Chapter 63: Literally Died from Pain

The next morning, after completing his basic cultivation, Lin Zhangqing went to find his father and second uncle, met up with them, and then proceeded to wait at the Clan Leader's location.

Before long, all the clan members had gathered; the Clan Leader led everyone out of the fortress and boarded the Wind-Running Boat.

They set off toward the location selected the previous night by the family's three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, since the demon beasts near the fortress had already been hunted clean by Qingyun Sect's own cultivators, requiring everyone to travel slightly farther for hunting.

Flying at high speed for over two hours, they finally reached their destination; after landing, the squads assembled together, awaiting the Clan Leader's instructions.

Standing atop a rock, the Clan Leader swept his gaze around the crowd and spoke: "You are all cultivators rich in demon-hunting experience, so there is little need for words; just remember one thing: do not venture too deep, for we must all return home alive!"

"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.

Subsequently, everyone uniformly chose a direction and fanned out; the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators had already gone ahead to search for potential Second-Stage Demon Beasts, ensuring no one would encounter them.

Lin Zhangqing and his two companions released their three Golden Winged Birds, Chu Yi included; this time, Chu Yi was nearly suffocated, having never been confined in a Spirit Beast Bag for so long.

He could only emerge daily for a breath of fresh air before being forced back into the Spirit Beast Bag.

With three Golden Winged Birds scouting for demon beasts, results came quickly; three or four li ahead, they spotted two large and one small Red-Armored Rhinoceros.

Judging by their appearance, they were likely a family unit; the two adults were both First-Rank Upper Grade, while the juvenile was First-Rank Mid-Grade.

After discussing with the others, his father decided to engage; however, since the Red-Armored Rhinoceros possessed strong defense, they unanimously agreed to target the eyes, mouth, neck, and similar weak points, avoiding strikes to the body whenever possible.

The group finalized their plan: everyone would lie in ambush while the father acted as bait, luring one over to be focused down and killed, after which they would assault the remaining two with full force.

Once the four had hidden themselves properly, Lin Maosheng crept toward the target; after waiting quite some time, one of the large Red-Armored Rhinoceroses finally moved closer in Lin Maosheng's direction.

Seizing the rare opportunity, Lin Maosheng cast an Earth Spike Spell at the Red-Armored Rhinoceros, and without checking the result, he jumped up and sprinted away, a Divine Movement Talisman already affixed to his body.

Charging toward the ambush point, the Red-Armored Rhinoceros paused for a moment before realizing what was happening and chasing furiously after his father; fortunately, the ambush site was not far, and he arrived quickly.

Just as the Red-Armored Rhinoceros entered the ambush circle, his second uncle shouted "Attack!", and several Dharma Artifacts flew straight toward the beast's eyes, mouth, neck, and other vital areas.

Yet no one was faster than Lin Zhangqing; his three Golden Thread Escape Light Needles had already blinded the Red-Armored Rhinoceros moments earlier.

Blinded, the Red-Armored Rhinoceros posed little danger, charging blindly in all directions until it finally collapsed under the barrage of everyone's Dharma Artifacts.

After confirming the Red-Armored Rhinoceros was dead, his second uncle took out a Jade Bottle to collect its Essence Blood.

Noticing Lin Zhangqing's slightly surprised expression.

He explained to Lin Zhangqing: "Qingyun Sect only requires submitting Demon Beast Corpses to exchange for contribution points; they never said anything about including Essence Blood."

"If we don't collect it now, the Essence Blood will coagulate as the corpse cools and become useless; this Essence Blood can be sold to cultivators for Talisman Making and Alchemy, fetching a decent price!"

Lin Zhangqing nodded, indicating he understood.

At this moment, Twenty-Third Uncle Lin Mao Feng, who was on lookout duty, said: "Are you done? The other two Red-Armored Rhinoceroses are approaching."

His father hastily collected the corpse from the ground and smoothed over the terrain; everyone hid again, preparing for another ambush.

This time the process went relatively smoothly, though in their focus on killing the large Red-Armored Rhinoceroses, they allowed the small one to break through; nevertheless, it was eventually tracked down and killed by the group.

With three demon beasts slain, 115 contribution points were secured; after cleaning up the battlefield, everyone rested briefly to recover some Spiritual Energy before continuing the hunt.

Having Golden Winged Birds to locate demon beasts was incredibly convenient; they could basically always find prey to hunt, and whenever a beast was too far from their squad, they would let nearby hunting squads handle it.

After a full day of hunting, they had accumulated a total of 435 contribution points; Lin Zhangqing's Purple Crystal Scorpion Swarm had not even had a chance to deploy, as they mostly encountered one or two demon beasts at a time, with groups of three or more like the Red-Armored Rhinoceros being quite rare.

Since clan members stayed relatively close, they gathered together at night, assigning specific individuals to stand guard; this ensured everyone rested well at night, remaining energetic for hunting during the day.

This also allowed them to share their hauls, exchange intelligence, and strengthen their bonds; Lin Zhangqing quite enjoyed this arrangement and adapted very well, quickly becoming close with his uncles and elders. The clan members also liked Lin Zhangqing quite a bit; after all, he appeared gentle and refined, possessed a decent Cultivation Base, and was very sharp-witted, leading several of them to consider introducing their daughters or granddaughters to him.

Lin Zhangqing feared this situation most of all, yet everyone seemed most fond of making such jokes at his expense.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed, and two large Storage Bags were nearly full.

On this day, Chu Yi and the others discovered a Swift Wind Wolf pack totaling forty to fifty heads; the alpha wolf appeared to be at the peak of the First Stage, and with a bit of Opportunity, could soon break through to the Second Stage.

Among them, seventeen Swift Wind Wolves were at the First Stage Late Period, while the rest were in the early to mid First Stage; after discussing, his father and the others decided to join forces with several nearby hunting squads to cooperate in killing them.

At this moment, a thought stirred in Lin Zhangqing's heart: the Purple Crystal Scorpions still hadn't deployed! Should he let them give it a try?

This would also let his father and the others see the prowess of the Purple Crystal Scorpions, giving them peace of mind and stopping them from constantly worrying about Lin Zhangqing's safety.

Having made up his mind, Lin Zhangqing addressed his father and the other three: "Father, Second Uncle, and the two other uncles, I have some Spirit Insects whose abilities I haven't had a chance to test yet. I wish to use these Swift Wind Wolves to try them out!"

Upon hearing this, his father shook his head and refused: "No, it's too dangerous! With forty or fifty Swift Wind Wolves, if they discover you, you will surely lose your life; summoning a few hunting squads to cooperate is the safest option, so there is no need to take such a huge risk."

His second uncle also said: "I also disagree; didn't you hear the Clan Leader say we must return home alive?"

The two clan uncles also stated the risk was too great and advised against trying it.

Lin Zhangqing felt truly helpless and could only say: "I won't get too close myself; I will only position myself at a distant edge, release the Spirit Insects, and leave immediately. You need not worry; just let me try this once!"

Lin Zhangqing spent considerable effort persuading the four of them, primarily convincing his father and second uncle.

Lin Zhangqing slowly approached, lurking at the edge of the wolf pack, and observed carefully.

He discovered there were exactly 52 Swift Wind Wolves: 34 in the early to mid First Stage, assigning two Purple Crystal Scorpions per wolf; 17 in the First Stage Late Period, assigning three Purple Crystal Scorpions per wolf; and finally, five Purple Crystal Scorpions assigned to deal with the alpha wolf.

Gently tapping his Spirit Insect Bag, he released the Purple Crystal Scorpion Swarm, instructing them to act according to his will, then retreated a distance and waited patiently for the scorpion swarm to reach their designated positions.

The alpha wolf seemed to sense something; it stood up and scanned its surroundings, but finding nothing, it returned to its original spot.

This startled Lin Zhangqing, making him fear the Purple Crystal Scorpions had been discovered; fortunately, it was a false alarm. After waiting a while longer, he confirmed all the Purple Crystal Scorpions had reached their designated positions.

With a thought, Lin Zhangqing issued the command to attack; all the Purple Crystal Scorpions simultaneously stabbed their Tail Needles into their prey, producing a continuous stream of piercing shrieks, with the alpha wolf's scream especially echoing throughout the entire forest.

By the time Lin Zhangqing rushed over, every single Swift Wind Wolf on the scene was lying on the ground convulsing, clearly unable to stand up again in the short term.

Lin Zhangqing specifically went to check on the alpha wolf's condition and found it completely motionless; after a careful inspection, he confirmed it was indeed dead.

Could it have been stabbed five times and literally died from the pain? That alpha wolf had been screaming the loudest just moments ago.

He hurriedly notified his father and the others to come over; upon arriving at the scene and seeing the situation, they were dumbfounded and found it hard to believe that Lin Zhangqing had single-handedly resolved an entire Swift Wind Wolf pack.

All the Swift Wind Wolves, including the alpha, were lying on the ground having lost all ability to resist, and it appeared the alpha wolf was already dead.

Just moments ago, they had prepared to rescue Lin Zhangqing in case he failed and was discovered, never expecting him to resolve everything in one stroke.

Lin Zhangqing quickly reminded them to collect the spoils, noting that the commotion just now had been quite significant; the shrieks had merged into one continuous wave, so they must not attract other demon beasts to investigate. He immediately had Chu Yi and the others maintain high-altitude vigilance, keeping a tight watch on all sides.

Moreover, collecting Essence Blood from 52 Swift Wind Wolves was a massive undertaking, and their Storage Bag space was insufficient; they would still need to find nearby Demon Hunting Squads to help carry some back.

Calling for help, killing wolves, and collecting Essence Blood kept them busy for over two hours before they finally finished; after discussing, his father and the others decided to stop for the day and return to the gathering point first.

(End of Chapter)