Xiao Jie was both surprised and delighted, it was truly like searching high and low only to find it effortlessly.
The task NPC he had been striving to find had unexpectedly presented itself.
However, he immediately felt a slight pressure, no other reason than this NPC being a neutral unit.
Neutral unit... Though not a monster, it’s not exactly friendly either.
If it were a green-named friendly NPC, as long as the player didn’t act outrageously and stayed civil in conversation, there would basically be no falling out, no matter how strong it might be, there wouldn’t be any danger.
But neutral units are different; whether for profit or due to plot conditions, they might turn hostile.
Especially since this one was so powerful, a Level 58 worldly expert, no weaker than Master Xiao Yue. If it suddenly turned against him, Xiao Jie had no surety of escaping unharmed.
Being in close contact with such an NPC, Xiao Jie immediately felt the pressure akin to accompanying a tiger as a king.
His heart was vigilant, and his actions slowed for a moment.
But Qin Shou instead actively approached, reaching right in front of Xiao Jie with a single stride.
Xiao Jie was startled, almost backing off, but he managed to suppress it with some effort.
Qin Shou came closer and, like a beast, sniffed Xiao Jie from left to right, making Xiao Jie feel quite uneasy.
Big Orange saw this, quickly rushed forward, and let out a threatening low growl, making a protective stance.
Qin Shou suddenly glared, and Big Orange instantly fell silent, too scared to move.
Qin Shou extended his hand and patted Big Orange on the head twice, "Your little guy here is quite adorable."
Big Orange, being touched, lowered its head like a little kitten.
Xiao Jie quickly spoke up, "Senior, this junior is Hidden Moon Following Wind, I received a letter from you before and came to hand over the task."
"That’s right, it’s indeed you." Qin Shou nodded and said an inexplicable sentence.
Xiao Jie was curious, "Have you seen me before, Senior?"
"Haven’t seen you, but your smell is unmistakable, you’re indeed a demon refiner. Unbelievable, hahahaha, it’s unexpected indeed! Unexpected that someone else besides me can comprehend and master this Demon Refining Skill, it’s truly a case of different paths leading to the same goal, the Daoist Skills are alike, I am not alone in this path.
Kid, why don’t you tell me how did you comprehend this Demon Refining Skill?"
Xiao Jie didn’t lie, "It was taught to me by a Master Hongchen." Xiao Jie thought to mention his backing first, they were all from the qi refiner profession, maybe these two might know each other, it could help to establish some relations.
Unexpectedly, Qin Shou scratched his head, "Master Hongchen? Never heard of, but don’t know where this Red Dust Daoist is cultivating?"
Hmm? He actually doesn’t know.
"Master Hongchen is cultivating at the Konglaoshan Skyfall Cave."
"Konglao Mountain? Oh, a northern Daoist friend, haven’t they all ascended? I never thought someone is still cultivating the Demon Refining Skill there?"
"Master Hongchen failed to ascend and is still cultivating at Konglao Mountain."
"Hahaha, so he’s a last-place loser too." Qin Shou laughed, displaying some schadenfreude in his tone.
"Senior mentioned you could teach me the Demon Beast Evolution Technique. I’ve completed all the requirements, I wonder..."
"Oh, that, of course, no problem, but just wait for a moment."
Qin Shou said and then returned to the bear corpse, scooped a few more handfuls of brain matter while it was still warm and drank it down, then reached out his hand without saying any spells. His right hand instantly transformed into sinister claws, slicing open the bear corpse swiftly, eviscerating it in one go.
He quickly segmented the bear corpse, cut off some large chunks of bear meat, took out the bear’s heart, liver, and gallbladder, then pulled a pouch from his waist. The pouch looked about seven inches long, rather delicate, yet Qin Shou stuffed the bear meat and innards inside as if it could hold everything whole.
Xiao Jie was amazed, does this guy have a personal backpack?
Nope! NPCs don’t have backpacks, it should be some kind of magic artifact.
"Come, follow me." Qin Shou finished the harvest and gestured, flying deep into the forest.
Xiao Jie hurried to follow, only going for a moment when he felt the pressure.
This guy is really fast!
He seemingly wasn’t using qinggong, just leaping swiftly between the trees, yet his actions alone made him as swift as a ghostly phantom, an astounding speed.
Xiao Jie activated Grass Flying, then switched to Flying Goose Skill kung fu, exerting his full qinggong, yet still couldn’t keep up.
As he watched the distance between them increase.
Grey Wolf Transformation! Xiao Jie simply transformed into a Grey Wolf, activated the Rushing Skill, sprinted on all fours, finally barely keeping up.
On the other hand, Big Orange was chasing as fast as it could behind, falling further back until it disappeared altogether.
The wolf and the man soon arrived at a cliff, below was a dark, steep valley, with giant trees densely packed, growing lushly.
At the end of the valley, there was a towering peak shrouded in mist.
"My home is over there, kid—can you fly?"
"Then follow!" Qin Shou said, then spread his arms, turning into a heron, soared into the air, heading towards the peak.
Eagle Transformation! Xiao Jie spread his wings and also took to the sky.
Just as he ascended, Qin Shou’s voice came from ahead.
"Be careful, don’t fly too high."
Xiao Jie instinctively looked upwards, and was suddenly surprised to see a flash of cold light in the sky.