Chapter 17

Su Baozhang followed closely behind Yang Junshan, speeding along the path. Regardless of the terrain, Yang Junshan maintained a steady pace. Even though Su Baozhang was familiar with mountain paths from his past experiences of gathering firewood, he was now panting, which made him admire the 15-year-old Yang Junshan even more.

However, what surprised Su Baozhang even more was that during this rapid journey, Yang Junshan still had the time to find what he was looking for on both sides of the path. Sometimes he would pinch a few strands of indistinguishable hair from a tree branch, sometimes he would discover a few plants that had been uprooted by brushing through the grass, sometimes he would find the footprints of some unknown fierce beast by parting the shrubs, and sometimes he would uncover a pile of feces on the ground covered with dead leaves by poking with a branch.

Despite following behind, Su Baozhang was dazzled by Yang Junshan's varied tracking skills. He might not even notice where Yang Junshan had picked up an item, making him feel overwhelmed.

Initially, Su Baozhang thought Yang Junshan had refused his suggestion to secretly follow Zhang Yueming because of his pride. However, as they walked, Su Baozhang's surprise grew, and he realized that Yang Junshan truly had exceptional skills.

But the only people who could have such seasoned tracking skills were experienced old hunters. Yet, this 15-year-old boy didn't seem like a seasoned hunter. Could such skills be innate?

Su Baozhang, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, "Brother Junshan, where are we going? Do you have a target in mind?"

"I hope we can get ahead of those people from my previous life!" Yang Junshan muttered to himself, then replied, "We're almost there. There should be a mountain stream ahead. If everything goes as planned, the fierce beast we're tracking should be drinking water by the stream right now!"

Hearing this, Su Baozhang tightened his grip on his woodcutter's knife, swallowed hard, and looked at Yang Junshan, who had drawn an iron-feathered arrow, with a mix of tension and excitement. "Junshan, I'll go first. You use the iron-feathered arrow to shoot the beast when the opportunity arises!"

Yang Junshan nodded and said solemnly, "Be careful. If things go wrong, run for your life!"

"Mo-o-o!" Just as Yang Junshan finished speaking, a deep but powerful mooing sound echoed from a distance.

Both Yang Junshan and Su Baozhang's faces changed. Su Baozhang looked both pleased and worried, saying, "That sounds like an adult mountain bull. It could yield a medium-grade immortal bull yellow stone, but adult mountain bulls are tough to handle!"

Without a word, Yang Junshan dashed towards the source of the sound, saying, "Hurry, the noise might attract others. We can't afford to be late."

In the time it took Su Baozhang to react, Yang Junshan had already sprinted several dozen feet into the forest. Biting his lip, Su Baozhang followed, his hands gripping the woodcutter's knife so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

They raced through the forest, and as they approached the stream, Yang Junshan, still running, gave Su Baozhang some instructions. The sound of the stream grew louder, and the scenery suddenly opened up to reveal a small valley with a green meadow. A stream ran through the valley, and a large yellow bull, about seven feet tall and ten feet long, lifted its head from the water, hearing the approaching sounds and looking towards Su Baozhang.

"Mo-o-o!" A louder moo made Su Baozhang's heart tremble. He then noticed that Yang Junshan had not emerged from the forest edge.

The mountain bull turned and charged at Su Baozhang, its massive body causing the ground to rumble with each step, and large clumps of earth were thrown behind it. The trembling ground made Su Baozhang's legs shake.

Faced with the mountain bull's relentless charge, Su Baozhang's mouth went dry, and the cultivation he had practiced for the past three to four years seemed to vanish.

Suddenly, a "twang" sounded from behind Su Baozhang. The bowstring's hum still echoed in his ears as a cold, sharp wind whistled past. Su Baozhang's spirits lifted, and he saw a black shadow streak past.

The mountain bull, charging at Su Baozhang, suddenly let out a painful moo. An iron-feathered arrow had embedded itself in its left front leg, causing it to stumble. The massive impact nearly knocked the bull to the ground.

Struggling to maintain its balance, blood gushed from the wound, but the mountain bull showed no fear. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and it snorted fiercely, looking even more menacing.

At this moment, Su Baozhang remembered Yang Junshan's instructions. He shouted and charged, taking advantage of the bull's unsteady stance. His spiritual energy surged into his woodcutter's knife, and a shimmering light enveloped the blade as he aimed for the bull's injured left front leg.

The mountain bull, seeing Su Baozhang approach, lowered its head and leaped, despite its injured leg, aiming to charge and impale him.

If it had been anyone else, they would have been too slow to dodge and would have been knocked down and impaled.

But Su Baozhang, having been warned by Yang Junshan, crouched and rolled on the ground as the bull's attack missed. He then rolled to the bull's left front leg and swung his knife with all his might.

With another painful moo, Su Baozhang didn't have time to check the effect of his strike. He rolled several feet away, and two more bowstring twangs followed, turning the bull's painful moo into a wail.

A loud thud sounded as the bull fell to the ground, struggling. Its left front leg was twisted and broken, and an iron-feathered arrow was embedded in its neck. The fatal blow, however, was the arrow that had pierced its right eye, penetrating its skull.

Su Baozhang, unsure if the eye shot was a lucky hit or a precise shot, let out a long breath. Regardless, they had taken down this massive beast, something he had never dared to imagine before.

This fierce beast could potentially yield a medium-grade immortal spirit!

Thinking of the medium-grade immortal spirit, Su Baozhang felt a surge of excitement. The bull yellow stone from an adult mountain bull was a highly sought-after treasure among cultivators, mainly because it enhanced the body's resistance to toxins after being refined and summoned, making it highly desirable.

Su Baozhang quickly grabbed his woodcutter's knife and approached the bull, but he noticed that Yang Junshan had not emerged from the forest edge. His heart sank, but he ran towards the bull.

He swung his knife at the bull's neck, but it only penetrated a few inches, and the splattered blood covered his face. He realized his knife was already dull and bent.

However, the wound was enough to finish the bull. Su Baozhang frowned but stepped forward to cut open the bull's belly.

From downstream and the opposite bank, sounds of running and commotion grew louder. The bull's mooing and wailing had attracted other young cultivators, who were now rushing towards the scene.

Su Baozhang grew more anxious. His dull knife made it difficult to cut open the bull's belly, and he was afraid of damaging the bull yellow stone inside.

A cold whistle and a breeze came from behind, and Su Baozhang turned to see a foot-long cold light short sword embedded in the ground beside him.

Su Baozhang's face lit up. "Ah, Zhang Huzi's Hundred-Refined Cold Light Dagger!"

With the Cold Light Dagger, Su Baozhang's task became much easier. However, the figures of the young cultivators from downstream and the opposite bank appeared in the forest, and many had already seen the fallen mountain bull and Su Baozhang searching for the immortal spirit.

A mountain bull! It could yield a medium-grade bull yellow spirit!

The young cultivators, rushing from both directions, grew red-eyed with greed, shouting and clamoring, "Stop! Let me handle the mountain bull!"

"Hey, everyone gets a share! No hogging!"

"Damn it, the bull yellow spirit is mine!"

"Find death, stop now!"

Some impatient young cultivators, from several dozen feet away, drew their bows and shot arrows at Su Baozhang. However, Su Baozhang, seemingly oblivious, worked even faster. The arrows, lacking accuracy and power from the distance, were easily dodged by him as he crouched behind the bull's massive body.

At this moment, Su Baozhang, covered in blood, suddenly laughed. He pulled out a thumb-sized yellow object from the bull's belly, which glowed with a faint spiritual light.