With the idea of getting some bait, Lin Mu went towards the traps and checked them for any beasts that may have been caught in them. He checked all six traps and was able to find two Thorn-tailed rats. He killed them and stored them in the ring to be used as bait later on.
Lin Mu then changed his path and entered the deeper part of the forest. The forest seemed eerily silent today, and even the wind seemed to have stopped blowing. Lin Mu began his hunt for prey by first searching around clearings where some beasts lived.
He checked multiple clearings, but could not find anything near them. He then decided to check around the ponds in the area where the beasts came to drink water. He was able to find some small bird beasts, but they were not worth the effort to catch, so he left them.
Lin Mu had spent two hours searching for beasts but still could not find any. Coming to the conclusion that he may not be able to find them this way, he took out one of the Thorn-tailed rat corpses and slit its belly to spill its blood.
He spread the blood around, letting its scent spread, and dropped the corpse on the ground. Lin Mu then hid behind a large rock and waited for a beast to appear. He had to wait for an hour before he saw the beast appear.
The beast was a large ox with unnaturally long and sharp teeth. This was a Razor-maw Ox, a rather dangerous beast of the northern forest. It had large curved horns and its hooves were shiny as if made out of polished metal. Its blue and black patterned fur made it stand out very easily.
Lin Mu gulped his saliva upon seeing the beast. He knew that it would be a daunting task for him to hunt this beast. The Razor-maw Ox was the strongest beast he had tried hunting until now and was a high tier beast. It was stronger than the Steel-back wolves as well as the Yellow-tufted panther. Its strength was roughly equivalent to a 9th stage body tempering realm expert.
Even a 10th stage body tempering realm expert would find it nearly impossible to hunt it alone, so there was little chance Lin Mu could kill this beast. The charging attack of the beast was enough to split trees in half and its hooves could crush rocks.
Lin Mu wisely stayed silent and waited for the beast to eat the Thorn-tailed rat and leave. A few minutes later he could no longer hear any noises, so he peeked to take a look. Once he confirmed that the beast had left, he came out from behind the rock.
Lin Mu checked the direction the Razor-maw Ox had gone towards and went opposite to that, as he most definitely did not want to encounter it. He walked for a few minutes and found a good place that was good for ambushing an unsuspecting beast.
He once again slit the belly of a Thorn-tailed rat and let it bleed out on the ground. This time it did not take long for a beast to appear, after he had hidden behind a large tree. He peeked to take a look at the beast and found it to be a beast that resembled a coyote.
The beast largely resembled a normal coyote, except that it was pitch black and had bone spurs covering his body. They extended from the top of his head along the spine, all the way towards the end of its tail. Lin Mu did not know the name of this beast as this was the first time he had seen it.
He had never seen any hunter bring such a beast corpse to the town before.
'This could be a rare beast, and I can probably get quite a bit of money from selling its materials.' Thought Lin Mu.
Lin Mu waited for the beast to come closer to eat the Thorn-tailed rat. The position of Lin Mu was perpendicular to the beast, giving him the advantage to strike first before the beast could react. He wanted to use the boulder collapsing fist to kill the beast in a single strike.
Lin Mu waited for the wolf to come to the right position and entered the stance for the boulder collapsing fist. As soon as the beast was in the position, Lin Mu shot forward and executed the boulder collapsing fist, punching the beast on the side of its head.
The moment Lin Mu's fist connected to the beast's head, he could feel the intense recoil and pain travel along his hand. The beast's skull was tougher than the steel-back wolf and did not shatter. Lin Mu had expected to finish off the beast in one hit, but was surprised when he did not.
The beast let out a yelp filled with pain but did not die and was only dazed as it fell to the ground. Seeing that the beast was stunned, Lin Mu unsheathed the short sword and chopped at the beast's neck. The blade went through the flesh, only to be stopped by the beast's spine.
Lin Mu drew back the sword and jumped back. He waited for the beast to die before coming closer. Confirming that the beast was dead, Lin Mu stored it into the ring. He finally had something he could sell in the town tomorrow.
Lin Mu then went back to the hunting shack, as the sky would turn dark in an hour. He did not skin the beast as he did not know which materials could be used from the beast. Lin Mu intended to keep the beast whole and let the person who bought it, prepare it. He would sell all the materials and keep the meat for himself.
Lin Mu set some meat on the large stove outside the hunting shack to cook, while he continued his training. He practiced the boulder collapsing fist until the meat was done cooking. He then sat down to eat the meat. While eating he felt like someone was watching him, so he looked around for them. He did not find any person but found a small four-legged silhouette standing near a bush.
Lin Mu went closer to take a look, but the silhouette disappeared behind the bush when he came near it. After losing sight of the silhouette, Lin Mu went back to finish his dinner. After dinner, he continued his training until it was time for sleep.
While he was about to sleep he had a thought,
'Huh, the spatial rift hasn't opened today, is it not gonna appear today?' Thought Lin Mu with a slightly confused expression on his face.
He lied down on the bed and waited for the spatial rift to open. He must've waited for an hour before he eventually slipped into sleep, as it did not appear. Lin Mu appeared in the Sleepscape and continued his training. While he was training, he thought about the two unique beasts he had seen today.
'I don't think the Razor-maw Ox beasts live in that part of the forest. They are high-tier beasts and, from what I've heard from the hunters, they are found in the western part of the forest.' Thought Lin Mu.
'Even the coyote beast is something completely new that I've seen. I'm sure it's not native to this part of the forest either. Why are these beasts appearing in this part of the forest?' Lin Mu questioned himself.
Understanding that nothing would come out of pondering on these thoughts, Lin Mu pushed them to the back of his mind and continued his training. After a while, he suddenly felt a burst of pain in his head and then on his back.
'Why is pain suddenly arising in my body?' Was the last thought Lin Mu had before his consciousness disappeared from the Sleepscape and he woke up.
Lin Mu opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground, with his head stuck to the door of the hunting shack. His right hand was extended upward against the door and was currently being pulled towards it, but was being obstructed by the door.
It took a moment before Lin Mu understood the situation.
'The spatial rift! it opened while I was asleep.' Thought Lin Mu.
He struggled to open the door, as his head was stuck against it, and made it awkward for him to move his other arm. With a little effort, Lin Mu was able to move the latch, opening the door. As soon as the door was opened, his hand was pulled outside and his body along with it.
He was able to clumsily stand and walk towards the location where the ring was pulling him to. Lin Mu had to walk along the edge of the forest for 100 meters before the spatial rift finally opened. When his hand entered the spatial rift, he felt that the rift differed from before.
Lin Mu felt as if his hand was dipped in a flowing river. It was the same feeling that he got when he obtained the Four vessels restoration pills along with the fragrant agarwood box. He now felt excited at the idea of finding something valuable again.