Cultivation begins with forming a bond with a spirit bee.

The night of meditation passed without incident.

He had assumed the next few days would pass peacefully like this.

Unexpectedly, the very next day, after checking on Red Hare's condition, he returned to his residence to cultivate.

A rapid buzzing sound came from outside the window.

Qu Ye opened his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly.

This is a warning signal from worker bees, and not just any ordinary warning.

A high frequency and sharp sound indicate that something has intruded into the bee colony's territory, and it seems to be up to no good.

He quickly got up and rushed towards the direction from which the worker bees were making noise.

When he arrived, he saw worker bees flitting about at the edge of the forest, facing the depths of the woods, their wings constantly vibrating.

Below the worker bees, on the open ground, lay a wolf, its gray-black fur layered like sheets of iron.

It had a deep claw mark on its back, stretching from its left shoulder down to its abdomen, leaving it a bloody mess.

"This is... an Ironback Wolf?"

Qu Ye observed for a moment and recalled the wolf's origins.

The Ironback Wolf is also a mid-grade first-tier demon beast, its most distinctive feature being its black fur that resembles iron.

Beneath the wolf was a large patch of dark red blood, its belly was still rising and falling slightly, but it was motionless, clearly unconscious.

"What happened?"

Just as Qu Ye was puzzled and about to go forward to check, a deep roar suddenly came from the depths of the forest, causing the leaves to fall down in a rustling sound.

The worker bees instantly erupted into chaos, their buzzing several times sharper than before, and they gathered in a swarm above the forest.

Qu Ye's consciousness stirred, and he saw a huge black shadow crashing out of the forest, knocking trees over and breaking branches with a crackling sound.

When it revealed its true form, it turned out to be a mid-grade demonic beast, a brown bear!

This is an adult brown bear, covered in rough, dark brown fur. It has thick limbs, walks upright, and each step makes a dull thud.

It had white foam at the corners of its mouth, its eyes gleaming with ferocity, and its nostrils flaring, clearly indicating that it was extremely hungry.

The claw marks on the Ironback Wolf's back were most likely left by this bear.

"So it turns out they encountered monsters hunting each other."

Qu Ye huddled in the darkness, trying his best to conceal his presence, waiting for the brown bear to snatch away the ironback wolf.

Logically speaking, once the hunt is complete, the demon shouldn't linger.

Just as the brown bear approached the ironback wolf and was about to bite, its nostrils twitched, as if it had smelled some delicacy.

It suddenly raised its head, looked in the direction of Qu Ye's horse farm, drool dripping from the corner of its mouth, and abandoned the Ironback Wolf, taking steps towards the horse farm.

Ironback Wolf is covered in iron skin and has a terrible taste. How can it compare to the fragrant, soft, and chewy Fiery Cloud Steed?

Qu Ye's heart tightened. Without thinking, he raised his right hand, and the Gengjin Sword Technique transformed into a pale golden sword light, aiming straight for the brown bear's eyes.

The brown bear reacted quickly, sensing the danger. It tilted its head, and the sword light struck its shoulder and neck, leaving only a shallow white mark on its rough fur.

It turned its head, saw Qu Ye, let out a deafening roar, and charged towards him with all four legs.

The ground was shaking, and every step felt like a drumbeat.

Qu Ye sidestepped behind a large tree, and at the same time, with a thought, a layer of pale golden light instantly enveloped his entire body.

The brown bear rammed into the tree trunk, causing it to shake violently and tilt slightly.

It shook its head, turned around, and found that Qu Ye had retreated several feet away. It let out a low growl and pounced again.

Qu Ye dared not take it head-on. The brown bear was incredibly strong, and all its fighting power came from its brute strength.

They had no choice but to rely on their strengths and keep moving around.

He drew his White Light Sword, retreating while channeling his magic power, unleashing a series of sword strikes aimed directly at the brown bear's face and eyes.

Although brown bears have thick skin and tough flesh, their eyes are a weak point, forcing them to dodge and slowing them down.

Qu Ye seized the opportunity, and with a thought, the worker bees swooped down and burrowed into the brown bear's eyes, nose, and ears.

The brown bear irritably waved its paws, swatting away a swarm of worker bees, but with dozens of worker bees surrounding it, it was impossible to kill them all in a short time.

Taking advantage of the worker bees blocking the brown bear's vision, Qu Ye focused his gaze, seized the opportunity, and poured all his spiritual power into the brown bear's neck.

Even though brown bears have thick hides and tough flesh, they inevitably have a few weak points.

"Now is the time!"

The white sword in Qu Ye's hand transformed into a cold light, slicing through the brown bear's neck and cutting open the soft flesh.

Fresh blood gushed out immediately.

The intense pain caused the brown bear to shudder. Instead of fleeing, it fully unleashed its ferocity.

It stood upright, completely ignoring the jade bees biting its face, its eyes bloodshot as it stared intently at Qu Ye.

Then, with a roar, he activated some kind of talent, his muscles suddenly swelled up, and he charged towards Qu Ye, unleashing a palm strike.

At this moment, Qu Ye was in a state where the old forces had just been exhausted and the new forces had not yet been generated.

He only had time to reinforce the golden energy barrier around him before he heard the sound of the spiritual shield shattering and caught a glimpse of a blue light out of the corner of his eye.

Immediately afterwards, a tremendous force struck, sending him flying more than ten meters away.

boom!

Qu Ye crashed into the trunk of a large tree, injuring his internal organs and causing blood to seep from the corner of his mouth.

But he couldn't care less about the pain in his body at that moment. He immediately forced himself to get up, summoned the White Light Sword, and prepared to fight again.

As soon as I stood up, I saw the brown bear opposite me with its right arm bent at an odd angle, blood spurting from its neck, and panting heavily.

Strike while the iron is hot and kill it!

Qu Ye unleashed another sword strike.

This time, the brown bear was no longer able to dodge and was easily hit, causing the wound on its neck to widen again.

With blood gushing from its neck, the brown bear finally let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground.

After a few twitches, there was no more sound.

Qu Ye looked at the bear carcass but did not rush forward. He patted his storage bag, took out a Rejuvenation Pill, and swallowed it.

After his magic power recovered somewhat, he continued to use the Gengjin Sword Technique until he completely severed the Brown Bear's neck, at which point he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After catching his breath, he stepped forward and saw the brown bear's strangely bent arm. He couldn't help but touch the jade pendant through his clothes.

Just now, the opponent attacked with all his might in anger. If the jade pendant hadn't automatically triggered the protective shield, I would never have suffered such minor injuries with just the Golden Qi Technique.

Qu Ye took a deep breath, controlled the spirit bees to keep an eye on the Ironback Wolf, and patrolled the surrounding area.

He then crouched down and began cutting up the bear carcass with the White Light Sword to collect the spoils.

Bear paws can fetch a high price at the spirit kitchen in the market; bear skin is a material for making defensive magic artifacts; bear bile is full of essence and can enhance cultivation; bear meat can be eaten or sold.

Even bear blood can be sold to talisman masters to be used to mix spiritual ink for drawing talismans.

As for the inner core of a demon beast, that's something only demon beasts at the Foundation Establishment stage possess.

After working for about half an hour, Qu Ye finally stood up.

All that remained of the bear carcass before them was a ghastly skeleton.

"We've gained quite a bit this time."

Qu Ye nodded secretly.

"However, it would be best to minimize such accidents in the future."

He sighed softly, turned around and walked to the Ironback Wolf's side.

Ironback Wolf remained unconscious, and its breath was already faint due to excessive blood loss.

Qu Ye was about to finish off the wolf when he suddenly remembered something and stopped.

Looking at the battered Ironback Wolf before him, his mind was filled with a turbulent mix of thoughts.

"This wolf is on the verge of death. If we can save it, wouldn't that be considered a karmic connection?"

"Furthermore, wolf-type monsters are generally highly intelligent, and I also helped it kill its enemy..."

This has potential!

Qu Ye's expression brightened.

But he was not blinded by his own conjectures.

"All of this is just my speculation, and it's still impossible to completely cure him."

"The safest approach is to keep the wolf slightly injured, but not to the point of endangering its life."