Chapter 7: Forced to Be a Diligent Fisherman

There were quite a few demonic beasts, both first and second rank.

But these guys were wary of each other and did not make a move immediately.

Looking at the situation, it seemed unlikely that a fight would break out anytime soon.

Zheng Tuo licked his lips, a devious thought crossing his mind.

He had seen the second-rank demonic core in Li Jun’s hand earlier.

It would be impossible not to be tempted.

A single second-rank demonic core could save him one or two years of cultivation.

With so many demonic beasts gathered here right now, if a fight were to break out, he could net at least four or five second-rank demonic cores, along with a number of first-rank ones.

No.

He couldn't let them just wander around.

Time to stir things up.

He quietly took a packet of powder from his backpack.

"Heart-Dream Phosphor Powder."

It was ground from Heart-Dream Grass and the gallbladders of phosphor snakes.

After inhaling this powder, one would experience hallucinations.

The source of the hallucinations would be whatever the person feared most in their heart.

Back in the day, he had swindled it from an old beggar in exchange for a set of *jianbing guozi* and a large steamed white bun.

It was one of his thirty-six trump cards.

He put on a homemade gas mask and opened the outer oil paper of the Heart-Dream Phosphor Powder.

He didn't need to do anything else.

A breeze blew by, and the Heart-Dream Phosphor Powder was carried into the herd of beasts.

In an instant, it was like dropping a bead of water into a pot of boiling oil; the entire herd exploded.

Zheng Tuo didn't know what the demonic beasts feared most deep down.

But it was definitely potent.

The beasts began to maul each other, shaking the surrounding mountains and forests.

Tragic!

Extremely tragic.

The battle lasted for an entire night.

The fighting of dozens of demonic beasts stained the earth red.

The scent of blood permeated the air.

It was nauseating to smell.

Within a radius of ten miles, no living creature dared to approach this slaughterhouse.

Zheng Tuo hid at the top of a tree.

He witnessed the battle from start to finish.

The fighting between the demonic beasts was mostly simple and brutal.

Except for a few beasts that were on their last breath, the rest were almost entirely torn to shreds.

A leg here, an arm there, arranged like a Bagua formation.

Zheng Tuo remained hidden at the top of the tree, not moving at all.

Even though dozens of demonic cores on the ground were beckoning to him, looking as if they were saying, "Come here, big guy, it's fun," he didn't budge.

The reason he didn't move was that he didn't know if the beasts below were truly dead.

He was just an ordinary person.

A single slap from a demonic beast could end his life.

What if one of them was playing dead?

Being cautious was never a mistake.

The sun climbed high, nearing noon.

Zheng Tuo felt it was about time.

If he delayed any longer, it would be difficult to catch up with Li Jun and the other bodyguards.

If he had to walk alone later, he feared it would be dangerous.

He didn't rush to climb down the ancient tree.

Instead, he took a bow and arrows out of his backpack.

The bow and arrows had been specially modified by him for greater power, and the arrowheads were wrapped with explosive spirit talismans.

Standing at the top of the tree, he drew his bow and aimed.

During his ten years of preparation, archery had been one of his compulsory subjects.

Long range.

High lethality.

Great for sneak attacks.

"Whoosh..."

An arrow shot out, accurately hitting the head of a demonic beast.

"Bang!"

The beast's head exploded like a large watermelon.

No matter how tough a beast's life was, it couldn't survive a head explosion.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

The sound of several arrows piercing the air rang out, accurately striking the heads of the remaining beasts.

After shooting all the beasts' heads to pieces, Zheng Tuo quickly climbed down the ancient tree using a rope.

With lightning speed, he gathered all the demonic beast corpses into his spatial backpack.

The entire process took less than two minutes.

Seven second-rank demonic cores.

Twelve first-rank demonic cores were now in his pocket.

His movements were as practiced as if he had performed them millions of times.

After collecting the cores, Zheng Tuo quickly stripped off his clothes.

He tied them to a rock with a rope and threw them into a small river to sink to the bottom.

He then used the river water to wash away the scent of blood, ate a purification pill, and sprayed on some special perfume.

After doing all this, he put on a clean set of clothes and left quickly.

The entire process took Zheng Tuo four minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

His planning and execution were so practiced that they were textbook-level.

The road ahead was not as smooth as he had imagined.

After all, as they drew closer to Sunset Mountain, the number of battles in the surrounding area increased geometrically.

Not only did Li Jun’s team suffer multiple attacks from demonic beasts, resulting in heavy losses, but other teams also encountered attacks.

Through his homemade sunglasses, Zheng Tuo could see white light flashing in the sky from time to time.

That must have been the signal that someone had withdrawn from the assessment.

Whenever a white light flashed, Zheng Tuo would take out his small notebook, record the coordinates, and sneak over.

His goal was simple: pick up demonic cores.

Battles against demonic beasts were not easy.

Whenever Zheng Tuo arrived at the scene, he would basically see the human side defeated and slaughtered without mercy.

Based on past experience, Zheng Tuo would crouch in the shadows to spy, and after the human youths ran away, he would use the Heart-Dream Phosphor Powder to perform his inhumane "fisherman" act.

Of course!

Things didn't always go smoothly.

For example, when he encountered stronger teams that still had the energy to pick up cores after killing the beasts.

When encountering such teams, Zheng Tuo would think, "How shameless, trying to stop me from being the fisherman."

So, he would usually take out a sound-recording spirit talisman.

He would play the pre-recorded roars of beasts.

And he would play them as if dozens of beasts were going wild.

Compared to demonic cores, life was obviously more important.

Usually, the human youths would quickly flee, fearing that more beasts would appear to surround them.

In this way, Zheng Tuo could reluctantly play his role as the fisherman.

You have to say, the feeling of being the fisherman was super awesome.

Along the way, he not only identified multiple safe paths but also had a bountiful harvest.

Happy days were like the girl from the next class passing by the window.

Very short, but very beautiful.

Five days later.

Ahead, a mountain peak rose high into the clouds, springing up from the flat ground.

At the foot of the mountain, a stone tablet was inscribed with the destination: Sunset Mountain.

In front of the tablet, thousands of people were gathered.

"Everyone, ahead is the base camp of the Forest Wolves. We must unite to pass through. I believe this is the ultimate test the sect has given us. As long as we pass, you and I will surely become part of the Luoxian Sect. On that path to immortality, there will definitely be a place for us..."

Li Jun stood on a large rock, looking spirited and heroic.

Thinking of the companions who had been killed that night, he was determined to wipe out the pack of beasts and avenge them.

"Everyone, rest here today. We depart tomorrow to fight to the death."

Li Jun’s speech greatly boosted everyone's confidence.

One by one, they echoed him loudly, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

If no one stopped them, they would probably have rushed up Sunset Mountain to fight the Forest Wolves to the death right then and there.

Zheng Tuo broke his usual cautious character and did not leave.

Instead, he chose to rest here.

Although he hadn't encountered any danger in the past few days, he hadn't rested well either.

Being a fisherman alone, picking up demonic cores until his arms ached, made it impossible to fully commit to sleep.

On the contrary, there were many people here who could act as guards, allowing him to rest with peace of mind.

Everyone was busy, setting up tents and starting to cook.

They sharpened their blades, preparing for tomorrow's decisive battle.