Hearing the commotion outside, Liu Nanfeng, who had just picked up his rice bowl, could only put it down and return to the balcony with Su Huamei.
A giant leopard-like ferocious beast appeared beneath the Heavenly Gate.
It was described as leopard-like, not a leopard, because it resembled one, yet had some differences.
It sported a pair of deer antlers on its head, had fins on its cheeks, claws like an eagle's, and a tail like a snake's. It roared towards the sky, sounding like thunder.
"Is that a Zhen?" Su Huamei asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
The Zhen was a mythical beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Su Huamei mentioned it because the creature bore a strong resemblance.
"Yes, it's not called a Zhen, but it belongs to the same species," Liu Nanfeng replied.
"You know it?"
"It's not that I know it, it's Ren Yang who knows it. In the Great Wilderness, it's called the Sui."
"Sui?" Su Huamei was perplexed. What a strange name.
"Translating the language of the Great Wilderness into modern terms, it means Sui, as in 'to follow.' This is because the Sui's nature is somewhat similar to our wolves nowadays, and it excels at hiding, preferring to tail others before ambushing them. It acts as a scout, and if an attack fails, it flees a thousand miles in an instant, being quite cautious. It's also one of the most troublesome wild beasts in the Great Wilderness."
As Liu Nanfeng spoke, he reached out to deal with it. He was concerned that the Sui might use its invisibility to escape and lurk, causing great harm to humans.
However, before he could make a move, someone else had already acted.
A surge of sword energy shot up into the sky. The sharpness of it was so intense that even from such a distance, ordinary people looking at it would feel a stinging sensation in their eyes, causing involuntary tears to well up.
The sword energy seemed to split the sky in two, leaving a long trail as it finally cleaved towards the Sui.
But although the Sui enjoyed ambushing, its own strength was considerable.
It let out a roar towards the sky, its fur rippled, and then it split into three. Two identical Suls appeared on its sides, and they then actively met the sword energy.
The sharp eagle-like claws collided with the sword energy, producing a massive impact. The Sui's body cracked, and then it dissipated like smoke.
The sword energy, having been obstructed, also dissipated.
However, although one of the Sui's bodies was destroyed, it still had two. They moved through the air, heading directly towards the source of the sword energy.
It seemed to be seeking revenge for that strike.
Su Huamei, however, furrowed her brow, as the Sui's behavior contradicted what Liu Nanfeng had just said.
At that moment, Liu Nanfeng acted.
"Did you see that tuft of white fur beneath its forehead? That's where the Sui's weakness lies."
With that, Liu Nanfeng pointed his finger into the void. A bolt of lightning coiled around his fingertip. Then, a mournful cry echoed from the depths of the sky.
Beneath the previously empty Heavenly Gate, a colossal body appeared. This was the Sui's true form. As its true form wailed in pain, the two Suls that had been racing through the air disappeared like phantoms before everyone's eyes.
"So, the three from just now were all fake?" Su Huamei was astonished.
She herself was skilled in illusionary arts, yet she hadn't detected anything unusual.
The Sui's true form, though struck by Liu Nanfeng's finger, did not die.
Its body flickered like a projection, constantly appearing and disappearing due to magnetic field interference, shifting between solidity and immateriality.
It was clearly trying to become invisible and escape, but the wound was too painful. Not only did it prevent the creature from staying hidden, but it also couldn't suppress its cries, making it appear quite pathetic.
The person who had unleashed the sword energy had clearly seen the Sui's predicament and would not pass up such an opportunity.
Another horizontal slash tore through the sky. This one was different from the previous one, like a burning flame shooting upwards, slicing the sky into a "bloody" wound.
This time, the Sui attempted to repeat its previous maneuver, but it was clearly less capable. By the time it tried to act again, it was too late.
It could only lower its head, using its deer antlers to block the incoming sword energy.
"Boom—"
With a roar, the sky erupted in a brilliant flash of light.
Underneath this strike, the Sui did not die, but one of its antlers was lost.
"Wuwu—"
The Sui let out a pained cry.
At that moment, a powerful blue beam suddenly pierced the sky, striking the Sui directly in the forehead. Its body was pierced through, and it plummeted from the sky. The blue beam continued its trajectory, disappearing into the distant void, its destination unknown.
"Technological weapons are still powerful," Su Huamei couldn't help but exclaim, feeling a lingering sense of dread.
Liu Nanfeng, however, was looking up at the sky with a serious expression. The blue light revealed all information within his gaze, but the sheer volume of information made it impossible to analyze immediately.
Moreover, the blue beam wouldn't remain in the sky for him to analyze indefinitely, so he immediately copied all the information.
With copying, there was also pasting. Soon, a ray of sunlight that had been illuminating the balcony instantly transformed into the appearance of the blue beam.
Su Huamei was startled, a great sense of danger welling up within her. Her entire body tensed, and she instinctively retreated several steps.
A beam of light, in essence, was still light, and sunlight was also light, making it the ideal carrier. When Liu Nanfeng pasted the beam's information onto the sunlight, due to the data transformation, the sunlight instantly took on the appearance of the beam.
However, this light couldn't exist indefinitely. Before it could vanish, Liu Nanfeng summoned [Guan Shan Hai] and swept it through the void. This information was immediately collected into [Guan Shan Hai], effectively pasting all of it onto the scroll.
Seeing the blue beam disappear, Su Huamei let out a sigh of relief.
"What is that?"
"A type of laser weapon."
Su Huamei: ...
"Eat breakfast."
Su Huamei turned away indignantly. Before leaving, she glanced up at the sky, wondering if any more unexpected events would occur.
Fortunately, no further incidents happened, allowing the two to finish their breakfast in peace.
After breakfast, instead of going to the supermarket, they drove to a nearby wet market to do some shopping.
The vegetables were a given, and they also bought hundreds of catties of fish, shrimp, beef, lamb, and pork.
The fish and shrimp were live. Liu Nanfeng intended to create a pond within [Guan Shan Hai] to raise them, allowing him to catch them whenever he wished. The abundant spiritual energy within would also cause the fish and shrimp to grow quickly and their flesh to become more delicious.
The reason for preparing so much at once was primarily because Little Carp had entered [Guan Shan Hai] the previous night and hadn't returned home.
Without preparing more, the food supply inside would likely not last for many days.
However, due to the Heavenly Gate incident, prices had risen considerably in recent days. The cost of these purchases was several times higher than before.
This was not surprising. When faced with a crisis, the people of Daxia were inclined to hoard food. Although the government had issued numerous announcements to appease the populace, people still bought what they needed, and prices continued to rise. It would only be over time that this sense of panic would gradually subside, and it couldn't be calmed with mere words.
The two spent the entire morning shopping for groceries and only entered [Guan Shan Hai] around noon.
As soon as they entered, they felt a fierce wind howling in the sky, like colossal waves crashing against the shore. The flowers in the flowerbed were all blown to the ground, and even the large tree in the center of the flowerbed was swaying precariously.
"What's going on?" Liu Nanfeng exclaimed in shock.
What had happened during his absence?