Li Ling casually sidestepped the stomp of a rather rare demon beast, the Horned Elephant. This level 9 Qi Refinement demon beast was practically invaluable when killed, its ivory tusks great for artifact refining, its hide for talisman papers, its flesh for body refining, and its bones for yin-related methods.
Li Ling had a good grasp of the market despite having hidden away here for over five years, or rather precisely because of it, so he could estimate that this creature could bring around 167 spirit stones if brought alive and 119 spirit stones if brought in as a corpse.
There was no way he would bring this thing back alive, and he was even skeptical that he would take it out as a corpse, given its high value compared to what his perceived cultivation level should be.
Li Ling avoided another thunderous stomp from the rather quick Horned Elephant, which caused the land to quake greatly for hundreds of meters. At the late stage of Qi Refinement, demon beasts already began to possess minor esoteric abilities, and for this creature, it could imbue its strength into its stomps, causing seismic activity.
Li Ling was not exactly sure how to take down this beast. At the late stage, reliance on physical methods reduced greatly, with many using daoist arts or talismans, but his talismans were mostly defensive or support types due to his previous cowardly nature, while he only had the fireball technique as a daoist art.
The Li Family Spear Technique was not bad, but the spear he was using just was not good enough to even pierce the weak points of this creature. At least, it could not pierce deep enough to be a one-shot kill, and Li Ling was not going to fight a battle of attrition with such a creature. He would fall short.
His best course of action was to disengage and find easier foes or to lure this beast to another one, then let them fight each other through clever maneuvering.
Li Ling smirked as his choice was obvious, a blue light flashing in the depths of his eyes as he looked around rapidly, scouting for any nearby creatures. Just as he planned to move a bit to extend his range, he was pleasantly surprised to see the qi signatures of a team of cultivators rushing over from the northwest.
Third party? Heh. Li Ling sneered inwardly and rushed in their direction.
Unfortunately for this team, Li Ling could see them from afar due to his Expert-level Qi Seeking Technique, but they could not see him through the thickets, only rely on sound and their senses to judge where the fight was.
As such, when Li Ling burst out in front of them with a panicked expression, their faces changed greatly as they sensed the vibrations of the furiously pursuing Horned Elephant behind him.
Li Ling, seeing their group, had his eyes light up as he called to them. "Fellow dao friends, help me take down this beast and I shall relinquish all its spoils to you and pay compensation!"
Hearing this, the group who were about to scatter hesitated. Not only was Li Ling at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, even higher than their leader, they still had some confidence in taking out this beast, though with not a small cost.
But if Li Ling were to relinquish his share and even pay compensation on top...
The eyes of the leader of this group flickered, and he eventually made a decision.
"Good, we of the human race should naturally help each other! Fellow daoist, you take the lead in slowing it down and we will provide support!" he shouted as he took out a mid-grade Ice Blade talisman from his storage treasure.
Li Ling nodded excitedly, but his sneer became deeper. This guy wanted him to be the tank and take all the hits while his group struck from afar in safety, allowing them to both leave if the situation got perilous and also spend the minimal amount of effort to secure this bounty.
But no matter the terms the fellow put forth, Li Ling would agree at this moment, not because of desperation, but because his prey had shifted. As a predator, the most important thing is to stabilize your prey and make sure that they do not run, because chasing could lead to more sacrifices than necessary.
As such, he turned around and took out his spear, seemingly gritting his teeth to face off against a formidable foe. Seeing that Li Ling had foolishly agreed, the team leader was overjoyed, quickly making signals to his team to assemble and execute the formation.
The others quickly formed in and waited for Li Ling to make the first strike before they began. By this time, the Horned Elephant had already caught up and was charging at Li Ling furiously, and one might think it was a heartbroken maiden coming to seek revenge on the playboy who dumped her.
Li Ling leapt up and struck with his spear, aiming at the eye of the Horned Elephant. However, even though he was quick, his cultivation realm was one sub-realm lower, so the beast simply snorted and used its tusks to counter the blow and send Li Ling crashing back.
At this time, the others had begun their stream of attacks, which struck the Horned Elephant and caused it to wail slightly, as daoist arts, even from weaker cultivators, still dealt damage that was higher than physical strikes. Of course, this was only if the physical strike was not from a Body Refiner or someone with a spirit weapon.
Before the Horned Elephant could turn its head to glance at the others, Li Ling had already appeared and leapt onto its back. Like before, he channeled a wealth of refined spiritual qi into his legs and stomped down, aiming to use blunt force to bypass the tough hide of the creature. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by NoveIＦire.net
The Horned Elephant trumpeted with anguish, but it did not stagger nor fall like the previous warthog. Rather, it whipped its trunk at Li Ling who was on its back, causing the young man to hastily jump like he was skipping rope, barely avoiding being blasted away.
A hint of sweat appeared on Li Ling’s brow because if that had connected, he would truly have to flee, assuming he was not too injured to even move.