The straw man climbed the mountain with its feet, while Zhao Xing relied on the straw man to ascend.
He crafted a rattan chair, securing it with two bamboo poles on either side.
Then, two Divine Movement Straw Men carried the rattan chair forward.
The remaining straw men were scattered on both sides, with the furthest one sent out three miles, which was Zhao Xing's limit of control.
Although the mountain path was steep, three miles in a straight line was sufficient.
Once there was any disturbance, Zhao Xing would be alerted in advance.
"The straw man technique is truly useful," Zhao Xing couldn't help but exclaim while sitting in the chair.
The Divine Movement Straw Men traversed the mountain path as if it were flat ground, moving even faster than he could on his own.
"I need to study the Divine Movement Straw Men more in the future. When the time comes to rush a hundred miles, it will only consume one straw man, saving both time and effort."
Additionally, among the straw man team, there were four special straw men, each equipped with two First-Order East Lake Pearls.
This was the sixth straw man technique Zhao Xing had learned two days prior, the 'Reconnaissance Straw Man.'
It allowed Zhao Xing to have a second perspective.
For the other straw men, he only had vague sensations. However, these four straw men could see clearly.
The spell level was not high, merely at the first transition level, but it was sufficient to see far.
In just a quarter of an hour of climbing, Zhao Xing discovered other climbers.
Through the perspective of the Reconnaissance Straw Man, he spotted four climbers in a pine forest to his left, besieging two others.
"Are they robbing something?"
Zhao Xing immediately became alert.
He quickly signaled the straw men to converge towards the left front.
"Qin Feng, my two brothers do not want this low-grade spirit treasure, why are you forcing us?" One tall warrior, wielding a battle knife and dressed in soft armor, was facing two attackers, constantly parrying while growling softly.
"Zhou Gang, only now do you think of begging for mercy?" A cold youth with a knife flashed his blade, continuously attacking, "Hmph, too late! Last time during the night watch at the city gate, my brother-in-law merely had a drink, yet you and Fang Jie insisted on holding him. Why didn't you show mercy when I begged you?"
"Brat, your brother-in-law merely had a drink? He was trying to break through! At that time, the county was strictly investigating Mysterious Heaven Demons, and such regulations cannot be blamed on me and Fang Jie!" Zhou Gang was furious.
"Stop talking nonsense! I have disliked you two since the time I was in Lake City’s Martial Division! Now you dare to compete with me for treasure, old grudges and new hatreds combined!" Qin Feng launched a series of fierce attacks, his sword techniques growing increasingly ruthless.
Not far away, the Reconnaissance Straw Man rolled its eyes, taking in everything.
As for the sounds of their battle, they did not escape Zhao Xing's ears; a gentle breeze carried the sounds to him.
"Lake City Martial Division? Officials from Lin County?" Zhao Xing stroked his chin, using the Five Elements Observation to look from afar. He quickly assessed that the realms of these individuals were around Gathered Essence Fifth and Sixth Levels.
Their techniques were quite similar, indicating they were likely taught by the same master. However, with four against two, the numerical advantage was evident.
It seemed that the conflict was not solely over the treasure, but that was part of it.
Under the same roof, conflicts are most likely to arise; even between family, this is true, let alone mere colleagues.
Outside, there are rules and etiquette to follow, where one cannot avoid seeing the other. Yet, once inside the Spirit Mountain, with the Forgetting Worry Monument present, one would forget everything upon descending, making it easy to fight.
Moreover, there was treasure in sight.
"Based on my sensing, that should be a low-grade spirit treasure," Zhao Xing looked in a certain direction, where a decayed log was embraced by two people in the pine forest.
At the top of the decayed log, a gray spirit mushroom grew, with a circle of purple at its edge. When Zhao Xing looked over, his heartbeat quickened slightly.
After assessing the battle situation, Zhao Xing concluded: It can be done!
"Go, quietly steal the spirit mushroom."
Zhao Xing instructed the two Twining Straw Men to sneak over.
The Mighty Vajra was too conspicuous; even though Zhao Xing had specially draped it in a layer of straw clothing, it was still unsuitable for stealthy tasks.
The Twining Straw Men were different; their upper limbs could extend up to twenty meters! This meant they could stealthily harvest the spirit mushroom without getting too close.
The two Twining Straw Men crept forward, hiding between the pine trees.
The Twining Straw Men made of green vines blended well with the surrounding environment, making them hard to detect unless one looked closely.
Moreover, the two groups were engaged in battle and were completely unaware of anyone approaching.
"Rustle~"
The Twining Straw Man crawled down behind a pine tree, twenty meters away from the decayed log.
The vines extended like spiritual snakes, moving along the ground, soon reaching under the spirit mushroom.
After wrapping around it twice, with a gentle pull, the basin-sized spirit mushroom was promptly plucked.
The vines slowly retracted, returning to the Twining Straw Man's body.
Just as they were about to succeed, unexpectedly, the two groups fighting in Lake City’s Martial Division had already determined a victor.
Zhou Gang's battle knife had been knocked away, his arm bleeding profusely, exposing bone, while his companion Fang Jie had also been struck in the thigh, losing combat capability.
Qin Feng immediately halted, looking down at the two with great satisfaction.
"Qin Feng, if you have the guts, kill us!"
"Kill you? Hmph, I'm not stupid; why would I make such a mistake?" Qin Feng coldly laughed as he bound them, "I must thank you two for finding this spirit mushroom for me... Huh?"
Qin Feng's expression suddenly changed: "Where's my spirit mushroom?!"
He saw that the spirit mushroom had vanished from the decayed log!
"Someone!"
Qin Feng's companion sensed something was off, looking around. With sharp eyes, he spotted the straw man turning to flee.
"Brat! Who dares to snatch food from my mouth!" Qin Feng was furious, not bothering to teach Zhou Gang and Fang Jie a lesson, and the four immediately gave chase.
"Truly disappointing, how could they lose so quickly? Didn't they say they were taught by the same master and couldn't break through? At least hold on a bit longer." Zhao Xing had intended to avoid conflict and play the role of the sixth wheel, but unexpectedly, he was still discovered.
The Twining Straw Men could not outrun the Gathered Essence Fifth and Sixth Level warriors. Seeing this, Zhao Xing no longer hid and directly revealed himself.
"Everyone, please consider whether you want to pursue or not."
His voice accompanied a gust of wind, carrying it over.
"Swish swish swish swish~"
At the same time, in the pine forest, over a dozen straw men appeared, blocking Qin Feng and his companions' path.
"Huh?" Qin Feng was startled and stopped in his tracks.
But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be straw men, and he became even angrier.
Damn it, he thought he was surrounded by a dozen people, but it was just the Agricultural Officer's straw man technique.
"Brothers, you go chase; I'll take care of these straw men!"
Seeing it was just straw men, the other three no longer hesitated and immediately chased after the straw man that had stolen the spirit mushroom, leaving Qin Feng to face the straw men.
"I suggest you do not do that." A strange voice echoed with the wind.
Qin Feng pointed his battle knife, disdainfully saying, "Still putting on airs? A mere few straw men think they can scare me? A small Agricultural Officer dares to seize food from a warrior? Truly laughable!"
Today is my birthday; I ask for a monthly ticket!
(End of Chapter)