Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 21

Volume 6 Chapter 21: The Cave, Trapped Beast (Part 2)

Soon, Xu Qingfan realized that he had been overly cautious and making a big fuss about nothing.

Although Zhuyin was indeed powerful, the one attacking him now had only been born for a little over a thousand years, comparable in strength to a human cultivator at the Real Golden Core Stage, which was far from Xu Qingfan’s current cultivation level. With the protection of the "Five Spirit Bell," even though the little Zhuyin was agile and showed some signs of an adult Zhuyin’s strength, its tail striking against Xu Qingfan’s shield made loud sounds but posed no real threat to him.

Instead, Xu Qingfan’s seven "Rainbow Ruler" rays of colorful light continuously surrounded and attacked the little Zhuyin, leaving countless wounds on its body. After a while, Xu Qingfan finally saw the true state of the Zhuyin before him, but he no longer entangled it with the ability of the "Rainbow Ruler" that could split into seven. With a quick change of hand gestures, the seven rainbow lights combined into a single multicolored ray and suddenly pierced toward the little Zhuyin.

The rainbow light moved extremely fast, and the little Zhuyin didn’t even have time to dodge before the human face on its snake body was shattered by the light, instantly splattering flesh and blood everywhere. The snake body fell to the ground, still struggling and twitching under Zhuyin’s powerful vitality, not completely dead yet.

At the same time, a inner dan the size of a thumb rolled to the ground.

Seeing the glowing Zhuyin inner dan, Xu Qingfan made a slight movement, and with a wave of his sleeve, he took it into his robe. Although this Zhuyin was young, with strength only equivalent to the early stage of the Real Golden Core Stage, it was still of extraordinary origin, a descendant of a demon beast that could grow to the heavenly level limit, making the value of its inner dan no less than that of the North Iceland Seven Beasts’ inner dan that Xu Qingfan had obtained earlier.

Zhuyin was extremely rare in the cultivation world, and just seeing one was something that cultivators would brag about for a lifetime, of course, as long as they survived its ferocious attacks. Now, however, Xu Qingfan had personally killed one so easily, leaving him with a sense of disbelief while handling the Zhuyin’s body.

The body of the Zhuyin was also a valuable thing; the scales on its skin could be refined into high-quality defensive treasures, and its bones and flesh could enhance a cultivator’s physique. Its blood, rich with powerful vitality, was even more crucial for saving one’s life at critical moments. Unfortunately, this Zhuyin was still young; if it had grown for another four to five thousand years, its body would definitely be worth a substantial treasure to a sect willing to trade all their resources for it.

However, if we talk about it again, after four or five thousand years of growth, Xu Qingfan would definitely not be able to defeat this Zhuyin.

After dealing with Zhuyin’s body, Xu Qingfan followed Little Gold deeper into the cave. Little Gold was very wise and had patiently waited quietly, holding back its excitement while Xu Qingfan handled the body.

But as they set off again, not long after following Little Gold, the sound of flapping wings suddenly echoed in the quiet cave. Moments later, two yellow birds, four or five times larger than ordinary eagles and exuding a fierce presence, swooped down on Xu Qingfan.

"Yellow bird! It’s actually a yellow bird!"

Seeing the two birds attacking him, Xu Qingfan’s body shook, and he exclaimed in disbelief.

The yellow bird, a type of ancient demon beast with a status equivalent to Zhuyin among demon beasts, held a ranking similar to that of the phoenix and Zhuque among flying demon beasts, showcasing its power. Once fully grown, its massive body could block out the sun for thousands of miles when in the air, yet its true strength was unknown because no one dared to challenge such a large demon beast.

However, the two yellow birds in front of him were clearly just young beasts, likely born only a thousand years ago, and their strength was still inferior to the earlier Zhuyin. Before Xu Qingfan could act, he felt a gust of wind on his shoulder, and then saw Little Black transform into a streak of black lightning, attacking the yellow birds.

Without considering the mysteries of magical methods and the intricacies of magical artifacts, Little Black’s strength was still above Xu Qingfan’s at that moment. The two young yellow birds, whose strength was only comparable to the late stage of a Fake Golden Core Stage cultivator, were naturally no match for Little Black. In an instant, it shattered the heads of both yellow birds with its sharp beak, and luckily, Xu Qingfan managed to stop Little Black in time; otherwise, there would have been no bodies left.

Originally, given how valuable the yellow bird was, Xu Qingfan had hoped to keep one alive for study, but that was clearly no longer possible.

Even so, one of the yellow bird’s core was quickly swallowed by Little Black.

Ever since Little Black evolved into the Bird King after swallowing Little Gold’s core, it could not stand the sight of flying demon beasts acting arrogantly in front of it.

Xu Qingfan looked at Little Black in surprise, and Little Black innocently gazed back at Xu Qingfan. It was Xu Qingfan who was startled by Little Black’s action of swallowing the yellow bird’s core. When did Little Black gain the strength to consume the cores of demon beasts?

After a moment, Xu Qingfan suddenly recalled something from an ancient book. It mentioned that young demon beasts like the Zhuyin yellow bird, with limitless potential, would have their bodies, especially their cores, fiercely contested by many ordinary demon beasts upon death. Although the cores of these young beasts had not fully developed and were not very useful to cultivators, ordinary demon beasts could greatly enhance their potential and growth speed by consuming them.

Xu Qingfan had thought that this statement was merely a guess by most ancient people, but now it seemed to be true.

Although Little Black is one of the few demon beasts in the cultivation world that can absorb death energy, compared to ancient demon beasts like the yellow bird and Zhuyin, it still belongs to the category of ordinary demon beasts. It is absolutely impossible for it to grow to the terrifying strength of an adult Zhuyin yellow bird; reaching the heavenly level would be a significant achievement.

"No wonder Little Black was frantically calling when I put away Zhuyin’s core just now."

Xu Qingfan thought to himself while cleaning up the yellow bird’s body.

The most precious part of the yellow bird’s body is its golden feathers, which can be refined into top-quality flying treasures, greatly increasing Xu Qingfan’s flying speed.

Although Xu Qingfan got the bodies of two young yellow birds and one young Zhuyin in one breath, he did not feel excited; instead, he grew more serious in his heart.

What secrets are hidden in this black cave? Why are such rare young ancient demon beasts like the yellow bird and Zhuyin hiding here? Could there be more young ancient demon beasts? Most importantly, if so many young ancient demon beasts are hiding here, could there also be adult ancient wild beasts deep in the cave?

Thinking of the terror of Zhuyin, a chill rose in Xu Qingfan’s heart.

After dealing with the body of the yellow bird, Xu Qingfan continued to follow Little Gold deeper into the cave, his expression becoming even more cautious.

Just as Xu Qingfan expected, in the cave, there were indeed many ancient demon beasts that only appeared in legends, but they were all young.

After killing the yellow bird, Xu Qingfan followed Little Gold and walked for a whole day into the cave.

During this day, Xu Qingfan encountered three young Kui, four young yellow birds, three young candle dragons, three young Six-winged Golden Garudas, and one young Six-eared Macaque.

Most astonishingly, Xu Qingfan also encountered a whole group of about fourteen or fifteen young Gluttonous Beasts, which left him in shock.

There were even more unknown young demon beasts, but evidently, each young demon beast belonged to the ancient wild beasts.

Xu Qingfan, just like before, used the "Rainbow Ruler" to defeat each little demon beast, taking their inner crystals and removing their bones. He gathered a lot during this journey. Although these demon beasts were only young and not fully grown, their body parts were not very valuable, they were still ancient wild beasts. Incorporating these materials into Xu Qingfan’s magical items would greatly enhance them and improve their growth potential.

However, the most precious things Xu Qingfan gained on the way were seven unknown demon beast eggs. While killing those young beasts only provided Xu Qingfan with some valuable materials, these seven demon beast eggs gave him seven living ancient wild beasts, a value beyond compare.

The eggs of demon beasts, especially those of ancient wild beasts, are very strong in life force. Xu Qingfan found these eggs in several unremarkable corners, covered in dust, as if they had quietly sat there for centuries, yet they still held life. If hatched properly, they could become spirit pets for a cultivator.

Xu Qingfan already had Little Black and did not plan to raise another spirit pet. Although Little Black could not compare to those ancient wild beasts, sometimes being uncontrollable, they had built a deep bond over the years and had saved Xu Qingfan’s life multiple times, so Xu Qingfan couldn’t bear to abandon it.

However, Xu Qingfan’s three disciples and Dongfang Qingling did not have spirit pets to assist them. Although Jin Qinghan once had a low-level spirit pet, it had died long ago during the Newcomer Comparison. Xu Qingfan thought about giving these ancient demon beast eggs to them. The rest might also be traded with other cultivators.

As he killed more young demon beasts, Xu Qingfan became more cautious, fearing that an adult ancient demon beast might suddenly appear, see its dead offspring, and kill him with a single blow. Besides, with so many young beasts in the cave, there was bound to be an adult demon beast nearby watching over them.

What Xu Qingfan did not know was that the Zhuyin, who had been guarding this place, was currently searching for him all over the Southern Wasteland.

Meanwhile, Little Gold silently led the way. As they ventured deeper into the cave, the earlier excitement gradually faded. When Xu Qingfan killed those young demon beasts, a glimmer of satisfaction flashed in Little Gold’s eyes, as if a human child were watching their elders teach a lesson to other children who had bullied them for years.

After Little Black quietly swallowed six or seven inner crystals while Xu Qingfan was not paying attention, its initial panic disappeared, replaced by excitement, eager to venture even deeper into the cave than Little Gold.

By the way, Xu Qingfan originally got nine demon beast eggs, but Little Black secretly ate two of them. The demon beast eggs are even more helpful to him than the demon beast core.

Looking at Little Black’s innocent expression, Xu Qingfan felt very helpless.

Okay, I am your master, my things are your things, but could you please tell me before you take something?