A black shadow shot out from Yang Qi’s shoulder like a bolt of black lightning!

Everyone saw a blur, and the venomous snake coiled around Chen Ze’s neck was gone.

When they focused their eyes, they saw it was Xiaojiu!

She had landed on the ground at some point, her small body unleashing astonishing power. Her jaws were clamped tightly around the venomous snake’s neck, and one of her front paws was pinning the snake’s vital spot with the precision of an iron clamp.

The Red Chain Snake thrashed violently a few times in a futile struggle before quickly going limp, clearly killed in an instant.

A one-hit kill!

The scene fell silent.

Everyone was stunned.

"PHEW—"

After a long moment, the group let out a collective sigh of relief. Many of them could feel their backs were soaked with cold sweat.

Chen Ze’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground with a THUD. He gasped for breath, his face deathly pale as cold sweat trickled down his temples. He felt the draining exhaustion of someone who had just survived a close brush with death.

"Way to go, Xiaojiu!"

Qiao Fei watched the black cat walk back with elegant strides, as if she were simply returning from a leisurely stroll. The more she looked, the more she liked her, and she couldn’t help but praise her, her eyes shining with admiration.

Deng Lei also breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves finally relaxing. He looked at Xiaojiu with a gaze full of gratitude.

"Her reaction was so fast. We have Xiaojiu to thank for that!"

"Xiaojiu is indeed quite remarkable," Professor Tang Ji agreed, nodding repeatedly as he watched Xiaojiu with deep appreciation. "Her reaction speed, the precision and decisiveness of her attack... they all far exceed those of an ordinary feline. She’s practically a natural-born hunter."

He Shengnan, Wang Gu, and Li Rui chimed in with their agreement, praising Xiaojiu while still shaken from the incident.

"WOOF WOOF! WOOF~"

With the crisis averted, Dahuang and Big Black finally found their voices and began to bark furiously at the dead snake on the ground.

Uncle Cai exhaled discreetly, his lips moving slightly as he looked at Xiaojiu.

Amidst everyone’s praise, Xiaojiu maintained her aloof demeanor. With a light leap, she returned to Yang Qi’s shoulder and calmly licked the bit of snake blood off her paw, as if she had just swatted a bothersome mosquito that had disturbed her peace.

"Well done!"

Yang Qi praised her with a smile, reaching out to stroke Xiaojiu’s head.

[System detected that the host’s tamed Spirit Beast has saved a fellow Disciple from peril. Contribution Points +360]

??

’There are perks like this?!’

Yang Qi was overjoyed.

He suppressed the urge to laugh out loud, turned around, and stroked Xiaojiu again.

Xiaojiu was confused.

"Meow?"

’What’s wrong?’

"My Xiaojiu is just too amazing."

Yang Qi grinned.

The situation just now had been urgent, and Yang Qi hadn’t been certain Xiaojiu could save Chen Ze. Plus, snakes are cold-blooded animals, so he hadn’t given the order to attack.

Xiaojiu had taken the initiative herself and killed the Red Chain Snake.

"This isn’t a place to linger. Let’s get moving," Uncle Cai called out.

"Right, right, let’s go, everyone."

Tang Ji agreed.

The others tensed up, quickly composed themselves, and picked up their pace, heading out of the cave.

Flanked and supported by Fang Dawei and Li Rui, Chen Ze’s legs were still weak, and he was practically half-dragged away.

They didn’t stop until they were out of the gloomy cavern and had completely left the "Immortal Cave" area, reaching a relatively dry clearing in the forest where sunlight could break through.

Only then did Chen Ze let out a long sigh and stand firm on his own two feet.

Still shaken, he walked over to Yang Qi. Looking at Xiaojiu, who was perched elegantly on Yang Qi’s shoulder and surveying her surroundings, his face broke into a grateful smile. He thanked her profusely and started pulling all sorts of snacks from his small bag.

"Here, Brother Xiaojiu, have a sausage!"

"Have some fish tofu."

"Try this shredded squid~"

"Xiaojiu’s a girl," Yang Qi couldn’t help but interrupt.

"Ah? So it’s Sister Jiu! My apologies, my apologies." Chen Ze immediately corrected himself, his tone becoming even more attentive. "Hello, Sister Xiaojiu. Sister Jiu, have some dried fish. You’ll definitely like this!"

As if performing a magic trick, he pulled out a vacuum-sealed packet of dried fish and skillfully tore it open.

Xiaojiu had been ignoring him, but upon seeing the dried fish and smelling its fishy aroma, her amber eyes immediately lit up, and the tip of her tail twitched slightly.

Yang Qi looked at Chen Ze’s backpack, which seemed like a bag of holding, and asked with equal curiosity, "Just how many snacks did you bring on this mission?"

"Not many, not many. Just a few."

Chen Ze chuckled sheepishly, glancing furtively at Tang Ji and Deng Lei, who were walking ahead, afraid he’d get told off.

"Alright then." Yang Qi had to hand it to the guy. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

During their break, he took the dried fish from Chen Ze and fed it to Xiaojiu.

Only then did Xiaojiu "reluctantly" accept the thank-you gift, nibbling on it with great relish.

In the mid-afternoon, the team was passing through a part of the mountain forest where the trees were relatively sparse and the light was somewhat dim.

The only sounds were the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Suddenly, Yang Qi felt something. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood up slightly, and he had the subtle sensation of being watched, of being stalked by something in the shadows.

At first, he thought it was just his imagination, a psychological pressure caused by the forest environment.

But after concentrating his senses, secretly circulating the "Moon-Reaching Qi Refining Art," and focusing intently as he walked a little further, he finally confirmed it was real!

Something was indeed stalking them!

Its movements were extremely light and stealthy, and it seemed to be an expert at using the terrain and environment to conceal itself.

But strangely, Yang Qi didn’t sense any obvious malice from the stalker.

Moreover, Dahuang and Big Black, renowned for their keen senses of smell and hearing, were trotting ahead without the slightest awareness, still scouting the path as usual.

"Meow!"

Once again, it was Xiaojiu who proved more perceptive. Perched on Yang Qi’s shoulder, she let out a cry.

’Something’s here.’

"..."

Yang Qi patted Xiaojiu. Not daring to be careless, he quickened his pace to catch up with Uncle Cai at the front of the group, leaned in close to his ear, and whispered, "Uncle Cai, I think something’s watching us."

Uncle Cai’s pupils contracted sharply. Without breaking stride, he replied in an equally low voice, "What do you think it is? A wolf?"

"It should be some kind of animal, but I can’t be sure," Yang Qi said, shaking his head slightly as he described his feeling.

"Don’t alarm the others."

The experienced Uncle Cai made a quick decision. "Let’s pick up the pace first. We’ll get out of this patch of woods and into the open area ahead, then we’ll see."

"Okay," Yang Qi nodded.

The two of them discreetly quickened their pace.

Although the rest of the team didn’t know why, seeing their leaders speed up, they subconsciously quickened their pace as well.

However, just as the team was about to exit the forest—

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

"AWOO—"

Dahuang and Big Black, who had been running, came to a sudden halt. Instead of moving forward, they turned around and let out an unprecedentedly frantic series of barks toward a large, leafy tree about ten meters away, high up to the group’s right.

Their barks were no longer a simple warning, but were filled with vigilance, apprehension, and even a faint, barely perceptible trace of nervousness and fear.

"Careful!"

Deng Lei reacted instantly, letting out a low shout as his right hand went to the holster on his waist, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the source of the barking.

"Everyone, don’t move!"

Yang Qi shouted at almost the same time, stopping the others from subconsciously scattering or retreating.

His eyes were fixed on the large tree, his gaze piercing through the mottled shadows of the leaves. A look of astonishment appeared on his face.

Following his gaze, the others also stared wide-eyed, their hearts pounding as they held their breath in suspense.

There, on a thick, horizontal branch of the large tree, a slender and elegant figure had silently appeared.

Its golden fur was adorned with magnificent, cloud-like spots. A long tail hung down naturally, and a pair of cold, amber-colored vertical pupils stared down from above, quietly observing the search party below.

It was, unmistakably, one of the targets of their expedition.

The clouded leopard!