Returning home, Zhou Xun hurriedly shut the door.
Then he took out the medicine bottle, gently pulled out the stopper, and a scent of medicine mixed with faint spiritual energy wafted towards him.
Zhou Xun's spirit lifted, and after carefully examining it for a while, he put the stopper back.
"I should wait until I've had some spirit rice and my body is filled with spiritual qi. Taking it then will surely have twice the effect with half the effort!"
Although he felt a bit excited, Zhou Xun held himself back.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door from outside.
"Knock knock knock—"
Zhou Xun quickly tucked the medicine bottle into his chest, making sure it was securely hidden, then got up to open the door.
"Brother Zhou!" boomed a strong voice.
A tall, dark-skinned young man about the same age as Zhou Xun appeared, holding a completely white rabbit that weighed over ten pounds.
"Dahai, when did you get back!" Zhou Xun exclaimed in surprise.
This was none other than Zhou Xun's childhood friend, Shan Xionghai, who was a year younger and thus called Zhou Xun "brother."
The rabbit in his hand was that delectable Snow Python Rabbit that Zhou Xun remembered fondly.
"It's a long story. Let's head in and cook up this Snow Python Rabbit first, and we can talk while we eat!" said the young man, smacking his lips.
"Please, come in—"
Zhou Xun quickly invited Shan Xionghai in.
Soon, the Snow Python Rabbit was prepared, and the two ate and chatted.
Shan Xionghai leaned back in his chair, tearing into a large rabbit leg without any reservations, enjoying himself immensely.
"Dahai, I've noticed that many demon hunting cultivators are returning to Red Leaf Square. Has something happened?"
Recalling the groups of demon hunting cultivators he'd seen at Red Leaf Square lately, Zhou Xun asked.
"Brother, you're as sharp as ever," the young man said unclearly, chewing on rabbit meat.
"Something happened at the center of the Hundred Savage Mountain, causing a large number of demon beasts to spread outwards!"
"Spreading outwards?" Zhou Xun asked, puzzled.
The Hundred Savage Mountain stretches for countless miles, teeming with demon beasts.
The closer to the center, the higher the level of demon beasts, while the demon hunting cultivators at Red Leaf Square lived by hunting low-tier demon beasts on the outskirts.
"Yes, and some even say they've seen Tier Two Demon Beasts, equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator for us cultivators! Usually, only one appears every few years, but this time, the news is of at least five!"
"Because it happened so suddenly, many demon hunting cultivators suffered losses, so my second uncle decided to return to Red Leaf Square to lay low."
Understanding, Zhou Xun nodded.
Normally, demon beasts spreading to the outskirts would be a feast for those demon hunting cultivators.
But the appearance of Tier Two Demon Beasts was beyond what these Qi Cultivation cultivators could handle, so returning to Red Leaf Square made sense.
Then they shared tales of their time apart, with Shan Xionghai recounting his experiences hunting demon beasts. Although his stories seemed ordinary, Zhou Xun understood the dangers within them.
Demon beasts inherently have strong physiques and strong talent techniques, making them formidable.
This is why even human cultivators of the same tier are not a match for them.
This was also why Zhou Xun had declined Shan Ershu's invitation to hunt demons in the Hundred Savage Mountain with him years ago.
"By the way, you didn't know, I'm now at the Peak of Third-Layer Qi Refining!" Shan Xionghai said, releasing a robust flow of mana.
Feeling this aura, Zhou Xun couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
"And you?" Shan Xionghai asked.
Hearing this, Zhou Xun felt a dryness in his heart, but he still recounted his experiences, omitting only the part about the Wei Brothers.
When Shan Xionghai heard that Zhou Xun had been fired, he was indignant.
"Those bastards, when I get the chance, I'll definitely give that steward a good beating!"
"So what are you going to do now? Have you found a job?" Shan Xionghai asked with concern.
"Not yet," Zhou Xun shook his head.
After pondering for a while, Shan Xionghai slowly spoke:
"Brother, I actually came today for another purpose."
"Oh? What is it?" Zhou Xun asked curiously.
"While returning to Red Leaf Square yesterday, by a stroke of chance, I discovered a nest of Golden Spirit Rats in a valley. You work at the Miaofu Pavilion, so you must know their value."
"Of course I know," Zhou Xun nodded.
Golden Spirit Rats are Gold Attribute Tier One Low-Grade Demon Beasts, with golden luster all over their bodies.
Their blood can be used to refine talisman ink, their whiskers to refine talisman pens, and their skin to refine talisman paper. Even their flesh is worth two or three spirit essences. Altogether, an adult Golden Spirit Rat is worth over 60 spirit essences.
"Since you're out of work, why not join me in taking down this nest of Golden Spirit Rats? We can earn quite a lot of spirit essence and relieve this urgent financial struggle!"
...
At the same time, in a valley thousands of miles from Red Leaf Square, a nest of Golden Spirit Rats chirped, living in a concealed cave.
Curiously, the concentration of spiritual energy in the cave far exceeded the outside.
The spiritual energy in the entire valley seemed guided by something, converging in the cave, an incredibly odd phenomenon.
...
"Shan Ershu is an expert at Fifth-Layer Qi Refining, wouldn't hunting this nest of Golden Spirit Rats be a breeze?" Zhou Xun asked, confused by Shan Xionghai's words.
"The situation at Hundred Savage Mountain was unexpected, and my uncle had some matters to settle before joining me," Shan Xionghai replied.
Hearing this, Zhou Xun nodded but did not immediately agree.
"Just the two of us, can we manage this?"
"Brother, don't worry, while the Golden Spirit Rat is a Tier One Low-Grade Demon Beast, it's not very strong and easy to handle!" Shan Xionghai said, patting his chest.
If he could catch the entire nest by himself, he wouldn't have asked Zhou Xun for help.
However, Zhou Xun needs to fully prepare for the Pill Treasure Pavilion's apprentice recruitment, which requires his undivided attention, so he expressed his intentions.
Shan Xionghai laughed and said, "Brother, focus on the apprentice stuff first. This won't happen immediately anyway, so I also have time this month to prepare!"
Then they proceeded to discuss other topics of interest.
When Shan Xionghai left, it was already evening.
...
Zhou Xun bathed and then entered the Quiet Chamber, lighting a stick of Low-Tier Calming Incense.
Containing a small amount of Primordial Spirit Grass, it helped cultivators calm their minds, priced at two spirit essences.
The faint sandalwood aroma soothing his senses, Zhou Xun's mind settled quickly.
He took the medicine bottle, gently removed the stopper, and poured the round Energy-Introducing Pill into his palm, pinching it between two fingers before popping it into his mouth.
The elixir dissolved, releasing pure spiritual energy, which flowed through his meridians and spread throughout his body.
Zhou Xun quickly activated the Nourishing Essence Technique to refine this spiritual energy.
...
The next morning, the door to the Quiet Chamber opened, and Zhou Xun stepped out.
Reflecting on the previous day's events, he was unsure whether to feel happy or sad.
After consuming the Energy-Introducing Pill, he immediately set to cultivate it without delay.
As the cultivation deepened, he quickly reached the Peak of Second Layer Qi Refining.
Unfortunately, the remaining potency was insufficient for him to break through to the Third-Layer Qi Refining, but he had a premonition that one more pill would do it!
Thinking of this, a gleam of determination flashed in Zhou Xun's eyes,
"I now have less than 20 spirit essences left, which is not enough to buy another Energy-Introducing Pill,"
"It seems the Golden Spirit Rat mission must be expedited!"