Hunting the Purple Flame Sable

Red Pine Trees were tall, thick pines, generally exceeding a hundred feet in height.

Once trees of this kind formed a forest, they would attract and breed several special kinds of Pine Caterpillars. Wherever they grew, it was difficult for equally tall trees to take root.

The Red Pine Forest Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong currently occupied was filled with Red Pine Trees over a hundred feet tall, many of which were more than a thousand years old.

The forest floor was carpeted in thick pine needles and overgrown with thorny shrubs, brambles, and weeds, making travel extremely inconvenient.

Pine Caterpillars as long as fingers often fell from the trees as well.

In a place like this, anyone without enough nerve truly could not bear to remain for long.

At that moment, Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong wore bamboo hats to keep Pine Caterpillars from dropping onto them. With Zhou Zhengyong's Crimson Tail Monkey clearing thorns and opening the way ahead, they soon penetrated more than ten miles into the pine forest.

"The Purple Flame Sable likes hunting all kinds of rodents. This Red Pine Forest is so vast that it must contain many squirrels and field mice. There may even be rodent Demonic Beasts like Golden Tooth Rats and Flame Rats."

"If we can find a way to catch one alive and use it as bait, we will surely be able to lure out that Purple Flame Sable."

Beneath a Red Pine Tree, Zhou Chun and Zhou Zhengyong crouched down and looked at a pile of dark brown sable droppings nearby. Zhou Zhengyong quietly voiced his plan.

Purple Flame Sables traveled alone, and their dens were exceptionally well hidden. To find one in this boundless pine forest within three days would take heaven-defying luck.

Thus, the method of luring the snake out of its hole appeared the most useful.

"Brother Yong, your method isn't bad, but those rodent Demonic Beasts are equally timid and cautious. Catching one alive will not be easy, especially since we do not have much time."

Zhou Chun did not doubt that Zhou Zhengyong's method would work, but he pointed out its difficulty.

"I came prepared for that. I specifically asked the family elders for food that rodent Demonic Beasts like to eat, as well as some sedatives."

At this point, Zhou Zhengyong looked at Zhou Chun and said, "Next, we split up. Each of us will take some food and search for signs of those rodent Demonic Beasts."

"Alright. Let's try it that way first."

Zhou Chun nodded, agreeing with the plan.

At once, Zhou Chun accepted some dried fruit, food, and sedatives from Zhou Zhengyong, and the two split up to search the pine forest for traces of rodent Demonic Beasts.

Both were skilled in Beast Taming Arts. When it came to tracking Demonic Beasts, they were even more capable than experienced Rogue Cultivators.

From droppings and claw marks to the types of plants nearby, humidity, and changes in temperature, all of it could help them determine whether certain kinds of Demonic Beasts had been active in the area.

Take the Golden Tooth Rat, for instance. This squirrel-like rodent Demonic Beast had two golden incisors capable of biting through even steel.

Thus, they often used hard stones to grind their teeth and preferred to dwell in places with large amounts of solid rock.

Zhou Chun moved through the pine forest, carefully examining every area he passed with both his divine sense and his eyes, seeking signs of rodent Demonic Beast activity in the smallest details.

After half a day passed, he had found three places that might contain rodent Demonic Beast dens. He chose the one he believed had the greatest chance and began keeping watch there.

He scattered some dried Demonic Beast meat and dried fruit containing faint spiritual power in a certain part of the pine forest, mixing in a sedative shaped similarly to the dried fruit. Then he scattered collected predator droppings and ant-repelling powder nearby.

That way, even if ordinary rats, ants, and other insects smelled the food, they would not dare approach and eat it.

After finishing this, Zhou Chun hid some distance away and silently circulated the Forest Hidden Cicada Breath Art to conceal his aura.

He had cultivated both secret arts concurrently for nearly a year. Although he had yet to master either technique to the point of wielding it as effortlessly as his fingers, he could still employ them with sufficient preparation.

At that moment, Zhou Chun lay hidden among the shrubs and weeds. His body had completely blended into the colors of the surrounding vegetation, while the technique concealed his own scent beneath the fresh fragrance of grass and trees.

Even if someone passed right beside him now, they would find it exceedingly difficult to discover Zhou Chun in the bushes through sight or smell alone.

Moreover, to avoid alerting any rodent Demonic Beast that might appear, he had deliberately scattered fresh predator droppings with an extremely pungent odor nearby, ensuring that his own scent would not leak out and ruin the plan.

Of course, the downside was that even with his homemade face covering, he still had to endure that stench. The sensation was unbearably sour and refreshing.

Time gradually passed. After he had waited for nearly two hours, Zhou Chun finally spotted a large red-furred rat in his field of vision.

The rat was as large as an adult's calf, yet it was unaffected by the smell of predator droppings Zhou Chun had scattered nearby.

After rolling its eyes and surveying the surroundings, then twitching its nose and taking several deep sniffs, it climbed directly beside the dried meat and fruit and happily began eating the delicious food.

Only after devouring every scrap of food Zhou Chun had scattered did the large rat turn around and prepare to return to its den the way it had come.

But it had barely gone any distance when it felt dizzy and disoriented, its body swaying from side to side beyond its control.

Not long afterward, the little creature could no longer withstand the medicine's effects and fell unconscious.

Only then did Zhou Chun leave his hiding place and pick up the unconscious rat.

After lifting the rat by the scruff of its neck and examining it, he muttered to himself, "Luckily, it is only a First-grade low-tier Demonic Beast, a Flame Rat. If its cultivation had reached First-grade Mid-tier, these few Beast Luring Pills probably would not have been enough to knock it out!"

Then he carried the Flame Rat off to find Zhou Zhengyong.

Compared with Zhou Chun, Zhou Zhengyong had been much less fortunate. He had waited for half a day without gaining anything.

When he saw Zhou Chun approaching with the unconscious Flame Rat in hand, he also let out a great sigh of relief.

"It's good that you found something, Thirteenth Brother. This time, you have truly helped your elder brother out of a huge predicament!!"

As he spoke his grateful words, he immediately took the unconscious Flame Rat from Zhou Chun and began handling it.

An untamed Flame Rat would naturally need special treatment before it would obediently remain in a fixed area and lure the Purple Flame Sable over to prey upon it.

This was no difficult task for Zhou Zhengyong and Zhou Chun.

A Beast Taming Family like the Zhou Family had long researched and developed many methods for capturing all kinds of Demonic Beasts alive.

At this moment, Zhou Zhengyong used medicine and silver needles to stimulate and damage the Flame Rat's brain, driving it mad and deranged. At the same time, he piled collected Purple Flame Sable droppings around the area to keep it from fleeing the designated spot.

Afterward, to prevent the Purple Flame Sable from discovering them, Zhou Zhengyong, who knew no breath-concealing secret art, retreated far from the scene. He only handed the Spirit Beast Pouch containing his Crimson Tail Monkey Spirit Pet to Zhou Chun, leaving Zhou Chun to lie in ambush nearby and await the Purple Flame Sable's arrival.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!!

The brain-damaged Flame Rat darted and leaped madly about a clearing in the woods, continuously letting out piercing shrieks.

Its eyes had completely lost their spirit. All that remained was madness and bloodshot, crimson pupils, making it rather frightening to behold.

Some rat-hunting predators in the pine forest came over after hearing the sounds. But once they saw that the screamer was a Flame Rat, they fled in fright at once.

Ordinary rats were indeed food for those predators, but a Flame Rat could cast spells.

Even an ordinary little fireball was still enough to burn a tiger to death.

Time passed bit by bit. The Flame Rat's strength gradually drained away amid its ceaseless screaming, and its throat became so hoarse that it could no longer produce a loud sound.

Yet the Purple Flame Sable never appeared.

This made Zhou Chun, who was waiting in secret, grow somewhat anxious.

Their capture of this Flame Rat had already been a stroke of luck. Catching another one to use as bait would be exceedingly difficult.

But anxious as he was, Zhou Chun did not dare act rashly.

The Purple Flame Sable was extremely vigilant and cautious. Perhaps it was watching from some hidden place even now.

If he acted recklessly and startled it, then even if they caught another Flame Rat for bait, they would not be able to lure it into the trap again anytime soon.

As time went on, the Flame Rat on the ground could no longer even make a sound. It seemed to have died completely.

It was now deep in the night. The canopy blocked most of the starlight and moonlight overhead, leaving only scattered flecks filtering down through the forest. Zhou Chun could see only the Flame Rat's rough outline.

He did not dare use his divine sense to monitor the area. Although divine sense was formless and invisible, many Demonic Beasts could detect it and would know they were being watched.

Therefore, unless the Purple Flame Sable appeared and he needed to use divine sense to lock onto its position, Zhou Chun absolutely did not dare release it.

Just as Zhou Chun's eyes had grown sore and he felt he could scarcely hold on any longer, he finally noticed something unusual in his sight.

A black shadow flashed, and a huge dark figure the size of a yellow dog appeared beside the Flame Rat. It snatched up the Flame Rat in its jaws and shot toward the depths of the mountains and forest, moving with extreme speed.

This instantly jolted Zhou Chun awake. He immediately released his divine sense and locked onto that figure.

It really was the Purple Flame Sable!

The result of his divine sense scan made Zhou Chun let out a great breath of relief, and he hurriedly pursued that figure.

At the same time, a long howl burst from his mouth, calling for Zhou Zhengyong, who was waiting in the distance, to come assist him.

But the Purple Flame Sable was incredibly fast within the mountains and forest. Even after Zhou Chun enhanced himself with the Wind Riding Technique, he was still far too slow to catch it.

Therefore, after sending the signal, he released Zhou Zhengyong's Crimson Tail Monkey and let the agile monkey, which was likewise exceptionally nimble in the forest, chase after the Purple Flame Sable. At the same time, he brought out a flying artifact and pursued it.