Chapter 91: Reaping

Ji Xinghuo fired a silent arrow.

The arrow turned into a dark shadow and flew almost invisibly under the dim starry night, striking the Legendary Da Guan riding atop the Vine Spirit with astonishing speed.

This Legendary Da Guan was a patrol leader, carrying a longbow, his profession somewhat akin to a ranger.

His senses were very sharp.

Yet, he didn’t notice the incoming attack; the silent arrow precisely pierced his eye. Although the material of the silent arrow was inferior to alloy, it had no issue piercing the fragile eye, instantly penetrating his skull with the arrow exiting at the back of his head.

The Legendary Da Guan opened his mouth but made no sound as he fell forward.

It was only when his body hit the ground that the Vine Spirit beneath him realized he was dead.

The Vine Spirit let out a roar.

However, the nearby Legendary Da Guan and Gekko People hadn’t grasped what had happened when Ji Xinghuo fired three more titanium-aluminum alloy arrows.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three Golo Kraks flying overhead for surveillance screamed as they fell, dead before hitting the ground.

It was at this point that the patrol group realized they were under attack.

Shouts erupted.

The Gekko People contracted inward, raising shields in front to form a human wall to protect the central Legendary Da Guan. One Legendary Da Guan raised his hand, and a great swath of grey-white fog arose around, obstructing the team in an attempt to disrupt the attacker’s arrows without seeing the assailant’s position.

The grey-white fog whirled into a wind wall, acting like a solid barrier.

Ji Xinghuo shot an arrow.

After passing through the fog wall, the arrow veered off course; except for the first arrow, he hadn’t activated Wànxiàng Senluo, thus the arrow missed its target.

But he did not cease his assault.

The light circle on his right pupil flickered again as Ji Xinghuo loaded an armor-piercing arrow and shot once more.

Although deflected by the fog wall, the arrow fortuitously struck the Legendary Da Guan maintaining the wall, embedding in his forehead.

The Legendary Da Guan fell in disbelief, and the fog wall dissipated.

Ji Xinghuo shot another arrow, targeting a Golo Krak whose keen perception was vital as the patrol’s eyes, making them a priority to eliminate.

The Golo Krak screamed in agony as it fell.

The remaining Golo Krak finally pinpointed the direction of the incoming arrows, pointing towards Ji Xinghuo’s position and emitting a bug-like, rapid chirp.

An arrow flew into its mouth, abruptly cutting off its cries.

Yet, the surviving members of the patrol team now knew Ji Xinghuo’s location. The Gekko People quickly formed a formation, shields up front creating a shield wall to protect their comrades.

During this, Ji Xinghuo took down another camouflaged Legendary Da Guan who thought himself safe until his death, never understanding why he was a priority target.

“Advance!”

The last standing Legendary Da Guan took command, shouting from behind the shield wall.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t understand their language but could make out simple words. As the Legendary Da Guan called out, the Gekko People’s formation moved toward him, quickly advancing into the forest where he was positioned, and even threw several javelins, though they fell far off mark.

Nearly three hundred meters away, not everyone could aim precisely.

Ji Xinghuo spun around in the trees, ducking behind a thick trunk, temporarily halting his shooting.

“Charge!”

The Legendary Da Guan roared.

He didn’t notice that just off the roadside behind him, a small green snake a few centimeters long raised its head, opening its mouth towards him.

Four or five arrows virtually materialized out of nowhere, raining down like a barrage, turning the Legendary Da Guan into a porcupine.

Ji Xinghuo, fearing Qinghong might not shoot accurately, had it fire several arrows.

One arrow pierced through the back of the Legendary Da Guan’s neck, killing him instantly. The resonating crystal he used to contact the camp fell from his hands, unable to send a signal.

In an instant, all that remained of the entire patrol were one Vine Spirit and ten Gekko People.

The North Luo Master Clan had a strict hierarchy with Legendary Da Guans holding absolute dominance, the Vine Spirits secondary, a primary and an auxiliary role depending on their racial order. Now, command should fall to the Vine Spirit, but while it possessed intelligence, unlike the other races, it communicated not vocally but through mental linkage.

They spoke only with Legendary Da Guans, rarely with the other two species.

The Vine Spirit waved its branches, emitting a series of incomprehensible sounds. The Gekko People, having stone-like heads, couldn’t initially grasp its meaning.

Each Gekko Person looked confused and frightened.

They still hadn’t seen the enemy.

The arrows shooting from behind left them assaulted from front and back, forcing five Gekko People to turn and form a shield wall, collectively structuring into a cylinder but resembling a turtle unable to move.

The Vine Spirit hid within this formation, having no vision or taste, relying solely on vibration and sound for location identification.

Suddenly, it sensed intense heat.

An explosive flame arrow arced from the sky, descending swiftly and landing amidst the Gekko People’s cylinder formation. The Vine Spirit quickly created a vegetative protective cover overhead, but the explosive flame arrow detonated immediately. High-temperature flames ignited its vines, rapidly spreading over its body.

Boom!

Fearing fire, the Vine Spirit rolled frantically trying to extinguish it.

As flames erupted within the formation, the Gekko People instantly fell into disarray.

Ji Xinghuo reappeared, his Dragon Falcon Bow firing rapidly, one titanium-aluminum alloy arrow after another like lethal decrees of death, piercing through armor gaps into the Gekko People’s vulnerable spots—eyes, throats—seizing their lives.

After the sneak attack, Qinghong shifted position, looking up from beneath dried leaves, spitting one arrow after another.

One by one, Gekko People fell.

When the Vine Spirit finally extinguished the flames on its body, it realized all the Gekko People were dead, leaving it alone at the scene.

Decisively reverting to its plant cheetah form, it turned and fled.

Crack!

Sudden thunder boomed, a flash of lightning streaked, and the Vine Spirit collapsed into a ball, its vines charred and trembling, completely losing its ability to resist.

It had no idea where the lightning came from, its mind blank in that moment.

After spitting the lightning, Qinghong quickly burrowed into the underbrush to hide.

Soon, Ji Xinghuo, swinging by a nanorope, reached the Vine Spirit’s side. His Lei Chi war knife in hand, he cleaved it in two.

Crouching down, he extended his hand, and Qinghong climbed onto his palm, looking up proudly.

“Well done!”

Ji Xinghuo praised before pocketing it.

He then began harvesting the spoils of war.

First were the scalps of the Legendary Da Guans, the half-palm-sized patches atop their heads distinguished by unique bluish-green patterns, more valuable than their alien “Gather Water”.

In less than two minutes, Ji Xinghuo efficiently completed his harvest and collection.

Four scalps with patterns, one plant core, five tendrils, ten scaly tail tips, and several alien species, all neatly packed into two bags and stowed in Qinghong’s dimensional stomach.

A third-tier Legendary Da Guan’s bounty was two hundred thousand, a second-tier one hundred thousand.

The Vine Spirit commanded the same price.

Just from these five Legendary Da Guans and the Vine Spirit, he could claim six hundred thousand in bounties, with tendrils and tail tips bringing the total to over seven hundred thousand!

“Earning money is too easy!”

Ji Xinghuo marveled, no wonder capable aliens choose to become bounty hunters.

For him, though, bounties and points were secondary.

What mattered most was acquiring spiritual essence energy.

This patrol provided 27 points of spiritual essence energy, equivalent to a whole day’s hunting harvest in Peak Valley. Whether reaping spiritual essence or trading for bounties, the efficiency was several times higher than hunting Stone Scythe Demons!

And tonight’s hunt was just beginning.

On the ground, the resonating crystal buzzed.

This was the tool the Legendary Da Guans used for communication, able to transmit sound over several hundred kilometers, also used by humans.

Ji Xinghuo crushed the resonating crystal with his foot and quickly left.

He dared not linger in this area, promptly moving to another location to avoid being detected by the strong members of the North Luo Master Clan blocking his escape route.

A little over an hour later.

Ji Xinghuo arrived at a spot more than twenty kilometers from the previous area. As usual, he scouted first. His magnetic field sensing scanned like radar to clear the situation before he set up an ambush, waiting for another patrol to appear.

It wasn’t long before prey arrived.

This patrol, apparently not yet alerted, patrolled the road as usual.

Their setup was identical to the last patrol: ten Gekko People, five Golo Kraks, one Vine Spirit, and four Legendary Da Guans, with the strongest Legendary Da Guan as the leader.

Ji Xinghuo replicated his prior tactics.

He first used a silent arrow to kill the leader, then dealt with the Golo Kraks who had scouting abilities, effectively blinding the patrol.

Then he systematically eliminated his targets, using Wànxiàng Senluo if they proved troublesome.

Nearby, Qinghong lay in wait, seizing opportunities to spit out arrows or lightning to sneak attack the enemies.

The entire battle ended in less than a minute.

After Ji Xinghuo harvested the spoils, he left with several hundred thousand in bounties and acquired 25 points of spiritual essence energy, smoother than the hunt of the previous patrol.

He hit and run, changing locations after each shot.

This starry night, Ji Xinghuo successively eliminated four patrols, becoming more skilled with each.

From start to finish, the North Luo Master Clan’s enemies never came close to him. Under the cover of the starry night, the three hundred meter shooting distance advantage was too significant. He also had a stealth ring, and except for the initial Legendary Da Guan and Golo Krak, other enemies hadn’t even seen his figure.

As darkness deepened, the patrols no longer came out.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t linger nearby. Sensing that enemy powerhouses were searching for him, the four patrol defeats had alerted the North Luo Master Clan.

Yet, he didn’t stop there.

Instead, he returned to the buffer zone on Earth’s side, escaping dozens of kilometers before crossing the buffer zone and stealthily moving into a very concealed outpost during the night.

This outpost was built in a cave on a mountainside, occupied only by five enemies.

The cave entrance was obscured by plants, with just one Golo Krak on night duty, sitting behind a rock at the cave’s mouth, unalert.

Ji Xinghuo shot a silent arrow from afar, and the Golo Krak quietly fell, turning into a corpse.

Then, he stealthily entered the cave.

The four members of the North Luo Master Clan were deep in sleep, completely unaware of the approaching enemy. Ji Xinghuo’s hands glowed with gathered star power that brightened increasingly, yet in stealth mode, it didn’t emit much light or sound.

Boom!

Suddenly, a burst of thunder illuminated the cave as brightly as daylight, and the four North Luo Master Clan members lost their lives in their sleep.

Taking advantage of the commotion before being discovered, Ji Xinghuo swiftly harvested the spoils and retreated.

He then continued searching for his next target.