On the afternoon of the seventh day.
There were only three hours left before Chu Danqing's Trial Mission of surviving seven days would be complete.
The village chief had already come to urge Chu Danqing for the fifth time.
Yet every time, Chu Danqing said there was no rush. Only when the final three hours remained did he leisurely set off with Da Bao.
He did not hike up the mountain on foot. Instead, he drove a donkey cart loaded to the brim with crudely made iron-sand gunpowder.
He had tested its power before. It was extremely formidable.
The gunpowder did not use a normal ratio, but a 9:0.5:0.5 mixture of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur. This mixture possessed tremendous explosive force, but it was also highly sensitive and could easily detonate by accident.
One careless moment, and it might blow up.
It was also mixed with iron sand. When it exploded, it produced shrapnel and armor-piercing effects, so it was not merely useful for blasting—it could also wound and kill enemies.
Along the way, Da Bao appeared somewhat restless. Blood-colored wisps of aura surfaced around him from time to time, as though he could not wait to devour that Cave Beast Priest.
"Da Bao, there's something I've always wanted to ask you," Chu Danqing said.
"You, ask." Da Bao was not moving on two legs like a human. His arms were too long, so like an ape, he used his forelimbs as supports to move forward.
His speed was not slow in the slightest. After all, he had 7 points of Agility.
"The Cave Beast Priest's previous incarnation was also human. If you just eat him, isn't that a little..." Chu Danqing did not finish the rest. The meaning was clear enough.
Da Bao truly had never considered this question. Chu Danqing's words plunged him into thought.
"Little Chu himself, also said, previous incarnation, was human." Da Bao quickly found the flaw in the logic. "Now, not."
Chu Danqing looked at Da Bao, feeling that Da Bao's brain should not have been capable of producing that answer. Perhaps it was an instinctive response brought about by the Beast Instinct skill.
He opened his mouth, wanting to refute him from philosophical and biological perspectives, but in the end, the words never came out.
Since Da Bao did not care, there was no point even if Chu Danqing won the argument. And if he explained it too complicatedly, Da Bao would most likely not understand.
His Spirit Attribute was locked at 1 point. That did not represent intelligence, but it was still somewhat related.
"You're right." Though Chu Danqing had objections, he swallowed them all back down.
"They're here." Da Bao grabbed the donkey and steadied the cart.
He rose to his feet, his two-and-a-half-meter frame looking immensely burly.
Rustling sounds drifted closer from not far away.
"Chii~" A shrill monkey cry rang out. From among the trees and undergrowth, little monkeys with skin stretched over bone, like skeletons, leaped out one after another.
They were not large, only around fifty centimeters tall, with sharp fangs, keen claws, and no fur.
Most importantly, there were many of them. At a glance, there were at least dozens.
At this point, they were only a little over halfway from Fallen Blossom Cave on the back mountain, at most around three kilometers away.
Da Bao was just about to make a move when Chu Danqing stopped him.
"Protect me. I'll deal with them." As Chu Danqing spoke, he took out a fire starter, lit the fuse of a bag of gunpowder, and threw it into the monkey horde.
A Skeleton Monkey agilely caught it, but because its Strength and attributes were not high enough, it was smashed straight back into the surging monkey horde.
Boom!
The explosion erupted. A violent heat wave, accompanied by iron sand, spread through the Skeleton Monkey horde at a horrifying speed.
Every Skeleton Monkey within range was swallowed up, forcibly creating a blank space in the horde.
At the same time, the thunderous sound severely frightened the Skeleton Monkeys.
But this was only the beginning. A second bag of gunpowder was thrown out again.
This time, the Skeleton Monkeys had learned their lesson. The moment they saw the gunpowder bag, they scattered in all directions.
But they were one step too slow. The fuse on this bag of gunpowder Chu Danqing used was shorter, so it exploded faster.
The second explosion rang out, and the Skeleton Monkeys no longer dared to continue advancing.
The Skeleton Monkeys that approached the donkey cart met even more miserable ends, torn into pieces by Da Bao's claws.
One Skeleton Monkey after another kept a safe distance, chattering as they glared at Chu Danqing and made rustling sounds.
"They're cursing." Da Bao could understand what the Skeleton Monkeys' rustling meant.
Chu Danqing remained unmoved. "Tell these little monkeys that we're going up the mountain to kill the Cave Beast Priest."
Wasn't it just provocation? It was not as if he could not do that too.
The moment Chu Danqing said this, every Skeleton Monkey fell silent.
They could understand human speech. There was no need for Da Bao to relay it.
All the Skeleton Monkeys bared their fangs at Chu Danqing at once, then charged forward madly the next moment.
It was as though they had overcome their fear of the gunpowder's power and noise.
Clearly, Chu Danqing's words had touched their bottom line.
"I'm not afraid that there are many of you. I'm afraid you won't come." Chu Danqing sneered coldly, using the fire starter to light bag after bag of gunpowder and hurling them out.
Explosions rose and fell in succession. Da Bao guarded him in close combat, and they could not threaten Chu Danqing at all.
He had even used a donkey cart to transport the bags of gunpowder, which was enough to show that he had brought a share specifically for these Skeleton Monkeys.
After Da Bao tore apart the final Skeleton Monkey, an ordinary-grade treasure chest appeared.
After these past few times, Chu Danqing had made some guesses about the rules behind treasure chests.
All lesser monsters had to be cleared before a treasure chest would drop from the final one. The wolves from before, the White Dragon Fish Offspring, and this Skeleton Monkey horde had all been like that.
As for elites or bosses like the White Dragon Fish, there was a high chance they dropped treasure chests immediately upon death.
"They looked numerous, but after counting them, there were only around a hundred."
"These Skeleton Monkeys' attributes aren't high. Three White Dragon Fish Offspring working together could wipe them all out." Chu Danqing counted their numbers while Da Bao carried the treasure chest over.
After becoming Chu Danqing's Permanent Summon, Da Bao could naturally see treasure chests as well.
"Weak. If I kill, very fast." Da Bao handed the treasure chest to Chu Danqing.
Chu Danqing opened it directly and casually said, "You need to conserve your strength to kill the Cave Beast Priest. It's not worth it."
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