Chapter 17: The Pet Hunt Is Underway
Chapter 17: The Pet Capture in Progress
After eagerly digging several large holes in the snowy ground with no luck, Qin Zhe soon gave up.
It wasn’t that he lost interest quickly; rather, he had come to a realization.
The secret realm was vast. Even if treasures were scattered everywhere, it was impossible to just dig anywhere and find something valuable.
If he had actually dug up something worthwhile, that would have been truly strange!
Calculating the time, it had been over half an hour since Liu Qingzhi left.
Bored and restless, Qin Zhe decided to venture farther afield.
With Liu Qingzhi’s aerial speed, she should have returned by now if she were merely scouting nearby. Most likely, she had made a discovery and was conducting further investigation.
It was rare to enter a secret realm and have the freedom to collect treasures, so Qin Zhe did not want to waste time idly.
Spiritual creatures were scarce in the secret realm; finding one was a gain, and even if none were found, it was an opportunity to broaden one’s horizons.
Walking a distance through the snow-covered dense forest, Qin Zhe looked around but saw no spiritual creatures. Suddenly, he caught sight of a slightly crouched canine figure.
A Cold Moon Divine Dog?
Qin Zhe was momentarily stunned and quickly crouched down, burying himself in the snow.
He raised his head slightly to observe a short distance away the figure of a Cold Moon Divine Dog, its appearance almost identical to a Siberian Husky. Qin Zhe frowned.
Earlier, the Cold Moon Divine Dog had been on a small hill outside the forest. How had it suddenly come inside the woods?
This was rather awkward…
The minister had said that the Cold Moon Divine Dog was naturally cautious and that once startled, capturing it would be extremely difficult.
To avoid alarming the divine dog, Qin Zhe remained motionless, hidden in the snow.
Although the Cold Moon Divine Dog bore a striking resemblance to the famous Siberian Huskies of his previous life, what stood before him was undoubtedly a spiritual beast, not an ordinary canine.
Even from such close range, Qin Zhe could clearly sense the intense spiritual energy radiating from the creature.
The spiritual energy was strong enough to be felt by non-immortal cultivators; it must be at least second stage in the immortal path to emit such a presence.
Setting aside his maxed-out constitution, Qin Zhe’s actual cultivation was only at the martial arts beginner level. It was almost impossible for him to leave without disturbing the divine dog. He had no choice but to wait.
Just as Qin Zhe decided to remain still, the Cold Moon Divine Dog suddenly let out a sharp bark and darted forward.
Immediately, a fierce roar echoed from the other side of the forest.
The roar was powerful but carried unmistakable fear.
Qin Zhe saw the divine dog sprinting into the forest at incredible speed, and hearing the roar, his curiosity was piqued.
From the way the dog had crouched earlier, it clearly looked like a predator spotting prey. What had it discovered?
Another spiritual beast?
As he pondered, more angry and startled roars came from deeper inside the forest.
Accompanying them were the Cold Moon Divine Dog’s barks. After some thought, Qin Zhe crept closer.
Not far in, the roars turned into wails of agony, prompting Qin Zhe to quicken his pace.
It seemed the Cold Moon Divine Dog held a high position in the secret realm’s food chain. The earlier roar sounded like that of a large feline predator. It had been quickly subdued?
Soon, Qin Zhe stealthily arrived at the spot where he had first seen the divine dog.
He crouched again in the snow to conceal himself and peered into the forest’s depths, feeling a slight shock.
Not far off lay a massive tiger, as sturdy as a water buffalo, collapsed on the ground amid a pool of blood that stained the white snow red.
The tiger was still alive but close to death.
Its neck was completely torn open—hard to imagine such a wound being inflicted by a dog.
At this moment, the Cold Moon Divine Dog stood like a victor, one paw pressing down on the tiger’s head. Its spiritual energy radiated visibly, exuding an intense cold aura.
Witnessing this scene firsthand, Qin Zhe began to reassess the divine dog.
Compared to the Siberian Husky of his former life, renowned for “never winning fights but never losing arguments,” the Cold Moon Divine Dog’s combat prowess was off the charts!
In terms of size alone, the tiger dwarfed the divine dog by several times, yet it was defeated in moments.
No wonder it was a third-stage spiritual beast!
Just as he marveled, Liu Qingzhi’s cool voice suddenly rang in Qin Zhe’s ears.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait where you are? Why have you come here?”
Startled by her voice, Qin Zhe instinctively wanted to explain, but looking around, he saw no sign of her.
A telepathic message?
Qin Zhe raised an eyebrow, recalling the immortal path techniques that had only existed in novels in his previous life.
“I need time to prepare a binding array. You distract the Cold Moon Divine Dog now.”
Liu Qingzhi’s voice came again, instructing him.
“Be careful. The Cold Moon Divine Dog is extremely fast in the snow and tends to prey on the weak. Don’t be too aggressive; just keep it entangled to prevent it from escaping.”
Qin Zhe blinked, feeling a bit troubled.
The minister made it sound so easy…
Judging by the divine dog’s displayed combat ability, asking him, a beginner in martial arts, to engage it head-on was asking for trouble.
Couldn’t they at least retreat and discuss a “battle plan”?
Unfortunately, Qin Zhe had no means of telepathic response, and Liu Qingzhi fell silent, seemingly already preparing the binding array.
With no other option, Qin Zhe steeled himself and charged forward.
Taking a deep breath, he scooped up a handful of snow, formed a snowball, and hurled it forcefully.
“Hey! You mutt!”
With no offensive skills and only beginner cultivation, the only way to “provoke” the Cold Moon Divine Dog was to attract its attention.
At his shout, the divine dog immediately turned its head, eyes full of caution. It clearly hadn’t expected a living person nearby.
A fist-sized snowball flew toward it. The divine dog’s eyes flickered with a human-like confusion as it tilted its head and easily dodged, then looked back with a mocking expression.
Qin Zhe was unfazed by his failed strike. After all, it was a third-stage spiritual beast—getting hit by a snowball would be unlikely.
But meeting the mockery in the dog’s eyes, Qin Zhe grew displeased.
Though he had made no real progress in cultivation since transmigrating, being looked down upon by a dog was unbearable.
“Damn it! I’m not believing this today!”
Cursing, Qin Zhe took a few running steps and charged straight at the divine dog.
As a spiritual beast, the Cold Moon Divine Dog possessed not only human-like traits but also considerable intelligence.
Seeing Qin Zhe rushing forward, it raised a paw and flicked lightly, condensing ice-attribute spiritual energy into three ice spikes and shooting them toward him.
Clearly, the divine dog did not regard this seemingly ordinary person as a threat.
At the same time, Qin Zhe, upon seeing the ice spikes coming, neither dodged nor halted, instead burying his head and charging onward.
He had no skills to fight, but he had confidence to take a hit!
With three sharp “puffs,” the ice spikes pierced Qin Zhe’s chest.
Seeing Qin Zhe take the attack head-on without defense, the divine dog’s eyes glinted with even greater scorn.
In its view, Qin Zhe, who seemed to have almost no cultivation, was surely doomed.
Yet in the next moment, for some unknown reason, the ice spikes shattered instantly upon striking Qin Zhe, failing even to tear his clothes!
The divine dog was stunned, its eyes filled with confusion.
Though intelligent, its wisdom was limited, and it couldn’t comprehend how this man could withstand its ice spikes unharmed.
During this, Qin Zhe strode forward and was already close.
Seeing the large dog lost in thought, Qin Zhe decisively took a leap forward and slapped the dog’s head.
“Do you f***ing look down on me or what?”
(End of chapter)