At the foot of a small hill.
The five of them gathered after finishing their separate scouting missions of the area.
“Ningyun, I’ve finished scouting,” Mu Chenze said. “It’s just an ordinary hill. No demon beasts, so it’s relatively safe.”
“Then we’ll do it here,” Gu Ningyun decided.
“We’ve already tested the strength of the demon beasts,” she continued. “The brute bulls are thick-skinned and excel at defense. Since Jun Luo’s and my sword qi can break through their hide, we should be able to deal damage to other demon beasts as well. Wen Xuan, Jiang Yao, Chenze—your attacks might not pierce a brute bull’s hide directly, but if you focus on their weaknesses, you can take them down quickly. Based on that, the five of us should be able to handle at least three rank one peak defensive demon beasts at once.”
“Ningyun, do you have a way to lure them here?” Wen Xuan asked, immediately catching on to her plan.
“Exactly.”
Gu Ningyun pulled a Purple Sun Blue Demon Bun from her storage bag. “During our Introduction to Food Cultivation class, I gave a basket of these to Martial Uncle Chen. He told me then that if these buns were fed to demon beasts, they could affect creatures up to the middle stage of rank two. So, I’m thinking—if we heat them up, wouldn't the resulting purple mist also affect rank one peak demon beasts? Even if it doesn’t knock them out, the scent should have enough of a hallucinogenic effect to lure them in.”
“I thought your purple mist only worked on people,” Wen Xuan remarked.
She thought for a moment before adding, “But the secret realm is so large. Once the purple mist is diluted, its effect might be significantly weakened.”
Gu Ningyun stuffed a basket of Purple Sun Blue Demon Buns, a box of Purple Sun Shrimp Balls to use as an antidote, and twenty top-grade Swift-Walk Talismans into Wen Xuan’s hands.
“That’s why heating the buns and attracting the demon beasts is a grand task that must be entrusted to our Lady Alchemist and her fire spirit energy!”
Wen Xuan couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine, leave it to me.”
“Brute bulls excel at defense, but their attack power is only average,” Mu Chenze added. “Other demon beasts might not be as sturdy, but they’ll likely hit much harder.”
“True. That’s why we need to lower their attack power.”
Gu Ningyun winked and began walking through the area to demonstrate her plan.
She stopped about a hundred meters from the hill. “Chenze, set up a large illusion array here. We’ll dig a massive pit in the center of the array—large enough to hold about a dozen demon beasts—to serve as our first containment point.”
After marking the spot, she walked back another twenty meters. “We’ll dig another pit and set another array here as a second containment point. I’ll place a bottle of purple mist at the bottom of both pits with the stoppers slightly cracked so the scent can leak out and lure them in. Once enough demon beasts are in the pit, I’ll shatter the bottles. Combined with Chenze’s illusion array, we’ll trap them inside.”
Seeing her four companions nod in agreement, she returned to the foot of the hill. “This hill will be our fallback point. Chenze, set up an illusion array here. Jun Luo, place two sword array prototypes in front of it. If we lure in something we can’t handle, this will be our final line of defense. If even that fails, we’ll abandon this spot and run for our lives.”
Wen Xuan nodded. “In that case, let’s set the traps first. I’ll go lure the beasts once we’re ready.”
Gu Ningyun gave Jun Luo, Jiang Yao, and Mu Chenze each a box of Purple Sun Shrimp Balls as an antidote, along with some top-grade Swift-Walk Talismans and Fireball Talismans. “Use the talismans if things get dangerous. Safety first.”
...
While Ruiyu Pavilion was busy setting traps in the western forest, Ling Hanbai had already led her team to intercept Si Puyu’s group in the far south.
The two groups had surrounded three rank one peak wild boars. Under the disciples' coordination, the three boars were forced apart and were now charging wildly within three separate encirclements.
Si Puyu and Ling Hanbai each held their swords, slashing at the boars' necks.
Ling Hanbai was a step faster. After slaying the first wild boar, she immediately moved to kill the second one as well.
Once Si Puyu finished off the boar she was fighting, she sighed in frustration. “Ling Hanbai, there are so many teams in this competition. Why are you always targeting us?”
“Hey, how is this targeting? We found these wild boars together,” Ling Hanbai replied as she collected the carcasses and signaled her team to clean up the area.
Si Puyu and her team helped with the cleanup. “In that case, let’s split up after this. Demon beasts are scattered as it is, and finding even one is hard enough. If our two teams stay together, there aren't enough to go around.”
“That won’t do. I need to keep a close eye on you.”
Si Puyu was speechless. And she claimed she wasn't targeting them!
She rubbed her temples and spoke with a tone of earnest persuasion. “Our two teams are evenly matched. Why fight each other and risk a mutual defeat? We’ll just let other teams take the lead.”
Ling Hanbai chuckled inwardly. It was precisely because Si Puyu’s team was the only one on par with hers that she had to watch them. If other teams got high scores, she could just rob them when they met. Whether she could successfully rob Si Puyu’s team, however, was another story.
Currently, Si Puyu’s team was first on the team competition leaderboard, and hers was second. As long as she stuck close to Si Puyu’s group, she could overtake them by snatching their kills.
Seeing that Ling Hanbai remained silent, Si Puyu tried again. “I recall Fu Mingzhi was also one of the people who defeated you in the individual competition. Why aren't you following him?”
“Your team has the highest overall strength,” Ling Hanbai replied with a roll of her eyes.
“What about Gu Ningyun and Jun Luo’s team? Every single person in their group was in the top ten for the individual competition. Why aren't you watching them?”
“Ha! They’ve been at it all morning and have only taken down two demon beasts. They’re ranked dead last. They aren't a threat.”
“And Zhu Zijin? I refuse to believe you don’t know how strong he is.”
“He’s so unlucky that it’s hard to say if he can even find a demon beast.”
Ling Hanbai glanced at the team competition leaderboard. “Zhu Zijin and Fu Mingzhi’s teams are both ranked outside the top twenty. What are you worried about?”
Si Puyu was utterly exasperated. “So you’re just determined to stick to me, then?”
Ling Hanbai didn't bother hiding it anymore. She hugged her sword and spoke with a rather punchable tone. “That’s right. Fight me if you’ve got the guts.”
Si Puyu’s grip on her peach wood sword tightened. She took a deep breath and endured it. Fighting this early and risking a mutual loss would only allow others to take advantage of them. It wasn't worth it.
...
In the eastern part of the forest, Fu Mingzhi’s team was searching for demon beasts.
“Senior Brother Fu, should we go keep an eye on Si Puyu and the others?” a team member asked.
“No need.”
Fu Mingzhi pushed aside some bushes blocking the path. “The secret realm is vast. We might not even run into them. Our priority is to focus on hunting demon beasts.”
“True.” The team member scratched the back of his head. “If we really did run into them, it’s hard to say if we could even win.”
Fu Mingzhi paused and patted his shoulder. “We haven't even fought yet. How do you know we can’t?”
“But I’m only at Qi Refining level three, and everyone on Si Puyu’s team is at Qi Refining level four.”
Another team member patted his arm. “If you can manage to break through during a fight, our chances of winning will go way up.”
“What? You guys think way too highly of me!”
Rate on N.U.
