At dawn the following day, Chen Yang slowly opened his eyes from meditation.
Over the course of a single night, he had consumed five Pure Origin Pills in succession, pushing his cultivation to the peak of the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm — just one step away from breaking through to the fourth level.
Yet his brow was furrowed. He had noticed a troubling problem: the more Pills he consumed, the weaker their effects became.
At first, a single Pure Origin Pill had been enough to advance his cultivation by a significant margin. Now, even after taking five in a row, he still could not break through the bottleneck.
What made things worse was that the amount of spirit liquid needed to duplicate Pills was also multiplying.
The clay bowl could convert ordinary water into spirit liquid, but only at a limited rate — at most, the equivalent of ten low-grade spirit stones' worth of spirit liquid per night.
At this pace, accumulating enough duplicated Pills to break through would take at least ten days to half a month.
Chen Yang pondered for a long while and arrived at three possible courses of action.
The first was to purchase Pills in bulk from the sect's Pill Hall.
But that carried far too much risk.
Where would a Menial Disciple like him get the spirit stones to buy precious Pills?
It would inevitably arouse suspicion.
If anyone caught wind of something unusual, the consequences would be unthinkable.
The second option was to duplicate a different kind of Pill.
Unfortunately, he only had Pure Origin Pills on hand and knew nothing about any other kind.
Even these Pure Origin Pills had been tossed to him like charity — Zhao Yanran's idea of "compensation."
The thought sent a sharp pang through his chest.
The third option was to find an entirely different path.
A few days ago, he had overheard some of the older laborers chatting about demon beasts lurking deep in the back mountains. They said demon beasts carried demon cores within their bodies — cores whose potency rivaled that of Pills — and that obtaining one would greatly benefit one's cultivation.
The deep reaches of the back mountains were treacherous, however, and ordinary disciples dared not venture there lightly.
After careful deliberation, Chen Yang made up his mind. That afternoon, he found Xiaodouzi weeding in the medicine garden.
"Xiaodouzi, have you heard anything about the demon beasts in the back mountains?" Chen Yang asked, keeping his tone casual.
Xiaodouzi looked up and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Why is Brother Chen asking about that? The back mountains are dangerous!"
"Just curious." Chen Yang smiled. "I heard some disciples go there to hunt demon beasts and take their demon cores for cultivation?"
Xiaodouzi's eyes went wide. "That's something only inner disciples dare to do! The demon beasts in the back mountains are ferocious. Even the Shadow Wolves on the outermost edge are only first-rank demon beasts, but they're the equivalent of a cultivator at the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm!"
He glanced around and lowered his voice. "I've heard the back mountains are divided into three layers. The outermost layer is mostly Shadow Wolves and Iron Claw Bears — all first-rank demon beasts. The middle layer is where second-rank demon beasts start appearing, equivalent to cultivators at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refinement. And the deepest part supposedly has third-rank demon beasts — existences comparable to the Foundation Establishment Stage!"
Chen Yang's heart stirred. "And the demon cores…"
"Demon cores are incredible!" Xiaodouzi's eyes lit up. "A demon core from a first-rank demon beast can sell for ten to twenty spirit stones! A second-rank one is worth over a hundred! But…" He suddenly gave Chen Yang a suspicious look. "Brother Chen, you're not thinking of going to the back mountains, are you?"
Chen Yang didn't answer. Instead he asked, "Are these demon cores actually useful for cultivation?"
"Of course!" Xiaodouzi nodded. "A demon core contains the essence of a demon beast's lifetime of cultivation. Absorbing one directly is far more potent than taking a Pill. Though…" he lowered his voice, "I've heard there's a risk to absorbing demon cores — you might be influenced by the beast's residual consciousness."
Chen Yang fell into thoughtful silence.
Seeing his expression, Xiaodouzi quickly grabbed his sleeve. "Brother Chen, please don't do anything reckless! Last year, an Outer Sect Disciple at the fourth level of the Qi Refinement Realm went into the back mountains to hunt Shadow Wolves, full of confidence — and never came back!"
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"I know what I'm doing," Chen Yang said, patting Xiaodouzi on the shoulder. "I was just asking."
Over the next two days, Chen Yang continued converting water into spirit liquid with the bowl while quietly making preparations on the side.
He asked several of the older laborers to teach him the most basic techniques — the Water Condensation Art and the Stone Shattering Technique.
Though they were rudimentary spells, when wielded with the cultivation of the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm, they carried considerable power.
He also used some Pure Origin Pill powder to trade with a laborer who frequently went down the mountain on errands, obtaining a refined iron shortsword and a few low-rank talismans.
The laborer was curious about where Chen Yang had gotten Pill powder, and couldn't identify what kind it was, but given how rich in Spiritual Energy it was, he asked no further questions.
On the morning of the third day, before dawn had even broken, Chen Yang quietly rose.
He tucked the shortsword inside his robe, stuffed the talismans into his sleeve pouch, and packed enough dried rations and water for the journey.
He pushed open the door. The morning mist had not yet lifted, and the medicine garden was perfectly still, with only a few early-rising laborers busy in the distance.
Chen Yang pulled his bamboo hat low and set off along the path toward the back mountains.
The further he walked into the back mountains, the fewer signs of human presence there were.
Ancient trees towered overhead, blotting out the sky. A faint mist drifted through the forest.
Birdsong grew sparse, replaced by the low growls of unknown beasts.
Chen Yang gripped the shortsword inside his robe and pressed forward with careful steps.
According to Xiaodouzi's description, Shadow Wolves typically prowled the dense forests on the outermost edge of the back mountains, relying on speed and agility.
He searched through the forest for about two hours before finally spotting a series of animal tracks in a mountain valley.
The prints were plum-blossom shaped and varied in depth — the telltale sign of a Shadow Wolf.
Chen Yang held his breath and followed the tracks slowly and carefully.
The deeper into the valley he went, the thicker the mist became, reducing visibility to less than thirty meters.
He quietly circulated his spiritual energy, ready to unleash a technique at any moment.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes to his left.
Chen Yang spun around — and a gray shadow came hurtling toward him like a bolt of lightning!
He threw himself sideways just in time. The gray shape grazed the hem of his robe as it shot past, trailing a gust of rank, bloody air.
He looked more carefully: it was a gray wolf roughly the size of a young calf, its eyes glowing an eerie green, fangs bared and dripping with saliva.
A first-rank demon beast — a Shadow Wolf!
The Shadow Wolf missed its first strike and landed, then immediately wheeled around and lunged again.
Its speed far exceeded what Chen Yang had anticipated.
With no time to think, Chen Yang acted on instinct and unleashed the Water Condensation Art.
Moisture in the air rapidly condensed, forming a water arrow that shot toward the Shadow Wolf.
But the wolf nimbly sidestepped, and the arrow only grazed its hind leg, leaving a shallow mark.
Stung by the pain, the Shadow Wolf let out a low growl and pressed its attack even harder.
Chen Yang stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding one close call after another.
Only now did he realize that despite having the cultivation of the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm, he had absolutely no combat experience.
In the desperate moment, Chen Yang remembered the talismans tucked in his robe.
He hastily pulled out a Fireball Talisman, channeled his spiritual energy into it, and hurled it forward.
The talisman ignited in midair, transforming into a blazing fireball that crashed toward the Shadow Wolf.
The wolf seemed to have a deep aversion to fire and scrambled frantically to dodge.
The fireball struck the ground and exploded into a small crater, sending dirt and dust flying.
Seizing the opportunity, Chen Yang activated the Stone Shattering Technique.
Several fist-sized rocks rose into the air and shot toward the Shadow Wolf.
The wolf had barely dodged the fireball and had no time to evade. The stones slammed into its flank with a heavy impact, drawing a wretched howl.
Seeing his chance, Chen Yang knew he couldn't afford to hesitate. He drew his shortsword and charged forward.
The Shadow Wolf was badly wounded and had slowed considerably, but it still snarled with savage fury and snapped its jaws at Chen Yang's wrist.
Chen Yang barely twisted away in time, and drove the shortsword into the side of the wolf's neck in one fluid motion.
Warm blood gushed out. The Shadow Wolf let out a shrill, agonized wail, thrashed a few times, and finally collapsed motionless on the ground.
Chen Yang stood there panting, the hand gripping the shortsword trembling slightly.
This was his first time killing a demon beast. His heart was gripped by both lingering fear and exhilaration.
After resting briefly, he remembered the purpose of his trip and used the shortsword to cut open the Shadow Wolf's abdomen.
Sure enough, near the heart he found a gray demon core roughly the size of a pigeon's egg, faintly radiating spiritual energy.
Just as he was retrieving the demon core, he suddenly heard footsteps and voices in the distance.
Chen Yang's heart clenched. He quickly ducked behind a tree.
Two young men in inner disciple robes came into view — one carrying a sword, the other a folding fan. Both appeared to be at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refinement.
"I definitely heard something over here just now. Where did it go?" the sword-carrying disciple said, puzzled.
The fan-carrying disciple had sharp eyes and spotted the Shadow Wolf's carcass on the ground. "Senior Brother, look! Someone got here before us!"
The two examined the wolf's body. The sword-carrying disciple frowned. "A single thrust to the throat — clean and efficient. From the wound, it looks like a shortsword."
The fan-carrying disciple mused, "To kill a Shadow Wolf alone, you'd need at least the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm."
Behind the tree, Chen Yang held his breath and didn't dare move a muscle.
If these two inner disciples found him, they would inevitably question his background.
A Menial Disciple venturing alone into the back mountains to hunt demon beasts was suspicious in itself.
Fortunately, the two did not linger and soon departed.
Chen Yang waited until they were well out of earshot before slipping out from his hiding spot.
He looked at the Shadow Wolf's demon core in his hand, feeling both joy and unease.
The joy came from finally finding a way to rapidly advance his cultivation. The unease came from the realization that the back mountains were far more dangerous than he had imagined — not only were there venomous creatures and fierce beasts, but there was also the risk of running into other disciples.
He carefully stowed the demon core away, then turned his gaze toward the deeper reaches of the mountains.