"Little friend, although we have many people, we are all separate, and I cannot command others," Fang He reminded Xiao Man. Those present were all acting independently; besides the members of the Sun Sect, he had no authority over anyone else.
"Why command? These demonic apes have a high chance of yielding demon cores, especially that high-level one. Whoever slays it gets the spoils. Multiple people can hunt one, or one can fight alone; it's all about skill. Alternatively, we can continue hiding in this ruin, dodging the rocks thrown by the demonic apes."
"Xiao Qin, you're going out to kill demonic apes?" Ze Fang asked curiously.
"We have to kill them to leave anyway. We can't be trapped here forever, so we might as well give it our all." With that, Xiao Man moved, passing through the rain of stones and heading towards the demonic apes outside.
The leading demonic ape saw Xiao Man emerge and immediately charged forward, ramming aside the other demonic apes in its path.
"You're not afraid of death, rushing out on your own!" Xiao Man met the charge. However, just as she was about to reach the high-level demonic ape, she suddenly changed direction and struck another demonic ape. Her technique was clean and swift, delivering a fatal blow and extracting a demon core!
Those hiding in the ruins were stunned by this sight. When did demonic apes become so easy to kill? Killing one yielded a demon core. Demon cores were excellent materials for alchemy and artifact forging, and many high-level pills required them. However, demon cores were difficult to obtain. Yet, Xiao Man killed them with unerring accuracy, making everyone envious.
"We'll go too," Liu Hong said upon seeing this. He instructed his fellow disciples to go together, supporting each other. If one person dared to charge into the demonic apes, they, with so many people, had no reason to fear.
More and more people joined the demon ape hunt. Fang He looked outside, "If you want to go, then go. I'll go fight that high-level demonic ape."
Fang He, a cultivator in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, did not struggle against the high-level demonic ape. However, the demonic ape's hide was thick and tough, making it difficult to kill. Xiao Man's clean and swift actions had given everyone the illusion that demonic apes were weak, luring them out to hunt.
Ze Fang did not go out but watched the battle from within the ruins. Except for the leader and a few others who stayed by his side, everyone else had gone to kill demonic apes.
Xiao Bai climbed onto Ze Fang's shoulder and sat there, watching Xiao Man kill demonic apes as its master did. Its little head moved with Xiao Man's movements. Ze Fang reached out and stroked its head.
"She's very powerful, isn't she?"
Xiao Bai nodded as if in response and rubbed its head against Ze Fang's face.
Ze Fang smiled, "I know you like her. I quite like her too."
Xiao Bai shook its body and continuously rubbed its face against Ze Fang's. Its little tail wagged non-stop. Ze Fang's face turned red. "If you talk nonsense again, I'll stew you into soup!"
Xiao Bai immediately squirmed even more joyfully. If its face could show expression, it would be beaming with delight. Ze Fang waved Xiao Bai away with a hint of disdain, "You're a snake, but at least try to be a proper snake, alright?"
"Young Master, are you alright?" a随从 asked Ze Fang, looking confused. Their young master was good in every way: his character, family background, and looks were all excellent. He just disliked talking to people and preferred talking to snakes. Snakes were his most frequent companions. Today, he finally spoke to someone, and it happened to be a troublemaker!
Ze Fang continued to play with his snake, ignoring the attendant's gaze. Everyone considered him an oddity, and he had grown accustomed to their strange looks.
The battle outside was nearing its end. Fang He had slain the high-level demonic ape, while Xiao Man alone had hunted five demonic apes, possessing great luck and obtaining three demon cores. Others had also reaped their own rewards.
Returning to the ruins and tallying the spoils, Xiao Man walked directly towards Ze Fang and flicked a demon core towards him. Xiao Bai, perched on Ze Fang's shoulder, immediately opened its mouth and caught it, swallowing it in one gulp.
Ze Fang wished he could grab Xiao Bai by the neck and make it spit it out. "Xiao Bai, you little rascal, Xiao Qin worked so hard for this. How could you eat it!"
"It seems she also likes to eat demon cores," Xiao Man said with a smile. A small, jade-green snake crawled onto Xiao Man's shoulder, bit into another demon core in Xiao Man's hand, chewed it with a crunch, and swallowed it.
Prodigal! Seeing Xiao Man feed the demon cores she had hunted to her spiritual pet, others' faces were filled with distress. Even if you're a prodigal, you don't have to be this extravagant! Those were demon cores, and you fed them to your spirit beast!
"I cannot accept your gift for nothing," Ze Fang said, wearing a ring on his finger, a seemingly unremarkable storage item. Ze Fang took out a jade token from his storage space and handed it to Xiao Man. "This is a return gift."
Xiao Man caught it and glanced at it. "This is..."
"I hope you never have to use it."
"In that case, thank you." Xiao Man put the item away. However, after thinking about it, trading a demon core for this item seemed a bit too shameless. She then gave Ze Fang a bottle each of the hemostatic powder and the spirit-returning pill she had prepared. Ze Fang did not refuse and accepted them readily.
"Junior Sister, are you alright?" At that moment, a startled cry came. It turned out Liu Hong's junior sister had been injured by a demonic ape. The ape's claws were extremely sharp, and the wound on the girl's back was deep enough to see bone, bleeding profusely.
Xiao Man frowned and immediately stepped forward, "Let me see."
Liu Hong supported his junior sister, seeming not to hear Xiao Man's words. He took out all the medicine he carried and stuffed it into the girl's mouth.
Xiao Man reached out to examine the wound. For some reason, she felt there was something unusual about it.
"Don't touch her!" Liu Hong pushed Xiao Man's hand away, holding the unconscious girl protectively.
"She needs her wound treated. Are you sure you don't need my help?" Xiao Man asked calmly. She was not someone who liked to meddle. If they said they didn't need her, she would turn and leave immediately.
"Liu Hong, let her take a look." Fang He spoke up at this moment. He had seen this young person give Ze Fang several bottles of medicine earlier. Could this person be from the Hundred Medicine Hall?
"Uncle-Master Fang He."
"Let her take a look. If she intended harm, she wouldn't be saving a life."
Liu Hong relented upon hearing this and looked at Xiao Man. "Thank you for your trouble."
Xiao Man glanced at him, then bent down to examine the girl's wound. Indeed, the wound was poisoned. However, demonic ape claws did not carry poison. Where did this poison come from?
Xiao Man took out a detoxification pill, crushed it, and sprinkled it on the wound. "Do you have any wine?"
"Yes." Liu Hong took out a jar of wine and handed it to Xiao Man. Xiao Man poured a bowl of wine, added some hemostatic powder, and after the wound returned to its normal color, she directly poured the wine mixed with hemostatic powder onto the wound.
The woman, who had been unconscious, woke up from the pain, her face contorted, and struggled violently. "Hold her down."