Chapter 18

"Charge forward and kill him!"

The moment Su Baozhang took out the Spirit of Buffalo Yellow, he was noticed by the approaching young cultivators. If before, seeing the massive corpse of the Mountain-Crashing Buffalo, everyone still thought it was possible for a Spirit of Buffalo Yellow to be born, now, seeing the actual Spirit, they all went into a frenzy.

A mid-grade Spirit, and even more so, a rare Spirit of Buffalo Yellow among mid-grade Spirits!

Hadn't the Hundred Sparrow Mountain already been thoroughly searched twice by the Heaven-Shaking Sect and the young cultivators from the major and minor noble families of Yu County? How could someone so easily find a Mountain-Crashing Buffalo?

They didn't consider that while an adult Mountain-Crashing Buffalo might indeed give birth to a mid-grade Spirit, it was known for its ferocity and immense strength. Its own power was comparable to that of a high-grade fierce beast. Once it encountered humans, it would fight to the death. For these young cultivators around twelve or thirteen years old, encountering it would often result in casualties before they could gain anything.

Moreover, the disciples of sects and the cultivators from prestigious families were usually very precious and naturally unwilling to take such risks. This was why the adult Mountain-Crashing Buffalo had managed to survive two rounds of Spirit hunts.

They only thought that if they could stop Su Baozhang, the Spirit of Buffalo Yellow in his hand would belong to them. Obtaining a mid-grade Spirit would make their trip to the Hundred Sparrow Mountain a complete success.

However, a few quick-witted individuals slowed down as others rushed forward. Even if they underestimated the strength of the Mountain-Crashing Buffalo, such a massive fierce beast could not possibly be hunted by Su Baozhang alone. This meant there might be accomplices hiding, and rushing in too quickly could lead to an ambush!

However, there were still over a dozen young cultivators coming from two directions. Apart from three or four quick-witted ones, the rest charged forward. Even if there was an ambush, they could still cause mutual destruction, and the three or four quick-witted ones could then benefit.

The moment Su Baozhang found the Spirit in the buffalo's belly, he turned and ran towards the forest where Yang Junshan was. He didn't even bother to pick up the steel hatchet from the ground.

"Don't run, leave the Spirit behind!"

The young cultivators behind him shouted excitedly, their faces flushed as they chased after him.

Seeing Su Baozhang about to enter the forest, one of the young cultivators couldn't hold back any longer. He took out a crossbow from his back, loaded a duck feather arrow, and aimed at Su Baozhang's back.

However, before he could pull the trigger, a bowstring snapped, and a sharp whistle cut through the air. In the instant the young cultivator realized something was wrong, a piercing pain shot through his foot. He screamed, dropped the crossbow, and bent over to clutch his left foot, which was pierced by a two-foot-long iron feather arrow, buried half a foot into the ground.

This arrow sent a chill through the hearts of the young cultivators chasing Su Baozhang. Their steps slowed involuntarily, and a few of them immediately took out the protective talismans given by the Heaven-Shaking Sect when they entered the Hundred Sparrow Mountain.

Although this talisman could withstand a hit from a fierce beast equivalent to the fifth layer of the Mortal Realm, it only worked when activated. Yang Junshan's iron feather arrow clearly wouldn't give them time to react.

"What are you afraid of? We have protective talismans; his arrows can't harm us!"

A young cultivator raised his talisman and shouted to the others. Just as he did, a black line flashed past his eye, and a faint bowstring snap echoed. The young cultivator realized something was wrong and tried to crush the talisman in his hand, but a sudden pain shot through his arm. He looked down to see an iron feather arrow piercing his arm, and the talisman was floating to the ground.

The previously confident young cultivator's eyes filled with fear as he saw his pierced arm. He crouched down and wailed, and the few young cultivators around him were so frightened that they hesitated to move forward. If the first arrow that pierced the foot was a lucky shot, this one that pierced the wrist was a clear warning.

While they hesitated, Su Baozhang had already tumbled into the forest. At this moment, the young cultivators finally came to their senses. The temptation of a mid-grade Spirit was too great to give up.

"There's only one archer, and with the one who fled into the forest, there are only two of them. We have fourteen people in total. If we all charge together, how many can his arrows stop? Besides, he might not dare to kill us!"

A young cultivator hiding behind some rocks encouraged his companions. The forest was silent after the two arrows, which reassured the young cultivators and reignited their greed. Eight or nine of them stood up from their cover and charged into the forest.

Just then, another bowstring snap echoed from the forest, louder than the previous ones.

"Oh no, it's bad!"

Several shouts rang out, and half of the eight or nine young cultivators fell to the ground. Two of them crushed their protective talismans, and yellow protective shields enveloped them.

The young cultivators' eyes darted around, looking for the unlucky one hit by the arrow. However, they found everyone was fine, and there was no sign of the iron feather arrow.

The young cultivators looked at each other, and one of them shouted, "Damn it, we've been tricked! That guy didn't even shoot an arrow; he just pulled the bowstring to scare us!"

From the moment they tried to seize the Spirit of Buffalo Yellow, the archer in the forest had only fired two arrows and pulled the bowstring once, yet he had played with over a dozen young cultivators, leaving them both frightened and furious.

"We can't let this go. The distance from the forest to here is about forty to fifty steps. To shoot an iron feather arrow that far and maintain accuracy, it must be a hard bow of at least two stones. How many times can such a hard bow be drawn continuously?"

"That's right. At the square in front of the hunting ground, the son of the village chief of Wasteland Town once drew a three-stone bow. He could only draw it to seven-tenths of its full length three times before exhausting himself. The archer probably can't shoot any more iron feather arrows now!"

"Maybe the archer in the forest is the one you saw at the square!"

"Chase them, they can't escape!"

Four or five young cultivators who had activated their protective talismans encouraged each other and charged into the forest again. This time, no iron feather arrows came from the forest. They were about to enter when the few hesitant young cultivators also joined in, and even two or three who had slowed down earlier decided the archer in the forest was no longer a threat and followed.

By the stream, apart from the two young cultivators still wailing from their arrow wounds, three or four others who had not joined the chase looked at each other. They seemed to understand each other's thoughts and each drew their knives, swords, and daggers, approaching the massive corpse of the Mountain-Crashing Buffalo.

The most valuable part of the Mountain-Crashing Buffalo was indeed the Spirit of Buffalo Yellow, but the buffalo's skin, meat, and bones were also excellent materials for strengthening the body. The archer in the forest had excellent archery skills. Instead of risking their lives to seize the Spirit, they decided to first take what they could from the buffalo. The Spirit of Buffalo Yellow was only one, but the fat buffalo could be shared among them.

At this moment, a beam of light streaked across the sky, and a formidable pressure descended on the stream. The few young cultivators who were butchering the buffalo turned pale and stopped their work.

Looking up, they saw a middle-aged cultivator with a fair complexion and no beard standing on a tree branch, looking down at them.

This was Zhang Fengyi, one of the three cultivators from the Heaven-Shaking Sect who had opened the hunting ground in the Hundred Sparrow Mountain. As the young cultivators stood still like cicadas in winter, Zhang Fengyi took in the scene. Seeing the massive corpse of the Mountain-Crashing Buffalo and the wounds of the two wailing young cultivators, his eyebrows slightly raised, showing a hint of surprise.

"Do you two still want to continue the hunt?"

Zhang Fengyi did not immediately help the injured young cultivators but asked them in a matter-of-fact tone.

The two young cultivators were terrified by their arrow wounds and, hearing this, immediately cried out, "No, never again!"

"Senior, please save us!"

Zhang Fengyi snorted, a look of disdain flashing in his eyes. He waved his sleeve, and two talismans with faint red light floated down from the tree branch. The moment they touched the wounds, the iron feather arrows snapped and fell out. As blood spurted from the wounds, the red light from the talismans fused with the blood, and the wounds immediately stopped bleeding and scabbed over.

At this moment, a cacophony of screams and chaotic footsteps came from the forest. The few young cultivators who had entered the forest tumbled out, all injured and bruised.

Zhang Fengyi could see at a glance that they had fallen into traps set in the forest. These traps were often set by experienced hunters. Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on Zhang Fengyi's lips. A twelve or thirteen-year-old experienced hunter was indeed interesting.