Chapter 1930: Hunting

**The Human World**

**The Human World**

Zhuque was dancing with excitement, evidently having spotted something new and intriguing.

Xiao Wu lowered her head and followed Zhuque's gaze.

Below the cliff was a lush, green jungle. Ancient trees towered, their canopies interlocked so densely that not even a breath of wind could penetrate. Occasionally, thick, python-like vines could be seen emerging from beneath the tree crowns.

‘Chirp chirp...’ ‘Tweet tweet...’ ‘Flap flap!’ This was a paradise for birds; nests were visible everywhere in the canopies. Below, rustling sounds occasionally emerged, indicating wild animals running beneath the trees.

However, the roars of ferocious beasts were almost absent here, suggesting that fierce predators like wolves, tigers, and leopards were rare.

At the foot of the mountain, traces of human passage were visible—a narrow mountain path winding through thorny bushes and vegetation.

In fact, this area was not considered deep mountains.

The mountain path led from outside the mountains to this spot, disappearing at the foot of the slope.

The path was overgrown with weeds and not easily found without close inspection, indicating it was rarely traveled. It was likely a hunting trail blazed by local hunters entering the mountains.

Following the path outwards, the terrain gradually became gentler. When Qin Sang and the others arrived, they saw a mortal village in that direction. Beyond this mountain lay the true deep forests, rarely visited by humans, where fierce beasts became increasingly common.

It was that mountain path that Zhuque was looking at.

The sun had risen quite high, casting its light through the forest. At the other end of the mountain path, a figure appeared. It was a boy who looked fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in coarse cloth and thorny attire, with straw sandals on his feet, clearly from a poor family. Yet, his clothes were clean, and there was an air of determination in his brow, along with a scholarly demeanor uncommon for ordinary folk.

He walked along, holding a bundle of hemp rope in one hand and a steel pickaxe with a sharpened tip in the other. Despite the rugged mountain path, his steps were remarkably light.

The hands clutching the rope and pickaxe had prominent knuckles, clearly indicating martial arts training. Hunters usually practiced some form of martial arts; otherwise, entering the mountains would be difficult, let alone hunting wild beasts.

It was unclear whether the boy was there to gather firewood or hunt, but he dared to venture into the mountains alone at such a young age.

‘Rustle rustle rustle!’ After all, he wasn't a cultivator, nor was he one of those chivalrous figures who could scale walls or leave no trace in the snow. Walking on the mountain path, his body inevitably brushed against the wild grass on either side, making noise. The boy's brow remained tightly furrowed, extremely cautious, always on guard against dangers hidden in the grass. He would stop to observe every so often.

Before long, a mountain appeared on the east side of the path, casting both the path and the boy into shadow.

At this point, it became clear the boy was not there to hunt. He slowed his pace here, continuously surveying the mountain on the right side of the path.

This mountain was not as magnificent and unique as the one Qin Sang and the others were on. This particular slope varied, sometimes steep, sometimes gentle. It was overgrown with vegetation. In its rugged parts, there were rock faces a hundred zhang high, while in the gentler sections, one could easily climb with just their legs.

The boy seemed to be searching for something, gradually making his way, sometimes shaking his head, sometimes pausing to think. Finally, he spotted a terrain feature that matched his expectations, his eyes brightening slightly as he quickly walked towards it.

His target was a rock face, which, after traversing a gentle slope, stood about a hundred zhang above the mountain path.

Just as the boy was about to ascend, he seemed to recall something. He looked up at the sky to check the time, then used his pickaxe to draw a line on the ground. His gaze swept over the slope, and with a surge of strength, he suddenly leaped, landing firmly on a rock. Repeating this several times, he consecutively jumped until he reached the rock face, where he tilted his head back to observe.

The rock face itself was no more than a hundred zhang high, but it was straight from top to bottom, with clumps of weeds growing on it. From a crack in the rock, a tree grew horizontally, stubbornly reaching upwards. Vines accompanied its trunk, with two hanging down almost to the ground.

The rock face wasn't wide; it was flanked by earthy slopes. On the right side, a large tree grew close to the rock face, its trunk also covered in green vines.

The boy recognized these green vines; they were extremely tough and could serve as ropes.

He quickly scanned the entire rock face, his eyes flickering as if in thought, finally settling his gaze on the very top of the rock face.

Looking up from below, a mass of shadow was visible: a large rock. Part of the rock protruded, and the rock itself was uneven, appearing round and somewhat unstable, raising concerns that it might roll down from above.

He had come specifically for this rock. Employing the same technique, he leaped from the earthy slope on one side to the top of the rock face. He pressed against the large rock and gently pushed it, but it didn't budge.

He increased his force, feeling the large rock slightly shift. A joyous expression appeared on his face. Disregarding the danger, he lay prone at the edge of the rock face, observing the contact point between the rock's base and the cliff, and tried to insert his steel pickaxe.

Subsequently, he repeatedly moved up and down, using his pickaxe and hemp rope to measure and gauge.

The boy was engrossed in his work when he suddenly remembered something. He looked at the line he had drawn earlier and saw that the mountain's shadow was about to cross it. His expression tightened. He hastily hid the pickaxe and hemp rope in the grass and ran back with all his might.

"Oh?" Zhuque and Xiao Wu had been watching with great interest. They were quite surprised to see the boy suddenly flee in a panic, as if encountering a natural predator.

"He'll definitely be back tomorrow," Zhuque declared confidently.

The next day, at the same time, the boy arrived as expected. This time, he also brought a shovel. He retrieved the hemp rope and pickaxe from the grass and resumed his work.

Just like the day before, as soon as the designated time arrived, the boy left without hesitation.

From then on, while Qin Sang was busy repairing the Thunder Altar, the boy became a diversion for Zhuque and Xiao Wu's otherwise boring lives.

Zhuque even wanted to bet with Xiao Wu about what the boy intended to do, but unfortunately, Xiao Wu didn't take the bait. This did not diminish Zhuque's interest in the slightest; the most anticipated moment each day was sunrise. However, to preserve their curiosity, neither of them used their divine powers to investigate or pry into the boy's intentions.

In the days that followed, the boy brought new items with him each time he came. For instance, there was barbed wire wrapped with iron nails, whose unusual color suggested they were poisoned. He also brought sharp-pointed spears with wooden shafts and iron-banded tips, meticulously sharpened. And there were various mechanisms.

These mechanisms were the ingenuity of hunters, used for setting traps, and their construction was quite intricate. The boy tested them repeatedly, taking over ten days to select the most suitable ones.

"See! This Zhuque guessed he was setting traps on the very first day!" Zhuque boasted to Xiao Wu, immensely satisfied.

What was puzzling, however, was that given the boy's elaborate efforts, he must have intended to hunt an extremely fierce beast. Yet, there were no such beasts in this vicinity, and those in the deep mountains were blocked by the mountain beneath Qin Sang, preventing them from crossing over.

The boy was incredibly patient, working diligently for over a month before finally setting up the trap.

On the last day, the boy meticulously checked every mechanism, carefully erased his traces, and then gathered some moss from elsewhere to conceal the indelible scuff marks on the rocks.

Next, the boy left no bait, nor did he lure any fierce beasts from elsewhere. As soon as the time came, he ran back home again.

"This kid's concealment isn't perfect enough, I'll help him out." Zhuque chuckled slyly, flapping a wing, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

For the next three days, the boy was nowhere to be seen. Zhuque became restless, scratching her ears and cheeks, and almost flew to the village to drag the boy out and ask him what he was up to.

On the fourth day, as the morning sun rose in the east, the boy finally reappeared. His steps seemed heavier than before, yet his pace was not slow.

This time, the boy passed by the trap without stopping, heading directly towards their mountain. It was the first time in days that the boy had ventured into the mountain.

The dense leaves couldn't block Zhuque and Xiao Wu's view; they watched the boy move through the forest as nimbly as an ape. A light crossbow was strapped to his right arm, and with the aid of traps and crossbow bolts, he had a considerable haul.

When descending the mountain, his satchel contained several birds, and he carried a medium-sized forest deer in his hand. Back on the mountain path, the boy glanced at the sky, realizing it was almost the time he usually left.

This time, however, he did not go home. Instead, he carried his prey to the trap, set up a bonfire on the previously chosen earthy slope on the north side of the rock face, and, taking out a bird, gutted it and began to roast it over the fire.

The bird was plump and soon sizzled with oil, its aroma wafting far away. What was surprising was the boy's next action; he was unmoved by the savory scent of the meat. He drew a short blade from his waist, measured it against his left arm a few times, then endured the pain to pierce his skin, cutting a deep wound without hesitation. Flesh peeled back, and bright red blood immediately stained his clothes. The scent of blood, mingled with the aroma of roasted meat, dispersed into the air.

‘Hiss!’ The boy gasped, tore off a strip of cloth, and bit one end of it as he bandaged his wound. However, the bleeding was not easily stopped, and the cloth quickly became saturated.

The boy's face was pale from blood loss. He unstoppered his waterskin, took a fierce gulp of wine, and then stared at the fire, concentrating on roasting the meat.

Not long after, a white shadow suddenly flickered on the mountaintop where the boy was, disappearing again in an instant.

"It's here!" Zhuque, who had been watching the spectacle, couldn't help but lower her voice, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "No wonder, he's hunting a demon! Has this kid gone mad with boldness?"

Xiao Wu's gaze also flickered. The white shadow's movements couldn't escape their eyes; it was a white ferret in the Mortal Demon stage.

Although human martial artists who enter the Innate realm possess considerable combat strength and might even contend with low-level Qi Condensation cultivators, the boy was clearly not one of these top experts. His daring to lure the white ferret to kill it could only be described as audacious.

The white ferret moved stealthily, making no sound as it darted through the grass. It quietly appeared behind the boy and suddenly lunged.

The boy appeared to be concentrating on roasting meat, but in reality, his mind was tightly strung. However, the white ferret was too fast; by the time he felt the rush of wind, he had no time even to turn aside and dodge. The white ferret closed in instantly, its two sharp front claws striking fiercely at the boy's back.

‘Clang!’ The sound that rang out was that of metal colliding. Beneath his torn clothes, an iron plate was revealed.

From the corpses of the master and others, as well as the descriptions of survivors, the boy had deduced that this demon beast liked to ambush and target the heart from behind, so he had protected himself with an iron plate. Unexpectedly, the white ferret's sharp claws were incredibly keen and managed to pierce the iron plate!

The boy felt a sharp pain in his back, along with a terrifying force that struck him through the iron plate. Subconsciously, he lunged forward.

‘Whoosh!’ The boy, facing the rock face, along with the roasting rack on the bonfire, plunged headfirst towards the sandy ground below the cliff. His entire body was in agony, his internal organs dislocated. In this state, just before falling, the boy managed to half-twist his body, aiming the light crossbow on his right arm behind him.

Failing to kill its prey with one strike, the white ferret let out a shriek. "Squeak!" The cry was extremely piercing. Simultaneously, the white ferret transformed into a white blur, leaped down after the boy, continuing its pursuit. With a shake of the fur beneath its jaw, it shot out a puff of white smoke, enveloping the boy.

The boy had known about the white ferret's tactics in advance, so he had closed his eyes and held his breath. Despite his thorough preparations, upon hearing the cry, his head buzzed, and he immediately felt drowsy, even though he had already stuffed his ears with cotton. The white smoke and strange cries were terrible demonic arts; the most skilled hunter in the village had died under such a spell, completely helpless, striking terror into the villagers' hearts.

Fortunately, this white ferret did not appear in the mornings; villagers only dared to be active before noon, sealing their doors and shutting their windows once midday passed, and no one dared to hunt demons. Nevertheless, his preparations had some effect; the boy did not immediately lose consciousness. With stubborn willpower, he propped up his left arm and fired crossbow bolts.

The white ferret lunged. It seemed the boy's left arm would be torn to shreds, but fortunately, he had iron plates strapped to his forearm. Yet, even these were ripped by the sharp claws, leaving wounds deep enough to expose bone. ‘Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!’ Three crossbow bolts shot out, their tips reflecting a bluish-green light, having been poisoned in advance. The white ferret was forced to evade, twisting several times at incredible angles, avoiding all three bolts without a scratch.

‘Thud!’ The boy crashed heavily to the ground, spitting blood on the spot.

The white ferret gazed greedily at the vigorous young body and leaped down. Just then, an unknown mechanism was triggered, and the sand on the ground rose up with a whoosh.

From the trees on both sides, curved branches simultaneously straightened with a thud. The green vines hanging from these branches to the ground were immediately pulled out of the sand. Several vines were tightly tied to a wire net. The net sprang up from the ground, kicking up a puff of sand, and in an instant, formed a net bag. The white ferret was about to be caught inside and pierced by the iron nails.

As it was a refined demon beast, the white ferret reacted extremely quickly, clinging to the edge of the wire net and leaping high. However, unexpectedly, as the wire net sprang up, it triggered a series of connected mechanisms. A green vine clinging tightly to the rock face was pulled free, dislodging a stone that had been propped against the edge of the large rock, causing the large rock to immediately roll down from the cliff top.

‘Whoosh!’ A powerful gust of wind ruffled the white ferret's fur. The white ferret was entirely enveloped in the large rock's shadow. With its cultivation, if it were to be crushed by the large rock, its bones would surely shatter. ‘Squeak!’ The white ferret was utterly enraged, letting out a horrific howl.

‘Poof!’ ‘Crack!’ In the nick of time, the white ferret hurriedly spat out a puff of white smoke, momentarily impeding the large rock. Its front claws latched onto the rock's edge, and with a powerful kick from its hind legs, it executed a somersault like a hawk, narrowly escaping the danger.

But this wasn't the entire trap. As the large rock crashed down, a third connected mechanism was triggered. The ground rattled with mechanisms, and a chilling gleam emerged from the grass. Five poisoned long spears from each side, taking advantage of the white ferret's inability to leverage itself in mid-air, suddenly shot out.

‘Swish! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!’ The force of the poisoned spears was comparable to powerful crossbows, swift as lightning. Ten poisoned spears crisscrossed. The white ferret, having expended its strength, had nowhere to escape. Its furious howl turned into a shriek of terror. ‘Thwack!’ ‘Thud!’ Demonic blood left a trail on the ground. One poisoned spear pierced through the white ferret, its tip deeply embedded in a tree trunk, its tail still quivering.

"Excellent!" Zhuque vigorously flapped a wing. "Too bad, this little ferret carries the aura of a cultivator. Someone must have raised it. This kid is in trouble now."

(End of Chapter)