William Thompson couldn't help but sigh at the boundless power of food. Moreover, after several days of battles, William Thompson discovered that now the little creature not only used the earth-element spells it had before, but could also cast some basic wood-element spells. Although their power wasn't great, the spirit beasts were extremely frustrated—often, just as they were locked in fierce combat with William Thompson, a bunch of branches would suddenly shoot out from the side or from underfoot, wrapping them up completely. Breaking free from these branches didn't take much effort, but before they could escape, William Thompson's Cold Light Sword would stab toward them. Usually, once the little creature's spell interference succeeded, it meant the end for those spirit beasts.

The little creature was extremely fast and cunning, and aside from its ever-growing appetite, William Thompson was very fond of it. Its sense of smell was incredibly sharp—even from several miles away, it could detect the scent of those spirit beasts. So William Thompson often brought the little creature along to fly to the spirit beasts' lairs from afar, and while they slept, he would kill them on the spot.

As for the immortal bow he had acquired that day, William Thompson had no idea how to use it. He had searched carefully in the tree hollow but found no arrows left behind. This left William Thompson quite frustrated—having an immortal weapon in hand but unable to use it at all. Even if he couldn't unleash the full power of the weapon at his current level, even using just a tenth of its power would be far better than charging in with the Cold Light Sword for close combat with those spirit beasts.

The three pieces of wood essence he had collected (a name William Thompson came up with himself) contained extraordinary energy, but William Thompson didn't know what they were for. He wouldn't even let the little creature touch them. Who knew if the little thing would just gobble them up? If it ate them, William Thompson would be devastated.

He was still hoping to use one piece to offset the forging materials he had stolen from his master—well, if his master wasn't still angry by then.

Since the day the giant tree died, William Thompson had stopped wandering in the forest. He figured the array's core must have been that giant tree, and the illusion array that trapped him was probably meant to protect the immortal bow. He hadn't expected the little creature to lead him there; luckily, its nose was so sharp and he had used a tracking spell to follow his own spiritual sense. Once the giant tree died, the entire illusion array collapsed.

On this day, William Thompson was roasting beast meat in the jungle. The little creature, who had been resting with its eyes closed, suddenly jumped up, darted into William Thompson's arms, and trembled, crying out in terror.

“What’s wrong?” William Thompson asked with a frown. He had never seen the little creature act like this before—could there be danger?

He closed his eyes, heightened his senses to the maximum, and sent out his spiritual sense. With William Thompson's current cultivation, his spiritual sense could barely perceive things within a mile around him (which was different from the tracking spell he used before). There was nothing dangerous nearby; a gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and not far away, two armored beasts were mating underground.

Suddenly, a powerful spiritual pressure burst into William Thompson's spiritual sense. Before he could see what it was, a sharp mental attack followed his spiritual sense and struck him.

With a “boom,” William Thompson felt a wave of dizziness in his mind, and it took several seconds before he could think again. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly and withdrawn his spiritual sense in time, or he would have become an idiot by now. Even so, William Thompson still felt nauseous and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Forcing himself to stay alert, he grabbed the little creature and, without thinking, sped away. Whoever had come this time was no ordinary opponent—he was definitely no match, so escape was the best option.

He flew for half a day before William Thompson finally found a safe place. He put the little creature down and, no longer caring if it would steal anything, took out four Heavenly Machine Stones and quickly set up a small spirit-gathering array, sitting inside to recover from his injuries.

The little creature seemed to know that William Thompson couldn't be disturbed right now. It didn't sneak off with the four Heavenly Machine Stones, but instead stayed quietly by William Thompson's side, keeping watch for him.

After a long time, William Thompson finally opened his eyes. This time, the injury wasn't an ordinary one, but a wound to his spirit, which couldn't be healed quickly and would have to recover slowly over time. After this experience, William Thompson no longer dared to casually send his spiritual sense outside his body—one wrong move and he could become an idiot. Looking at the little creature, still sitting obediently by his side and watching him with a worried face, he felt comforted.

William Thompson patted the little creature's head, picked up a Heavenly Machine Stone, and held it out in front of its eyes.

Chapter Fifteen: Six High-Rank Spirit Beasts?

The little creature looked at the Heavenly Machine Stone in front of it, growling softly, but didn't snatch it up as it used to.

William Thompson felt gratified and smiled, saying, “You little rascal, at least you have some conscience. I still have several more here—this one is your reward for keeping watch for me.”

The little creature squeaked in protest twice, then finally grabbed the Heavenly Machine Stone and started gnawing on it. For a while, the sound of crunching filled the air.