Chapter 68

After Wang Qi repelled two ghost-faced apes, he rejoined Mao Zimiao and the others. Both Wang Qi and Mao Zimiao, whose magical power was once again depleted, needed to sit down and meditate to replenish their energy, just like Wu Shiqin, who had emptied her magical power before the battle.

However, before entering meditation, Wu Shiqin looked troubled and asked Wang Qi, "Why didn't you use that sword qi when you fought me earlier?"

The wave blade effect of the Great Elephant Phase Wave Technique is not much different from the sword qi of a sword cultivator. Wu Shiqin, lacking Su Junyu's insight, naturally confused the two.

Wang Qi looked at her as if she were an idiot: "Didn't you see? That thing, once used, leaves no survivors. I just stuck a piece of fresh cowhide; even if you caught me, it wouldn't be worth it to charge me with assault and murder, right?"

Wu Shiqin's throat tightened, almost unable to speak.

"Although your argument is logical and convincing, why do I feel something is off? It's not like 'This is my trump card, prepared for that guy,' or something like that?"

"I feel like you inadvertently revealed some suspicious trait? I've seen this line somewhere before?"

Su Junyu interjected, "It's quite common. In ten stories about young cultivators avenging their families, seven have this kind of line."

By the way, when the battle ended, this disciple of the Myriad Laws Sect picked up his novel again.

Wang Qi looked at Wu Shiqin, then turned to look at Su Junyu: "You two must have a lot in common."

Although the battle just now seemed a bit dangerous, Wang Qi and Mao Zimiao were not injured. After resting for a while, they continued on their journey.

It was May, past the Spring Equinox, and the days were getting longer. Although the unexpected encounter with the ghost-faced apes delayed them, Wang Qi and the others still arrived at Jia Chen Lake before dark.

Jia Chen Lake is one of the larger lakes in the Tianyan Dao experimental area, covering about five hectares.

As soon as they saw the distant water, Wu Fan collapsed on the ground: "I can't go on, I'm really exhausted."

Su Junyu looked up, then buried his head back in his book: "This distance is fine. Getting any closer might attract beast demons. Thunder Horn Deer and other herd beast demons are not something you can handle."

Hearing this, Wang Qi, Mao Zimiao, and Wu Shiqin also sat down on the ground. After a day of intense exercise, they were also quite exhausted.

Su Junyu looked at Wang Qi: "How much of your mission have you completed?"

Wang Qi did a quick mental calculation: "Basically done. We just need to spend a little more effort to reach Yi Mao Rock tomorrow."

Su Junyu nodded: "We can arrive by noon tomorrow—don't be lazy, start a campfire."

"Huh?" The first to question was Wu Shiqin: "Senior Brother Su, beast demons aren't afraid of fire, right?"

Unlike Earth, where wild animals fear fire, most beast demons in the Divine Continent are not afraid of ordinary fire. Some even have a phototaxis, let alone those fire-type beast demons whose nests burn with large fires day and night.

Wang Qi, following Su Junyu's usual line of thought, said: "Is it for the atmosphere?"

Su Junyu explained calmly: "This is a customary rule."

"Huh?" All four were puzzled.

"Among the countless living beings in the Divine Continent, only humans light campfires. Fire-type beast demons only burn large amounts of flammable materials. Therefore, it is a customary rule in the Divine Continent that the area around a campfire is considered human territory. Any beast demon that attacks the location of a campfire can be directly killed. In such a situation, killing a beast demon that attacks you is not considered a violation."

Mao Zimiao looked at her companions and then at herself, feeling troubled: "But in this situation, gathering firewood..."

Wu Fan added: "It's already summer, there aren't many dead branches and leaves."

Su Junyu shrugged, not taking his eyes off the book: "Figure it out yourself. Hint: you cannot cut down trees."

"As long as we don't cut them down, it's fine, right?" Wang Qi smirked and released several wave blades, cutting down a few branches.

Mao Zimiao looked troubled: "Xiao Qi, have you never started a fire before, meow?"

Wu Shiqin also complained: "Aren't you worried about the smoke?"

Freshly cut wood with high moisture content, due to incomplete combustion, produces a lot of black smoke during burning.

"Is this a big deal?" Wang Qi disdainfully rubbed his palms, and the Heavenly Entropy Spell covered the branches. The surrounding people felt a wave of heat, and the leaves on the branches turned yellow and withered at a visible speed. In a moment, the freshly cut branches turned into high-quality firewood.

"Xiao Qi, so convenient, meow!"

Su Junyu looked at Wang Qi, his expression serious: "How many cultivation techniques are you practicing simultaneously?"

Wang Qi laughed it off, dodging the question.

Just kidding, if the others knew I almost killed myself by accident, where would my top student's face be?

At this moment, Wu Shiqin suddenly pulled out an iron pot, some fresh meat, and various bottles of seasonings from her storage bag: "Then, let's make dinner."

Wang Qi was shocked: "You actually have a foodie trait? You've revealed a lot of traits today!"

Wu Shiqin frowned, not understanding what he meant.

Wu Fan looked at the seasonings Wu Shiqin brought and said: "I don't think so..."

Wang Qi asked: "Not what?"

Wu Fan pointed to the seasonings Wu Shiqin brought: "Most of these are used for grilling meat, and they don't match the cooking utensils Wu Senior Sister brought. The meat hasn't been processed either. Wu Senior Sister doesn't seem to be a foodie."

Wang Qi thought for a moment: "A common plot in storybooks?"

Su Junyu nodded in agreement: "Yes."

Wu Shiqin's face turned slightly red, and she turned to pretend to look at the scenery.

To ease the awkwardness, Mao Zimiao stood up and said: "Wu Shiqin brought these things with good intentions, meow! I'll go to the lake to get some water to make dinner, meow?"

Wang Qi complained: "Zimiao, tell me how to use grilling spices to make soup."

"Xiao Qi, don't you always say, don't worry about such small things, meow!"

Mao Zimiao had only taken a few steps when Wu Shiqin suddenly pulled her back: "Don't go."

"Meow?" Mao Zimiao asked, puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Wu Shiqin pointed in the direction she had been looking. Not far from the sparse forest, a group of deer walked over. These deer had light brown fur, with no spots or patterns. They were about four meters long, and their horns, which spread out to either side, were nearly three meters long. Blue lightning occasionally flashed between the deer.

These were the Thunder Horn Deer, one of the subjects of Wang Qi and the others' investigation.

Wang Qi quickly took out a piece of paper: "No effort at all, note it down, note it down!"

Su Junyu saw the leader of the deer herd, the Deer King. The Deer King was a head taller than all the other demon deer, with pale golden horns. He sighed: "Broke through the barrier and advanced to the Qi Accumulation stage. Early Qi Accumulation, hehe."

"Senior Brother Su, why are you smiling?"

"When I came here for the trial, I was only at the middle Qi Cultivation stage, and the Deer King was already at the peak of Spirit Opening. I was so scared facing him." Su Junyu pointed at the Deer King and laughed: "Now I bring you here, I'm at the middle Foundation Establishment stage, and he's just at the Qi Accumulation stage. I can kill him easily."

As he spoke, Su Junyu suddenly thought: "Speaking of which, he has never shown any tendency to attack humans, nor has he committed any atrocities. Should we report this and give him a chance to become a demon?"

Hearing this, Wang Qi was shocked: "What the hell! Does the Immortal Alliance not allow animals to become demons without permission after its establishment?"