Night fell outside the Great Black Mountain.
Yu Chengyi exerted immense effort to finally kill the demon beast before him.
It took more effort than he had initially anticipated.
The demon beast wasn't particularly strong but was quite cunning and fast. Despite being heavily injured, it still managed to evade his grasp several times.
Originally, with more people, they could have surrounded and prevented the demon beast from escaping. But lending a few people to assist Mo Hua created vulnerabilities in their encirclement.
The demon beast took advantage of these openings to escape multiple times until Yu Chengyi hunted it down to its demise by nightfall.
The others sustained various minor injuries, but fortunately, they were superficial and not severe.
After tidying up the demon beast, they rested at a nearby demon hunting camp.
It was already late, not suitable for traveling further, and after a day of hard work, they all wanted to rest for a while.
Several demon hunters lit lamps, and the dim light warmed the narrow campsite.
Yu Chengyi took out a few bottles of strong liquor and poured it for everyone.
They raised their glasses and drank in one gulp. As the fiery liquor went down their throats, they instantly felt much of their fatigue dissipate.
Yu Chengyi smacked his lips and said, "It's a pity we have liquor but no meat."
One of the demon hunters coughed and took out a paper-wrapped package from his storage bag. Upon opening it, it revealed several pounds of pre-cut ox demon meat.
The sauce was crimson, adorned with spicy seasonings, its pungent aroma wafting through the air.
Yu Chengyi cursed, "Why didn't you bring it out earlier? I've already had a few sips of wine."
The man replied bluntly, "Then don't eat it. I wasn't planning on bringing it out yet!"
They exchanged a few playful insults and then began to enjoy the meat and liquor heartily.
"Is this beef from the Mo Shan's family?" someone asked.
"Of course. Besides their family, where else can you find meat this delicious?"
"If you go to the Spiritual Food Tower on North Street, their spirit meat is absolutely divine!"
"It's too expensive. Not worth it."
"Next time, I'll try to get on good terms with Mo Shan and see if he can send some..."
"Are you that shameless?"
"Get lost!"
They laughed and bantered while eating.
Meanwhile, Yu Chengyi furrowed his brow slightly. Whenever Mo Shan was mentioned, he thought of his son, Mo Hua.
He wondered how that child Mo Hua was doing now, whether he had encountered any danger.
Just then, Yu Chengyi suddenly froze, his expression turning serious. "There's movement!"
The other demon hunters immediately set down their cups, crouched slightly, hands on their knives, and vigilantly stared at the entrance of the camp. One of them approached the entrance, leaned to peek outside, then relaxed and turned back, saying, "It's Old Zhao."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down, picking up their drinks again.
Old Zhao walked in, seeing them, couldn't help but grumble, "I rushed here all night, and here you all are, leisurely enjoying wine and meat!"
"We thought you weren't coming back."
"Your wife is pregnant. We thought you went home."
"You've got no luck..."
They laughed together.
Yu Chengyi poured a glass of wine and gestured for Old Zhao to sit down.
Old Zhao, not one to be polite, had rushed half a day's journey and was tired and thirsty. He picked up the wine and downed it in one go. The liquor burned his throat, but he felt much more comfortable.
Unable to hold back, Yu Chengyi asked, "Is Mo Hua alright?"
At these words, Old Zhao's expression grew complicated.
Yu Chengyi's heart skipped a beat. "What? Something happened?"
Old Zhao shook his head. "No, he went home."
"Oh, that's good then," Yu Chengyi sighed in relief but couldn't help but curse, "Couldn't you have just said that directly? You nearly scared me to death!"
Yu Chengyi took a sip of his wine and casually asked, "What did Mo Hua go home for?"
"Nothing much, he just went to kill a demon beast..."
"What?" Yu Chengyi spat out his drink.
Old Zhao sighed in resignation and repeated, "He went to kill a demon beast."
"At the Mid-Rank of the First Grade?"
"Mid-Rank of the First Grade."
Yu Chengyi was stunned. "How did he kill it?"
Old Zhao sighed again. Yu Chengyi suddenly realized and patted Old Zhao on the shoulder, "Old Zhao, you did well!"
After saying this, he felt something was off and asked in puzzlement, "But you're not injured. Doesn't seem like you did it yourself."
"It wasn't me..." Old Zhao said, "At least, not entirely me."
"What do you mean by 'not entirely'? Stop beating around the bush and spit it out!"
Old Zhao collected his thoughts and said, "Mo Hua set traps and formations. When the demon beast walked into the trap, he used fireball magic to activate the formation, severely injuring the demon beast..."
"Then, the rest of us, to be honest, didn't even need me. Those few Early Qi Refinement guys were enough to kill the severely injured beast..."
Yu Chengyi furrowed his brow.
The other demon hunters chimed in, "Old Zhao, have you gone mad? What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Can this demon beast really be at the Mid-Rank of the First Grade?"
"You haven't drunk that much. Is your tolerance getting worse?"
"Get lost!" Old Zhao couldn't be bothered to deal with them.
Yu Chengyi, however, believed him somewhat and asked, "What kind of formation?"
"How would I know?"
"Couldn't you have asked?"
"I was too shocked to think about it."
"And then?"
"Then he used the blood of the demon beast, we sold the demon beast, and I... got eight spirit stones..."
Yu Chengyi looked at him disdainfully, "You took advantage of a kid."
Old Zhao blushed, "I declined, but couldn't refuse!"
"Can you really be at ease with these spirit stones?"
"Tomorrow, I'll spent them at his family's restaurant, buy some meat, and share it with everyone..."
"You're uneasy about this. Let us help share your burden."
"You guys..."
They laughed together for a while.
However, Yu Chengyi continued to furrow his brow.
"What's wrong?" Old Zhao asked when he noticed.
"Are you sure that formation can really injure a demon beast at the Mid-Rank of the First Grade?" Yu Chengyi asked with a serious expression.
Old Zhao's expression also became solemn, "I saw it with my own eyes!"
"What kind of demon beast was it?"
"A Red-Eyed Goat, over ten feet tall, curled horns, white fur, red eyes, loves to eat entrails, its mouth full of blood right after a meal." After saying this, Old Zhao opened his storage bag, revealing a bloody hoof, saying, "This is the hoof of that goat demon. It's worthless, so I didn't sell it."
Seeing the hoof as thick as a cultivator's thigh, with the tip blood-red, almost black, everyone put away their joking expressions.
"It's at the Mid-Rank of the First Grade, and in its prime, it has had quite a few meals of fresh meat."
One demon hunter hesitated, "Mo Shan's son is only at the Fifth or Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement. Could he really set up such a powerful formation?"
"I think it's unlikely."
"Can't say for sure. My son's Iron Armor Formation on his Vine Armor was drawn by him. I don't understand it, but it was indeed well drawn!" another demon hunter said.
"If you don't understand it, how do you know if it's good or bad?"
"Never eaten pork, but seen pigs run?"
...
Everyone talked animatedly.
After pondering for a moment, Yu Chengyi said, "You go ask tomorrow... No, I'll go ask myself, see what kind of formation was used, and if it really can injure a demon beast at the Mid-Rank of the First Grade."
Old Zhao nodded, "But, aren't we supposed to go to Inner Mountain tomorrow?"
"Postpone it by a day. We'll go the day after."
Everyone was taken aback. "Is this formation really that important to have a whole team wait for a day?"
Yu Chengyi nodded, "It's not crucial for us, but it's crucial for novice demon hunters."
"How so?"
Yu Chengyi thought for a moment, looked at everyone, and slowly said, "With this formation, wouldn't just three or four Early Qi Refinement guys be enough to kill a Mid-Rank of the First Grade demon beast?"
Everyone looked at each other, unable to hide the shock in their hearts.
(End of the Chapter)