Refresh!

The Tier 1 Mid-grade Water Shield Technique had actually failed to withstand this First-tier Demonic Beast's all-out strike.

It was violently shattered on the spot!

Fortunately, Su Bai had anticipated this. He formed a hand seal in advance and silently chanted an ancient incantation.

As the seal and incantation resonated, his Spiritual Power surged rapidly, and a crimson fireball the size of a washbasin swiftly appeared.

"Go!"

Whoosh.

The instant the Fireball took shape, Su Bai sent it hurtling toward the Demon Lizard at tremendous speed with a thought.

Trailing a stream of flowing flame through the air, the Fireball struck the Demon Lizard with a bang and exploded violently.

This Tier 1 Mid-grade Spell, one of the most powerful of its kind, possessed not only terrifying heat but explosive force as well.

If a Mortal touched it, they would truly be reduced to ashes and scattered smoke in the literal physical sense.

Yet the Demon Lizard possessed Demonic Power, and its Demonic Body was Extremely Powerful.

Sensing the power contained within the Fireball, the Demon Lizard immediately gathered Demonic Power over the surface of its body.

The exploding flames were blocked by its Demonic Power, which absorbed most of the attack's force.

The remaining heat merely singed its hide slightly yellow and could not harm it at the root.

The moment Su Bai fired the Fireball, he had already activated the Light Body Technique and retreated.

The Demon Lizard charged forward on all four limbs with such speed that it was nearly upon Su Bai in the blink of an eye.

As the reeking wind rushed at his back, Su Bai was about to wield his Magic Sword and fight for his life.

A figure descended from the sky.

"Whew... Good thing Senior Brother Zhao was fairly reliable..." Sensing the familiar aura of the newcomer, Su Bai let out a breath of relief.

The moment he recognized the Demon Lizard as a First-tier Demonic Beast, Su Bai knew he was no match for it. In the First Moment, he had used a Jade Talisman to send Zhao Shanhe on Lake Heart Isle a plea for help.

Upon receiving the message, Zhao Shanhe immediately Rose on Sword and rushed toward the scene.

Traveling by artifact was incredibly fast, and he had finally made it in time.

Zhao Shanhe stood atop a Magic Sword. Its Spiritual Light was far brighter than Su Bai's Magic Sword; it was a High-grade Magic Sword.

While still in midair, Zhao Shanhe leaped high from the Magic Sword. Forming a hand seal, he sent the Flying Sword beneath his feet shooting toward the Demon Lizard.

This was the Sword Control Technique, an extremely difficult Tier 1 High-grade Spell to cultivate.

It was an advanced version of the Tier 1 High-grade Spell, the Artifact Control Technique.

The Artifact Control Technique merely allowed Cultivators to fly with the aid of magical artifacts, while the Sword Control Technique not only allowed one to fly on a Magic Sword, but also to command it against enemies!

Whoosh!

Under Zhao Shanhe's control, the Magic Sword whistled toward the Demon Lizard's forehead even faster than an ordinary spell.

Knowing it could not evade and sensing the terrifying power of the sword light, the Demon Lizard simply opened its mouth and spat out that white tongue, attempting to attack in place of defense.

Zhao Shanhe, slowly descending through the air, had a gaze calm to a terrifying degree.

In the split second between lightning and flint, his hand seal shifted slightly. In that critical instant, he altered the Magic Sword's trajectory a little through the seal.

The Magic Sword curved around the Demon Lizard's tongue.

Without losing any of its force, it pierced into the Demon Lizard's head and emerged from its lower abdomen, skewering it clean through.

The Demon Lizard had no time to retract its tongue. Its eyes gradually dimmed, and with a thud, its four limbs went limp as it collapsed to the ground.

Only then did Zhao Shanhe land. "Are you all right?"

Su Bai shook his head. "I'm fine, Senior Brother Zhao."

Other than casting spells in succession, with the Spiritual Power of Qi Refining Stage Four not being deep enough and consuming quite a bit of power,

and being badly startled, Su Bai had suffered no serious injuries.

"This Demon Lizard really knew how to pick its time. The moment Senior Brother Wang left, it came knocking."

"Could it have been watching us nearby, waiting for an opportunity?"

It had originally been an offhand joke from Su Bai, but Zhao Shanhe nodded seriously. "Very possible. Demonic Beasts are not unintelligent."

Su Bai was momentarily speechless.

After confirming that Su Bai was unharmed, Zhao Shanhe walked over to the Demon Lizard.

He formed a hand seal with one hand. The Magic Sword whistled up and circled through the Demon Lizard's head, returning to his hand with a Demonic Core as thick as a thumb.

Holding the Demonic Core, Zhao Shanhe said, "Not bad luck. First-tier Demonic Beasts do not have a high chance of producing Demonic Cores."

"A First-tier Demonic Core sells for around fifteen Spirit Stones."

"I'll take the Demonic Core. Here are ten Spirit Stones—five each for you and Wang Jue. Pass Wang Jue's share on to him."

Zhao Shanhe put the Demonic Core into his Storage Bag, then took out ten Spirit Stones of various colors and handed them to Su Bai.

Before Su Bai could refuse, Zhao Shanhe used the Object Manipulation Technique to place the Spirit Stones before him.

As the Object Manipulation Technique faded, the Spirit Stones fell from the air, and Su Bai instinctively reached out to catch them.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you killed this Demonic Beast entirely by yourself. We aren't qualified to take these Spirit Stones, are we?"

Zhao Shanhe waved a hand. "Those are my rules. Just accept them."

"Continue your patrol. Once you're done, return to Lake Heart Isle early and cultivate."

"You should take the Demon Lizard's Demonic Body too. When This Kid Wang Jue returns, have him cook it properly."

With that, Zhao Shanhe Rose on Sword and streaked toward Lake Heart Isle.

"So Senior Brother Zhao is a Sword Cultivator." Su Bai spoke thoughtfully.

The Sword Control Technique was exceedingly difficult to cultivate and consumed both time and effort. Unless one intended to walk the path of a Sword Cultivator, no one would cultivate this spell during the Qi Refining Stage.

But once mastered, its power was obvious for all to see.

Even the Fireball Technique could not break the Demon Lizard's defenses.

Yet Zhao Shanhe had pierced it straight through with a single Flying Sword.

A Sword Cultivator's Combat Power was often extremely high among immortal cultivators of the same rank.

The sight of Zhao Shanhe killing the Demonic Beast with his sword clearly showed that he had mastered the Sword Control Technique to no low level.

When there's a suitable chance in the future, I'll copy a Sword Cultivator talent and strengthen my Combat Power...

Su Bai put away the Demon Lizard's body from the ground.

He made a circuit around Spirit Moon Lake on patrol.

Afterward, he returned to Lake Heart Isle with the Water Escape Technique. He picked some fresh Spirit Moon Tea leaves and poured himself a cup to settle his nerves. After circulating his Spiritual Power several times, the spot on his chest that had hurt fiercely from the impact quickly recovered, and only then did he return to his room to cultivate.

No matter what, he Could Be Considered someone with experience facing a First-tier Demonic Beast head-on.

Whether in strength or speed, a First-tier Demonic Beast Far Exceeded him at Qi Refining Stage Four, and its Demonic Power was deep enough that it did not fear ordinary spells.

If he encountered one again, he still had to run before mastering stronger spells!

Three days later.

Wang Jue returned with a Storage Bag full of cooking seasonings.

When Su Bai took out the enormous Demonic Body of the Demon Lizard before Wang Jue and said that he had nearly died in its jaws,

Wang Jue was so guilty that he did not even rest before immediately using every method at his disposal to cook the Demon Lizard.

Braised, grilled, stewed, made into meat patties...

Su Bai and Zhao Shanhe ate until they were utterly delighted.

Honestly, Demonic Beasts did not necessarily taste better the higher their rank.

This Demon Lizard was instead incomparably fishy and foul-smelling. Without Wang Jue's cooking methods, this thing truly might not have gone down the throat.

Still, a First-tier Demonic Beast was a First-tier Demonic Beast.

After eating it, their bodies grew hot, and its effects in improving physique and strength were no exaggeration.

Su Bai felt that without a suitable Body Cultivator cultivation method to absorb the nourishment in the Demonic Beast meat, it was truly somewhat wasteful.

After Wang Jue returned,

the duty assignments at Spirit Moon Lake resumed their usual routine.

Summer passed into autumn, winter passed into spring.

Another year went by. In March, eighteen-year-old Su Bai's Immortal Talent Reflection refreshed once more.