Illustrated Guide to Common Demon Beasts of the Southern Profound Domain

That day, the sky was clear and bright.

A gentle breeze swept through, making the bamboo groves in the mountains rustle.

At that moment, in the quiet chamber on the second floor of Green Bamboo Lodge.

The windows were bright and spotless. Warm sunlight streamed through the carved lattice windows, falling over Chen Heng as he leaned against the sill.

It was pleasantly warm and comfortable...

He was flipping through a rather thick scripture.

At the beginning, the book stated: The demon creatures and exotic beasts of this world differed from human cultivators in that they possessed no spiritual roots.

They cultivated through bloodline inheritance.

The higher the bloodline grade, the greater the potential for cultivation.

Their bloodline grades roughly corresponded to the grades of spiritual roots possessed by cultivators.

From lowest to highest, they were: Inferior Bloodline, Low-grade Bloodline, Mid-grade Bloodline, High-grade Bloodline, Earth-grade Bloodline, and Heaven-grade Bloodline.

As well as the legendary True Spirit Bloodline.

True Spirits were the legendary divine beasts, such as True Dragons, Heavenly Phoenixes, Kirins, Kunpengs, and the like. Most possessed the power to destroy an entire world.

The main contents of the scripture recorded the traits and habits of common demon beasts in the Southern Profound Domain, many with accompanying illustrations.

The descriptions within were detailed and vivid, with both text and images.

It was precisely the <Illustrated Guide to Common Demon Beasts of the Southern Profound Domain>, produced by the Myriad Beast Sect, one of the five great immortal cultivation sects of the Southern Profound Domain.

The Myriad Beast Sect not only inherited beast-taming methods that pointed directly toward the great Dao of the Nascent Soul.

Even its mountain gate had been built within the Myriad Monster Mountain Range, one of the three great mountain ranges of the Southern Profound Domain and the place with the greatest number of demon beasts.

This mountain range stretched for several thousand li and was also the closest mountain range in the Southern Profound Domain to the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

And since ancient times, the Hundred Thousand Mountains had been the domain of demon beasts and even the Demon Race.

Thus, this mountain contained far more demon beasts than the other two great mountain ranges, earning it the name Myriad Monster Mountain Range.

When it came to knowledge of the demon beasts of the Southern Profound Domain, if the Myriad Beast Sect claimed second place, no one would dare call themselves first.

As for its <Illustrated Guide to Common Demon Beasts of the Southern Profound Domain>, it was practically an essential item for cultivators traveling abroad to hunt demon beasts or seek treasure.

Moreover, the Myriad Beast Sect never hugged its broom and called it precious. Every so often, it updated the <Illustrated Guide to Common Demon Beasts of the Southern Profound Domain>.

Its price was not high either, following the path of small profits and quick turnover.

Thus, the Myriad Beast Sect never worried about a lack of buyers, and its sales had always been enormous.

For a Lineage like the Chen household, with its orderly inheritance, whenever shops under the Myriad Beast Sect updated the <Illustrated Guide to Common Demon Beasts of the Southern Profound Domain>, they immediately bought it back for the clan.

This sort of demon-beast intelligence, which required only a small number of spirit stones to rapidly learn and could be passed around among everyone.

Was simply an investment that brought ten thousandfold profit from a single investment!

After all, the more information about demon beasts the cultivators of the clan understood.

The greater their chances would be in the future, whether of surviving demon-beast attacks or successfully hunting demon beasts.

Of course, all of this rested upon having sufficient cultivation.

Without enough cultivation to support them, any methods were merely castles in the air, impressive in appearance but hollow in substance.

That was also why Chen Heng had begun planning for his next strand of Lu Qi as soon as he broke through to Mid Qi Refining.

After all, in the world of immortal cultivation, a cultivator's cultivation realm was their greatest source of confidence.

Not long after.

Within the first-rank demon-beast section of the <Illustrated Guide to Common Demon Beasts of the Southern Profound Domain>, Chen Heng found several demon beasts suitable for sacrifice.

For example, the Water-Fire Twin-Headed Snake was a demon beast with both water and fire attributes. One head sprayed water, while the other spewed flames.

It possessed a Mid-grade Bloodline, and its innate abilities were usually water control, fire manipulation, and potent venom.

Most reached late Qi Refining in combat strength upon adulthood, or even Peak Qi Refining.

According to the Sacrificial Ritual of Holding Talismans, sacrificing one gave him a high chance of obtaining Lu Qi related to water control and fire manipulation.

With the support of Lu Qi, there was a high chance it could improve his efficiency in refining water and fire spiritual qi.

Or it might increase his control over the true essence cultivated through the Water Fire Defense Scripture.

This would raise Chen Heng's success rate in casting related spells, and even in talisman crafting, pill refinement, and artifact forging.

Another option was the Profound Water Turtle, a water-attributed demon beast that likewise possessed a Mid-grade Bloodline. It excelled in water control, had a long lifespan, and possessed exceptional defenses.

If sacrificed, it was highly likely to yield Lu Qi that extended lifespan, strengthened defense, or related to water control.

Then there was the Crimson Sky Crane, a fire-attributed demon beast that also possessed a Mid-grade Bloodline. It excelled at fire manipulation and was remarkably swift.

Sacrificing it would most likely yield Lu Qi that improved escape ability or was related to fire manipulation.

Not only were these demon beasts not especially strong, matching Chen Heng's current cultivation realm.

Most also showed signs of activity in the mountains, rivers, and streams along the southern foothills of the Moon Gazing Mountain Range.

This meant Chen Heng stood a good chance of directly purchasing these demon beasts from the clan's demon-hunting teams or from nearby markets.

He would not need to risk going out to capture demon beasts himself.

After all, capturing a demon beast alive was incomparably more difficult than simply killing one.

With his decision made, Chen Heng directly summoned Uncle Fu, the old servant who lived on the first floor.

A short while later.

Uncle Fu appeared downstairs. He bowed and cupped his hands in greeting. "Young Master, what are your orders?"

Chen Heng did not stand on ceremony and directly instructed him, "Uncle Fu, go to the clan's beast garden and check whether they have any Water-Fire Twin-Headed Snakes, Profound Water Turtles, or Crimson Sky Cranes that have been raised or captured."

"If they do, use my identity token to withdraw one and bring it here."

"If not, issue a task in my name to the clan's demon-hunting teams to capture these three demon beasts."

"Use the merit points in my identity token as you see fit."

After speaking, Chen Heng tossed the identity token hanging at his waist to Uncle Fu below.

Only after catching the token did Uncle Fu bow and cup his hands again, replying respectfully, "Yes, Young Master. This old servant will see to it at once!"

"Mm!"

After the old servant left, Chen Heng put away the <Illustrated Guide to Common Demon Beasts of the Southern Profound Domain> and came to a courtyard within Green Bamboo Lodge.

This courtyard had special restrictions laid down within it and could be used to practice spells.

There was no need to worry that a spell's power might be too great and damage the courtyard.

After breaking through to Mid Qi Refining, he could also begin cultivating the two first-rank mid-grade spells included in the Water Fire Defense Scripture.

After all, he still had far too few spell techniques at his command.

Only the Fiery Eyes Water Ape Transformation and the Water Fire Heaven-Reaching Staff Technique were worthy of display.

And even then, Chen Heng had only been able to cultivate those two techniques to the major mastery realm thanks to the support of Lu Qi.

The two spells included in the Water Fire Defense Scripture were the Flame Heart Finger and the Verdant Water Barrier.

One water and one fire, one for attack and one for defense.

The Flame Heart Finger condensed fire into a thread, gathered it at the fingertips, and shot it forth. It could detonate at a single point, pierce gold, and bore through stone.

The greater the concentration of spiritual power used in its casting, the faster the spell could be cast.

At major mastery, the finger wind would blaze fiercely and could burn an enemy's qi and blood.

The Verdant Water Barrier drew water into a vortex, forming a flowing shield that circled the body. It could slow spells and deflect artifacts.

The more spiritual power expended in casting it, the wider its range.

At major mastery, its water would flow like silk, supple yet difficult to break.

The reason only the power of spells at the major mastery realm was recorded above was because cultivating a spell to perfection was exceedingly difficult.

It demanded particularly high comprehension from a cultivator.

And most of the time, a spell at the major mastery realm was already sufficient.

After all, battling demon beasts or enemies did not rely solely upon spells. One could also compete with artifacts, talismans, pills, and more.

Rather than spend a great deal of effort improving a single spell to the great perfection realm.

It was better to enhance one's combat abilities elsewhere.

After all, the comprehension of the overwhelming majority of ordinary cultivators was more or less the same.

As for those geniuses, they could not be compared with ordinary cultivators to begin with. They were cultivators from entirely different dimensions, so what was there to compare?

After Chen Heng memorized the incantations for the two spells.

He immediately attempted to cast them!

As the saying went, what one gained from books always felt shallow in the end; to truly understand a matter, one had to practice it personally.

Chen Heng focused his mind and calmed his breath, stirring the true essence flowing within him and circulating the surging spiritual power through his body according to the incantation.

Before long, a crimson radiance flickered at the tips of his right index and middle fingers, which stood together!

"Flame Heart Finger!"

With a soft shout, a crimson beam as thin as a willow leaf shot from his fingertips.

Thud!

In the blink of an eye, it pierced through a thick piece of ornamental bluestone several zhang away.

A small, conspicuous, charred hole was left in the bluestone, wisps of black smoke still rising from its edges.

After Chen Heng briefly examined it and understood the power unleashed by the Flame Heart Finger.

He continued practicing the spell until he had thoroughly mastered it.

Only then did he begin practicing the Verdant Water Barrier, the water-element defensive spell.

However, this spell was far more difficult to grasp than the Flame Heart Finger.

Even by the time Uncle Fu returned carrying a beast-trapping cage, Chen Heng had yet to cast a Verdant Water Barrier that satisfied him.