Mo Yuan had also opened his eyes by this point.
Carrying the heavy responsibility of protecting his students, there was no way he could have really drifted off to sleep. He had been keeping a close eye on their surroundings, and upon taking a closer look, his eyes lit up in excitement.
Noting Mo Yuan’s response, Zhang Xuan shot a questioning glance over.
“If I’m not mistaken, that should be the thing my students are supposed to find for the mission, the Windgale Fox!” Mo Yuan explained as he stood up.
Zhang Xuan’s frown only deepened as a result of that. He knew next to nothing about the Firmament, so it went without saying that he had no idea what kind of beast that was.
With a light chuckle, Mo Yuan explained, “It’s a low-tier God realm divine beast. Its offensive and defensive abilities are below average, but it’s extraordinarily agile. Its blood and beast core harness the wind attribute, allowing cultivators who consume it to move with enhanced agility. It’s a mission that has low risk yet still poses some challenge, making it highly suitable for students. Based on my investigations, its lair should be roughly half a day’s journey away, but it seems like we are in luck!”
After explaining it to Zhang Xuan, Mo Yuan turned to his students and woke them up with a hushed voice. “Shen Cheng and Wu Xiaoxiao, wake up!”
Even though those youths had already fallen fast asleep, as God realm experts, they still maintained a certain degree of awareness of their surroundings even in their sleep. Upon hearing their teacher’s call, they swiftly got up and shook off their drowsiness. In just a few moments, they were already prepared for battle.
“What’s wrong, Mo Yuan laoshi?” the white-robed young man known as Shen Cheng asked with a hint of doubt in his voice.
“Listen to it yourself,” Mo Yuan said as he pointed in a certain direction.
Shen Cheng focused his attention on his ears for a moment before his eyes suddenly blazed with excitement. “Is it the Windgale Fox?”
“Indeed.” Mo Yuan nodded.
“Great! It looks like we might just be able to finish our mission today,” Shen Cheng exclaimed excitedly. He swiftly leaped to his feet and beckoned his fellow classmates over. “Everyone, prepare yourselves! We’ll be moving according to the plan we devised earlier!”
“Yes!” everyone replied in hushed voices before flitting forward quietly.
Their movements were very organized, and there were no excessive movements whatsoever. There was absolutely no sound to be heard from their movements. Seeing this, Zhang Xuan nodded in approval.
As expected of the talents of the Firmament, there was no denying that they were indeed skilled cultivators.
Even though they were only low-tier Gods, their fighting prowess was nothing to scoff at.
“Brother Zhang, you should continue resting here for the time being. I’ll head over there to look after them,” Mo Yuan said with a light chuckle before swiftly following his students.
“Zhao Ya, I’ll leave it to you to take care of your juniors and my parents. I’ll be right back,” Zhang Xuan instructed Zhao Ya before heading forth.
He felt that it would give him a good gauge of the average fighting prowess of cultivators in the Firmament if he could watch how those students moved to capture the Windgale Fox.
As Zhang Xuan had not fully recovered from his injuries, he was only barely able to keep up with Mo Yuan and his students. By the time he arrived, Shen Cheng and the other students had already managed to encircle the Windgale Fox.
The Windgale Fox was relatively small in physique, and through the clashes between the divine beasts and the students, Zhang Xuan could tell that it was not too strong. The only advantage it had in the battle was its speed.
“These students are really not bad,” Zhang Xuan murmured as he studied their offensive maneuvers carefully.
He had thought that they would be amateurs, especially given how young they were. However, the tactics and flexibility they had displayed so far showed a completely different story.
Each and every one of them was mindful of their collaborative formation when they made their moves, making absolutely sure that they did not carelessly open up any gaps that would give the Windgale Fox an opportunity to slip past them. As a result, the Windgale Fox found itself unable to escape despite its speed advantage.
It was no wonder Mo Yuan subconsciously looked down on the disciples taken in by the master teachers. Just by looking at Shen Cheng and the others, it was obvious that the students taken in by the Twilight Academy were the cream of the crop.
Be it their flexibility, timing, or battle sense, Shen Cheng and the others had proved that their capabilities far exceeded those of an ordinary cultivator.
“It looks like it’ll be impossible for the Windgale Fox to escape,” Zhang Xuan remarked thoughtfully.
Given how meticulous Shen Cheng and the others were, there was no way they would allow the Windgale Fox to escape. With this, the conclusion of the battle had already been decided.
Thinking that there was no point watching any longer, Zhang Xuan turned around to return to Zhao Ya and the others. However, barely after he took a few steps, another thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Based on his understanding, most beasts would only move around in a fixed area that they had claimed to be their territory. Other than predators heading out for a hunt, most beasts would not step out of their territory easily due to the risks.
Based on what Mo Yuan had said, the habitat of the Windgale Fox was roughly half a day away, so why would it venture so far out of its territory in the middle of the night?
This was contrary to common sense.
Holding onto such a doubt, Zhang Xuan activated the Eye of Insight and began to study the Windgale Fox carefully.
Many movement trails intersecting one another appeared in his sight. It took him just a short moment to discern the one that belonged to the Windgale Fox, and his eyes lit up a little.
Its footprints were exceptionally light, suggesting that it was in the midst of chasing something. During its hunt, it suddenly sensed the presence of Shen Cheng and the other students nearby, causing it to immediately turn tail to run, but it was already too late for it to get away.
Zhang Xuan carefully traced the Windgale Fox’s footsteps before it started running away, and it did not take long for the shadows of the night to envelop his silhouette.
Something that could bring the Windgale Fox out of its lair and travel over half a day in the middle of the night was likely something extraordinary. Zhang Xuan had a feeling that the results of his search would not disappoint him.
He traveled for a while before finally coming to a halt.
The Windgale Fox’s footsteps stopped in the middle of a dense forest. Most likely, this was where the Windgale Fox had first noticed the presence of Shen Cheng and the others and started escaping.
So, Zhang Xuan slowly walked toward the dense forest as he studied his surroundings carefully.
The crescent moon in the sky was not a particularly bright source of light, and the shadows of the leaves above only made everything appear darker. Zhang Xuan found that his visibility had been reduced significantly even with his Eye of Insight activated.
Finally, he arrived at the very spot where the footsteps stopped and began to examine his surroundings carefully.
However, except for some ordinary plants, he did not notice anything that was out of place. There was nothing that hinted at what the Windgale Fox was trying to find.
This peculiarity piqued Zhang Xuan’s curiosity.
The Windgale Fox could not possibly have taken such a huge risk to venture out of its lair just to chase nothing, so there was bound to be something around. He just had to figure out what it was.
Zhang Xuan had not been able to use the Library of Heaven’s Path over the past month, and the plants in the Firmament were vastly different from those in the Azure and Master Teacher Continent, so he was not able to accurately identify any of them. Nevertheless, through his Eye of Insight, he was still able to tell which ones were safe to eat.
Even if he was somehow wrong, they happened to have someone who possessed the Innate Poison Body with them. They could go through her first, and if she found the plants unpleasant, there was a good chance that it would be fine for them to eat it.
As he had been using the Eye of Insight all along, he knew that it was definitely effective in the Firmament. If the Windgale Fox had really been pursuing something, there was no way he would not be able to find any traces of that thing.
That only left one possibility—the thing that the Windgale Fox was looking for was still in the vicinity!
So, he conducted another thorough scan of his surroundings, but he was still unable to find anything worthy of note.
By now, a frown had already formed on his face.
Unless the thing the Windgale Fox had been pursuing was able to fly in the air or dig underground, there was no way he would not pick up anything with his Eye of Insight.
If the thing is capable of flight, there’s no way the Windgale Fox would have been able to catch up with it. So, is it in the earth?
He looked at the dry earth beneath him, but it showed no signs of having been dug up. In his confusion, his eyes suddenly fell upon a verdant blade of wild grass.
This wild grass did not stand out in contrast to its surroundings, but Zhang Xuan swiftly noticed something off about it. He had searched this area at least ten times for wild grass, but he had not seen this blade of grass before.
If it had been there all along, he would have already plucked it out and guzzled it down. There was no way he would have left it till now.
So, Zhang Xuan reached out and touched the plant.
Weng!
A book materialized in his head.
“Greenbeast Ancient Grass, it’s a unique creature that has the ability to freely change between the form of a beast and the form of a blade of grass. It’s a medicinal herb that is highly nourishing to one’s soul. If it’s concocted together with Mayang Beast Blood, the resulting medicine has the effect of raising a God’s soul to the level of a Celestial God. No. 1: It carries extremely potent poison, making it highly detrimental to the human body. If one is unable to break down the poison, even if one’s soul grows stronger under its nourishment, one’s body will gradually wear down under the effects of the poison. No. 2: It’s an extremely rare medicinal herb in the Firmament…”
Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.
If not for the fact that he could use the Library of Heaven’s Path, he might have been fooled by the other party’s appearance.
This thing looked no different from real grass, such that he could not tell the difference even with his Eye of Insight.
This was really similar to the cordyceps in his previous life. It was a worm in winter but a plant in summer, and it was known for its medicinal value.
It was really a huge blessing for him to have stumbled upon such an invaluable treasure. Just the fact that it could allow a soul to advance from the God realm to the Celestial God realm was enough to show just how potent its medicinal energy was.
It was no wonder the Windgale Fox had braved through danger in order to hunt it down.
As for its poisonous property, as someone who cultivated the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, it did not pose a problem to him at all.
Coming to realize the value of the plant before him, there was no way he would allow it to escape. Without any warning, his hand swiped forth to grab it.
The Greenbeast Ancient Grass seemed to have realized Zhang Xuan’s intent to capture it. It immediately leaped out of the soil and bolted forward.
Its movement was so swift that it felt like a furious tempest had just blown past the area.
“Where do you think you are going?”
The only reason Zhang Xuan had difficulty capturing even a rabbit previously was due to the severity of his injuries weighing down on him and his energy deficit. However, after enjoying a satisfying dinner earlier, he had managed to recover a fair bit of his stamina. If he could not even catch a blade of grass in his current state, he would not be able to face himself anymore!
With a step, he covered eight meters in an instant as he extended his hand.
Divine energy burst forth from the tips of his fingers, and it swiftly weaved together to form a tight net.
A Heart of Intertwined Threads!
Under the prowess of a swordsmanship that had surpassed even the Heaven’s Path Sword Art, the blade of grass was swiftly captured.
With a light pinch, he picked up the Greenbeast Ancient Grass and channeled his soul energy into it. A moment later, he felt a soothing energy flowing back into his soul, leaving him feeling warm and fuzzy all over.
Satisfied with the results of his hunt, Zhang Xuan bound the Greenbeast Ancient Grass in yet another net of sword qi in order to ensure that it would not be able to escape before wrapping it carefully with a piece of cloth.
His soul cultivation was only at the level of a low-tier God at the moment. If he could raise it to the level of a Celestial God, he was confident that he would be able to stand toe-to-toe with any other Celestial God!
After securing his medicinal herb, he swiftly made his way back to their gathering spot, where Zhao Ya and the others were. Mo Yuan and his students had already returned by the time he arrived, and the Windgale Fox was in their hands. It struggled with all its might, but it was completely powerless to reverse its fate.
As he expected, they had managed to succeed without too much trouble.
So, Zhang Xuan walked over and said with a smile, “Congratulations, you have managed to accomplish your mission!”
“Brother Zhang, where did you go?” Mo Yuan asked.
He had been slightly surprised to see that Zhang Xuan was not around when they arrived earlier.
“I wanted to see how you were going to capture the Windgale Fox, so I followed you earlier. However, I didn’t manage to catch up with you, and I lost my bearing for a moment while trying to make my way back,” Zhang Xuan said.
“You must be really dumb to be able to lose your way even though it’s such a short distance!” The young lady under Mo Yuan’s tutelage, Wu Xiaoxiao, looked at Zhang Xuan with disdain in her eyes.
This bunch had nearly caused them to fail their mission. It would have been one thing if they were strong, but it turned out that they were merely buffoons who could lose their way just like that. Why in the world did they have to get involved with this bunch of fools?
More importantly, Senior Shen Cheng’s eyes had always been on her before, but he had not even spared her a glance ever since those few ladies appeared. Just thinking about this filled her with fury.
