Chapter Twenty-Four: Preparations Before the Hunt

Ye Mo and Mo Ling led their group through the jungle in careful circles, erasing every trace of their footprints before finally returning to the cave encampment. Inside, they found no sign of other martial artists; the spiritwood palisade stood untouched, unmarred by intruders or the juvenile demon crab. Their relief was palpable.

This outing had been a collective venture. If another martial artist gang had discovered their cave encampment and claimed it, it would have spelled considerable trouble for them. They had poured time and effort into constructing this stronghold, with its sturdy spiritwood barricade and several watchtowers. Moreover, within the cave lay over a dozen spiritwood javelins and several spiritwood shields. Should these fall into another’s hands, the loss would be substantial.

“It’s time to deal with that juvenile demon crab that keeps damaging our spiritwood palisade. With this ‘Ghostbane,’ if it dares return, we’ll teach it a lesson!” Ye Mo gazed at the palisade, its surface scarred by countless impacts from the little crab, then glanced at the ‘Ghostbane’ in his hand, brimming with confidence.

“Ye, how do you plan to do it?” Wang Hu asked excitedly.

“The demon crab’s methods are hardly clever—just those giant pincers. Its strength and defense are astonishing, especially the shell on its back, which would require at least a thousand pounds of force to break. With my current ability, even with the Double Tidal Slash, I can muster at most six hundred pounds—a far cry from what’s needed. Brute force alone won’t kill it,” Ye Mo replied swiftly.

“Exactly! The spiritwood javelins I threw last night didn’t even leave a mark,” Wang Hu said, animated. Clearly, the demon crab had left a deep impression on him.

“The demon crab’s defenses are formidable; none of us can breach its shell,” Mo Ling remarked, surprised. “Are you planning to hunt it?”

Ye Mo nodded. “Against such a beast, we can only rely on other means. With this Ghostbane, we can paralyze it with poison, giving us a much greater chance to kill it. But I worry about its dying counterattack—it may unleash a terrifying demon spell.”

Ye Mo pondered for a moment before speaking.

“It can use demon spells?” Wang Hu exclaimed, while Mo Ling and Yang You looked equally astonished.

“Yes, it can release water arrows like a spell. The first time I encountered it on the beach, I saw it in action. I was fleeing at the time, so I didn’t see how it cast the spell, but one thing was clear—the water arrow was incredibly powerful. Had I not blocked most of its force with my Azure Edge Sword, I might not have survived,” Ye Mo said gravely. He kept to himself that it was actually the ancient scroll he carried that saved him—that was his greatest secret.

“Why didn’t it use the water arrow last night?” Wang Hu asked, puzzled.

“That juvenile demon crab isn’t a true first-tier demon beast; its demonic energy is insufficient. Forcing itself to cast a water arrow would hinder its physical growth, so it won’t use it lightly,” Mo Ling explained, her knowledge surpassing Ye Mo’s.

“If we hunt it and it goes berserk, releasing water arrows, how will we defend against its demon spell?” Wang Hu pressed.

“The spiritwood shields are thick enough to withstand it. When we attack, make sure everyone holds a shield, just in case it casts the water arrow spell,” Ye Mo said sternly. Only those who had faced it firsthand understood the true power of the water arrow.

…

Ye Mo coated his Azure Edge Sword with Ghostbane poison. Its potency was fierce—enough to bring down a grown bull in moments. If they could poison and paralyze the demon crab, they would have a chance to kill it.

“Wang Hu, how many spiritwood javelins are left?”

“Twenty javelins, ten shields,” Wang Hu responded after taking stock of their supplies.

“Good. Rest now. Tonight, we won’t make more javelins or shields. Focus on strengthening yourselves and recover to peak condition for the fight with the demon crab,” Ye Mo instructed, distributing medicinal herbs to the three.

Wang Hu and the others devoted themselves to body tempering. Ye Mo cut a length of Redblood Vine, placed it in his mouth, and chewed slowly. He sat cross-legged on the ground.

Soon, warmth blossomed in his abdomen, coursing through his veins and seeping into his marrow, stimulating a surge of vital energy. Within his marrow, this intense energy slowly condensed into the essence of vital blood. The radiance from his blood grew stronger—after tempering with herbs, when the vital energy reached a certain concentration, it would generate blood essence.

It was said that at their peak, martial artists could convert their blood entirely into blood essence, allowing their blades to emit sharp sword rays—projecting sword energy outward, greatly enhancing martial techniques.

After half an hour, Ye Mo had fully absorbed the power of the inch-long Redblood Vine.

“The effects of this grade-seven tempering herb are extraordinary, greatly refining my vital energy. If I use up all the Redblood Vine, along with other tempering herbs, I have a good chance of breaking through to the eighth layer of body refinement before the end of the month,” Ye Mo thought, feeling strength surge through his body—a sensation every martial artist yearned for.

He rose, focusing his senses on the Azure Edge Sword and practiced the Double Tidal Slash within the encampment.

Mastery is everything in martial arts—a technique honed ten thousand times is vastly inferior to one refined a hundred thousand times, let alone a million or ten million.

Swish, swish!

Two sword shadows flashed almost simultaneously, the Azure Edge Sword slicing through the air with a piercing whistle. The blade, coated in Ghostbane, shimmered with a faint, eerie blue light.

Ye Mo gripped the sword in both hands, lost in thought.

“I’ve reached the seventh layer of body refinement. With ‘Wave-Cutting Arts’ and the Double Tidal Slash, I can execute nearly six hundred pounds of force with a success rate of over eighty percent. But who knows how long I’ll last against the demon crab?”