The fox agreed, it seemed it didn't have any objections to Mu Chen's terms. Or rather, it was more intent on trying to snuggle back into his robes. Mu Chen didn't prevent it this time, and the little fox once again curled up inside his robes.

"Did it really become so attached to you?" Liu Fengying pouted. She wanted to pet the fox but didn't get any opportunity. The fox seemed reluctant to be touched by anyone else.

"Who knows?" Mu Chen shook his head.

"Anyway, what's this treasure everyone talking about?"

"We don't know." Liu Fengying said. "Half an hour ago, we felt a strong fluctuation of a qi. So we just know the general direction." Liu Fengying said. "Are you—"

There was a sound of leaves rustling. Both Mu Chen and Liu Fengying looked in that direction. It was Li Kun, Xia Ping, and others.

"Brother Chen!" Li Kun said. "You were too fast—we lost you!"

"Haha!" Xia Ping laughed. "I told you, if you underestimate Brother Chen, you would be the one to suffer."

"How did your physical strength increase so much?" Li Kun said.

Everyone looked curiously at Mu Chen. "It's a long story." Mu Chen shrugged. "Anyway, you guys are planning to go get a look at the treasure?"

"Indeed. Does Brother Chen want to come along?" Li Kun said. "We should hurry or the show might be over before we reach the location."

"He won't be coming." Liu Fengying said before Mu Chen had a chance to speak. "A lot of cultivators must have gathered there by now." She said to Mu Chen, "It won't be safe. If the fox is exposed, you won't be able to keep it."

"Don't worry! I am just curious..." Mu Chen said. From what Fang Tian said, there might be many old fogies present. If they ended up fighting amongst each other, it would be something to look forward to. But as Liu Fengying said, it might not be worth the risk. "I will head back. You guys take care...Brother Ren, let's chat properly next time."

"Sure thing, Brother Chen." Gao Ren said.

Mu Chen said goodbye to everyone and was about to leave, but froze. His ears pricked. The forest was buzzing again. It was different from the sense of excitement he had discerned previously. A madness had descended on the monster beasts and it was spreading fast. Like a spark of fire that could set off the prairie, it spread as every other beast began to echo the same call. It was chaos and panic.

The little fox poked its head out of Mu Chen's robes and looked at him, restless, and whined.

Liu Fengying had said that they felt the fluctuations half an hour ago. That time was around the same time when he had heard the beasts getting excited. Could it be that the beasts were excited because of the treasure's birth? But now, they were panicking?

"Fengying, wait!" Mu Chen shouted. Liu Fengying had just regrouped with the other girls and they were about to leave but paused on hearing him.

"Don't go!" Mu Chen rushed towards Liu Fengying and grabbed her hand. "Everyone! Don't go! We need to get out of the forest now!" Mu Chen said as he pulled Liu Fengying along with him.

"Mu Chen, what's wrong?" Liu Fengying asked.

"Brother Chen?" Li Kun and Xia Ping asked.

"No time to explain!" Mu Chen said as he hurried in the direction of the valley. "Hurry!"

Li Kun, Xia Ping, and Liu Ru were surprised but didn't have any hesitation and followed Mu Chen. Gao Ren, Su Rong, and others from the Ming Dynasty hesitated a bit but decided to follow in the end.

Roar! The sounds were faint at first and only Mu Chen was able to hear them.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

More and more monsters joined in the outcries, even Liu Fengying and others could hear them.

"What's happening?" Liu Fengying and others were alarmed.

"Monster beasts!" Mu Chen continued to push forward, pulling Liu Fengying with him. He could sense the tremors transmitted through the ground with every step. It was impossible to imagine the number of beasts it took to create such shock waves.

Mu Chen and others rushed to the valley. Mu Chen urged everyone to keep moving. He had just crossed the valley with Liu Fengying's help—the forest erupted with roars of monster beasts.

"So many?" Li Kun said glancing behind. There were no beasts within sight. But just from the sound, one could tell that their number was no laughing matter. "Are they after us?"

"No! Not after us." Xia Ping said, his face pale. "If I am not wrong, this must be a beast tide."

"Beast tide!" Everyone was horrified. There had been a few beast tides in the past, but it was too remote for them. Since the time the powers had established their bases in the forest, there had been no incidence of a beast tide. But today, a beast tide was happening. And they were going to be a part of it.

"Do we need to be worried?" Gao Ren said. "Can't we just escape on our flying swords?"

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"It would be dangerous." Xia Ping said. "There are many monster beast species that can fly in the air." Unless you were confident you could escape before they reached you, it wasn't worth the risk.

"What then?" Su Rong asked.

"The city is the closest." Liu Fengying said. "And it has a formation. We can go there."

"Hurry!" Mu Chen said. The roaring of the beasts was getting closer and closer.

Liu Fengying and others no longer wasted their time talking. Everyone did their best as they made their way out of the forest. The roaring of several beasts in unison was loud enough that it could be heard outside the forest. Without the trees blocking their paths, their speed was much faster and they soon reached the city.

The city was already in turmoil. The bell was ringing and the shops and other establishments had been shut down.

The streets had become crowded with people, young and old alike. The children were frightened and sobbed, while the adults had solemn faces. Some had already packed their belongings and were trying to escape the city using the carriages. However, the tamed beasts were unwilling. They were scared out of their wits and refused to be harnessed as they tried to escape.

The city guards already had their hands full trying to maintain public order. They had begun filling their spots on the walls, armed with bows and arrows.

"They already know?" Su Rong asked.

"Look at the sky." Mu Chen said. Everyone looked up. High up, dark spots had covered the skies. They were moving in circles.

"Those are...monster beasts?" Gao Ren sucked in a deep breath. There were hundreds of beasts flying in the sky. Their numbers kept increasing as more beasts joined them.

"Scavengers." Xia Ping said as they entered the city.

Once inside the city, their group huddled up beside the wall and looked at each other's pale faces. The long sprint had consumed much of their energy. Mu Chen took a sip of his energy drink while others took pills to restore their spiritual qi.

"The situation is serious! I need to inform the Matriarch, so they can prepare." Liu Fengying said.

"See if you can check the situation at Mu Family." Mu Chen said. He was worried about Mu Ningxue and Zhou Mei, even though they should be safe in the Mu Family.

"Okay." Liu Fengying said.

"I should inform the Sect Master as well." Li Kun said.

"Me too." Xia Ping said.

Liu Fengying, Li Kun, and Xia Ping took out their communication tokens, to send messages. Their token's flashed. Mu Chen felt his ears buzz.

"Fuck!" The guard on the wall cursed loudly. "Where are all the cultivators when you need them the most?"

"Didn't they all go after the treasure in the forest?" Another guard said. "It must be because of them—they must have annoyed something big."

"Shut up and concentrate on your task." Another guard said. His attire was a little different from the rest. "Has the City Lord been alerted? We need to be ready to activate the format― "

"Aaaaargh! Help! Ah!" One guy screamed. He was one of those guys who had been trying to tether the tamed beasts to the carriage. When the beast didn't listen, he whipped it. The beast revolted and kicked him down. Worse, as the beast ran, his leg got caught in one of the cords, dragging him along outside the gate.

"Aaaaaaah!" The guy screamed as he was dragged. Fortunately, one of the guards on the wall acted fast and shot the beast dead.

"Ha...ha!" The guy panted and stood up, relieved. However, his relief was short-lived. A massive shadow dropped down from the sky. Protruding claws, over twelve inches long, gripped the carcass of the dead beast and lifted off. That person still had his leg entangled and was taken along.

"Aaaaaaah!" The guy screamed as he struggled to break free from the entanglement. The guards fired more arrows, but they fell short of the mark. The carrion had already flown off. Everyone could only watch as the bird of prey carried the human along. The guy himself was scared of falling and stopped struggling.

High in the air, the other beasts began to swoop at the first beast, trying to grab the prey for themselves. As they struggled, the cord came loose and the guy fell, screaming. A few carrion beasts pecked at the falling figure, tearing off the limbs. Only the torso continued to fall, accompanied by his screams.

"Aaaaaargh–" The scream was followed by a thud. Blood and bits of flesh splattered on the pavement. Mu Chen sighed and looked away.

"Someone you know?" Gao Ren asked, curious. Even though Su Rong and other girls watched the scene, besides Ye Lanlan, none of them were perturbed by it.

"Not really." Mu Chen shrugged. The person who had fallen to his death was Fang Tianyi's carriage driver. Although he didn't even know the guy's name, he couldn't help but sigh a bit on watching him die in such fashion.

The death of a person triggered another wave of panic, especially the kids as they began to cry. Many gave up on harnessing the tamed beasts to their carriages and just grabbed their belongings and began to run.

"Everyone! Don't panic! Don't rush outside, stay within the city." The guards shouted. "Go to the city hall." The guards tried to maintain the order.

"The beasts are here! I can see them." One of the guards on the watchtower shouted. He was holding a spyglass. "Their numbers—it's insane!"

"Everyone, get in position. Prepare to defend!"

Mu Chen rushed to one of the watchtowers beside the wall. Gao Ren followed.

"Hey! You can't be―" The guard on the watchtower began but ate his words when he saw the emblem on Gao Ren's robes.

Mu Chen ignored the guard and looked in the direction of the Dark Forest, and took in a deep breath. The horizon was layered with a cloud of dust and it was rapidly approaching the city. Amidst the moving clouds, there were several ink spots. At first, they looked like ants, but they were increasing in size. Mu Chen focused his gaze and saw there were not just monster beasts. At the forefront were several cultivators. Many of them looked exhausted as they tried to outrun the beasts behind. Every now and then, a few of them would be unlucky and get caught. Their fates would motivate others to move faster.

"Holy shit!" Gao Ren was shocked on seeing the scene. He grabbed the spyglass from the guard's hand and pressed it against his eye. The guard was scared and jumped off the tower and ran off in the direction of the captain.

"The wall..." Gao Ren hesitated a bit and asked Mu Chen. "It will hold off the beasts, right?"

"The wall won't stop them." Mu Chen said. "But it should give us enough time to activate the formation." The city was fortified with walls that were fifty feet high and three feet thick. However, their purpose wasn't to stop the beasts. Large scale defense formations were slow to operate and took time to charge, before they could be fully functional. The walls were meant to buy off time to activate the formation.

"That's good." Gao Ren sighed in relief.

Mu Chen eyed Gao Ren with interest. Gao Ren seemed to be struggling with something, but he wasn't worried.

"Mu Chen!" Liu Fengying came beside him. She had just finished with her message transmission. "I have sent messages to Sister Mei's token. But I am not sure if they reached―everyone is having trouble receiving messages. I was only able to get in touch with our Matriarch using a special token. I've let them know about our situation."

"It's alright. If Mei'er is inside Mu Family, she wouldn't be able to receive the message anyway." Mu Chen said.

"Mother!" Xia Ping had just come and saw the beast tide. Li Kun and others followed. Gao Ren passed them the spyglass so they could get a better look.

"Sister Fengying." Liu Ru said in worry, "What do we do?" Su Rong, Yi Hanying, and Ye Lanlan also had grim faces.

"The City Lord must be alerted by now. Let's hope the formation can support until reinforcements arrive." Liu Fengying said, her face grim as she saw the beast tide that was getting close by the second.

"Reinforcements?" Mu Chen shook his head. "I wouldn't count on them."