Translator: AnubisTL
Every face wore an expression of disbelief. The monstrously ferocious strange beast had turned and walked away without even a second glance.
For a moment, countless people questioned their own sanity.
In the World of Eternal Night, every strange beast was relentlessly savage and insane. Upon spotting blood food, they would immediately pounce, regardless of the circumstances.
Yet just now, this clearly bloodthirsty creature had remained indifferent upon seeing them, showing no inclination whatsoever to devour them.
"What's going on? Am I hallucinating from some toxin?"
"Could this be another creation of the Blood Lotus Sect, like these Unicorn Bulls? Perhaps it won't attack us unprovoked?"
The explanation rang hollow. Everyone had witnessed the crimson-stained hide of the massive, black-and-red strange beast, its ferocity palpable.
Uninterested in blood food?
That was an absurd joke!
Even the Unicorn Bulls they rode trembled violently, gradually calming only after prolonged reassurance from the caravan's Martial Artists.
Lin Jing quickly regained her composure, though her face remained deathly pale. Weakly, she issued the order: "Let's leave immediately. If that strange beast returns, we'll be in trouble. Better to avoid unnecessary complications and prevent any unforeseen incidents."
With this command, the merchant caravan resumed its journey northward.
Time flowed slowly in the Great Wilderness Domain, where the concept of time itself seemed almost meaningless.
Meanwhile, deep within the mountain's belly, Li Qing was cultivating the Soul Core Secret Technique. During this period, he felt himself teetering on the brink of collapse.
Cultivating the soul core brought excruciating pain to his divine soul, tormenting him relentlessly. Even a slight delay in ringing the Soul Nurturing Bell felt like a million needles piercing his skull.
Li Qing had lost count of how many times he had activated the Soul Nurturing Bell. By now, his mana was nearly completely depleted.
One could only imagine the agonizing cultivation he had endured.
Cling-cling-cling~
As the melodious chime rang out, Li Qing finally reached his limit. He put away the bell and collapsed against the cold, damp cave wall.
Darkness enveloped him, the surrounding environment still icy and chilling.
"Although I haven't fully mastered the soul core method yet, I've still made some progress," Li Qing murmured, rubbing his temples with a sigh.
Over the past few months, his divine soul power had subtly grown stronger, now approaching the level possessed by core formation realm cultivators.
Previously, the Soul Nurturing Bell had shown minimal effect on his divine sense strength. Each activation yielded only negligible improvements.
However, after enduring unimaginable torment to his divine soul, the bell not only healed his wounds but also triggered a noticeable surge in his divine sense power.
Already possessing a divine soul strength far surpassing that of his peers, Li Qing's enhanced divine sense now rivaled that of core formation realm cultivators. The remaining gap was so small it could practically be ignored.
"With another year or so, I should be able to successfully separate a portion of my divine soul power," Li Qing sighed, slowly rising to his feet and crawling out of the cave.
Li Qing stopped cultivating because his mana reserves were critically depleted, insufficient to continue operating the Soul Nurturing Bell.
He planned to return to his cave abode on Nanyang Spirit Peak to meditate and recuperate, replenishing his spiritual energy.
His face gaunt and haggard, Li Qing squinted as he surveyed his surroundings.
By sheer coincidence, a massive, blood-soaked tiger with mottled fur charged out of the darkness.
Seeing Fan Tong's hulking form, Li Qing chuckled and scolded, "You big oaf, you finally decided to come back, huh?"
"Roar!"
Fan Tong moved with surprising agility, each leap covering over ten meters. In moments, he stood before Li Qing.
"Awoo!"
Despite his ferocious aura and imposing physique, Fan Tong suddenly pressed his massive head against Li Qing's chest, nuzzling him affectionately.
"You're saying you encountered other people?"
"That's not surprising. The Autumn Mountain Domain is Blood Lotus Sect territory. It's only natural for humans to be present here."
Li Qing patted Fan Tong's massive head, then dismissed the matter from his mind.
Despite the blood-soaked stench clinging to Fan Tong, Li Qing knew the brute hadn't suffered a single injury. The blood was almost entirely from other strange beasts.
"Let's go back and replenish our spiritual energy. We'll meditate for a bit to recover."
With that, Li Qing used his overbearing strength to pull Fan Tong into his grasp and initiated interdimensional travel.
It was undeniable that Fan Tong had undergone significant changes recently. The aura surrounding him had become far more refined, and his powerful tiger frame now contained an astonishing reserve of strength.
Even Li Qing, who had cultivated the Brahma King True Body, found it difficult to budge Fan Tong's massive form. This demonstrated the demon beast's formidable foundation.
Moreover, Fan Tong's relentless slaughter of other strange beasts had pushed his internal reserves to their limit.
Without a doubt, upon returning to the Great Wilderness Domain and the nurturing environment of Nanyang Spirit Peak, Fan Tong would immediately advance to the late second-tier, becoming a formidable demon beast.
The surrounding environment shimmered like flowing water, flickering between light and darkness.
When Li Qing opened his eyes again, the surroundings had returned to his cave abode.
Feeling the dense heaven and earth spiritual energy swirling around him, Li Qing's face lit up with satisfaction.
Just as he was about to meditate and regulate his breathing, a sudden, astonishing surge of energy erupted beside him!
Boom!
The abundant spiritual energy in the cave abode, as if drawn by an irresistible force, began to converge frantically toward Li Qing's dwelling.
More precisely, it was surging toward Fan Tong's body.
That's right—Fan Tong was advancing!
He was progressing from mid-second-tier to late second-tier, keeping pace with Li Qing's progress without falling behind.
Witnessing this, Li Qing swiftly retrieved several mid-grade spirit stones from a hidden corner of the cave abode.
Clutching two spirit stones in one hand, he rapidly replenished his mana and true essence. Then, he activated a sound-dampening restriction.
Of course, this restriction could only barely conceal the aura of Fan Tong's breakthrough; it couldn't hide the massive influx of spiritual energy converging on the cave abode.
This spectacle was bound to catch the attention of many observant cultivators.
However, Li Qing felt no fear.
Most cultivators renting spiritual vein cave abodes here were at the foundation establishment realm. The only core formation realm expert was Shen Ningbing.
Even if the commotion drew attention, it didn't matter. He was confident he could easily crush any ordinary foundation establishment realm cultivator.
"What an astonishing surge of spiritual energy! Is someone breaking through?"
"Such a massive display... it's more like a treasure is being born."
"It's coming from one of the cave abodes! Could someone be refining top-grade magical artifacts? And multiple ones at once?!"
Li Qing, of course, remained unaware of how the other cultivators on Nanyang Spirit Peak perceived him. While Fan Tong's breakthrough drew in a dense tide of spiritual energy, Li Qing seized the opportunity to rapidly replenish his own mana and true essence.
A day and a night passed quietly. Fan Tong's breakthrough was finally nearing its end.
As the torrent of spiritual energy gradually subsided, Li Qing was astonished to discover a brief vacuum of spiritual energy within his cave abode.
"Roar!"
Inside the cave, Fan Tong, having successfully broken through, let out a low growl.
Its body hadn't grown much larger, but it appeared more refined. The streaks of blood that had stained its fur had vanished without a trace.
Its tiger fur had completely transformed into a dark red and black pattern, mirroring its heterochromatic eyes—one black, one red.
"Even though your bloodline comes from the Black Fiend Tiger, you don't resemble one in the slightest anymore," Li Qing chuckled, patting Fan Tong's head.
Nearly a year had passed in the World of Eternal Night, while only four months had elapsed in the Great Wilderness Domain.
Li Qing used his divine sense to scan outside the cave abode. Finding no messages, he concluded that nothing noteworthy had occurred during those four months. Otherwise, there would have been several messages from Zhang Da waiting for him.
After replenishing his mana, Li Qing quickly returned to the World of Eternal Night with Fan Tong.
Another arduous cultivation awaited him.
(End of the Chapter)
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