A Small Test of Skill

After the old man left, Jiang Yiming went back down the mountain and headed home.

As night fell, people who had gone out to work trickled back into the residential complex. Lights gradually came on in the apartments above and below.

It should have been time to rest, but Jiang Yiming climbed onto his basic bicycle and rode out of the complex.

By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, his head was covered in sweat and half his clothes were wet.

He switched on his flashlight and flicked his wrist a couple of times, sweeping its bright white beam through the woods.

The mountains at night were a different sight altogether.

Wild mice, owls, and other animals that never showed themselves during the day were now out in the woods, foraging for food.

Of course, all kinds of venomous creatures had come out with them!

Anyone who dared venture into the woods could find all kinds of spiders and centipedes with their eyes closed. Even venomous snakes and toads were more numerous now.

After less than half an hour of searching, Jiang Yiming had already added more than a hundred spiders, dozens of centipedes, and a few toads and snakes to his Gu Rearing Box.

Of the five kinds of Primordial Gu, the only one he hadn't found was scorpions!

By rights, there should be scorpions in Qiuyang City...

Whatever! I'll keep looking and try to find some scorpions before I go back.

Jiang Yiming's obsessive-compulsive streak had kicked in. Having found four kinds of venomous creatures, he badly wanted to find the last one!

After another bout of searching, the number of gu insects in his Gu Rearing Box kept growing, reaching four or five hundred!

He had also caught a wider variety of species.

For instance, among the spiders, he now had long ones and flat ones, fat ones and thin ones. Among the centipedes, he had found several kinds with purple heads and red heads...

Having more varieties should be good for my gu refinement! With that thought, he continued searching.

To avoid being bitten by the venomous creatures, Jiang Yiming released Red Tail and Ghost Face. With the two of them as bodyguards, the search was much safer.

Suddenly, his flashlight beam swept across a patch of sand!

It was a patch of sand formed by weathered mountain rock. The grains were large, but it was just the sort of place scorpions liked to live!

Jiang Yiming approached slowly and cautiously. Once he got a clear look, his mouth instantly twisted with excitement.

I'm so stupid! I only knew to search blindly and forgot that scorpions live in groups. Look in the wrong place, and it's hard to find even one. But find the right place, and a whole nest turns up.

Right before him was a huge nest of scorpions with their tails raised!

On that patch of sand, barely a dozen square meters across, a casual glance revealed hundreds of scorpions!

There were adult scorpions whose shells had already turned black and hard, as well as young ones with nearly transparent shells.

At that moment, all the scorpions were gathered around a wild hare.

The hare had been dead for a long time, its fur already beginning to rot, with a swarm of flies circling over it.

The countless scorpions, old and young alike, waved their pincers as they fought the flies for food.

As Jiang Yiming watched the scene, inspiration flashed through his mind.

Why didn't I think of using food to attract venomous creatures? Wouldn't that make them easy to catch?!

The path of gu cultivation calls for venomous creatures! Once I have countless venomous creatures, why would I fear being unable to refine a heaven-grade gu?

At that thought, he was filled with confidence in the future!

After the swarm of scorpions finished eating, he began collecting gu.

Ten... eighty... three hundred and sixty... seven hundred and fifty...

One by one, the scorpions were collected into the Gu Rearing Box, instantly becoming his gu insects.

After clearing those on the surface, he was still a little uneasy and ordered Red Tail and Ghost Face to check the nearby nests.

By the time he finished sweeping the place clean, more than eight hundred scorpions had been added to the Gu Rearing Box!

"Hahaha... I've collected so many gu insects. That's enough to qualify me to go home!"

Only then did Jiang Yiming prepare to head home, satisfied.

As he walked along the mountain path, he excitedly made plans for tomorrow.

I can't be this stupid tomorrow. I have to buy some meat first and put it out in the mountains in the afternoon, then come back at night to collect them. That should improve my efficiency!

On the pitch-black road, he strode along with his flashlight.

He was daydreaming about the good days ahead when, suddenly, the sound of branches snapping underfoot came from the woods beside the path!

"Who?!"

Jiang Yiming hurriedly raised his flashlight and shone it toward the sound. What he saw nearly scared him half to death.

Behind a tangle of branches, a pair of eerie green eyes stared fixedly in his direction. When the flashlight shone on them, they reflected a chilling green light!

"Roar!"

The creature behind the branches knew it had been discovered. It stopped hiding and pounced straight out.

Only then, by the light of the moon, did Jiang Yiming see that it was a slender adult leopard!

Its cold eyes, sharp teeth, and foul-smelling breath all made Jiang Yiming's heart tremble.

An experienced hunter might have been able to handle the situation calmly. But Jiang Yiming was, after all, just a young man who had only recently graduated from high school. He had never encountered anything like this and was momentarily stunned with fear.

Fortunately, the Ghost-Faced Spider reacted quickly. It pushed off with its hind legs and shot toward the leopard's head like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The leopard was agile. Though its entire body was airborne, it still lashed out quickly, striking the Ghost-Faced Spider squarely on the back with a paw and sending it flying.

Ghost Face's interference altered the leopard's trajectory, causing its pounce to miss.

That brief delay finally allowed Jiang Yiming to recover from his fear. He hurriedly stepped back several paces to open up some distance.

"Damn leopard, you scared me! Just watch how I deal with you!"

He still had no gu essence of his own in his qi sea, so he might not be a match for the leopard in a one-on-one fight.

But after overcoming the fear in his heart, he was no longer afraid. Instead, he was eager to regain the upper hand!

The leopard had no idea his state of mind had changed and charged at him without hesitation.

"Come on, then!"

Jiang Yiming waved a hand, and a Void Spiderweb instantly appeared in front of him.

Unable to see the web, the leopard plunged straight into it, and half its body was caught in the Void Spiderweb at once.

Jiang Yiming didn't meet it head-on. He retreated two steps to make room, then picked up a branch and desperately lashed at the leopard's eyes.

The front half of the leopard's body was already tangled in the Void Spiderweb. It couldn't stretch out its front legs and could barely walk, let alone dodge.

The branch struck the leopard's head again and again, battering its eye sockets to a pulp! It whimpered continuously, but instead of retreating, it used its two hind legs to push desperately forward.

Just then, the branch in Jiang Yiming's hand snapped with a crack.

The leopard seized the chance, pushed off with both legs, and bared its fangs again as it lunged to bite him.

Jiang Yiming hurriedly retreated two steps while recalling Red Tail and Ghost Face.

Just as the leopard landed, a centipede's head suddenly emerged from the loose stones beneath its feet and bit hard into its ankle.

"Roar!"

After letting out a feeble roar, the leopard whipped its head around, only to see that the Red Tail Centipede had already burrowed underground again.

Not to be outdone, the Ghost-Faced Spider suddenly shot a venomous web from its rear, entangling the leopard's hind legs.

This time, the leopard lost all ability to move and lay on the ground. Once the venom took effect, it breathed its last.

Looking at the leopard's corpse, Jiang Yiming was filled with emotion.

The leopard wasn't actually that strong. It's just that I'd never fought a wild beast in my life, so my momentum was weaker right from the start.

What got me out of danger wasn't strength, but courage!

Having fought a wild beast, my courage has at least doubled! From now on, no matter how great a threat I face, I'll never be frightened!

Once he had calmed down, Jiang Yiming put away the Void Spiderweb.