The sky gradually became dark.

Ye Lingchen stopped cultivating and glanced at Little White, who by then was still attacking the dead bird.

It was Little White's first kill after all. At that moment, its eyes were full of excitement as it jumped around the pheasant's body and enjoyed itself to the fullest.

"Get up, jump! Hahaha, I killed you with one slap."

Little White felt exhilarated like a victorious general.

Ye Lingchen did not pay much attention to the feline. He frowned and checked his body. Innate inner force was more difficult to compress, and the struggle would only increase as he progressed. Like a spring, there was not much resistance when first attempting to compress it. However, once he reached the bottom, the effort he had to expend would multiply exponentially.

If the size of Ye Lingchen's inner strength was 100% in the past, he had now shrunk it to 80%. In spite of that, he could clearly feel that the quality of the 80% far exceeded that of the 100%.

He let out a gentle sigh. While the effects were evident, it was much too slow for him. How long more will he be able to finally compress it to the max?

Any other warrior would probably vomit blood if they could read Ye Lingchen's mind. He had only recently started compressing his inner force, but had already managed to compress it by 20%. Such a speed was unimaginable and beyond the reach of anyone else, but he actually felt that it was too slow!

A well-fed man would never understand the pains of a starving man!

Moreover, Ye Lingchen had achieved that through his own hard-work and cultivation. Other warriors might barely only reach his level even if they used elements such as medicinal materials to their advantage.

"Let's go!"

Ye Lingchen grabbed Little White by the scruff and lifted it up. With the other hand, he picked up the battered pheasant. "Damn. As the king of beasts, it still took you so much effort just to kill a small pheasant. Stop being so smug! As if that isn't bad enough, I even had to teach you from the sidelines. Other tigers would be utterly ashamed of themselves if they were in your place right now."

"Roar. Don't take my trophy!"

Little White wiggled its limbs and yelled while being held by Ye Lingchen.

"You stubborn little kitty!" Ye Lingchen slapped its bottom, feeling rather pleased. There was a saying that one could never touch a tiger's bottom, but he did not just touch it—he smacked it.

After making his way out of the forest, Little Green and Little Gray had yet to return. As for Li Jing and the others, they were still rushing along with the filming. Roaring sounds were constantly heard, as were shouts, screams, and verbal abuse of various kinds. The heroism and might associated with warriors were enacted in vivid detail.

Ye Lingchen could hear that those shouts came from the heart. After all, anyone who had been beaten all afternoon will end up like that.

Of course, Drawing Sword had many nighttime battles as well, and they continued filming into the night. In fact, if no one caused any trouble and the actors' acting skills were on point, it would not take long to complete filming of a television series or movie. The scenes did not have to be shot in the exact order, and filming could be staggered according to the situation. All that was left to do after that was merge it all together into the finished product.

With the absence of superstars flaunting their status around, everyone was extremely cooperative. The warriors' movements were superb too, so there was no need to put their acting skills to use. Having them be themselves was good enough. Arrangements for setting up a scene was not an issue as well, since there were many other warriors acting as coolies. Progress was therefore fairly quick.

The scenes being shot depicted a sneak attack on the enemy base under cover of the night. The attack was to avenge the soldiers who died during the day.

Ye Lingchen watched with interest. Everyone was wounded with blue and swollen noses, rendering makeup superfluous.

After watching for some time, Little Green and Little Gray led the pack of wolves and came out slowly from the forest. Both canines shook their heads in dejection.

Ye Lingchen was not surprised. He knew the white fox was a clever being at first glance, and it was no surprise that they were unable to catch it.

"Huhuhu, we almost caught it, Dad." Little Green whimpered.

"Okay, go and have some rest. There might still be a chance for you to prove yourself again later tonight," Ye Lingchen comforted Little Green for a brief moment and practically ignored the latter soon after.

As for the white fox, Ye Lingchen surmised one possibility—if his guess ended up being true, then it was very likely that the white fox would return again that night.

There was only one reason why any animal would have their eye on that place, and that was for food. Animals could not possibly want those things to manufacture medications, right?

For the fox to focus on the herbs in his herb farm meant that it treated those herbs as a food source. Strange as that may be, it was not impossible.

Even if the attempt to capture it proved unsuccessful earlier, the white fox was surely exhausted after the chase. Once its tummy began calling for food, the herb farm would definitely cross its mind again.

Ye Lingchen was in no hurry. If the white fox could come and steal once, then there was a high chance it would come again for a second time.

Midnight.

Ye Lingchen hid in the darkness and kept a close watch at the farm.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

A faint noise was heard in the forest. Ye Lingchen's lowered his body slightly and could not help from holding his breath.

The next moment, a small head poked out from the darkness, craned its neck, and looked at the herb garden.

'It's here!'

The corner of Ye Lingchen's lips curled up in a smile, but his eyes were filled with amazement.

The beauty of the white fox's fur stood out even more at night. Rather than being hidden by the darkness, it reflected the faint moonlight. The fox was cautious. Instead of rushing out immediately, remained motionless and looked around patiently.

"Those terrible, hateful humans and that savage wolfpack are probably not around." The white fox's nose twitched and signaled its extreme caution.

Then, it stared firmly at the herb farm. Its small eyes rolled inside its eye sockets, gazing yearningly across the entire area while its saliva unknowingly began to drip.

"I'm so hungry. I'm dying to eat right now." The white fox licked its lips. "It's all because of that human. He took away so many herbs from the forest and left me with nothing to eat. All of this originally belongs to me."

It finally could not resist approaching slowly as it continued its thoughts.

"So much food! Smells really good. It must be delicious. I'll just grab one and run away. They can't catch me."

The white fox's tail was slightly raised and it pressed its limbs against the ground before rushing out like a mouse.

Entering the herb farm was like stepping into heaven. Its entire body was shaking with excitement. 'Whoa, which one should I pick! Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm so happy! I've struck the jackpot.'

It dashed frantically around the farm and was so enraptured by everything that it felt spoilt for choice. It hugged the Chinese knotweed for some time, then reluctantly let go before wrapping himself around some nearby ginseng. Then, it rushed to another lingzhi.

"I'll eat this today, then come again next time." The white fox finally made up its mind. Its little paws began digging the soil frantically as he prepared to steal away some lingzhi.

The next moment however, its movements halted all of a sudden and it stared at the darkness in horror.

Pairs of faintly green eyes slowly appeared, indicating an encirclement approach.

"Squeak!"

The white fox's heart sank suddenly while its small paws were still holding the lingzhi, as if it was stunned. Its tail however, was pointed right up at the sky, while its fur was standing on end.

Run!

It subsequently made the decision to let go of everything and make a run straight for the forest...