Chapter 147

“Forget Tengjiao—shoot those two fools dead before they lure the cold beasts over!”

Sssssss…

A steel arrow suddenly streaked toward him; Xia Chuan jerked his head aside.

The arrow barely grazed his scalp as it flew past.

He glanced back and saw a large tree pierced through by the arrow.

Cold sweat broke out on Xia Chuan’s forehead; a wave of dread washed over him.

Fortunately, after tossing the torch, he had immediately turned east toward Xia Hong’s position.

Otherwise, that arrow would have pierced his body.

He Hao Meng actually meant to kill!

Not just Hao Meng—the archers who had been attacking Tengjiao, upon hearing the order, abandoned Tengjiao entirely and turned their aim.

Their new targets: Luo Yuan and Xia Chuan on the north and south flanks.

Sssssss… sssssss… sssssss…

In an instant, steel arrows rained down like falling stars, pelting the two men.

These were arrows fired by over twenty Earth-Digging Realm cultivators.

And the distance between them was only a hundred meters.

Just as the Great Xia camp prized archery, the Mirror Immortal camp’s archers were equally superb.

Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan were instantly thrown into chaos.

They darted between trees, dodging arrows from behind, but since cold beasts chased them from the rear, they couldn’t hide behind trees or retreat—they could only keep running east.

This meant their escape route was now fixed.

The Mirror Immortal camp clearly realized this too; their arrow trajectories grew increasingly precise, and their hit rate became astonishingly high.

“Don’t kill them—drive them east, make them lure the cold beasts away…”

Xia Chuan, desperately dodging, had been grim-faced—but when he heard Hao Meng’s command to his men, his heart erupted in wild joy.

“You idiot, hahaha!”

In just this short time, he’d already been grazed by several arrows; if they kept shooting like this, he and Luo Yuan wouldn’t just suffer more injuries—they might even die.

He never expected Hao Meng to suddenly act clever.

“Not killing us, trying to force us east to lure the cold beasts… he thinks it’s me and Xia Chuan drawing them here…”

On the south flank, Luo Yuan felt the arrows no longer aimed for his vital spots, only restricting his escape path; his face instantly relaxed.

He glanced down at his calf, expression darkening.

A steel arrow had pierced through the outer muscle, still lodged there, blood seeping from the wound.

He’d tossed his torch at the same time as Xia Chuan; the archers targeting him were fewer than those targeting Xia Chuan—he shouldn’t have been hit.

The problem? The creature chasing him was a Mid-Level Frost Wolf!

Low-Level Frost Wolves were already more agile and faster than other cold beasts.

And the one he’d lured with his torch was a Mid-Level Frost Wolf.

Already frantic from being chased, he had little energy left to dodge Hao Meng’s arrows.

Though the arrow in his calf pierced only flesh, the pain was manageable—for now. But as time passed, the wound widened, gradually impairing his speed.

“Aooooo…”

Knowing Hao Meng’s men had stopped aiming to kill him, Luo Yuan focused solely on sprinting forward; the Frost Wolf’s howls grew closer—he could even smell its breath.

Sssssss…

A sound rang in his ear; sudden dread surged up his back. Luo Yuan’s pupils shrank—he realized an arrow was about to strike. Instinctively, he tried to dodge left.

Too late. The arrow’s speed was terrifying.

Before he could fully shift his body left, he felt the arrowhead’s sharp tip pierce his right waist.

His eyes dimmed. Judging from the arrows that had pierced trees, most of Hao Meng’s men likely had greater base strength than he did—their arrows carried terrifying power.

The arrow through his calf had only damaged flesh—minor.

But this one aimed for his waist.

Pierced by such force, it wouldn’t just leave a hole—he might suffer organ damage, even die…

Jing… jing… jing…

In a flash, metallic clashes rang out, followed by Xia Hong’s voice—calm, reassuring.

“Hide behind me. Stop running. Apply Golden Wound Powder first!”

Xia Hong drew his Yi Dao and slashed furiously behind Luo Yuan, forming a wide blade curtain. Because the Yi Dao was long, the curtain covered a broad area—all arrows from Hao Meng’s men were deflected and fell to the ground.

Luo Yuan quickly pulled the arrow from his calf, applied Golden Wound Powder, and saw the Frost Wolf chasing him now sprinting toward the torch—toward Hao Meng’s position. A smile spread across his face.

Not just the Frost Wolf—the Snow Mane behind Xia Chuan was also racing toward the Mirror Immortal camp.

With two Mid-Level cold beasts charging at once, Hao Meng’s group had no time to shoot at them anymore.

With his wound stabilized, Luo Yuan laughed triumphantly:

“Hahaha, they’re gone. They probably don’t even know who did it.”

“They know. Hao Meng has seen me—and my blade.”

Xia Hong sheathed his Yi Dao, his gaze piercing through the Frost Wolf to lock eyes with Hao Meng, two hundred meters away.

“Those bastards dared to ambush me!”

Beneath the tree, Hao Meng’s face burned with rage; his grip on the longbow trembled uncontrollably.

He hadn’t clearly seen Xia Chuan or Luo Yuan’s faces—only their clothing, which vaguely suggested they were from Great Xia, but he wasn’t certain.

But now he saw Xia Hong, standing beside Luo Yuan in a black greatcoat, wielding that slender long blade—he instantly understood:

He’d been tricked.

“Chief, the beasts are almost here—if we don’t retreat now, it’s too late!”

Hearing his men’s shout, Hao Meng glanced down at the two torches on the ground, then looked toward the dying Tengjiao and the dead Leikui, teeth grinding in fury:

“Forget them—scatter! Run out!”

If either Frost Wolf or Snow Mane came alone, he wouldn’t fear them. Even if both came at once during his hunting team’s peak, he’d dare to maneuver against them.

But now—of all times!

His team had fought three battles straight, lost several men, most were wounded, and supplies and arrows were critically low.

No matter how confident Hao Meng was, he dared not stay.

He turned and sprinted north first.

The other twenty-odd men scattered, fleeing north or south; eight or nine carried someone on their backs—alive or dead, no one knew.

“Great Xia, Great Xia—I’ll make you pay, aaaaah…”

As he ran, Hao Meng roared, glancing repeatedly eastward toward Xia Hong’s position, eyes blazing with fury and hatred.

This night, which could have yielded four Mid-Level cold beast trophies…

Had been ruined entirely by Xia Hong and his crew.

…………

Nearby, watching Hao Meng’s men scatter and abandon their prey, Xia Hong’s trio all smiled.

“He thought the two cold beasts were heading for Leikui and Tengjiao.”

“Hahaha, these torches are our camp’s ultimate weapon!”

Hearing Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan’s teasing, Xia Hong couldn’t help smiling.

But seeing Hao Meng’s group fully dispersed and the Snow Mane and Frost Wolf each reaching their torches, he turned to the two behind him:

“Go to the flanks. Use the same method to lure the Snow Mane and Frost Wolf away.”

“Yes, Leader!”

Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan nodded, splitting apart—one south, one north—circling around the flanks of the Snow Mane and Frost Wolf.

Since the two torches had landed close together, the two cold beasts that had reached them were now nearly face-to-face.

“Aooooo…”

“Grrrrr…”

The Snow Mane and Frost Wolf clearly despised each other. Upon touching the torches, both had shown pleasure—but soon snapped awake, snatching the torches in their jaws, then locking eyes and growling low, threatening sounds.

The growls carried clear menace.

Clearly, both were claiming ownership of the torches.

“Grrrrr…”

Then a third sound rang out.

But this third sound was utterly different—weak, feeble, even hollow with false bravado.

It was the severely wounded, dying Tengjiao.

Strangely, though the Tengjiao was warning the two cold beasts, its gaze remained locked on the torches in their jaws—its eyes revealed unmistakable longing.

The Snow Mane and Frost Wolf turned their heads, staring at the Tengjiao and the dead Leikui behind it; both showed clear bloodlust.

Clearly, they sensed the Tengjiao’s dire state.

The dead Leikui behind it also attracted them.

“Do the torches hold more appeal for you than the Tengjiao?”

Standing atop a nearby tree, Xia Hong glanced at the three cold beasts, then turned his gaze to the flanks, a look of anticipation on his face.

With Hao Meng’s group gone, the snowy forest had fallen silent—only the low, probing growls of the three cold beasts broke the stillness.

Suddenly, about a hundred meters behind Xue Zong and Shuang Lang, two small flames rose each.

The moment the two flames erupted, the two cold beasts sensed something, quickly turned their heads, and their pupils flared with greed.

Even the mortally wounded Tengjiao couldn’t help but turn to look.

“It’s settled!”

Seeing the reaction of the three cold beasts, Xia Hong knew the plan had succeeded.

The small fires on the north and south sides suddenly flared up two or three meters as if a huge pile of firewood had been thrown in, their glow exploding in the silent snow forest, strikingly visible.

More crucially, those two flames were now rapidly fleeing farther north and south.

The Shuang Lang and Xue Zong, who had already been restless at the sight of a single torch, could no longer resist their greed; both turned and sprinted swiftly toward the large flames behind them.

“Everyone, kill Tengjiao! Its skin is toxic—don’t get close!”

The instant Xue Zong and Shuang Lang both bolted away, Xia Hong charged forward, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, while also calling out to Zhao Long and the other hunters stationed in the surrounding trees to join him in killing Tengjiao.

Swish… swish… swish…

Zhao Long and the others had been ready for a long time; just moments ago, they’d thought they’d be attacking Jingxian Camp, and had been waiting for Xia Hong’s order.

Having hunted with Xia Hong so many times, they were already perfectly in sync; after secretly observing for so long, they understood his intentions perfectly. At Xia Hong’s command, every one of them drew their bows and nocked arrows without the slightest delay.

Fifteen Earth-Digging cultivators, fifteen ten-stone iron-bow bows.

Added to that, knowing their time was limited, they pushed their firing speed to near its limit.

Swish… swish… swish… swish… swish… swish…

Fifteen arrows at a time, in less than thirty breaths, they had fired over ten volleys—nearly two hundred arrows in total.

Tengjiao, already gravely wounded and trapped beneath Lei Kui’s marsh, had no strength to flee or even dodge—only to stand helplessly above the swamp as a living target for them all!

Over two hundred arrows completely buried Tengjiao’s head.

After this near-constant barrage of iron arrows, not even its eyes remained visible; its entire face was obliterated.

Its entire skull had been turned into a porcupine.

“Roar…”

At this point, Tengjiao’s roar was barely audible.

=9+Book_bar

Zhao Long and the others surrounding it suddenly stopped shooting.

Believing it had gained a moment’s respite, Tengjiao stiffened its body and thrashed violently beneath, trying to free itself from the swamp.

With no more iron arrows striking it, and fueled by its desperate will to survive, it unleashed its maximum strength—and actually pulled its body free.

Crack…

But just as it succeeded in freeing itself, about to flee—

Xia Hong, who had been hiding atop the Bingshuo tree, seized his moment and moved.

His eyes wide, he raised his double-bladed great axe, leapt from the tree, and with both arms driving down, used the momentum of his fall to swing the axe in a circular arc from behind, aiming straight for the bulge on Tengjiao’s forehead, and brought it down with all his might.

Scrape…

The great axe struck, and the many iron arrows embedded in Tengjiao’s head were instantly blasted loose.

Metal scraped against metal, sending sparks flying.

Shhh…

Even the iron arrows merely flung away pierced through the nearby Bingshuo tree.

The force behind Xia Hong’s strike was unimaginable.

Boom… crack…

The axe cleaved down, splitting Tengjiao’s flesh, shattering the bulge on its forehead, and instantly pulverizing the bones within. The skull’s internal structure, before this great axe, was as fragile as tofu—offering not the slightest resistance.

The axe had cleaved downward two or three full meters.

The massive head of Tengjiao was split cleanly in two.

Had Xia Hong not held back slightly at the last moment, Tengjiao’s entire upper body might have been severed in half.

“Sssss…”

“Our leader’s strength!”

“How many jin of force was that?”

…

Xia Hong had no time to listen to their awe; to avoid contact with Tengjiao’s toxic skin, he didn’t even pull the axe free—he leapt from midair and immediately ordered:

“Quick, come up and gather everything—take Lei Kui and Tengjiao back. Tengjiao’s skin is toxic—don’t touch it!”

The group, no strangers to handling prey, knew time was short and acted instantly. They cut down a slightly thinner tree, worked quickly, and fashioned a simple stretcher, binding both Lei Kui and Tengjiao onto it.

During the time they made the stretcher, Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan, who had been leading the cold beasts away, circled back from the east.

Xia Chuan returned first, walking up to Xia Hong with a tense expression, still shaken:

“If I didn’t misread it, when I dropped the torch, a Demon Sheep and two Shuang Lang nearby were startled too. The Xue Zong must’ve sensed it too—it didn’t chase me, just snatched the torch and ran off.”

Luo Yuan, who returned shortly after, shared the same expression, speaking gravely:

“Before I even headed east, there was a huge commotion from the west—something deep in the forest had been startled too. Lighting five torches at once really had that much power!”

Xia Hong nodded. The small torches were system-supplied items, and he had tested them repeatedly on many low-level cold beasts.

In terms of understanding, no one else compared to him.

The reason torches attracted cold beasts was because they could heal and strengthen themselves through the light.

Therefore, the brighter the flame, the greater the attraction—just now, when the flames surged, it was because he had ordered Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan to light five torches each.

But remembering something, Xia Hong turned to the group and warned solemnly: “Remember this—use torches with extreme caution!”

“Yes, Leader!”

Hearing Xia Hong’s serious tone, everyone nodded quickly, firmly committing the lesson to memory.

“Alright, let’s head back!”

At Xia Hong’s command, he moved ahead to lead the way. The other seventeen men lifted the stretcher and swiftly followed him back toward the eastern perimeter.

Though the two prey were heavy together, seventeen Earth-Digging cultivators carrying them was no challenge.

The group moved swiftly, soon leaving Hongmu Ridge and returning to the valley.

For the first time seeing a mid-grade Tengjiao and mid-grade Lei Kui, the camp members erupted in fresh exclamations; nearly everyone gathered around to gaze at the two fearsome prey.

“Did our leader bring back two new cold beasts?”

“Weren’t the ones he brought back before all Xue Zong?”

“And both are mid-grade!”

“This one’s Lei Kui—wow, it’s huge! How much meat can we get from it?”

“Don’t touch Tengjiao—it’s toxic!”

“The hunting team’s strength keeps growing.”

…

“Hahaha, they probably never dreamed our two prey were just handed to us—and hey, we’ve got the blood of a Demon Sheep too, hah!”

In the second-floor hall of the wooden house, Yuan Cheng looked down at the prey below, hearing the crowd’s chatter, and burst into loud laughter, his face brimming with triumph.

The others, upon hearing this, also laughed heartily.

“Hahaha, Jingxian Camp just worked for us for free tonight!”

“They were so arrogant—this is how you punish them.”

“They ignored our leader’s warning and crossed the border to hunt first—they got what they deserved!”

“Coming to Hongmu Ridge to hunt? Isn’t that just working for us?”

“Next time we meet them, we’ll do the same again.”

…

Hearing the satisfaction in their laughter, Xia Hong’s expression eased slightly.

Such selfish, harmful behavior didn’t align with his values.

But context mattered.

Since Jingxian Camp had ignored his warning and intruded into Great Xia’s territory to hunt first, he had no choice.

“Leader, from now on, let’s hunt north every three days—each time we meet them, make them return empty-handed, until they dare not step foot near Hongmu Ridge again!”

Hearing Yuan Cheng’s suggestion, everyone immediately nodded in approval.

Xia Hong’s face showed a flicker of interest, but after a moment’s thought, he shook his head gravely: “He Meng is probably furious right now. Let’s wait and see how Jingxian Camp reacts after he returns. After that, we’ll resume normal hunting—just occasionally check the north.”

At the mention of Jingxian Camp, everyone fell silent.

Indeed, He Meng himself meant nothing—it was Jingxian Camp behind him that mattered.

Their number of Earth-Digging cultivators far exceeded Great Xia’s, and they had two Cold-Resisting titans as pillars. From any angle, Great Xia was not ready to openly break with Jingxian Camp.

Even knowing the enemy was invading their territory, they had to endure.

Just tonight, judging by the power Xia Hong displayed when slaying Tengjiao, they could have easily killed He Meng and his men outright.

And Xia Hong chose not to—precisely because of this.

Great Xia’s current strength was still insufficient to withstand a full rupture with Jingxian Camp. If those two Cold-Resisting titans truly intervened, the outcome would be uncertain.

“For now, let’s do this: don’t provoke them fully, but don’t ignore their border violations either. We’ll keep checking the north irregularly.”

“Checking” meant more than just looking—when a chance like tonight arose, where they could gain three prey without lifting a finger, they wouldn’t miss it.

The hunting team’s faces all wore knowing smiles.

“Harming others for one’s own gain really is comfortable—far easier than going out and fighting those cold beasts ourselves!”

Xia Hong’s eyes flickered slightly; if not for fearing he’d offend the Mirror Immortal Camp too deeply and provoke those two Cold-Resistant-level experts into acting, he’d have done this to He Meng several more times.

The feeling of gaining without effort was indeed satisfying.

But improving one’s strength must still come first!

“Bleed them out and bring the blood to my room.”

“Yes, leader.”

Xia Hong turned and gave Xia Chuan a warning, then went upstairs directly.

Last time there were still three Snow-Mane beasts’ blood unused; adding the Tengjiao, Leikui, and Demon Sheep recovered this time, there were six in total—least three or four hundred jin.

At fifty jin per point of progress, this alone could boost him seven to eight points—his base strength could rise by over ten thousand jin.

“More importantly, this time we finally figured out how to hunt Tengjiao. Last time we saw Yuwen Tao hunt the Demon Sheep—now we can start trying to hunt both Demon Sheep and Tengjiao too. That way, our hunting efficiency can rise further, and my skin membrane progress will accelerate too…”

………………

Inside the Red Wood Ridge, He Meng and the others who had scattered now gradually returned to the spot where they’d hunted the Tengjiao.

Seeing the empty ground and the vast pools of Tengjiao blood spilled near the swamp, He Meng and his men turned instantly pale.

The ground was so clean—it clearly wasn’t the work of cold beasts feeding on each other. That meant both prey had been taken by the Great Xia forces.

“Damn bastards! Not only did they trick me, but they stole Leikui and Tengjiao too!”

He Meng’s chest heaved with rage, his gaze locked on the southern edge of Red Wood Ridge, as if weighing something.

“Boss, something’s wrong!”

Suddenly, a shout came from the east.

Everyone turned to look.

The man’s face was flushed with fury; he strode up to He Meng and said:

“Boss, the Demon Sheep’s blood has been completely drained!”

Hearing this, He Meng’s face stiffened, then his fury surged straight to his brain—he yanked his waist saber free.

“All of you, go south! Find the Great Xia encampment! Find it! If I don’t slaughter these bastards, I won’t bear the surname He!”

Sorry, I’m sick and got an injection—I’m dazed and late again!

(End of chapter)