Fire Ribbon Mountain was steep and perilous, filled with deep mountains and ancient forests. Ferocious beasts lurked within, while insects and snakes covered the ground. This was a true battlefield where the weak were meat for the strong.
Beneath the scorched soil and damp dead leaves, who knew how many human and beast corpses had been buried?
Especially at night, miasma blanketed the area and obscured vision. Venomous insects and savage beasts could pounce upon one without warning.
Li Tianming spent two days in the outer region of Fire Ribbon Mountain. People often came here, and the spiritual herbs and miraculous medicines had basically all been picked clean. Thus, emboldened by his skill, he decided to venture deeper into Fire Ribbon Mountain.
"I wonder whether Flame Capital has any Clear Spirit Grass for sale. If not, I'll have to prepare more myself."
Flame Capital was the capital of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom. Yanhuang Academy and Thunder Lord Manor were both located within Flame Capital, as was naturally the Vermilion Bird Royal Clan that ruled the entire kingdom.
After searching painstakingly for two days, he had found only a single stalk of Clear Spirit Grass.
"Hopefully, there'll be more in the deep mountains." The deep mountains were extremely dangerous. Even some older, peak Beast Tamers did not dare venture deep into Fire Ribbon Mountain.
One had to know that ferocious beasts differed from lifebound beasts. Lifebound beasts could communicate and possessed intelligence, but ferocious beasts had no sentience at all. They were cruel and bloodthirsty, growing stronger by devouring one another.
"This is... Fire Ganoderma!"
On the third day after entering the deep mountains, Li Tianming and Little Yellow Chick discovered a precious ganoderma on an impossible-to-scale cliff face. When sunlight shone upon it, the ganoderma actually burst into flames.
"I'll do it." Little Yellow Chick flapped its tiny wings and flew over, plucking the Fire Ganoderma with lightning speed before one could cover one's ears.
"Leave, quickly." After obtaining the Fire Ganoderma, Li Tianming immediately took it away. After all, any treasure born of heaven and earth was likely guarded by a ferocious beast.
Such spiritual essences were also greatly beneficial to ferocious beasts. However, ferocious beasts were clever enough to refine them slowly and did not dare simply swallow them whole. Otherwise, they would be unable to withstand the medicinal power and would collapse and die on the spot.
The spiritual energy between heaven and earth was abundant. Even ores could absorb the spiritual energy of the earth's veins and become Spirit Ore, let alone flowers, grasses, and trees.
After being nourished by sufficient spiritual energy of heaven and earth over countless years, these flowers, grasses, and trees gradually developed Heavenly Patterns.
Like Spirit Ore, all plants bearing Heavenly Patterns were called spiritual essences. Their Heavenly Patterns were distinguished by nine colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white. The more advanced the color of the Heavenly Pattern, the more precious the spiritual essence.
"Clear Spirit Grass bears a crude red Heavenly Pattern, making it the lowest-grade spiritual essence. But it still has great medicinal value."
Li Tianming carefully examined the Fire Ganoderma and discovered a burning orange Heavenly Pattern upon it. The orange Heavenly Pattern appeared far more complex and profound than a red one, indicating that this Fire Ganoderma was a second-grade spiritual essence.
"Great, time to split the spoils." Just as Li Tianming was considering how much this Fire Ganoderma could sell for, Little Yellow Chick directly tore it in half. Once split apart, the Fire Ganoderma's medicinal power began to disperse.
"What are you doing?" Li Tianming had a headache. Tearing the Fire Ganoderma apart like this was simply wasteful.
"Are you an idiot? I can eat Spirit Ore raw, let alone medicinal herbs." Little Yellow Chick shot him a contemptuous look, tossed him half the Fire Ganoderma, then opened its beak and pecked away. Before long, half of the Fire Ganoderma had gone into its belly.
"Wow, it's burning me to death!" It had just been boasting, but the next moment its entire body burst into flames. It shot up and down through the forest like a cannonball, looking like a fireball.
"Awesome, this is the feeling, ****!" Its constitution truly was terrifying. It could even withstand such ferocious medicinal power. It was probably using the Eternal Purgatory Scripture to refine the Fire Ganoderma's medicinal power now.
Neither ordinary lifebound beasts nor ferocious beasts could possibly eat spiritual essences raw like this. At the very least, they would need ten days or half a month to refine and absorb them slowly.
"Li Tianming, if you've got the guts, eat yours too. But I bet you don't, hehe." Little Yellow Chick provoked him.
"Heh." Li Tianming smiled. Wasn't it just having his stomach and intestines scorched? This little thing dared to do it, so what did he have to fear? In any case, the Eternal Purgatory Scripture and his current constitution were terrifying enough.
He swallowed the Fire Ganoderma in several bites. The instant it entered his mouth, it transformed directly into magma, burning his throat numb from the very start.
But the next instant brought excruciating pain in his stomach and intestines. He felt as though he had swallowed magma whole.
The Fire Ganoderma had absorbed so much essence of the sun over countless years before forming an orange Heavenly Pattern. Other than two monsters with constitutions like theirs, no one truly dared absorb it this way.
Still, the Eternal Purgatory Body's resistance to flames was simply heaven-defying. Li Tianming soon burst into flames as well, turning into a massive fireball.
Of course, this was also an opportunity for cultivation. At this moment, his beast pulses were linked with Little Yellow Chick's, and they guided each other. Relying on the majestic fiery medicinal power, they transformed it into scorching Eternal Purgatory Beast Origin and charged together toward the fifth level of the Beast Pulse Realm.
Once the surging magma-like medicinal power had been made their own, it no longer harmed them. Other than the initial agony that made them wish they were dead, it became easier and easier afterward, until they completely refined the Fire Ganoderma together.
As expected, the two of them advanced like bamboo splitting under a knife, breaking through together to the fifth level of the Beast Pulse Realm!
"Ah, cultivating with you feels like dual cultivation. Disgusting. I want to find a beauty to dual cultivate with." After breaking through, Little Yellow Chick was clearly brimming with energy, yet it still put on a sighing, dejected act.
"Get lost. In these deep mountains and ancient forests, you still want to find a beauty? You'd be lucky to find a female ghost." Li Tianming laughed.
He was already at the fifth level of the Beast Pulse Realm. His current cultivation and combat strength were beginning to approach what they had been three years ago.
Such speed was truly inconceivable. This was the greatest fortune brought by the Primordial Chaos Giant Beast.
With his current realm and strength, if he fought Zhao Zi Feng, he probably would not even need fire immunity to defeat him.
"But I'm still certainly some distance from Liu Qianyang at the ninth level of the Beast Pulse Realm." Thinking of that youth, Li Tianming narrowed his eyes.
"Let's go."
After refining the Fire Ganoderma, they continued deeper. Li Tianming removed the glove from his left hand and even used the third eye on his Dark Arm.
He discovered that this eye's field of vision was clearer than the pair on his head combined.
"Don't look at me. That eye of yours makes my scalp tingle." Little Yellow Chick shuddered.
"Chicken." Whenever this happened, Li Tianming could mock it mercilessly.
Little Yellow Chick was about to retort when a rumbling sound suddenly came from ahead. It sounded like a large tree being knocked down and crashing to the ground. The earth beneath their feet trembled faintly, and the low growls of a savage beast could vaguely be heard.
"A ferocious beast!" Li Tianming said gravely. The roar of a ferocious beast was completely different from that of a lifebound beast—it was a wild howl devoid of all intelligence.
He had come to gather herbs, not to clash with ferocious beasts. Ferocious beast corpses could be sold for money, but if they were too large, transporting them would be troublesome and interfere with his herb gathering. Thus, Li Tianming decided to leave.
But he had not expected the disturbance ahead to rush directly toward him, and at an extremely fast speed. He almost immediately saw the trees ahead collapsing one after another, while the bloody stench of the ferocious beast drew closer and closer.
He still had time to evade, but in the next instant, Li Tianming's entire body stiffened. It was as though he had been immobilized. He stared blankly ahead, his mind utterly empty.
"A female ghost?!" Little Yellow Chick stood atop his head, staring straight ahead with wide eyes as it too fell into a dazed state.
That was right—the ferocious beast had appeared, but before it was a slender, graceful figure being pursued by the beast.
The "female ghost" Little Yellow Chick spoke of was describing that figure.
However, Li Tianming wanted to swat Little Yellow Chick away, because how could such a wondrous figure possibly be a female ghost?
"She's a fairy, okay!"
Li Tianming had seen countless beauties at Yanhuang Academy. Mu Qingqing's beauty alone was already capable of toppling cities and kingdoms. Flame Capital gathered the beauties of the entire Vermilion Bird Kingdom, and those with outstanding talent and exceptional backgrounds were all peerless young maidens.
Even in Lihuo City, there were many women of exceptional beauty. For instance, Liu Qing, who had just married Li Yanfeng, was also a breathtaking temptress of countless charms. Every frown and smile of hers was enough to make many men lose themselves.
That allure had made Li Tianming look at her several times more.
Yet with all his experience, the moment he saw the graceful figure running toward him, it was as though his entire world had frozen.
At that moment, he forgot everything—forgot life and death, forgot time. Only that figure before him remained, filling every corner of his body and soul.
The young woman seemed shrouded in snow-white mist. She possessed a captivating head of glossy black hair, and every feature upon her oval face seemed like a work of art. Especially her bright eyes, which resembled brilliant stars in the night sky.
She wore a pale blue gown, her waist slender enough to fit within one hand's grasp. She looked delicate and boneless, yet three parts more alluring for it. Her snow-white skin was fine and lustrous like warm jade, soft in glow and smooth as rich cream, seeming as if it would break at the lightest touch. Such a girl truly seemed like a fairy from heaven, an exiled immortal descending into the mortal world, untouched by the smoke and fire of humanity.
What Li Tianming would find hardest to forget in this life was that she differed from ordinary people. Like gemstones and pearls, her skin emitted a crystalline radiance. The white mist surrounding her was formed from that very crystalline glow.
Fire Ribbon Mountain was dark and sinister, but because of this girl's appearance, the entire forest seemed to become bright and pure. All bloodshed and slaughter vanished, including the ferocious beast chasing after her.
Li Tianming could not understand why a person's body could possess such crystalline, wondrous radiance.
The girl's ethereal stillness left him unable to think. An indescribable tremor rose in his heart, as though they had known each other before. Without any preparation, they had stumbled into an encounter written by fate.
Though such encounters were clichéd, perhaps a tale of a hero saving a beauty, when Li Tianming's gaze met hers, it was like the collision of two celestial bodies. He clearly heard his own heartbeat—rumble, rumble—as though heaven and earth were exploding, pounding with such intensity.
Upon meeting a girl like this, even his former girlfriend Mu Qingqing could be cast beyond the clouds and forgotten.
Only today did Li Tianming learn that there was a kind of beauty capable of making all living beings fall into intoxicated reverie.
"I declare that I've found love." This beauty transcended species. Even Little Yellow Chick widened its eyes and grinned lewdly.
"Say one more word, and I'll castrate you," Li Tianming said.
"Little bro, are you jealous because mine is bigger than yours?" Little Yellow Chick swaggered.
"Yinghuo, when you overestimate yourself and act arrogant, you look exactly like an idiot." Li Tianming could not help laughing as he mocked it.
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