Chapter 44: The Hunt

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Hunt

Deep within the Earth Star Forest, Yi Xiaoyao and his two companions weaved through the dense woods.

This time, they had finally shaken off Qi Yue and his group’s pursuit.

The reason Yi Xiaoyao had chosen to leave rather than fight Qi Yue’s group to the death was that he didn’t want to use the Soul Burning Forbidden Technique.

After all, the Soul Burning Forbidden Technique was his greatest trump card and could not be used lightly.

Moreover, the agony of a burning soul was far beyond what an ordinary person could endure. Unless it was a life-or-death situation, Yi Xiaoyao had no desire to experience it a second time.

"Xiaoyao, you... you... are you even human? I really thought you were a goner! I never imagined you were this powerful!"

Jin Sanbao sat at the very front, the shock in his heart yet to subside. He looked back at Yi Xiaoyao in disbelief.

Yi Xiaoyao gave a faint smile and replied gratefully, "I should be the one thanking you both. I didn’t expect that even though you can’t cultivate, you possess such powerful abilities."

One of them could create puppets with various functions, while the other could control countless insects. It was thanks to them that Yi Xiaoyao had avoided using the Soul Burning Forbidden Technique.

"Sigh, how could Xuan Mo and I compare to you? To help you this time, I’ve used up almost all my Spirit Stones and even lost four Puppet Spiritual Power Cannons," Jin Sanbao said with a heavy sigh. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Yi Xiaoyao had some understanding of the Spirit Stones Jin Sanbao mentioned. They were the crystal-like stones he inserted into his puppets.

Ordinary people and low-level Cultivators used gold notes as currency, whereas high-level Cultivators used Spirit Stones to trade for resources.

Spirit Stones contained vast amounts of Spiritual Qi, which Cultivators could absorb to advance their Cultivation, making them incredibly precious.

However, this was the first time Yi Xiaoyao had seen someone like Jin Sanbao use Spirit Stones to power puppets and fire Spiritual Energy Bullets.

Yi Xiaoyao felt quite apologetic hearing Jin Sanbao’s words, as he was the cause of these expenses.

Xuan Mo, who had been silent all this time, also spoke up. "I’ve lost nearly eighty percent of my insects as well."

Upon hearing this, Jin Sanbao grew worried. "Oh no, we’re screwed! We’ve used up all our resources. How are the two of us supposed to survive in this forest for another fifteen days?"

"Don’t worry, you still have me," Yi Xiaoyao said with a smile.

’These two lost so many of their life-saving measures for my sake. I’ll definitely take full responsibility for their safety and their assessment results from now on,’ Yi Xiaoyao resolved.

This was exactly what Jin Sanbao had been waiting to hear. He grinned at Xuan Mo and said, "Hey, stone-face, even though we used up so many resources, we gained a ridiculously powerful companion. All things considered, it’s not a bad deal."

"Mm," Xuan Mo nodded.

Yi Xiaoyao smiled faintly. He had now fully accepted these two as his companions.

"Alright then, let’s officially begin the third part of the assessment!"

"Right. We need to hurry up and hunt some Demon Beasts. After we get out, our haul of Demon Cores will be ranked."

With that, the trio headed deeper into the forest.

In the days that followed, this assessment area of the Earth Star Forest was filled with disciples from the Seven Kills Star Hall, all hunting Demon Beasts.

Yi Xiaoyao’s group was no exception. During the day, he led Jin Sanbao and Xuan Mo in hunting Demon Beasts to collect their Demon Cores.

At night, after the three had enjoyed a fine meal of Demon Beast meat, Jin Sanbao would go to sleep with a full stomach. Yi Xiaoyao would cultivate by himself, while Xuan Mo would squat on the ground, seemingly communicating with his insects.

Jin Sanbao opened his eyes and heard the violent, humming sound coming from within Yi Xiaoyao as he absorbed Spiritual Qi. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy; he, too, yearned to be able to cultivate Spiritual Power like Yi Xiaoyao.

Having never cultivated, Jin Sanbao didn’t know that normal people didn’t make nearly as much noise as Yi Xiaoyao when they cultivated.

’I never thought that I, Jin Sanbao, could have such a powerful partner. I should be content with that.’

With that thought, he peacefully fell back asleep.

「In the blink of an eye, it was the tenth day since the disciples had entered the Earth Star Forest for their assessment.」

After so many days of hunting, the Demon Beasts in the outer areas had been more or less wiped out.

Now, if anyone wanted to obtain more Demon Cores and achieve a better ranking, they had to venture into the deeper regions of the Earth Star Forest.

They all knew that the deeper they went, the more dangerous it would be.

At that moment, in a dense part of the woods, a group of disciples was cautiously advancing.

Suddenly, a foul wind gusted past, and their expressions changed.

"HISS!"

Two enormous Cyan Qilin Pythons erupted from the withered leaves on the ground, snapping the surrounding ancient trees as they charged swiftly toward the group of disciples.

"It’s a second-rank Demon Beast, a Cyan-Scaled Python! And there are two of them!"

The disciples’ faces went deathly pale, and they trembled violently. They were only at the Eighth and Ninth Realms of Qi Condensation; at best, they could barely handle one second-rank Demon Beast together. Faced with two of these giant pythons, their only option was to flee for their lives.

But the two Cyan-Scaled Pythons flanked them, one on the left and one on the right, using their massive bodies to completely block any path of retreat. There was nowhere to run.

Just as the group was sinking into despair, a laugh echoed from not too far away.

"Hey, would you mind letting us have these two Cyan-Scaled Pythons?"

A portly young man, seated atop a Copper Lion mount, shouted the question to the group.

"You can! You can!"

Without a second thought, the disciples hurriedly shouted their agreement.

"Thanks a bunch!"

The portly youth offered his thanks but showed no intention of making a move.

The disciples thought he was toying with them, and anger flashed across their faces.

But at that very moment, the two giant pythons charging at them suddenly froze and whipped their heads around.

In the next instant, one of the pythons let out a blood-curdling shriek as blood arced into the air, staining the surrounding tree trunks red.

A sharp figure shot out, and with a flash of bewitching sword light, the second-rank Cyan Qilin Python was instantly severed at its vital point!

As the two halves of the python’s body crashed to the ground, a sword-wielding youth was revealed amidst the rain of blood. He shook off the python blood splattered on him, tossed the newly acquired Demon Core in his left hand, and smiled in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, the other Cyan Qilin Python was entangled by a massive swarm of black insects.

"I can’t hold it for much longer! Make your move!"

Another youth, squatting on the ground with a cold expression, called out from a short distance away.

Hearing the urge, the sword-wielding youth’s longsword once again became a blur as he charged straight into the giant python’s gaping, bloody maw.

"RRRIP!"

Like a sharp blade slicing through cloth, wherever the sword-wielding youth passed, the python’s body was instantly split in two from head to tail!

This sword-wielding youth was, of course, Yi Xiaoyao.

"Xuan Mo, nice work. Thanks for the help."

Yi Xiaoyao retrieved the Demon Core and turned to smile at the cold-faced youth still squatting on the ground.

"Hey, what about your old pal Fatty! I was working hard managing the situation from over here!"

Jin Sanbao, seeing Yi Xiaoyao praise only Xuan Mo, complained indignantly from his puppet mount.

Yi Xiaoyao completely ignored the guy and walked over to the group of disciples, who were staring, dumbfounded and petrified.

"From now on, if anyone asks, you tell them you never saw the three of us."

After speaking, without waiting for the group to snap out of it and offer their thanks, Yi Xiaoyao turned, leaped onto his mount with Xuan Mo, and vanished into the dense forest.