Chapter 232: The Hunt (Part Five)
Chapter 232: The Hunt (Part Five)
The sheep demon lay on the mountain path, its fur charred black and blood flowing.
The demon hunters did not approach it lightly. Yu Chenyi glanced at the demon beast, then turned to Mo Shan, seeking his opinion with a questioning look.
Mo Shan frowned slightly and shook his head gently, indicating that the demon beast was feigning death.
So the group spread out, surrounding the demon beast, and patiently waited.
Different demon beasts feign death in different ways, and naturally, the demon hunters' responses varied accordingly.
In the case of the Red-eyed Sheep Demon, one must not approach it rashly after it feigns death.
Whoever approaches first will suffer its desperate counterattack before its demise, which is extremely dangerous. If one is unlucky, they will be devoured by the demon beast.
If they approach together, they risk being affected by its demonic energy.
A late First-Rank demon beast not only possesses robust blood energy but also wields extremely dense demonic power. The innate abilities it can unleash through its demonic power are extremely troublesome.
If injured by its demonic power, the situation would become dire.
The demon hunters lacked long-range attack methods. Although they had bows and arrows, their power was not strong. While they could use the spirit stones to detonate the array, it would be ineffective against the demon beast.
Therefore, out of caution, the demon hunters did not make any hasty moves.
As the sheep demon lay motionless on the ground, the demon hunters remained on guard, patiently waiting.
The demon beast was on the brink of death, its blood flowing slowly, and its breath weakening. As long as they were patient, the demon beast would surely be the one that couldn't hold on.
Mo Hua hid behind a rock, observing the demon beast's demonic power flowing slowly in his spiritual sense.
It seemed as if the demon beast was both alive and dead, either gathering its demonic power or slowly losing it.
Mo Hua couldn't tell if the demon beast was truly dead or not.
"It seems my experience is lacking. Even with my spiritual sense to perceive the flow of demonic power, I can't discern the demon beast's life or death," Mo Hua thought to himself.
His father, Mo Shan, didn't even need to use his spiritual sense. With just a glance and his wealth of experience, he could tell that the demon beast was feigning death.
A cultivator's experience is also a form of ability.
Mo Hua silently acknowledged this fact.
The demon beast continued to play dead, and the demon hunters continued to wait. However, Mo Hua was getting impatient.
While they lacked long-range attack methods, Mo Hua had one.
Mo Hua began to channel his energy, preparing to cast the Fireball Technique.
As soon as he focused his mind, his spiritual power gathered between his fingers. He pointed forward, and the Fireball Technique took form, whistling towards the sheep demon lying on the ground and feigning death.
The demon hunters were taken aback, but when they saw that it was Mo Hua who had cast the spell, they relaxed slightly.
The fireball exploded on the sheep demon, but it didn't react.
"Clearly a sheep, yet it wants to pretend to be a turtle?" Mo Hua wondered aloud.
He pointed again, and another fireball flew towards the demon beast, hitting it directly.
Finally, the sheep demon couldn't take it anymore. It let out a roar, stood up, and glared at Mo Hua with bloodshot and vicious eyes.
"Kill it!" Yu Chenyi commanded coldly.
The demon hunters rushed forward, hacking at the sheep demon with their blades.
The Red-eyed Sheep Demon, already at its last breath, could no longer withstand the assault. Its eyes turned bloodshot as it channeled its demonic power to the extreme, causing its blood energy to surge.
Upon seeing this, Yu Chenyi immediately ordered, "Disperse!"
The demon hunters had anticipated this and quickly retreated.
As they withdrew, the Red-eyed Sheep Demon's body exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
Mo Hua had heard from Mo Shan that when the Red-eyed Sheep Demon was on the verge of death or in a critical situation, it would use its demonic power to unleash its innate ability, creating a blood mist.
If a demon hunter were caught in this blood mist, their eyes would be stained, and their vision would turn blood-red, rendering them unable to see. Their mental state would also be affected by the mist.
In such a situation, without help from companions, the chances of survival were slim.
"So this is the blood mist..." Mo Hua was astonished. A late First-Rank demon beast was indeed more dangerous than he had imagined.
Fortunately, although the blood mist was troublesome, it didn't last long and soon dissipated.
With its demonic power exhausted, the sheep demon was now truly like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Mo Hua committed this distinction to memory, now having a basis for determining whether a demon beast was feigning death in the future.
However, since he was still unfamiliar with late First-Rank demon beasts, he sought confirmation from his father to be safe:
"Has it breathed its last?"
Mo Shan took one more glance at the demon beast and nodded. "It has."
Mo Hua scurried out from behind the rock and walked up to the sheep demon. Pointing near its heart meridian, he said, "Dad, make an incision here for me."
Mo Shan sliced open a cut about half a finger long, and demon blood started flowing out.
Mo Hua quickly took out a jade bottle and collected the blood while simultaneously using the Blood Absorption Technique to draw out the demon blood from its other meridians.
After collecting the demon blood, the demon hunters skinned and butchered the beast. Once everything was taken care of, they returned to their campsite.
There were always unknown dangers deep in the mountains, but the campsite offered a much safer environment.
The campsite in the inner mountains was similar to the one outside, but it was more spacious and better concealed. The array on the stone gate was also of higher quality.
However, in Mo Hua's eyes, the array looked rather crude.
It bothered him, so he used the newly acquired demon blood to prepare a new spirit ink and personally repainted a First-Rank Earth and Stone Array on it, finally feeling much more satisfied with the result.
After eating and resting for a while, Yu Chenyi held the compass inscribed with the Earthfire Array, admiring it from different angles. He couldn't help but exclaim:
"This is amazing!"
It was not only powerful but also reusable, and on top of that, it was inscribed with a First-Rank array.
A First-Rank array...
From now on, they, as demon hunters, could rely on a First-Rank array to hunt demon beasts.
This was something they had never experienced before.
In fact, even a few years ago, he wouldn't have dared to imagine such a thing.
Yu Chenyi felt a mix of emotions as he asked, "How many times can this be used?"
Mouth full of meat, Mo Hua thought for a moment before replying, "Seven or eight times, I suppose."
"The array medium isn't that great. It's mixed with fine iron, so it's a bit more durable. After seven or eight uses, it won't be able to withstand the spiritual power released by the Earthfire Array's explosion anymore," Mo Hua added.
"So it's useless afterward?" Yu Chenyi asked, sounding a bit disappointed.
"It can be recycled. We can ask Master Chen to melt it down and reforge it," Mo Hua suggested.
This was the advantage of having a refiner in their group. Sometimes, they could create things according to their own ideas.
"That's good, then," Yu Chenyi said, nodding. He held the compass with the Earthfire Array, his admiration for it growing.
From now on, hunting demon beasts would be much easier, and more importantly, it would reduce the risks and casualties.
It wasn't easy for demon hunters to stay alive.
Who wouldn't want to enter the mountains safely and return home peacefully?
"It's just that this compass is a bit ugly..." Yu Chenyi spoke his mind.
While he loved its function, he had to admit it looked rather unsightly.
Mo Hua scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. This was, after all, a temporary creation.
Normally, spiritual tools would have corresponding arrays, and arrays would have standard spiritual tools to go with them.
For example, a sword tool would be inscribed with a sword array, a knife tool with a knife array, and a Clear Heart Hairpin with a Clear Heart Array.
However, Mo Hua hadn't found a suitable spiritual tool for the Earthfire Array, and even Master Chen was clueless about it. So, he could only temporarily forge an iron compass based on his existing South-pointing Compass, making do with what he had.
Despite its unattractive appearance, Yu Chenyi cherished the compass with the Earthfire Array.
(End of Chapter)
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