Ye Lingyue left the town's entrance and walked toward Qixing Mountain, a mile outside of Qiufeng Town.
Qixing Mountain was the largest mountain outside of Qiufeng Town. It stood over a thousand meters high and was a well-known treasure mountain in the vicinity.
On the north side of Qixing Mountain, sunlight was a rare sight all year round. It was dry and cool, harboring a considerable amount of iron ore. The Ye Family's mine was located in this area.
The south side, however, was quite the opposite, with abundant rainfall and ample sunshine. As a result, many valuable medicinal grasses grew in the south, and various wild beasts could be found roaming the mountain.
Ye Lingyue's destination this time was the south side of Qixing Mountain.
By midday, Ye Lingyue was already standing at the foot of Qixing Mountain. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked around. Unnamed small purple wildflowers were blooming across the landscape, and towering trees reached high into the sky.
Since breaking through to the Third Layer Body Refining Realm, Ye Lingyue's senses had become much sharper. Her ears twitched as she heard the occasional howls of wild beasts from the mountains.
She opened her backpack, which contained Trauma Wine, a dagger, a waterproof Fire Stick, coarse salt, some dry food, and a canteen of water.
Water was manageable to find, as there were many mountain streams, making it easy to locate a water source. However, looking at the dry food, Ye Lingyue realized it would last only three days at most.
This meant that after three days, she would have to rely on hunting wild beasts for survival.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Halfway up the mountain, a plump, big-eared violent rabbit crouched in the grass. It nibbled on the grass while its ears perked up. This was a basic level herbivorous wild rabbit, and its meat was quite delicious.
Suddenly, its ears twitched as if sensing danger.
The violent rabbit bent its forelegs and then sprang forward. Its strong and powerful hind legs pushed hard against the ground, and its body leaped over two feet away, turning tail and running.
A nimble figure darted out from the side. The person shouted sharply, pressing both palms on the hind legs of the violent rabbit. The rabbit was pinned to the ground and struggled a few times before it couldn't move anymore.
A blue Thunderflash struck the top of the rabbit's skull, causing the violent rabbit's body to tilt and fall to the ground, dead.
"We have meat to eat tonight." Ye Lingyue looked like a different person compared to when she first entered the mountain. Her hair was messy, her clothes dirty, but her face remained as fair as ever.
After catching the rabbit, her eyes crinkled into a smile. When she first entered Qixing Mountain, she had thought hunting a wild rabbit would be simple. After a few days, she realized that beast hunting wasn't as easy as it seemed.
The violent rabbit was a low-level herbivorous wild beast, not very dangerous, but its hind legs were powerful. When it kicked, it could sometimes shatter the chest bones of an adult man.
Ye Lingyue almost fell victim to a violent rabbit herself earlier, but after a few days, her hunting skills had improved significantly.
After skinning the violent rabbit, Ye Lingyue divided the rabbit meat into two parts, one for dinner and the rest she carefully sliced into strips. With a thought, she entered Hong Meng Heaven.
Everything in Hong Meng Heaven looked as usual, except that there were now more kinds of medicinal grasses growing in addition to the original Gathering Essence Grass.
Ye Lingyue had found these medicinal grasses during her trip up the mountain.
This time, Ye Lingyue's trip to the mountain had two purposes: one was to train her skills, increasing her actual combat experience, and the other was to find valuable medicinal grasses to plant in the space.
Her mother's illness required a fifth-grade elixir for a complete cure, but if she could consume some medicinal grasses, it would slightly improve her condition.
After entering Hong Meng Heaven, Ye Lingyue retrieved the sliced rabbit meat.
In Hong Meng Heaven, she waited for a full hour, but the little fox dog was still nowhere to be seen.
"Still not coming out?" Ye Lingyue felt a bit disappointed. She had deliberately pulled up all the Gathering Essence Grass these past few days, and the little fox dog should be very hungry by now.
Suddenly, there was some movement in the white mist.
The little fox dog cautiously crawled out. As soon as it saw Ye Lingyue, it gave a sudden start, jumping several feet away.
Its baby blue eyes were filled with wariness.
"I brought some rabbit meat, eat up," Ye Lingyue took a step forward.
The little fox dog followed with a step, but its eyes were fixed on the rabbit meat in Ye Lingyue's hand.
The fresh rabbit meat carried an irresistible aroma.
Ye Lingyue thought for a moment and then offered a gentle smile.
She placed the rabbit meat from her hands at her feet and nodded at the little fox dog.
The little fox dog tilted its head, seemingly trying to understand the meaning of Ye Lingyue's nod.
Be patient, Ye Lingyue silently encouraged herself. The little creature at least didn't run away immediately upon seeing her this time; maybe next time, it would be a bit friendlier.
Ye Lingyue turned and walked a few steps away.
Once Ye Lingyue turned away, the little fox dog dashed up to the rabbit meat. After taking a bite, it let out a joyful "Zhiyo."
The little creature devoured half of the violent rabbit meat in no time.
It was hard to tell, but this little one's appetite was astonishingly huge.
After eating until its little belly was round and plump, the little fox dog licked the grease off its mouth and paws with its pink tongue, then waddled back into the white mist.
"That little thing should have eaten the rabbit meat, right?" Leaving Hong Meng Heaven, Ye Lingyue still worried about the little cute dog's situation.
Tomorrow, she would find a way to get more rabbit meat. Ye Lingyue silently made up her mind and continued to venture deeper into the mountain.