Chapter 7: Iron-Mouthed Boar

The giant Iron-Mouthed Boar before him, confused by the formation, had lost its sense of direction. It was crashing about inside the formation in a rage, knocking over smaller trees in the mountain forest.

The mist formation outside Lingyuan Mountain, which remained active year-round, was a mid-grade concealment formation. It was primarily used to trap intruders for a short time, giving the cultivators stationed there time to react.

Another defensive formation required the use of spirit stones to drive it and was only activated when encountering high-grade demonic beasts.

Because the consumption of spirit stones to operate the formation was so high, it was generally not activated unless absolutely necessary. In the half-year since Song Qingming had arrived at Lingyuan Mountain, he had only seen his Ninth Uncle, Song Changxin, activate it once to deal with a high-grade Three-Eyed Demon Wolf that had wandered in. Although they successfully drove the wolf away, it had consumed a full five spirit stones, leaving both uncle and nephew feeling a sharp pang of regret afterward.

This Iron-Mouthed Boar was a mid-grade demonic beast, three times the size of an ordinary wild boar. Its entire body was as hard as iron, and its defensive power was astonishing. Aside from a slight fear of fire, it had no obvious weaknesses. However, compared to other mid-grade demonic beasts, the Iron-Mouthed Boar’s offensive capabilities were slightly inferior, with only the pair of sharp iron tusks in its mouth posing a significant threat to enemies.

Song Qingming thought calmly for a moment. He did not rush to notify Song Changxin, who was currently in secluded meditation. Instead, he first used a Spirit Vision Technique to carefully observe the beast, seeing if he could rely on the formation to drive it away.

The Spirit Vision Technique was a spell that enhanced a cultivator's eyesight. After Song Qingming used it, even though the area was shrouded in mist a hundred feet away, it became perfectly clear to his eyes.

"Huh? This guy seems to be injured." Under the enhancement of the Spirit Vision Technique, Song Qingming saw that the Iron-Mouthed Boar had quite a few wounds on its body, as if it had fought with other demonic beasts not long ago. This was truly an unexpected surprise.

Having been at Lingyuan Mountain for so long, his main task while stationed here was to protect the family’s mortals and the black iron ore vein in the rear. Every time he encountered harassment from demonic beasts, his primary goal was to drive them away. In the past half-year, Song Qingming had only killed one low-grade civet cat that had ventured too deep.

He had always wanted an opportunity to prove the results of his recent cultivation. The injured Iron-Mouthed Boar before him was a genuine mid-grade demonic beast, which made his hands itch for a fight.

After some consideration, Song Qingming decided he did not want to let this rare opportunity slip by. Relying on his mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation and the set of formations he carried, even if he couldn't kill the Iron-Mouthed Boar as he wished, he had the confidence to drive it away.

Song Qingming stood up and quietly crept to a flat piece of ground not far away. He waved his hand to drop several formation flags, then patiently hid nearby, watching the Iron-Mouthed Boar’s movements.

Half an hour later, the Iron-Mouthed Boar’s chaotic charging finally brought it to the edge of the mist. Just as it was about to break out, a massive fireball smashed toward it from the front, landing squarely on the boar’s giant head.

Immediately after, Song Qingming, who had been hiding to the side, let out a loud shout and jumped out from in front of the boar, blocking its path.

The Iron-Mouthed Boar, its face scorched black from the sneak attack, saw Song Qingming and its eyes gradually turned red. It glared at the human cultivator who was the culprit, then hunched its body to gather strength, raised its steel tusks, and charged at high speed toward where Song Qingming was standing.

Seeing this, Song Qingming quickly cast an Earth Wall Technique to block his front, then jumped onto a nearby large tree to dodge the boar’s furious strike.

With a loud boom, a cloud of dust rose. The earth wall only slightly delayed the boar’s attack speed before being shattered in one hit. However, Song Qingming had already disappeared from its sight. Having missed its target, the Iron-Mouthed Boar turned around to continue searching for him.

Hiding in the tree, Song Qingming leaped into the air. He touched the storage bag at his waist, and a black iron sword instantly appeared in his hand. He gripped the sword with both hands and slashed down toward the top of the Iron-Mouthed Boar, landing exactly on its hard steel tusks.

With a loud "bang," Song Qingming staggered back several steps, his hands feeling numb. The Iron-Mouthed Boar was also dazed, and a large amount of blood spilled from the wounds on its body that had only just begun to heal.

"This guy really is thick-skinned. If it weren't already injured, I really wouldn't have any way to handle it in a head-on fight."

Seeing this, Song Qingming did not linger. He turned and ran toward the rear. Seeing the cultivator who had annoyed it trying to escape, the Iron-Mouthed Boar angrily gave chase.

Song Qingming glanced back at the rapidly approaching boar and quickly pulled out a Speed Talisman, sticking it to his feet to accelerate and widen the distance. After running several hundred steps into an open area, Song Qingming finally stopped. He looked at the four formation flags he had previously set up, which were still standing securely, took a slight breath, and turned to face the oncoming boar.

As soon as the Iron-Mouthed Boar entered the formation, Song Qingming immediately cast two more Earth Wall Techniques to trap it between walls. By the time it broke free, Song Qingming had already successfully activated the formation he had just laid out.

The five formation flags on the ground emitted a yellow glare, and the ground shook violently. The area several yards beneath the boar quickly sank, forming a giant pit several yards wide—this was the Earth Marsh Formation.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the Iron-Mouthed Boar tried to smash through the earth wall in front of it to leap out, but the soil beneath it had become as soft as a swamp, leaving it unable to find any leverage. Instead, half of its body sank into the mire. Before long, green vines rapidly grew from the four corners of the pit, winding around the boar and instantly binding it firmly.

Trapped, the Iron-Mouthed Boar struggled violently to shake off the vines, but they were incredibly tough. As Song Qingming continuously poured his spiritual power into the formation, more vines grew from all sides. No matter how many it snapped, more would wrap around it, binding it tighter and tighter.

This Iron-Mouthed Boar was already injured and had exhausted itself rampaging through the mist formation; its stamina was already low. It was likely unable to exert even half of its original strength, otherwise, it would have been impossible to trap it so easily with a formation activated by him alone.

As time passed, the movements of the boar trapped in the formation grew smaller and smaller. Already severely wounded, its violent struggles had drained all its remaining strength. It slowly lowered its fierce head in resignation, its breath becoming shallow—a sign of impending death.

Seeing this, Song Qingming slowly withdrew his spiritual power, summoned his black iron sword once more, leaped high, and with one strike, severed the Iron-Mouthed Boar’s giant head.

Looking at the massive carcass, Song Qingming revealed a satisfied smile. Although this battle had been somewhat perilous, the rewards were bountiful.

The pair of steel tusks on the boar were excellent materials for artifact refining, and its tough hide could be used to make protective clothing. After collecting the valuable materials, Song Qingming called over the young mortals from the village to help carry the remaining meat back.

The flesh and blood of a demonic beast were highly nourishing for both cultivators and mortals. Aside from a portion he stored in his bag, Song Qingming distributed the rest to the village, which would be enough to feed them for quite a while.

The mortals of Lingyuan Mountain rarely got to eat demonic beast meat, and they were deeply grateful for Song Qingming’s generosity, holding the young immortal master in even higher regard.

Having finally obtained some valuable materials, Song Qingming began planning a trip back to Funiu Mountain to exchange them for a mid-grade magic tool at the family’s Treasury Pavilion. Having gathered enough spirit stones in advance, he knew that with a mid-grade magic tool in hand, his combat effectiveness would increase significantly.

An ordinary mid-grade magic tool cost about twenty spirit stones. The Iron-Mouthed Boar’s steel tusks alone could likely fetch seven or eight spirit stones at the market. With those materials and a few more spirit stones of his own, there should be no problem in exchanging for a mid-grade flying sword.