Following the guidance of the all-encompassing spirit, Yu Su and his group found the location of the Returning Yuan Grass.
This Returning Yuan Grass had been growing for at least ten years. Its lush leaves were visible from a distance, surrounded by rich spiritual energy. Apart from the thorny bushes blocking the way, there was surprisingly no other protection around.
Yu Su cut through the thorny bushes, pulled out the Returning Yuan Grass, and a gleam of excitement flashed in his eyes.
"A ten-year-old Returning Yuan Grass, with no demonic beasts coveting it around. It seems the demonic beasts in this mountain don't appreciate its value."
Lu Yan asked, "Is Returning Yuan Grass precious?"
Yu Su nodded, "It can be used to refine Returning Yuan Pills. For cultivators in the Qi Refinement and Foundation Building early stages who are injured, consuming one can quickly restore their qi and blood. This thing is even more useful than the Purple Cloud Grass Gan Wu Soup."
After hearing this, Lu Yan earnestly noted the appearance of the Returning Yuan Grass and decided that if they encountered it again, he would collect it for Yu Su.
Yu Su stored the Returning Yuan Grass in the spatial storage with enthusiasm, saying, "Let's continue searching."
Next, relying on the all-encompassing spirit's scan, they found more than a dozen Returning Yuan Grass plants that were over ten years old. All of them were stored in the spatial storage.
The eastern mountain range was vast, and Yu Su and Lu Yan spent a day skirting its periphery.
So far, they hadn't encountered a single demonic beast, and the all-encompassing spirit hadn't detected any traces of demonic beasts.
Yu Su speculated that those demonic beasts were hiding in the deep mountains. This also meant that the danger would increase when they entered the inner area, and they needed to be more careful.
...
"Roar."
A brightly furred tiger demon yawned lazily, shook its head, and roared.
This vicinity was its territory, and ordinary birds and beasts dared not approach, fearing they would be eaten by it.
So, it was very quiet at the moment, and it didn't sense anything unusual.
It walked out of its cave, licked its tongue leisurely, and prepared to catch a wild sheep on the opposite mountain top.
On the opposite mountain top lived a group of wild sheep and a group of monkeys. They were all timid, only daring to move around on those few mountain tops and not daring to come over.
But in the eyes of the tiger demon, those few mountain tops were its enclosed pasture, and all the creatures living inside were its reserve food.
Therefore, it moved forward with the imposing steps of a king, planning to have its meal as usual.
However, today there was a small accident. It had just walked not far from its cave when it fell into a trap.
The tiger demon roared in shock.
Someone dared to set a trap in its territory?
Who was it?
The snake demon from the neighboring mountain, or the spider spirit from the mountain beyond that?
The tiger demon looked at the deep pit in doubt. Neither the snake demon nor the spider spirit had the habit of digging traps, right? Could it be a newcomer trying to encroach on its territory?
What a thing that didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth! It didn't even inquire about whose territory this was!
The tiger demon's four claws clung to the pit wall like hooks, quickly climbing toward the top of the pit.
Just when it was about to climb up, suddenly more than ten sharp wooden spikes fell from the sky, forcing it back to the bottom of the pit.
The tiger demon, frightened, wondered what this thing was.
The snake demon and the spider spirit couldn't create wooden spikes!
At this moment, it saw two people appear on top of the pit, looking down with bowed heads.
One of them said, "A first-level tiger demon, nothing special."
The other said, "Kill it. Its tiger skin can be made into clothes for you."
The tiger demon roared, "Roar!"
Damn it, it turned out to be two-legged creatures!
The flesh of two-legged creatures wasn't as delicious as that of wild sheep and wild cows. It didn't like it, except occasionally when it wanted a change of taste, it would go down to the villages of those two-legged creatures and catch one or two to eat. It usually looked down on them.
It had not gone to catch two-legged creatures since almost a year ago, and they happened to be particularly ugly. It didn't expect them to run to its territory and act presumptuously!
This was simply unreasonable.
The tiger demon leaped from the bottom of the pit again, ready to tear the two-legged creatures on the top of the pit.Just at this moment, an arrow of flame suddenly shot out. Unable to dodge, it hit the tiger demon in one eye, causing it to howl in pain and roll back to the bottom of the pit.
"So clumsy, doesn't even know how to dodge," Yu Su remarked, looking at the tiger demon at the bottom of the pit.
Lu Yan shot several more arrows of flame at the bottom of the pit, hitting the tiger demon's hind legs.
The tiger demon, in pain, howled again, opening its large bloody mouth but couldn't jump back to the top of the pit.
Yu Su summoned vines to bind it, resolving the situation in one go.
Afterward, he and Lu Yan jumped into the pit, dismembered the tiger demon, and collected everything that could be gathered into the spatial storage.
Lu Yan already knew about Yu Su's magical abilities, but his previous understanding was limited. Now, he had a better idea that Yu Su's magical abilities were related to space.
However, he still didn't ask anything, just helping Yu Su collect the items.
Yu Su said, "After going back, you get half of these things."
Lu Yan shook his head, "I don't need them."
Yu Su insisted, "These are good things. For example, bone artifacts refined from tiger bones are similar to low-grade magical artifacts. They can also be used to brew spirit wine. The tiger skin is tougher than ordinary ones; making it into a tiger skin garment would be safer to wear."
Lu Yan, after hearing all this, asked about spirit wine.
Yu Su explained, "Also a good thing, but currently, there are no materials to brew. When there are, I'll brew it for you."
Lu Yan's eyes lit up at the prospect of Yu Su brewing for him, about to say something when he noticed Yu Su's expression change. Yu Su swiftly grabbed him and jumped to the top of the pit, hiding.
Soon, they heard rustling sounds.
Many snakes emerged from the nearby forest.
Yu Su frowned, suspecting that something was controlling them.
He scattered snake repellent powder around, also applying a bit to himself and Lu Yan. The snakes, smelling the powder, avoided them and entered the tiger demon's cave to search.
Observing their organized behavior, Yu Su deduced that there was something controlling them.
The snakes soon surrounded them.
They feared the scent of the snake repellent powder but refused to disperse.
Yu Su and Lu Yan exchanged glances. Lu Yan released fire, shooting it at the pile of dried leaves gathered by Yu Su. Several of these leaf balls began spinning, repelling the snakes.
However, more and more snakes gathered around. Unless they killed all the snakes, they would continue following them. The one behind controlling them would soon catch up.
Yu Su wasn't sure what was controlling them but felt a strong sense of being watched.
All-encompassing spirit: [Master, what should we do?]
This creature, aside from searching, scanning, and storing things, was currently a zero-combat-power little waste. It feared that Yu Su wouldn't be able to handle these snakes.
With snake repellent powder and fast movement, they could outrun the snakes by heading east. However, Yu Su was curious about what was controlling the snakes.
Of course, he wouldn't dare do this without a backup plan.
"We have the ultimate weapon," Yu Su said, lifting a sleeping little black bird from his backpack. "Little ancestor, wake up and get to work."
The small black bird opened its eyes, kicked its claws a bit dissatisfied that Yu Su had disturbed its sleep, and chirped twice, venting its displeasure at being awakened.
Yu Su patted it, "Okay, scold me later. Deal with the snakes for now."
The little black bird turned its fluffy bottom toward Yu Su, its head toward the snake group. It expressed its willingness to work through actions.
Yu Su snorted. He told it, "Be careful; there's something controlling these snakes. When it shows up, release your dominating aura."
The little black bird chirped twice, indicating it understood.
After a short while, the snake group remained, growing larger.
Yu Su suspected that all the snakes in the mountain had been summoned. He frowned, wondering what kind of creature could gather so many snakes.
At this moment, the all-encompassing spirit spotted the target first: [Master, a huge snake!]
Snake demon?
Yu Su focused. He told Lu Yan it was a snake demon and, just in case, said, "Be prepared. If this little guy can't handle it, we'll run."
Lu Yan nodded.
The little black bird chirped twice, slightly annoyed that Yu Su looked down on it. What was there to fear about a snake demon? It dared to eat dragons.
When the snake demon came out, the little black bird jumped onto Yu Su's head, took a deep breath, and chirped loudly, "Chirp!"
The just-emerged snake demon: "..."
Yu Su and Lu Yan: "..."
This snake demon, of an unknown species, had a long body with a lightning-shaped mark on its forehead.
[Master, it's a Thunderous Serpent. This Thunderous Serpent should be close to the strength of a second-level demonic beast.]
Second-level demonic beast?
Yu Su, currently at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, wasn't far off in terms of strength.
The Thunderous Serpent, perhaps not recognizing what it was due to insufficient exposure, showed no fear of the little black bird that hadn't released its bloodline pressure. It coiled around a large tree, staring ominously at Yu Su and his group, then opened its large bloody mouth and lunged at them.
Yu Su instructed the little black bird not to act yet. Instead, he summoned a wooden shield made of vines to block the Thunderous Serpent's attack. At the same time, he summoned wooden spikes to pierce the serpent's vital points.
The Thunderous Serpent sensed Yu Su's intention and immediately swung its tail, striking Yu Su.