Hunting

Three days later.

The morning sky had only just begun to brighten.

Su Yu awakened from meditation and sensed that he remained in peak condition. He nodded slightly. The three magical artifacts in his dantian were all being nourished by his mana. With a thought, he summoned the mid-grade magical artifact, the Azure Gang Robe, and wore it beneath his clothes.

As he stepped out of his room, Su Yu was about to inform his master, Su Yun, when he saw Su Yun approaching with a Jade Bottle in hand.

Su Yun handed the Jade Bottle to Su Yu. "This is for you—Spirit Bewildering Liquid."

"It's a new medicine I attempted to refine by drawing on the Beast Luring Powder formula. It no longer lures beasts, but it has a powerful soul-bewildering effect."

"A late-stage Rank 1 Mountain Carving is no weakling, but if it takes a sufficient dose of Spirit Bewildering Liquid, it won't last long."

As he spoke, Su Yun lowered his voice. "Xiao Zhi only needs to kill a Mountain Carving to pass the inner sect assessment. This task is neither too difficult nor too easy. I tested this Spirit Bewildering Liquid, and its effects are decent. Otherwise, I would have prepared some poison for you."

"We're alchemists. If medicine can solve it, then it isn't a problem."

Su Yu froze for a moment.

Spirit Bewildering Liquid or poison.

Then Su Yu's eyes lit up. This really was good stuff.

It was the same principle as when he had used Beast Luring Powder to hunt Earth Rock Rats.

"Thank you, Master." Su Yu hurriedly accepted the Jade Bottle, while Su Yun explained the method of use and duration of the Spirit Bewildering Liquid.

When applied to a magical artifact, the Spirit Bewildering Liquid could last for about half an incense stick's time.

Su Yu asked quietly, "Master, does this Spirit Bewildering Liquid work on people?"

Su Yun paused, then gave Su Yu a deeply meaningful look. "I tested it on myself. It works."

Su Yu: "..."

He tested it on himself—what a ruthless man!

Originally, Su Yu had wanted to ask Su Yun for advice on using poison and get a little more insurance, but there was no longer enough time.

"Master, I'll be going first."

After hurriedly bidding Su Yun farewell, Su Yu met up with Su Qingyi, and the two left Cloud Mountain Market together for the area outside the Cloud Sword Sect's mountain gate.

As they walked, Su Qingyi said in a low voice, "If you run into any danger, stay close to me. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to help the young lady kill the Mountain Carving, but keeping you alive shouldn't be a problem."

Su Yu looked at Su Qingyi in surprise.

Su Qingyi's expression remained natural as he said quietly, "If the young lady can make progress in the Cloud Sword Sect's inner sect, it will bring enormous benefits to our Su Family."

"Leaving aside anything else, Foundation Establishment Pills and the materials needed to refine them are monopolized by the major powers. They aren't something an ordinary cultivation family can obtain."

"If our Su Family wants to truly gain a foothold in Jiang City and deal with the Lin Family, we need a Foundation Establishment Ancestor."

Of course, there was one thing Su Qingyi did not say.

This was also paving the way for him—or for them—to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage in the future.

"I know," Su Yu said.

The Foundation Establishment stage was the greatest bottleneck holding back more than ninety percent of Qi Refining Realm cultivators, bar none. Major cultivation forces such as the Cloud Sword Sect only needed to monopolize Foundation Establishment Pills and their refining materials to control the various cultivation forces and independent cultivators under their influence.

The Su Family was currently seeking Foundation Establishment Pills as well, but sometimes, even with spirit stones, one could not necessarily buy a Foundation Establishment Pill or gather enough materials to refine one.

At Su Yu's current cultivation speed, he would need at least another twenty or thirty years before he had to consider breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

He was not too worried about the bottleneck.

But others were different—

To be fair, the elders of the family had treated him well. He could not simply turn his back on them and become an ungrateful wretch.

If he were merely an outsider, that would be one thing.

But he was a member of the Su Family. He was Su Yu.

For now, he still could not abandon everything and care only about cultivation.

They arrived outside the Cloud Sword Sect's mountain gate.

Before long, Su Zhi, Li Shinan, and Chen Sisi emerged. Under Su Zhi's lead, the group of five swiftly headed toward the Mountain Carving's habitat.

Not long after the group entered a desolate mountain ridge, a figure silently appeared, staring coldly in the direction where the five had disappeared.

"Su Zhi, Su Yu, Su Qingyi—solving three Su Family brats in one go. Let's see how you, Su Peng, can keep acting so arrogant!" the man muttered through gritted teeth.

After waiting for a moment, the man followed from afar.

Half a day later.

At the foot of a towering mountain that reached into the clouds, Su Yu and the others waited for more than an hour before they finally saw the Mountain Carving return to its nest on the mountain after hunting.

Just as Su Zhi was about to speak, Su Yu took out the Jade Bottle and said quietly, "This is Spirit Bewildering Liquid, a medicine prepared by my master. It has a mind-bewildering effect, even on late-stage Rank 1 demonic beasts."

"Let's apply the Spirit Bewildering Liquid to our magical artifacts first. Then, when the time comes, each of us can look for a chance to attack the Mountain Carving and use the Spirit Bewildering Liquid to bring it down as quickly as possible."

Su Zhi, Li Shinan, Chen Sisi, and Su Qingyi all looked at Su Yu in surprise.

Spirit Bewildering Liquid—

This?

Seeing their astonished gazes fixed on him, Su Yu blinked and said softly, "As an alchemist, it's normal to use a little medicine, right?"

Su Zhi pressed her lips together, nearly laughing out loud.

Li Shinan chuckled and nodded in wholehearted agreement. "Makes sense."

Chen Sisi covered her mouth as she looked at Su Yu, finding it quite amusing.

Beside them, Su Qingyi took the Jade Bottle and began applying it, muttering under his breath, "Why didn't I think of using medicine? So stupid."

Su Qingyi's magical artifact was a Golden Seal. Its grade was unknown, and its aura felt somewhat strange.

Su Zhi's magical artifact was a pale blue flying sword. Judging from its aura, it was a mid-grade magical artifact.

Li Shinan and Chen Sisi each had two low-grade magical artifacts.

After they had applied the Spirit Bewildering Liquid, Su Yu coated the Crimson Luo Blade and Ice Soul Needles with it, then hid them in his sleeves.

Su Zhi said quietly, "You all do your best to restrain and trap the Mountain Carving. I'll be responsible for taking it down. Do not let your guard down. While preventing the Mountain Carving from escaping, be careful of its counterattack."

Su Yu and the others nodded lightly.

Then, with Su Zhi leading the way, the five concealed their auras and silently climbed the mountain toward the Mountain Carving's nest.

When they approached the summit and saw the enormous nest in the canopy of a giant tree dozens of zhang tall, Su Yu and the others' expressions tightened.

They had not noticed from afar, but up close, the Mountain Carving's nest was truly enormous—twice the size of an ordinary house in the market.

When they were ten zhang from the tree, Su Zhi gave a faint nod. Su Yu, Su Qingyi, Li Shinan, and Chen Sisi attacked at the same time, intending to trap the Mountain Carving in its nest.

Myriad Wood Vine Technique!

Buzz!

The instant Su Yu made his move, the branches and twigs around the Mountain Carving's nest burst with green light, transforming as though into countless vines. In an instant, they enveloped the entire nest and formed a wooden prison.

Chen Sisi actually knew a rare ice-attribute spell. As cold air spread, everything above seemed to freeze over.

Su Qingyi used an ordinary wood vine spell, but as the Golden Seal magical artifact on his body glowed, those vines took on a metallic sheen. They extended through the gaps in Su Yu's wooden prison, seeking to bind the Mountain Carving directly.

Earth-attribute mana rippled around Li Shinan. His gaze remained fixed on the nest in the canopy above as he shouted, "Condense!"

Buzz!

The entire nest instantly turned into a massive boulder.

Perhaps due to Chen Sisi's ice-attribute spell, the Mountain Carving's reaction was half a beat too slow. The instant Su Yu and the other three trapped the nest, they exerted force and tore it from the tree.

Only when its nest crashed to the ground did the Mountain Carving inside let out an enraged, vicious shriek. "Screeeech!!!"

Boom!

The cage formed by Su Yu and the other four was instantly shredded by the Mountain Carving's claws.

Yet just as the Mountain Carving tried to charge out, Su Zhi threw out two high-grade Rank 1 Ice Seal Talismans, while Su Yu threw out two high-grade Rank 1 Cloud Piercing Arrow Talismans.

The Ice Seal Talismans could seal and freeze their target, stiffening the enemy's body and drastically reducing its reaction speed.

High-grade Rank 1 Ice Seal Talismans were highly effective against late-stage Rank 1 demonic beasts, not to mention that Su Zhi had used two at once.

Bang!

As the Ice Seal Talismans exploded, a layer of frost immediately formed over the Mountain Carving's body, halting its movements.

At that moment, the two Cloud Piercing Arrow Talismans struck. They ignited in midair and transformed into two sharp arrows that tore through the air in a flash, piercing the Mountain Carving's wings and blasting two enormous bloody holes into its body.

Su Zhi was startled. She had not expected her younger clansman, Su Yu, to produce two high-grade Rank 1 Cloud Piercing Arrow Talismans.

But she reacted quickly. In the instant the Mountain Carving was injured and frozen, her mid-grade magical artifact flying sword streaked through the air in a flash of cold light and pierced into the Mountain Carving's body through one of the bloody holes.

The next moment.

Su Qingyi's magical seal, Su Yu's five Ice Soul Needles, and Li Shinan and Chen Sisi's magical artifacts all tore into the Mountain Carving through its wounds.