Snow Cloud Fox

The Mountain Pushing Beast opened its blood-red maw and spat out a dozen yellow earth spikes, but they struck the Green Wind Tiger like a mere tickle; the Green Wind Tiger bit down hard on the Mountain Pushing Beast's neck.

The Mountain Pushing Beast struggled violently, but the Green Wind Tiger pinned it to the ground with its sharp claws.

A thick green vine erupted from the ground and coiled around the Mountain Pushing Beast's body, but despite its desperate thrashing, it was to no avail.

Some red liquid dripped down, staining the ground crimson.

After a while, the Mountain Pushing Beast stopped struggling and breathed its last; the Green Wind Tiger had bitten its neck clean through.

Shen Long and the other five were surprised, but also felt a sense of wariness.

Ye Yuqing possessed quite a few first-tier talismans and a mid-first-tier Green Wind Tiger, making her a formidable force.

Ye Yuqing had played a major role in being able to take down two Mountain Pushing Beasts this time.

"Let's go inside and take a look. Hopefully, there are plenty of spiritual herbs."

Xu Lei walked into the cave, and Shen Long and the others quickly followed after stowing away the carcasses of the Mountain Pushing Beasts.

Not long after, they appeared in a cavern about an acre in size. In the bottom left corner grew twelve small green herbs, each with three diamond-shaped leaves; one of the herbs had three golden veins on its leaves.

"Three-Leaf Grass! The oldest one is over thirty years old."

Ye Yutang said.

Three-Leaf Grass develops a golden vein every ten years; the more golden veins it has, the older it is.

It is typically used to refine Qi Nourishing Pills, which are suitable for mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators to consume.

They carefully dug up the twelve small green herbs. Xu Lei took three stalks of Three-Leaf Grass, including the one over thirty years old; Sun Yang and Ye Yuqing each took two; and Shen Long and the other four each took one ten-year-old stalk.

The spirit stones obtained from selling the two Mountain Pushing Beasts would be split equally among the eight of them.

Shen Long had no objections to this distribution plan. In the world of cultivation, strength speaks for itself, and he had received a share of spirit stones despite contributing very little.

Everyone was quite happy to have obtained some wealth.

After exiting the cave, the group headed toward a steep, towering peak.

Two days later, the eight of them appeared in a dense black forest. They were filled with caution, and their pace was not fast.

"This is the place. I hope we can catch that Snow Cloud Fox."

Xu Lei said.

"The Snow Cloud Fox is very timid. Once it discovers us, it will likely burrow into the ground and escape immediately!"

Qin Qing said with a frown.

"Fairy Ye, I'll have to trouble you to set up the formation."

Xu Lei said politely.

"A formation!"

Shen Long and the others suddenly realized, their faces filled with envy.

Formations were extremely luxurious items to them; a set of first-tier formations started at several hundred spirit stones, and better ones could cost thousands.

Ye Yuqing nodded and flicked her sleeves, sending a dozen green command flags flying out to hover in mid-air.

As she pinched a spell seal, the dozen green flags suddenly erupted with green light.

"Go!"

With a soft shout from Ye Yuqing, the dozen green flags flew in all directions and submerged into the ground.

Her technique for setting up the formation was skillful, not like someone doing it for the first time. Between her knowledge of talisman making and her spirit beast, she was certainly no mere rogue cultivator.

Ye Yutang took out a pale gold sandalwood incense stick and said, "This is Monster Luring Incense I bought at a high price. It has a great attraction to first-tier monsters, but you must hide well. Don't let the Snow Cloud Fox discover us. I hope we can catch it."

"Monster Luring Incense! Is this the Monster Luring Incense produced by the Spirit Control Sect?"

Xu Wen asked.

"Exactly. The Snow Cloud Fox has a keen sense of smell, so we must remove the scent from our bodies," Ye Yuqing said. She took out a green gourd, pulled out the stopper, and a pungent, foul odor drifted into Shen Long's nose.

Shen Long frowned deeply; the smell was unbearable, even worse than a rotting corpse.

"This is Monster Repelling Liquid produced by the Spirit Control Sect. Many monsters dislike the smell of it. Applying it to your body can mask our own scent. Just apply it to your hands, feet, and chest," Ye Yuqing explained. She poured out some of the green liquid, applied it to her hands and feet, and then handed the gourd to Shen Long.

"Monster Luring Incense! Monster Repelling Liquid!"

It was the first time Shen Long had heard of such things, so he honestly applied it to his hands and feet.

Ye Yutang lit the Monster Luring Incense and stuck it in the center of the formation.

They gathered under a towering tree. Ye Yuqing took out a command flag flickering with green light and gave it a gentle shake. A wave of green mist surged out, obscuring their bodies.

After a while, the green mist dissipated, and the eight of them had vanished.

Shen Long was still standing under the towering tree, and he could clearly see the Monster Luring Incense in the distance.

Not long after, a cheerful screeching sound rang out, and an Iron Tail Scorpion about a zhang in size crawled out from a bush.

A small mound of dirt bulged on the ground as a black earthworm burrowed to the surface, while a group of white bees flew in from the distance, following the scent of the Monster Luring Incense toward its location.

A white speck appeared in the distance, rapidly dashing toward their position.

After a short while, Shen Long and the others clearly made out the true form of the white speck; it was a snow-white fox, its eyes darting around, filled with intelligence.

"A Snow Cloud Fox!"

Xu Lei's face lit up with joy.

"Don't be hasty, it's currently on the periphery of the formation, we'll strike later."

Ye Yutang said, taking out a formation disk shimmering with cyan light.

Ye Yuqing also took out a cyan formation disk, gazing toward the Snow Cloud Fox.

The Snow Cloud Fox sniffed the air a few times, then dashed rapidly toward the Monster Luring Incense.

A net shimmering with cyan light descended from the sky, covering the Snow Cloud Fox.

The Snow Cloud Fox reacted quickly, its body glowing with a burst of yellow light as it tried to burrow into the ground, but at that moment, thick cyan vines burst from the earth, entangling its body and preventing it from escaping underground.

The cyan net fell squarely over it, binding the Snow Cloud Fox into a ball.

The Iron Tail Scorpions were startled and tried to flee, but thick cyan vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around their bodies.

Shen Long and the others revealed themselves one after another, unleashing their magical artifacts to attack the insect monsters.

A dozen White Jade Bees flapped their wings, attempting to fly away, but a blue-glowing talisman flew over and instantly burst, transforming into a massive blue water curtain that trapped the dozen White Jade Bees.

The White Jade Bees slammed into the blue water curtain, causing ripples to spread across its surface.

Before long, the few first-rank insect monsters were wiped out by them.

"Fairy Ye, why not kill these White Jade Bees?"

Shen Long asked curiously.

"The corpses of White Jade Bees aren't worth much; wouldn't it be better to let them lead us to their hive?"

Ye Yutang explained with a smile.

"We are deep within the Thousand Bamboo Mountain Range; it would be troublesome if we ran into a second-rank monster."

Xu Wen said with some concern.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, the White Jade Bees have a docile temperament and aren't very powerful. If there were a second-rank monster near their hive, do you think they would be able to fly all the way here?"

Ye Yutang analyzed.

"That is true. In that case, the hive must be nearby?"

Qin Qing said excitedly.

"It shouldn't be too far. The strength of White Jade Bees is far inferior to other insect monsters and beasts, making them easy to kill; they don't have the ability to fly very far to gather nectar."

Ye Yutang said.