The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 280 - 171: Wolves Many, Meat Scarce_2
At the same time, in the central part of the secret realm.
A four-person squad collided head-on with a black wild boar. Ordinary wild boars have brown fur and weigh at most around 300 kilograms, but the creatures in the secret realm are generally oversized, and this one was as big as a small hill, weighing at least over 700 kilograms! Its entire body was pitch black, but its eyes were blood red. The creatures on land, obviously different from those in the water, were covered in a strange oily substance, which would begin to drip down if it stood still. If Ning Xiaoxian were there, she would definitely think it was covered in a layer of thick tar!
Upon seeing humans, the wild boar’s small eyes immediately straightened, and it charged forward with a loud oink, lowering its head to attack. Protruding from its mouth were two outward-curved tusks, and once hit by them, anyone would have a big hole gouged out of their body.
What else was there for the four people to do? Fight! They pulled out their weapons and engaged in combat with the wild boar. In the Northeastern Region of Huaxia, there’s an old saying: "First boar, second bear, third tiger." It implies that wild boars are recognized for their ferocity, even over bears and tigers. Covered in a thick layer of mud, once dry it becomes a hefty dirt armor, impenetrable by swords and extremely difficult to fight against, let alone this enlarged black wild boar?
An hour later. After struggling till they were gasping for air, they finally managed to take it down, mainly attacking the boar’s fatal areas: throat, occiput, and eyes. One of them paid the price by getting his abdomen pierced through by a tusk, stabbing the boar and creating a hole from one side to the other with a fine steel sword worth at least four hundred taels of silver, which broke off inside the boar’s body. But this blow decisively ended the creature’s life.
The one wounded by the tusk completely lost his combat ability. His brother was also in the team and quickly bandaged him up before lifting his longsword and hacking the wild boar seventeen or eighteen times in a fit of rage. Then, they heard a light "ding" sound, and a silver ring fell out of the boar’s stomach.
Out of curiosity, one of them reached out to pick it up. An experienced companion shouted "Don’t touch it!" but it was already too late. The moment he picked up the ring, he felt a burning pain shooting out from his fingers and couldn’t help but scream out loud, before rolling on the ground in agony. It turned out that the wild boar’s blood had a strong corrosive effect, and in just a short while, the index finger, middle finger, and thumb were eroded to the point of exposing white bone!
At the same time, a clear sound of Jade Chimes clashing rang out above their heads. This was a signal to everyone within the secret realm—the first Treasure had been found!
The remaining two members of the team were briefly stunned, then their faces lit up with ecstasy. The ring on the ground was clearly the first Treasure. Everyone had thought that the treasures must be hidden away waiting to be discovered, who would have guessed that the creatures here had them? Of course, wild boars are omnivores, and it’s not unimaginable that they swallowed treasures while feeding.
Regardless, their mission to climb the Heavenly Ladder had been perfectly accomplished.
After the excitement, the two exchanged glances, and the one previously supporting the injured person without hesitation picked up his longsword and delivered a chilling thrust into the injured man leaning against him; the other, with a cold laugh, approached the unfortunate man writhing in pain on the ground, and swiftly slit his throat.
The two injured had greatly weakened their small group’s combat power and now that they had found the treasure, the simplest calculation was that splitting the money between two was much more profitable than dividing it among four. These brothers were indeed unlucky to be betrayed by their teammates at the moment of discovering the treasure and perishing together!
The two who had killed the brothers, looking at the dead men’s wide-open eyes, shuddered involuntarily. After all, these were companions who had been together for some time. Killing them suddenly in the face of greed, they felt somewhat sorry, so they murmured an apology: "Sorry!" They then cleaned the ring with water, wiped it dry with the dead men’s clothes corners, and pocketed it before heading back the way they came.
Now reduced to just two, moving through the secret realm was even more arduous. It was better to return quickly to Qingjing Mountain to exchange the treasure for a sum of money and live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Both were injured, but the thought of the silver they were about to receive made them feel much better, and their steps felt lighter.
The sound of the Jade Chimes was also heard by Pang Hai’s team. "It’s in the center!" All four of them paused for a moment, figuring out the direction of the Jade Chimes sound, and then hastened their search. The first Treasure had been found, and there were four more spots left, they had to hurry!
Ning Xiaoxian silently cursed in her heart. The sound of the Jade Chimes rang out right where the treasure was found, clearly calling for others nearby to come and snatch it! Such a setup was definitely not intended for the welfare of mortals!
They adopted a carpet-style search, the four searched a small area together, and then collectively moved to the next section. The men consciously or unconsciously kept Xiao Xian in the middle, and she couldn’t get away for a while, feeling extremely frustrated.
A series of rapid bird calls came through the woods. She rolled her eyes to Heaven - there were no birds here, the sound was made by Wei Mazi who was sent out, signaling that they had found a water source. They followed the sound and in just a short walk indeed saw a creek gushing merrily through the woods.
Even though stream water is generally safe, Wang Yue still took out a bottle, scooped some water, and dropped in some poison test powder. After about ten seconds, the water remained clear and colorless, and only then did he nod and say, "It’s drinkable. There are no toxins or eggs." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
The group then gathered water, ready to drink heartily. Ning Xiaoxian also scooped up water intending to wash her face first when she suddenly smelled a faint sweet scent.
That scent... She stopped her hand and furrowed her brow. A thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Stop, don’t drink!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian to cast your recommendation ticket and Monthly Ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
