Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race

"Taoist Friend Xu, are we going into the mountains to hunt Monster Beasts?"

Shen Long asked.

"This time our target is the Snow Cloud Fox. The Chen Family is offering a high price for a first-order Snow Cloud Fox."

Xu Lei said.

"The Snow Cloud Fox! Are there Snow Cloud Foxes in the Qianzhu Mountain Range?"

Shen Long furrowed his brows.

The Snow Cloud Fox was rather small and had a gentle temperament, and with its sensitive sense of smell, it excelled at finding Spiritual Medicine. It was very popular among the female cultivators. The Snow Cloud Fox was timid, and at the slightest disturbance, it would immediately flee underground, making it difficult to capture.

"I've received reliable information that there are first-order Snow Cloud Foxes in the depths of the Qianzhu Mountain Range. The Chen Family's offer is very generous; if we catch a Snow Cloud Fox, we could make a big profit."

Xu Lei said.

"Deep within the Qianzhu Mountain Range? We won't run into second-order Monster Beasts, will we?"

Qin Qing said with some concern.

"The Monster Beasts on the periphery are already scarce, as are the Spiritual Medicines. We can only try our luck deeper inside."

Sun Yang said.

"I have no objection, but this time we need to be extra careful. I hope we don't run into Chen Xiong and others."

Shen Long said.

"They left the marketplace days ago; I saw it with my own eyes. They aren't so idle as to just watch over us; they need to hunt Monster Beasts to earn Spirit Stones as well."

Sun Yang explained.

"In that case, let's go into the mountains! Hopefully, we can catch a Snow Cloud Fox."

Qin Qing said, urgently in need of Spirit Stones and unable to wait much longer.

"We brothers have no objections."

Xu Wen agreed wholeheartedly.

"Since nobody has any objections, let's set off!"

Xu Lei said, and the group left Qingzhu Courtyard.

After leaving the marketplace, Xu Lei brought out the Green Cloud Boat and stepped onto it, with Sun Yang and the other seven hurriedly following.

With a flick of a spell, the Green Cloud Boat shone with a blue light and flew towards the sky.

Three days later, the Green Cloud Boat descended onto an open space, not far from an endless expanse of green bamboo.

Shen Long and the others disembarked, while Xu Lei put away the Green Cloud Boat.

A crisp and melodious crane's call rang out as a colossal green crane flew in from the distant horizon. Five men and one woman stood on the crane's back, led by a full-bodied woman in a green dress.

"Liu Jiao! Madam Liu."

Xu Lei recognized the woman in the green dress.

Liu Jiao was the captain of a Monster Hunting Team, with the cultivation of the eighth level of Qi Refinement, and had a personal friendship with Xu Lei.

"Taoist Friend Xu, what a coincidence!"

Liu Jiao greeted Xu Lei.

Smiling, Xu Lei said, "Madam Liu, are you also here to capture the Snow Cloud Fox?"

"Yes! The Chen Family has made a very attractive offer. Now it's just a matter of who is capable of capturing the Snow Cloud Fox. We'll be taking our leave now."

After saying this, Liu Jiao directed the crane to fly towards another direction.

"Another competitor, I hope we can capture the Snow Cloud Fox."

Qin Qing said expectantly.

"Everyone, be careful. We might encounter second-order Monster Beasts here."

Xu Lei applied a yellow protective shield to himself and headed towards the bamboo forest.

Shen Long and the others applied their own defenses and followed.

Qianzhu Mountain Range was vast, and it was not easy to find a first-order Snow Cloud Fox in the immense mountains.

The bamboo forest was quiet, and their pace was not fast.

A grey-white stinger burst through the soil, striking against the green light barrier on Ye Yuqing's body, emitting a dull thud.

Ye Yuqing's reaction was swift; she raised her right hand, and a red talisman flew out, transforming into more than a dozen bowl-sized red fireballs that successively smashed into the ground where the stinger was located.

With a series of booming sounds, rolling flames engulfed the area.

Ye Yutang drew forth a flying knife flickering with red light, slashing towards the ground.

After the flames dissipated, a scorpion, charred all over and with a grey-white stinger, appeared on the ground.

"An Iron Tail Scorpion at the initial stage of the first rank!"

Ye Yuqing recognized this demon insect.

"Don't let your guard down, Iron Tail Scorpions hide beneath the ground and are not easy to detect; fortunately, their means of attack are limited and their strength is not formidable," Xu Lei cautioned.

Ye Yuqing collected the Iron Tail Scorpion's carcass and the group continued forward.

A day later, they arrived at a narrow valley with sparse vegetation. The rugged stone walls on both sides were uneven, and the ground was littered with a large number of grey-white stones.

Along the way, they had encountered several first rank demon insects, mostly at the initial stage, none of which posed any threat to them, although the bodies of these initial stage demon insects wouldn't fetch many spirit stones.

Before long, a cave several zhang wide appeared in front of them.

"Taoist Friend Qin, go scout ahead to see what monster beasts are inside," Xu Lei stated.

Qin Qing complied with a response, and with a flash of green light under his feet, he sprinted towards the cave while the seven others, including Xu Lei, waited outside.

Soon, a deafening booming sound came from within the cave.

"Be on your guard!" Xu Lei warned.

Qin Qing rushed out from the cave and reported, "Inside, there are two Mountain-Pushing Beasts at the late stage of the first rank, and there are more than ten Three-Leaf Grasses."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dozen earth cones, a foot long, flew out from the cave.

Qin Qing dodged the yellow earth cones with his feet radiating bright green light.

Two yellow monster beasts that looked like wild boars charged out of the cave, each revealing two thick and lengthy yellow fangs, at least two feet long.

The Mountain-Pushing Beasts, with their thick skin and raw strength, are belligerent creatures, fond of ramming their enemies. A cultivator struck by one of them, if not killed, would be severely injured.

Both Mountain-Pushing Beasts charged towards Xu Lei and the others, their mouths shooting more than a dozen foot-long yellow earth cones.

Ye Yuqing cast a talisman glowing with red light, adorned with a miniature snake pattern.

The red talisman burst open, turning into a red fire snake nearly ten feet long, and struck one of the Mountain-Pushing Beasts.

With a booming sound, the fire snake's body exploded into rolling flames that enveloped the body of one Mountain-Pushing Beast. The other beast hadn't gone far when a thick green vine burst from the ground, entangling its hind legs and causing the beast to topple.

Several magic artifacts were launched, striking the Mountain-Pushing Beasts, leaving shallow blood marks on their bodies.

Ye Yuqing slapped her spirit beast bag with her right hand, and a tiger's roar resounded as a streak of green light flew out, landing on the ground and revealing a colossal tiger covered in green.

"A Green Wind Tiger at the middle stage of the first rank!" Shen Long identified the beast.

The Green Wind Tiger opened its mouth and released a three-foot-long green wind blade, hitting one of the Mountain-Pushing Beasts with a dull thud.

The Mountain-Pushing Beast struggled violently, tearing apart the green vines, only for the Green Wind Tiger to pounce, opening its massive maw to bite at the beast.

Despite the Mountain-Pushing Beasts' higher rank, the Green Wind Tiger was clearly stronger, not to mention it had Ye Yuqing and Ye Yutang's support.

The Ye sisters took on one Mountain-Pushing Beast, while Shen Long and the other six dealt with the other.

Before long, the Green Wind Tiger broke the neck of one Mountain-Pushing Beast, which fell into a pool of blood.

Seeing its predicament, the other Mountain-Pushing Beast shot out more than a dozen yellow earth cones towards Shen Long and others, turning to flee into the distance.

It hadn't gotten far when a large green vine burst from the ground, ensnaring its hind legs, causing it to crash heavily to the ground.

A gentle breeze blew by as the Green Wind Tiger caught up. Opening its wide jaws, revealing sharp fangs, it bit down on the Mountain-Pushing Beast's neck.