Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

While Shi Gu was calming down the agitated villagers, Shi Yong and Ning Che went to the training ground.

The hunting party had already assembled at the training ground, everyone holding gleaming weapons, some even wearing homemade leather armor. Mancang stood at the very front of the group, gripping a hunting spear with a handle longer than himself.

Ning Che looked over and greeted him, but his body suddenly stiffened, his eyes unconsciously drifting to the side, and his hands and feet showing a sense of helplessness and awkwardness. After hesitating for a moment, he bowed to Ning Che with his head down as a gesture of return.

Ning Che raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled. But with the disaster looming and the lives of the entire village hanging in the balance, this minor anomaly only briefly crossed his mind before being suppressed.

Shi Yong strode to the front of the group, raised his hand and clapped it. His rough and loud voice made the loose soil on the training ground tremble slightly: "If we hunt one more game or other usable supplies in the wilderness today, the village will have more confidence to survive the drought."

We're in the wilderness, we must advance and retreat together. Anyone who dares to disobey orders or desert will be kicked out of the village! Enough with the nonsense, keep your eyes peeled and make sure you come back alive!

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone responded in unison.

Shi Yong waved his hand and said, "Make some final preparations. Those who have armor, put it on. Those who didn't bring rations and water, remember to take them. Let's set off immediately!"

After saying that, he went to the weapon rack next to him, picked up a hard bow made of elm wood with a string wrapped with animal sinew, and grabbed a heavy quiver of iron arrows, and handed it to Ning Che: "Take this bow with you."

The moment Ning Che's fingertips touched the cold, rough bow, another weapon suddenly flashed through his mind—compared to the longbow, which required years of honing arm strength and refining accuracy, the crossbow was obviously easier to use, and its explosive power and lethality at close range were more consistent. He immediately looked up at Shi Yong: "Are there any crossbows in the village?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yong paused for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile: "Crossbows are mechanical artifacts, and only those mechanics can make them. Not to mention our small village, even in Feihu City, they are not items that can be obtained easily."

Ning Che was not surprised to hear this. He reached out and took the hard bow, tied the quiver firmly to his waist, and then picked out a heavy, sharp-edged machete from the weapon rack and tucked it into his lower back.

Once everyone was fully equipped, he followed the hunting party and, facing the increasingly strong smell of decay in the wind, stepped into the wasteland.

The wasteland was originally a barren land, full of yellowish-brown stones, with only occasional tenacious life growing in the crevices of the rocks.

At this moment, they have all withered and decayed.

Shi Yong walked ahead, his broad-bladed machete tucked into his waistband, his eyes scanning left and right, searching for prey.

Ning Che walked beside Shi Yong. In his nearly forty years of life across two lifetimes, this was his first time hunting.

He glanced around from time to time, but he wasn't actually good at hunting. It was just that he had never been to this wilderness before, so if any unexpected situation arose, he had to be able to react quickly to the environment. In addition, he also had to remember the way back to the village.

The devastation was only partially revealed in the woods outside the village; only by truly venturing into this vast wasteland could one understand the full extent of this natural disaster.

Under a gloomy, gray sky, the wind whipped up dry dust. Not a single insect chirped, not a single rabbit hopped about, and even the once ubiquitous burrows were mostly buried in the dry earth. Everything was eerily silent, save for the sounds of the group's footsteps and breathing, echoing in the vast emptiness.

But animals are not so easily affected by drought, and besides, this is only the beginning; they must be somewhere in the wasteland.

Ning Che quickly realized he had been overthinking things. This wilderness couldn't hide anything; anyone with eyesight would see prey. After walking only a hundred steps, he saw a herd of goats in the distance.

Shi Yong saw it too, and he shouted, "Nock the arrow!" Immediately, someone drew their bow and arrow, finding the right angle to shoot. Ning Che followed suit, drawing his bow and arrow and aiming at a goat.

With Shi Yong's shout of "Release the arrow!", a chorus of bowstring twanged as two goats fell to the ground. Ning Che silently withdrew his bow—he had missed.

The remaining goats immediately fled south. Shi Yong knew that humans couldn't outrun them, so he didn't try to chase them. He only sent four people to collect the two that had been killed and transport them back to the village, while the main force rested where they were.

This arrangement was made because, having just entered the wilderness, it was better to transport the hundreds of pounds of weight back first and continue traveling light, rather than carrying it the whole way.

Most of the others sat on the ground, but Ning Che, wearing new clothes, naturally refused and practiced archery in front of a rock.

Shi Yong wasn't idle either. He glanced back at the group and began to explain some hunting experience: "When the calamity arrives, all the edible grass and trees will rot, and the herbivorous beasts will run south. What remains in this area are mainly ferocious beasts that are starving."

It's not certain yet. In a couple of days, they'll fight tooth and nail for a bite to eat. No one is allowed to be separated from the group, and the formation must not be disrupted. If you're injured, retreat back to the center. Understand?

"Understood!" Nearly twenty people responded in unison, their voices crashing against the barren slope and then scattered by the wind.

As they talked, the four returned shortly afterward, and the hunting party ventured deeper into the area once more.

After walking for about two miles, a wide, dry river valley appeared to the right. The riverbed had long since dried up and cracked, leaving only a layer of dark brown silt at the bottom. On the slopes on both sides grew some short, dead trees with branches lying askew.

Among the shrubs, there were hundreds of pairs of bright, golden eyes.

Shi Yong's expression changed, and he waved his hand, shouting, "Run! It's a hyena!"

But it was too late.

A low, mournful wail emanated from the withered forest, and countless, dark yellow figures surged forth, lunging forward.

There were hundreds of hyenas, so thin their ribs bulged and their bellies were so sunken they clung to their spines, but they moved with incredible speed, quickly surrounding the hunting party. Clearly, they had been lying in ambush, waiting for their prey to come to them.

"These beasts are really clever!" someone muttered cursingly.

Someone fired arrows, but the hyenas were small targets and very agile; both arrows missed.

"Don't break formation! Don't expose your backs, or they'll attack your rear!" Shi Yong's roar echoed along the river valley. He drew his machete from his waist, surveyed the surroundings, and continued shouting, "Fight as you go! Don't linger in battle! Such a large pack of hyenas might be a demon!"

The hunters, who were used to fighting for their lives in the wilderness, reacted very quickly. Even though they were startled by the scene, they immediately formed a circle according to their usual training methods. The outer circle was filled with gleaming weapons, while the inner circle was filled with bows and arrows ready to be fired.

Faced with such a formation, even though the hyenas surrounded them, they had no choice but to make way for them, and for a time they seemed to be at peace, walking about several dozen steps.

Finally, with a howl, hunger compelled them to attack. Dozens of them charged forward, heading straight for their groin.