A Valuable Find

Perhaps the gunshot had truly served as a deterrent. During the patrol that followed, Yang Wenqing's group did not encounter any more demonic beasts.

By the time the three-man team had cleared a two-kilometer fan-shaped area and returned to the forest's edge, the other teams had also begun returning one after another, and the outline of the camp had already taken shape.

A circle of two-meter-tall folding metal barricades had formed a simple defensive perimeter in the clearing. Basic reinforcement runes were engraved across their surfaces, and several sturdy canvas tents had been erected. The largest one was clearly the command post. At the center of the camp, a portable rune generator was running, powering several high-mounted searchlights.

The members of the First Squad and the logistics personnel were still busy refining the camp's defenses, laying simple warning traps beyond the barricades and setting up communication antennas.

Just then, the members of the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Patrol Squads arrived as well. The previously quiet camp instantly became lively.

Following their preassigned areas, the teams slowly settled in under the logistics personnel's guidance. Then came the distribution of dinner rations and equipment inspections.

"Setting up camp in the middle of the night. Who knows what those people upstairs were thinking."

As they settled in, Ye Yong grumbled irritably.

Zhu Lin bit into his rations and said, "What else could they have been thinking? The leadership probably got too deep into their meeting, ran overtime, and pushed the assembly time back by several hours."

As his words fell, a streak of light crossed the sky and stopped above the camp. The radiance faded, revealing a flying shuttle—the very one that had been parked in the backyard of the public security station. It then slowly descended.

Once the flying shuttle had landed steadily, Director Wang Ren jumped out of the cabin. He was followed by the communications personnel from each patrol squad, including Sister Liu from the Second Squad. As soon as they appeared, they began working around the command tent, clearly setting up communications equipment.

After dinner, Yang Wenqing kept practicing his punches in a corner of the Second Squad's encampment. The others had long since grown used to it. Even the director had heard of his diligence. Most people did not think highly of his prospects, but quite a few were waiting to see when he would advance to the Qi Refining stage.

At eight that evening, Xiao Liang returned from a meeting in the command tent. He glanced at Yang Wenqing, who was meditating in the corner, then walked over and said, "Get some rest early. Tomorrow will be a busy day."

Yang Wenqing had already emerged from meditation when his captain approached. Hearing Xiao Liang's words, he nodded obediently, then rose and headed into their assigned tent.

The tents were assigned by group. Li Ming and Zhou Kun were also meditating, and both opened their eyes at the sound of footsteps. The three chatted casually for a few moments before making up their beds. Not long after, they fell into a deep sleep.

Before dawn the next day, Yang Wenqing got up. When he stepped out of the tent, he found several people already doing morning exercises in the distance. Among them was the middle-aged man he often saw in the small courtyard—Kong Yu, a senior guard from the Sixth Patrol Squad. He had persisted in cultivation like this for ten years.

The others who persisted in cultivation were young people like Yang Wenqing. Their family circumstances were similar to his, and all of them hoped that one day they would succeed in Qi Refining and change the fate of themselves and their families.

At some point, the morning glow had spread across the clouds at the edge of the horizon. At this moment, everyone in the camp, including Director Wang Ren, was carrying out their daily morning training.

Suddenly, a mechanical alarm rang out from the center of the camp. The six captains immediately stopped training and barked orders for their subordinates to gear up. Ten minutes later, they began assigning missions.

Yang Wenqing's three-man group was assigned to patrol an area thirty kilometers south of the camp. This had been arranged by the director and the six captains the night before.

The morning light was faint, and a cold, damp mist filled the forest.

Following their assignment, Yang Wenqing, Li Ming, and Zhou Kun cautiously advanced south. As they ventured deeper, the trees grew taller and denser. The concentration of spiritual energy in the air seemed higher as well, though it was far from stable.

When the three had advanced roughly twenty kilometers, they discovered several deliberately cleared paths, along with crude markers piled from beast bones and stones.

"Careful. There may be a gathering of demonic creatures nearby." Li Ming's experience showed as he immediately warned them.

Before his words had even faded, a shrill screech suddenly rose from the bushes ahead. Dozens of figures burst from the trees and undergrowth, half-surrounding the three of them.

"So they really are demonic creatures." Zhou Kun's eyes turned cold.

Most of these demonic creatures retained beastlike features. At their head stood an exceptionally large wolf demon. It walked nearly upright, covered in blue-gray fur. Its wolfish face was savage, its fangs exposed, and its claws gleamed with cold light. It gripped a thick bone club in its hand.

Seven or eight similarly wolf-headed, humanoid companions surrounded it, though they were slightly smaller. There were also several lizard-like demonic creatures covered in dull scales and carrying stone spears.

"Roar!"

The lead wolf demon let out a threatening growl. Its scarlet eyes locked onto the three men, filled with wild savagery and a thirst for slaughter.

"Clear them out!" Li Ming gave the order without wasting a word.

"Awoo!"

Seeing that its intimidation had failed, the wolf demon leader howled out an attack order. Its bone club whipped up a fierce gust as it lunged at Li Ming first, while the creatures behind it roared and charged as well.

The three simultaneously activated the defensive formations on their wristguards. A ring of pure white light instantly formed around them, shielding all three.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Li Ming and Zhou Kun fired first. Bullets screamed toward the charging creatures, but these monsters were far tougher than the Corrupt-Claw Jackals from before. Unless a vital point such as the eyes was hit, killing them in a single shot was difficult. They also knew how to use the trees for cover.

Yang Wenqing's gaze sharpened as he spotted a lizard demon springing up with the aid of a tree trunk, attempting to hurl its stone spear at Zhou Kun from above and to the side.

"Freeze!"

Yang Wenqing threw out a talisman bearing an Immobilization Spell, striking the lizard demon precisely in midair. Its body stiffened, its throwing motion warped, and the stone spear stabbed crookedly into the ground nearby. Zhou Kun reacted instantly, swung his gun around, and with a bang, blew its head apart.

At that moment, the wolf demon leader had already charged close. Its bone club smashed fiercely against the barrier, making it shake violently as its light dimmed considerably.

"Cover me!"

Li Ming gave a low shout. He held his gun in his left hand and drew a longsword with his right, pouring spiritual energy into the blade as he prepared for close combat.

Yang Wenqing immediately understood. He swiftly locked onto the wolf demon leader and pulled the trigger without hesitation. But this time, his target was not the wolf demon itself—it was the ground just one step in front of it!

"Explosive Round!"

Yang Wenqing shouted a warning to his companions.

A violent explosion followed. He had fired an Explosive Round, and the powerful blast along with the flying fragments sent the wolf demon leader's body hurtling backward.

The moment Yang Wenqing called out, Li Ming had already pushed the defensive barrier to maximum power. The impact merely made him sway slightly. Then the longsword in his hand became a streak of cold light, stabbing straight for the wolf demon's exposed throat while it was still stiff from the blast!

"Squelch!"

The longsword pierced through with perfect accuracy!

The wolf demon leader let out a miserable howl. As the sword was withdrawn, its massive body crashed to the ground.

With their leader dead, the remaining creatures immediately fell into chaos. Some fled into the dense forest in terror, while others became even more frenzied and lunged forward.

"Wipe them out!" Li Ming ordered coldly.

The three worked together seamlessly. Gunshots rang out again, and spell lights flashed. Having lost their leader and organization, the demonic creatures were quickly exterminated one by one.

After the battle, the area was a complete mess, thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood.

Following the routes taken by several fleeing creatures, the three soon found the demon settlement. It had been built beside a small stream, with most of its structures being tents made from animal hides.

At the center of the settlement stood a crude altar built from broken stones and beast bones. Resting upon it was a section of spine about a foot long. It possessed an eerie white-jade texture throughout, with faint streams of light swirling within it as though it were absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on its own.

"This thing can sell for quite a bit. I heard the public security station in the west of the city found three of them last year while clearing out demonic creatures." Li Ming circulated the spiritual energy within his body and looked toward Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun with a faint smile.

Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun also looked at the spinal bone. It was the remains of a cultivator, and a powerful one at that. The bones had already become a spiritual object and could serve as the core of a formation that gathered spiritual energy.

According to City Defense Bureau regulations, this counted as their spoils of war. They had the right to decide how to deal with it.

As Li Ming spoke, he had already picked up the cervical vertebra. "What a strange feeling. Demonic creatures keep digging things like this up around here. This was probably a battlefield long ago. It's just that when those seniors cleared the battlefield, they took all the valuable treasures and left only corpses scattered everywhere."

"What kind of feeling?"

Zhou Kun asked impatiently.

Li Ming smiled slightly and handed the cervical vertebra to Zhou Kun.

Zhou Kun held it for less than a second before shaking his head. "It's like a convenient spirit-gathering formation, but the spiritual energy it gathers hasn't been refined. If we used its gathered energy to cultivate, we'd be finished sooner or later."

As he spoke, he handed the cervical vertebra to Yang Wenqing.

The instant Yang Wenqing took it, uncontrollable joy appeared on his face. But his joy was entirely different from Li Ming's and Zhou Kun's, because his Golden Core World could rapidly refine and absorb the spiritual energy.