Reflection and Harvest

This encounter had been, ever since Zhang Qingyuan had transmigrated to this world,

the time he had come closest to death!

Facing the Crimson Fiend Yao Python, which required three Spirit Essence Realm cultivators to surround and kill.

If not for the fact that before this,

Zhang Qingyuan's foundation had been incomparably solid, and he had long since cultivated the Water Essence Art to the peak of the third layer, needing only a trace of Spiritual Mechanism to break through to the fourth,

if not for comprehending that wisp of Spiritual Mechanism amid the Life and Death Crisis, at the brink of despair,

if not for the fourth layer of the Cloud Water Art granting the Spirit Essence cultivated by the technique the two unique traits of [softness, resilience], allowing Zhang Qingyuan to perfectly counter the Crimson Fiend Yao Python's death coil.

This time,

he truly might have fallen here!

Looking at the Crimson Fiend Yao Python before him, its corpse severed in two,

Zhang Qingyuan did not feel the slightest excitement.

Instead, he was seized by immense lingering fear!

All over his body,

cold sweat drenched him from head to toe!

"Heh, I kept telling myself that the cultivation world is dangerous, that one misstep could mean death and the dissipation of the Dao. I had to be cautious, cautious, and more cautious."

"And yet this time, I made such a low-level mistake!"

"From the very beginning, when I had gone more than ten li deep into the forest without finding any traces, I should have stopped. Do not pursue into the woods. I should have waited for the Hu Family cultivators behind me to provide support and explored together with them!"

"I had clearly known long ago just how dangerous the deep mountains and wild forests of this other world were, yet I let myself be provoked by such pointless emotions and placed myself in danger!"

"Even while in danger, I failed to cautiously observe my surroundings. I was far too careless, trusting the Sect's intelligence and believing that the dangerous Demonic Beasts had basically been cleared out, that the areas under its subordinate powers were basically safe."

Recalling the scenes from before,

there had been far too many errors and oversights that had led him into this dead end.

It made cold sweat stream down Zhang Qingyuan's back.

He had escaped with his life by sheer luck this time,

but what about next time?

Would he still have the same luck?

Zhang Qingyuan asked himself.

The answer

was probably no!

His first outing to hunt Demonic Beasts had taught Zhang Qingyuan far, far too many lessons.

Making mistakes

was not frightening.

No one was a sage who never made mistakes.

The most important thing

was to learn from them,

to draw experience from past errors, and never make the same mistakes again!

If time could be turned back,

then even if he knew this was a crucial opportunity that might allow his Cloud Water Art to break through to the fourth layer, he would never again recklessly charge headfirst into his prey's trap!

With this profound lesson,

Zhang Qingyuan had steeled his resolve. He would absolutely never make such a low-level mistake of underestimating his enemy and acting carelessly again.

After the fierce battle,

more than half the Spirit Essence within Zhang Qingyuan had already been consumed.

He cautiously leaped up, landing on the trunk of a Big Tree beside him like a nimble bird.

Standing high above, he cautiously scanned the deep forest around him.

He remained on guard against any danger that might have been drawn over by the battle just now.

Fortunately,

there was no movement.

The fierce battle had not attracted any other Demonic Beasts, as he had imagined.

That made sense.

Within the territory of the Cloud Water Sect's subordinate powers, powerful Demonic Beasts had basically long been cleared out by the Sect. The appearance of a Crimson Fiend Yao Python with strength at least at the Late Spirit Essence Realm was already an extreme accident.

The more powerful the Demonic Beast,

the greater the destruction it would inevitably cause, drawing the Sect's attention and cleansing.

This Crimson Fiend Yao Python

should have been the overlord of the nearby mountain depths.

Drawn over by the scent of the Spirit Devouring Rat, Zhang Qingyuan had ended up charging headfirst into its hunting grounds.

Even if there were other Demonic Beasts nearby,

they had likely long since fled in all directions beneath the Crimson Fiend Yao Python's terrifying aura.

However,

although the possibility of attracting other powerful Demonic Beasts was very low,

after learning the lesson of his earlier carelessness,

Zhang Qingyuan still did not dare let down his guard in the slightest.

Only after carefully confirming everything

and setting up some warnings along the way

did he finally relax a little.

"Still, although this was dangerous, opportunity and danger coexist. The corpse of a Crimson Fiend Yao Python can fetch at least twenty Spirit Stones in the Marketplace!"

Looking at the clearing,

at the snake body still constantly twisting without having completely died, excitement could not help but appear in Zhang Qingyuan's eyes.

Half a Month ago,

he had worked hard to save money, spending an entire year before he had finally accumulated enough exchange points to trade for One Pill Spirit Stone.

Now,

the Harvest from this mission alone was worth at least twenty Spirit Stones!

Becoming rich overnight

was Nothing Special!

Of course,

this was not unrelated to Zhang Qingyuan having already advanced to the Late Spirit Essence Realm and luckily killing this Crimson Fiend Yao Python over-level.

But no matter what,

he had made a killing.

Only,

facing the Crimson Fiend Yao Python's enormous body, Zhang Qingyuan could not help but furrow his brow.

This thing,

how was he supposed to bring it back?

On him,

he only had a Storage Talisman for daily necessities, with space no larger than a suitcase from his Previous Life.

But this enormous snake body before him would require at least a Storage Bag to fully contain.

If a Storage Talisman was a suitcase,

then a Storage Bag was a shipping container.

Unfortunately,

for a Beggarly Ghost like Zhang Qingyuan, who had previously stayed within the Sect Gate, a Storage Talisman had always been enough for ordinary use. There had been no need to replace it with a Storage Bag.

Thus,

facing a pile of snake flesh worth more than twenty Spirit Stones, Zhang Qingyuan had a headache.

"Forget it. Those Hu Family clansmen behind me should be catching up soon. I'll have them help bring it back when the time comes."

Casting his troubles to the back of his mind,

Zhang Qingyuan began inspecting the surroundings.

In the clearing,

the stench of blood permeated the air.

As the writhing snake body slowly began to still, a gray object slid out from its severed neck.

Zhang Qingyuan stepped closer to look.

It was shockingly a Spirit Devouring Rat with half its fur dissolved by the snake's acidic gastric fluid!

This

should have been the original culprit behind everything.

"Looks like the traces of the Spirit Devouring Rat's activity here attracted the Crimson Fiend Yao Python to hunt it. In the end, I unexpectedly happened to trespass into its hunting grounds and became its prey as well."

Zhang Qingyuan pondered thoughtfully.

Suddenly,

he seemed to think of something.

He began carefully searching the area. At last, beneath an inconspicuous stone, he found a hidden rat hole.

He dug it open with the broken sword in his hand.

Inside, the space was full of dry grass.

Above the grass,

there was shockingly a pile of cultivation Spirit Items such as Spirit Grain and spirit fruit pits!

There were a full three jin of them!

It seemed

this Spirit Devouring Rat had the habit of storing food as well.

An unexpected Harvest!

Without much hesitation, he used the Storage Talisman he carried with him to store all three jin of assorted Spirit Materials within it.

After cleaning up the loose ends around him,

Zhang Qingyuan found a relatively safe place and sat down cross-legged.

While waiting for the Hu Family clansmen to arrive, he recovered his own Spirit Essence.

Before long,

clamorous voices came from afar.

Hu Yong'an led a group of Hu Family clansmen, all of whom possessed some degree of cultivation. Following the Traces Zhang Qingyuan had Left behind,

they found their way over.