Demon Hunting (Part Four)

Liu Changxu had barely sat down to rest when Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan and Fifteenth Uncle Liu Shichao heard the commotion and rushed over!

Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan looked incredulous. "Changxu, you killed this Mountain-Piercing Lizard already? How long has it even been?"

Counting carefully, Liu Changxu's battle with the Mountain-Piercing Lizard had actually lasted only a little over ten breaths. He happened to have a Ground-Hardening Talisman on hand, and with the right tactics, he had countered the lizard at every turn. That was the only reason he had killed it so quickly.

Without that Ground-Hardening Talisman, Liu Changxu could never have killed the Mountain-Piercing Lizard. After all, if it could not win, it could simply escape underground! Liu Changxu did not know the Earth Escape Technique, so he would have had no way to catch it!

"I was lucky to kill this Mountain-Piercing Lizard!" Liu Changxu said with a smile, then recounted the battle to Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan and Fifteenth Uncle Liu Shichao.

After hearing his account, Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan praised Liu Changxu's tactics to the skies! "You reacted quickly and planned your tactics well. Very good!" With that, the two took their leave.

Once Liu Changxu had finished resting, he took a bottle of Peach Blossom Brew from his Storage Bag and drank a couple of mouthfuls.

Then he pulled the Eagle-Feather Arrows out of the Mountain-Piercing Lizard's body and put the lizard into his Storage Bag.

Afterward, Liu Changxu resumed searching up the mountain. When he reached the cliff face, he used the Little Capture Hand, forming a large hand to retrieve the Eagle-Feather Arrow he had shot into the cliff.

Suddenly, Liu Changxu wondered why the Mountain-Piercing Lizard had appeared on the cliff face. Could there be some secret hidden inside?

With that thought, Liu Changxu carefully examined this stretch of cliff. Its earth-yellow stone was all ordinary rock, not even lower-grade first-tier material. He picked up a piece shattered by the Eagle-Feather Arrow and noticed something unusual inside.

Liu Changxu took out his middle-grade first-tier Tiger-Head Spear, channeled his magical power, and hurled it at the cliff face. With a thunderous crash, the spear, weighing 2,500 jin, blasted a hole ten zhang deep into the cliff.

Liu Changxu walked into the hole and found a piece of yellow crystal copper among the rubble. It was a middle-grade first-tier artifact-refining material. Although the piece was only fist-sized, the discovery delighted him.

Liu Changxu hurriedly sent a voice transmission to Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan and the others, telling them what he had found. Everyone soon arrived.

To prevent other cultivators from discovering what was happening here, Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan set up a bewildering formation.

Thus, the Liu Household cultivators became miners and began working feverishly. Since this deposit did not even qualify as a miniature mineral vein, their diligent efforts exhausted all the yellow crystal copper here in just ten days.

Liu Changxu alone mined eighty-five pieces of yellow crystal copper, weighing over six thousand jin and worth more than ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan and the others each harvested roughly the same amount of yellow crystal copper.

Such a rich haul left everyone beside themselves with joy. Only Liu Baichuan kept his brows tightly furrowed, fearing that passing cultivators might discover their secret.

Once the mining was finished, he hurriedly ordered everyone to destroy the mining tunnels and seal the entrance with huge boulders.

After clearing away all traces of mining, Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan immediately led everyone back toward Purple Forest Market!

The Liu Household cultivators were currently over a thousand li from Purple Forest Market, and the road ahead was far from peaceful. Many evil cultivators lay in wait along the routes back to Purple Forest Market, specifically to rob cultivators returning from demon hunting.

These evil cultivators ordinarily looked no different from regular demon-hunting cultivators. But once they found a suitable target, they would summon their accomplices to carry out a robbery, making them all but impossible to guard against.

On the journey back, the Liu Household cultivators heightened their vigilance! Fortunately, the entire trip was peaceful. They encountered no attacks from evil cultivators and returned safely to Purple Forest Market.

Grand Elder Liu Qiusheng was delighted to see everyone return safely! After hearing Fourth Elder Liu Baichuan describe their demon-hunting expedition and its rewards, he was astonished as well!

He could not help rejoicing inwardly. This child Changxu truly has astonishing fortune! Every time he goes out, he returns laden with rewards, and even the clansmen accompanying him benefit greatly. With such a qilin among our sons, our Liu Household is bound to prosper!

Since the Liu Household was not skilled at artifact refining and did not dare put the copper up for sale in its own Peach Blossom Pavilion, they could only sell it off gradually.

After coming into this windfall, Liu Changshun, his son, and Fifteenth Uncle Liu Shichao each sold some of their yellow crystal copper. They used the spirit stones they earned to purchase plenty of medicinal pills and spiritual items, then entered secluded cultivation.

All three had progressed slowly because they lacked spirit stones and resources. With so many resources now available, their cultivation would surely advance by a great leap.

Liu Changxu also bought quite a few medicinal pills this time, but he did not intend to enter seclusion yet.

Various signs indicated that the Azure Cloud Eagle Egg was about to hatch. Of the hundreds of Low-Grade Spirit Stones placed around it, more than half had already lost all their spiritual energy, while the egg's aura of life was growing ever stronger.

After replacing another batch of spirit stones, Liu Changxu began patiently waiting for the Azure Cloud Eagle to hatch!

Three more days passed before the egg suddenly began shaking violently. A vortex of spiritual energy stirred in the room and flowed into the egg. Most of the spiritual energy in the hundreds of spirit stones was instantly drained away. Then the hard shell cracked, revealing a golden-red beak.

After a few more pecks, the shell broke apart completely, and a young eagle with a golden-red beak and a body covered in white down appeared before Liu Changxu.

The young eagle swiftly ate the broken eggshells on the ground, then walked up to Liu Changxu and affectionately pecked the top of his foot, repeatedly transmitting its thoughts to his soul: "Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!"

Liu Changxu immediately took the two lower-grade first-tier Spirit Beast Pills he had prepared earlier from his Storage Bag and fed them to the young eagle. Only after eating them did the young eagle look its master, Liu Changxu, over with satisfaction!

Liu Changxu named this Azure Cloud Eagle Xiao Yun and conveyed the name to the young eagle through a soul transmission.

Liu Changxu then released Xiao Qing and Xiao Jin from his Spirit Beast Bag and introduced Xiao Yun to them! Once the three spirit beasts had grown familiar with one another, they began tussling playfully.

After Xiao Yun hatched, Liu Changxu devoted himself to cultivation, preparing to break through to late Qi Refinement.