Mu Hao and Fang Xieren looked at each other and sighed inwardly. None of them had thought the situation would devolve to this extent.

When the treasure's appearance caused an upheaval, everyone was excited. But their enthusiasm died when Chen Ning announced he wanted to gift the treasure to the Ming Dynasty. Once the name of the Ming Dynasty was brought up, everyone's competitive spirit could only be buried.

Since they couldn't compete for the treasure, Mu Xuefeng decided to use this as an opportunity to further strengthen their relationship with Chen Ning. As a result, Mu Hao had to exit his retirement. When Fang Wuying knew this, he also asked their ancestor for help. The Liu Clan, Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and Purple Clouds Manor weren't as enthusiastic and withdrew completely.

Unfortunately, despite searching high and low for the treasure, they hadn't even seen it. Instead they ran into a beast lord which was loitering around. Chen Ning concluded the beast lord had swallowed the treasure, which was why they couldn't sense it. When they confronted the beast, it became hostile and its anger drove the beasts in the region into madness resulting in the beast tide. Their search for treasure had instead invited a catastrophe for the city.

"Brother Hao," Fang Xieren said, "let's do it."

"After you, Brother Xieren." Mu Hao said. At this point, all they could do was help Chen Ning kill the beast lord. Once the beast was dead, the tide would dissipate on its own.

Fang Xieren and Mu Hao no longer spoke and flanked the beast on its sides. Chen Ning had fluttered further away from them. But even from a distance, they could feel the power he had started accumulating.

The beast lord sensed something was wrong. It tried to run deeper into the forest but was blocked by Fang Xieren. Fang Xieren waved his hand, and a dozen tiny paper dolls flew from his sleeve. As they flew, their size grew and they turned into shapes similar to monster beasts, blocking the beast lord's path. The beast lord was incensed seeing how Fang Xieren mimicked its race. It roared and swung it's claw. A giant shade of a claw appeared in the sky and swiped at the monster dolls.

The dolls were strong even though they were made of paper, but they couldn't withstand the beast lord's strike. The strike disintegrated the dolls into pieces. They floated listlessly in the air as the beast lord took the opportunity to escape. It ignored the debris floating about as it cut through heading deeper into the forest.

"Hah! Got you!" Fang Xieren instead smiled at the destruction of his dolls. Once the beast was at the center of the debris, Fang Xieren waved his hand again. The pieces of paper that had been floating kicked into action and flashed towards the beast lord.

"Roar!" The beast lord howled once it knew it had been tricked. But before it could make any moves, thousands of pieces of paper clung to its body like magnets. The beast lord roared and shook it body crazily, trying to get rid of the pieces of paper, but they continued to stick to it. More and more pieces covered it. Even it's roar was muffled, as its mouth was also covered and its appearance resembled that of the monster dolls that it had just destroyed. The mummified monster beast struggled and lost its ability to fly and fell crashing into the forest below.

"Brother Hao!" Fang Xieren shouted. "I can't hold it too long."

Mu Hao nodded. He was already prepared. A tiny pagoda was floating above his head.
 
"Evil spawn, stay down!" Mu Hao shouted. Along with his cry, the pagoda above his head flew rapidly in the direction of the fallen beast. It grew in size and before it reached the ground and became the size of a large building. With a loud crash, the pagoda hit the struggling figure of the beast lord driving it into the ground. Several of the nearby trees couldn't withstand the impact and also fell.

Dirt and leaves floated in the air. When the falling trees stopped rolling, the forest became quiet again. Only Mu Hao's pagoda stood as the odd one out, like an abandoned temple in the wilderness.

"Brother Hao, that was very well timed." Fang Xieren came next to Mu Hao. "Is it dead?"

"Doubt it." Mu Hao said, his face slightly pale. Although the attack looked simple, it had left him exhausted. "But it must be injured at least. I've suppressed it under the pagoda. It shouldn't be able to make any moves for now."

"Mu Family's treasure is really fierce!" Fang Xieren exclaimed. "It can take out a beast lord in just a strike."

"Haha! It's all thanks to the opportunity that Brother Xieren created. I can barely control the pagoda." Mu Hao said modestly. "I can't help but applaud Brother Xieren. Willing to lose the dolls you renfined and cultivated for several years just to create an opening―I could never do that."

"You overpraise me, Brother Hao. If my treasure was the level of your pagoda, even I would hesitate to sacrifice it." Fang Xieren said eyeing the pagoda with envy. "Can you really not sell the pagoda to me?"

"Cough! Brother Xieren, your Fang Family isn't short of treasures." Mu Hao said. "Please stop eyeing this poor old man's possessions."

"Brother Hao, I will pay twice the amount that I offered." Fang Xieren began to bargain. But Mu Hao shook his head.

 "Thrice!"

"..."

"Four times!"

"..."

"I will even add Fang Family's puppet cultivation technique."

"Brother Xieren, please stop joking. The pagoda is heirloom item of Mu Family―I cannot sell it." Mu Hao could only smile politely at Fang Xieren's offer.

"Ai! This trip has been a loss," Fang Xieren sighed. "Lets hope Brother Chen keeps up his words or―"

"Where is the beast?" A loud sound interrupted Fang Xieren and Mu Hao's conversation. Both of them looked up towards Chen Ning who had come back.

"Is...that?" Fang Xieren looked at Chen Ning. Seven glowing stars floated behind Chen Ning's back arranged in a peculiar formation. Every star gave off a powerful and dangerous vibe, whose intensity was no less than the strongest attack they could muster.

"It's the legendary Ming Dynasty's Heavenly Dipper Star Formation." Mu Hao said, his face serious. Even he didn't have the confidence to face the current Chen Ning.

"Where is the beast?" Chen Ning asked again, his face full of pride. He had noticed the shocked faces of Fang Xieren and Mu Haoa and felt pleased at their reaction. "Is it under that pagoda?"

"Cough!" Fang Xieren cleared his throat. "Brother Ning, we have been waiting for your arrival."

"If Brother Ning is ready, I can release the suppression." Mu Hao said.

"Do it!" Chen Ning said. His entire figure radiated confidence. "Although I only recently received the qualification to learn this technique―it's enough to kill this beast lord."

"Since Brother Ning is confident…." Fang Xieren looked at Mu Hao.

"Everyone, get ready. I am removing the suppression...on count of three...two…" Mu Hao said. He and Feng Xiren distanced themselves from Chen Ning to give him space for attack.

"...one!"

The pagoda vibrated and rapidly shrank in size, revealing a huge crater behind. It flew back towards Mu Hao, who collected it. But as soon as the pagoda shrank, a bloodied figure flashed by.

"Hmph!" Chen Ning sneered. The stars behind him revolved and lined up, forming an image of a spear. The spear rapidly shot in the direction of the beast. The beast lord realized the incoming threat and tried to dodge by by moving in a zigzag pattern. But the spear followed close behind the beast lord as if it was attached by a string. The beast lord and the spear chasing it disappeared into the forest.

"Brother Ning! The beast is escaping!" Fang Xieren and Mu Hao exclaimed.

"Don't worry!" Chen Ning said, "No one can escape the lock of the technique." In his eyes, the injured beast was as good as dead.

Sure enough, a while later a pitiful wail of the beast lord reached their ears.

"Let's go! We need to find its corpse before some other beast gets to it." Chen Ning said, his breath out of order. But he was too excited with the prospect of the treasure and darted in the direction of the beast lord.

"Brother Ning, wait for us!" Mu Hao and Fang Xieren shouted as they too chased after Chen Ning.

"Where's the body?" When he arrived at the location, Chen Ning saw a deep groove in the ground. It was the spot where his spear should have penetrated through the beast lord and pinned it to the ground. But the beast's corpse was missing. Only a small puddle of dark blood was accumulated at the bottom of the groove.

"Damn! Did some other beast get it?" Chen Ning looked around in agitation. There should not have been any beasts in the area. "How could some beast get hold of the body in such a short time?" Chen Ning stomped his foot in anger and disappointment. All of his effort had been useless.

"No. It's impossible for some other beast to steal the body…" Chen Ning thought after he calmed down a bit. Any existing beasts had already been chased out of the forest as a part of the tide. And while they were fighting, other beasts wouldn't have dared to intrude in the zone.

"Unless―" Chen Ning's eyes widened in shock as he thought of another possibility. He didn't think of it at first, because he found it absurd. When he realized his mistake, Chen Ning became alert. However―

"Die! You human scum!"

"Aaargh!" Chen Ning screamed, as pain erupted from his stomach. He dodged at the first sign of trouble, but he was still late. Four claws slashed through his abdomen, slicing through his robes, armor and his stomach. Chen Ning stumbled backwards doing his best to prevent his entrails from spilling all the while as blood spurted like a waterfall.

Following the attack, the huge body of the beast lord shimmered into existence. It's body was still bloodied, and a long gash had appeared on its side. Blood dripped like saliva from its mouth. But despite its grave injuries, it hadn't died. Instead, it had managed to launch a counterattack.

"Damn you, beast!" Chen Ning cursed. The attack was not just physical, it was filled with monster qi, that exploded into his body disrupting the circulation of his spiritual qi.

The beast lord growled in reply, ready to pounce on Chen Ning, but then stopped. It turned back and ran away deeper into the forest and quickly disappeared.

"Brother Ning!" Mu Hao and Fang Xieren had arrived. Both of them were stunned to see Chen Ning's critical condition.

"T-this? How did this happen?" Fang Xieren asked, looking around while Mu Hao went to check on Chen Ning's condition.

"That beast lord…" Chen Ning gasped as he took out a medicinal pill and swallowed it. "It―it sneak attacked me."

"What? That beast lord is still alive?" Fang Xieren and Mu Hao were shocked.

"I didn't think that beast would be so crafty." Chen Ning said as blood once again returned to his face. The bleeding  had stopped and the wound closed, but the scars were still visible. "It was completely invisible. I didn't even sense it's presence before it attacked me."

"Brother Ning," Fang Xieren said. "You were careless."

"The forest is the monster beasts's home, after all." Mu Hao sighed.

"Cough!" Chen Ning's face turned red with embarrassment, but he didn't argue.

"How are your injuries?" Mu Hao asked.

"The monster qi has invaded my dantian." Chen Ning said. "I need a secluded place to recuperate."

"It's not an issue." Mu Hao said. "You can use my private cultivation room."

"Thank you, Brother Hao." Chen Ning said, cupping his hands.

"You are already a guest at Mu Family." Mu Hao waved his hand. "No need to be so polite."

"What about the beast lord? Did it escape with the treasure?" Fang Xieren asked.

"It ran away." Chen Ning pointed in the direction where the beast lord had run into.

Fang Xieren hesitated for a bit and shook his head. "Forget it. Let's leave the forest first before any more accidents happen."

"Since the beast lord ran away, the beast tide must ebb soon. I only hope the little rascals of the family didn't get all eaten." Mu Hao muttered. "I am too old to start watering the branches of the family again."

Mu Hao and Fang Xieren helped Chen Ning stand up and carried him as they flew in the air.