Supreme-grade Spirit Insect Acquired

After resting for a while and replenishing their energy with food, the group set off again.

However, the journey was intermittent, with stops and breaks every half day, and it took five days to reach the edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Upon entering the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Long Xuan saw rows of ancient trees reaching for the sky. The trunks were thick and tall, and the branches and leaves were lush, forming a green ocean. When the wind blew, he could smell the fragrance of grass and trees and the refreshing spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy here is much denser than in the market town, making it an excellent environment for cultivation.

However, no Lineage dares to settle here. Although the cultivation environment is good, they will be the first to be affected in the event of Beast Tide.

You have to understand, the Hundred Thousand Mountains are truly vast. So why is this place called the Hundred Thousand Mountains?

It is because there are more than 100,000 mountains here, one after another, stretching endlessly, that you can imagine how vast the area is.

It is said that the Hundred Thousand Mountains span countless regions, Far Western Lands is just a relatively small part of them.

In the vast forests, countless powerful spirit beasts and countless unknown mysteries are hidden.

It is no exaggeration to say that the overall strength of spirit beasts is far greater than that of humans.

After all, most humans are born as mortals who cannot cultivate, and even the small minority who can cultivate must work hard to grow.

Spirit beasts are different. They are born with combat power, and all their abilities are inherited from birth. They do not need to learn them later like humans do. They are also very prolific, with a litter of more than ten.

If the world of spirit beasts hadn't been so disorganized and lacked intelligence, humans would never have been the masters of this world.

Under such circumstances, no Lineage would dare to settle down in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Once they reached the edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the group finally slowed down, conserving their spiritual energy and ceasing to use it to travel.

Entering this area is already considered a dangerous zone, where battles could break out at any moment. They can no longer afford to squander their spiritual energy as recklessly as they would on a journey.

Everyone became cautious, glancing around warily every now and then.

Old Ma, being the most cautious, spoke up to remind everyone, "Everyone be careful. In the Hundred Thousand Mountains, danger doesn't just come from spirit beasts. Often, various insects are more dangerous and harder to guard against than spirit beasts."

The group nodded in agreement. Compared to spirit beasts, insects might not be that strong, mainly because they are so small and hard to detect. One could easily fall victim to their attacks, making them much more troublesome than the large spirit beasts.

Unfortunately, this thing's lethality is disproportionate to its size; if you get hit, you could really be fatal.

"Old Ma, we would have been careful even if you hadn't said anything, but why is your face so pale? If you're not feeling well, you can still go back now."

"Once you get deep enough, it will be too late to turn back. We can't possibly bring you back," Old Daoist Li kindly, glancing at Old Ma's pale face.

Upon hearing this, Long Xuan subconsciously looked at Old Ma's face. Sure enough, his face was now frighteningly white, completely bloodless, as if he were about to die.

This is definitely not a normal person's complexion; Old Ma's health is definitely in trouble.

He was perfectly fine just a moment ago, but suddenly he turned into this grotesque state. Long Xuan felt that it couldn't be caused by any illness; there must be some sudden reason, and it was most likely related to this forest.

"Really? I feel great!"

Seeing everyone looking at him with surprise and doubt, Old Ma touched his face, suddenly felt dizzy, and then fell to the ground uncontrollably.

It was because he suddenly fell that everyone noticed a huge mosquito crawling on Old Ma's back. It had six extremely long legs, and the needle in its mouth was stuck straight into his vest. At this moment, its abdomen was already very high, as if it was about to explode.

The old woman Han Mei was closest to him, and she was skilled with needles. She shot down the big mosquito with a single needle, saving Old Ma's life.

Seeing the large mosquito fall off his back, Old Ma turned pale and murmured in disbelief, "How is this possible? I was being very careful."

Realizing he had just spoken to others in a condescending tone, only to find himself caught in the trap, his pale face flushed crimson. He had truly lost face this time.

"With this little skill, you dare to remind others?" Zhang Ling covered her mouth and chuckled.

Long Xuan didn't laugh; instead, he showed surprise and doubt. This time, he truly understood how terrifying the insects in this world were.

In his past life, he believed that the least likely creature to evolve was the mosquito.

If it doesn't evolve a toxin that drives people crazy with itching, will humans just kill it?

It's one thing to bite and cause itching, but can't it at least stay in one place, feed its fill, and fly away? No way! A mosquito will bite ten times before it's satisfied. No wonder humans have to swat it to death.

Ironically, it has evolved to make a buzzing sound while flying, and is born with a tracker, as if it's afraid others won't know where it is.

If mosquitoes hadn't evolved these characteristics, humans wouldn't have bothered with them at all. Who cares about a little blood? Mosquitoes could easily survive.

The mosquitoes in this world have evolved remarkably well; they fly without making a sound, and no one even notices when they land on Old Ma's back.

Moreover, the bite is painless and doesn't cause any discomfort, and you can drink until you're full with just one injection site.

However, it is precisely because the mosquitoes in this world have evolved so well that they are difficult to detect, that even someone as cautious as Old Ma was bitten and almost sucked to death.

Long Xuan was startled and hurriedly reached behind him to scan his back. Finding nothing, he quietly moved to the middle of the line.

This way, if a mosquito attacks his back, his teammates behind him can spot it in time.

No, even a slightly smart mosquito would bite the person at the back first; it wouldn't fly to the center of the crowd—wouldn't that just give itself away?

Thinking about it this way, Long Xuan felt even safer.

Not only Long Xuan, but everyone subconsciously checked their own bodies after Old Ma's condition occurred.

It would have been better if we hadn't checked; the inspection revealed quite a few problems.

For example, Zhang Ling had just finished mocking Old Ma, but when she looked down, she saw a grasshopper crawling on her ankle, its mouth deeply embedded in her skin without her noticing. She was so frightened that she let out an 800-decibel scream, and then blushed with embarrassment.

A leech had somehow gotten stuck on the Little Apothecary's leg. He was spotted in time and stomped on several times, but it didn't kill him. This shows how difficult it is to kill a creature of nature.

They were all inexperienced, and this was their first hunt, which they were forced into. Even though they were careful enough, they still fell into a trap.

At this moment, Long Xuan finally understood why Rogue Cultivator were so poor. Even though the forest was full of treasures, not many Rogue Cultivator dared to enter!

He glanced at the boy named Ma Wu in the group. At this moment, only Ma Wu stood there calmly, hands on his chest, looking at the others with disdain, showing no intention of checking his own body, and was extremely confident.

Long Xuan looked at him thoughtfully. Although the young man was simply dressed, he seemed to be very experienced here. Old Ma and Old Daoist Li were many generations older than him, so how could they not be as experienced as him?

The boy's words and actions were unlike those of a normal Rogue Cultivator, so Long Xuan had to be wary of him.

"Old Ma, are you still up to the task?"

Old Daoist Li helped him up and asked with concern.

"It's nothing, just excessive blood loss. A blood-replenishing pill will help."

Old Ma took out a pill bottle from his Storage Bag, poured out a red pill, and slowly put it into his mouth. Before long, color returned to his face.

"Are you alright? If you're okay, then you can go!"

"These small things aren't fatal, but it's a different story deeper inside."

"Once you reach the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, turn back immediately. That's not a place where you can continue."

Long Qilin glanced at the few Rogue Cultivator with a serious look, then continued walking forward.

The group of Rogue Cultivator hurriedly followed...

This was just a minor incident. After another day, Long Xuan and the others finally spotted their prey.

They weren't wolves or wild beasts, but a group of large, white rabbits. They were adorable, with soft, snow-white fur, and there were quite a few of them.

Seeing the group's lack of interest, the Long Qilin creature had to explain, "If you're looking to hunt large spirit beasts, you'll be disappointed."

"You should know that this place is located on the edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The large spirit beasts on the edge have long been hunted out by the Gu cultivators, leaving only rabbits and mice that nobody wants..."

"After losing their natural predators, the rabbits, with their formidable reproductive capabilities, multiplied rapidly and quickly took over the entire outlying area."

"There are rabbits everywhere here now, all over the mountains and fields, more than you could ever kill."

"Even if we travel at full speed, it will take us several days to hunt down a large spirit beast."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces fell; they realized they still had several days to travel.

Although rabbits are considered auspicious animals, there are reasons why some animal species have always been at the bottom of the food chain.

The only reason is that they are weak. These kinds of spirit beasts don't have any powerful abilities, and their ancestral beasts are not strong either. Their offspring can only become prey generation after generation.

There are really no good Spirit Insect on rabbits, otherwise so many wouldn't be left here unattended.

Long Xuan immediately used his cheat ability to check the progress of the group of Spirit Rabbit.

In addition to the progress Spirit Rabbit above its head representing its growth, the progress of the Spirit Insect inside its body also shows its progress.

However, most of them are located in the Spirit Core, which is where spirit Spirit Core store their spiritual power. The Spirit Core of a spirit beast is equivalent to the Spirit Sea of a Gu cultivator.

Some Spirit Core can harbor Spirit Insect, which are harmless to spirit beasts. However, the vast majority of Spirit Core do not contain Spirit Insect, making their drop rate extremely low.

Even if you are lucky enough to find Spirit Insect, it is almost always Low-grade Spirit Insect, with Mid-grade Spirit Insect being extremely rare.

For Gu cultivators who enjoy hunting, Spirit Rabbit are not particularly valuable but are extremely fast. The time spent hunting Spirit Rabbit is disproportionate to the rewards, making them very inefficient. This is why there are more and more Spirit Rabbit here.

After scanning the area and finding no satisfactory target, Long Xuan casually killed a rabbit carrying a Mid-grade Spirit Insect, intending to have a meal.

Anyway, Long Qilin said that this place is full of rabbits and there are no large carnivorous spirit beasts, so the aroma of his roasted meat probably won't attract any danger.

It was just a Mid-grade Spirit Insect, not something of much value even in the eyes of poor, rogue Rogue Cultivator, so Long Xuan simply dug out the Spirit Core along with the Spirit Insect.

But he was the first person to open a shop, and when everyone saw that he had just acquired a Mid-grade Spirit Insect, they were all invigorated and their interest soared.

"Hey! Not bad luck, I just hunted my first spirit beast and got a Mid-grade Spirit Insect as a drop, what a good omen!" the Long Qilin laughed loudly.

"What can I do! I'm just lucky!" Long Xuan joked, then added, "Since there are so many rabbits here, let's rest for a bit before continuing our journey."

"We haven't had any fresh meat after walking for so long, we're getting so bored!"

"Very well!" the Long Qilin agreed, "That's exactly what I was thinking too. Although the Spirit Rabbit aren't the best, their meat is still quite good."

"Besides, even a small mosquito is still meat, right? If you're lucky enough to catch a few Mid-grade Spirit Insect, that's like making a small fortune."

Since the Long Qilin and the qilin had agreed, the other Rogue Cultivator had nothing more to say and all went to hunt rabbits with great enthusiasm, looking very excited.

The fact that Long Xuan killed his first Spirit Rabbit and it dropped a Mid-grade Spirit Insect gave them the illusion that the drop rate for Mid-grade Spirit Insect was very high, which stimulated them and made them very enthusiastic.

However, reality quickly dealt them a blow. They had killed a bunch of Spirit Rabbit, panting heavily, but had only managed to obtain a few Low-grade Spirit Insect.

Especially Old Ma, whose eyesight was as bad as ever, cleverly avoiding all the correct options. While others at least got one or two Low-grade Spirit Insect, he didn't get a single Spirit Insect. At this point, he began to doubt his life.

After that, the group lost all interest in hunting the Spirit Rabbit and, having finished their roasted meat, hurried on their way.

The rewards for hunting Spirit Rabbit are severely disproportionate to the effort. Who would be willing to risk so much to come to the Hundred Thousand Mountains only to reap a few Low-grade Spirit Insect, not even enough to cover the round-trip fare?

And so, amidst everyone's anxious anticipation, another two days passed.

That day, after Long Xuan used his Life-Urging Palm to extinguish the life force of a pink-furred rabbit, he grabbed its two big ears and lifted it into the air, laughing incessantly.

"You actually have the leisure to kill rabbits? What's the point of killing them? They're empty inside. Killing them is a complete waste of time. You might as well save your energy."

Upon seeing his actions, Old Ma spoke up.

Long Xuan's smile remained unchanged. After putting the pink-furred rabbit into his Storage Bag, he casually replied, "It's nothing, just using this little thing to practice my palm techniques. How was my palm strike just now? Was it amazing?"

He chuckled inwardly. Little did these people know that this ordinary pink-haired rabbit, whose combat power was practically nonexistent, actually harbored a Supreme-grade Spirit Insect within its body. It was truly a huge surprise for him.

Logically speaking, the rabbits here shouldn't drop Supreme-grade Spirit Insect, but this pink-furred rabbit might be a different breed. The other rabbits are all white, and only this one is unusually pink. It could also be a mutated breed.

In short, he actually found a Supreme-grade Spirit Insect among this group of weaklings, which was something no one would have expected.

Even if you racked their brains, they probably couldn't have come up with something like this.

Before Old Ma could reply, Long Qilin interjected, "Your palm strike just now was quite effective. It didn't cause any superficial injury to the prey, yet it killed it with a single blow."

"That's truly a powerful ability perfect for hunting. It doesn't damage the hide, and a complete hide would be worth much more."

Long Qilin's expression turned somewhat solemn. In his opinion, this spiritual technique was very powerful, and it could kill without drawing blood. It was another kind of spiritual technique he had never seen before, and he didn't even know its name.