"Roar—!"
A deafening roar, powerful enough to shake the mountains and forests, erupted from Qin Ming's bronze bell artifact!
The sound was overwhelming and continued to reverberate, echoing like a tidal wave.
The sheer force of the roar was terrifying!
Centered around Qin Ming, countless sound waves spread outward like a storm, drowning out the shrill cries of the Howling Monkeys.
The eerie sound waves emitted by the monkeys were instantly neutralized.
The nearby spirit farmers, their eyes gradually clearing of the red haze, began to regain their senses.
The low-tier Howling Monkeys scattered in fear, fleeing in all directions.
The few monkeys that had been about to attack Qin Ming and Alchemist Su within the barrier were closest to the bronze bell's range of effect.
The massive sound waves caused their sickly fur to stand on end, and they trembled in terror.
However, the mid-tier first-grade Howling Monkey, after a brief moment of hesitation, quickly regained its ferocity.
It seemed largely unaffected.
"Screech—screech—screech—"
It let out another piercing cry, attempting to rally the monkeys for another attack!
It had clearly sensed that the Beast Repelling Technique was all bark and no bite, causing no real harm.
All show, no substance.
...
"My goodness, is this the Beast Repelling Technique? It feels more like a Lion's Roar Technique!"
"Or maybe a supercharged version with a loudspeaker."
Even Qin Ming was startled.
Using the Beast Repelling Technique once had drained a fifth of his spiritual energy in an instant.
However, seeing the technique effectively repel the monkey demons for the first time, he felt a bit more at ease.
"Fellow Cultivator Qin, you know the Beast Repelling Technique?"
Alchemist Su, standing behind him, was visibly surprised and began to reassess Qin Ming.
He wasn't sure how to judge the man before him.
"It's hit or miss. Please don't laugh, Alchemist Su."
"Fellow Cultivator Qin, watch out! The Howling Monkeys are coming again!"
Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately focused and channeled his spiritual energy, unleashing another Beast Repelling Technique!
...
Half a cup of tea later.
Finally.
A massive spell ship streaked across the sky, arriving above their spirit fields in an instant.
Qin Ming looked up and saw that it was Elder Gu from the Spirit Feather Sect, leading a group of outer disciples to their aid.
"They arrived just in time."
He let out a long sigh of relief.
Earlier, he had used up all five charges of the "Beast Repelling Technique" entry.
Now, Qin Ming's face was pale, and his dantian felt completely drained.
If it weren't for the fact that his Longspring spiritual energy was twice that of an ordinary cultivator, he would have been completely exhausted by the time Elder Gu arrived.
He had even considered using a "Weak Spiritual Power" entry to keep going.
The demonic beasts' ambush had happened so quickly, lasting less than half an hour.
Coupled with their bizarre sound wave attacks, no one had been prepared.
"Hmph!"
"These past few days, we've been searching everywhere for you wretched beasts, and you've been hiding right under my nose!"
Elder Gu was clearly furious.
The damage to the spirit fields was significant, and as the chief official in charge of spirit rice taxes, he would undoubtedly face punishment from the sect.
With a flick of his finger, Elder Gu summoned a crimson flying sword!
A streak of red light flashed through the air, arcing gracefully.
Clang!
The flying sword pierced through the mid-tier first-grade Howling Monkey in an instant.
The air fell silent.
A line of blood appeared from the top of the monkey's head to its tail, and it was split cleanly in two!
The monkey's corpse collapsed to the ground.
"Peak Qi Refinement... truly terrifying!"
Qin Ming stared in awe at Elder Gu's swift and decisive action, his mouth agape.
The arrival of the Spirit Feather Sect marked the end of the crisis.
Elder Gu and his disciples quickly cleared out and exterminated the remaining Howling Monkeys.
Not a single one escaped.
For the time being, the spirit fields should be safe from further demonic beast attacks.
"Who was it that used the Beast Repelling Technique earlier?"
After cleaning up the scene, Elder Gu boarded the spell ship but turned back to ask the group before leaving.
Hearing this, Qin Ming remained silent, standing still.
In the world of cultivation, he dared not reveal too much of his unusual abilities.
When it came to caution, Qin Ming had always been meticulous. He only revealed what he could control, never taking unnecessary risks.
"It was Fellow Cultivator Qin. We owe him our thanks this time."
Alchemist Su stepped forward and spoke on his behalf.
"Oh, Alchemist Su, you're here too?"
"I was so caught up in my anger that I didn't notice earlier," Elder Gu said, his usually stern face managing a rare smile.
"So, he's the spirit farmer who cultivated the Beast Tooth Rice? This time, his contribution will be noted. Reduce his spirit rice tax by ten percent for this quarter."
Elder Gu narrowed his eyes as he examined Qin Ming but found nothing particularly remarkable.
He then coldly instructed Overseer Du Haifu, who was standing beside him.
Du Haifu's face twisted as if he had eaten something bitter, but he quickly replied, "Yes, yes, it will be done."
A ten percent reduction naturally came out of his own share.
"Alchemist Su, the matter we discussed earlier still stands. If you change your mind, you can come to the Spirit Feather Sect's headquarters to find me at any time," Elder Gu said solemnly to Alchemist Su.
"I've grown accustomed to a free and easy life. I truly dislike being constrained. I'll need more time to consider it."
"Very well. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."
With that, Elder Gu left with his disciples to report back.
Qin Ming let out a sigh of relief.
He looked around at the hillside, which had been ravaged by the monkeys. Only his field and a few others had been spared.
Three or four fields had suffered losses of more than half their crops.
Over a dozen spirit farmers had died on the hillside, victims of the Howling Monkeys' sound wave-induced madness, killing each other in a frenzy.
Aside from Qin Ming and Alchemist Su, the surviving spirit farmers were all injured to some degree.
Looking at the bodies lying in the fields, Qin Ming felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside him.
"Sigh..."
These lowly spirit farmers worked so hard, risking their lives to cultivate the fields.
Yet, in the end, they couldn't withstand a single unexpected disaster.
'If it weren't for Alchemist Su recognizing those demonic beasts, I might have ended up like the others today.'
'By the way, I wonder how Old Cai is doing?'
Qin Ming suddenly remembered.
"Fellow Cultivator Qin, we owe you our thanks this time."
"If it weren't for your Beast Repelling Technique neutralizing the monkeys' sound wave attacks, and if those beasts had swarmed us, it would have been hard for us to come out unscathed today."
Alchemist Su walked over and kindly handed Qin Ming a bottle of Qi Restoration Pills.
Qin Ming was taken aback.
After a moment's hesitation, he accepted the pills without refusing.
He opened the jade bottle and found five Qi Restoration Pills inside.
He immediately took one and sat down to meditate, restoring his spiritual energy.
After a while, the color returned to Qin Ming's pale face, and he felt much better.
"Alchemist Su, please continue collecting the Crimson Spirit Dew in the field. I'll go check on Old Cai and see if he's alright."
After standing up, Qin Ming informed Alchemist Su and hurried off toward Old Cai's field.
To his surprise, halfway up the mountain path, he ran into Old Cai.
The man looked disheveled, covered in dirt and blood, leaning on a branch he had picked up along the way, limping as he made his way up.
Old Cai looked up and saw Qin Ming, who appeared completely unharmed and full of energy. He was instantly crushed.
"How is it that you're completely fine?"
Old Cai had been worried about Qin Ming's safety, but now he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Old Cai, how are you? Are your injuries serious?"
"Sigh, who knows where those crazy monkeys came from."
"I'm glad you're okay."
Seeing that Old Cai only had some superficial wounds, Qin Ming felt relieved.
"What do you mean, 'okay'?"
"Some idiot, under the monkeys' influence, actually stabbed me in the backside with a spirit hoe!"
"Damn it! If I find out who it was, I'll—!"
"..."
Old Cai held his lower back with one hand and leaned against a tree with the other, unwilling to let it go. "You still haven't answered me! How are you completely unharmed?"
"Are those monkeys your relatives or something? They didn't dare touch you?"
Qin Ming replied, somewhat exasperated, "It's just a coincidence. I happened to run into Alchemist Su."
"If it weren't for him, you'd probably be burning paper offerings for me right now. Sigh..."
(End of Chapter)