It was astonishing. Qinghua had assumed this world only had tribes, but here was an actual city—named after the "Beast God." Naturally, Qinghua felt a sense of curiosity.
Walking along the relatively smooth dirt roads, she saw a few scattered beastmen. Compared to the tiger tribe she had observed earlier, their spirits were vibrant, almost radiant.
Half an hour later, she finally understood why the beastmen of this city maintained such a positive demeanor.
It turned out they had a barter market. Living in Beast God City, each person only needed to contribute a pound of meat daily to receive the protection of the city's warrior guards.
Here, female beastmen also enjoyed considerable autonomy—they could freely choose whether or not to seek a mate.
In contrast, in the tiger tribe, females had to select a mate within a month of entering heat, or they faced enforced pairings.
Of course, all this information Qinghua learned came through her own abilities, discreetly investigating the other beastmen.
Suddenly, the beastmen ahead grew restless, as if some event had excited them greatly.
"The Beast God's emissary has arrived! Everyone, disperse!"
Qinghua keenly caught the keywords "Beast God's emissary" and quietly followed, being swept along to a roughly constructed stone plaza.
It was only then that she saw the emissary's appearance: a fox clan beastman, wearing an animal hide adorned with strange patterns, with processed pearls and shells hanging at his waist, holding a small fox-head staff.
As she neared, she noticed that her tiger-head staff in the spatial pocket seemed to resonate with its kind, emitting a brilliant white light.
Bai Yu also sensed the anomaly in the staff, and a visible joy flashed across his face—he knew his time had come.
The ordinary beastmen, unaware of the truth, assumed the Beast God had manifested. They prostrated themselves, murmuring:
"Great Beast God, we thank you for appearing. Please continue to bless us…"
Qinghua, still unsure of the situation, didn't want to expose herself. She mimicked the surrounding beastmen's fervor, lying flat on the ground and mumbling indistinctly.
Bai Yu quickly scanned the beastmen in the plaza. His initial joy faded—why hadn't the person from the divination appeared?
He was unwilling to let go. After planning for so long, Bai Yu's eyes flashed with stubborn resolve.
Holding the fox-head staff respectfully, he began searching one by one. Qinghua glimpsed this strange scene and had a premonition: the emissary was likely searching for her. She needed to stop this.
If she performed another divination, her tiger-head staff would stop glowing, and he would lose the ability to find her.
Acting swiftly, Qinghua focused her divination on the emissary to determine whether her next move would bring fortune or misfortune.
The message came quickly—just two characters: Great Misfortune.
As expected, her sixth sense as a woman hadn't failed—this emissary was indeed dangerous.
Bai Yu had been elated, feeling the staff's heat intensify as he advanced. But suddenly, the white glow vanished, and the staff's warmth returned to normal.
His excitement was instantly doused. He pressed his lips tight, veins on his forehead throbbing uncontrollably.
The surrounding beastmen sensed their revered emissary's low energy and bowed even lower, afraid of disturbing him.
Qinghua gauged the distance between them and probed Bai Yu's mind with her spiritual power—only a blank white space met her senses.
Something was wrong. This beastman's emotions were clear, and his spiritual power shouldn't surpass hers. Perhaps the fox-head staff he held was strange.
"Sis, should I intervene? I could sneakily steal it without being noticed."
"Not yet, Xiaotian. Tonight, when it's quiet, we'll approach his dwelling and act decisively."
Qinghua worried that if Xiaotian tried to steal the staff now, his cultivation habits might trigger, alerting Bai Yu prematurely.
Bai Yu knew the person he sought was among the beastmen, but he had already lost the initiative. He needed a clever way to keep the group there.
"The Beast God has received your sincerity. To better receive the God's blessing, let us move to my residence and meditate for a day, bathing in the endless favor of the Beast God."
The beastmen, hearing this, wept tears of joy, repeatedly bowing and chanting: "Thank you, Beast God! Thank you, Emissary!"
Their fervor rivaled that of crazed cultists. Qinghua remained cautious. He had ideas, but this worked to her advantage. She could set the trap—yet who would be the prey remained uncertain.
Under the clear moonlight, Qinghua used the chance to slip away from the praying beastmen. With Xiaotian's invisibility, she reached Bai Yu's stone house, discovering he was still awake, pacing by the fire inside.
Minutes later, wisps of pale smoke filled the room. Bai Yu collapsed, and Qinghua waited a few moments to ensure he wouldn't awaken before entering.
She quickly searched using her spiritual power and found what she sought in the animal hide at his waist. To avoid pricking her eyes with needles, she had Xiaotian handle it.
She stored the item in her spatial pocket and continued probing his memories. This time, it was like entering an empty realm—no resistance at all.
It turned out he had learned through the fox-head staff that finding other corresponding staffs would grant the Beast God's blessing.
If his memory was correct, Qinghua's plan to meet the Beast God would become more complex—she would also need to collect the bird clan's staffs.