Over the next few weeks, Devin and Jinwoo enjoyed the sights and sounds of the caravan journey. They watched in fascination as a herd of spirituality-infused gazelles roamed through the forest, their delicate hooves leaving barely a trace on the soft earth. Some of the caravan guards, both at the Foundation Establishment realm and Qi Condensation realm, kept a watchful eye on the them, but for the most part, the creatures were peaceful and posed no threat.
As they traveled through the empire of Moria, Jinwoo regaled Devin with stories of his own life and the various spiritual beasts he had encountered. Devin listened with interest, adding his own tales of adventure and the creatures he had encountered in his own journey around the world.
One day, they came across a doe giving birth, and both men watched in awe as the fawn took its first wobbly steps on the forest floor. Despite being a cultivator who had traveled the world, Devin enjoyed the beauty of the deer and the peacefulness of the forest.
As Devin and Jinwoo watched the doe giving birth, The shady looking man from earlier who had tried to sell Jinwoo silk was also watching the deer, along with a group of other men.
The men were gesturing at the doe that had just given birth, and it was clear to Devin and Jinwoo that they were discussing the unusual appearance of the newborn.
Upon closer inspection, Jinwoo realized that the doe had a mutant bloodline, which meant that it had better potential than other spiritual deer and a very high chance of reaching the foundation establishment realm.
Magical creatures at higher cultivation levels were always in high demand, as their meat was highly beneficial to cultivators.
Spiritual deers were not typically aggressive animals, so the men had to be careful not to startle the herd. Despite the potential danger, the two friends continued to observe the herd.
The shady looking man was speaking to the other men, both of whom were early Qi condensation realm cultivators.
"Look at that," the man said, gesturing towards the newborn deer. "It's a mutant. It has the potential to reach the foundation establishment realm."
The man continued, "We can capture it and sell it for at least 80 gold coins. These deer are at the Qi Condensation realm and there are about 14 of them. They usually escape when approached by cultivators at a similar cultivation realm, but we can take them by surprise."
Devin and Jinwoo watched as the men hatched their plan to capture and sell the valuable deer, but they didn't intervene. In the cultivation world, such cruel thefts were all too common.