The Foul-Blood Demon Spirit was an extremely filthy and evil entity within the cultivation world. Like the Demon Insect King, it was a creature loathed by heaven and earth. The birth of such a being would cause a massive decline in the vitality of the world.
The Demon Insect King, for instance, would devour all life in a region, plundering the providence from living beings so that they could not return their energy to the world after death. The Foul-Blood Demon Spirit was even more bizarre and rare; it could pollute and assimilate anything that possessed spirituality, subsequently taking complete control of it. Weapons, array spirits, cultivators, and spiritual beasts were all targets of its corruption. It was the ultimate nemesis of sentient spiritual artifacts!
Even a Spirit of the Land, which high-level cultivators were unable to detect, could be assimilated by a Foul-Blood Demon Spirit!
However, the essence of a Spirit of the Land was too powerful. Even if the demon spirit was its nemesis, it was difficult to complete the pollution and assimilation in a short time.
The most troublesome part was that the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit not only possessed bizarre methods, but it was also immune to or could reduce most attacks. Even if injured, it could heal at extreme speeds and possessed a great ability to escape. It was arguably even more disgusting and harder to deal with than the Demon Insect King!
"No wonder the spirituality of this Spirit of the Land was so weak, and no wonder that after it tried to test my strength and found it could merge with my Golden Core phenomenon, it immediately and desperately rushed in."
Because if it didn't, the Spirit of the Land would have been completely consumed and assimilated by the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit. Although it could probably have held on for several thousand more years, Qi Ping's phenomenon was likely the only chance for the Spirit of the Land to escape the demon spirit in all that time.
"However..."
Thinking of this, a smile curled on Qi Ping's lips.
"It might be dangerous for others, but for me, as long as I am careful, there is no problem at all!"
If the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit had attacked him by surprise, it might have posed a fatal danger. But since Qi Ping was prepared, the demon spirit's threat to him was not even as high as the Demon Insect King's. This was because although its existence was bizarre, it had a fatal weakness: it feared things that were extremely Yang and resolute, such as lightning or Solar True Fire...
"Yaya, use your life-fire and attack with me!"
"Then, have half of the Sky-Flame Bees attack with me, while the other half forms an array to seal off the space!"
There was no need to mention Yaya's Golden Crow bloodline; there was no spiritual beast more Yang and resolute than one with such a lineage. The Sky-Flame Bees' Sky-Flame Demon Fire was likewise an extremely Yang fire that could resist the spiritual erosion of the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit. Naturally, they did not fear it!
As for the other animal companions, he would leave them out. The Little Stone Spirit, for instance, was powerful, but its strength was truly ineffective against the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit; it might even end up getting caught itself.
The current combat situation made it clear: under the power of the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit, the entire world had fallen into a gray darkness. The source-spirituality of the Spirit of the Land was being frantically devoured and assimilated by the demon spirit!
The distant cultivators were even worse off; in a single instant, they had become puppets of the demon spirit!
Even the Little Stone Spirit and the Little Immortal Tiger were extremely uncomfortable and in pain. They suffered significant damage from just a single encounter, and it was only when several Sky-Flame Bees appeared to protect them that the pain stopped. But even in that short time, their auras had significantly weakened.
Thus, the terror of the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit was evident! Without meeting a power that countered it, the world would be corrupted in the blink of an eye! The currently darkened world was the best proof.
Only the Netherworld Bees, being creatures of extreme Yin and the underworld, could resist the power of the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit, but even they could only resist.
Fortunately, the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit had run into Qi Ping, a master of Yang energy who was its perfect counter.
In the moment the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit erupted with its power to assimilate the world, multiple brilliant, extreme Yang fires rose, illuminating the darkened sky. All the filthy power was set ablaze under the Yang fire.
Subsequently, those figures wreathed in Yang fire rushed at the demon spirit with incredible speed, drawing brilliant, burning arcs of light across the darkened world!
"Extreme Yang... Flameburst Prison Seal!"
Qi Ping performed his first battle as a Golden Core, transforming all the spiritual energy he released into Yang spiritual energy. Combining it with the Solar True Fire in his body, he instantly converged it into an overwhelming Flameburst Prison, sealing all the assimilation power of the demon spirit within a narrow space!
In this moment, as the assimilation power touched the Flameburst Prison, it was frantically ignited. After finishing this, Qi Ping quickly used his Solar True Fire and Yang spiritual energy as an array foundation to set up a sealing formation! The demon spirit's escape ability was extremely strong; it could escape by splitting into ten thousand pieces if he wasn't careful!
Thus, Qi Ping had to use every possible means to seal it. The outermost sealing array of the Sky-Flame Bees was the first layer, while the Flameburst Prison and the formation were the second and third!
While Qi Ping was doing this, Yaya and the Sky-Flame Bees also rushed into the fray!
The Rank 3 Yaya's Golden Crow bloodline was boiling now. At full power, a Golden Crow phantom merged perfectly with it! Its life-fire, the closest thing to Solar fire, burned fiercely!
When it crashed into the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit, an incredibly shrill and miserable scream rang out!
"Screee... hiss... sizzle..."
The sound was bizarre, making one's soul tremble and hair stand on end! If Qi Ping hadn't been protected by his Yang spiritual energy, his consciousness might have wavered under that cry!
After being attacked by Yaya, the demon spirit's indescribable and bizarre body began to burn with a golden flame, though it was quickly extinguished by the demon spirit with several times the amount of energy!
However, Qi Ping was not surprised by this. If a Foul-Blood Demon Spirit could be slain so easily, it wouldn't be a legendary creature more terrifying than the Demon Insect King.
After Yaya's attack, the remaining Sky-Flame Bees, burning with Sky-Flame Demon Fire, used their Sky-Flame Demon Wings to frantically cut through the demon spirit's body. While their fire's countering power was not as strong as Yaya's Solar fire, they were now Rank 4 demon insects and were numerous. Their combined damage was even more terrifying than Yaya's!
Yet, this level of damage was only a portion of the energy within the demon spirit's body. An existence that could grind down a Spirit of the Land was truly formidable!
Qi Ping was not in a hurry, merely adding to and layering the sealing arrays to deny the demon spirit any chance of escape. Whether based on records or the deductions of Natural Perception, he had the opportunity to slay this thing. Thus, Qi Ping only needed to be steady and cautious.
"Such special creatures are powerful, but their downfall is also in their uniqueness..."
Without being countered, they are nearly immortal even when fighting those of a higher level. But when countered, they can't even beat someone a level lower than them!
Just as this Foul-Blood Demon Spirit was at Rank 4, yet it had no way to fight back against a Rank 3 spiritual beast with a Golden Crow bloodline like Yaya. Qi Ping's triple-layered seal also cut off any chance for the demon spirit to replenish its energy, while Yaya had ample resources and power to supplement her own.
"Next, it will be a battle of attrition!"
Qi Ping calmly analyzed and perfected his combat plan.
In the outside world, after the power of the demon spirit was isolated, the people who had been controlled and assimilated finally began to regain consciousness. But they were in a poor state, as if they had been hollowed out.
"What's happening? I feel so weak and miserable!"
"Why has the spiritual energy in my body decreased so much?"
"What was that monster just now? It could turn the world dark just like that? And just by touching its power, we became like this!"
"What a terrifying monster. I swear that is the most frightening thing I've ever seen. What on earth is it?"
These voices rang out as everyone deeply agreed. They hadn't yet escaped that sensation that made their hair stand on end. Some cultivators had even lost control of their spiritual energy due to their Dao-hearts collapsing, causing them to explode into a spray of blood and flesh...
"Was it that Senior who was breaking through who saved us?"
Following that voice, everyone looked at the sky. Behind the golden fire prison, they could vaguely see a figure fighting that monster. Terrifying explosions, the sounds of combat, and soul-shivering screams continued to drift out from within.
"Such terrifying combat fluctuations!"
Sensing the fluctuations of the battle, everyone was profoundly shaken. But after the shock passed, people began to flee rapidly. Having witnessed the terror of the Foul-Blood Demon Spirit, no one dared to stay behind and wait for death.
After everyone had left, the battle continued until nearly an hour had passed. Only then did the riddled prison and the formation, which had been battered countless times, get taken down by Qi Ping.
When Qi Ping, the bee swarms, and Yaya all revealed themselves, every single one of them was in a state of exhaustion.
"So hard to kill!"
The weary Qi Ping felt his scalp tingle just thinking about the battle. Perhaps because it had devoured a lot of the Spirit of the Land, the foundation of this Foul-Blood Demon Spirit was incredibly strong. He and Yaya had replenished their strength several times before they could finally kill the thing.
It could be said that if it wasn't Qi Ping who encountered it today, but another cultivator—even a Nascent Soul expert—if they didn't practice Yang spiritual energy, their only option would be to flee. If they were a bit slow, they might even lose their lives!
Next, Qi Ping's attention quickly turned to a blackish-red crystal left behind after the death of the demon spirit.
"What should I do with this Foul-Blood Crystal?"
A Foul-Blood Crystal was something only a well-grown demon spirit could produce. It was a treasure of immense value—worth more than ten Nascent Soul-level treasures combined. It was truly a fortune!
But after a moment of silence, Qi Ping looked at a mark on the crystal and made his decision: destroy it!
He then had a Sky-Flame Bee step forward, completely destroying and burning away the energy of the crystal!
"Though this thing is priceless, leaving it in the world would be a massive disaster for the heaven and earth of the cultivation world. Since I enjoy the favor and fortune of heaven and earth, how can I let such a thing remain for the sake of a bit of profit? Moreover, the benefits of destroying it might not be lower than selling it."
Sure enough, immediately after the crystal was completely destroyed, the Heaven-Earth Favor and Power of Qi Fortune on Qi Ping—which had already risen once—soared again! Even Qi Ping's Dao-heart became more powerful and solidified at this moment!
Everything was worth it! In this moment, Qi Ping's mind was clearer than ever!
In the cultivation world, was there anything more valuable than obtaining the favor of heaven and earth and the Power of Qi Fortune? This was something that ten Foul-Blood Crystals might not be able to buy in the future!
At this point, Qi Ping had completely and successfully broken through to the Golden Core stage!
After the Spirit of the Land merged into his phenomenon, it raised the power of his Golden Core Dao-fruit by another tier, and the phenomenon gained an unparalleled spirituality. Now Qi Ping could feel that his every move carried the majestic power of mountains and rivers!
"I wonder if I can obtain the power of the Qingtian Domain's land once I return?"
With this question, Qi Ping immediately erased all traces and began his journey back to the Qingtian Domain. That Foul-Blood Demon Spirit was clearly something a terrifying existence had controlled and nurtured, likely placed here specifically to consume the Spirit of the Land. It was too dangerous to stay here.
On the way back, Qi Ping discovered that he had gained a special talent:
Golden Core Talent: Mountain-River Phantom
Mountain-River Phantom: A special phenomenon formed upon condensing the Golden Core Dao-fruit. It allows the possessor to carry vast mountain-river power in every action.
Because the formation of this talent has an extremely close relationship with the Qingtian Domain, this talent can produce a special resonance and fusion with that location. After fusion, it will bring the empowerment of mountain-river power and multiple special effects.
The Spirit of the Land is currently merging with the Mountain-River Phantom; the talent is undergoing a transformation...