Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Li Hao stood at the forefront, holding a giant black iron shield that emitted a yellow spiritual light, transforming into a 5-meter-long spiritual shield that blocked most of the wind blades.

The group used Swiftness Talismans to follow behind him. To conserve their spiritual energy, they no longer used protective auras, relying instead on their magical robes for defense.

The dark light emanating from Lin Zhao's Xuanlin robes dispelled the occasional small wind blades that slipped through, giving him a more direct understanding of the dangers of this wilderness.

However, since everyone was an elite cultivator, and their robes were at least of medium grade, these wind blades were naturally of no use.

An hour later, the group quickly passed through the Wind Spirit Canyon, and the sky gradually darkened.

The demon-hunting team set up camp 30 miles away from the canyon, where Gao Yuan chose a relatively open spot with his back against a rock wall.

Monsters are very active in the wilderness at night, which is quite dangerous, so the team usually doesn't move around and rests.

Li Hao used brute force to clear a space, Chen Yaoshi skillfully scattered animal-repelling powder around the camp, Cheng Jin set up warning talismans and tents, and Chu Xin silently lit a campfire. The flickering flames dispelled the darkness and chill, and also gave everyone a sense of peace.

Finally, Wu Laodao took out a white array plate and set up the Illusion Concealing Breath Array, which covered an area of ​​100 meters in radius and could blend into the surrounding environment.

It completely isolates you from the outside world. No one can tell that anyone is active here.

The group sat around the campfire, silently adjusting their breathing to recover the spiritual and physical energy they had consumed during the day.

Gao Yuan arranged for a night watch, with each person taking turns for one day. Today, it was Old Daoist Wu's turn to keep watch.

Unable to rest peacefully in the tent, Lin Zhao quietly felt the silence and hidden dangers of the wilderness night, listening to the distant roars of beasts.

His hand unconsciously reached for the storage bag at his waist, and he began to take stock of the equipment and supplies.

After the Four Elements Pearls are refined, they are nurtured in the Dantian, while the Second-Order Spirit Talisman is kept close at hand. These trump cards are too precious to be used casually under normal circumstances.

In the storage bag, there were more than forty Gengjin Sword Qi Talismans. Lin Zhao only learned after returning to the family that his grandfather was already a second-level talisman master, and the success rate of Gengjin Sword Qi Talismans was higher than his. The family no longer needed him to draw them for the time being, so Lin Zhao was able to leave the family.

Besides this superior-grade talisman, it also carries Fire-Separating Talismans, Travel-Changing Talismans, and more. There are over seventy superior-grade talismans alone, and over a thousand mid- and low-grade talismans in total.

There were spoils of war that his grandfather had previously distributed, as well as items he had specially drawn for hunting demons, and the first-grade superior-quality Qingfeng sword, a magical artifact he usually used, and so on.

Despite being so well-prepared, Lin Zhao still found it difficult to meditate on their first night in this perilous wilderness.

He simply got up and walked towards Wu Laodao, who was on duty in the center of the camp. Wu Laodao was sitting cross-legged in front of the array plate.

Beside him was the bronze spirit-testing plate that Cheng Jin had brought back. The array plate in front of him rotated slowly, emitting a soft halo, echoing the array flags arranged around him, and together maintaining the operation of the [Phantom Concealing Array].

Hearing footsteps, he didn't turn around, his hoarse voice carrying a world-weary indifference: "Can't sleep? Is this what happens when you spend the night in the wilderness for the first time?"

Lin Zhao sat down beside him, her gaze sweeping over the swaying shadows of trees in the distance. "It's indeed difficult to calm the mind. Mr. Wu, at your age, why do you still choose to venture out and take such a risk?"

A hint of warmth flashed in Old Wu's cloudy eyes, but it was quickly replaced by weariness: "I'm old, and there's no hope of breaking through. I have a talented boy at home, so I have to save up more spirit stones for him and exchange them for cultivation resources so he can go further."

His withered fingers gently brushed across the array plate, causing a halo of light to ripple. "This is all the old bones we're good for."

Lin Zhao glanced at the array plate and casually asked, "What arrays does the team usually keep on hand?"

"There are more than ten kinds of mid-grade first-tier formations, enough to handle ordinary situations," Old Wu said, listing them off as if they were his own treasures. "There are three signature skills for high-grade first-tier formations. [Mysterious Light Returns to Formation] is the most commonly used. It generates mysterious light, which can be used for both offense and defense, and is most suitable for group battles."

Most importantly, it can concentrate the power of the formation on one person. Usually, it is given to Li Hao, who can withstand the attacks of late-stage Qi Refining demonic beasts.

The [Dragon-Trapping Formation] is specifically designed to lock down powerful enemies, capable of creating spiritual energy shackles to deal with single demonic beasts. As for the [Exploding Flame Formation], "He lowered his voice, "it's a one-time trump card, powerful enough to kill a heavily injured demonic beast at the ninth level of Qi Refining."

Lin Zhao felt certain that this was indeed a demon-hunting team with a century-old heritage; their foundation was truly profound.

He chatted with the old Taoist priest for a while longer before returning to his tent.

That night, apart from the occasional crackling of the campfire and the voices of the night watchmen, there was no other unusual activity.

After setting off on the second day, the team's pace slowed considerably.

In the perilous wilderness, caution is the first rule for survival.

According to the plan, they were to search for traces of the Wind Howling Wolf in an area more than a hundred miles away from the canyon, and they did not arrive at the target area until dusk on the third day.

Over the past two days, they had seen several other demon-hunting teams in the distance, but both sides tacitly changed direction and quickly disappeared from sight.

After dodging, Gao Yuan came to Lin Zhao's side. His dark battle armor was damp with dew. His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and he warned in a deep voice, "In the wilderness, apart from the demon-hunting team, don't easily trust even the most familiar people. When it comes to profit, the human heart is more unpredictable than demon beasts."

On the evening of the third day, the group arrived at their destination. They could hear the howling of wolves from afar. Gao Yuan's eyes sharpened, and he gave Cheng Jin a wink.

Cheng Jin understood and took out the bronze spirit-detecting plate from his storage bag. He lightly tapped the plate with his fingertips, and a series of light blue ripples immediately appeared on its surface.

The ripples spread silently. Lin Zhao focused his mind to sense them, but even with his spiritual sense at the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining, he could only detect a faint fluctuation and was completely unable to pinpoint the source.

Gao Yuan and Cheng Jin exchanged a glance, their expressions grave. "Same as always," he said, turning to the others, "Let's set up camp first. Cheng Jin and I will scout ahead and check on the monsters. If there are no unexpected issues, we'll start hunting monsters tomorrow."

After the two left, the remaining five quickly set up camp.

With a flurry of hand gestures, Wu Laodao sent several array flags plunging into the ground, and a semi-transparent light screen rose up, enveloping the camp in the [Phantom Concealing Array].

Just in case, he set up a [Mysterious Light Returns to One Formation] array plate not far from the camp. Several spiritual patterns intertwined on the ground, emitting a soft white halo.

Several hours later, Gao Yuan and Cheng Jin returned safely, and everyone gathered in the center of the camp.

"The situation is not good," Gao Yuan said in a deep voice. "The wolf pack numbers over a hundred, and most of them are mid-stage Qi Refining demon beasts. The troublesome ones are the wolf king and the two guard wolves, who have already reached the late stage of Qi Refining."

He grabbed a twig and scratched a few marks on the muddy ground. "Although the Wind Howling Wolves are relatively weak, there are still hundreds of them. The Mystic Light Array can only trap up to thirty. If there are more than that, we can't fight them head-on. We can only attack them one by one."

"Let's test the waters tomorrow and see if we can lure out a small pack of wolves." Gao Yuan looked at the silent Pharmacist Chen. "The bait is yours."