The temperature inside the canyon was noticeably different from the outside, easily differing by at least a dozen degrees.
The ground was damp, and alongside moss and low shrubs, there grew small patches of woods as well as pools of varying sizes.
This kind of environment was very suitable for the Black Scale Python to survive.
After everyone entered, they could clearly see numerous white bones along the way, some from beasts and others from humans, piled up like small hills, which added an extra layer of gloom to the canyon.
After traveling about two miles, Dust Floating Old Man suddenly spoke up.
"Be careful."
Following the direction of his gaze, everyone saw that it was a five-to-six-meter-long python, basking in the sun by the edge of a pool.
Its entire body was covered in black scales, like ink jade, emitting a dazzling luster under the sun, looking comparable to an anaconda.
"It's a growing Black Scale Python."
Everyone's breathing grew somewhat rapid, and their gazes began to heat up.
At this moment, the Black Scale Python also seemed to sense a trace of dangerous aura, slightly raising its head, staring fixedly at the crowd, and incessantly flickering its deep purple forked tongue while emitting a hissing sound.
Dust Floating Old Man struck out abruptly, moving as fast as lightning, and hurled a chain-hook from his waist, instantly piercing the vital spot seven inches below the Black Scale Python's head.
"Awoo~!"
The Black Scale Python let out a low roar, its body struggling fiercely like a long whip lashing against the ground, striking the rocks beneath the moss and causing cracks to spread in all directions.
Lu Wangchuan could not help narrowing his eyes. This was merely a growing Black Scale Python, yet it possessed such immense physical strength; the blood qi within its flesh probably would not be scanty.
This trip truly proved to be the right choice.
"Why aren't you attacking yet?"
Tugging on the iron chain, Dust Floating Old Man used the formidable strength of the Source Opening Realm to forcefully pull the Black Scale Python over. The Mandarin Duck Blades couple immediately stepped forward, hacking out a flurry of blades that struck the python's outer skin and sparked a flurry of fire-stars. However, the hardness of a growing Black Scale Python's scales was ultimately limited, and after a few blows its defense was breached, its body breaking apart as it died.
Dust Floating Old Man breathed a sigh of relief, stepping forward quickly to carve off a piece of the Black Scale Python's meat with a dagger and eating it raw on the spot, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.
"As expected of a Black Scale Python, a single piece of meat can match the nutritional value of several cattle!"
Everyone stepped forward to divide and consume it. Lu Wangchuan also received a piece of meat. Spiritual objects like the Black Scale Python were ordinary pythons no longer, and their bodies harbored no parasites.
Lu Wangchuan felt somewhat pleasantly surprised after eating it as well.
The Black Scale Python meat tasted delicious and was very easy to chew, while swallowing it felt like suddenly gulping down several bowls of Spirit Elixir, dispersing a massive amount of energy within his body that required inner cultivation and breathing regulation to fully digest.
He calculated that a palm-sized piece of meat actually boosted his blood qi by six points, and since he was a powerhouse of the Dantian Realm, digesting a single piece of meat took at most half an incense stick of time, which was roughly fifteen minutes.
And this was merely a growing Black Scale Python; what if it were a mature one?
Although it was impossible for Black Scale Pythons to be everywhere within the canyon allowing one to increase blood qi infinitely, it was still somewhat faster compared to cultivating with his inner cultivation method paired with Spirit Elixir.
Therefore, moving forward, Lu Wangchuan put even more dedication into capturing Black Scale Pythons.
His strength was the highest in this squad, and as long as a Black Scale Python caught his eye, not a single one could escape.
However, he did not keep everything to himself either, retaining only his share; after all, the Black Scale Pythons were brought to this location by others in the first place. Lu Wangchuan's principle in life was that if you help me, I will help you; if you harm me, I will surely kill you.
Since the other people had not displayed any malice toward him, he could not act as an ungrateful and virtue-abandoning person either.
To better search for Black Scale Pythons, Dust Floating Old Man also brought out his secret-recipe Blood Qi Powder.
Blood Qi Powder was made from the flesh and blood of other spiritual objects, containing a massive amount of blood qi. The bloody scent lingering in the air once applied would lure over other Black Scale Pythons, which could save a significant amount of searching time.
Just like that, time flew by in a flash, and a full month passed.
During this period, the group captured dozens of Black Scale Pythons, and Lu Wangchuan's blood qi experienced a tremendous boost as well, breaking through three thousand points cleanly!
In past times, he would have needed to spend at least two months just to cultivate this much blood qi.
These blood qi points were used by him to add points to the Dao Embryo Breathing Method. Adding a point to the first layer of the Dao Embryo Breathing Method required eight hundred points of blood qi, and since he had already added two layers previously, after spending sixteen hundred points to raise it to the ninth layer, it could no longer accept further point allocations.
Presumably the highest tier of the Dao Embryo Breathing Method was only nine layers, and there was no helping that; after all, it did not even reach the Transcendent Tier, remaining merely a most ordinary mental cultivation method.
He would only wait until he went to the Divine Water Sect in the future to see if he could find a higher-tier longevity mental cultivation method then. For the time being, the nine-layer Dao Embryo Breathing Method was already sufficient for him, and with a casual circulation, the absorbed spiritual qi could rapidly replenish any consumption.
After all, according to common sense, given his current age and cultivation time, it should have been utterly impossible to cultivate the Dao Embryo Breathing Method to this level; under normal circumstances, one could cultivate it to the fifth layer at most. Alas, the point-allocation feature was simply too powerful, allowing him to advance the cultivation method's tier to the nine-layer Great Perfection early on!
Compared to the fifth layer, the ninth layer circulated faster within the body, and the speed of absorbing spiritual qi and increasing blood qi naturally became much faster as well.
As for the remaining blood qi, he also allocated it to the Limitless Sword Dao, raising the Limitless Sword Dao from the fifth layer to the sixth layer.
On this day, after finishing the hunt for Black Scale Pythons, Dust Floating Old Man gathered everyone together and said with a smile,
"Many thanks to all of you for accompanying me to hunt Black Scale Pythons this time; otherwise, relying on myself alone, I truly wouldn't have been able to handle these Black Scale Pythons. Right now old man here has accumulated enough Black Scale Pythons to raise my blood qi, and I reckon we should also leave the canyon."
Everyone nodded.
Over this past month, everyone had reaped a bountiful harvest. They did not possess a nine-layer Dao Embryo Breathing Method like Lu Wangchuan, so the flesh and blood they digested was very slow; right now everyone's storage bag was stuffed to the brim.
Lu Wangchuan pondered that after they left, he would return to this valley to stay for a period of time. This place was of immense benefit to his increase in blood qi, and moreover his solo-clearing strength was faster than these people, meaning he did not need to worry about safety issues.
However, right at this moment, he suddenly felt a vague sense that something was somewhat amiss, and swept a glance toward the depths of the canyon.
"Brother Jingchuan, what is it?"
Blade Breaking Swordsman Deng Sanxi asked aloud, while Lu Wangchuan shook his head.
"Nothing."
He glanced at the crowd and discovered that not a single person sensed this abnormality, estimating that it was because their strength was far inferior to his own.
"That's good. Coming to the canyon this time, it didn't let you suffer a loss, right?"
Deng Sanxi laughed, and Lu Wangchuan nodded in response.
"If there's any matter like this in the future, you can still call upon me."
"No problem."
As soon as those words fell, the earth trembled violently.
"What's going on?"
Before everyone could react, they saw the ground fracture and a massive figure crawl out from the earth, directly biting Vajra Fist Ao Hu around the waist in a single gulp.
"Ah—ahhhhh."
Only a single miserable scream was heard as Ao Hu was bitten straight through his lower half, dying on the spot!
It was also until this very moment that the group finally managed to clearly see their opponent: it was a gigantic python, measuring roughly twenty to thirty meters in length, larger than any Black Scale Python they had captured, and with two small bumps already slightly bulging on its head.
As the saying goes, a large snake becomes a python, a large python becomes an anaconda, and a large anaconda becomes a flood dragon. This was a Black Scale Python on the verge of transforming into a flood dragon!
"It's a mother snake! It must be a mother snake! Judging by its age, I'm afraid it exceeds two to three hundred years! Its strength is likely comparable to the peak powerhouse of the Physical Body Realm, the Dantian Realm! We are no match for it, run!"
Thanks to book friend Riguang Xilan for the tip, immensely grateful.
Before you continue