Chapter 73: Crisis approaches
After she finished reading Imperial Beast Art, she realised that the methods were actually not difficult. She didn't know how they could have possibly gotten lost over time.
The book ended with one sentence, that the rank of beasts that could be tamed were dependent on her mental power. The higher the rank of the Spirit Beast, the stronger one's mental power would have to be. This was a point similar to alchemy.
"Sigh, looks like I have to increase my mental strength first!"
Sima You Yue sighed. Initially, she thought that cultivating Spiritual Qi was the most important, who would have thought that the art of Beast Taming and cultivating Spiritual Qi were just as important as each other.
She put down the Imperial Art of Beast Taming and came in front of the Secrets of Soul Cultivation and took down the book. The shining light that had suffused the book dissipated, letting her see the entirety of the book.
She gently flipped open to the first page. The first sentence on the front gave her heart a huge shock.
"The highest limit of Soul Cultivation allows a soul to remain even without a body." When Sima You Yue read this sentence, she thought of that transparent ethereal spirit, "So he practiced this art, allowing his spirit to remain in this world? Looks like this Soul Cultivation is of standard."
She continued reading and it wrote about some ranks of Soul Cultivation. It started out with Reveal, followed by Manifestation, then Refining Emptiness and, finally, Transcendence.
Furthermore, the degree of Soul Cultivation that would be demonstrated was dependent on one's mental powers.
Reveal was a range that any mental power would be able to reach and would allow one's perception to reach one kilometer.
Manifestation allowed one's mental power to condense concretely outside of the body.
Refining Emptiness allowed one's mental power to condense a second type of form.
Transcendence allowed one's Soul to remain independently.
Every single degree was separated from the other by a huge chasm. Crossing over each rank would reap huge rewards.
After the section of ranks, they had methods of cultivating one's Soul. Sima You Yue read it for a bit and initially thought it was relatively easy. Only a few chants were used to cultivate the soul, after that were some methods of increasing one's mental power.
"Looks like this Soul Cultivation and Mental Power are closely related and I can't lack a bit of either. No wonder Mo Sha said that my Mental Powers would increase after practicing Soul Cultivation." After complaining for a while, she left her sea of consciousness and began to practice while following the steps listed on that book.
Time flew while she was cultivating and by the time Sima You Yue had been awoken from her meditation, the sky was already bright.
She never thought that she would unknowingly cultivate the entire night and was completely energised. She didn't have the lethargy that came with a sleepless night at all.
"Looks like I'll be practicing this at night whenever I have nothing to do." She got down from the bed and tidied her clothes before placing the things in her tent into her interspatial ring along with the tent.
"Brother Sima, you're awake as well." Qing Wu Ya saw that Sima You Yue was keeping his things and smiled as he waved.
"Good morning, Big Brother Qing!" Sima YOu Yue smiled as she nodded to him. After that, she went to the small lake to wash up, coming back to take her cooking utensils to cook breakfast.
As she was cooking breakfast, Bei Gong Tang and the rest also woke up successively, packing their own things before waiting to eat.
"Brother Wei, we will be entering the mountain as well. You definitely have to remember the things that I told you all yesterday. Definitely don't go to those dangerous places." Qing Wu Ya told Wei Zi Qi after his own team had finished packing their stuff.
"Big Brother Qing will be entering the mountain so early?" Wei Zi Qi said when he saw that the team of mercenaries were already ready and waiting.
"Yep, the mission this time is relatively more difficult and time is more tight so we have a leave a bit earlier." Qing Wu Ya replied.
"I see. Then I hope Big Brother Qing will be able to finish the mission earlier." Wei Zi Qi said.
"Thanks, Brother Wei. Hope we meet again!"
"Hope we meet again."
Qing Wu Ya cupped his hands towards Sima You Yue and the rest before returning to his own team saying, "Let's go."
Fatty Qu watched as Qing Wu Ya and his team left, saying, "These mercenaries from Green Ridge are really not bad."
"Not bad. Much better than those we've met before."
"Let's eat." Sima You Yue placed the food on the table and beckoned to everyone.
Being different from the Green Ridge Mercenaries, they were not in a rush, so Sima You Yue and the gang ate their breakfast before heading into the mountains.
This time, they had to harvest quite a few different types of pill ingredients and each person had to also bring back one Spirit Beast body. Their mission was already quite difficult.
The mission of searching for Pill ingredients was much easier for Sima You Yue because she was well acquainted with pill ingredients and knew what kind of environment which pill ingredient would be growing in. As a result, the scope of her search was greatly reduced.
After one day, they found their first pill ingredient.
"You Yue, I never thought that you would be so familiar with pill ingredients." Wei ZI Qi looked at the pill ingredient that was lying in the basket and sighed.
"That's right, You Yue. How come we never knew you were so familiar with pill ingredients?" Fatty Qu said.
"It's not like you all are with me 24 hours a day, how would you know what I do or don't know?" Sima You glanced at Fatty Qu, directly avoiding answering their question.
"Now that we've found Earth's Core Grass, we still have to look for Fire Flame Grass and four other types of pill ingredients." Ouyang Fei said.
"I know about Fire Flame Grass, it grows facing the sun. However, there will be powerful Spirit Beasts living near the Fire Flame Grass."
"Yep, I propose leaving the search for Fire Flame Grass to the end. We should look for the other types of pill ingredients first." Wei Zi Qi suggested.
"Agreed." Sima You Yue nodded, "The Spirit Beasts on the periphery of the Pu Luo Mountain Range are not high in rank, if we meet them, we will be able to practice a bit of combat."
"Okay. Then let's continue to look." Wei Zi Qi said.
"Yup."
Not long after they left the valley, another group of people arrived at the place they were at.
"Boss, that group of people don't follow any pattern when they walk. We have no way of encountering them!" One of them said.
"Even if there's no way, we have to think of a way!" The black clothed man said, "She caused Nalan Lan to be expelled from school so we definitely have to avenge this on her behalf."
"Boss, we can't directly do something to her, so how should we go about it?" Yet another person asked.
The black clothed man thought about it for a while, saying, "Didn't they say that they wanted to look for Spirit Beasts to practice some combat? We can help them look for partners to practice with. If they are killed by the Spirit Beasts on Pu Luo Mountain Range, the school cannot place their deaths on our heads."
"But boss, I heard that the ranks of these few people are quite high. Aside from Sima You Yue, that waste, the others are not weaker than us. How can we do that would cause them to… by those Spirit Beasts…?"
"Of course I have an idea for that. Do you guys know where we can find Spirit Beasts and flock together?" The black clothed man said.
"Boss, I know! I heard a mercenary mention it just now."
"That's good, let's go, we will help them look for Spirit Beasts to practice combat…"
Sima You Yue and her five man team searched the mountain for an entire day but they had no harvests at all. However, while searching, they had encountered a Spirit Beast of the sixth rank. They managed to settle it very quickly by working together, letting Sima You Yue keep it. As for why she was the one to keep it, the reason was because her interspatial ring was the largest.
Just as they were resting, Sima You Yue suddenly felt a sense of danger and subconsciously stood up.
"You Yue, what's wrong?" Fatty Qu asked when he saw Sima You Yue panic.
"I hear something!' Sima You Yue said.
The others had yet to say anything when they heard the chaotic sound of footsteps. Following which, a pack of Fire Wolves appeared in front of them, running towards them with terrifying speed.
"So… so many Spirit Beasts." Fatty Qu could not help but gulp when he saw so many Fire Wolves.
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Chapter 74: Battling the Fire Wolves Pack
It was not only Fatty Qu but also Bei Gong Tang and the gang who had been scared witless by the pack of beasts that were charging towards them.
"Help…"
As the pack of beasts drew nearer, Sima You Yue and gang noticed a person running right at the front of the pack.
"Awooo…"
The call of the wolf pack was filled with a ferocity that caused that person to break out into a cold sweat, however, seeing Sima You Yue and the gang in front of him, he grit his teeth and charged straight at them.
When Sima You Yue saw that person run towards their direction, she immediately reacted and gave a yell as she started running. She pulled Bei Gong Tang, who was standing beside her and they ran towards the back.
Hearing her yell, Wei Zi Qi and the rest came back to their senses and broke into a run without even being able to pack their things.
"Help… the friend in front, help me…" That person called out when he saw that Sima You Yue and the rest were running.
"Damn, save yourself!" Sima You Yue scolded, pulling Bei Gong Tang as they increased their pace.
However, the strength in the legs of these five people were limited. How were they to outrun the Fire Wolves? Seeing the Spirit Beasts draw closer along with that black clothed man, Fatty Qu complained, "Damn it, how can this guy run so fast!"
The one was had been chased by those Fire Wolves caught up very quickly. Seeing the tiny wolf cub in his hands, Sima You Yue finally understood why this pack of wolves had chased them all over the mountain.
"You idiot, what are you holding the wolf cub for? Quickly give it back!"
It appeared as if the person only regained his senses when Sima You Yue said it as he lowered his head to look at the tiny wolf cub in his embrace. He threw the wolf cub to Fatty Qu who was beside him before running towards another direction.
"Damn it, is this jerk trying to kill someone!" Fatty Qu subconsciously caught the wolf cub but by the time he understood what was happening, that person had already run off without a trace.
Sima You Yue watched as that person ran so quickly that he completely disappeared from sight and her eyes flashed with suspicion.
"Fatty Qu, what are you still hugging that wolf cub for! Quickly throw it away!" Wei Zi Qi yelled.
Fatty Qu hurriedly threw the wolf cub, however, except for one or two who had went over to where the cub was, the rest of the pack still chased them relentlessly.
"I can't run anymore, looks like I can only battle it out with them!" Ouyang Fei looked at the Wolf Pack that was still chasing them relentlessly, and took out his weapons, turning to face the Wolf Pack, ready to kill.
The rest of them also understood that this Wolf Pack had already marked them. No matter how far they ran, they would not let them off. They had also run for such a long time, their physical stamina would not last. If they waited until it was all depleted, the Wolf Pack would be able to kill them all easily.
Sima You Yue was not too worried about the Wolf Pack behind them. Either one of little Roar or Ya Guang's appearance would be able to scare them off, however, she had no plans to do so.
"Let's just do it!" Wei Zi Qi also stopped running as he called out his own contracted Spirit Beast and was ready to fight the Fire Wolves.
"This Lord won't run anyway, damn it!" Fatty Q u also called out his own Spirit Beast and axe, hurling it at the Fire Wolves.
Bei Gong Tang did not call out her own Spirit Beast. She only stopped running and only threw the condensed ball of Spiritual Qi in her hands towards the Fire Wolves.
Sima You Yue surveyed the situation for a bit. Ouyang Fei's beast was just a ninth ranked Clouded Leopard. It appeared to be breaking into the ranks of a Saint Ranked Spirit Beast.
Fatty Qu's beast was just a seventh ranked Charm Fox. That fox's build was much smaller that the Fire Wolves but it was not weaker in combat ability at all.
The rank of Wei Zi Qi's Spirit Beast was not as high as Ouyang Fei's, however, it was a very rare Fire Lizard. With just one sweep of its tail, an entire bunch of Fire Wolves were sent flying.
Sima You Yue took out her dagger, Ling Long, and leapt in front of a Fire Wolf. While it was pouncing over, she quickly stabbed the dagger straight into the space in between it’s eyebrows. She had already pulled the dagger out before it had any chance to react.
Ouyang Fei and the others never expected that Sima You Yue would be able to kill a wolf so quickly and stared in shock.
"The space between the eyebrows and three inches below their neck is the Flame Wolves' most vulnerable spot. It's the most efficient to target those two areas."
"How did you know?" Although it was not the best time for it, Fatty Qu still asked.
"It was mentioned before during class." Sima You Yue said.
It was at this point that everyone realised they had the vague impression that the teacher had talked about this before when he was explaining about the Spirit Beasts in Pu Luo Mountain Range. However, everyone did not pay attention. If it wasn't for Sima You Yue pointing it out, they would never have remembered that they had a class on it.
"You have to be quick or else you will be hurt by the pack of wolves." Ouyang Fei cautioned.
"Ouyang Fei and Bei Gong Tang have quite a bit of battle experience, the three of us will take charge of attacking those closest to us. Zi Qi and Fatty Qu, you two will have to focus on using Spiritual Qi to attack." Sima You Yue said, "We function as a team now, if we want to live through this, we have to work together to the best of our ability."
Everyone looked at the Wolf Pack encircling them and nodded, showing their acceptance of what she said.
"Zi Qi, Fatty Qu, we will be outside and you two will be in the centre. Pump out Spiritual Qi as fast as you can. If any of us are taken down, it is possible that you two will be in danger." Ouyang Fei warned.
"You all can relax." Fatty Qu assured.
Sima You Yue glanced at Fatty Qu and Wei Zi Qi, and said very earnestly, "In the past, I rarely showed my back to others because it was a very dangerous thing. Today, the three of us entrust our backs to you, you guys have to defend it well!"
When Wei Zi Qi and the other four heard what Sima You Yue said, their hearts could now help but to be shaken. He was right. In the past, they kept to themselves even if they were in their own families. They never trusted anyone to the point that they could present their backs to them. However, today, they were presenting their backs to others because they had no choice, because they trusted each other.
"You Yue, you all can rest assured. We are a team and we will always be companions that you can trust your backs to!" Wei Zi Qi responded with his heartfelt words.
"Thats right, we will always be companions you can trust your backs to!" Fatty Qu confirmed.
Sima You Yue smiled lightly, saying, "That's good. Let's begin the battle!"
Bei Gong Tang and Ouyang Fei exchanged glances, with large amounts of battle intent apparent in their gazes, as well as feelings that birthed only out of teammates who suffered together.
"Charge!"
Ouyang Fei was still the first one to charge right in front of the Wolf Pack, with Sima You Yue and Bei Gong Tang close behind him. The three of them, with three Spirit Beasts unknowingly formed a circle with Fatty Qu and Wei Zi Qi wrapped in the centre, giving them enough time to condense their Spiritual Qi.
As Fatty Qu and Wei Zi Qi condensed their balls of Spiritual Qi, they would throw it towards the direction of whoever was in the most danger or whoever was the most taxed. There were some times where they threw the balls of Spiritual Qi into the centre of the Wolf Pack, causing them to howl with pain.
After half an hour, because there were too many injuries and deaths, the leader of the Fire Wolves had no choice by to resignedly take its underlings and run away with their tails between their legs.
Only when the Wolf Pack left did everyone collapse to the ground with cuts of various sizes still dripping blood. The fight just now had depleted their energy. After Fatty Qu and Wei Zi Qi had depleted all their Spiritual Qi, they also chose to fight directly with the Wolf Pack.
Sima You Yue took out a medicine bottle and poured out a pill and ate it. After that, she passed the jade bottle to Bei Gong Tang, who poured out four pills and handed it out to everyone.
"We have to leave this place now. The activity just now and the smell of blood will definitely attract other Spirit Beasts." Looking at how everyone was utterly exhausted, Sima You Yue kept the carcases of all the Fire Wolves into her interspatial ring.
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