Hunting Deer, Killing the Python

"An exotic beast deer?" Qin Meng stared intently at the stag. Suddenly, he noticed something wrong; the stag's gait was slightly off.

As it turned out, there was a laceration on the stag's hindquarters. Although it had scabbed over, it still hindered its movement, yet its presence remained more imposing than any of the other stags.

"Did it get driven out or escape from the deep mountains?" Qin Meng immediately deduced, as a herd of this size had not been seen in decades.

This confirmed the rumors that the number of fierce beasts in the depths of the mountains was increasing.

The panic and injuries of the herd meant danger, but they also meant opportunity.

The stags on the periphery—their deer pizzles and antlers—were worth a great deal.

In particular, that injured lead stag was an excellent target.

Qin Meng took down his hunting bow, drew an arrow, and nocked it, creeping down the side slope like a ghost.

Twenty zhang, eighteen zhang... The herd was extremely alert, and the limping lead stag would lift its head to look around from time to time.

Qin Meng stopped behind a boulder fifteen zhang away. At this distance, he had enough confidence.

Holding his breath and focusing his mind, he drew the bow into a full moon. The arrowhead pointed at the lead stag's neck.

"Twang!"

The bowstring vibrated, and the arrow shot out like a black streak!

Almost the instant the bowstring sounded, the giant stag relied on its beastly intuition to lunge forward, trying to dodge, but it was too late.

"Thwack!"

The arrow failed to hit the intended throat, instead burying itself deep into a healthy front leg. The lead stag let out a miserable shriek, its massive body stumbling.

The herd exploded in an instant, scattering in panic.

Qin Meng's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, his movements fluid and unceasing. Draw, nock, release—whoosh!

The second arrow hit the neck of another sturdy stag that was attempting to guard the fleeing herd.

The third and fourth arrows tore through the air in succession; two more stags were struck, collapsing to the ground and struggling with mournful cries.

Just as he drew his fifth arrow with lightning speed and pulled the hunting bow to a full moon once more, the ordinary wooden bow could not withstand his surging strength. With a "crack," the bow snapped in two.

"Damn it." Qin Meng spat, discarded the bow, and sprang from his hiding spot like a leopard, charging straight at the lead stag that had fallen behind due to its injury.

The lead stag was furious, its blood-red eyes glaring as it lowered its head and rammed its ferocious antlers forward. Despite its greatly reduced speed, it still whistled through the air.

Qin Meng nimbly dodged to the side, barely avoiding the strike.

After the stag rushed past, it did not flee. Instead, it kicked the ground hard, instantly turned its body around, and charged again with renewed ferocity.

It all happened in a flash!

The moment the antlers pressed down, Qin Meng slammed into them, grabbing hold to wrestle for leverage. He retreated step by step, using his astonishing strength to throw the beast completely off balance.

With his other hand, his long blade flashed with a cold light, piercing precisely through the neck and into the heart.

The lead deer let out a mournful cry and collapsed with a thunderous thud, hot blood gushing out.

There was no scent of gore; instead, a faint, refreshing fragrance filled the air.

At the same time, the palm holding the blade suddenly grew scorching hot, and a streak of red light flickered across the steel.

The long blade seemed to come alive, vibrating slightly as it frantically drained the essence and blood energy from the lead deer.

[Life Source +12%]

[Deprived Blood-scaled Deer bloodline talent: Wild Instinct]

[This talent is an auxiliary talent with high compatibility; automatically fused]

A profound intuition instantly merged into his consciousness, and his perception became sharper than ever. He gained a vague ability to sense subtle changes in the surrounding environment, especially any malice or danger directed at him.

There was no time to savor it. Qin Meng immediately leaned down; the exotic fragrance radiating from the deer blood made him act decisively. He pressed his mouth to the wound and gulped down the warm blood.

The scorching liquid poured into his stomach, transforming into a warm current that surged through his limbs and bones.

He didn't stop until he let out a full burp, then quickly used a leather pouch to collect the remaining blood.

Immediately after, he dragged back a buck that was injured and trying to flee, then swiftly finished off two other dying bucks. Warm energy surged into his body.

[Life Source +7%]

[Life Source +6%]

Just then, a sense of unease welled up in his heart, pointing toward the direction of Eagle Beak Peak.

Qin Meng suddenly thought of the auxiliary talent that had automatically fused: Wild Instinct.

He dared not delay and moved quickly. He chopped down a few branches, binding them with vines and his carry-rope to create a simple drag sled.

He then lashed the deer carcasses securely onto the sled.

Qin Meng pulled the sled to test it; he moved with ease, his speed completely unaffected.

Just as he was about to leave, that sense of unease turned into a heart-pounding warning.

Almost simultaneously—

"Awoooo!"

A howl filled with violence and piercing intensity echoed from the old forest behind Eagle Beak Peak, its reverberations enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Following that wolf howl, more howls rose and fell in succession.

Although they were still far away, the sense of crisis already permeated the wind blowing through the woods.

Qin Meng's expression tightened. He hauled his heavy sled and took long strides, rushing toward the direction of the mountain's edge.

He no longer bothered to conceal his movements. After his strength had surged, even while dragging over a thousand catties of cargo, his speed was much faster than when he had first arrived.

The howling grew increasingly shrill, but it could not catch up in the short term.

It was not until he reached the outermost perimeter of Luming Mountain that the howling behind him gradually faded away. Only then did Qin Meng slow his pace slightly, though his eyes remained vigilant.

The harvest this time is enough. But the mountains... they are truly becoming more and more dangerous.

He glanced at the valuable prey on the sled, then looked back toward the deep mountains. The desire for cultivation and power burned even more urgently in his heart.

At this moment, he thought of Elder Wang, an old hunter from the fifth row of the fort. It was said that he had retired from the border army, so he must know a great deal.

Now that he had secured a big haul, it was the perfect time to pay him a visit and seek his guidance.

He had to become stronger faster to deal with the dangers of these mountains and the borderlands, and... the scum down the mountain who were even less kind than wild beasts.

Qin Meng headed toward the mountain's edge. The mountain paths were difficult to traverse, but after awakening his innate talent, his strength and stamina had increased significantly, allowing him to run as if flying while dragging the heavy load.

Halfway there, he encountered a mountain stream and took the opportunity to wash the layer of grime off his body.

Just as he reached the outer forest, Qin Meng stumbled upon a scene:

A python as thick as an adult's arm was tightly coiled around a small, snow-white fox. The fox was no larger than a palm, whimpering pitifully as it was squeezed. Upon seeing him appear, it actually tilted its head and let out a sob like a human infant.

Qin Meng had not intended to meddle, but the little fox's eyes were incredibly intelligent and looked at him so pitifully that it suddenly reminded him of Shen Qiuyue, who was alone at home—the same look she had when he woke up that day.

With a shift in his heart, he dropped the sled, drew his ghost-head blade, and lunged forward.

The wind of the blade rose abruptly, slashing straight at the snake's head!

Just as the blade was about to strike the viper, a strong sense of crisis pierced his heart like a needle—it was a warning from his wild instinct.

Without a second thought, Qin Meng leaped to the side.

Almost simultaneously, the "viper" erupted with a foul, turbid demonic aura. Releasing the white fox, its body swelled in the wind!

Its yellowish-brown scales rattled, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a giant python nearly three zhang long. Its eyes were blood-red, and its thick, muscular body twisted, lunging at the spot where Qin Meng had been standing, accompanied by a foul stench!

Rock Spirit Python! It was even larger than the one he had killed a few days ago!

Furthermore, this exotic snake had already developed intelligence and had become a demonic beast by absorbing baleful energy.

The demon python's strike missed. Its head whipped around, maw gaping wide to spray two jets of venom before its fangs, shimmering with a sinister light, lunged at Qin Meng once more.

Qin Meng's eyes turned cold. He dodged the venom, advancing instead of retreating. A blood-red aura swirled around his ghost-head blade as he carved a cold arc through the air, slashing at the python's neck, seven inches from its head.

Squelch. The blade sank three inches into flesh, only to be caught by the creature's tough scales and bone.

The rock spirit python, maddened by the pain, lashed out with its long tail like a steel whip, snapping every tree and shrub in its path.

Qin Meng decisively abandoned his blade and retreated to avoid the sweep. Before he had even steadied his footing, he instinctively unleashed the black dragon emerges from cave technique from the black dragon eighteen hands.

He pushed off the ground with his toes and surged forward again. The moment the python's tail retracted, he flashed to the giant serpent's flank, his hands clamping onto its body like iron pincers.

"Up!" Qin Meng roared, his entire body's strength exploding outward!

He actually hoisted the bucket-thick demon python, swung it half a circle, and slammed it violently into the ground!

With a thunderous crash, dust billowed into the air. The giant python was thrown so hard its demonic aura dissipated.

[Comprehended Profound-grade peak martial art: black dragon eighteen hands]

[black dragon eighteen hands - Novice (12/100)]

[Special Effect: Killing Intent Concealment]

[Special Status: Grappling (Initial Manifestation)]

A few lines of golden text appeared abruptly, but Qin Meng had no time to be distracted.

He snatched up the ghost-head blade that had fallen nearby, lunged forward, and aimed for the wound he had opened earlier—

"Squelch!"

The blade pierced diagonally into the flesh.