Chapter 7

At the entrance of the ancient forest, there were a large number of martial arts academy students, and some alchemists setting up stalls as well.

The alchemists sold low-grade healing potions, which were cheap and practical, and also bought various materials here.

Seeing these young alchemists dressed in simple clothes, Li Mo smiled slightly, and memories floated to the surface of his mind.

Thinking back to his youth, he had spent several years, like them, selling medicine outside the dangerous areas of the ancient forest.

Without much thought, the four of them quickly entered the ancient forest with the large group of students.

The sky soon turned dark, with towering ancient trees blocking out the sun, and only occasional patches of sunlight filtering through.

The ground was covered with layers of leaves, and stepping on a dry branch by accident would make one's heart race.

As they moved deeper in, the other teams that had entered gradually disappeared from sight. Occasionally, the sound of fierce battles could be heard. Just as they were about to enter this dense forest, a series of barks suddenly came from ahead, followed by the appearance of a group of corpse-eating dogs.

"Hey, these are the savage beasts? They don't look very fierce at all."

Li Gaoyuan fixed his gaze and was about to rush forward with his sword.

"Junior Brother, hold on!"

Li Xiaoyong immediately stopped him and then shouted loudly at the corpse-eating dogs.

The dozen or so corpse-eating dogs immediately scattered, disappearing in an instant.

Li Gaoyuan was taken aback: "These savage beasts are more timid than cats?"

Li Xiaoyong laughed heartily: "Junior Brother, don't worry. These corpse-eating dogs are just the lowest-grade savage beasts, timid by nature, and feed on corpses. When we reach the second-grade savage beast area, you'll have your hands full."

"Then let's go quickly!" Li Gaoyuan exclaimed excitedly.

Li Xiaoyong and the other two had entered the academy a year earlier and had already taken on many beast-hunting missions, so they were very familiar with the paths in the Wuteng Ancient Forest.

To save time, the four of them avoided the territories of various first-grade savage beasts and, after half a day's journey, successfully arrived at the second-grade savage beast area.

Before their eyes was a stream valley.

On both sides of the stream, there were about a dozen black-skinned mountain pigs, each one robust and with sharp tusks like swords.

"These are young mountain pigs. As long as we avoid their charges, we'll be fine. My sister and I will deal with the ones on the left side first. The two of you can go to the right side and lure one or two out. If you feel it's dangerous, you can wait for us to finish on the left side before joining in," Li Xiaoyong said, then led his sister to the left side of the stream.

"I'll go and test the strength of these savage beasts first."

As soon as the two of them left, Li Gaoyuan said immediately.

"Go ahead," Li Mo said indifferently.

Li Gaoyuan eagerly drew his long sword, leaped a few times to the right side, picked up a stone, and threw it at the nearest young pig.

The young pig, hit by the stone, turned its head and saw the two of them, then immediately galloped over.

"Come on!"

Li Gaoyuan laughed loudly, facing the savage beast for the first time without any fear.

He dodged the young pig's charge and swung his sword, striking the young pig's neck.

This young beast couldn't withstand the full force of the sword and was instantly cut into three parts, blood gushing out.

"These second-grade savage beasts are nothing special after all!"

Li Gaoyuan, having landed a successful strike, gained confidence and, without needing to lure any more beasts, directly charged into the group, fighting five young pigs alone.

On the other side, Li Xiaoyong and his sister were also fighting eight young pigs, and they were doing so with ease.

Compared to the three of them in battle, Li Mo seemed like an outsider, slowly walking along the stream.

He knew very well that these young pigs, which had not yet grown into adult beasts, posed no danger to martial disciples at the mid-stage of the Rock Formation Realm.

Instead of helping, he decided to look for any medicinal herbs in the area.

In no time, the dozen or so young pigs were all killed.

Seeing Li Gaoyuan kill several of them alone, Li Xiaoyong laughed: "To see Junior Brother face savage beasts for the first time and perform so well is truly impressive."

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Mo.

Seeing him standing quietly in the back without moving, he nodded slightly, thinking that Li Mo had a good sense of self-awareness.

Someone like Li Mo, at the Qi Condensation Realm, was usually a burden to the team.

It wasn't that such people didn't contribute, but rather that those with low cultivation who liked to rush forward were the ones who could drag the whole team into danger.

Therefore, Li Mo's decision to just observe was actually beneficial to everyone.

However, his brows furrowed slightly.

The young man standing by the stream, with his relaxed posture, seemed as if he were strolling in his own courtyard, which was out of place in this forest filled with the scent of blood and death.

A freshman could have such a transcendent aura.

Li Gaoyuan humbly responded and then asked, "Do these young beasts have inner cores?"

Li Xiaoyong shook his head: "Young beasts don't have inner cores, but their tusks can be used in medicine, so we can collect some."

Thus, they collected the tusks of the mountain pigs and continued on their journey. Not long after, they climbed over a small hill and saw a large group of gray foxes.

"These adult gray foxes are agile and have sharp claws, but as long as we avoid them, there's no problem," Li Xiaoyong said.

"Do they have inner cores?" Li Gaoyuan asked with wide eyes.

Li Xiaoyong smiled: "Not every adult beast has an inner core, but with a dozen of them, we should be able to get two or three inner cores."

Li Gaoyuan's spirits were immediately lifted, and he said to Li Mo, "If we get the inner cores of these water foxes and you refine some cultivation pills, we can save months of hard work."

Hearing this, Li Xiaoyong was surprised: "Can this Junior Brother refine pills?"

Li Gaoyuan laughed: "Of course, he is an alchemist."

Although Li Gaoyuan didn't specify Li Mo's alchemist level, this was enough to change Li Xiaoyong's perception of him, and he said in surprise: "So Junior Brother is a dual cultivator in both martial arts and alchemy. If you need any help in the future, please don't refuse."

Li Mo smiled faintly: "I'll do my best."

With that, Li Gaoyuan followed Li Xiaoyong and his sister into the group of water foxes.

After a fierce battle, the dozen or so water foxes were all killed, and they found three inner cores in their bellies.

Li Gaoyuan was extremely pleased with their first harvest of inner cores.

Li Mo, however, remained calm, remembering that even the inner cores of eighth-grade savage beasts once filled several large boxes in his treasure vault.

Next, the four of them continued on their journey, encountering giant rats, black-eared cats, and other second-grade savage beasts, gradually increasing their harvest of inner cores and materials.

Li Mo did not participate in the battles but searched for various medicinal herbs in the territories of the savage beasts, also making some good finds.

By noon, they finally arrived at the territory of the Red-Horned Fire Bulls. Standing on a rock, they looked down to see a grassy area at the edge of the valley, where there were about five or six Red-Horned Fire Bulls.

Each one was robust, with red horns over a foot long, pointing straight ahead like two sharp knives.

"These are the Red-Horned Fire Bulls? They are quite large," Li Gaoyuan said softly.

Li Xiaoyong nodded: "The Red-Horned Fire Bulls are one of the more ferocious types of second-grade savage beasts, with strong attacks and the ability to spit fireballs. However, as long as we understand their attack patterns, dealing with them isn't difficult. Junior Brother Gaoyuan, just follow me and my sister, and once you get used to it, you can handle them on your own."

Li Gaoyuan nodded, and Li Xiaoyong then said to Li Mo: "Junior Brother Mo, stay further back. The fire bulls have a long charge distance and fast fireball spitting. If you get hit or crushed, it's no joke."

Having been underestimated all along, Li Mo smiled but did not argue.

"Mountain-Crushing Axe!"

"Flowing Flower Sword!"

Li Xiaoyong and his sister led the charge into the group of fire bulls, with Li Gaoyuan closely following. The peaceful grassland quickly turned into a battlefield.

The fire bulls alternated between charging and spitting fireballs.

The three of them alternated between dodging and launching fierce attacks.

Li Mo continued to search for usable herbs in the surrounding area. Before long, the group of adult Red-Horned Fire Bulls was killed, and they extracted one inner core.

Li Xiaoyong was generous and didn't fuss over the one or two inner cores, casually tossing one to Li Gaoyuan.

Li Gaoyuan, not being pretentious, thanked him and took it.

The four of them continued deeper into the grassland, avoiding large groups of fire bulls and targeting smaller groups.

By late afternoon, the three of them had already obtained over ten inner cores from the fire bulls, which was already a good haul.

Just as they reached the depths of the valley, they came to a small river where they saw a Red-Horned Fire Bull that was larger than the ordinary ones, with a body covered in fiery red patterns.

"Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull!" Li Gaoyuan exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement.

"Finally found it," Li Xiaoyong also smiled, then said solemnly, "I'll attract it from the front, and Junior Brother Gaoyuan and my sister will attack from the sides." He then said to Li Mo, "Junior Brother Mo, you need to stand even further back."

With that, the three of them slowly approached the Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull from three sides, and then Li Xiaoyong leaped forward, charging at the Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull.

The Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull, upon seeing someone approach, immediately spat out a fireball.

Despite Li Xiaoyong's large build, he was very agile, dodging the fireball and reaching the Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull in a few leaps, swinging his axe.

The Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull was no easy opponent, and it immediately charged with its horns. The clash of the sword and the horns produced a metallic sound, and Li Xiaoyong was forced back two steps.

At this moment, Li Gaoyuan and Li Jing also attacked from the sides.

Li Mo stood at a distance, observing the battle, occasionally moving to avoid the stray fireballs.

The Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull was several times stronger than ordinary fire bulls. Even with the three of them surrounding it, they couldn't gain the upper hand for a while. The Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull had tough skin, and Li Jing's several strikes only left white marks on its body without drawing blood.

However, Li Gaoyuan, seizing the opportunity, managed to stab the fire bull's shoulder, causing blood to spurt out.

The injured fire bull attacked even more fiercely, charging and colliding with great ferocity.

"Scattered Petals!"

"Broken Spears!"

"Starry Chessboard!"

The three of them were not intimidated by the Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull's charges and each used their full strength to attack.

Li Mo, observing the situation, saw that the three of them were steadily fighting and knew that the outcome was already determined.

He looked around and saw a patch of water spirit grass by the river, so he went to pick it.

Just as he finished picking the herbs, a dull sound echoed, and the Elite Red-Horned Fire Bull fell to the ground.