The mountains were high and the forest dense, blocking out the sky and sun.
Following closely behind the mysterious guide ahead, Zhang Yuan entered an area he had never ventured into before.
The vegetation here was exceptionally lush. There were no paths to follow, not even a trace of wildlife tracks to be found.
The enormous tree canopies blocked out the sunlight, turning the forest eerie and unpredictable.
Even the most experienced hunter could easily lose their way in such an environment, never to emerge!
Therefore, Zhang Yuan had no choice but to trust the mysterious guide leading him.
Occasionally, the guide would stop, waiting for Zhang Yuan to catch up before continuing to fly.
In this way, it led him out of the labyrinthine woods.
The view ahead suddenly opened up!
A small valley appeared in Zhang Yuan's line of sight, and he also saw a waterfall cascading down from the mountain peaks.
The scenery was splendid.
But what truly caught Zhang Yuan's attention was a group of wild boars foraging in the valley!
There were seven wild boars in total: two large and sturdy adults, and the rest were piglets.
A neat little family.
"Caw, caw!"
The guide standing on the branch called out softly twice.
However, Zhang Yuan found himself in a dilemma.
The guide had proven cooperative and had genuinely helped him find prey.
The problem was that Zhang Yuan couldn't handle all these wild boars by himself!
There was a saying among the people: "One boar, two bears, three tigers," referring not to the combat prowess of these animals, but their threat level to humans.
An adult wild boar can weigh three to four hundred pounds, with a large head, a thick neck, rugged limbs, and tough skin, packed with explosive power.
If such a beast becomes enraged, it can ram a formidable opponent to death, or pierce an enemy with its sharp tusks. Its "armor," accumulated over years of rolling in the ground and rubbing against trees, makes its combat and defense capabilities terrifying.
Zhang Yuan had never hunted a wild boar before.
But he was well aware that his bow and arrows would be ineffective against a large wild boar's defenses.
With the power of the Divine Nest Host, Zhang Yuan had some confidence in taking down one.
But there were two adult wild boars before him!
After a moment of hesitation, he shook his head towards the guide perched on the branch.
I really can't handle this, brother!
The guide tilted its head, giving him a disdainful look.
The next moment, it suddenly spread its wings and flew forward, instantly transforming into a plume of black mist that swooped down towards the boar herd several steps away.
The boar herd, busy rooting and foraging, was thrown into chaos.
The frightened piglets squealed and scattered, while the mother boar frantically charged left and right, trying to protect her offspring.
The ferocious male wild boar bared its tusks and recklessly charged towards the guide-turned-black mist.
Opportunity!
Zhang Yuan immediately realized the guide was creating a perfect hunting opportunity for him. Without hesitation, he pulled out his Firewood Knife and charged forward, like an arrow leaving the bowstring, targeting the male wild boar.
At the same time, Zhang Yuan activated the Divine Nest Host—the Power of the Black Giant Ant!
The Qi Blood within him erupted, and the arm holding the knife swelled immensely, muscles bulging under his sleeve.
At this moment, the male wild boar was oblivious to the approach of death.
Its attention was fully absorbed by the black mist, roaring intimidatingly as it charged, trying to scare off its mysterious foe.
The male wild boar's tactic worked.
The black mist suddenly vanished.
Yet, in the instant the mist disappeared, a bright sword aura slashed down at its skull like lightning!
This strike concentrated all of Zhang Yuan's strength.
The male wild boar was completely unguarded and had no time to evade; by the time it sensed danger, the blade was already descending.
Thud!
The Firewood Knife, driven by four to five hundred pounds of force, viciously slashed at the male wild boar's head, cutting through its soft, vulnerable snout and slicing through the hard bone within.
Inflicting even greater damage!
Roar!
The severely wounded male wild boar let out an excruciating shriek, leaping three feet into the air, as its large pig eyes instantly filled with blood.
Instinctively, it wanted to retaliate against its enemy, but Zhang Yuan had already maneuvered to its right side, delivering another deadly blow.
The second strike hit the male wild boar's right eye!
Even though its body was thick and tough, impervious to blades and bullets, its defenses in the rear and face were clearly much weaker.
Struck consecutively in its weak points, crimson blood gushed out profusely.
Then came the third and fourth strikes...
Each hit landed on a vital spot!
No matter how ferocious the male wild boar was, with its head slashed into pieces, it struggled only briefly before collapsing heavily with a mournful howl.
But Zhang Yuan did not immediately celebrate his victory.
He gripped the bloody Firewood Knife, preparing to deal with the other mother wild boar.
In the end, Zhang Yuan realized the mother wild boar had already fled into the nearby forest with its piglets in tow.
He breathed a long sigh of relief.
Although his Qi Blood could sustain a few more minutes of double power burst, he wasn't confident he could capture the mother wild boar unscathed, especially since his earlier victory owed much to luck.
The opponent's retreat was naturally the ideal outcome.
It was only then that Zhang Yuan noticed his hand, still gripping the knife, was trembling slightly.
This wasn't out of fear. His body simply hadn't fully adapted to such a burst of power, compounded by the intense confrontation with the wild boar, leading to an uncontrollable reaction.
But this was merely a trivial issue.
After taking a few deep breaths, calming his emotions, Zhang Yuan severed the link between himself and the Divine Nest Host.
The Power of the Black Giant Ant dissipated with it.
At this moment, the black mist swiftly gathered, coalescing into a crow before him in the blink of an eye.
The guide landed on the scarred head of the wild boar, tilted its head to glance at Zhang Yuan, then plucked out a boar eye to swallow it down.
"Thank you!"
Zhang Yuan genuinely expressed to it, "Great teamwork."
Without the help of this guide, even if he had found the wild boar herd, he wouldn't have managed to take them down.
The guide played a crucial role in the battle just now!
The next step was naturally to divide the spoils.
Just like yesterday's fawn, Zhang Yuan used the knife to cut open the boar's belly, exposing its colorful innards and piling them beside the carcass.
These were the guide's share.
In fact, the most valuable part of such a large wild boar was its stomach.
That is, its gastric sac.
Wild boar stomachs can be used as ingredients for medicinal dishes; they are slightly warm in nature, sweet in taste, and effective for treating stomach ailments, strengthening the stomach, and replenishing deficiencies.
A complete wild boar stomach could easily fetch a silver or two at an apothecary in the county!
By comparison, the gamey, tough wild boar meat wouldn't sell for much.
But Zhang Yuan had no second thoughts.
After clearing out the innards, he exerted some effort to split the wild boar into halves.
This male wild boar weighed three to four hundred pounds, and even after removing the innards, it weighed nearly two hundred to three hundred pounds.
Zhang Yuan couldn't carry it alone.
He preserved half the wild boar meat by coating it with dried grass powder.
As for the other half...
Zhang Yuan glanced at the guide next to him, seeing it standing on the gory innards, feasting heartily, completely ignoring him.
So he extended his left hand, gently pressing it against the meat.
An ancient spell surfaced in Zhang Yuan's mind.
Sacrifice!