Chapter 221 - 213: Tier Two Demon Beast
Li Yuan was in no hurry to return to Yunyang Market.
The concentration of Evil Qi deep within the mine was extremely high, and the passive effect of his Evil Essence Convergence was pushed to its limits here.
The Evil Qi automatically gathered, tempered his body, tempered his soul, and converted into Spiritual Power. These four processes ran simultaneously, making his cultivation efficiency more than twice as high as it was in his courtyard back at the market.
Simply sitting cross-legged and circulating the Cyan Wood Longevity Skill, his Cultivation progressed much faster than it did at the market.
The Spiritual Qi concentration wasn't low either. Although the Spiritual Qi deep in the Ghost Mist Forest was mixed with a large amount of Evil Qi, its intrinsic concentration was no worse than that of Yunyang Market. The permanent trait for Pure Spiritual Power filtered out the impurities, while Spiritual Qi gathering and accelerated circulation cycles simultaneously boosted his cultivation efficiency. The amount of Spiritual Power accumulated with each circulation cycle was extremely solid.
Li Yuan decided to stay in the Ghost Mist Forest for a few more days.
He came out from the depths of the mine and found a clearing on the surface rich in Evil Qi, where he sat down cross-legged.
The Cyan Wood Longevity Skill circulated, and Evil Essence Convergence operated in sync. Spiritual Power and Evil Qi traveled along their own separate paths within his body, not interfering with but complementing each other. The Spiritual Power advanced his Cultivation and tempered his Divine Soul, while the excess Evil Qi converted into Spiritual Power to replenish his Dantian.
The forging of the Soul Condensation Skill was woven into the pauses. Under the dual effects of the Evil Qi tempering and the Soul Condensation Skill, his Divine Soul grew steadily more solid.
After cultivating for about four hours, his Divine Sense suddenly detected an anomaly.
To the northwest, about sixty zhang away, a restless aura was rapidly approaching.
A Tier One Top Grade Demon Beast.
Li Yuan opened his eyes but didn't get up.
From within the dense fog, a grayish-black figure shot out from a thicket of low bushes.
It wasn't large, resembling a wild dog magnified to twice its size. Its limbs were short and thick, and a row of dark gray bone spurs stood erect along its spine. Its snout protruded, its fangs jutted out, and its two eyes glowed with a dim, green light.
A Thornback Dog. A Tier One Top Grade Demon Beast, its attack power was not weak, but its defense was average.
The Thornback Dog showed no hesitation upon seeing Li Yuan. It let out a low growl from its throat, the bone spurs on its back shot up, and it kicked off the ground with all four limbs to pounce.
Li Yuan lifted his right hand. Fireball Technique.
The Fireball left his hand and smashed directly into the Thornback Dog's head.
BOOM.
The Thornback Dog's body flew backward, crashed into a dead tree, and slid to the ground. It twitched a couple of times and then went still.
Killed in one hit.
A Foundation Establishment Stage Fireball Technique, boosted by the bonuses from permanent traits like Flame Marrow Body and Rapid-Cast Fire Magic, possessed power far beyond the limits of what a Tier One Demon Beast could withstand.
Li Yuan didn't get up to deal with the corpse, but continued to cultivate with his eyes closed.
Over the next two days, similar situations occurred several times.
The Demon Beasts in the depths of the Ghost Mist Forest were far more numerous than on the outskirts, and their species were more varied.
Thornback Dogs, Demon Armor Boars, Black Mist Bats, Venomfang Serpents—all sorts of Tier One Middle to Top Grade Demon Beasts would periodically be drawn over by the gathering effect of the Evil Qi.
All of them were dealt with in one or two hits.
The advantage a Foundation Establishment Cultivator had over a Tier One Demon Beast was absolute. Spiritual Power level, reaction speed, attack power, defensive strength—every single aspect was a different dimension of power.
Li Yuan casually collected the materials from the slain Demon Beasts into his storage pouch without spending much time on them. The pelts, bones, and fangs could all be sold for Spirit Stones when he returned.
On the evening of the third day, as Li Yuan was circulating the Soul Condensation Skill, his Divine Sense suddenly caught a different kind of aura.
'Not a Tier One Demon Beast.'
This aura was heavy and dense, like a piece of red-hot iron submerged at the bottom of a lake, its heat seeping up through the surface of the water.
'A Tier Two Demon Beast.'
It was to the southeast, about two hundred zhang away, and moving slowly. It wasn't heading in Li Yuan's direction; it seemed to be patrolling its territory.
Li Yuan opened his eyes and stood up.
He locked onto the aura with his Divine Sense and slowly walked southeast.
He couldn't see anything through the dense fog, but his Divine Sense could clearly track the target's position and movements.
When he was about a hundred zhang away, Li Yuan slowed his pace.
In the thick fog ahead, a massive figure was crouched beside a huge boulder.
Its body was three or four times larger than a Demon Armor Boar's, with limbs as thick as pillars, and it was covered entirely in dark cyan scales. Its head was broad and flat, and its two eyes were vertical slits that shone with a cold, golden light. A long, thick tail dragged behind it, the tip forked like a pair of scimitars.
'A Jiao Linxi.'
'A Tier Two Demon Beast, probably Tier Two Low Grade.'
'Its body is enormous, and its defense is extremely strong. The dark cyan scales are as hard as iron; an ordinary Tier One spell would only leave a white mark. Its attacks are mainly tail strikes and charges, and its strength is immense.'
The Jiao Linxi sensed Li Yuan's approach. Its vertical pupils contracted sharply, and its massive body slowly rose from its crouch.
A low hiss-like roar emerged from its throat, sounding like metal scraping against stone.
Li Yuan stopped fifty zhang away and raised his right hand.
'No Magical Artifacts, only Magic.'
Fireball Technique.
A crimson Fireball formed in his palm. It was nearly twice the size of the ones he made during the Qi Refining Stage, and its Spiritual Power density was extremely high.
The progressive bonus to Fire Element Magic from Flame Marrow Body, the casting speed bonus from Rapid-Cast Fire Magic, and the Spiritual Power refinement from his Origin-Breaking Foundation Establishment—with multiple traits stacked together, the power of this one Fireball far surpassed a similar spell from an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
The Fireball left his hand.
A Precision trait corrected its trajectory, and the Fireball crossed the fifty-zhang distance to smash directly into the Jiao Linxi's head.
BOOM.
A searing wave of heat exploded through the dense fog, blowing away a large swathe of the surrounding mist.
The Jiao Linxi's head was thrown back by the Fireball's shockwave, and a scorched black mark appeared on its dark cyan scales.
The Jiao Linxi steadied itself. The golden light in its vertical pupils suddenly flared, and the hiss in its throat turned into an enraged roar. Kicking off with all four limbs, its massive body charged toward Li Yuan at an astonishing speed.
The ground trembled beneath its steps.
Li Yuan did not retreat.
He raised his right hand again and again.
Fireball Technique. Fireball Technique. Fireball Technique.
Three Fireballs left his hand in succession, with less than half a breath between them. The casting speed bonus from Rapid-Cast Fire Magic made the Fireballs form extremely quickly; the three of them flew toward the Jiao Linxi almost simultaneously.
The first hit the Jiao Linxi's left shoulder, shattering two scales and revealing the dark red muscle underneath.
The second struck it square in the chest, the shockwave cutting its charging speed by more than half.
The third smashed into the same spot on its head, right on the scorched mark left by the initial Fireball.
The dark cyan scales at the scorched mark burst open, creating a fist-sized gap. The Fireball's Spiritual Power poured through the opening and exploded beneath the scales.
The Jiao Linxi's head whipped violently to the side as a pained hiss was squeezed from its throat. Its massive body lost its balance and toppled sideways, crashing to the ground and sending up a great spray of rotten leaves and dirt.
It was still struggling, its limbs kicking at the ground as it tried to stand up.
Li Yuan raised his right hand again.
Golden Blade Skill.
A silvery-white blade of light shot from his fingertip, simultaneously enhanced by Golden Edge Amplification and Armor-Piercing Penetration. The blade's sharpness and penetrating power were both pushed to an extremely high level.
The blade of light sliced precisely into the gap on the Jiao Linxi's head that the Fireball had blasted open. It plunged deep through the opening, piercing the muscle and bone beneath the scales.
The Jiao Linxi's struggles ceased.
Its massive body slammed heavily to the ground, limbs splayed. Its tail twitched twice, then went completely still.
Its aura dissipated.
Li Yuan lowered his hand and walked over to the Jiao Linxi's corpse.
'A Tier Two Demon Beast. Killed with pure Magic, no Magical Artifacts.'
'That went more smoothly than I expected.'
'The Jiao Linxi's defense was indeed strong; the first Fireball didn't even break its scales. But after continuous attacks on the same spot, the scales' defense was gradually dismantled. The penetrating effect of the Golden Blade Skill, enhanced by Armor-Piercing Penetration, was truly impressive—a fatal blow in one strike.'
'With the stacking of all these traits, I was able to achieve this effect using only an ordinary Tier One Low Grade spell.'
'If I had a proper Magical Artifact, I probably could have finished it in two or three hits.'
Li Yuan crouched down and turned over the Jiao Linxi's corpse.
'The dark cyan scales are extremely hard, excellent materials for Artifact Refining. The bones are also very dense, especially the spine and ribs. They could be used in Artifact Refining to create decent defensive Magical Artifacts.'
Li Yuan dismantled the beast, taking the scales, bones, fangs, and tail spikes one by one and putting them in his storage pouch.
Then, he reached into the Jiao Linxi's abdominal cavity, feeling around among the internal organs for a moment.
His fingertips touched something hard.
It was round and smooth, the size of his thumb pad, and slightly warm.
'An Inner Core.'
Li Yuan took out the Inner Core and placed it in his palm.
It was a dark cyan Inner Core with extremely fine golden patterns flowing across its surface. Its spiritual fluctuations were steady and heavy.
He touched a finger to the Inner Core's surface.
The panel didn't pop up.
Li Yuan pressed it again, just to be sure.
No response.
This Inner Core had no traits.
'Not every item has traits. Their appearance is a matter of chance; some items have them, some don't.'
Li Yuan put the Inner Core into his storage pouch.
'The lack of traits doesn't affect its value. A Tier Two Demon Beast's Inner Core is a precious material in its own right, useful for both Alchemy and Artifact Refining.'
Besides, Li Yuan was reminded of the Tier Two Divine Soul Class Demon Beast Core that the cultivator from the Li family had been selling at the trade fair.
'An Inner Core for an Inner Core, plus five hundred Spirit Stones.'
'And now I have a Tier Two Demon Beast Core in my possession.'
Li Yuan stood up, left the remains of the Jiao Linxi's carcass where they lay, and turned to walk back the way he came.