Hunting the Wild Boar Ferocious Beast

Lin Fan deposited all two thousand-plus taels of silver into the system. Looking at the balance on the pale blue panel, he saw the number nearing three thousand. A smile curled his lips. Now he could finally cultivate without worry for quite some time.

For all this, he had Golden Rat Mao Mao to thank. Before returning from the town, Lin Fan had not forgotten to visit its martial arts pill shop and buy some mild medicinal pills.

Just as ordinary people practicing worldly martial arts sometimes needed various medicinal herbs to nourish and strengthen their bodies, martial cultivators could likewise cultivate faster with the aid of certain pills and elixirs.

Lin Fan fed those pills to Golden Rat Mao Mao. Even if they could not help it rise to the level of a Ferocious Beast, the medicinal power within could still nourish and strengthen Golden Rat Mao Mao's body.

The seven or eight households of Small Mountain Village were scattered across patches of high and low ground at the foot of the mountain. There was no particularly level land here. Everyone simply flattened the rolling mounds of earth a little before building thatched huts on top.

A small stream, roughly half a meter deep, ran through the village some ten-odd meters away from Small Mountain Village. From afar, its rippling surface reflected the sunlight like a glowing silver ribbon. Even in some of the expensive resorts from his previous life, Lin Fan had never seen such simple, pristine, naturally beautiful scenery. Most importantly, the air carried none of the smell of industrial pollution; the negative oxygen ions were off the charts.

Outside the little thatched hut, Lin Fan took a deep breath, crouched down, and rubbed the Golden Rat beside him. After spending this time with Lin Fan and being fed by him, Mao Mao had become increasingly lively and humanlike.

He cultivated until deep into the night once more. Having reached the Bone Tempering Realm, Lin Fan was no longer in a rush to raise his cultivation. He decided to first raise his Alchemy to perfection. Although it was only the Alchemy of the Three Body-Tempering Realms and could merely refine pills used during the Three Bone-Tempering Realms, it was more than sufficient for this little town. After all, as far as Lin Fan knew, there did not seem to be any Bright Force Realm experts openly present in town.

At his current cultivation speed, with the effects of a thousandfold cultivation doubling every day, Lin Fan estimated that he would have his Alchemy mostly mastered in a few more days. Of course, after reaching the Bone Tempering Realm, his five senses—smell, sight, and the like—had all become far sharper than before. Those improvements would be of great help in learning Alchemy more quickly.

The next morning, the sun slowly rose from the distant mountain ridges. A new day had begun. Feeling the strength in his body, Lin Fan decided to head into the mountains again to search for Skin Tempering Realm demon beasts.

Silver was naturally a major reason as well, but Lin Fan felt that he was also helping Small Mountain Village eliminate potential dangers lurking nearby.

Lin Fan raced through the forested peaks. Within half an hour, he had already reached the deep mountains five or six li away from Small Mountain Village.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Lin Fan had used up all his luck on the first day. Today, with Mao Mao in tow, he nearly circled all the surrounding peaks and searched through the nearby mountains and caves. Only as the sun was about to set did he find another Ferocious Beast.

Ferocious Beasts could also be called demon beasts. Demon beasts hostile toward humans were called Ferocious Beasts, and untamed demon beasts were likewise called Ferocious Beasts. But those tamed by humans, such as Lin Fan's Golden Rat Mao Mao, could be called demon beasts once they entered the Skin Tempering Realm in the future.

It was also in the Skin Tempering Realm. This was a Wild Boar Ferocious Beast, its two tusks gleaming with cold light. Savage light blazed from its tiny eyes. Wild boars were naturally thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, so the defense of this type of Ferocious Beast at the Skin Tempering Realm was even somewhat greater than that of ordinary Ferocious Beasts in the Muscle Refinement Realm.

This time was not as effortless and carefree as before. This Ferocious Beast seemed to be of a higher realm as well. If the black panther from last time had been at the Early Skin Tempering Realm, then this wild boar should have reached the Mid Skin Tempering Realm, or perhaps even the late stage. After charging at Lin Fan several times with its tusks, it took several vicious blows from his spear, and one of its tusks was snapped off.

Realizing it could not deal with Lin Fan, the Wild Boar Ferocious Beast began charging left and right, darting wildly through the forest in an attempt to escape. Lin Fan chased after it with Golden Rat Mao Mao tucked against his chest. Seeing the sky gradually darken, he could not help but grow anxious.

Unfortunately, this demon beast's defense truly was formidable. Although Lin Fan had already stabbed many holes into its body with his spear, it simply would not fall. Its speed had not even slowed much. In the end, Lin Fan gritted his teeth. If he retreated now, the entire day would have been wasted. And if this Ferocious Beast held a grudge and later found its way to Small Mountain Village for revenge, the consequences would be unthinkable.

After all, some Ferocious Beasts possessed intelligence not much inferior to that of humans. Many ordinary wild animals that had not even stepped onto the martial path could understand human speech after spending enough time around people.

In the end, man and beast pursued each other through the forest, getting farther and farther from Small Mountain Village. Finally, Lin Fan found an opening. As the Wild Boar Ferocious Beast rounded a bend, he viciously hurled the spear in his hand into one of the old wounds on the boar's abdomen. The spear pierced straight through the Wild Boar Ferocious Beast, running crosswise through its belly.

Blocked by the spear, the Wild Boar Ferocious Beast could no longer flee through the dense woods. After it became wedged between two clumps of brush, Lin Fan stopped behind it and watched as its howls gradually weakened and its body finally ceased moving.

He stepped forward, pulled the spear from the boar's abdomen, and cleaned it. By then, it was already deep into the night.

The entire dense forest had sunk into thick darkness. The moon was mostly concealed behind heavy clouds, with only a few scattered strands of moonlight falling upon the earth. They barely filtered through the overlapping canopy, casting fragmented, swaying mottled shadows across the ground carpeted with dead leaves.

The trunks of the towering trees beside him twisted and stretched, their branches faintly outlining clawing, fang-baring silhouettes in the night. A heavy darkness shrouded the entire forest. He had not noticed anything while chasing the wild boar just now, but after looking around, Lin Fan realized the atmosphere truly was somewhat oppressive.

The damp, chilling night wind passed through the woods and brushed the leaves, stirring an endless rustling—sometimes low, sometimes suddenly sharp—like someone whispering softly in the darkness. The forest was filled with the cold, fishy scent of earth mixed with damp vegetation. With every breath Lin Fan took, threads of chill slipped straight through the gaps in his collar. Golden Rat Mao Mao, nestled in his arms, curled tightly within the depths of his collar as well, whether from fear or cold, he did not know.

Had Lin Fan from his previous life been in such an environment, he might already have fainted from fright. But now, his Bone Tempering Realm body contained the mighty strength of three thousand jin. With the ninety-jin spear in his hand, Forging Grade 25, even a towering tree beside him that one person could not wrap their arms around, Lin Fan was confident he could snap it in half with just a few swings of his spear.

All fear came from insufficient firepower. At this moment, those words had taken tangible form.