Chapter 123: The Fifth-Rank Demonic Beast, the Man-Faced Tiger

"War Camel Beast! It’s finally out!" Yi Wenhao’s eyes blazed with fire; he looked at the War Camel Beast as if it were already in his pocket.

"I’ll attack from the front. The rest of you, flank it! Do not let it escape!" Yi Wenhao commanded while charging up his strength to strike.

"Everyone together, block it!" Liu Xiaoyu was also incredibly excited.

Several of them split up to surround the creature. Yi Wenhao held his long sword, preparing for a frontal assault, while the others readied their weapons and ropes to hunt the beast.

But at that very moment, a roar of wind erupted from the sky behind them. A helicopter suddenly emerged from nowhere, its downwash making the ancient trees shake violently.

The cabin door was open. Xiang Nan stood there, shouldering a heavy machine gun, and unleashed a barrage of fire directly at the War Camel Beast.

Yi Wenhao and his group were stunned. What kind of insane tactic was this?

The War Camel Beast was clearly bewildered as well—where did this giant bird come from? It was screeching so arrogantly, and it could even fire hidden projectiles!

The beast was quick to recover, but it was already too late. Even as it zig-zagged in a frantic attempt to escape, the helicopter pursued it relentlessly. The bullets seemed to have eyes, raining down from behind. In no time, the beast was riddled with holes like a sieve. Finally, exhausted of all strength, it collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Onboard the helicopter, they didn't even need a ladder this time. Su Yao had modified the steel cable, adding a claw to the end. She tossed it down, the claw gripped the beast firmly, and with a pull of the winch, the creature—which had just been lying among the withered leaves—was hoisted into mid-air.

Watching Xiang Nan’s team fly away with the massive War Camel Beast without so much as a greeting, Yi Wenhao was furious.

"Too much! This is too much! We spent two hours scouting, two hours crouching in these Huangshan woods, and after finally flushing it out, we got sniped by these bastards!" Yi Wenhao gritted his teeth so hard his lips began to bleed.

"Someone mentioned seeing a helicopter yesterday. It turns out it was true! How ridiculously overpowered!"

"Damn it! Is that the point right now? The point is that the beast we worked so hard for was stolen! Four hours of work, all for nothing!"

"This is just... the damage is immense, but the insult is even greater!"

"I told you, Xiang Nan’s team is too arrogant. We should just go and rob them directly. No need to suffer this kind of humiliation," Black Tiger proposed once again.

"Rob them! We have to rob them!" Yi Wenhao said, grinding his teeth. "I will make this Xiang Nan know that if he dares to touch what belongs to Yi Wenhao, he will pay a heavy price!"

"Are we really going to deal with them? That Xiang Nan is the guy who dared to go head-to-head with the Fire Cloud Evil God," Liu Xiaoyu said with concern.

"Screw him! Everyone knows he’s only at the second-tier cultivation level. I think only that girl helping them has any real power. I’ll handle her, and you lot take care of the others," Black Tiger volunteered. After a pause, he added, "If you’re still hesitant, I’ll go find my buddy. He’s an auxiliary for Ma Dalong’s team. Ma Dalong has had a grudge against Xiang Nan for a long time; he definitely won’t let him off in the Lingxu realm."

"Good! Then it’s settled. As for Xiang Nan, I’ll deal with him myself," Yi Wenhao said, his face twisted in malice as he clenched his fists. He refused to believe that he, a third-tier, six-star cultivator, couldn't take down a second-tier piece of trash!

"But they have a helicopter and they've already gone far. We can't catch up. Even if we did, we’d be exhausted while they remain high above us. How are we supposed to fight that?" Liu Xiaoyu felt their chances of winning were slim.

"Liu Xiaoyu, can you stop with the defeatist talk? Just because you didn't bring your brain doesn't mean the rest of us didn't. He caught a War Camel Beast, didn't he? They’ll definitely return to the clearing tonight to barbecue it. We’ll strike then and catch them off guard!" Yi Wenhao said, a cunning and sinister look on his face.

"Alright, that’s decided. We strike tonight!"

Meanwhile, on Xiang Nan’s side, it was another smooth and fun day, just like yesterday.

Xiang Nan had changed directions to sweep a different part of the forest. As expected, not only was the harvest bountiful, but they had also hunted a War Camel Beast even larger than the one from the day before. Before the sun had even set, the team finished their work early, setting up camp, processing the meat, and preparing for a barbecue.

"Brother Nan, if we keep going like this, it won't take many days before we're loaded with spirit pearls," Li Xiang said, setting up the tents while dreaming of the rewards.

With so many spirit pearls, he wouldn't be able to use them all for cultivation anytime soon. If he took them to the market, each one would be worth a fortune. Usually, people participated in the Lingxu expedition for the ranking rewards or to gain combat experience, but making a small fortune this time was an unexpected bonus. As for the combat experience, this kind of experience was simply incredible!

"We have to raise our standards tonight. No more second-tier pearls; we only want third-tier ones," Xiang Nan said with a grin. The second-tier pearls from yesterday were purely for his teammates; for him, the cultivation speed from third-tier pearls was already starting to feel slow.

After returning to camp last night, he had practiced with the sixth-tier pearl Yuan Ao gave him. He felt the surging spiritual energy inside, as vast as the universe itself. The difference in quality between the pearls was truly massive.

It seemed this Lingxu expedition would yield a great harvest. The spiritual energy he had absorbed last night had already pushed his refinement of the sixth-tier pearl significantly further. He could vaguely touch upon the powerful spiritual skill condensed within the pearl by the Ancient Wind Beast. He believed it wouldn't be long before he successfully mastered it.

Moreover, after yesterday's absorption and the battle with the Black Soul Tree in the forest, all his skills were maxed out, and his ancestral affinity had reached 98%. Xiang Nan could sense that he would enter the third-tier of ancestral awakening before long.

He wondered what the characteristics of his third-tier awakening would be. Beast-type? Elemental? Domain? Regardless, with the system’s assistance, it certainly wouldn't be ordinary.

At this moment, the clearing was empty except for Xiang Nan’s team. There was no helping it; others had to toil and labor, working hard just to earn a bite of delicious camel meat. They lacked the overpowered tools Xiang Nan’s team possessed and had to rely on their own two feet to get anywhere. Sometimes they would even cross paths with Xiang Nan’s team and get mercilessly sniped. Even if they were seething with rage, they couldn't catch up, so they had to swallow their pride.

On the wide lawn, the girls were processing the beast's carcass with practiced ease. Once the tents were set up, Xiang Nan sat on a small stool, observing the scenery, his expression carrying a mysterious, contemplative air. Li Xiang didn't disturb him; after finishing the tents, he went to help the girls with the beast.

Behind the campsite, two teams were sneaking closer.