Young Noble Be Monster Slaying-Chapter 784: Chuchu (I)

Wen Yulong explained confidently to the crowd, "According to legend, the iron-eating beast once served as the mount of the Jiuli Evil God. Its ferocity shook the heavens, striking fear into both gods and devils alike. It took pleasure in slaughtering greater demons and celestial beasts, gnawing on their bones for fun.

"At the peak of its power, even vicious beasts of the same realm, such as Taotie and Hundun, dared not cross its path. Pure-blooded True Dragons and Divine Phoenixes also kept their distance.

"When the Jiuli tribes fell, buried beneath a divine mountain hurled down from the heavens, only the iron-eating beast survived through its sheer physical resilience and managed to preserve its bloodline. Now, it occasionally appears in the Southern Regions and sustains itself by devouring and digesting metal."

"Hmm..." Lin Bei voiced his skepticism. "You’re telling me that the Jiuli Evil God used to ride this thing into battle?"

At this moment, all the usual inhabitants of the Silver Sword Peak—Di Nufeng, Chu Liang, the Golden-Furred Hou, the Fierce Draconic Colt, Liu Xiaoyu, and Liu Xiaoyu'er—had gathered and formed a circle. Lin Bei, Shang Ziliang, and the others had also rushed over after hearing the news. At this moment, the place was quite lively.

Right in the middle of the circle sat a lump of what was supposedly a vicious beast.

The iron-eating beast stood no taller than half a person, and when seated, it barely reached knee height. Its body was covered in black and white fur, with two dark rings around its eyes that made its small eyes appear much larger.

With short, thick paws tucked close to its belly, it looked plump and round, like a fluffy ball. At the moment, it seemed slightly anxious, crossing its front paws over its stomach as if rubbing them together.

A small medicine basket hung on its back, but the basket was completely empty. It wasn't hard to guess why it was carrying one. Earlier, it had triggered a talismanic spell, panicked, and bolted away. The right side of its fur was still slightly singed. Yet, whether due to its thick hide or sheer resilience, the powerful spell had barely harmed it. A few patches of fur were scorched, but they would likely grow back in a day or two.

Shang Ziliang stroked his chin and deduced, "I don’t think the ancient texts are wrong. If the older generations called it a vicious beast, there must be a reason for it."

Lackey A nodded with absolute certainty. "It must be a disguise! It’s pretending to look harmless so it can catch its enemies off guard before revealing its true, vicious nature!"

"That’s right! Dangerous! Extremely dangerous!" Wen Yulong echoed.

"Um..." Liu Xiaoyu'er suddenly raised her hand and asked in a soft voice, "Can I pet it?"

Lin Bei frowned. "I don’t think that’s a good idea. The ancient texts all say it’s a vicious beast, so it definitely isn’t something we should just touch. But... if we could... I’d want to pet it too."

Liu Xiaoyu nodded. "Me too."

"I'll give it a try," Di Nufeng said, stepping forward and reaching out to rub the little chubby creature’s head. The moment her palm pressed down, its soft fur yielded beneath her touch, forming a slight indentation.

The iron-eating beast let out a soft whimper. "Uuu..."

It raised its paws in an attempt to shield its big head, but...they were a little too short.

Whether its head was too large or its arms too stubby, its paws just couldn’t quite reach the middle of its forehead. Instead, they flopped helplessly to the sides of its head, pressing down near its ears. Its eyes brimmed with helplessness, making it look utterly pitiful.

"Aww..." Liu Xiaoyu'er and her sister uttered, unable to resist any longer.

They rushed forward, reaching out to stroke the iron-eating beast’s fur. It was warm, smooth, and incredibly pleasant to touch.

The others quickly followed, swarming around the little creature. Even the Golden-Furred Hou couldn’t help but poke it with its nose.

Overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of hands, the small beast seemed unwilling to be touched but was too timid to resist. It simply wrapped its short paws around its head, squeezed its eyes shut, and resigned itself to fate.

Just as everyone was thoroughly enjoying the squishy, fluffy sensation, a sudden gurgling sound rumbled through the air.

"Huh?" The group froze, hands pausing mid-motion.

The little creature immediately clutched its belly, blinking rapidly with an embarrassed expression.

"Looks like it's hungry," Lin Bei remarked.

Lackey B pondered for a moment. "What should we feed it?"

"If we go by the legends... celestial beast bones or rare metals?" Wen Yulong suggested. "But those aren’t exactly easy to find."

"Why not try some bamboo?" Chu Liang finally spoke up.

From the moment he laid eyes on the little creature, Chu Liang had been quietly observing it. After a thorough and meticulous analysis, he could say with absolute certainty that this creature was a giant panda.

Of course, in this world, it was known as a iron-eating beast, likely possessing some kind of mystical ability. Otherwise, there was no way it could have survived that powerful talismanic spell and still be bouncing around like nothing happened.

Even though it looked cute and sluggish now, it had moved like a streak of lightning earlier. This little creature was also incredibly strong. If it weren’t absurdly powerful, there was no way it could have shattered the enchanted formation he had set up around the perimeter.

"Bamboo?" Lin Bei looked puzzled. "Aren't you looking down on the vicious beast?"

Although the group had their doubts, they followed Chu Liang's suggestion without question. Mount Shu had no shortage of bamboo. Hidden within the vast sea of clouds was an abundance of bamboo infused with spiritual qi. In no time, they had gathered a large bundle.

To their surprise, the moment they placed the bamboo in front of the creature, it immediately grabbed a stalk and started gnawing on it with ease, as if it had done so countless times before.

The little creature started eating the bamboo sticks at a leisurely pace. Crunch, crunch.

Lin Bei stared at Chu Liang in astonishment. "It actually eats this stuff. How did you know?"

"I guessed," Chu Liang replied with a smile. "Its habitat must be somewhere near Mount Shu, and it obviously needs food to survive. The most suitable option here would be the spirit bamboo. It’s probably on the verge of a breakthrough and desperately needs more spiritual energy. Since bamboo alone wasn’t enough, it came to Silver Sword Peak to steal spirit plants instead."

"That makes sense," Wen Yulong nodded in agreement. "The region beneath Mount Shu’s sea of clouds is vast and teeming with spirit beasts. This iron-eating beast is likely one of the creatures living down there."

The people of Mount Shu lived atop the mountain, above the sea of clouds. However, beneath that vast expanse lay an even greater land—one with an even larger and more diverse ecosystem.

Previously, Chu Liang and Jiang Yuebai had fallen beneath the sea of clouds, where they stumbled upon Yan Renjie’s secluded forest cabin.

Liu Xiaoyu’er turned to Chu Liang with wide, pleading eyes. "We... don’t need to send it back, do we?"

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Chu Liang crouched down and said, "That depends on what it wants. Let me ask."

With that, he picked up a stalk of bamboo in one hand and a brilliantly colored spirit plant in the other.

The iron-eating beast’s eyes widened, and suddenly, the spirit bamboo in its paws lost all appeal. Its gaze remained fixed on the radiant spirit plant in Chu Liang’s hand, and it even forgot to keep chewing.

"Go back and eat this..." Chu Liang said, shaking the bamboo. Then, waving the spirit plant in his other hand, he asked, "Or stay here and eat this?"

"Uuuh..." The iron-eating beast clearly understood. It was just about to reach out when it suddenly hesitated, pulling its paws back as if struggling with the decision.

But the hesitation lasted only a moment. In a flash, its tiny paws shot forward, snatching the spirit plant right out of Chu Liang’s hand. In that instant, it was no longer the sluggish creature it had seemed before.

It was clear that, while it didn’t particularly want to stay, the offer was simply too tempting to resist.

The iron-eating beast stuffed the spirit plant into its mouth, chewing a few times before gulping it down in quick succession. Crunch, crunch.

Then, with a soft, milk-scented hiccup, a surge of spiritual qi rose from its body. Hic—woo~

"You made this choice yourself," Chu Liang said with a smile, patting its fluffy head. "No backing out now."

...