Immortality begins with raising apprentices

Chapter 49 Hunting Demons
Chen Ye is lacking time and spirit stones!

As long as he has spirit stones, he can buy enough Qi-restoring pills to continue improving his proficiency.

Now, the Gengjin Technique requires 800 points of proficiency to advance to the next level.

Eight hundred proficiency points require one hundred and sixty Qi-restoring pills, an astronomical number!

The spirit stones obtained from the Stone Mirror Gathering were no longer sufficient to meet Chen Ye's needs.

So he set his sights on the Three Thousand Mountains.

Currently, his highest level of skill is the Gengjin Technique.

Its power is comparable to the late stage of Qi Refining!
"At first, I just wanted to level up slowly and cautiously, but unfortunately, the timing, location, and people were all not in my favor."

After shaking off his pursuers, Chen Ye walked out of the city gate with his head down.

Rather than adventuring in the Three Thousand Mountains, Chen Ye preferred to level up slowly.

After completing the Evergreen Technique, he still has 42 years of life left, so he has plenty of time.

But right now, they have to face both Kong Hongxuan's revenge and the impact of the Nascent Soul True Monarch's tribulation.

Various factors forced Chen Ye to leave the market once again.

……

Stepping once again onto the muddy roads of the shantytown,

Chen Ye lowered his straw hat and glanced at the low, uneven houses.

Occasionally, one could see familiar rogue cultivators from the previous life, strolling around casually.

These independent cultivators were mostly older, and their fighting spirit had been worn down by life; they lived one day at a time.

but……

When the celestial phenomena change in the future, many of these rogue cultivators will likely die.

Chen Ye didn't even dare to imagine how chaotic the shantytown would be at that time.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

Arriving at Granny Li's courtyard,

Yuan Yuan twitched its nose, smelled the familiar scent, arched its back, and barked wildly at itself.

"Yuanyuan, it's been a long time."

Chen Ye lifted his straw hat and smiled at the black dog.

The black dog paused for a moment, behaving like a human, and seeing that Chen Ye wasn't afraid, it didn't dare to bark.

"Who?"

The wooden door creaked open, and the old man in black poked his head out.

Half a month later, the old man in black was muscular and full of energy, clearly having established himself at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

"It's...it's you? Brother Chen? How come you're getting younger and younger?"

When he saw who it was, his eyes widened in surprise.

Half a month later, the person in front of me not only had a rosy complexion, but also had fewer wrinkles at the corners of their eyes, making them look ten years younger.

Seeing that the black dog was about to bark again, he quickly pressed the dog's head down.

Chen Ye smiled and exchanged a punch with the old man in black:
"My cultivation has improved recently... I've come here to ask Dagen to accompany me on a trip to the Three Thousand Mountains. We'll hunt demonic beasts and earn some spirit stones."

He only hunted small animals on the outskirts of the Three Thousand Mountains.

He was completely ignorant of the internal workings of the system.

It just so happens that the old man has been hunting in the Three Thousand Mountains these days and is very experienced.

It's also about physical cultivation, complementing Chen Ye's work.

Although Chen Ye practiced the Body Reinforcement Technique, the mastery of the Body Reinforcement Technique only enhanced his physique and did not significantly improve his combat power.

It has the energy of Geng metal in the distance, but lacks it up close.

The old man paused in stroking the dog's head, and subconsciously glanced back into the house:
"Why does Brother Chen suddenly want to hunt demons? But... things haven't been peaceful in the mountains these past few days. The demon beasts are very restless, and even independent cultivators dare not venture deeper into the mountains."

The old man's reluctance was obvious.

Chen Ye didn't explain, but a golden light suddenly appeared at his fingertips.

The light, as dazzling as stars, transformed into a streak of light in the astonished gaze of the old man, shooting towards a withered tree a hundred paces away with a "whoosh".

"puff!"

A hole the size of a thumb suddenly appeared in the tree trunk, its edges smooth as a mirror; it had been pierced through. "Brother Chen's magic is truly formidable!"

The old man's pupils shrank to pinpoints under the golden light. This spell was probably only something a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator could use!
"You know the way and the habits of the monsters, so I'll slay them. After it's done, we'll split the profits. This is a sure thing!"

Golden stars danced in Chen Ye's palm, like dragons coiling around his fingertips.

The old black man's Adam's apple bobbed, and the hesitation in his eyes was gradually replaced by excitement.

He was worldly-wise and knew the true value of Chen Ye's skill.

"Okay! Brother Chen, you wait for me outside. I'll go back and tell Mom!"

Soon,
The old black man came out fully armed.

He wore a leather armor that gleamed with a spiritual light, a machete hung at his waist, and he also carried a dark, short crossbow.

Inside the crossbow mortar, three poisoned arrowheads gleamed with a ghostly blue light.

This leather armor is actually a low-grade first-tier magic weapon!

Their family wealth is far greater than Chen Ye's!

But then I remembered that the old man's family had been rooted in Yunxifang for decades, always saving every penny and never even renting a house in the market.

It's only natural that they've accumulated such wealth over time.

Chen Ye was penniless and couldn't help but feel ashamed.

“A few days ago, I saw a red-tailed bird at Eagle’s Beak Cliff. It came and went without a trace, but Brother Chen’s magic made dealing with the red-tailed bird a piece of cake.”

The old man lowered his voice and, without hiding anything, directly revealed the location of the monster to Chen Ye.

The Red-tailed Bird is a demonic bird at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

The tail can be used to make talisman brushes.

A whole one can sell for more than thirty spirit stones.

However, the red-tailed bird is rarely seen in the outer areas, and it flies high, leaving ordinary rogue cultivators helpless.

"If the hunt is successful, how will the spoils be divided?"

Chen Ye asked bluntly.

Even between brothers, accounts must be kept clear; otherwise, they can easily turn against each other and become enemies.

The old black man burst into laughter upon hearing this:

"We'll talk about it later! If Brother Chen treats me unfairly, we won't cooperate again in the future. Brother Chen, don't underestimate me just because I'm only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. My family has been rooted in Yunxifang since its inception, and I know the situation in the mountains very well."

“My father… was once a demon hunter, and he left behind many secrets. Otherwise, how could I have dared to go to the Three Thousand Mountains to hunt demons when I was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining?”

Li Dagen's father was originally a cultivator who built Yunxifang.

After Yunxifang is completed, we will hunt demons within the Three Thousand Mountains.

Unfortunately, he perished in the beast tide that destroyed Stone Mirror Town.

……

The deeper you go into the Three Thousand Mountains, the more numerous and higher quality the spiritual veins become.

Legend has it that a fifth-order spiritual vein exists at the deepest part!
The cultivators divided the Three Thousand Mountains into nine levels based on the level of threat.

The forest where Chen Ye once hunted ordinary animals couldn't even be called the ninth level.

Eagle Beak Cliff is located in the ninth level.

The snow in the Three Thousand Mountains is heavier than in the market, and the wind whips up ice shards that sting your face.

Chen Ye's blood rushed faster; this was his first time hunting a demonic beast!

The two men crouched on the slope. The old man in black used his scabbard to brush away the snow, revealing a three-toed claw mark the size of a bowl: "The snow and wind have been too strong these past few days. The red-tailed bird might not show up. We can only wait..."

Chen Ye nodded, and the two followed the marks to the corner of the cliff.

They found a hollow in the cliff to shelter from the wind and snow.

As dusk settled, the old man suddenly grabbed Chen Ye's sleeve, his rough fingers scribbling words on the snow:

"Eighty paces to the northeast, pine branches fork."

Chen Ye understood, and the Geng metal energy flowed slowly through his meridians, his gaze passing through the snow curtain.

Sure enough, on the crooked pine tree by the cliff, a crimson tail feather rose and fell with each breath.

(End of this chapter)