh? Do you think this young lady is dumb like you?" Meixiang chuckled.

"You must be thinking in your entire journey, you are playing the role of manipulator, them as your puppets, and your sister as your victim. Do you think a mercenery survived in the central are dumb and didn't know how to read a person especially a young lady with a low level tricks like you?" Meixiang's lips raised with a mocking smile.

"Do you think you are using them to enter the central? A little girl with a great potential, you didn't think the possibility of them using you to strengthen their mercenery, are you?"

Indeed, central is full of geniuses. These geniuses will undoubtedly choose the best organization. Uncle Min's mercenery is only an E grade mercenery, although highly look up outside the central, they are look down by the geniuses who knew the overall view of the organizations in the central.

Uncle Min's mercenery have been long stuck in being a grade E mercenery, adding that there is no sign of great potential, it's been a long time they recruited a talented member. When they received this mission, they have this goal to woo the little girls to their mercenery. When they saw the discord of the two sisters, they play along and will choose who among them is with better potential.

Meixiang noticed this irregularity when this Uncle Min, the leader himself of their mercenery attend to this mission personally and even too patient and kind with these two young ladies. Meixiang find this desperation interesting and funny at the same time.

"Promise to protect me with his own life?" Meixiang chuckled and look at Uncle Min's disheveled appearance. "This young lady isn't dumb to believe in just mere words."

When one of the aard spotted hyena attacked Meixiang, she didn't act because of two reasons. One, she knew a dark magic can't harm a light magician. Second, she wanted to see if this Uncle Min is although pretentious is a man of his words.

Meixiang can only laugh of how this called Uncle Min said those words with a reason of wanting to recruit her subordinates to his mercenery and wanted to learn her, Meixiang's, identity.

"And one more thing, I don't need protection." a fire appeared on her palm and flew towards one of the hyena. It directly killed it with just one blow.

The aard striped hyena frown when she sees Meixiang is not only a light magician but also with a fire attribute magic.

The other aard spotted hyena attacked Meixiang with their dark magic but only to be failed. By only using her fire magic, she defeated almost every hyena alive leaving only two; the five grade hyena that attacked her a while ago and their leader, the aard striped hyena.

The fifth grade hyena is smart enough not to use her dark magic so he runs toward Meixiang and attack her physically. A pity, Meixiang is already a sixth grade beginning level martial artist. Before his claws reach Meixiang, Meixiang already moved using her bare hands, she harvested the aard spotted hyena's beast core.

A two men suddenly appeared at the scene and run towards Meixiang's side.

Ping Chunhua gave Meixiang a piece of cloth that she used to wipe the blood on her hands.

"The both of you are late. There is only one left. It's a sixth grade peak level warlock with both dark and earth magic. Defeat it but don't kill it."

The two nodded and face the aard striped hyena. Ping Chunhua and Tian Feng nodded to each other having a mutual understanding of how to attack the warlock.

Meixiang on the other hand wave her hand and a puppet from sacred book appeared. She ordered it to collect the beast cores from the dead bodies of the aard spotted hyenas while Meixiang sat calmly watching from the sideline how Ping Chunhua and Tian Feng subdue the mutant warlock.