Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

Gou An fled ahead, with several hunting dogs hot on his heels, their speed matching Gou An's.

He knew how troublesome these hunting dogs were.

Even if he can temporarily outrun them with his speed, they can still follow the trail of their residual scents, leading the hunters to his hiding place. This is what he fears most.

Having made up his mind, Gou An deliberately slowed his pace, waiting for the hounds to approach.

Upon seeing this, the three hunting dogs immediately sped up and pounced.

Just as the hound's canines were about to touch the fur, Gou An instantly activated his sorcery, Hair Needle Protection.

His smooth, yellow fur suddenly stood on end, hardening and becoming sharp and rigid like wooden thorns.

The three hunting dogs that pounced on him instantly stabbed him, filling his mouth with blood and emitting small, mournful whimpers.

Taking advantage of this moment, Gou An opened his mouth and spewed out a thick, murky black mist. The gray-black miasma quickly filled the entire forest, obscuring all vision.

When the hunters rushed over from behind, they used their spiritual power to create a strong wind that dispersed the black mist. The sight before them sent a chill down everyone's spine.

All three hounds lay on the ground, their necks severed, and they were already dead.

"What kind of demonic beast was that just now? Its methods were so sinister!"

"I seem to remember seeing this blond stray dog ​​before!"

"Damn it, should we keep chasing them?"

"No need to chase them. The most important thing is to get the corpses of those two fifth-tier demonic beasts back to camp!"

Several hunters abandoned their pursuit of Gou An and turned to surround the remains of the white fox and the raging bear, beginning to deal with the two enormous corpses.

Gou An seized the opportunity to escape, but instead of fleeing far away, he found a high slope with a wide view and hid there.

Watching the hunters drag the two monster corpses away down the mountain, he felt a surge of resentment, as if he had won a five million dollar lottery, only to have it claimed by someone else.

However, given his current strength, he doesn't want to engage in a head-on battle with a group of well-equipped hunters.

Although most of the opportunities fell into the other party's hands, it wasn't a complete loss, as the demon core of that fifth-order demon beast was still in his mouth.

Just as Gou An was about to find a secluded, deserted cave to calmly refine the demon core, a thin figure suddenly appeared beside him without warning.

It was that scoundrel again, appearing without warning and startling Gou An once more.

Lai Pi followed Gou An's gaze and looked in the direction the hunters had gone, muttering to himself, "Those humans really hit the jackpot this time."

Gou An snapped irritably, "Before you come near me, you must call out first, do you understand?"

Lai Pi nodded repeatedly, his ears drooping, "Okay, Brother Gou, I've got it!"

Just as Gou An was about to leave, a thought suddenly struck him. He turned to Lai Pi and said, "I'm giving you a task. If you do it well, I'll reward you with a demon core next time."

Upon hearing the words "demon core," Lai Pi's eyes lit up instantly, and he hurriedly replied, "Brother Gou, just give the orders, and I'll do my best!"

"I want you to secretly follow those hunters and find their camp!"

"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" After replying, Lai Pi, driven by the immense temptation of the demon core, immediately and quietly chased after the hunter's departing trail.

Watching Lai Pi's figure disappear into the depths of the dense forest, Gou An turned around and headed towards the opposite secluded mountain forest.

Refining the demon core and absorbing demonic power was a crucial moment, and he did not want to be disturbed by others. He needed to find an absolutely safe place.

Half an hour later, Gou An found a secluded mountain cave where few animals could be found.

After entering the cave and confirming that there was no unusual activity around him, he immediately spat out the fifth-tier demon core that he had hidden in his mouth's storage space.

This fifth-tier demon core has five clear lines on its surface, resembling the rings of an ancient tree, and its entire surface shimmers with a soft, luminous white light.

Simply by placing it in front of you, you can feel the profound and pure demonic power contained within.

Gou An circled the cave entrance again to check, and after confirming that it was safe, he stuck out his tongue, curled it up, put the demon core back into his mouth, bit it hard, and swallowed it all.

The moment the demon core fragment slid into his stomach, a surge of scalding heat exploded outwards, rushing wildly throughout his body.

Gou An closed his eyes and focused his mind, looking at the image panel. He saw that the demon power value was rapidly increasing at a rate of over a hundred points per second, climbing steadily.

Looking at the constantly increasing numbers, Gou An couldn't hide his excitement. The improvement brought by this high-level demon core was far superior to that of low-level ones.

However, this exhilaration did not last long. When the demon power value reached more than 5,300 points, the absorption rate of the medicine began to slow down, eventually settling at just over 6,000. Despite the surging residual heat in the body, the value did not increase by the slightest.

"What a pity, what a real pity."

Gou An couldn't help but shake his head and sigh softly.

If he had obtained the fifth-tier demon core of that raging bear earlier, the combined demonic power of the two cores would have allowed him to break through the bottleneck and directly advance to the fifth-tier demon beast.

We absolutely cannot let those hunters leave like this!

Having made up his mind, Gou An quickly crawled out of the cave and followed the scent trail left by Lai Pi along the way.

Lai Pi always leaves his scent mark along the way. He only needs to follow the scent to find Lai Pi and also to locate the hunter's stronghold camp.

On the other side, there was a hunter's camp on the outskirts of the mountains.

The entire stronghold was enclosed by thick logs piled up, forming a solid wooden wall that was much stronger than the temporary camp they had encountered before.

On a distant earthen slope, Lai Pi lay quietly in the grass, gazing at the village for a long time.

After confirming the basic situation, it walked to a tree trunk and left a scent mark with its leg, intending to turn back and report to Gou An.

But as soon as it turned around, it suddenly discovered that there was a figure behind it.

Caught off guard, the rogue thought it was another monster approaching, and his whole body trembled violently. He was so frightened that he lost control of his bladder and peed in a puddle at his feet.

After recognizing Gou An as the newcomer, Lai Pi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A hint of secret pleasure flashed across Gou An's eyes; he felt a sense of satisfaction.

This scoundrel had repeatedly approached me silently, scaring me several times before. Today, I've finally gotten my revenge.

Then Gou An looked at the hunters' village in the distance, his brows furrowing slightly.

The camp here doesn't look like it was recently built; it should be a permanent base for this group of hunters.

However, this location is further out, and Gou An had never been here before.

Although they suffered many casualties this time, the number of people in the camp was still quite large.

At a glance, there are at least a dozen people still stationed there.

The corpses of the Blazing Bear and the Five-Tailed White Fox had already been moved into the village, and the people were gathered together, seemingly discussing how to dispose of them.

However, they were too far apart for Gou An to hear what they were saying.

"You! Go down and listen to what they're saying!" Gou An ordered Lai Pi, who had just come to his senses.

"Me?" Lai Pi was dumbfounded.

"That's right! Go listen to your brother Gou quickly!" Gou An urged.

Lai Pi immediately cowered, drooping his ears and cautiously saying, "Brother Gou, if you want me dead, just bite me to death. No need for all this trouble."