As his cultivation deepened, he soon reached the peak of the second level of Qi Refinement.
Unfortunately, the remaining medicinal power was insufficient to support a breakthrough to the third level of Qi Refinement. Still, he had a feeling that as long as he took one more pill, he would break through!
At that thought, a glint flashed through Zhou Xun's eyes.
"I have fewer than twenty Spirit Essences left. That is not enough to buy a Qi Induction Pill."
"It seems the matter of killing the Goldspirit Rats must be moved up!"
Four hundred li east of Red Leaf Square, two figures hurried along.
They were Dan Xiong Hai and Zhou Xun, on their way to hunt Goldspirit Rats.
After Zhou Xun made up his mind that day, he sought out Dan Xiong Hai the next day and agreed to the matter.
The two agreed that all gains from this trip would be divided into three shares. Since they would both contribute, each would receive one share, while Dan Xiong Hai, as the discoverer of the Goldspirit Rats, would receive an additional share.
"Goldspirit Rats are naturally vigilant and extremely quick-witted. At the slightest rustle, they flee without a trace. We need to buy Intoxicating Fruit and use it as bait, then add traps. That should let us do twice the work with half the effort!" Dan Xiong Hai said.
Intoxicating Fruit was a low-grade spirit fruit commonly used to brew spirit wine. It was not expensive; one Spirit Essence could buy one fruit.
"Leave that to me!" Zhou Xun took on the task.
As for the other items, such as spirit containers for storing demon blood and demon meat, and traps for catching Goldspirit Rats, they were all left to Dan Xiong Hai.
As a demon-hunting cultivator, Dan Xiong Hai had long prepared such tools at home. By the time Zhou Xun returned with the Intoxicating Fruit, Dan Xiong Hai had already packed everything and was waiting.
Early the next morning, they set out.
Each carried an enormous bundle on his back. Had they not both been cultivators, they would likely have been exhausted long ago.
"If only I had a Storage Pouch!" Zhou Xun sighed.
Yet even the lowest-grade Storage Pouch cost at least ten spirit stones. Converted into Spirit Essences, that was over a thousand—wealth Zhou Xun had never seen in his entire life.
"My uncle has one, actually. Unfortunately, he treasures it dearly and never lets me borrow it to play with," Dan Xiong Hai said, a look of longing appearing in his eyes.
The two chatted as they traveled.
It took them a full five days to reach their destination.
It was an uninhabited valley surrounded by towering mountains.
The two lay prone on a hillside and looked down into the valley.
Lush trees grew straight and tall, with not a trace of human passage. A mountain stream several feet wide split the entire valley in two.
"This place is so remote. How did you find it?" Zhou Xun asked curiously.
"Because my uncle was not accompanying me, I avoided the main roads on my return to the square and deliberately traveled through uninhabited places. It was harder, but safer."
"That day, while I was resting here, waves of tiger roars suddenly came from the western woods. There were faint fluctuations of Spirit Energy too, so I secretly crept over!"
"There, I saw a tiger and a rat fighting each other."
"Though the tiger was merely a fierce beast of the mortal world, it was swift and powerful, its strength not to be underestimated. The rat, meanwhile, was a Goldspirit Rat, a low-grade first-rank demon beast."
"I saw a Goldspirit Rat covered in golden fur, about a foot long, battling a fierce tiger eight feet in length, its yellow-and-black striped coat as splendid as brocade!"
"The fierce tiger radiated savage momentum and moved like the wind, continuously swiping at the Goldspirit Rat. The Goldspirit Rat darted and dodged with ease, occasionally slashing open the tiger's flesh with its claws. It actually held the upper hand!"
"Enraged and humiliated, the tiger opened its jaws and snapped with a swing of its head. But it used too much force, exposing a flaw at its neck. The Goldspirit Rat opened its mouth slightly, and a golden blade shot out, slicing across the tiger's neck."
"With a wet pfft, the tiger fell from midair. It twitched a few times, then died!"
"Right after that, the Goldspirit Rat dragged the tiger's corpse, which weighed several hundred jin, deeper into the forest."
"I followed it too, crossing mountains and ridges, fording small rivers, traveling more than ten li before it finally stopped at this valley."
"The Goldspirit Rat entered the valley and chirped 'squeak, squeak' several times toward the sky. Then four Goldspirit Rats—one large and three small—ran out from within the valley and feasted greedily on the tiger's corpse. I noted the valley's location and returned to Red Leaf Square."
After hearing Dan Xiong Hai's account, Zhou Xun could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.
"Who would have thought that even a low-grade first-rank demon beast could wrestle bears and tigers, and feed on them besides!"
"How are we supposed to deal with such a vicious creature?"
Dan Xiong Hai merely smiled without answering. He opened the large bundle on his back, took out a ball of white material, and gave it a light shake. It unfurled into a large white net.
"This net is called the Spirit Restraining Net. It is woven from the silk of low-grade first-rank human-faced spiders. Though it does not qualify as a Mystic Tool, it is extraordinarily tough. Ordinary low-grade demon beasts cannot break free from it. It is an essential item for demon-hunting cultivators!"
Next, he took out three throwing spears. They were around three feet long, pitch-black from end to end, their spearheads glimmering with a cold, faint light.
"These are the Half-Mystic Tools demon-hunting cultivators use most often—the Demon Hunter Spears. Infuse them with Spirit Energy and throw them, and ordinary low-grade demon beasts will be unable to withstand them. They are first-rate weapons!" As he spoke, he handed one of them to Zhou Xun.
"And this one is..."
As Dan Xiong Hai introduced each item, Zhou Xun felt a surge of envy.
They said demon-hunting cultivators were wealthy. He had not expected them to be this wealthy.
The equipment Dan Xiong Hai had brought alone was worth more than seven spirit stones.
Taking one-third of the shares in this operation really is taking advantage! Zhou Xun thought secretly.
After introducing all the tools, Dan Xiong Hai led Zhou Xun to begin setting them up.
Once the arrangements were complete, the two hid in the trees.
They smeared a powder over themselves that concealed their aura, then activated the Aura Concealment Technique. Their left hands gripped the trunks while their right hands held throwing spears, and they stared intently toward the valley.
Below the tree lay a fist-sized fruit, entirely bluish-green and giving off an intoxicating fragrance. It was the Intoxicating Fruit.
"When the spirit rat comes out and tastes the spirit fruit, we strike at the same time," Dan Xiong Hai said in a lowered voice.
Zhou Xun nodded and said no more.
The whole forest was silent. Apart from the rustling of wind through the leaves, there was no other sound.
They had waited less than half an hour when Zhou Xun's gaze suddenly sharpened.
A disturbance came from bushes over thirty zhang away, and then a foot-long squirrel emerged. Its entire body was golden, and it was unmistakably a Goldspirit Rat.
It poked out its head, its nose twitching as its round eyes rolled about.
Very quickly, it spotted the Intoxicating Fruit beneath the tree.
Yet it did not approach immediately. Instead, it cautiously circled the area several times.
After probing several times without discovering danger, it finally paced over to the Intoxicating Fruit and sniffed it in a haze of intoxication.
Zhou Xun and Dan Xiong Hai exchanged a glance. Cold light flashed in their eyes as they slowly raised their throwing spears, poured in Spirit Energy, and prepared to strike.
Suddenly, the Goldspirit Rat froze. It hopped several steps backward and chirped toward its rear.
"Squeak, squeak—"
Zhou Xun's heart tightened, and he thought they had been discovered.
Immediately afterward, an answering "squeak, squeak—" came from the valley.
It turned out that after discovering the Intoxicating Fruit, the Goldspirit Rat had no intention of keeping it for itself. Instead, it was calling for its family.
Soon, the bushes rustled again, and four Goldspirit Rats—one large and three small—ran out. All of them were golden in color.
The moment the four Goldspirit Rats appeared, they were drawn to the Intoxicating Fruit. They swiftly gathered around it, greedily inhaled its fragrance, then began feasting.
Seeing the five Goldspirit Rats in the clearing, Dan Xiong Hai's scalp went numb.
"Damn it!"
The three small ones were one thing, but the two adult Goldspirit Rats were truly difficult to handle.
He had personally witnessed a Goldspirit Rat hunting a fierce tiger.
His original plan had been to use the Intoxicating Fruit to lure out one and kill it first, then deal with the other afterward. Now, Zhou Xun would have to hold off the other adult Goldspirit Rat first.
Once he killed this one, he would join forces with Zhou Xun to kill the other.
As for the three smaller ones, there was no time to worry about them.
Dan Xiong Hai turned his gaze toward the other adult Goldspirit Rat and gave Zhou Xun a meaningful look.
The instant Zhou Xun saw it, he understood and gave a slight nod.
No sooner said than done.
The two hurled their throwing spears, already infused with Spirit Energy, viciously downward.
The Goldspirit Rats truly deserved their reputation as beasts with keen spiritual senses. The instant the two attacked, they detected it and kicked off with their hind legs, preparing to flee.
Seeing the Goldspirit Rat's movement, Dan Xiong Hai's heart lurched, and he inwardly cried that things were bad.
Sure enough, he missed!
The spearhead grazed the Goldspirit Rat's hind leg, tearing away a sliver of flesh and blood, but it did not strike a vital point.
Fortunately, at the same time he attacked, he flicked the Spirit Restraining Net at his waist and shook it downward, neatly covering that Goldspirit Rat.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness!"
He immediately drew another throwing spear from his back, leaped down from the tree, and stabbed the trapped Goldspirit Rat to death.
Only then did he have the leisure to look toward Zhou Xun.
Before you continue