Chapter 492 - 214: Stone Lion 2
Blazing Fire Ore was an extremely valuable Ore that could be exchanged for Contribution Points.
Roughly half an hour later, his nose twitched as he caught the faint scent of blood.
He silently climbed onto a huge boulder and looked down.
Below, on a relatively flat stretch of gravel, a massive Exotic Beast was hunched over, gnawing on the carcass of some unknown animal.
This Exotic Beast resembled an elk, but it was far larger than any ordinary one. It stood nearly as tall as a man at the shoulder, and its body wasn’t covered in fur, but in palm-sized, grayish-brown plates of hard, keratinous Scale Armor that shone with a rocky luster.
The most striking feature was the pair of enormous horns on its head. They weren’t branched like normal antlers, but resembled two twisted, ancient stone pillars. They were incredibly thick with sharp tips, and they pulsed with a faint, dark-red glow, as if Earth Fire flowed within them.
’A Stone-Armored Antelope!’ Chen Qing immediately recognized the beast.
The sect’s records stated that this creature perennially fed on the unique mineral-rich vegetation of Luoxing Slope, causing its Scale Armor to become as hard as fossilized rock. Its pair of horns, in particular, condensed the essence of Earth Fire, making them a supplementary material for refining Elixirs or tempering Fire True Astral. Turning them in to the Sect would yield about twenty Contribution Points.
Judging by its aura, the Stone-Armored Antelope’s threat level was roughly equivalent to a Body Refining expert in the Early-stage of Astral Force. Its stone armor provided astonishing defense, and its charging power was ferocious.
A creature like this was considered a significant threat in the outer regions of Luoxing Slope.
’Perfect. I’ll test my skills on you!’
A sharp glint flashed in Chen Qing’s eyes. He leaped down from the rock face, landing without a sound.
The Stone-Armored Antelope was extremely vigilant. It immediately stopped eating and snapped its head up, its pair of crimson eyes instantly locking onto the intruder.
It let out a low, hissing bellow and pawed restlessly at the ground with its front hooves, kicking up a shower of sparks.
Unhurried, Chen Qing removed the cloth wrapping from his back, revealing the Cloud-Coiling Spear.
He didn’t immediately use his Five Elements True Astral. Instead, he first infused the spear with Cyan Wood True Astral and made a probing thrust.
WHOOSH!
The spear tip cut through the air, aimed straight for a gap in the Scale Armor on the Stone-Armored Antelope’s neck.
CLANG!
With a sharp clang, sparks flew.
The Stone-Armored Antelope merely staggered slightly. The attack had only left a white mark on the scales of its neck; it was completely unharmed!
Enraged, it lowered its head. The terrifying, pillar-like horns thundered toward Chen Qing with the menacing momentum of a galloping war chariot.
Chen Qing executed the Startled Swan Escape Shadow Technique, nimbly dodging the ferocious charge. A millstone-sized boulder beside him was effortlessly shattered by the antelope’s horns.
’Such tough Scale Armor, and what incredible strength!’
Chen Qing nodded to himself, now having a clear understanding of the Exotic Beast’s power.
He hesitated no longer. With a single thought, the majestic True Astral circulating within his Dantian, shimmering with a faint five-colored light, was suddenly unleashed!
BOOM!
A powerful aura, far surpassing anything he had wielded before, erupted from within him. The very air around him seemed to grow heavy and thick.
The Cloud-Coiling Spear no longer shone with a simple cyan light. It was now wreathed in a flowing radiance, within which tiny sparks of cyan, yellow, blue, red, and white light flickered in and out of existence, exuding a palpably majestic and terrifying pressure!
The Stone-Armored Antelope’s charge faltered. Its animal instincts screamed of immense danger from this new aura. A flicker of fear crossed its crimson eyes, and it dared not advance further.
But Chen Qing wasn’t about to give it a chance to retreat.
He took a step forward, the ground trembling slightly. He made a simple, direct thrust with the Cloud-Coiling Spear.
The thrust seemed unremarkable, but it contained the immense, majestic power of the Five Elements Rotation!
The air whined, as if unable to bear the strain as the spear tip passed through it.
Terrified, the Stone-Armored Antelope once again lowered its head and presented its horns, attempting a direct block.
This time, however...
SCHLICK!
It made a soft sound, like a hot knife sinking into cold butter.
The Scale Armor, as hard as fossilized rock and capable of withstanding the full-force blow of an ordinary Early-stage Astral Force expert, was as fragile as paper before the tip of the Cloud-Coiling Spear imbued with Five Elements True Astral!
The spear tip plunged unimpeded into the Stone-Armored Antelope’s tough neck, precisely extinguishing its life force.
The Stone-Armored Antelope’s massive body stiffened. Its crimson eyes instantly dimmed before it crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Chen Qing withdrew his spear and stood, looking at the slain Exotic Beast. Feeling the majestic, ceaselessly surging power within him, a look of amazement flashed in his eyes.
’Five Elements True Astral... its power is far greater than I imagined!’
He muttered to himself. That last thrust hadn’t used any Spear Technique. He had relied solely on the inherent power of the Five Elements True Astral to instantly kill an Exotic Beast with defenses comparable to an Early-stage Astral Force expert.
Chen Qing deftly stepped forward, took out a special knife, and began to harvest the Stone-Armored Antelope’s horns, which were worth twenty Contribution Points.
He then expertly produced a Jade Bottle and carefully collected the creature’s Essence Blood.
As for the massive carcass, it was too heavy and not very valuable, and he needed to travel light.
After dealing with the spoils, Chen Qing continued deeper into the region marked on his map as the Blazing Fire Ore deposit.
The outer region of Luoxing Slope was vast, and the Exotic Beasts were not densely populated. Along the way, he encountered a few more groups of Exotic Beasts of varying strengths, but most of their auras were far weaker than that of the Stone-Armored Antelope.
Chen Qing used his Startled Swan Escape Shadow Technique to cleverly avoid them, preventing any significant delays.
As he traveled, his control over the Five Elements True Astral grew increasingly proficient.
He even tried circulating the Formless Technique, simulating his Five Elements True Astral to mimic the fluctuations of the Circulation Star Essence Technique he had comprehended on the Eighth Layer of the Celestial Treasure Tower. An aura of what seemed to be Star Essence True Astral, tinged with a faint glimmer of starlight, immediately began to emanate from him. Unless one were an exceptionally perceptive expert, it would be impossible to see through the disguise to the far more miraculous Five Elements True Astral that lay beneath.