Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 188 - 174: Hyena Demon

Li Xuanfeng gasped in amazement as he watched the hyena periodically howling, directing the hyenas below to drive the herd of deer towards another patch of lusher grass. Only when the deer had nearly finished grazing did it herd them back into the woods.

Li Xuanfeng had hunted many demonic creatures in the mountains for years, but this was the first time he had seen such a group of demons. He patiently waited all afternoon until the sun began to set, and the surroundings turned a dim yellow. It was then that the hyena led a few deer out of the herd and staggered towards the depths of the woods, dragging them by the front limbs, standing upright and walking awkwardly, which looked quite eerie.

The gray-furred hyena was either unskilled or stumbled twice after walking a few dozen steps, infuriated, it threw the rope and howled angrily a couple of times, then carried the deer in its mouth and switched to running on all fours.

After casting an Invisibility Technique, Li Xuanfeng followed the gray-furred hyena, watching it weave through the woods. Soon, a large rock wall covered in green vines appeared, with a big hole in it where firelight could be seen, and two hyenas laying in front of the hole, deep in sleep. The gray-furred hyena howled and wobbled into the hole.

The two hyenas were mere Fetal Breathing demons at the second or third layer of cultivation. Li Xuanfeng passed through boldly, and finally, he heard the crackling sounds of a fire and a cacophony of noise.

"Yi yi ya ya...hee hee ha ha…"

It seemed like a group of playful children were inside, noisy and boisterous; they kept communicatively screeching at each other, sometimes roaring loudly, sometimes laughing heartily, and sometimes humming or giggling softly, their voices lingering in the cave.

The dusky-red firelight shone on the rock walls, casting numerous twisted shadows, like a plethora of demons dancing chaotically, with the shrill laughter interspersed with a few deer's mournful cries, quite eerie.

When Li Xuanfeng was a child, he had heard from elders that the cry of hyenas was strange, like children's shrill laughter. Now he was witnessing it firsthand. Knowing there were demons with a Qi Cultivation Level inside, and fearing to alert them, he did not dare to extend his Spiritual Sense to check the situation. Lingering at the entrance of the cave, he thought to himself,

"The inside of the cave is narrow, not ideal for using my bow against enemies. I must find a way to lure them out."

So he retreated a few miles and pondered for a moment. Then, he landed around the forest, extended two fingers, and, with a burst of Mana, a flame ignited, touching a big locust tree in front of him. The flame immediately crackled up the treetop into the branches, engulfing the entire tree in just a few breaths.

The night wind came at just the right time, sparing Li Xuanfeng the effort of using Mana to whirl up a fierce wind. He then spread out for several miles and waited patiently. As expected, a pack of hyenas came rushing in groups, circling the raging fire and howling mournfully.

These hyenas were mere Fetal Breathing demons and naturally had no way of dealing with the fire. After a stick of incense passed, finally, two demonic winds swept in, summoning rain in the sky with Mana.

These two Qi Cultivating hyenas appeared to have no heritage, not knowing any technique of cloud manipulation or rain summoning, merely using Mana to drive moisture in the air. The weather had been damp for the past few days, and the night air had plenty of moisture, so the flames gradually dwindled.

Li Xuanfeng did not launch an attack immediately but quietly waited in the distance. Firstly, to let these two demons consume more Mana, and secondly, there were many great demons in Da Li Mountain, and a real fire could attract too many demons, turning into a troublesome situation.

Once the flames were mostly extinguished, Li Xuanfeng then drew the bow and nocked an arrow, with brilliant golden light flickering on the bow. The arrow shot forth, aiming for the waist and back of one of the demons.

The demon, riding the wind and surveying the forest from above, never anticipated an arrow flying unexpectedly through the air. Its fur stood on end; it only had time to prop up a gray-black demonic power shield and screeched in an attempt to dodge.

The demonic power shield shattered like thin paper against the golden arrow. The Qi Cultivating hyena was pierced by the arrow, nailed to the ground like an ordinary hyena, and howled miserably.

"This one seems a bit weak... don't kill it with one arrow."

Li Xuanfeng, too distant to gauge the opponent's cultivation level with his spiritual sense, feared that one arrow would pin it down and the Gang Qi already spreading throughout the monster's body might kill it instantly.

Li Xuanfeng hastily drew his bow to cripple another hyena, but unexpectedly, the beast responded swiftly and boldly, riding the wind to approach him, exhaling a black breath toward Li Xuanfeng's face.

Li Xuanfeng raised his bow to block. The hyena, at the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation, appeared to have killed before and knew the frailty of a cultivator's body. It aimed a claw at his bow, continuously spewing its black breath, trying to coat him with it.

"Clang."

But the hyena miscalculated. The Jin Geng in Li Xuanfeng's hand was heavy and hard, deflecting the creature's claws and even emitting a crisp sound as if metal struck metal. Li Xuanfeng dared not be careless, concentrating his mana to block the breath. For a moment, mana brilliance scattered in every direction; the monster, equally unyielding, lashed out with its black claws, each move powerful and heavy. Fortunately, Li Xuanfeng had a talisman's strength, mighty as a monster, and the fight continued back and forth, neither side yielding the upper hand, truly a heated battle,

Li Xuanfeng's entire cultivation level concentrated in his bow, diminished greatly once the monster came close. The cunning beast clung tightly to him, refusing to allow him the space to distance himself, forcing them into a deadlock.

After a dozen or so exchanges in mid-air, Li Xuanfeng found an opportunity. With a slap to his storage bag, two yellow talismans emerged, transforming into fire techniques to block the monster's spells, giving him the chance to retreat a few steps. Drawing the string to gather Qi, a golden glow flew from his bow toward the hyena's face.

The hyena demon maneuvered through the air several times, but the golden glow followed like a shadow, leaving it no choice but to conjure a thick mana shield, resolutely taking the hit.

The Gang Qi exploded upon the hyena demon's mana, hindering the circulation of its energy. Li Xuanfeng seized the opportunity to step back with each retreat and release an arrow. As he increased the distance, he continuously attacked the hyena demon with golden glows.

In a mere dozen breaths, five arrows had been loosed, greatly taxing the hyena demon. It spewed a stream of black Qi toward Li Xuanfeng's direction and, like a shooting star, plummeted into the forest, hoping to use the cover of night and the woods to evade Li Xuanfeng's arrows.

"You're seeking your own death!"

Li Xuanfeng sneered, pulling out a Green Crow arrow from his belt, drawing his bow with the arrow nocked. Though the dense treetops made the fleeing figure hard to track and his spiritual sense couldn't lock on due to the distance, the creature had been hit by his Gang Qi, allowing him to faintly sense its location.

The golden arrow accumulated strength, rising slightly with the demon's movements. Li Xuanfeng gently released his grip and the golden arrow finally streaked across the night sky like a meteor, landing on the ground.

The monster, not expecting to still be targeted after such a distance, had its fur stand on end and scraped at the ground several times, attempting to dig a hole for cover but with no time to finish, it took the full force of the arrow, which pierced through its waist and flanks. Not having recovered from the first attack, the second arrow arrived, and after taking two arrows, it lay on the ground gasping its last breaths.

Li Xuanfeng rode the wind to land nearby, using his mana to lift the creature. The hyena demon tried to resist, spitting out intermittent black Qi. Li Xuanfeng injected a stream of True Yuan into its body, sealing its cultivation level, then hastily picked it up and took off on the wind, landing beside the first, slightly weaker hyena demon.

The first hyena demon was already breathing more out than in; it seemed to have just broken through to Qi Cultivation. A group of Fetal Breathing hyenas surrounded it, whining solemnly. Upon seeing Li Xuanfeng descend, they scattered quickly like the wind.

Li Xuanfeng hurriedly applied his mana to sustain its life. He extracted the Green Crow arrows from both demons and tended to their wounds carefully before riding the wind again. He slung the bow behind his back and, holding one demon in each hand, he headed home.