54: Go east and see

The Spiritual Plant given by Fox Elder looked like a single, whole Spiritual Plant that had been split in two, with a wound in the middle as if it had been broken off.

However, Wei Xun didn't think too much about it and instead used it to fish for a few river fish.

He hadn't eaten fish in several days and was starting to miss it.

After catching enough food for one day, Wei Xun was about to throw away the Spiritual Plant he used for fishing, but at that moment, a sudden idea struck him, and he dug a water pit by the cliffside of the river.

He poured water into the pit and then put a small fish inside.

Then, he used stones to encircle the pit, ensuring the small fish couldn't swim out.

Finally, Wei Xun directly threw the Spiritual Plant he held into the water pit, watching the small fish eat the Spiritual Plant.

“It really seems to be non-toxic!” Wei Xun observed the small fish that had eaten the Spiritual Plant showed no abnormalities, so he scratched his chin, thinking perhaps he had overthought it, and that Fox Elder might not have intended to harm him.

However, to be safe, Wei Xun left the small fish in the water pit, planning to observe it for a longer period, while he himself used the Earth Escape Technique to ascend to the top of the cliff.

After a day of Cultivate, Wei Xun closed his eyes and looked at the progress bar in his mind.

At this time, the progress bar was [Cultivation Realm Second Layer: 201450 / 2000000]

Currently, only about one-tenth of the progress towards Breakthrough to the third layer had been completed.

Although he couldn't see the Cultivation speed of Xiong Er and Si Niang, based on their descriptions of their feelings, they should still be in the Early Stage of Body Tempering Layer 1, and it would likely be a long time before they could Breakthrough to Forging Body Second Layer.

At night, Wei Xun returned to the cave to rest, and Xiong Er also found a good spot to sleep.

After ensuring everyone was asleep, Da Huang, who was lying nearby, slowly got up and, under the cover of night, quietly snuck to Fox Elder's residence.

“How is it?” Fox Elder asked directly upon seeing Da Huang.

“I saw Instructor eat it!” Da Huang nodded.

“Are you sure?” Fox Elder asked again.

“Sure!” Da Huang nodded.

“Are you sure he ate it, and not used the Swallowing Technique?” Fox Elder's eyes were sharp as knives at this moment, completely unlike his usual smiling demeanor.

“This…” Da Huang was stunned when he heard Fox Elder's words; he had forgotten that his Instructor knew this trick.

“Forget it!” Fox Elder snorted, then took out another identical Spiritual Plant and sniffed it under his nose, frowning slightly after a moment: “Why is it so moist?”

Da Huang didn't know what Fox Elder meant and could only keep his head down, not daring to move or speak.

“Why does it feel like it was eaten by a water demon?” Fox Elder looked at the mist covering the Spiritual Plant in his hand, a little puzzled: “Could that Grey Fur's Five Elements be water?”

“That's truly strange! Shouldn't a rat's human form generally be associated with earth?”

Fox Elder stood there muttering to himself, then suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to ask Da Huang: “You said earlier that the water spirit stone was taken out by Grey Fur after he jumped into Bi Shui Lake?”

“That's right!” Da Huang nodded.

“Could this Grey Fur really be of the water Five Elements?” Fox Elder murmured: “If that's the case, then he really did eat the Soul-Swapping Spiritual Plant.”

Fox Elder nodded, a slight smile on his lips: “For the next few days, you must carefully observe your Instructor's changes, and report back to me every night!”

“Little One obeys!” Da Huang nodded repeatedly.

“Alright, you may return!”

After sending Da Huang away, Fox Elder held the Spiritual Plant in his hand and chuckled: “Grey Fur, oh Grey Fur, I don't want to treat you this way, but alas, I am old and frail, with mediocre talent, so I can only borrow your body when the time comes.”

The next morning, Wei Xun led Xiong Er and Da Huang to the foot of the mountain, where the monsters who were going with him to hunt demons were already waiting.

A few days ago, this small team had thirteen monsters in total, but after those who died in battle outside, only nine monsters remained.

“Instructor, which way are we going today?” Old Sheep Horn asked when he saw Wei Xun approaching.

“We've been to the West; this time, let's go East and see!” Wei Xun said, leading the team to head East.

Within at least two hundred li of Black Tiger Mountain, there were no other Demon Mountains, and although theoretically it was all within Black Tiger Mountain's sphere of influence, there were only over a hundred monsters on the Demon Mountain, and they could at most manage the area within twenty li of the mountain.

For example, a group of water demons lived in the Bi Shui Lake, and most of the monsters of Black Tiger Mountain were unaware of their existence.

So Wei Xun wanted to see if there were other similar monster groups like Bi Shui Lake in other directions.

After walking about fifty li to the East, the surrounding wild beasts and Spirit Beasts became more numerous.

Wei Xun used the Wind Ear and Ten Mile Tracking to quickly lead the monsters to catch two wild oxen, one large and one small.

The large one was sent back to Black Tiger Mountain by a Little One, while the small one was processed on the spot as food for the day.

The Little Ones following Wei Xun didn't know why hunting had become so easy now.

Previously, some of them had followed other Instructors out to hunt, but these wild beasts and Spirit Beasts were very difficult to catch, so they often failed their missions and went hungry.

It was better to patrol the mountain leisurely every day; although they ate less, they weren't as tired.

But after following Wei Xun, hunting became very simple, which made all the Little Ones excited and happy.

Although a few companions died when they encountered Toad Skin Dog earlier, it didn't seem to affect them.

However, just as Wei Xun was roasting an ox leg with a group of Little Ones in the Forest, another team of demon soldiers suddenly burst in, drawn by the scent.

“Yo! Isn't this Grey Fur Instructor, Fox Elder's subordinate!”

A sharp voice sounded. Wei Xun looked up, finding the speaker somewhat familiar but couldn't recall the name. However, looking at the monster's appearance, it should be a snake demon, with a face full of snake scales, a long, thin, crimson tongue, and a pair of eyes that still looked like a snake's, appearing somewhat eerie.

“Who are you?” Wei Xun had actually discovered them before they got close, but smelling their scent, he realized they were also monsters from Black Tiger Mountain, so he didn't pay much attention.

“I am Instructor under Poison Claw General, you can call me Poison Fang!” The snake demon smiled crookedly, seemingly very proud.

Wei Xun didn't know what he was so proud of; he just grunted and continued to sit on the ground, roasting the ox leg.

“Grey Fur Instructor is really aloof!” Poison Fang told his Little Ones to rest in place, then sat opposite Wei Xun: “It's only just noon, and you're already sitting here roasting meat. I wonder if today's task has been completed?”

“Just hunting some prey!” Wei Xun said casually: “It's not that difficult.”

“Hunting is certainly not difficult!” Poison Fang chuckled: “Have you ever hunted humans?”

“Hunting humans?” Wei Xun was puzzled.

“That's right!” Poison Fang said playfully: “I found a group of humans in the West; they seem to be looking for some Spiritual Plants in the mountain. Interested in going to catch a few to taste together?”