**Chapter 9: Returning to the Mountain**
In the valley, the herd of Long-Eared Deer was galloping, stirring up large clouds of dust. Their antlers glowed with spiritual light, sharply forked and extremely sharp.
The injured Azure Cloud Wolves continued to flee, but with a massive Fireball hitting their rear, the dust and heat spread widely.
Next came four smaller Fireballs, each aimed at the wolves. The large Fireball was cast by the Red Flame Fox, while the four smaller ones were basic spells from Ye Jingyu and his group. The Red Flame Fox had excellent fire talent, able to cast spells almost instantaneously, while Ye Jingyu and the others had varying speeds in their spellcasting, with Ye Jingyu being the fastest, followed by Ye Jingcheng, then Ye Jingli and Ye Jingyong.
As the Fireballs landed, the already burned Azure Cloud Wolves quickly turned to charge at the Long-Eared Deer, fighting desperately. The deer still had a chance of survival, but a spiritual barrier soon appeared, creating a dire situation for the wolves.
The clash was intense. The wolves fought fiercely, using wind blades and their terrifying speed to bite into the necks of several Long-Eared Deer. Conversely, the deer's long antlers impaled several wolves. In the end, the Long-Eared Deer emerged victorious, with only five or six injured deer left, proudly licking their wounds and growling at Ye Jingcheng's group as if to intimidate them.
The group, however, was already eager and discarded their formation to rush out. The Flying Cloud Leopards led the charge, still hungry after their previous meal of wolf meat. In Ye's family, spirit beasts were always only given a partial meal to maintain their fierceness.
The Red Flame Fox followed closely behind.
"Little Flame, target the one with the largest antlers in the middle!" Ye Jingcheng instructed. Little Flame responded with a flick of its tail and launched a large Fireball at the largest Long-Eared Deer.
The rest of the group's magic tools followed suit. The Long-Eared Deer, already injured from the battle with the wolves, were swiftly killed by the Fireballs and the group's attacks.
The two Flying Cloud Leopards, however, missed their targets and had to dive into the forest. Moments later, they emerged with several spotted Long-Eared Doe and a few fawns in their mouths. Clearly, the previous wolf pack had been blocking this herd.
"Capture the fawns and sell them to the family, and take down the does!" Ye Jingyu decisively ordered.
The group then split tasks: Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingli, with their slightly weaker strength, took up defensive positions by the spiritual array to prevent any fleeing deer from breaking through. Meanwhile, Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingyong dealt with the threatening does.
Fifteen minutes later, the valley was calm. The two Flying Cloud Leopards continued to feast on the fawns, which were still tender and had not yet developed their full spiritual properties. Since the victory was substantial, the leopards were allowed to eat their fill.
Ye's family always ensured that their spirit beasts retained their fierceness by not allowing them to eat to their heart's content. Spirit beasts, no matter how intelligent, were not as formidable as wild demon beasts if their fierceness was diminished.
Ye Jingyu had already taken out a rope to tie up seven fawns, applying spiritual talismans and storing them in spirit beast bags.
[translator: sauron]
Ye Jingyong and Ye Jingli cleaned up the aftermath, first spreading a circle of red powder. The powder, made from the dung of second-grade demon beasts, was highly pungent and helped keep other demon beasts away.
They then gathered all the beast corpses, separating the spiritual blood into containers to preserve its spiritual essence, as keeping it in the corpses would degrade both the blood and the meat. Using Ice Sealing Talismans was more expensive than the meat and blood.
Ye Jingyong and Ye Jingli worked swiftly, while Ye Jingcheng, having exhausted much of his spiritual energy during the battle, focused on feeding Little Flame and the Jade Ring Mouse, which was also injured but recovering faster than the Azure Scaled Snake. The mouse gnawed on the wolf corpses loudly, seemingly seeking revenge.
After dealing with the spirit beasts, Ye Jingcheng went to the clear spring nearby. Despite the recent disturbance by the deer herd, the spring remained pristine.
The spring was small, about the size of a typical farmhouse, but the water was nourishing, enriched by a minor spiritual vein. Ye Jingcheng filled four jade bottles with the water, a good choice for both personal consumption and for their spirit beasts.
They did not seek more medicinal herbs, as the family's demon hunting team had already thoroughly scouted the valley. The spring had been collected before, which was why Ye Jingyu had waited a month to return.
The jade bottles were low-grade magic tools, each holding fifty pounds of water, totaling two hundred pounds. Once collected, the spring water level decreased, but Ye Jingcheng did not draw more, allowing it to replenish slowly.
The spring's bubbling was visible as it refilled. Though slow, it would likely be full again in less than half a month, continuing to nourish the surrounding forest.
With the spring water collected, Ye Jingyu had already finished dismantling the array. The four of them quickly left the valley, their figures vanishing like four streams of spiritual light.
---
Two days later, Ye Jingcheng and the others returned to Lingyun Peak. Seeing the familiar brick-and-tile house, Ye Jingcheng felt a strong sense of home and immediately went to bed to rest.
This was the most exhausting experience he had since becoming a cultivator, and the deep fatigue nearly made him fall asleep on the spirit boat. However, being mindful of their valuable haul from the Taihang Mountains, they were extra cautious on their way back.
He slept soundly and even dreamt of the Red Flame Fox with nine tails extinguishing all the world's fires. Upon waking, he saw heavy rain outside the window, with mist enveloping Lingyun Peak, making it look even more mysterious.
Ye Jingcheng smiled, knowing that spring had begun. After the rain, it would be time for the spiritual rice planting, a joyous prospect. More importantly, he was eager to see how many spirit stones he would receive this time.
(End of Chapter)