Qi Cultivation Realm Fourth Layer, Asura Headquarters

Hisss...

A python about ten meters long and thicker than a water barrel raised its head. Its shattered-gold eyes fixed on Zhuge Xiang, its forked tongue flickering constantly as threatening hisses spilled from its mouth. No fewer than ten wounds covered its body. It was restless and wanted to turn and flee, but it knew perfectly well that it could not escape at its speed. Blood flowed freely, demonic Qi rolled off it—it was unmistakably a One-Star Mid-Grade Monster Beast.

Blood Refinement Saber in hand, Zhuge Xiang stared intently at the Demon Python, a smile appearing on his face. He lowered his body, then suddenly shot forward like a cheetah. The Blood Refinement Saber danced, wind and thunder roaring in its wake—it was Blood Thunder Slash.

Facing Zhuge Xiang's Blood Thunder Slash, the Demon Python clearly knew it had reached a life-or-death moment. Demonic Qi surged from its body as it arched itself and sprang violently forward. Its enormous body shot out at a speed completely at odds with its size, its huge jaws opening wide enough to swallow Zhuge Xiang whole.

"Oh? You were actually hiding that kind of speed." Faced with the terrifying speed the Demon Python had suddenly unleashed, Zhuge Xiang merely smiled calmly. Then, an explosive crack sounded beneath his feet, and his body vanished like a ghost.

A flash of astonishment passed through the Demon Python's shattered-gold eyes. It clearly could not understand how the human who had been charging straight at it had suddenly disappeared. Yet the next instant, it felt the world spin. Before falling into eternal darkness, the last thing it saw was its own body—a headless body, blood spraying everywhere...

Zhuge Xiang flicked the Blood Refinement Saber, shaking the snake blood from its edge, then casually put it into his storage belt. At the crucial moment, Blood Thunder Slash combined with Explosive Steps had allowed him to kill the Demon Python in one stroke. A One-Star Mid-Grade Monster Beast was only comparable to a Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer cultivator in strength. Zhuge Xiang could kill it without even activating Bloodthirsty Technique. With his full set of equipment and a skill like Explosive Steps, his strength was no joke.

Ding! Killed a One-Star Mid-Grade Demon Python above your level. Gained 48 experience.

Ding! Level increased. Current level: Qi Cultivation Realm Fourth Layer. Gained 1 Skill Point.

A succession of system notifications rang in Zhuge Xiang's mind. Hearing them, a smile appeared on his face. It had already been the fourth day since he arrived beneath the Aurora Asura Tower. Compared to those disciples who sat cross-legged cultivating under the Aurora Asura Tower's protection, Zhuge Xiang cultivated as well—but his cultivation was killing monsters and leveling up.

Over the past few days, Zhuge Xiang had not ventured too far from the Aurora Asura Tower. Relying on the effects of the Breath Concealing Jade, he roamed the surrounding area and continuously hunted One-Star Mid-Grade Monster Beasts. At last, he had earned one thousand experience points and raised his cultivation to the Qi Cultivation Realm Fourth Layer.

Although hunting monsters in a group would make gaining experience easier, Lu Yuling and the others all needed to cultivate in peace, and Zhuge Xiang could not bring himself to ask. After all, he could kill monsters and level up, but others could not.

For cultivators, cultivation naturally came first. No matter how close the friendship, if you interfered with someone else's cultivation, even friends could become strangers. As for Niu Geng, his current strength made it too dangerous for him to come along. Moreover, Zhuge Xiang did not want to disturb his cultivation. It had not been easy for the Nine Aperture Profound Pill to improve Niu Geng's talent. If he wanted to stand out in the sect, Niu Geng naturally needed to cultivate without pause and raise his own cultivation.

Whether Blood Spirit Fruit or Nine Aperture Profound Pill, they were all external aids. If one wanted to grow stronger, no amount of external aid would be enough; what was needed even more was one's own effort. Zhuge Xiang had understood this truth long ago, when he had yet to comprehend Qi Energy and watched Lu Yuling cultivate diligently by the little lake.

Having obtained a Skill Point, Zhuge Xiang did not deliberate for long. He had already thought it through thoroughly. This time, he did not put the Skill Point into Bloodthirsty Technique. Instead, he learned the skill book for Piercing Arrow. With this skill, the killing power of the Hundred Refinements Bow could truly be brought into play.

The Two-Star Magic Artifact increased attack power by around thirty points and possessed the special effect of ignoring thirty points of defense. After learning Piercing Arrow, the attack from this skill was no less formidable than the Blood Thunder Slash unleashed by the Blood Refinement Saber under Bloodthirsty Technique. If he returned to headquarters and had the Wolf Fang Arrows forged, it would become even sharper.

Piercing Arrow (Entry Level): Attack 20 + 10%, Defense Ignore Effect +30%, MP Cost 15, Cooldown 8 seconds.

Zhuge Xiang was extremely satisfied with Piercing Arrow. Once the Wolf Fang Arrows were forged, the bow and arrows together would have over forty attack power and ignore thirty-five points of defense. On top of that, Piercing Arrow increased defense ignoring by another ten percent. Just thinking about that attack power made Zhuge Xiang excited.

A Two-Star Magic Artifact bow, paired with vicious arrows and an overpowered skill—Zhuge Xiang's ranged combat ability had now actually surpassed his close-combat ability.

"Looks like it's time to replace my Blood Refinement Saber as well," Zhuge Xiang murmured inwardly as he considered the difference between his ranged and melee combat abilities.

He had not obtained the Blood Refinement Saber long ago, and its ten-percent life-steal attribute was extremely practical. Yet given his current strength, a One-Star Artifact was starting to look inadequate. At the very least, compared with the combination of the Hundred Refinements Bow and Wolf Fang Arrows, it was somewhat embarrassing. After all, the difference in attack power was more than double.

A black shadow suddenly covered Zhuge Xiang. Raising his head, he saw a huge ship passing overhead. It was an Asura Warship. The Asura Warship had come? Zhuge Xiang knew that five days had passed since the Aurora Asura Tower opened. It was time to leave.

After collecting some poison-related materials from the Demon Python for Niu Geng, Zhuge Xiang ran toward the base of the Aurora Asura Tower. He had not gone very far, and when he arrived, he saw disciples already boarding the Asura Warship in orderly lines.

When the Asura Warship set off, Zhuge Xiang looked at the disciples on deck and sighed inwardly. There were only around two thousand disciples aboard, making it seem desolate compared to the previous group of more than five thousand. This fairy attack had actually killed more than half the disciples of this batch.

They had carried dreams in their hearts, worked hard for over a year, and painstakingly stood out from among the Hundred Thousand Disciples. They had thought they would become official disciples of the Asura Sect, yet most of them had not even seen what the sect's headquarters looked like before remaining forever in the Endless Mountain Range.

Endless emotions surged through Zhuge Xiang's heart. Once more, he felt the fragility of life, and once more, he realized the importance of strength. The scene of the old beggar being bitten to death by vicious dogs set upon him by a wealthy family...

...flashed through his mind again. Turning around and looking down at the Endless Mountain Range below, Zhuge Xiang shouted in his heart, No. My strength is still far too insufficient. I must grow stronger. Body Tempering Realm, Meridian Opening Realm, Void Splitting Realm, Innate Realm, Return to Simplicity Realm—then, I will pass the Heavenly Tribulation and become a Refining Qi to Spirit expert. And beyond that, the great experts of the Refining Spirit to Void stage, who move mountains and fill seas, chase stars and moon, and reverse heaven and earth—I will become such a peerless powerhouse...

The journey was eight thousand li. Once the Asura Warship accelerated to full speed, it took less than half a day. Very soon, a shout drew the attention of nearly everyone aboard the Asura Warship. "Everyone, look! We've reached headquarters!"

They had reached headquarters? As soon as that cry rang out, everyone sprang into action, crowding against the rails of the Asura Warship. Zhuge Xiang and the others were naturally no exception. Although they had seen a projected image of headquarters aboard that destroyed Asura Warship before, how could that compare to seeing it with their own eyes? Zhuge Xiang stood by the rail as well, gazing out with his eyes wide open...

A Hundred Great Mountains, each roughly a thousand zhang tall, towered into the clouds and stretched as far as the eye could see. The peaks of these mountains seemed to have been sliced cleanly away by some sharp blade, revealing enormous platforms. Countless buildings stood atop the mountains, while between the Hundred Great Mountains hung countless enormous chains, linked by Rope Bridges paved with steel.

It was said that the Hundred Great Mountains had been moved here by senior great experts of the Asura Sect using mountain-moving arts, after which their peaks were cut away. Such heaven-carving craftsmanship and world-altering methods could only be accomplished by those with great divine powers. If mortals attempted it, they might not finish even in a thousand or ten thousand years...

When they looked up, everyone cried out in shock. The foundations of the Hundred Great Mountains alone were already overwhelmingly awe-inspiring, yet in the sky above Asura Sect headquarters, at a height of roughly a thousand zhang, more than a hundred mountain peaks floated in the air, blotting out the sun and sky...

"The ones below are where the official disciples of the Asura Sect cultivate and live. The One Hundred Eight Floating Mountains above are the training grounds of the Asura Sect's one hundred and eight Void Realm Great Experts. Only disciples of the Spirit Transformation Stage can formally enter under a Void Realm Great Expert and become true disciples, using Artifact Flight to travel in and out of the Floating Mountains..." Niu Geng muttered as he looked at the One Hundred Eight Floating Mountains suspended in the air. Although someone had explained this common knowledge before, how could they not be shocked upon truly seeing more than a hundred mountains floating in the sky?

"So this is the Asura Sect!? One hundred and eight Void Realm Great Experts? This is where I will cultivate in the future? This is where I will grow in the future?" Zhuge Xiang's eyes brimmed with fighting spirit.

Looking at the One Hundred Eight Floating Mountains, Zhuge Xiang stretched out a hand toward them and clenched it tightly. His heart was firm. Sooner or later, there would be a mountain in the skies of the Asura Sect that belonged to him...