Several Elders sped up and rushed to the site of the battle. By the time they arrived, the Long-tusked Elephant had already collapsed on the ground, devoid of breath.
Ye Xuan held his sword, slowly cutting open the Long-tusked Elephant’s skull. He was in luck; there was a Beast Pill inside its head. Just as he was about to extract it, an old man’s surprised voice rang out.
"Did you kill this Long-tusked Elephant?"
Ye Xuan turned around and immediately frowned. These old men all had a Flaming Lion embroidered on their chests. They were from the Zhang Family.
Before Ye Xuan could speak, another old man chimed in. "How could it be him? He’s so young; how could he kill a Long-tusked Elephant? It was fleeing all the way here just now. It was likely severely injured in a fight with another rank-four Beast. This kid just got lucky and killed it while it was too wounded to fight back.
"Kid, don’t say we’re bullying you. Hurry up and leave. The Zhang Family is claiming this Long-tusked Elephant’s carcass and Beast Pill."
The old man’s words made Ye Xuan’s expression turn ugly. He was furious that they would simply take away the spoils he had fought so hard for with a single, entitled declaration.
"Hmm? What’s wrong? Reluctant to part with it? Then make your choice: be killed by us, or walk away yourself!" the old man spoke again, unleashing a terrifying aura from his body.
It was the aura of the 3rd Layer of the Super Spirit Realm.
Ye Xuan glanced around, his eyes darting as he seemingly weighed whether or not to kill these old geezers. He silently cursed them for daring to rob him. But upon closer consideration, he restrained his emotions. Rumor had it that Zhang Wuzong of the Zhang Family was incredibly powerful. Otherwise, this town wouldn’t be called Wuzong Town. It was directly named after Zhang Wuzong himself. Who would dare do such a thing without the strength to back it up?
After a moment of thought, Ye Xuan withdrew his hand, turned around, and left.
"At least he knows what’s good for him." The Elders sneered before finally approaching the carcass.
One Elder extracted the Beast Pill and stored it in his Qiankun Bag. Just as he finished, another Elder let out an exclamation of surprise.
"Wait, the wounds on the Long-tusked Elephant are sword wounds. They don’t look like they were caused by a fight with another Beast."
"Sword wounds?"
The other Elders looked closer, and sure enough, there were shallow sword marks left on the Long-tusked Elephant’s body from Ye Xuan’s attacks.
"Could that kid have really killed this Long-tusked Elephant?" one Elder asked in astonishment.
Someone quickly refuted him. "Impossible! How could a young man in his twenties kill a Long-tusked Elephant? Even Wuzong probably couldn’t do that when he was in his twenties."
"Then who left the sword wounds on it? Could Wuzong have come in?"
"It’s highly likely. Wuzong is best with a sword; he might be in here too."
The Elders finally found a satisfactory answer. People who thought themselves clever just loved to deceive themselves.
Unaware of the Elders’ speculations, Ye Xuan quickly distanced himself after walking away. He decided to venture a bit deeper. Surely, he wouldn’t run into those Elders again further in.
He ran continuously for ten hours before finally coming to a stop. Along the way, he had encountered two other rank-four Beasts, but he held himself back from engaging them. He didn’t want to kill them only to end up doing the dirty work for those old men again.
At that moment, a swamp appeared before Ye Xuan. In a patch of mud, he spotted a pair of eyes radiating a cold glint. It was a rank-four Beast, a Rock Earth Crocodile. Specifically, a rank-four, tier-three Rock Earth Crocodile.
"I should be about three miles away from those Elders now. Even if I fight, they won’t be able to hear it. Well then, let the slaughter begin. But just in case, I should still finish this quickly," Ye Xuan muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a massive Golden Snake materialized above Ye Xuan’s head. He had activated his Dragon Soul Power. Ending the battle swiftly was the best approach.
As soon as the Dragon Soul Power emerged, the Rock Earth Crocodile shivered in fear. Killing Beasts was definitely much easier than killing humans. Very quickly, Ye Xuan slew the Rock Earth Crocodile.
Regrettably, there was no Beast Pill. Ye Xuan could only store the Rock Earth Crocodile’s carcass into his Qiankun Bag. After all, its entire body was filled with treasures. Its hide, in particular, was excellent material for crafting Body Armor.
Pressing forward, it wasn’t until he had killed six Rock Earth Crocodiles that Ye Xuan finally obtained his first Beast Pill. The drop rate was less than twenty percent.
Perhaps the might of his Dragon Soul had been too terrifying, but after killing six Rock Earth Crocodiles, he actually didn’t encounter any more rank-four Beasts. It seemed the Dragon Soul’s suppression had sent them all into hiding. The impact of the Dragon Soul’s might on Beasts appeared to be much greater than on Cultivators.
What should he do now? Ye Xuan felt like crying but lacked the tears.
They only had seven days for this training expedition, and they had to head back on the seventh day. This meant he practically only had a little over six days in total. He needed to acquire as many rank-four Beast Pills as possible within this limited timeframe. Even if a person couldn’t absorb even a tenth of a Beast Pill’s power, accumulating a large quantity would still allow him to elevate his cultivation to the 9th Layer of the Frenzy Spirit Realm.
But now that the rank-four Beasts weren’t showing themselves, what could he do? Go looking for their lairs? That would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Suddenly, Ye Xuan’s eyes lit up. He wondered if he should go back, murder the Zhang Family Elders, and snatch their Qiankun Bags. Those Elders had been in here for so long; they surely had more than just one rank-four Beast Pill, right? As long as Ye Xuan raised his cultivation to the Super Spirit Realm, the Zhang Family wouldn’t pose a threat to him. It was unlikely that the Zhang Family had any experts in the Demon Spirit Realm.
The more he thought about it, the stronger his urge to commit murder and robbery grew. However, he quickly calmed down. This was the Zhang Family’s territory. The risk of killing their people on their own turf was simply too high. Even if he successfully stole the Beast Pills, he wouldn’t necessarily have the time to sit down and upgrade his cultivation.
Forget it, he would just change locations and keep looking.
Ye Xuan relocated and resumed his search for rank-four Beasts. The habitats of the Beasts were arranged in concentric circles, with their ranks increasing from the outside in. The outermost periphery was the territory of rank-one Beasts, while the innermost core belonged to the rank-four Beasts. Ye Xuan planned to sweep through the entire rank-four Beast circle. He refused to believe he wouldn’t be able to find any more rank-four Wild Beasts.
Time slipped away, and a day passed.
Whether it was good luck or bad, Ye Xuan encountered three more rank-four Beasts. The problem was, not a single one of them yielded a Beast Pill.
At that moment, Ye Xuan finally understood why the strongest experts of the Zhang Family and Ning Family remained stuck at their current cultivation stages, struggling to advance any further, despite possessing Secret Realms. It was because the supply of rank-four Wild Beasts simply couldn’t meet the demand, and their ranks weren’t high enough!
Unless, of course, the Secret Realm was sealed for a hundred years. Only then might the number of rank-four Beasts increase exponentially. But that was easier said than done. Which family would have the resolve to close off their Secret Realm for a century?
The world of Cultivators changed too rapidly. A family might endure for ninety-nine years, only to be wiped out in the final year, their century of hardship ultimately benefiting someone else.
Furthermore, resources needed constant replenishment. Large families consumed resources at a staggering rate. Without steady replenishment, how could they ensure their descendants would reach the heights of their predecessors? Relying solely on innate talent? Achieving the heights of their predecessors through talent alone would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Geniuses were, after all, in the minority.
Most importantly, even with a hundred-year closure, the population of rank-four Beasts wouldn’t necessarily multiply. They also fought and killed each other. The total number of Beasts would always remain within a fixed range. This was the so-called ecological balance.
"I’ve only obtained one rank-four Beast Pill. Although a rank-four Beast Pill is a tier higher than a rank-three one, will it be enough to raise my cultivation to the 9th Layer?" Ye Xuan sighed, feeling extremely uncertain.
Could it be that he really had to go and rob those Zhang Family Elders? They were the ones who tried to rob him first, after all. However, even if he did resort to robbery, he had to wait for the perfect opportunity. Once he made his move, he had to leave no survivors!