Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Ning Che first gathered enough branches, and after obtaining three ropes, and having Shi Yong and another unknown hunter offer their undergarments, he finally managed to immobilize the wounded soldier.

It was still early, so everyone remained cautious and returned.

But now, even walking these two miles safely seems like a luxury.

Just as they were about to reach the village, they saw the familiar flock of sheep, which were running towards them desperately, clearly trying to avoid something.

On the other hand, aside from the injured, those carrying others, and those with broken legs being carried, only Shi Yong, Ning Che, and an old hunter named Fugui remained on Ning Che's side.

Ning Che recognized Fu Gui, as he was the oldest hunter in the village, fifty-six years old this year. He had spent his entire life fighting wild beasts in the wilderness, and his archery skills were the best in the village, earning him considerable fame. If it weren't for his lack of cultivation aptitude, he would probably be the head hunter.

Shi Yong looked at Ning Che, who said bluntly, "It's probably too late to run. We can't outrun those goats, and we'll definitely become prey."

Shi Yong nodded and looked again at where the flock of sheep had come from. Sure enough, the enormous creature behind the flock was already in sight.

It was a bear, running on all fours, about 1.67 meters tall at the shoulder, clearly a demon. Ning Che had no doubt that with its size, even without the aid of magic or other supernatural powers, it would be enough to overturn a car.

"Fugui, find a position to shoot arrows! The rest of you stay put and defend!" Shi Yong shouted, then looked at Ning Che: "Can we handle this together?"

Ning Che had already drawn his gleaming steel knife: "That's exactly what I was thinking."

"Alright!" Shi Yong smiled, and instead of retreating, he advanced to meet the brown bear that was charging towards him.

This was undoubtedly a provocation to the bear demon. It suddenly stood up on its own two feet, its three-meter-tall body pressing down like a wall. It pounced forward with its two paws and slammed down hard on Shi Yong's head!

"Well done!" Shi Yong roared, not only did he not retreat, but he rushed forward half a step, gripped the machete tightly with both hands, and slashed fiercely at the bear's paw!

clang--!

The deafening clang of metal striking metal was so loud it hurt the eardrums. When the blade struck the bear's paw, sparks flew. The immense recoil traveled from the blade to Shi Yong's hand, instantly splitting his hand open and drawing blood. He was thrown back two steps, his footing creating several deep craters in the dry earth.

He managed to withstand the attack and keep the bear demon in front of him.

"call out!"

Just then, a sharp arrow pierced the air, so fast that Ning Che could only hear the sound of it cutting through the air. The bear demon shook its head violently, trying to dodge, but a blur still grazed its eye socket, instantly tearing its skin open.

He seized this fleeting opening, twisting his wrist and body, his machete in hand. His fighting instincts compelled him to immediately twist the hilt, using the blade to shred the demon's internal organs. But at that moment, the Daoist talisman flickered once more.

Without hesitation, he let go. He pushed off with both legs and fell backward. The bear's paw whistled past him; he narrowly escaped having his head split open.

Shi Yong thrust out a blade, intending to cover Ning Che, but the bear demon twisted its hands and severed the steel blade in two!

Another arrow flew in.

Good timing!

Ning Che's eyes lit up. As expected of the village's top archer. He gripped the ground with both hands, exerted force to stop his retreat, turned his body, pushed off with his left foot, and his right foot drew an arc, striking the hilt of the knife he had just plunged into the bear demon's body.

The blade immediately sank completely into the hilt.

"roar--"

The bear demon roared in pain.

Before that, Ning Che had already retreated again using the reaction force, not giving it a chance to fight to the death.

The bear demon swung its arms wildly for a moment before realizing it couldn't hit anyone, and then charged towards Ning Che.

Just then, the third arrow arrived.

The iron arrow pierced through the eye socket and into the bear demon's brain.

The bear demon's roar abruptly ceased, its massive body shuddering violently, crashing onto the barren earth like a toppled mountain. The corpse continued its trajectory, sliding a few more steps before finally coming to a stop.

Ning Che waited a few more moments before going forward to check.

All that could be seen in the bear demon's remaining eyes was the amber pupil, which had already faded. Only blood continued to flow from the wounds, soaking the soil beneath it into a dark red mud.

Ning Che turned around and saw Fu Gui jumping down from a protruding rock. Ning Che called out, "Uncle Fu Gui, what excellent archery!"

Fu Gui put down the bow, his hands trembling slightly, but he still grinned.

"What happened to your hand?" Shi Yong walked over and asked Ning Che.

Ning Che raised his hand and saw that his hand was also covered in blood and mud. The pain slowly surged up, causing his expression to twitch slightly.

The saying "the ten fingers are connected to the heart" is truly accurate.

"It's alright, I probably just used too much force just now," Ning Che said.

Shi Yong nodded: "Go back and wash up, then apply some medicine."

The hunters who had been guarding the spot finally relaxed when they saw that the bear demon was completely dead, and burst into cheers that had been suppressed for a long time.

Several uninjured men were the first to gather around, looking at the massive bear carcass on the ground, praising it one after another, their words revealing neither their sincerity nor their deliberate expression.

Shi Yong waved his hand: "Alright, Fugui, come and give us a hand with your knife. This bear probably has demon bones. Luckily, it doesn't have any matching demonic magic, otherwise we might really be done for."

Ning Che stood to the side, observing and learning with a tense expression.

However, without learning many details, the two simply cut it open roughly and took out two pieces of bone along with the flesh.

This bone is indeed quite extraordinary. It is as white as jade, with yellowish-brown patterns on it, like layers of mountains, but not very clear.

Shi Yong put the food away, then cut open the bear demon's corpse, removing large pieces of fat and internal organs from its abdominal cavity and discarding them. He waved to the crowd, "Let's go, be careful of the injured!"

After the recent turn of events, no one dared to linger and quickly tidied up. Shi Yong and Fu Gui went one after the other to carry the bear demon's corpse.

But the bear was too big and too heavy. Although Shi Yong was a cultivator, he couldn't lift the entire bear carcass by himself; he could only drag it. Even after the internal organs had been removed, Fu Gui couldn't lift the hindquarters. Ning Che and several lightly wounded soldiers had to lend a hand before they could make their way into the village.

The road wasn't long, but everyone was already carrying their loads to the limit, and they had to be constantly on guard against the monsters that might suddenly leap out from under the withered tree, so every step they took was still fraught with danger. Ning Che walked on the right side of the group, his eyes scanning both sides from time to time.

Seeing him tense up and looking around, Shi Yong couldn't help but smile: "Don't be so tense. We're only half a mile from the village. If something comes out, the three of us can handle it."

Ning Che nodded, but the pain prevented him from fully relaxing. He whispered, "It's always good to be more careful."

Hearing this, Fu Gui nodded in agreement, rubbing his rough hands against the hard bow in his hand, and sighed, "Xing boy is right. I've been running around in this wasteland my whole life, and I've never seen such a terrible year. In previous years, the drought only affected some grass-eating creatures, but this year, the first demon has already blocked the village entrance."

As they talked, they soon arrived at the village entrance.