A Compendium of One Hundred Demons: My Path to Immortality in a World of Demons and Monsters

In the mountains and forests, Xu Yuan felt right at home.

Following the map's directions, he narrowly avoided several areas marked "miasma," while carefully identifying animal trails where prey might roam.

Just then, a wild rabbit in the nearby bushes seemed to be startled by the noise of Xu Yuan hurrying along and "whoosh"ed away.

Xu Yuan's eyes lit up, and he threw out the pebble he had prepared beforehand.

"Bang!" The pebble hit the rabbit's head precisely, knocking it unconscious.

"We've got the bait!"

Xu Yuan smiled and picked up the rabbit, having no intention of keeping it.

His appetite now is not something that a single rabbit can satisfy; the "big guys" in the forest are his primary hunting targets for this trip.

With Xu Yuan's current physical condition, both his travel speed and the efficiency of setting traps are far greater than before.

In just half an hour, he found several advantageous positions and used the flesh and blood of wild rabbits to set up more than a dozen snares and traps.

"Now, all we have to do is wait patiently."

Xu Yuan gathered his energy and moved with the agility of a nimble ape, quickly climbing a tall ancient tree and then completely hiding his figure among the dense branches.

Entering the Blood Refining Realm brought him not only an increase in strength, but also a refined control over his blood and qi!

At this moment, Xu Yuan's breathing was long and slow, and his heartbeat was almost inaudible, as if he had become one with the entire ancient tree.

Time passes little by little.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that a series of heavy footsteps and groans finally came from afar.

Xu Yuan held his breath and peered through the gaps in the leaves.

A moment later, a wild boar, entirely gray and black, angrily emerged from the bushes.

This wild boar was enormous, estimated to weigh at least 300 pounds. Strangely, its sharp tusks were dark red, and its eyes gleamed with an unnatural ferocity. Many of its bristles had fallen off, revealing bluish-black skin underneath.

"It's a mutated beast that's been corrupted by demonic energy!" Xu Yuan immediately made the judgment in his mind.

The wild boar had clearly lost most of its senses; it was pacing around in agitation, frantically pawing at the ground with its tusks, and making strange "hoarse" noises.

Suddenly, as if it smelled something special, it rushed towards a snare that Xu Yuan had previously set up.

"They're here." Xu Yuan's spirits lifted.

The wild boar cautiously sniffed the ground as it slowly approached the trap area.

The moment it stepped into the first noose, Xu Yuan moved!

Instead of triggering the trap, he leaped down from the tree, his gleaming machete flashing as it cleaved straight for the wild boar's neck!

"grumble---!"

The wild boar reacted extremely quickly, managing to turn its head and avoid a fatal blow at the last second; the machete only managed to cut a bloody gash on its shoulder.

In pain, the wild boar suddenly became ferocious, stomping its hind legs on the ground and charging forward with its head down, its two dark red tusks aimed straight at Xu Yuan's abdomen.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan neither dodged nor avoided, but instead fully activated the Hungry Ghost Compendium, causing his blood and qi to surge and even his skin to begin to turn faintly red.

With his left hand forming a claw, he grabbed the wild boar's left tusk, while his right hand swung down the machete again!

"Sizzle—"

This time, the machete was deeply embedded in the wild boar's neck bone!

The wild boar, in pain, struggled even more frantically. A tremendous force came, and Xu Yuan's feet dug two deep furrows in the ground, but he did not retreat an inch.

With the power of the first level of Blood Refinement, coupled with the amplification of the Hungry Ghost trait, he had the ability to confront this demonized wild boar head-on!

After a few breaths of stalemate, Xu Yuan roared, his arm muscles bulging, and his blood and qi poured into the woodcutter's knife.

With a crisp "crack," the wild boar's neck bone snapped completely, and its massive body crashed to the ground, twitching a few times before falling silent.

"Phew..." Xu Yuan let go, the woodcutter's knife was already dull. He wiped the blood splattered on his face, squatted down and began to examine the prey.

The wild boar's blood was dark red and had a faint, fishy smell, but the Hungry Ghost Compendium in Xu Yuan's mind sent out a clear desire—the energy contained in the flesh and blood of this demonized wild boar far exceeded that of ordinary wild beasts!

Xu Yuan skillfully butchered the wild boar, immediately taking the best pieces of meat and internal organs, and covering the rest with mud to mask the smell.

After quickly dealing with everything, subtle noises came from the nearby mountains and forests, and it seemed there were more than one place!

Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed, and without the slightest hesitation, he quickly hid back on the ancient tree.

A moment later, three different monstrous beasts appeared in his field of vision one after another—a fox with bluish fur, a python with mottled scales, and a one-eyed gray wolf.

These three monsters were clearly attracted by the smell of blood, but strangely, they did not attack each other, but instead maintained an eerie peace!

After circling the wild boar carcass a few times, they each grabbed a piece of meat and quickly left.

"These demonic beasts..." Xu Yuan wondered, "Their behavior is too orderly, it's not like wild demonic beasts."

Suddenly, he remembered a passage from the book:

"Demons possess spirits, and there are distinctions of rank and status. Superior demons command inferior demons, just as generals command their troops!"

Could it be that the outer perimeter of this back mountain has already been taken over by some powerful demon?

With this thought in mind, Xu Yuan was unwilling to linger any longer. He jumped down from the ancient tree, carried his harvest on his back, and quickly retreated.

Before leaving the mountain, he deliberately went around to a secluded mountain hollow he had discovered earlier, hid most of the wild boar meat in a natural stone cave, and only took a pig's hind leg and a few pieces of internal organs with him.

…………

Sunset West Mountain.

When Xu Yuan appeared on the path at the village entrance carrying his prey, Zhao San and the others, who had been lying in wait all day, stared wide-eyed.

That pig's hind leg weighed at least thirty or forty pounds, incredibly robust, and gleamed enticingly in the setting sun.

What made them even more envious was the bulging cloth bag at Xu Yuan's waist, which clearly indicated that he had even more to gain!

"He...he really got some meat from the back mountain!" Wang Erma's mouth was practically watering.

Guo Laizi's eyes reddened: "Third Brother, we..."

Zhao San stared intently at Xu Yuan's departing figure, his eyes brimming with jealousy and greed. Suddenly, he spoke up, "Tonight, we'll go into the mountains ourselves!"

"What?" Guo Laizi trembled in fright. "Third Brother, the back mountain is a forbidden area..."

"Forbidden area?" Zhao San sneered. "If Xu Yuan can go in, why can't we? Didn't you see? He only came back with one leg on his back today. There are definitely more hiding in the mountains! We won't go deep in; we'll just wander around the outskirts. Even if we don't catch any wild boars, we can at least dig up some wild vegetables and catch a few rabbits!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Erma was somewhat tempted, but still very afraid: "But...but what if there really are spirits in the mountains..."

"What are you afraid of!" A ruthless glint flashed in Zhao San's eyes. "The three of us, armed with our weapons, will run if danger arises! Fortune favors the bold, are we really going to wait to starve to death?"

When Xu Yuan returned to the village, it undoubtedly caused a sensation once again.

A wild boar's hind leg can weigh at least 30 to 40 pounds, which was a fortune that could buy a life during times of famine!

As he carried the pig's hind leg back home, villagers along the way turned their heads and exclaimed in surprise.

Little Stone skipped and hopped over to greet him. Xu Yuan smiled, patted his head, and handed him a piece of prepared internal organs.

He then divided the pig's leg into three portions: one for Aunt Zhang's family, one for himself, and the last for the old village chief, asking him to help distribute it to the elderly and children in the village who were about to starve, as well as Li Ergou.

Xu Yuan did not tell Xu Laogen about discovering the book, but only advised him to wait.

Looking at the fresh wild boar meat in his hand, Xu Laogen couldn't help but tear up. Compared to other villagers, he understood what this meant better!

Xu Yuan's act of dividing the meat eased the attitudes of many villagers who had previously harbored doubts and suspicions towards him.

Zhao San and the others watched from afar, their eyes practically spitting fire with envy. But remembering Xu Yuan's displayed skills, they were afraid of incurring the wrath of the crowd, so they ultimately dared not step forward.

"Damn it, why does that little brat get to do this?!" Wang Erma's eyes were red with jealousy. "We're starving, and he gets to eat meat every day without giving us a single bite!"

The three of them exchanged a glance and finally made up their minds.