Hunting Horned Sheep

Horned Sheep, Bronze One Star, a herbivorous, gregarious Demonic Beast. They excel at charging attacks and enter a berserk state when their lives are threatened.

The sun set, and night fell.

Trial Grounds, beginner hunting area, a certain Horned Sheep habitat.

Xian Wu, Nie Li, Lu Piao, and Du Ze, the four brothers, had just finished discussing their strategy.

Their plan was to send one person as bait to lure a lone Horned Sheep into attacking. Once the Horned Sheep fell into a trap, everyone else would shoot it with crossbow bolts coated in Nie Li's special anesthetic.

To deepen Nie Li's trust in him, Xian Wu volunteered to be the bait.

Looking down at the small pit trap about two to three meters ahead, a bead of cold sweat broke out on Xian Wu's forehead.

What if the Horned Sheep didn't step into the trap? Then he'd have to face it head-on.

He wasn't even a Bronze One Star Warrior yet. One charge from a Horned Sheep would probably leave him crippled.

However, luckily, he had the Demon Left Hand.

The Demon Left Hand could slice through metal as if it were mud. The Horned Sheep's hard skull would be as fragile as tofu before it.

No, comparing it to soap bubbles would be more fitting.

Anything that touched his left hand would be instantly decomposed into atoms.

Thinking this, Xian Wu couldn't help but feel confident.

He clasped his hands behind his back, chest puffed out, exuding an aura of "I alone am honored above all."

"It's coming!" Lu Piao warned.

Nie Li used stones to lure the Horned Sheep over step by step.

The place where they were ambushing was quite far from the Horned Sheep's habitat.

Otherwise, if the Horned Sheep's cries attracted its companions, they'd all rush them and trample them into a pulp.

The power of unity should not be underestimated.

After luring the Horned Sheep to the designated spot, Nie Li quickly disappeared into the bushes to rendezvous with Lu Piao and Du Ze.

Taking the light crossbow thrown by Du Ze, Nie Li knelt on one knee, efficiently loaded an anesthetic bolt, and aimed at the Horned Sheep.

The Horned Sheep was currently confronting Xian Wu.

Xian Wu, aware of his role as bait, hadn't put on his pitch-black cloak, trying to make himself more conspicuous.

His silver-white short hair shone under the bright moonlight. The Horned Sheep spotted the intruder with little effort.

"Baa—" The Horned Sheep's eyes glowed red, white mist spraying from its nostrils. It roared while pawing the ground with its front hooves.

Although Xian Wu had been confident earlier, facing the Horned Sheep now, he couldn't help but swallow.

Without any warning, the Horned Sheep charged fiercely.

Xian Wu clenched his left fist tightly and gritted his teeth, "Let's see who's tougher, your head or my fist."

Unexpectedly, Nie Li's clumsy trap actually worked.

As the Horned Sheep charged, its front hoof sank into the pit.

Under the force of inertia, the Horned Sheep's heavy body snapped its front leg, and it fell face-first.

"Baa!" A sharp, short cry swept by like a gust of wind, then vanished into the dense jungle.

Xian Wu swallowed. The sharp horns were only a few centimeters from his vital spot.

Seeing the Horned Sheep shaking its head and struggling to get up, Xian Wu raised his fist, ready to smash its head.

Thud, thud, thud!

Before he could act, three crossbow bolts shot into the Horned Sheep's body in quick succession.

The poison seeped into its blood, circulating rapidly to its heart and brain.

In less than a minute, the Horned Sheep's entire nervous system was paralyzed, its eyes wide open in a death-like state.

Nie Li and Lu Piao high-fived in celebration, while Du Ze drew the pre-prepared meat cleaver and went to carve up the spoils.

"Besides the horns, the fur below the neck, the Demonic Crystal, and the Demonic Spirit, don't bother with anything else that's not valuable," Nie Li reminded them as he came over. He patted Xian Wu's shoulder and looked at him admiringly, "Well done, keep it up."

To remain unfazed when facing a collapsing mountain at such a young age was truly rare.

If it were him in his previous life, he would have been scared out of his wits long ago.

With a fierce warrior like Xian Wu by his side, his confidence in dealing with the Saint Emperor increased by another point.

However... there seemed to be a problem with his physique. He wasn't sure if his guess was correct.

The specific situation could only be determined after testing Xian Wu's soul sea. It was too early to draw conclusions now.

Testing the soul sea required a pure Primary Soul Crystal, which cost over a thousand Demon Spirit Coins each. He didn't have the money to buy one yet.

"How much are these horns worth?" Lu Piao asked Nie Li, holding the still-dripping horns.

He was the son of a noble family, accustomed to a life of luxury. Although he had hunted before, he didn't know much about the value of Demonic Beasts, as his servants usually handled selling the spoils.

Nie Li turned and looked down at Lu Piao, replying, "Horned Sheep are relatively low-level Demonic Beasts. Their parts aren't worth much."

"These horns can probably be sold for 5 Demon Spirit Coins, the fur around the neck for 3 Demon Spirit Coins, and the Demonic Crystal for 5 Demon Spirit Coins. As for the Demonic Spirit, that thing is too rare, it can probably be sold for tens of thousands of Demon Spirit Coins."

Normally, a Demonic Beast's Demonic Crystal and Demonic Spirit are found inside its head.

A Demonic Crystal is a thumb-sized crystal. All Demonic Beasts have Demonic Crystals; they are the source of their demonic power.

A Demonic Spirit is like a candle flame, with various colors. They are extremely rare; only one or two out of tens of thousands of Horned Sheep possess a Demonic Spirit.

Even if they found a Horned Sheep's Demonic Spirit, they couldn't take it with them.

Without a Demonic Spirit Stone as a container, a Demonic Spirit exposed to the outside world would dissipate within the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Nie Li didn't think they would hunt a Demonic Spirit, so he didn't buy a Demonic Spirit Stone.

"Tens of thousands of Demon Spirit Coins?" Du Ze seemed very surprised by the exorbitant price of a Demonic Spirit.

One Horned Sheep's Demonic Spirit would be enough to cover all his tuition expenses at Sacred Orchid Academy.

Lu Piao couldn't help but pour cold water on his idea, "Stop dreaming, Du Ze!"

"First of all, the people who put the Horned Sheep into the Trial Grounds won't let go of a Horned Sheep with a Demonic Spirit;"

"Secondly, it's harder than climbing to heaven for an ordinary Horned Sheep to develop a Demonic Spirit, unless it consumes rare herbs and flowers. Do you think a place like the Trial Grounds would have such rare spirit herbs?"

"So, stop dreaming, you'll never find a Demonic Spirit."

"Tch, how will we know if we don't try?" Du Ze pouted.

In the time it took half an incense stick to burn, the three of them finished dismembering the Horned Sheep.

The horns, fur, and Demonic Crystal were each packed into a large sack.

Du Ze stared at the disfigured Horned Sheep on the ground and asked, "Nie Li, what about the corpse? Are we just going to leave it here?"

"Leave it to me." Before Nie Li could speak, Xian Wu, who had been sitting on a nearby large rock doing nothing, stood up.

The three looked at Xian Wu, curious about how he would deal with the Horned Sheep's corpse.

Xian Wu walked to the Horned Sheep and stood still. As he bent down to touch the sheep, he muttered:

"Secret Technique: Complete Dismantling!"

The moment Xian Wu's palm touched the corpse, the Horned Sheep vanished.

Immediately after, a gust of hot wind, mixed with the smell of blood, erupted from where the corpse had been, forcing their eyes shut.

"You... How did you do that, Xian Wu?" Nie Li asked in disbelief after recovering from his shock. Despite his extensive knowledge, he had never witnessed such a breathtaking scene.