The Wood Wolf demon, feigning death, opened its eyes.
Its vitality surged again, and demonic energy began to flow.
A burly demon hunter with his back to the Wood Wolf suddenly felt a chill down his spine and quickly dodged to the side.
He managed to evade, but not entirely.
The Wood Wolf demon's sharp claws grazed his left arm, tearing a gash where faint green demonic energy seeped into his meridians, causing numbness and unstoppable bleeding.
Cold sweat broke out on the burly demon hunter's forehead.
The Wood Wolf demon's eyes gleamed maliciously as it aimed its second claw at his head.
"I can't dodge this!"
Injured and slowed by demonic energy invading his wound, the burly demon hunter's eyes revealed despair.
Suddenly, Mo Shan appeared and, in one swift motion, kicked the burly demon hunter aside, saving him.
The Wood Wolf demon's claw missed its mark again.
Upon landing, the burly demon hunter felt a fiery pain where Mo Shan had kicked him, and his blood surged.
He knew Mo Shan had kicked him with full force to save his life.
And indeed, it did save him.
But it really did hurt.
The burly demon hunter couldn't help but say, "Mo Shan, you son of a..."
But when he looked up, his expression turned to horror because the Wood Wolf demon's claws were raised high, aiming straight at Mo Shan.
Mo Shan had kicked him and hadn't pulled back yet, leaving him no room to evade.
"Mo Shan!" The burly demon hunter cried out in urgency.
Mo Shan furrowed his brow, but his expression remained calm. This was all within his expectations.
By saving the burly demon hunter, he exposed himself to the Wood Wolf demon's attack.
But he had calculated the demon's attack. The claw would only hit his back, not fatally.
He would take some damage, but saving a brother's life was worth it.
The other members of the demon hunting team saw this scene, but they were not as agile as Mo Shan. Even though they rushed over, they were still a step behind.
They could only watch helplessly as the Wood Wolf demon's demonic claw, carrying a foul wind, tore into Mo Shan's back.
But then they were all dumbfounded.
The Wood Wolf demon's claw didn't pierce the flesh, didn't even break the skin, and didn't even damage the vine armor.
A faint golden light flashed on the vine armor, blocking the Wood Wolf demon's claw.
Mo Shan was knocked away by the claw, spat out blood upon landing, but he had no wounds susceptible to demonic energy erosion. He only suffered from the impact of the demon beast's force, which wasn't a major issue.
But this was a late-stage First Rank demon beast—how could it not leave a wound?
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then snapped back to reality, realizing now wasn't the time to ponder this.
Thinking of the danger Mo Shan and the burly demon hunter had just faced, their lives hanging by a thread, they cursed the malicious deceit of the demon beast.
The demon hunters brandished their blades and hacked the Wood Wolf to death in a frenzy.
Mo Shan wanted to stop them, but it was too late. He could only sigh silently:
"Alright, now the fur is gone too."
After the demon's fur was stripped off, it was indeed in tatters, resembling ragged cloth, without a single intact piece.
Mo Shan sighed again.
They couldn't stay in the inner mountains for long. After cleaning up the Wood Wolf demon's corpse, they withdrew from the inner mountains, preparing to rest temporarily at a camp in the outer mountains.
On the way, the burly demon hunter's wound throbbed with pain, and he couldn't help but curse:
"Damn these demon beasts, they all play dead differently. I really let my guard down."
Another demon hunter said, "Enough, you got lucky this time. Without Brother Mo here, you probably wouldn't have survived."
The burly demon hunter thanked Mo Shan, "Thank you, brother."
Mo Shan waved it off. "We fight side by side; there's no need for thanks."
Since they were in the same demon hunting team, risking their lives together, today Mo Shan saved him, and tomorrow he would save Mo Shan—it was all part of the brotherhood.
The burly demon hunter didn't bother with any more polite words.
But as they walked, he glanced at Mo Shan's vine armor and couldn't help but ask:
"Hey, Mo Shan, what's your armor made of? How is it so tough?"
A late-stage First Rank demon beast's claw couldn't even leave a scratch.
Other demon hunters also looked over upon hearing this.
They had never seen such a sturdy vine armor before.
Mo Shan furrowed his brow. "It should be blended with refined iron on the vine armor..."
"No way," the burly demon hunter shook his head, "if that were true, I'd eat my own vine armor."
A demon hunter approached Mo Shan, glanced at the vine armor on him, touched it with his hand to identify the material, and said to the burly demon hunter:
"You can eat now; it's vine armor blended with refined iron."
The burly demon hunter retorted, "Bullshit! Wasn't my vine armor also blended with refined iron? Yet, a demon's scratch turned it into twigs."
The other demon hunters burst into laughter. One said, "Yours was probably fake."
"Yours isn't refined iron; it was probably sand."
"You're talking nonsense!" The burly demon hunter's face flushed red.
Mo Shan couldn't help but smile.
But he also wondered why this vine armor was so tough.
"Could it be that Hua'er inscribed some formation inside?"
Mo Shan pondered.
After half an hour's walk, they finally reached the camp.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the burly demon hunter collapsed on the ground. He took out a pill, swallowed it, then ground several more pills, sprinkled them on his wounds, and bandaged them with cloth strips.
The burly demon hunter sighed, "I'll have to bother Mr. Feng again."
"Be thankful. Without Mo Shan's kick, you'd probably be dead before seeing Mr. Feng."
Thinking of the Wood Wolf demon's claw glowing with sinister green light just now, the burly demon hunter couldn't help but shiver.
If that claw had hit his head, he'd be dead.
Thinking this, he felt grateful again. He took out a storage pouch and threw it to Mo Shan:
"Brother Mo, I owe you a drink."
"Forget it, are you inviting Mo Shan for a drink, or are you trying to get him to treat you to meat?"
The burly demon hunter kicked another demon hunter, "Shut your damn mouth! Mind your own business!"
"Whether I eat or not is none of your damn business!"
The two argued.
Mo Shan shook his head silently.
Every time they entered the mountains, Liu Ruhua would pack some dried food and beef for him. He ate well and shared some with the other demon hunters.
Mo Shan took out some beef and shared it with everyone, then also distributed a few bottles of wine from the burly demon hunter's pouch.
Other demon hunters also took out their pouches.
There were wild fruits, dried food, snacks, and various types of alcohol.
With food and drink, the camp became lively.
Mo Shan ate some meat, took a sip of wine, then removed his vine armor and, remembering something, couldn't resist inspecting it.
Other demon hunters also gathered around to see.
"It's a formation!"
"What kind of formation?"
"How would I know?"
One demon hunter looked up at Mo Shan and asked, "What kind of formation?"
Mo Shan shook his head.
"Your son drew it; don't you know?"
"My son drew it, not me. How would I know?"
The burly demon hunter envied and was jealous, saying, "Mo Shan, did you worship any immortals before your son was born? I want to try it too; maybe my son will be just as clever."
"Forget it; you're not even smart. Are you counting on your son to be smart?"
"How will you know if you don't try?"
"This formation isn't the Iron Armor Formation," another demon hunter said.
"Definitely not; it's much more complex."
In the camp's light, they looked at the formation drawn inside the vine armor. The script was intricate, the patterns mysterious, emitting a faint golden glow, clearly not simple at all.
Everyone also examined the vine armor. Besides the excellent formation, the craftsmanship was meticulous.
Thinking that Mo Shan's son had given this to him, they all felt a bit touched for a moment.
Just then, Mo Shan suddenly said, "Not good!"
The other demon hunters also looked nervous. "What's wrong?"
Mo Shan touched the vine armor, feeling some distress.
"It's scratched."
The demon hunters watched him silently, speechless for a while.
(End of the Chapter)