My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

"Who is afraid of whom?"

Zhu Chaoyun was only just over twenty years old this year, and was full of youthful vigor. Hearing Cui Ying's casual tone, he immediately became competitive.

"three"

"two"

"One"

"Whizzing"

As two golden beams shot out in succession, the fattest Fire Cloud Chicken in the group fell to the ground, while the Fire Cloud Chicken that Zhu Chaoyun had aimed at was still flapping its wings, struggling and crying out in agony.

Cui Ying had no choice but to say to Zhu Chaoyun:

"What are you standing there for? Do you expect these beasts to throw themselves at you?"

"Ah? Oh~ I'll go right away!"

Zhu Chaoyun's face still held the excitement of controlling the magical artifact. After speaking, he picked up the Cold Light Crossbow and rushed over.

Of the five Fire Cloud Chickens, one fell down and three ran away, leaving only the injured Fire Cloud Chicken desperately trying to escape.

Zhu Chaoyun rushed forward and saw that the Fire Cloud Chicken had already escaped dozens of feet away. He immediately raised his crossbow and shot.

At close range, this arrow took the Fire Cloud Chicken's life.

Zhu Chaoyun watched the three Fire Cloud Chickens flee into the distance, hesitated for a moment, then bent down, picked up his spoils, and ran back excitedly.

"Hahaha"

Cui Ying, with Cui Cong and the others still standing there, asked with a smile, "Sharpshooter, can you go home now?"

The Fire Cloud Chicken is large and robust, especially the adult Fire Cloud Chickens, two of which together are almost equivalent to half a Five-Colored Deer.

Zhu Chaoyun grinned foolishly, without saying a word.

"Wait here, I'll be right back."

Following the trails left by the Fire Cloud Chicken, Cui Ying quickly found a cave covered with evening primroses under a very hidden rock.

When Cui Ying returned, she was holding five snow-white Fire Cloud Eggs in her arms.

"Come on, go home."

Before they knew it, the sun was already setting. The three of them didn't dare to delay and hurriedly roasted some dry rations. They ate their fill with the remaining water and then carried their prey home without stopping.

After a close call, we emerged from the Phoenix Mountain Range in the evening.

In the distance, the three could still see many spirit plant growers covered in mud and rogue cultivators hurrying towards the village.

"and many more."

Cui Ying, however, was not in a hurry to go home. Instead, she stopped Zhu Chaoyun and Cui Cong outside the village.

Zhu Chaoyun wiped the sweat from his forehead, slightly out of breath, his face full of confusion: "We're almost home, why aren't we moving?"

"There are too many people around, so let's wait until dark before entering the village."

After Cui Ying's gaze fell on the five-colored deer and the fire-cloud chicken, she spoke truthfully to the two of them.

If you enter the village now, you're bound to run into the village's independent cultivators.

If they encounter familiar people, it's fine. But if they encounter people with ulterior motives, they will be outnumbered and vulnerable, and they will inevitably cause trouble.

Although Zhu Chaoyun and Cui Cong were eager to go home, they understood immediately and patiently found a corner to wait for nightfall.

They waited for about half an hour until it was completely dark.

The three of them then eagerly took their prey home.

Before I even reached my doorstep, I could see a figure craning his neck and waiting outside the gate.

Cui Ying initially thought it was her gluttonous fourth sister, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the anxious figure was actually their mother.

A warm feeling welled up in Cui Ying's heart, and she swiftly nestled into Wang Shi's arms like a fledgling swallow:

"mother"

Wang scrutinized Cui Yingzi carefully over and over again before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

The next moment, her face darkened: "What did Mother tell you before you left? Why are you back so late again?"

After cursing, she looked up and peered into the darkness ahead: "Where are your brother and the others? Why aren't they with you?"

Cui Ying smiled but didn't say anything. Instead, she gestured with her chin toward the darkness behind her.

"behind?"

Wang Rong subconsciously turned her head to look outside the door, and her expression immediately froze.

"My goodness, you really managed to hunt so many monsters."

When the five-colored deer and two fire-cloud chickens lay quietly in the courtyard, the Cui family excitedly circled around them.

"Third Sister, did you really hunt this?!"

Wang Rong looked at the blood-soaked, five-colored deer with an equally excited expression, and asked in disbelief.

Cui Lin withdrew her curious gaze from the five-colored deer, and said with some lingering fear:

"Third Sister, this spirit deer is quite powerful. Are you all unharmed?"

Cui Yue squatted in the corner and reached out to touch the still smooth back of the big guy in front of her, murmuring a question:

"So this is the spirit deer Father mentioned before! It's indeed plump and strong, making my mouth water. Third Sister, you're amazing! How many meals would it take us to finish such a big spirit deer?"

Cui Yue's eyes sparkled, and she couldn't wait to swallow.

Looking at her excited family members, Cui Ying felt a deep sense of happiness.

She nodded in agreement, "Although we were a bit lucky, we did hunt them all together as a group of three."

"Good good!"

Wang Rong nodded with a beaming smile and quickly gave instructions:

"Quickly, quickly, go to the kitchen first. This spirit deer needs to be processed quickly, skin it first and then process the meat. It's just a pity about the spirit deer blood, that's a top-quality tonic."

Under Wang Rong's arrangement, the entire Cui family, except for the two young children, mobilized.

Wang Rong then took advantage of the darkness to call Cui Zhengming back to prepare for shaving his flesh, and then went into the kitchen to help Yang Shi and Cui Lin prepare the hot soup for the roasting.

Cui Yue and Cui Yan were constantly circling and playing around the five-colored deer and the fire-cloud chicken. The luminous pearl hanging under the roof beam continuously emitted a milky white halo, illuminating the excited faces of the two siblings.

Cui Ying and the other two sat under the jacaranda tree in the corner of the courtyard, watching everyone busy with smiles.

Before long, Cui Cong couldn't sit still any longer and went to help.

"Hehe, Cui Ying, when are we going again next time?"

Zhu Chaoyun held up his teacup and looked at Cui Ying with anticipation.

Cui Ying, who was resting with her eyes closed, didn't even bother to open them when she heard this and said, "Ask my father."

Zhu Chaoyun was taken aback, and subconsciously asked, "What does it have to do with your father whether you go into the mountains or not?"

Cui Zhengming has a mild temper and, as long as safety can be guaranteed, he never overly restricts his children.

Cui Ying opened her eyes and looked at Cui Zhengming, who was sharpening a knife under the eaves, and asked, "Father, when are we going into the city?"

Cui Zhengming glanced subconsciously into the inner room, paused, poured a handful of water onto the whetstone until the peeling knife in his hand gleamed, and then looked up to reply:

"Let's wait a couple of days and get rid of the spirit marrow worms in the field first."

Cui Ying nodded and continued to close her eyes to rest: "Then let's talk about it when we get back from the city."

Zhu Chaoyun put down his teacup and casually asked, "Why are you going with Uncle Cui into town?"

"Sell some things."

Cui Ying planned to sell some of the medicinal herbs she had collected last time, so of course she would go into the city with them.

After hearing this, Zhu Chaoyun's gaze fell on the winnowing basket under the eaves, and he asked with some confusion:

"So you're still going to be a spirit plant grower after all? I don't understand. You can gather spirit herbs and hunt demons, why would you want to be a spirit plant grower?"

In Zhu Chaoyun's opinion, Cui Ying was able to kill the Five-Colored Deer with a single Golden Light Technique, and could easily dispel the poisonous miasma of Chiyang Valley. With such abilities, wouldn't it be faster to hunt demons and obtain spirit stones every day?

Upon hearing Zhu Chaoyun's words, Cui Ying finally looked at him properly and explained:

"Do you think hunting demons is that easy? You've heard about the cultivator from the next village who died in the Phoenix Mountains a few days ago, haven't you?"

"That's a famous demon hunter at the late stage of Qi Refining. In the eyes of a great demon, he's no different from the Fire Cloud Chicken we encountered today. So, do you still think it's easy?"

The deceased rogue cultivator was quite famous within a hundred miles due to his great strength, so his death was widely known in their Shuangling Village, and Zhu Chaoyun naturally heard about it.

Thinking of this, his restless heart finally calmed down.

If she wants to establish herself in the village, she must cultivate some trusted confidants.

Zhu Chaoyun's cultivation aptitude is average, but his good nature makes him a helpful assistant who can be trained.

With that in mind, she continued, "If you ever want to go into the mountains again, come find me, and I'll go with you."

"Why are you being so mushy? I'm not stupid. When have I ever sneaked into Phoenix Mountain Range by myself?"

Zhu Chaoyun crossed his arms and rubbed them together. He then stood up and went to Cui Yue and Cui Yan to boast:

"See this? I'm the one who killed this Fire Cloud Chicken. How about that? Isn't Brother Chaoyun amazing?"