"There's a leopard, upper left!" Lou Yi glanced up inadvertently and spotted a yellow leopard with its body covered in black spots.

It was hidden among the dense leaves, crouching on a thick branch.

Its golden pupils stared coldly at the group like two yellow gemstones, devoid of any emotion.

Upon realizing that Lou Yi had discovered its presence, the leopard stood up and intended to retreat.

'Swish!'

An arrow pierced through the leopard's head.

The body fell onto the fallen leaves on the ground, making a crisp 'snap' sound.

Lou Yi looked back.

A hundred paces away, Wang Yiwen slowly lowered the longbow in her hand, raising her fair neck proudly.

Wang Yiwen was the petite yet voluptuous woman, Shi Caifeng's partner.

"Nice archery!" Lou Yi praised.

She would definitely be a divine archer in her previous life, a constant presence on the Olympic podium.

"As expected of my lady," Shi Caifeng said cheerfully, making Wang Yiwen's pretty face flush.

"Collect the good meat," Shi Caifeng ordered.

Yan Ze responded actively, swiftly cutting off the leopard's head, removing the haunches, bleeding it out to remove the viscera, and placing a small amount of prime meat into a basket covered with oilcloth.

Lou Yi also stepped forward, casually brushing his hand over the leopard's carcass.

'Energy +1, absorb?' the Attribute Panel prompted.

'Is it about to become a spirit, or is it that the beasts in this area of the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range easily generate energy?'

Lou Yi couldn't help but ponder.

But he also felt that coming here was indeed the right decision.

The journey continued.

Next, the team took down a few more leopards and wolves, but the whereabouts of the Wild Boar Spirit were still unknown.

Lou Yi gained another point of energy from an impressively large gray wolf, twice as big as a usual wolf.

Time ticked away, nightfall slowly approaching, with a faint halo emerging in the sky, a sign that the moon was about to appear.

"Aw..."

"Roar..."

"Howl..."

The roars of beasts echoed intermittently from the forest.

"Find an open space, set up camp, rest and replenish," Shi Caifeng commanded from atop a tree, gazing into the distance.

Having traveled nearly all day, everyone was quite weary and sighed in relief upon hearing this.

'Smack!'

Shi Qingde smacked a mosquito biting the back of his neck, splattering a bloodstain.

The size of the mosquito was nearly like a sparrow.

Feeling a few pronounced bumps on his fair neck, his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

The most bothersome on this journey were not the wild beasts or prickly branches but these incessantly annoying mosquitoes.

"Damn, mosquitoes should be completely eradicated!" Shi Qingde grumbled.

Turning to look at Lou Yi, his eyes almost popped out.

A much larger mosquito was currently biting Lou Yi's exposed arm through his tattered clothing, yet despite a while, it had gained nothing.

With a slight exertion of force, Lou Yi's tensed muscles easily snapped the mosquito's proboscis.

"Are you even human?" Shi Qingde exclaimed, "Your skin's so tough even the biting mosquitoes can't pierce it!"

'Smack!'

He immediately received a hard slap on the head.

"Stop the nonsense, get to work," Shi Caifeng was not the least bit gentle with her younger brother.

Shi Qingde pulled Lou Yi and the others along to start setting up tents, sprinkled a circle of insect repellent powder around, and dug a small pit in the center, forming a simple stove.

They added water, lime, and placed the beast meat into ceramic containers, heating it with boiling water.

The aroma of the meat gradually wafted out, making everyone involuntarily swallow.

This method was much safer than roasting.

Even if the scent spread, it would at most attract nearby beasts.

Everyone present was a martial artist, and with no oversized spirits appearing on Cui Ping Mountain, they weren't concerned at all.

In the forest's darkness, pairs of green eyes appeared, but not a single beast dared to approach to snatch the food.

Any that did venture close could be swiftly taken down with an arrow or a spear, becoming food for the team the following day.

After everyone had their fill, Lou Yi noticed someone taking out a few thick purple incense sticks, inserting them into a prepared incense burner, and lighting them.

A peculiar fragrance, blown by the wind, spread into the mountain forest.

"They are luring spirits," suddenly, Lou Yi had a realization.

The intelligence of spirits far surpasses ordinary beasts; each one is as cunning as a fox. Capturing them without some tricks wouldn't work.

Several hours later, the spirit creature still hadn't appeared, but everyone couldn't possibly stay awake without sleep.

"You all take the night watch," Vice Captain Jiang Chenyu arranged for shifts to guard the camp.

The ones chosen were Yan Ze, Zhou Pan, Lou Yi, and Shi Qingde, pairing two experienced with two new members, a reasonable arrangement.

At the four corners of the camp, makeshift wooden ladders were built, about fifteen feet high.

Lou Yi held a spear in his arms, sitting above, keeping watch.

All the coarse cloth tents, stacked firewood, and meat hanging on the grill were within his sight.

The wind that drifted in from afar carried a natural, earthy, salty fragrance.

The sound of insects chirping from all directions and the bright full moon in the sky made Lou Yi's heart feel incredibly tranquil at this moment.

Near midnight, from a corner in the northeast, there suddenly came a faint rustling sound.

Though the sound was extremely slight, it shattered the serene and harmonious atmosphere Lou Yi perceived, and with his incredible sharp senses, it sounded especially piercing.

Lou Yi quickly turned his head, relying on the rather bright moonlight, barely making out a trace of shadow hiding within the green.

'Whew!'

Lou Yi didn't act impulsively but blew the whistle hanging on his chest.

"Over there!" he shouted loudly.

'Whoosh whoosh!'

The shadow swiftly fled into the distance, the sound of its body brushing against the grass leaves was so obvious in the night.

Zhou Pan sprang into the air from the wooden ladder, leaping towards where the shadow was.

Figures also 'whizzed' out from within the tents, splitting into several directions, quickly pursuing the shadow.

Finally, the shadow was cornered by the martial artists into a place where it had to stop, revealing its robust body.

It was an enormous black pig!

About twenty feet long, ten feet tall, with no hair on its entire body, yet covered in fine, fish-scale-like black armor that shimmered in the moonlight with a cold gleam.

The tail was as straight as a steel whip pointing upwards, limbs were as stout as big trees, sinewy and powerful.

Its claws were sharp and could easily pierce into the soil, giving an impression of unyielding stability.

Its eyes were blood-red, glaring fiercely at everyone, sending chills down their spines.

"You all give me cover, let me handle it!" Shi Caifeng said excitedly.

With that, she actually leapt up, shooting towards the Wild Boar Spirit like a gust of wind!

Her speed was far beyond any martial artist Lou Yi had ever seen.

It turned out, Shi Caifeng was the fastest member of the team.

Shi Caifeng brandished her weapon, which was two three-foot-long silver hooks, with a crescent-shaped blade, and spike-tipped, curved like barbs.

"Die!"

She displayed astonishing speed, darting left and right, transforming into shadows, and finally arriving above the Wild Boar Spirit, the silver hooks slammed fiercely onto the Wild Boar Spirit's body!

In an instant, two noticeable wounds appeared on the Wild Boar Spirit's flesh, revealing the red flesh inside.

But oddly, not a drop of blood flowed out.

"Roar!"

The Wild Boar Spirit roared furiously, stamping down with a foot at Shi Caifeng, who had just landed on the ground, kneeling on one knee.

The foot, comparable to a stone pillar, left no doubt that if it hit, the result would be obliteration!

Shi Caifeng swiftly dodged to the side, barely avoiding it.

"All together now!"

Jiang Chenyu and the other martial artists each drew a silver long spear made of pure metal, stabbing towards the Wild Boar Spirit, temporarily alleviating Shi Caifeng's crisis.

'Whoosh whoosh whoosh!'

The long spears made of pure metal had an astonishing impact, though they didn't break the Wild Boar Spirit's defense, they emitted spark-like flashes.

The Wild Boar Spirit groaned in agony from the stabbing.

"Die!"

Shi Caifeng was brimming with Qi-Blood, her body once again darted to the sky.

The two silver hooks transformed into cold gleams once more, plunging into the Wild Boar Spirit's head, making it emit the most intense scream.

'Aoo!'

Finally, the Wild Boar Spirit fell to the ground, its legs kicking incessantly.

"Haha, that was exhilarating!" Shi Caifeng licked the blood foam off her face, her complexion flushed with excitement.

Afterward, embracing the pleasant Wang Yiwen, ignoring her shy pats on his chest, he dashed into the nearby woods.

Lou Yi looked in surprise at other team members, finding that they all had looks of accustomed expressions.

He then quickly suppressed his unusual emotions and approached the corpse of the fallen Wild Boar Spirit.

Gently caressing its body with his hand, familiar half-transparent small characters floated into his view:

'Energy +3, would you like to absorb it?'

...

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