11 Hunt or be Hunted (1)
GongCi Sect opens up the spiritual forest located behind the peaks every year during the Beast Hunt Ceremony. The forest would be open for only three days in a year for disciples to get a chance to contract their first beast. It will stay closed for the rest of the year to protect overhunting.
Beasts that have not reached adulthood are a popular choice among cultivators. This is because the cultivation levels of these beasts are still growing. and with proper nurturing, it can reach its maximum potential. When a beast reaches adulthood, it will be difficult to raise their cultivation.
Since you can only contract ONE contract beast at a time, most people prefer to find a rare beast. Not only does the cultivation seem to be higher, but it is also easier to brag with a cool beast.
Of course, over time, there are going to be people unhappy with their contracted beast's cultivation level if it is not up to their expectations. Since they could only have one beast at a time, some would think about destroying the contract to recontract a new beast.
Although contracts can be destroyed, it comes with conditions and heavy consequences. Firstly, both parties have to be agreeable to destroying the contract. Secondly, both parties in the contract will incur random damage to their cultivation base - if you're lucky, you get off with only a small drop, but in some cases it has crippled their cultivation bases, making them unable to cultivate anymore. Because of this possibility, the idea of dissolving the contract is not often brought up.
Another method would be the death of either party, the surviving party would be freed from the contract, but will not be able to contract any other beast or human for the next five years. Compared to mutually dissolving the contract, this consequence seems to have a lower risk, but it involves death and the possibility of endangering the life of the cultivator for five years if there's no beast to fight alongside with.
--
During the hunt :
"Ye-Di, what kind of beast are you looking to contract with?" Mu Lian asks as they make their way to find a suitable location to camp at for the next three days.
"Hmmm, I don't know yet, I like all types of beast… it's very hard to choose... I guess leave it to fate" Ye Chen answered with an earnest attitude.
When Ye Chen was introduced to GongCi Sect while studying in the Pre-Sect School, he was so intrigued by the various types of beasts. Despite the twins encouraging him to enrol into TianAn Sect to join them, Ye Chen has his heart set on GongCi. Although they were not pleased with his decision, they were relieved that at least the two Sects were quite close to each other.
"Let's set up camp here, I'll go gather firewood and look around to see if there are any useful herbs. You should meditate and conserve your energy for now." Mu Lian suggests to Ye Chen after they find a concave rock in the middle of the forest.
Crossing his legs, Ye Chen fell into meditation.
--
"Ahhh! Help! Ah! Someone help! A TianAn disciple is attacked by a beast!" a sharp scream sounded, startling Ye Chen up from his meditation. "The beast ran towards the waterfall! Someone help save him!" the voice from afar sounded again.
Thinking it might be a possibility that it would be Mu Lian, Ye Chan dashed out of the resting spot towards the waterfall.
It has been more than an hour since Mu Lian went out and Ye Chen can't stop his blood from flowing into his head from worry. When he saw the waterfall, he noticed a small trail of fresh blood outside the cave entrance. Looking closely, he saw a piece of torn white fabric dyed with patches of blood. His heart clenched and without thinking straight, he ran in the cave and shouted, "Mu Lian?! Mu Lian?!"
At first, there was a hissing sound echoing within the cave, then it was silent. But soon after, the hissing came again, and it seems that the number has increased. He seems to have walked into some kind of lair by mistake. With very gentle footsteps, Ye Chen walked back towards the cave entrance.
Beasts are intelligent creatures and have their conscience. It will not attack humans if unprovoked. Ye Chen is quite knowledgeable about beasts, he was so sure that if he were to leave quietly, he would be left alone.
Ye Chen wanted to walk back to the entrance to investigate the blood and the fabric, when suddenly, a tail with sharp scales swung towards him. It was too fast and Ye Chen was not able to completely avoid it. He quickly gathered his spiritual energy to form a protective layer on his arms and received a blow.
Ye Chan was pushed back a few steps but still maintained his stance. The tail belongs to an adult Grimoire snake, which is known for its speed and sharp scales. They are normally shy and prefer dark places, such as caves. One Grimoire snake is not a threat… but a herd of them could be deadly.. The Grimoire snake is considered one of the uncommon beasts in this forest and is quite a popular choice as a contract beast.
The Grimoire snake's eyes were red and it seemed to be filled with killing intent, much to Ye Chen's confusion. The hissing in the darkness also started getting louder. This is a really bad situation.
Under the teachings of Elder Yi, Ye Chen is taught not to resolve matters using violence, especially towards beasts. But looking at the situation, it seems that violence can no longer be prevented.
If needed, Ye Chen has no problem taking down a few of them...but the problem now would be dealing with a herd of them. A few more pairs of Grimoire snakes came forward and started lunging attacks on Ye Chen. He wanted to run to the entrance of the cave but soon realized that he had been surrounded. All the Grimoire snakes displayed a weird twisted expression and their eyes were bloodshot.
Ye Chen's heart started pumping and thought to himself that Mu Lian may have found himself in this odd situation. Although he was confused with the beast's behaviour, he was sure that there is a possibility that Mu Lian is no longer safe.
