Chapter 238 - Beast?
Lin Mu didn't have to wait for much longer as a few more beasts turned up and intruded in his range, no longer being able to resist the allure of the meat. Lin Mu did not let go of this opportunity and killed each of them that came close.
Using this method, he ended up killing a total of six spirit beasts before they stopped approaching, probably because of the smell of blood that was spreading around. Beasts would usually be attracted due to the smell of blood, but there was an exception to this rule.
When there were too many different scents of blood mixed in an area, most beasts would then start to avoid it while some of them would become outright afraid to go close. It was an instinctive fear built into their beings, as the scent of blood belonging to multiple beasts meant that a disaster was close by. For beasts, the thick scent of blood meant that many beasts were dead or injured.
By now the meat was cooked and Lin Mu took it off the heat. He still let the fire burn as the climate was still a bit cold. Although Lin Mu wasn't affected by it, that didn't mean that he did not like the comfort of the warmth.
Lin Mu had set up his temporary camp in a rather convenient manner. There was a tree to his back, the fire to his left and the open area to his right. This way he had a view of the entire area while he ate his food. Lin Mu was halfway through eating his food when he sensed something nearby in his peripheral vision.
It was slightly far from his spirit sense, thus he couldn't exactly tell what it was but could still spot the bushes moving slightly. Lin Mu turned his head and curiously took a look while munching on the leg of a roasted Ash crowned deer.
But when he focused on the area where he had seen the movement, it stopped moving. He still kept his gaze there for a bit as he wanted to confirm that whatever was there had gone away. Five minutes later there were still no movements, so he drew his gaze back.
'Probably a beast attracted by the scent of the meat that doesn't dare get close.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
A short while later, Lin Mu had finished the entire roasted beast and was now ready to continue his assimilation of vital energy.
While he was assimilating the vital energy, the bushes slightly rustled once again but Lin Mu did not pay attention to it. Right now, his entire focus was on assimilating all of the wisps of vital energy that were being released from the meat.
The bushes kept on rustling until a small head popped up from it. The head only stayed visible for a second before it retreated back into the bush and disappeared. It was still too far for Lin Mu to sense it with his spirit sense, thus this went unnoticed to him.
A few minutes later another bush a short distance away rustled before the short head popped up again. Once again, the head only stayed there for a second before disappearing. Lin Mu was still focused on assimilating vital energy.
This event happened a few times again, and each time the duration of the appearance increased slightly. As if emboldened by Lin Mu's inaction, the creature that was hidden in the bushes finally appeared. But this time just as it appeared, Lin Mu finished assimilating the vital energy and opened his eyes.
As soon as his eyes met the creatures, the creature froze in place. Lin Mu could finally get a good look at the creature that had been playing hide and seek all this time.
The creature had a small body that came up to Lin Mu's knees and was slightly less than a meter long, along with four legs. It had fluffy brown fur over its body and dark brown patterns that went down its back. The brown pattern came up to its head and formed an 'M' shape on its forehead.
The creature also had two brown ears that had fine fur over them that could independently move. Its tail was fluffy and had alternating bands of light and dark brown color that went all the way to the tip of its tail.
It had two golden grey eyes that had pupils in the shape of vertical slits. Finally, on its mouth were a pair of whiskers and two small fangs that protruded from the edge of its mouth.
"A cat?" Lin Mu muttered upon seeing the beast.
The beast having realized that the person in front of it had seen it suddenly reacted and as if it were a flash, disappeared in a blur.
"What the! How fast is that!" Lin Mu spoke in a shocked tone.
He stood up and went towards the direction the beast had run away. But he could not spot the beast anywhere nearby. Returning back to the temporary camp, he sat down and thought about it.
"Senior, did you see that?" Lin Mu asked.
"I did and I think I know what beast that is," Xukong answered.
"You do?" Lin Mu questioned as his eyes went wide in curiosity.
"Indeed, I do not know if the beast has the same name in this world, but it is called as a Brown Shrubby Forest Cat. It is one of the faster beasts in the qi refining realm, and its speed can even exceed the speed of a core condensation realm beasts. But on the other hand, its overall strength is weak and it's a rather timid beast.
Brown Shrubby Forest Cats are rather docile compared to other beasts, though. Unlike other feline type beasts that are complete carnivores, Brown Shrubby Forest Cats are omnivores who eat whatever they get. Also, because of this they rarely attack humans and will prefer to run if they are attacked." Xukong explained.
Lin Mu intently listened to Senior Xukong's explanation and then pulled out the jade slip to see if it had any more information in it.