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

"Okay, then keep an eye out for me and let me know if there's any movement. I'll look for other white jade mushrooms around here."

Last night, Cui Ying roughly calculated that even if Gu's mother didn't ask for those things, she would prepare them for Shi Yin sooner or later. In addition, considering the spirit stones she wanted to build a new courtyard, she would need to prepare at least three thousand spirit stones.

Although she appeared relaxed in front of Gu Shiyin, she was actually under some pressure.

After all, you can't always find something like the jade lingzhi that we dug up last time.

Even if we do encounter it, we might not be able to dig it up as easily as last time.

It seems that next time I go into the mountains, I should go to Songlin Market or Leiyun City beforehand to pick up some monster-hunting quests and do them as well.

In this way, although it is a bit dangerous, each trip should earn an extra forty or fifty spirit stones. If nothing unexpected happens, that's 1,500 spirit stones a month, and you can collect 3,000 spirit stones in as little as two months.

But this was just Cui Ying's assumption; spending every day in the Phoenix Mountains was too risky.

Fortunately, she still had the elixir.

If I really can't save up enough spirit stones, the spirit liquid I've collected these days can still ripen the first batch of Heavenly Star Grass and Blood Spirit Grass, which I estimate can sell for seven or eight hundred spirit stones.

"Sister Cui Ying!"

Cui Ying was pondering how to accumulate enough spirit stones as quickly as possible when she heard Zhu Chaoyun beside her suddenly shout in a low voice.

She immediately sensed something was wrong. Just as she stood up, she saw Zhu Chaoyun staring intently in a certain direction. The usually talkative and bold man was sweating profusely, and his legs were trembling involuntarily.

Following Zhu Chaoyun's gaze, they saw several gloomy wolf shadows standing on the slope they had just walked on.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten..."

Eleven silver-gray demon wolves were emitting deep growls, while more than twenty oily green eyes were fixed on the uninvited guests below.

"...What to do? What to do?"

Zhu Chaoyun swallowed hard, almost crying with anxiety: "No wonder we haven't seen a single grasshopper along the way, so this is where they've been waiting for us. There are only two of us, not enough for these beasts to share. Sister Cui Ying, how about I count to three, and you run away first?"

Cui Ying patiently straightened the Cold Light Crossbow in Zhu Chaoyun's hand and calmly teased, "Don't panic! Just follow me and charge after I make my move."

"I dare not!"

As the pack of demon wolves gradually approached on the slope, Zhu Chaoyun felt as if he could barely hold the trigger of the Cold Light Crossbow.

It wasn't that no independent cultivator in the village had ever encountered a lone demon wolf. When their cultivation levels were evenly matched, any cultivator who dared to fight to the death had survived.

But this is a pack of demon wolves. He didn't even mention how much their strength differed, just their numbers alone were several times greater.

Moreover, the demon wolf itself is an extremely ferocious beast, and with the command and cooperation of an alpha wolf, it becomes even more ferocious and terrifying.

I heard that a few years ago, a small village nearby was massacred by a demon wolf at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The terror of the wolf pack cannot be explained in a few words.

Although both of them possessed magical artifacts, their opponents were no pushovers either.

Moreover, the aura of the alpha wolf was extremely powerful, and its cultivation level was probably no less than the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Even more imposing than his uncle Cui Zhengming, whom he was familiar with, his aura was almost on par with the fifth-level Qi Refining experts in the village.

If we flee now, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

After all, once these demon wolves charge over, they really won't be able to escape.

"What's there to be afraid of? You said it yourself, they're just a few intelligent animals, what's there to be afraid of!"

Seeing Zhu Chaoyun's almost terrified appearance, Cui Ying felt somewhat helpless, but she still patiently tried to persuade her.

Compared to yesterday's 'Fellow Daoist Gu' and his companions, today's pack of demon wolves is indeed a threat.

Since it's a threat, let's eliminate it.

"call!"

Before the leading wolf king and its offspring could surround them, Cui Ying launched the first attack.

With a slight movement of her lips and a flurry of hand gestures, a gust of wind instantly swept through the silent forest, whipping dry branches and fallen leaves into a chaotic dance. Suddenly, countless incredibly solid golden arrows materialized in the void.

At this moment, as the leading wolf king on the slope transformed into a gray-white afterimage and pounced at lightning speed, the other wolves followed closely behind, surrounding Cui Ying and Zhu Chaoyun.

"go with!"

As the final hand seal was cast, the air buzzed, and countless golden arrows shot out, carrying a sharp, cold light as they hurtled toward their target.

"Bang~!"

After releasing the golden arrow, Cui Ying didn't even bother to look at the results. Instead, with the help of her nimble footwork, her fingertips glowed with spiritual light, and she directly activated the "Yi Wood Spring Derivation Technique," catalyzing countless thorns to strangle the demon wolves.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Not long after, two dim spiritual energy arrows flew out from the side.

"Sister Cui Ying! How are you?"

The demonic wolf was too close to them, and Zhu Chaoyun only had time to fire three gleaming crossbow bolts.

He had already put away the Cold Light Crossbow and was trying to appear calm as he drew the short sword from his waist.

"Awoo~"

In just five or six breaths, the remaining wolves had pounced on the two men.

One of the demonic wolves, its eyes glowing a chilling green, extended its incredibly hard forepaws towards the girl who was so close at hand, its eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty, determined gaze:

In the past, no prey that had been injured by its sharp claws had ever escaped.

Once I kill these two despicable human cultivators, the king will surely reward me handsomely.

"boom!"

The answer to Zhu Chaoyun was the sound of a golden arrow piercing flesh.

"Ouch~!"

Just as the wolf was about to devour its prey, it suddenly let out a series of painful groans and collapsed to the ground, its body trembling uncontrollably.

Its narrow green eyes couldn't understand how it had become the prey that should have been struggling and howling.

Cui Ying had no time to care about the thoughts of ants.

She casually fired a golden arrow, completely crushing its faint hope of survival. Only then did she have the mind to look around and find three demon wolves standing in front of her. One of the demon wolves had bloodstains on its right leg, indicating that it had been injured by Zhu Chaoyun.

The distance is too close; it's no longer suitable to use magic.

Cui Ying also drew her blue sickle from her waist, stood leisurely beside Zhu Chaoyun, and nodded with a smile:

"It's a best-of-three competition now, so how about a contest?"

"Let's compete! I'm a few years older than you, and I admit that my cultivation is inferior to yours. But I'm not a coward when it comes to these beasts."

The three demon wolves included the alpha wolf at the fourth level of Qi Refining on the hillside, and two followers at the second level of Qi Refining, one of which was injured.

Once she takes care of one more wolf, that powerful wolf won't pose any threat anymore.

Cui Ying was not one to procrastinate; as she spoke, she swung her green sickle and slashed at the demonic wolf that was attacking her.

Just then, a dark figure suddenly pounced out from behind her.

It moved with such speed that it resembled a black shooting star.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

"Treading on Snow!"

The once silent snowfall suddenly unleashed its ferocity.

Taking advantage of a wolf pouncing in mid-air, it slammed it to the ground with lightning speed, then bared its sharp teeth and bit down hard on its neck.

Cui Ying glanced at it only once before immediately looking away.

At this moment, a foul, fishy stench assaulted our senses.

Seeing the wolf's open mouth, Cui Ying dodged easily and avoided the attack.

Before the wolf king could react, Cui Ying turned around in an incredibly unbelievable move. With the blessing of the "Giant Strength Technique," she swung her blue scythe and smashed it down on the wolf king's waist, which was right in front of her.

Although the Azure Scythe Blade is extremely sharp, it may not be able to even scratch the fur of a demon wolf king at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

However, under absolute pressure, the results will be twice as effective.

"Awooo~! Awooo~!"

The wolf king's figure suddenly flipped in mid-air, and then his body fell to the ground.

It struggled to support itself on its limbs, seemingly trying to stand up again, but it couldn't straighten its back for a while.

On the other side, Zhu Chaoyun had been pinned to the ground by the wounded wolf. Two incredibly sharp claws were pressing down on his shoulders, and the wolf's foul-smelling, drooling mouth was relentlessly moving closer to his neck.

Zhu Chaoyun held the sword with both hands, desperately pressing it against the wolf's mouth, vowing to protect his neck from harm.

Just as he was secretly groaning, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his ears: "Watch out!"

"Oh!"

Zhu Chaoyun felt a gust of wind brush against his cheek, and his body relaxed. The demon wolf that had been pressing down on him and trying to do evil was immediately sent flying to the side.

The wolf demon's right leg was already injured, and Cui Ying kicked it, shattering its internal organs. It fell to the ground and died before it could even whimper.

Cui Ying withdrew her right foot, turned around, and walked back to the spot where the wolf king had fallen.

The delay allowed the wolf king to stand up. It looked at Cui Ying, who was walking over, with a fierce glint in its eyes. With a low howl, it pounced on her again without hesitation.

Upon seeing the wolf's open mouth, Cui Ying did not try to dodge; instead, she sped up and rushed forward.

Just as the human and the wolf were about to collide head-on, she swiftly picked up the blue scythe in her hand and held it horizontally in front of her.

As expected, the wolf king bit the green scythe blade without hesitation, instinctively trying to crush it.

"What a fool!"

Instead of getting angry, Cui Ying laughed. After muttering a curse under her breath, she forcefully pushed the green sickle into the wolf's mouth with her right hand.

At the same time, the blade of the blue sickle flashed with fluorescent light.

By the time the wolf king realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

Cui Ying simply continued to channel her magic power into the blue sickle blade, and with the enhancement of the Great Strength Technique, she slashed desperately, drawing out a large amount of blood in an instant.

"Awoo awoo~!"

The once ferocious and arrogant wolf king immediately let out a pitiful howl.

It no longer cared about the deep-seated hatred, and after landing, it quickly transformed into a silver-gray afterimage and ran away at full speed.

Cui Ying watched the wolf king's retreating figure, feeling unwilling to give up.

Demon wolves are the most vengeful creatures, especially since the one she let go today was a demon wolf king who had gained sentience.

Unfortunately, the magical power of a third-level Qi Refining cultivator is still too weak.

At this moment, she was willing but unable to do anything about it.