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Molting the Mortal Coil - Chapter 129

Published at 29th of March 2024 06:37:28 AM


Chapter 129: Strange Creatures

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Chapter 129: Strange Creatures

The shopkeeper was, as expected, an old man with a long wispy white beard. His back was stooped and he had a glass eye. The old man was even smoking from a long curved pipe, taking a few puffs and blowing out the smoke before answering, Quite a demand. Why dont you just go take a look around for yourself. Everything is already on display.

Sage had let his excitement get the better of him. He nodded to the old man and started to browse around the store. It might seem strange to not fawn over the customers and fulfill their every wish, but this was sort of like an exotic pet store. If the buyer didnt recognize what it was they were purchasing they would be bound not to treat it properly. It was actually a decent tactic not to try and upsell a customer in this sort of place or the shop owner might actually cause problems for himself. If an arrogant rich person bought a creature they couldnt handle, it could end up with an injury, death, or even release a deadly creature among the normal people. What use would the extra money be, if it led to an angry Clan or City Lord clamoring for his head?

Whether or not the shop owner was being responsible or just lazy, Sage wandered around the shop, peeking into the little cages to see what they contained. Of the small cages hanging from the ceiling a majority of them were types of birds, but a large part of them were interesting to Sage. Various lizards and insects sat within them. From the shape of the cages it would seem dangerous to put small bugs inside, but they were carved with formation symbols. The little wicker and reed baskets were actually similar items to Sages own Insect Cages from the Lang and Chong Clan.

Many of the creatures were ones that Sage recognized as being bred by the Chong Clan. More than a few of them contained venom of various sorts and Sage smiled at the variety. There were many others that hed never seen in person before, but only seen them listed in various beast books. How refreshing to find such a great store. Who knew something like this existed over here.

Sage was quite pleased. There was only the three or so Insect Tamers in the Holy Flame Sect and it was an area he felt was very underutilized. Here they were on the border with the Green Plateau and yet there was such a well stocked store. It seems that the variety of wildlife was just as unique as the plant life. The Cult of the Woodlord was famously related to the cultivation of plants and Wood natured techniques. When Sage was listening for rumors he even heard that the Cult of the Woodlord actually had some of the legendary Gardeners. The rare profession was actually right under Sages nose, in the hands of a rival Sect. When he first heard about it, Sage thought about infiltrating the other Sect, but he eventually ruled the idea out. He had been made into far too much of a spectacle after the ordeal with the Soul Taming Abode. The chances of him being recognized were too high.

As expected.

Sage walked into the untamed beast shop and was met with a far different vibe. The rest of the shop had quaint cages and clean, well maintained stalls. This portion of the shop was filled with huge iron cages and the smell of blood. When he walked in, he felt the stare of numerous beasts, glaring at him with fierce bloodlust and killing intent. He almost laughed, this reminded him of the first time he became a tamer. Wan Yuhan had taken him to the Tamers Hall and took him on a tour to maintain all the animals. They fed all the domesticated ones before entering a small mountain valley where Sage felt this exactly feeling.

They were powerful and deadly beasts locked in cages. They wanted revenge for their loss of freedom. Demonic Beasts all had a measure of intelligence and he could feel them plotting behind those terrifying eyes, wanting him to move closer to their cages so they could reach out and grab him. Sage actually laughed and looked over to the group of Tamers that sat in the center of the room. One of them was working with a beast in a central ring while the others all sat around a table in various states of relaxation. Some were playing cards while other were drinking. Sage wasnt fooled. He could tell they were all on guard, watching the room full of beasts and also the other customers that were in this room along with Sage.

Currently there was two other groups. A pair of middle aged men that looked like Beast Tamers themselves were looking at a huge yellow-striped tiger. It was about the size of a VW Beetle and covered in six inch long sharp black spines. Sage recognized it as a Hornet Tiger, called because of its coloring and the poison that it could inject with the spines on its body. On the other side of the room, the more interesting group had a half dozen people. Most of the tamers on duty were looking over at them from time to time with wariness. One of the six men in the group was wearing fur and leather and covered in scars, and from his stance was probably a Beast Tamer. The other five wore similar colors to the Beast Tamer, but they were dressed like refined Cultivators. They all had a matching badge on their chests, so Sage guessed it was a Sect or Clan wanting to purchase something.

From afar, Sage heard their voices rising a bit like they were arguing about something. Curious, he moved closer to do a little eavesdropping and in the meanwhile examined all the creatures he was passing by.

...look at the fur pattern and coloring. Its definitely not a normal beast. Im telling you, this is a mutated variant. It has to be caused by some sort of trea..




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