Chapter 539: Chapter 538: Finding Life in a Dead End

Now that Si Shuo had a clear understanding of the situation, she smiled and thanked him. "You’re a good Beast God. If you ever run into trouble in the future, you can come find me.

"I may not have your level of Divine Power, but I have a brain—the kind that could move a planet with just a fulcrum!"

The Beast God was amused by her, but he knew that even though the little female was small and delicate, she truly had the ability to turn the tide.

Thanks to her efforts, the Beast Tide crises on both the Central and Southern Continents had been downgraded, even if not fully resolved, saving countless Beastman lives.

Such a blessing was enough to ensure that the little female and her family would live in peace and harmony, turning any misfortune into good fortune and every disaster into a blessing!

"Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony with you. I just hope that by then, you haven’t found a new Beast God to serve and forgotten all about me."

The Beast God was now more like a friend to Si Shuo, having dropped the formal air he’d maintained before.

"How could I? This is our home. No matter where we go, we’ll always come back often," Si Shuo said with a light laugh. "Besides, as you know, my mates and cubs have the Teleportation Ability. We can come back anytime, from anywhere."

"Little female, remember that my name is Cangwu—the eternal resting place of the Phoenix!"

Si Shuo nodded. "Cangwu Beast God, I will remember. That way, when I get to the Southwest Continent, I won’t call for the wrong Beast God."

The Beast God fell silent. "It wouldn’t be the wrong name, but I wouldn’t be able to answer you."

Si Shuo thought for a moment and understood. ’He’s right. In someone else’s territory, he’d have to pretend not to hear me even if he could.’

"Alright, in that case, we’ll just teleport to a place under your jurisdiction when we need to talk!"

The Beast God grumbled, "So you’ll only come looking for me when you need something."

After a bit more small talk, Si Shuo opened her eyes and saw the sheepskin scroll she was holding. It was a large scroll, made from the entire hide of a full-grown sheep with the edges trimmed away.

Just as the Beast God had said, one side was a map, while the other explained the conditions for the formation of natural Arrays, their variations, how to enter and exit them, and more.

’This is a real treasure! Forget everything else, the explanation of natural Arrays alone is enough to ensure a clan’s prosperity!’

Si Shuo immediately made several copies, then placed the original map into the shared storage space she had with Wei Ce...

With Yichu’s confession, Wei Ce, along with Little Hong and their clansmen, secretly rounded up every single Beastman involved in making the bamboo bloom and destroyed their cultivation.

These vicious Beastmen had relied on nothing more than their cultivation and their connections, but once they were reduced to cripples, even the most powerful backing became meaningless. They would spend the rest of their lives atoning for what they had done.

Having let out a collective breath of grim satisfaction, the members of the Iron-eating Beast Clan then had to despondently face reality.

For the past two days, dark clouds had gathered in oppressive sheets, and the wind howled like an enraged beast. The sound alone was enough to make one’s heart tremble in awe of nature’s power.

Everyone had stopped going outside, waiting for the torrential downpour to begin. Yet, Wei Jin gathered all the Beastmen of the Iron-eating Beast Clan for a meeting.

Together, they used their Spiritual Power to maintain a Protective Shield around the meeting hall, blocking out the sound of the raging wind.

Si Shuo’s family was a special case, so they were also among those invited. The cubs dozed sleepily in their respective fathers’ arms, while Si Shuo sat between Zhi Le and Xu Chi, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

Gong You, however, was behind her, pulling her into his embrace with his chin resting in the crook of her neck. He usually kept his aura completely retracted, but now he let it drift out, faint and subtle. The light scent of fish made Si Shuo’s mouth water and her teeth itch. She desperately wanted to turn her head and take a bite out of him!

Her other mates desperately wanted to pull them apart. ’Why does Gong You get special treatment?’ But this Big Fish Beast, despite his massive Beast Form, was incredibly petty. Even if they asked, he would never give them a straight answer. They would just have to wait until they got home to slowly figure out how they could be more intimate with their little female.

Once most of the Beastmen had arrived, Wei Jin scanned the crowd and raised his voice. "Members of the Iron-eating Beast Clan, we are gathered here today. I am sure you can all guess the reason, can’t you?

"Though we have found the wrongdoers and given them their due punishment, our lives must go on. Next comes the long rainy season and the coldest season. What is to become of us?"

The already somber mood from the impending rainy weather now became suffocating. Their hearts grew heavy; they didn’t need to think too hard to know that over the next half year, many of their clan members might not survive.

"Clan Leader, the rainy season just means more rain. It doesn’t mean we can’t do anything. I’m tough, not afraid of the cold or of suffering. I want to go out and hunt more food for the clan’s females and cubs!"

"That’s right! When the rainy season arrives, many animals will hide in the highlands. Hunting won’t be that difficult..."

"At worst, we can absorb more Crystal Stones and activate our Protective Shields to keep the rain off. We don’t have to maintain Bamboo Forest Mountain anymore, so I’ve got Crystal Stones with nowhere to spend them..."

"Other Beastmen don’t have a Bamboo Forest Mountain for food, and they manage to get by, don’t they? We just have to make it until next spring—"

"Let’s tear down what’s left of Bamboo Forest Mountain, use the shattered Crystal Stones ourselves, and trade the whole ones we have at home for food..."

The only solution anyone could think of was to stockpile as much food as possible.

Every clan member wracked their brains for ideas, but implementing any of them would be incredibly difficult. During the rainy season, low-lying areas risked flooding, while the highlands were prone to mudslides. The rain would wash away all tracks and scents of prey, forcing them to conduct grid-style searches, and any prey they found might not even be enough to offset the energy they expended hunting it!

Not to mention that traveling to and from the great forests was time-consuming and dangerous. Without the help of other Beastmen, the amount of prey they could haul back would be limited.

As this realization dawned on them, they grew dejected once more. Brows furrowed, they continued to rack their brains, hoping to find a path out of the darkness.

Wei Ce stood, walked to Wei Jin’s side, and handed him the sheepskin scroll. He cleared his throat to draw everyone’s attention, then said with a relaxed expression, "Our Iron-eating Beast Clan has lived in Guangshou City for a thousand years. The Bamboo Forest Mountain outside the city was planted by our ancestors and nurtured to its current size over generations.

"As long as the Iron-eating Beast Clan’s Bamboo Forest Mountain, farmlands, homes, and shops remained, or even grew, it was only a matter of time before we became a fat sheep in the eyes of other insatiably greedy clans and families.

"Today’s disaster was bound to happen sooner or later, given how vulnerable our Iron-eating Beast Clan is. Everyone knew that Bamboo Forest Mountain was our lifeline..."

Everyone strongly agreed with him. It had only been a matter of time. They had all been waiting for this conflict to finally erupt.

"However, our Iron-eating Beast Clan has always kept to itself. We only want to live our lives in peace and have never done anything malicious. We should not be pushed to the brink of extinction by their greed.

"Therefore, the Beast God has taken pity on us and has secretly shown us the way forward..."

Wei Jin looked down at the map and saw a vast bamboo forest on the outskirts of the Southwest Forest. His body trembled slightly. "Is this... is this truly a gift from the Beast God to our Iron-eating Beast Clan?"