“That’s not it. Wayne’s intelligence has always been reliable. I just feel that regarding the matter of Old Owen, we might have overlooked something. After all, a demon beast—even the lowest-ranked one—is enough to rival a fourth- or fifth-rank martial artist. For a second-rank martial artist to be able to force it to retreat, no matter how you look at it, that seems a bit far-fetched!”

“Yes, it really does sound far-fetched. At first, I didn’t believe it either!” The elder sitting on the golden chair waved his hand lightly, completely extinguishing the sparks that had flared up between the two. “But after multiple verifications, it’s been confirmed that this information is accurate. I don’t know why Old Owen suddenly left, but I can be sure of two facts. First, the news about Old Owen is true—it really exists. Second, it was indeed that Tyler Walker who forced it to retreat on his wedding day. Judging from various accounts, at the time, Old Owen had the absolute upper hand, and could have killed Tyler Walker at any moment. But in the end, it suddenly left. In the eyes of those villagers, of course, it was Tyler Walker who drove away Old Owen!”

“So, in other words, Old Owen wasn’t actually forced away by Tyler Walker, but left on its own. That sounds a bit more plausible!” said Thomas.

“Hmph!” The woman in red snorted coldly and turned her head away.

“The reason why Old Owen retreated on its own is unknown, but all we need to know is that it does indeed exist!”

“Not only does it exist, but it’s definitely a demon beast!” When he said the words “demon beast,” a crazed light flashed uncontrollably in the eyes of a middle-aged man sitting diagonally across from the woman in red.

“Little James is right. Old Owen is a demon beast—that’s what matters most!” The elder nodded heavily, the same gleam flickering in his eyes.

A demon beast—that’s what matters most.

As long as it’s a demon beast, it will have an inner core, and for martial artists and cultivators like them, a demon beast’s inner core is an unparalleled treasure.

In this world, the inner core of a demon beast is not exactly the same as the inner cores Danny Goodwin used to read about in wuxia novels, but there are still many similarities.

A demon beast’s inner core is formed when the beast gathers all its essence and energy into one place right before death. The size varies, but generally, no matter how huge the demon beast is, the inner core it produces is at most the size of a fist, while smaller ones are only about the size of a soybean.

The inner core is extremely useful. It contains powerful vitality, which is of immense benefit to those who practice martial arts. For example, if you add a demon beast’s inner core to the medicinal baths used for cleansing and strengthening the body, the effects will be greatly enhanced.

However, demon beast inner cores are not easy to find. Although this continent is vast and demon beasts are countless in the deep mountains and wild forests, take Mangcang Mountain for example—there are plenty of demon beasts deep within.

The problem is, you just can’t catch them!

Demon beasts—not to mention those born as such—even the lowest-level ones that have just evolved from ordinary wild animals have strength at least equivalent to a fourth- or fifth-rank martial artist. But that’s not the main difficulty. There are still quite a few martial artists of the fourth or fifth rank in the world. The real problem is the environment where these demon beasts live: deep mountains, great swamps, desolate and dangerous places. If you want to find a demon beast, you have to go to such places—like the depths of Mangcang Mountain. Even innate martial artists can barely protect themselves there, and if they’re unlucky, they might lose their lives. So how could they even talk about hunting demon beasts?

What’s more, in such places, there’s never just one demon beast—they move in packs. If you attack one and alarm the others, the result will be just as tragic.

In human settlements or crowded places, finding a demon beast is almost a fantasy.

But today, the people of the Black Dragon Society seem to have spotted an opportunity.

The West Mountain’s Old Owen.

The legend of this one-eyed wolf has been around for a long time—over a hundred years, in fact—but it hasn’t spread widely, only circulating in a few mountain villages around Qingyangji. In the past, the Black Dragon Society wasn’t interested in such legends, at most treating them as rural tales.

But this time is different!

Because Old Owen has actually appeared, and comparing it to the local villagers’ legends, there’s a ninety percent chance that Old Owen is a demon beast—and the lowest, easiest-to-handle kind at that, one that evolved from an ordinary wild animal after some stroke of fortune.

Such demon beasts generally aren’t very intelligent, and most importantly, its whereabouts are in the West Mountain.