Chapter 17

Owls come in a wide variety, with 249 known species to date. However, this is not all of them. There are always unknown creatures in areas that humans rarely venture into, so even professional ornithologists may not be able to identify an owl species based on a short video, let alone a black-and-white one.

However, Kong Bi is not a scholar. She is not curious about the exact species of the owl, but only wants to catch it as soon as possible. So, early the next morning, she got up and went into the nearby mountains.

After falling back asleep last night, Kong Bi’s original bloodline inheritance naturally changed its original order. Bloodline inheritance is affected by the surrounding environment. If a monster’s surroundings are safe and food is plentiful, the bloodline inheritance will prioritize passing on knowledge that enriches the monster’s understanding. If there are powerful enemies nearby, the inheritance will prioritize survival-related or combat-related skills to avoid them.

The battle last night allowed Kong Bi to learn many techniques for fighting and locating enemies in her dreams, giving her greater confidence in today’s actions.

The owl is clearly a resident of the nearby area, and its usual hunting range should also be nearby. After all, it couldn’t have flown here if its habitat was far away. And if it lived in the Shiwan Mountains, Huajiao wouldn’t be unaware of it, having roamed those mountains freely for so long.

After all, the presence of powerful enemies in the surroundings influences an animal’s personality. The kind of reckless aggression cultivated in the green peacocks doesn’t seem like the personality that would develop in a dangerous and harsh environment.

Furthermore, the owl is just a small demon, and even with the desire driven by evolution, its sensing range couldn’t be too far, otherwise it wouldn’t have launched an attack just now.

All of this evidence suggests that it was originally a resident of the vicinity.

This gave Kong Bi a bit more confidence in her ability to find the owl. She entered the mountains and forests without reverting to her original form, instead directly mobilizing the power within her bloodline, letting out a long, resonant call.

Invisible ripples spread out from Kong Bi’s center, radiating outwards in circles.

This was the innate divine ability of a Demon King – Gathering Beasts and Summoning Birds!

This is different from the summoning spell that Kong Bi comprehended on her first day at the zoo. It’s common for ordinary demons to summon their own kind, or to command animals of the same family after their cultivation improves. However, they cannot command other species of animals. Birds can only command birds, and land animals like tigers and bears, even if they sense the summons, would be too lazy to respond. The same goes for aquatic creatures. But what Kong Bi is using now is different. Any animal can be summoned by this divine ability.

The demon king, the king among demons, possesses many magical powers that are difficult for ordinary demons to master.

In a tree hole on the back hill of Peacock Mountain, several squirrels jumped out one after another, as if trying to identify a direction. Soon, they ran off in a certain direction.

On the ground, among the withered yellow leaves, a slender snake suddenly raised its upper body, its thin tongue seeming to discern something, and then it quickly slithered away.

Around it were foxes, frogs, rabbits… but at this moment, even though tempting food was practically jumping into its mouth, it didn’t hunt. All the beasts seemed to sense something, frantically rushing towards the same destination.

Above the trees, countless birds soared into the sky, a dark, overwhelming mass like a cloud covering the top half, forming a huge triangle, flying towards the destination with clear intent.

With the stampede of countless beasts, Kong Bi looked up at the visible spectacle not far away and couldn’t help but mutter, “It seems I need to make a quick decision.”

After all, such a big commotion would inevitably attract people to investigate.

Before long, a large group of animals had gathered in front of Kong Bi, almost stretching as far as the eye could see.

Weak and powerful alike… they stood distinctly before Kong Bi. However, perhaps because Peacock Mountain was relatively close to human settlements, there were no large carnivores among the animals that came.

The closer the animals were to Kong Bi, the more agile their eyes became, a sign of abundant spirituality. If they were in an environment with sufficient Qi, they might have a two or three percent chance of breaking through the boundaries of ordinary beasts, but in the current era, they can only live out their lives in mediocrity. Therefore, under Kong Bi’s command, they arrived exceptionally quickly and actively. The instinct and desire deep within their bloodlines told them that this might be their only path to transcendence.

Kong Bi reached out and scattered a handful of feathers among them. The strange aura within the feathers was drawn out and entered the animals’ bodies like rain.

“Find it!” After thinking for a moment, Kong Bi added, “Whoever finds it, when I break through in the future, I will help them achieve enlightenment.”

“Chirp, chirp!”

“Squeak, squeak!”

“Roar!”

…

Various cries arose one after another, and then they scattered in a rush. They might not understand what Kong Bi was saying, but their bodily instincts told them that they could gain great benefits from it.

Kong Bi was somewhat disappointed. The owl clearly didn’t seem to have any kind of lineage, otherwise, it wouldn’t have targeted Huajiao. After all, if it were a demon with a wealthy background like Kong Bi, it wouldn’t need external assistance for its breakthrough. Even Huajiao, if it had achieved demonhood on its own instead of being enlightened, wouldn’t have needed to worry about resources.

This also means that if the owl is within Kong Bi’s summoning range, it will also run over like these animals. If that’s the case, she can catch it without any effort.

But that’s not possible now. 

Fortunately, Kong Bi had anticipated this, otherwise she wouldn’t have brought the feathers that fell off during yesterday’s fight. Those feathers, carrying the owl’s scent, are enough for animals with keen senses of smell to know who they are looking for. Even if they don’t know, the aura Kong Bi later instilled into their bodies will automatically trigger when they encounter the owl, prompting them to return with information, allowing Kong Bi to detect it.

While detection is possible, it only narrows down a general area, so these animal scouts are still essential.

The owl probably didn’t expect that Kong Bi would be so “unethical,” not only not going herself but also calling for reinforcements, and in such a large number, hundreds or thousands.

Especially those birds in the sky, living nearby, it’s impossible for them to have no impression of the owl. After all, after becoming a demon, the aura on its body naturally changes, making it easy for ordinary animals to remember its terrifying aura. That’s a reminder from deep within their genes, causing them, even without intelligence, to instinctively avoid the other’s nest.

So now it is naturally easier to search in the opposite direction.

Driven by interests, they can forget their fear for a short time.

Kong Bi didn’t wait in place either. Among the birds that fly around every day, there are always some individuals who have an impression of the owl. Even though owls are usually nocturnal, there are other nocturnal birds. Especially for cautious birds, they’ve naturally experienced being startled awake from sleep by other animals hunting. Even though their brain capacity is limited, attracted by Kong Bi’s empty promises, they quickly recalled some unpleasant memories.

Especially for some vengeful birds, they often remember more clearly.

Therefore, Kong Bi directly followed the direction in which the largest group of birds flew.