Li Feiyu began to renovate the cave, setting up an illusionary formation outside.
Around the Spiritual Eye Spring, Li Feiyu cultivated a spiritual field, planting various Spirit Medicine. Next to the Spiritual Eye, he placed a large bluestone as his daily Cultivate Qi spot.
Li Feiyu only carried three small porcelain bottles of Millennium Earth Milk with him, to replenish his magical power at critical moments.
This was much more useful than Origin return Pill; one sip was enough to restore half his magical power, and it even had some effect on Core Formation stage cultivators.
Cultivate Qi, Cultivate Divine Ability and Spell, Alchemy, and occasionally training his Spirit Insects, his days were ordinary yet fulfilling.
In the previous years, his Scarlet Sun Thirty-Six Strikes and Scarlet Sun Escape had both reached Minor Achievement. Now, he planned to Cultivate them all to Major Achievement in one go.
There was also the second layer of the Great Development Art, which Li Feiyu found very difficult to Cultivate. He often took Divine Sense Enhancing Pills to increase his Divine Sense. Although the increase wasn't much, it provided some assistance.
The Inferno Apex Meridian Art contained a Body Refining Divine Ability called Crimson Sun Body. A Major Achievement Crimson Sun Body could make one's Physical Body comparable to a High Grade Magical Artifact, with strength equal to a Demon Beast of the same level.
However, Cultivating it required the essence blood of at least a Level 4 Fire Crow as an aid.
For now, he could only put it aside.
Time passed unnoticed in the cave, and eight springs had gone by in a flash.
He only took five years to successfully enter the Late Foundation Establishment stage, which showed the remarkable efficacy of the Spiritual Eye Spring.
All the Spells and Divine Abilities in the Inferno Apex Meridian Art had reached Major Achievement. For the rest of the time, he Cultivated Qi while fully practicing the Great Development Art.
He had just succeeded a week ago.
In Divine Sense Cultivation, his Aptitude was far inferior to Han Li's, but spending more time eventually allowed him to catch up to Han Li's progress.
His Divine Sense had greatly increased again, allowing him to Divide Soul into hundreds of parts and control a set Magical Artifact like the Phantom Divine Needles with complete ease.
However, as his Cultivation improved, his opportunities to use the Phantom Divine Needles became fewer and fewer.
Even the Lihuo Sword was gradually becoming insufficient, its power unable to be further enhanced.
"Ya ya~"
The half-zhang tall Fire Crow circled in the air. It looked at Li Feiyu's shoulder, less than ten centimeters wide, then looked at its own feet.
Alas, there was no place to land its claws.
It was a little disappointed. Finally, it landed not far in front of him, turned its head, preened its feathers with its beak, its eyes bright and full of wisdom.
The Fire Crow was now a genuine Level 3 Demon Beast, just one step away from Level 4. If it unleashed its Three-legged Divine Ability, it could defeat many Level 4 Demon Beasts.
Li Feiyu walked over. As he extended his hand, the Fire Crow immediately stretched out its head and rubbed against him affectionately.
"Crimson Crow, you have an extra golden feather on your head! It seems your True Spirit Bloodline concentration has increased by another trace."
"Ya ya~"
The Fire Crow flapped its wings excitedly twice, and dust and stones flew in the cave.
The Soul Devouring Golden Cicada and the Golden-backed Demonic Mantis also flew over from elsewhere.
The growth of the Soul Devouring Golden Cicada required a large amount of Spiritual Qi, and with the Spiritual Eye Spring, its growth was greatly accelerated, reaching the peak of a Level 2 Demon Beast, close to a Level 3 Demon Beast.
The Golden-backed Demonic Mantis was similar. Its attack power was incredibly formidable; its six razor-sharp mantis blades could slice an ordinary High Grade Magical Artifact into several pieces.
When it reached Level 4, like the one Han Li encountered back then, a single slash could easily cut through an ordinary top-tier defensive Magical Artifact. Only defensive Magical Artifacts of excellent quality or higher could barely withstand it.
The Inner Sea of the Chaotic Star Sea was the domain of humans. Even transformed Great Demon Beasts generally wouldn't enter, because once they did, it would turn into a situation of encirclement and slaughter.
Every part of a transformed Great Demon Beast was considered a treasure, eagerly sought after by cultivators.
Many cultivators' Magical Artifacts here were refined from Materials from Demon Beasts, and many Pill Formulas also required specific Demon Beast inner cores.
Therefore, it was not without reason that sea Demon Beasts were the most abundant resource in the Chaotic Star Sea.
With his strength reaching the Late Foundation Establishment stage, Li Feiyu felt confident enough to contend with ordinary peak Foundation Establishment cultivators. Thus, he planned to go to the Outer Star Sea to hunt Demon Beasts.
The main reason was that his Lifespan was running low. Whether it was raising Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects or planting Spiritual Plants, longevity liquid was indispensable.
With the Fire Crow's Bloodline improving, and the rapid growth of the Soul Devouring Golden Cicada and the Golden-backed Demonic Mantis, Li Feiyu felt it was inextricably linked to his longevity liquid. In any case, it certainly wasn't due to their inherent Aptitude.
The innate Aptitude and Bloodline of Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects are generally fixed at birth and cannot be changed unless they encounter an astonishing Opportunity.
After all, Spirit Beasts are naturally much stronger than humans. If it were easy for them to improve their Aptitude and change their Bloodline Aptitude, then other living beings would simply be unable to compete with them.
"Let's go, it's time to see the world out there."
Li Feiyu put the Soul Devouring Golden Cicada and the Golden-backed Demonic Mantis into his Spirit Beast Pouch, then leaped onto the Fire Crow's back.
With its current size, its wingspan stretching over ten meters, it could already carry a person.
"Crimson Crow, go!"
"Ya ya~"
The Fire Crow let out a long cry, flapped its wings, and suddenly transformed into a red light, rushing out of the cave and soaring into the sky.
Its back was very warm, with no sensation of scorching heat. Flying in the air, the Fire Crow pushed aside all the air resistance, and Li Feiyu felt almost no wind force.
"This speed is nearly twice as fast as my full-speed flight at the Late Foundation Establishment stage. As expected of a naturally flying Spirit Beast," Li Feiyu praised silently in his heart.
The speed of the Fire Crow was one layer of Li Feiyu's assurance.
Another layer was his own strength.
Of course, the greatest assurance still came from the longevity liquid.
Li Feiyu and his companions flashed out of Kui Star Island in the blink of an eye, passed over Little Dipper Island, and then headed west.
A month or two later, they arrived at an unnamed small island.
"Let's stop here, Crimson Crow. You must be tired, take a rest."
Li Feiyu fed it a few Spirit-Feeding Pills and a drop of longevity liquid. After eating, the Fire Crow rested on a tree for a while.
Looking around, Li Feiyu flew directly into the sea.
The Outer Star Sea was boundless, its vastness unknown to anyone. Sea Demon Beasts were seemingly endless, yet they were but a drop in the ocean compared to the entire Outer Star Sea.
Many times, cultivators could wait for half a month without encountering a single Demon Beast, but they could also be surrounded by a group of Demon Beasts.
Therefore, hunting Demon Beasts was not that simple.
Li Feiyu had done his research beforehand, so he wasn't hunting Demon Beasts on a whim.
He took out a white, bean-sized Spirit-Feeding Pill with a special fragrance.
These were specially made Spirit-Feeding Pills, a hundred in total, with longevity liquid added to them.
Considering that his longevity liquid was very popular with Spirit Insects and Spirit Beasts, he figured Demon Beasts would be similar.
It had taken a lot of waste to successfully refine them with longevity liquid.
Once longevity liquid was condensed, it would dissipate if exposed to the outside for more than ten breaths. So, Li Feiyu could only add it at the last moment, then quickly collect the Pills and store them in jade bottles.
Although these special Spirit-Feeding Pills, refined using this method, did not possess all the effects of longevity liquid, they retained its unique charm and fragrance.
longevity liquid under a thousand years old usually did not emit fragrance, but it would be stimulated when used in Alchemy.
Li Feiyu had experimented with his own Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects. Before tasting it, they all craved it intensely, but after tasting it, their interest was only moderate, as they often consumed longevity liquid.
Although the fragrance of these Spirit-Feeding Pills was enticing, the important thing was that eating them did not provide the ineffable benefits that longevity liquid offered to their bodies.
He held a special Spirit-Feeding Pill, then with a gentle squeeze, crushed it into powder. The powder quickly spread with the current.
Before long, the nearest low-level Demon Beasts rushed towards the source of the fragrance.