Crackle.
The campfire burned as occasional sparks flickered from the flame.
It was now deep into the night as the sounds of insects screeching flowed from the four directions.
Most of the group were all resting in deep meditation as they were restoring their strength from the previous fight. Many of them had green pasty solutions covering various bruises and scratches. This was a herbal recovery balm. It was one of the cheapest and most reliable methods to slowly heal from injuries whilst preventing any infections. Senior Gan had distributed a stock of it to everyone before they had left for this journey.
Liu Xun had never needed to apply this onto himself previously. The only occasion where he actually took real damage was during the fighting with the centipede which someone else applied the balm for him since he blacked out. Currently, the young man slowly rubbed the green solution against his palms before slowly applying it to the rough wounds and bruises he had.
A deep gash on his left forearm.
A moderate cut into his right thigh.
Many small bruises from many other locations.
These were all injuries developed as the fights got longer and longer, leaving the young man lapses of concentration which led to small mistakes and as a result injuries. Sometimes, there were unavoidable confrontations where there is only a choice between a light or a heavier wound. Of course, Liu Xun would choose the less costly option. Nevertheless, he could still feel stinging soreness as the medicinal liquid covered these areas of damage.
Liu Xun slowly looked at his palm as he recalled the fight from earlier.
--
Awoooooooooooo. Graaaaaaaah.
Howling and aggressive lunges could be heard from every direction.
The young man with black straight hair swung his ax towards one of the offenders.
It was a fifth stage qi gathering wolf.
The rabid hound was pouncing towards Liu Xun as its body was up in the air.
It was a big mistake on its part, leaving its underbelly fully exposed with no ways to counter.
The young man hurriedly rushed forward, as he lowered his body. The ax was quickly following behind him as it gained swift momentum.
GRAAAAAHHHHHH-
A vicious growl was heard as the wolf prepared to sink its fangs onto the white robes of the young man, planning to dye it with red blood before feasting on the man's flesh.
The two entities quickly closed the distance.
Swwwwwoooop.
The ax that was initially hidden behind quickly turned in an upward arc as the young man pivoted his left foot and swung both of his arms towards the sky.
LOP!
A quick and loud chop could be heard as the ax rushed towards the wolf, hitting its vulnerable neck.
Thuuuuud. Thud.
Two distinct sounds could be heard as the body of a wolf fell, followed by the decapitated head of that very same wolf.
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That was the eighth wolf Liu Xun had slain in that fight.
Most of these wolves were weak, ranging from the 4th to the 6th stage of qi gathering. Still, many weak foes would eventually even tire out the most formidable of cultivators.
Liu Xun could already feel his arms starting to become sore as he tiredly continues to drag his ax by his side. Perhaps, he was slowly reaching his limit.
He gave himself a faint sigh as he could see the battlefield was starting to clear up.
"Liu Xun, watch out!"
A sudden warning.
The young man immediately sharpened his senses as he swung his body around while bringing his ax in front of him.
Diiiidiiiing.
The sound of grating iron could be heard as the teeth of a ferocious green dire wolf came into contact with Liu Xun's ax.
Deep impressions could be seen on the ground as the weary young man stood in opposition to the lunging ambush.
Liu Xun's arms quivered as he could feel the soreness in his arms sapping away his strength.
Despite all of that, the young man still stood strong as he used all of his strength to brace against the impact.
One second.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Both of them were at an impasse.
Normally if Liu Xun were in peak condition, even a 6 or 7th stage qi gathering green dire wolf would not be a problem. Yet now after a long protracted battle with his weary condition, he struggled to defend against this 4th stage wolf.
Diiiidiiing.
The two continued to struggle to gain an advantage.
Swiiiish.
A white flash came from below.
Liu Xun whipped his right leg upwards as he rammed his kneecap against the chest of the unsuspecting wolf.
Wuuuuwuuuu~
The wolf whimpered as it was thrown to the ground while struggling for breath as the air was mercilessly pushed out of its lungs from the previous blow. Unfortunately, time waits for no one.
Swiiiing-crush.
A swift and relentless white flash swung down from above as Liu Xun's ax buried itself into the face of the vulnerable wolf, ending its life in a single blow.
Thud.
The young man fell on his bottom as he struggled to grasp for air.
Liu Xun had truly been forced to his limit at this point as he slowly scanned his surroundings once again. This time looking towards his back to not make the same rookie mistake yet again.
Luckily, this time no new beasts appeared from the surrounding trees.
--
A recollection of his previous battle.
Even if I was exhausted, I should have watched my back.
Liu Xun scolded himself in his mind.
If there was no warning-
Liu Xun stopped processing the outcome, he did not want to imagine what would happen if his back was left wide open to that attack. A part of him sympathized with himself as he had already fought 8 wolves, far more than what he or anyone else for that matter would expect of him. Even the other Liu juniors would most tackle up 4 to 5 wolves, with Langsheng beating 6 of them. Still, the young man was well aware that even if he had done a great job repelling 8 wolves, he had no excuses for letting his guard down for the 9th to get behind him unnoticed.
It was a stern self-reflection session for this young man as he slowly dressed his wounds with a solemn look on his face.
"So, how are you doing?"
A pleasant voice rang from above.
The silver-haired Millie stared down at him as she looked worriedly at his wounds. The lady herself was spotless without any wounds. The only thing that could show that she had been actively part of the fight was the bloodstains that stained her shirt and skirt, blood that was obviously not hers.
"Thank you for before."
He said in a soft but grateful tone.
"Before?"
A short question.
"That warning. I could tell it came from you based on the voice."
Liu Xun continued.
He was truly grateful for the sincere warning from this silver-haired lady. If Millie had chosen to keep quiet, he would not be just lying around her with small scratches and moderate wounds. Liu Xun could tell that this lady had some good intent in her, despite the previous display of bloodthirst that was just this morning.
"Oh no worries, just make sure to look more carefully next time~"
She said out in a carefree tone as she turned away and slowly walked to the campfire.
By now, Liu Xun and the rest of the group had relaxed their guards around her by quite a bit. Millie had actively been a help towards the group and her advice had so far been accurate. Her battle prowess itself was definitely leagues above the other Liu juniors and could be argued to be at least of the standard of the senior cultivators of the group.
Liu Xun looked at her distant back with complex feelings. He was really confused about whether to trust this lady or doubt her. Anyways, there were many other things he had to consider with regards to this fight.
The little chicken did not appear throughout this fight. This had confused Liu Xun to some extent. Did he not want to appear or could he not? To be honest, this fight was not life-threatening at any point as most of the cultivators got off with only slight injuries.
This mystery remained buried in Liu Xun's heart as he turned to look at the casket that was lying by the side of Senior Xuan. It was still and quiet.
Liu Xun then closed his eyes as he began to fall into deep meditation.