The sun had yet to peek out from beyond the horizon, and the sky was still dark as night. Yet Nie Hanchang was already arriving at the Clear Thoughts Pavilion.
"You are early as usual, Junior Martial Brother Zhao," Nie Hanchang remarked as he walked up to Zhao Yunxiao.
"Better early than late," Zhao Yunxiao said while getting to his feet. "Well then, shall we go?"
"Yeah," Nie Hanchang nodded while scanning Zhao Yunxiao from head to toe.
He could not help but notice that Zhao Yunxiao was once again dressed in shabby-looking clothing. Perhaps he should mimic that dressing in the future as well, so that they would appear more aligned.
"Please take the lead, Senior Martial Brother Nie," Zhao Yunxiao gestured. "I will follow your lead."
"Lead? Me?" Nie Hanchang asked in surprise.
"Of course! You are the one with the better hunting results, so who better to lead than you?" Zhao Yunxiao elaborated.
"...I see," Nie Hanchang smirked. "Then let me show you exactly how I go about my hunting trips!"
"Just what I wanted!" Zhao Yunxiao grinned.
This way, not only would Nie Hanchang be able to truly vent all of his stress and negative emotions, but Zhao Yunxiao would also be able to stea- learn some of Nie Hanchang's hunting tactics.
It was truly killing two birds with one stone!
With Nie Hanchang in the lead, the duo promptly left the sect territory and headed towards the wilderness of Purple Plum Mountain.
The wilderness of Purple Plum Mountain had been carefully mapped out by the disciples, effectively divided into three main regions with different risk levels – low, medium, and high. That was excluding an uncharted region in the furthest depths for which there was no public information.
Zhao Yunxiao had always taken care to remain within the region with the lowest risk level during his hunting trips, but that was about to change today.
"We are skipping this region," Nie Hanchang said as they entered the wilderness.
At the same time, Nie Hanchang started to shroud himself in a layer of essence energy that reduced his presence to a minimum. Had he not been standing directly before Zhao Yunxiao, the latter would have found it difficult to detect his presence.
This was nothing surprising. Zhao Yunxiao himself had always done the same during his hunting trips. By concealing his presence, he could avoid being detected by prey and predators alike, improving both safety and the chances of a successful kill.
But this time, Zhao Yunxiao did not intend to go about it the way he had always done.
That was not to say that he did not intend to conceal himself – that would be pure folly. On the contrary, he was simply intending to do so via another method.
After taking a deep breath, Zhao Yunxiao put his dantian to work, allowing his essence energy to spread out throughout his spiritual meridians. And then, he... disappeared.
Nie Hanchang widened his eyes in shock as Zhao Yunxiao's figure started fading out from right before him.
What's this concealment technique?
He quickly focused essence energy into his eyes, straining them to the limit while doubling it up with his spiritual sense. Only then did a blurry figure come into view before his eyes.
And that was exactly it – just a blurry figure simply coming into view. Despite seeing a blurred-out Zhao Yunxiao standing right before him, he actually could not sense Zhao Yunxiao's presence with his spiritual sense!
Nie Hanchang could not help but grin slightly.
How terrifying.
As expected of Zhao Yunxiao, even his concealment technique was on a whole other level!
It would appear that he was still far from catching up to Zhao Yunxiao. Lu Zhiying was right – they all had to get stronger faster to avoid getting left behind in the dust!
What Nie Hanchang did not know was that he had yet to even see the fullest extent of this concealment technique.
Zhao Yunxiao stretched his hand out in front of him, looking in satisfaction at the blurred limb, of which he could not even make out all five fingers.
Silent Breath – the core technique that he had obtained from the corpse of the frail-looking member of the Scarlet Leaf Sect.
He had tried this out a couple of times over the past two days, but he still could not help but feel impressed by how effective this concealment technique actually was.
To think that, even as the user, his perception of himself would still be affected to such an extent. It was no wonder that nobody had been able to detect the frail-looking Scarlet Leaf Sect member hiding in the vicinity when the coalition first arrived at Blueflag Mountain.
Currently, he still lacked experience with this technique and could only execute it at a fundamental level, yet it was already this potent. He could only imagine just how useful it would be if he could master it in its entirety!
"Let's go," Zhao Yunxiao said.
"R-Right," Nie Hanchang shook himself out of his daze. "Let's go!"
The duo moved on quickly, leaping from tree to tree as they breezed through the low risk region without any issue. They did come across several monsters along the way, but since none of them managed to sense their presence, the duo did not bother stopping to take them on as well.
Their targets were set higher than this.
The low risk region spanned a huge distance that took more than an hour to traverse. However, they eventually arrived at the border between the low and medium risk regions.
While Zhao Yunxiao was still feeling rather nervous about entering for the first time, Nie Hanchang crossed the border without hesitation. In a way, seeing this gave Zhao Yunxiao a boost of confidence as well.
What was there to be afraid of?
He was currently accompanied by Nie Hanchang – the man who had jumped ranks to slay an Advanced Essence Physique realm monster all on his own!
With that thought in mind, Zhao Yunxiao confidently followed Nie Hanchang's lead as they charged straight into the medium risk region.
Soon, their first target came into view.
Black-clawed ivory serpent. This was a giant serpent with a single thin and long limb extending out from its back, complete with four black claws that were each filled with terrifying venom. Its dull grey scales had a texture similar to ivory, though there was no doubt that it was far tougher in comparison.
More importantly, it was a monster at the Primary Essence Physique realm.
To take on a monster like that, Zhao Yunxiao would usually prepare multiple traps in advance to aid him in the process. However, Nie Hanchang did not even slow down his steps as he charged forward.
The silver long bow, Grand Annihilator, appeared in his hands. After which, he made a pulling action and released.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, so smoothly executed that it showed just how deeply it had been ingrained in his muscle memory.
An arrow of energy tore through the air, headed straight for the serpent monster.
Zhao Yunxiao immediately widened his eyes in surprise, not because of how skilful Nie Hanchang had appeared, but because of the level of energy contained within this arrow of energy.
Advanced Essence Gathering realm!
It would appear that without him realising it, Nie Hanchang had also broken through to the Advanced Essence Gathering realm!
Not just that, but there also seemed to be another source of energy mixed into Nie Hanchang's essence energy, imbuing the arrow with a far greater destructive power. Ah, right; it was none other than the Grand Annihilator amplifying its user's strength.
The black-clawed ivory serpent propped itself up in alert, clearly sensing danger approaching. But by the time it turned around to face the oncoming arrow of energy, it was already too late.
Pierce-!
Blood spurted into the air from both ends of the giant serpent's head, the arrow of energy having passed straight through its tough scales.
Zhao Yunxiao's eyes lit up in amazement as the black-clawed ivory serpent fell limply to the ground.
One shot. One kill.
No wonder Nie Hanchang had been able to sustain a constant supply of monster meat to the Lightwind Pavilion. His offensive capability was completely off the charts!
Little did he know that even Nie Hanchang had been surprised by the sheer power packed within the arrow earlier. The Grand Annihilator seemed to be performing far better than usual, almost as though it were a child eager to show off its progress to its parent after some time apart.
Nie Hanchang let out a slight chuckle.
If that was truly the case, then it could be said that Nie Hanchang and the Grand Annihilator were both trying to prove themselves at the moment!
The duo landed next to the motionless serpent carcass, only giving it a quick scan to ensure that there was nothing amiss before Zhao Yunxiao stored it away in his spatial pouch.
This was the agreement that they had come to.
Since Nie Hanchang was only interested in the process of the hunt and knew that Zhao Yunxiao could make better use of the carcasses, he had generously offered to let Zhao Yunxiao have the haul of their hunt. In return, Zhao Yunxiao promised Nie Hanchang his fair share if any of the parts were to be sold.
In fact, for someone like Nie Hanchang who did not know much about the market, he might actually end up gaining more from the hunting trip by following this arrangement.
"Let's go!" Nie Hanchang said before heading out once more.
"Yes!" Zhao Yunxiao followed along excitedly.
He loved how everything was going so far. From the kill to the collection of the hunt – this was efficiency at its peak!
The next monster they came across was a green flash jaguar. Just like the black-clawed ivory serpent, it was also a monster at the Primary Essence Physique realm.
A green flash jaguar actually looked no different from an ordinary jaguar apart from the colour of its skin and eyes. As its name suggested, its spotted patterns lay against a backdrop of dark green fur, and its eyes glowed with a strange green light.
Of course, its skin and eye colour were not of importance. Instead, its speed was what made it a rather tricky opponent.
Again, Nie Hanchang fired without hesitation.
Unfortunately, the green flash jaguar was far more alert than the black-clawed ivory serpent. It raised its head the moment the arrow of energy appeared, and was able to see the arrow fly straight towards it.
Slash-!
The green flash jaguar made full use of its renowned speed, keenly escaping from the arrow path. However, it still failed to completely evade the arrow from the Grand Annihilator, with the arrow grazing its thigh to draw a long wound.
Yet even with this newly inflicted injury, the green flash jaguar was not intimidated. On the other hand, it only seemed to have become enraged by the sudden attack. The green glow in its eyes intensified as it rapidly leapt from tree to tree, using the cover of the trees to head towards the duo in an unpredictable manner.
This made it far more difficult to aim for it from a distance, but Nie Hanchang was not too concerned. He calmly retreated to create more distance between him and the green flash jaguar, intending to wait for an opening for a clear shot.
But just as he started retreating, Nie Hanchang widened his eyes in shock.
That was because, in sharp contrast to his actions, Zhao Yunxiao actually dashed forward!
Unsurprisingly, the green flash jaguar immediately pounced at this opportunity, leaping from the trees to fall upon the grounded Zhao Yunxiao.
While the green flash jaguar was not exactly known for its strength, that was only in comparison to other entities at the Primary Essence Physique realm. When compared to an Essence Gathering realm cultivator, its strength was still plenty.
In addition, its superior speed gave it additional momentum, making its pounce that much more devastating.
Zhao Yunxiao was well aware of all that, yet he did not waver.
With a flick of his wrist, the Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd appeared in his hands. Digging his heels into the ground, he swung the heavy weapon forward with all his might to meet the oncoming jaguar monster.
His dantian churned wildly, pumping essence energy throughout his spiritual meridians.
[Disperse]
[Zodiac Scripture – Ox Aspect: Strength]
[Zodiac Scripture – Boar Aspect: Toughness]
Bang-!
The Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd slammed against the green flash jaguar's claws hard, stopping it dead in its tracks.
Zhao Yunxiao might have been amazed by Nie Hanchang's offensive prowess, but he also knew that it came at a cost. Archers might be extremely deadly from range, but they were also far more vulnerable once the distance had been closed.
With that in mind, his role today was simple. All he had to do was to prevent the latter from happening, and Nie Hanchang should be able to take care of the rest.
His expectations did not go unanswered.
A massive arrow of energy screamed through the air, slamming against the head of the green flash jaguar that had been stopped in its tracks, and completely blowing its head apart.
Nie Hanchang grinned in excitement as the jaguar monster fell motionlessly to the ground.
This was not the first time that he had faced a green flash jaguar. But usually, he would have to kite the monster around for a bit, slowly wearing it down by inflicting multiple injuries until it became slow enough to deliver a fatal strike.
But with Zhao Yunxiao here, they had actually managed to take it down in an instant.
This was efficiency at its peak!