"Right," Wu Ling said, glad to move on from the topic of his non-existent 'Senior Sister' to talk about the hunt instead. "There are very few things that are truly miraculous cultivation resources useful to anyone so when I planned this trip with Warden Mu in my sect, we considered the people who may come along and the sorts of things that could benefit different members of our group at different times."
"I hope that by helping each other, we all grow stronger together. With that in mind, the person whose strength I feel is most important to raise is actually Brother Yu," he said.
"You're hoping that I'll be able to refine elixirs if I break through," Yu Jinqi said, nodding in understanding. "Brother Wu, I appreciate your vote of confidence. I'll be honest, after attending Alchemist Huang's lectures the other day and talking to her at the inn, I feel like I'm very close to my breakthrough," he said with more more confidence than he would have felt in the days before the banquet.
"What I need most is an opportunity to practice applying a few of my skills," he explained. "The bridge between an Initiate and a Novice lies in how we apply our learning, so any excuse to concoct more or practice my skills is welcome. That's part of why I've been collecting so many minor herbs along the way," he added. "Even if it's just making basic medicines, the practice and repetition is what I need right now."
"Big Sister Yeyan mentioned as much to me," Wu Ling said with a reassuring smile. "What I want to know is this. If we were to obtain some rare beast cores, one of which comes from a spirit beast comparable to an early or middle-stage Soldier, could you refine them for Brother Xiong to consume?"
"For me to consume?" Xiong Dahuo asked in surprise. "Brother Wu, what kind of beast do you have in mind?"
"Sister Xiang, why don't you tell them?" Wu Ling offered, drawing Su Xiang into the conversation.
"Happily. Everyone knows that Brother Ling and I protected a group of scholars during the recent eclipse and during that eclipse, we were attacked by two groups of spirit beasts. While Wu Ling succeeded in slaying the Burning Yang Lunar Bear, I only managed to kill one Blood Moon Mist Wolf and injure a few others," she began her story.
"Given their regenerative capabilities, I'm sure the ones I've injured have recovered by now and I don't believe that I confronted the entire pack," she explained, seeing dawning comprehension in the group as she continued her story.
"More than that, however, there was a single Greater Blood Moon Mist Wolf leading the pack. I believe that it had accumulated the power of an early-stage Soldier before being bathed in the light of the eclipse. Afterward, I'm sure it's progressed by a small stage," Su Xiang concluded, looking around the group to see how they felt about the foe they'd selected.
"And you were able to fight it off?" Jin Wuya said, looking at Su Xiang with wide eyes of admiration.
"No, not at all," she answered with a shake of her head. "I scared it off by injuring its pack mates and intimidating it. I was also bleeding badly from an injury of my own. I think, more than anything else, I was saved by the end of the eclipse and a return of rationality to the beast. It might kill me but it would suffer badly for it. That's not a fight that a wise beast chooses."
"My idea is fairly simple," Wu Ling said, taking over for Su Xiang. "We don't know exactly where their territory is but we have a general idea. It will take us at least four days to hike there from here. Hou can help us scout the way from the air and we'll practice along the way to refine our plan."
"By the time we draw close enough, we can begin to use Brother Yu's 'Beast Attracting Incense' to lure the wolves into attacking on a ground of our choosing," Wu Ling explained. "After that, we can look for a place to spend a period of time cultivating while Brother Yu refines materials from the wolves and Brother Xiong absorbs what he can of their power. If we're lucky, within a month, Brother Yu will be a Novice and Brother Xiong will advance at least a small realm."
"Brother Wu," Zhang Buyan said, adding his voice to the discussion. "Compared to assaulting the fortress of a powerful gang, I like this hunt much more. It will be a challenge for Junior Sister Jin and I to face these Blood Moon Mist Wolves without weapons but such tests are where we may find our own opportunities to advance our cultivation. I'm only worried about the injuries these wolves create. Brother Yu, if they bite us, will you be able to treat the wounds?"
"I can, I promise," Yu Jinqi said with a firm nod. "Even if my skills are meager, Alchemist Huang gifted Brother Wu several medicinal compounds before she left. She advised me that I might be called on to administer them, but even if my concoction skills are meager compared to hers, I have every confidence in using what she supplied."
"It's better if you can concoct remedies yourself," Su Xiang advised, taking the tone of an elder sister even though she was a few years younger than Yu Jinqi. "Everyone, please be honest about the state of your injuries if you need Brother Yu's help. If it's dire, of course, we shouldn't hesitate to use Big Sister Yeyan's medicine. But if you can endure, give Brother Yu the chance to grow his skills."
"And all of you Big Brothers," she said, panning her sapphire gaze around the camp. "I know you like to hide how serious your injuries are. Your life is more important than foolish pride so I won't tolerate anyone lying to Brother Yu!"
"Thank you, Sister Su," Yu Jinqi said, genuinely touched that so many martial cultivators would put their literal lives in his hands. "I won't let any of you down."
Meanwhile, at the edge of the campfire's light, Fang Lin stewed while he forced himself to choke down more of the peasant soup everyone had praised at the start of the conversation. Red Mist Wolves were already deadly calamities to first-stage cultivators and this group wanted to hunt their strengthened cousins? But there was nothing he could say when everyone else felt emboldened to engage in this lunacy. All he could do was desperately attempt to improve his own formations so he could survive or escape when these grand plans inevitably went awry!