Chapter 86: An Unexpected Delight

“Swift!”

A haze of verdant light flared before Tang Wan. At the crucial moment, the greenwood arrows in her hand finally took shape. Without hesitation, Tang Wan unleashed all four arrows. They shot forth, carrying a shimmering emerald glow, and streaked toward the wind wolf charging at her.

With four sharp thuds, the arrows struck the head wolf squarely, piercing through its massive body in an instant. The force carried the wolf into the air, its blood painting an arc as its bulky form crashed to the ground.

A guttural roar of fury escaped the fallen wolf as it struggled to rise, its limbs flailing. But then, Jiang Yan’s greenwood arrows returned, raining down like a storm and pinning the wolf to the earth. Pierced by both Tang Wan’s and Jiang Yan’s arrows, even a beast made of iron could not survive.

“Wan’er, are you alright?” Jiang Yan rushed over, wrapping Tang Wan in a tight embrace, his face pale with terror. The moment the wind wolf lunged at her, Jiang Yan’s heart plummeted as if he’d fallen from a great height; it was as though his world was about to plunge into darkness.

“She is the dearest girl to me since coming to this world,” Jiang Yan thought anxiously, holding Tang Wan close.

Held in his arms, Tang Wan felt a strange warmth spreading in her heart. Hearing Jiang Yan’s trembling question, her heart overflowed with tenderness and affection.

“Wan’er, are you alright?” Jiang Yan released her, gripping her arms and searching her face anxiously. Tang Wan hadn’t spoken for some time, and Jiang Yan was truly frightened—had she been injured?

“Senior brother, I’m fine,” Tang Wan replied softly, her cheeks flushed with a gentle blush.

“That’s good, that’s good.” Seeing her rosy cheeks, Jiang Yan suddenly realized he was still half-embracing her. Though his concern had been genuine, he hastily released Tang Wan, his own face burning with embarrassment.

“Senior brother, we should collect the beast cores from these wind wolves,” Tang Wan reminded Jiang Yan, composing herself as she glanced at the dead wolves on the ground. Before entering, the abbot of Huasheng Temple had instructed them: each second-rank sect must submit at least twenty beast cores to complete the demon hunt.

“We have three beast cores now; we need seventeen more to finish the task,” Tang Wan calculated, her face bright with joy. Yet whether her delight stemmed from Jiang Yan or the beast cores, she herself could not say.

“Indeed, we should gather them,” Jiang Yan agreed, seizing the opportunity to dispel their awkwardness. He summoned his greenwood arrows from the sky, using them to carefully extract the beast cores from the wind wolves and place them into his treasure pouch.

As Jiang Yan placed the wind wolf beast cores inside, the pouch filled with a faint blue glow, enveloping the cores. This blue light was likely due to a special rune array on the pouch, preserving the spiritual energy within the cores for use in future elixir crafting.

After collecting the beast cores, Tang Wan and Jiang Yan continued their journey, searching for the Celestial Azure Hookwood.

…

Beneath the high platform at Huasheng Temple

A young monk sat quietly cross-legged on a cushion, counting prayer beads and chanting softly. The monks of Huasheng Temple maintained their formation, reciting scripture in low murmurs.

Xie Wenyuan sat facing the young monk, with Xu Mingyuan and Bai Tong beside him, eyes closed as they recovered the spiritual energy spent opening the Demon Hunt Gate. Watching the young monk chant, Xie Wenyuan smirked and said, “Master Kongse, your chanting is pointless. The Demon Hunt Gate lasts only twelve hours, as ancient tradition dictates—no amount of scripture will make it last longer.”

The young monk paused, pressed his palms together, and intoned a Buddhist blessing. “Sincerity brings miracles. Sect Master Xie is too attached to appearances.”

Xie Wenyuan’s face twisted in disdain; he was about to retort when a faint blue light appeared before the abbot, who was seated cross-legged on the platform.

Words caught in his throat, Xie Wenyuan’s eyes lit up. “A sect has slain a demon beast and obtained a beast core. I wonder which sect claimed the first?”

“Hua Mountain,” the young monk replied softly, eyes closed.

“Master Kongse, you may be disappointed. All my Golden Flame Sect disciples who entered the arena are peak Qi cultivators. I refuse to believe so many peak cultivators can’t outdo a small, declining sect.” Xie Wenyuan stood, heading toward the platform, his mind puzzled—what sort of sect was Hua Mountain?

Every sect’s treasure pouch, crafted by apprentice rune masters, not only preserved the essence of beast cores but also transmitted information remotely. Those outside the Demon Hunt Gate could track what and how many beast cores had been collected.

“Huh…” Staring at the blue glow on the platform, Xie Wenyuan was dumbfounded, his chest burning with anger. “How could someone get ahead of us? Useless bunch!”

Upon the platform, before the abbot, stood a blue rune lamp. Its surface was marked with various blue squares, each representing a sect. All but Hua Mountain’s were dark, yet before Hua Mountain’s name, three blue lights shone.

A low hum sounded, and beside Hua Mountain, Tianshan’s square lit up as well, indicating that Tianshan Sect had slain their first demon beast and obtained a beast core.

“Lu Tiannan, that bastard, even beat my useless lot!” Xie Wenyuan cursed fiercely.

Another hum, and the Golden Flame Sect’s blue squares flared to life—three medium-sized squares, matching Hua Mountain in number but surpassing Tianshan in quality.

Xie Wenyuan’s face reddened; he remembered his strict instructions to his disciples: only target beasts of intermediate rank or higher, ignore the lesser ones. At least his group had not completely disappointed him.

“Indeed, intermediate demon beasts are not so easily overcome!” Xie Wenyuan said proudly, implying that the Golden Flame Sect’s results far surpassed Hua Mountain.

Yet another hum, and three large squares lit up before Hua Mountain’s name—each one representing a beast core from a top-tier first-rank demon beast. Hua Mountain had gained three in one stroke.

“Hua Mountain still leads.” Somehow, the young monk had ascended the platform, standing beside Xie Wenyuan, his tone tinged with subtle irony.

Xie Wenyuan’s face was long and slack, his mouth agape as if to swallow an egg, his mind clouded with confusion. “What is happening?”

“Useless bunch!” All he could do was curse his own Golden Flame Sect disciples.

…

Yunlan Demon Realm, within the Valley of Spiritual Herbs

Jiang Yan carefully placed three beast cores in his treasure pouch. After collecting them from the wind wolves, he noticed three more beast core symbols on his map. Following the signs, he discovered three demon beast corpses.

Tang Wan looked at the massive bodies on the ground in surprise. “Senior brother, how did you find these demon beasts? They were so well hidden.”

“Just luck,” Jiang Yan replied, unable to tell her that he possessed a map that could detect treasures within ten meters.

Tang Wan eyed the corpses skeptically, her mind filled with doubt, but recalling how the sect had flourished under his leadership, she relaxed—her senior brother always had his ways.

Jiang Yan paid no heed to Tang Wan’s thoughts. The three bulky demon beasts were all top-tier first-rank, their bodies surely holding many valuable materials. If he brought them back, the sect’s artifact hall would never lack for supplies.

After collecting the beast cores, Jiang Yan placed his right hand on a beast’s body, rubbing the sect master’s ring with his index finger. To Tang Wan’s astonished gaze, the three corpses vanished.

“All done. Let’s go, junior sister,” Jiang Yan said, rising to his feet.

They had now passed through the wind wolf territory. Counting the three wind wolves Jiang Yan had hunted and the three beast cores he’d found, his treasure pouch held at least six cores—nearly enough to complete the demon hunt. If Jiang Yan knew that a top-tier beast core was worth ten regular ones, he would have been even more pleased.

A sudden blur—a leopard with iridescent skin appeared before them.

“What a beautiful beast!” Tang Wan exclaimed quietly, staring at the spotted leopard.

The spotted leopard was a lower-tier first-rank demon beast, not especially powerful, comparable to a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi training. However, it possessed a unique skill—short-range teleportation.

With this ability, it could move instantly within a short distance. Though the range was limited, repeated use allowed it to match the speed of a seventh-level cultivator. Jiang Yan was at the eighth level; Tang Wan, newly advanced, was at the sixth, both slower than the leopard when it used its skill. Passing through this area, they could not be as bold as in the wind wolf territory.

Jiang Yan explained the leopard’s talent to Tang Wan and cautioned her as they entered Yellow Phoenix Slope.

Another blur—a second spotted leopard darted across their path, then vanished.

Tang Wan patted her chest, exhaling in relief. Along the slope, Jiang Yan had warned her six times, stopping her just before leopards leapt from the thickets, disappearing into the distance.

Thanks to Jiang Yan’s foresight, they gathered several three-leaf clovers and herbs for crafting Qi-gathering pills. Tang Wan carefully uprooted them with their soil and tucked them into her treasure pouch.

A piercing roar suddenly echoed from ahead, its force making Jiang Yan’s ears ring.