The forest clearing was thick with the stench of blood and the lingering berserk demonic aura left behind by battle. The Ironclad Savage Bull's corpse, like a small mountain, lay quietly upon the ground. Its enormous body still exuded a startling pressure, but its pierced left eye was hollow and lifeless, declaring the end of its life.
Lin Chen stood beside the bull's carcass, breathing slightly heavily as he adjusted the somewhat disordered flow of qi within him after that hair-raising battle across realms.
As he looked at the Eighth Layer demonic beast he had personally slain, an indescribable sense of achievement and pride arose in his heart. This had not merely been a simple hunt; it was the finest proof of his strength, wisdom, and courage!
After a brief moment of reflection, Lin Chen's gaze swiftly turned fervent!
This Eighth Layer Ironclad Savage Bull was covered in treasures! None of it could be wasted!
His eyes first fell upon the thick layer of keratin covering the bull's body, as though it had been cast from steel!
This "iron armor" was the Ironclad Savage Bull's proudest defensive means! It was hard enough to withstand the full-force attack of a Body Tempering Realm Ninth Layer martial artist! If he could strip it off, whether to forge armor from it or melt and absorb it directly, the benefits would be unimaginable!
A thought stirred in Lin Chen's mind, and he immediately tried to activate the Myriad Dao Furnace!
He pressed his palm against the bull's cold, hard iron armor and cautiously let the furnace's power seep inside!
Buzz...
The furnace trembled slightly, and an invisible force carrying the intent of cutting and disintegration began to slowly work upon the areas where the iron armor connected to the bull's flesh!
However!
What surprised Lin Chen was!
The iron armor's toughness far exceeded his imagination! Even with the Myriad Dao Furnace's tyrannical power that could melt all things, completely stripping it from the flesh was exceptionally difficult! It also consumed an enormous amount of mental energy and true qi!
After trying for a while, he could only melt away an extremely tiny portion of the connecting tissue! To remove the entire suit of iron armor intact would likely take several days, perhaps even longer!
"Too hard, and it's nearly fused with the flesh. It's difficult to remove." Lin Chen frowned and temporarily gave up on stripping off the iron armor.
This was not a place to linger. The scent of blood might attract other powerful demonic beasts or humans. He did not have that much time to waste here.
"Looks like I can only take the most important things first."
Lin Chen's gaze fell upon the Ironclad Savage Bull's head, at the location of its pierced left eye, as well as its dantian.
The demonic core! That was the most precious treasure upon an Eighth Layer demonic beast!
He drew the sharp short blade from his boot—spoils seized from Lin Bao, and of fairly good quality—then took a deep breath and poured the robust true qi of the Body Tempering Realm Seventh Layer Late Stage into its blade!
Ssh!
The short blade gave a light cry and gleamed with a faint cold light!
Lin Chen found the right spot, avoided the hardest part of the skull, and viciously stabbed along the edge of the eye socket!
Psh!
The short blade sliced through the relatively soft tissue around the eye like cutting tofu, plunging deep within!
Lin Chen twisted his wrist, sending true qi trembling through it! Soon, he dug out a demonic core the size of an egg! It was wholly a rich earthy yellow, as though rocky patterns flowed over its surface! It radiated incomparably vast, incomparably heavy, incomparably pure earth-attribute energy and primordial aura—an Eighth-grade Demonic Core!!!
"Good heavens!" Lin Chen held the heavy demonic core in his hand. Feeling the terrifying energy contained within it, as weighty and vast as the earth itself, he could not help but exclaim!
The quality and energy contained within this Eighth-grade earth-attribute demonic core absolutely surpassed that Seventh-grade Dark Panther Core from before! It was even more terrifying than more than a dozen Mid-grade Spirit Stones combined!
If he could completely refine and absorb it...
Lin Chen's heart began beating faster again, betraying him.
He carefully wiped clean the priceless Eighth-grade Demonic Core and solemnly placed it into his Storage Ring.
Then, without pausing in the slightest, he went to the bull's abdominal dantian once more.
Although the bull did not rely on its dantian to store demonic power, the essence of its vast earth-attribute energy would certainly have gathered and settled there!
Lin Chen wielded the short blade again, infusing it with true qi. Like a master butcher disassembling an ox, he precisely and swiftly cut open the relatively softer skin and muscles on the bull's abdomen—though even so, it cost him considerable effort.
Very soon, a mass of flesh essence about the size of a human head appeared before his eyes! It was dark brown and gelatinous, giving off a dense earthy stench and vast fluctuations of blood qi!
This was the essence of the Ironclad Savage Bull's blood qi and earth-attribute energy! Although the energy it contained was not as pure as that of the demonic core, it was gentler and easier to absorb. It was especially effective for tempering the body!
"Good stuff!" Lin Chen's eyes brightened again!
Without hesitation, he immediately activated the Myriad Dao Furnace!
This time, it was pure energy devouring!
Buzz!!!
The furnace erupted with a powerful suction force, instantly enveloping the head-sized mass of flesh essence!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!!!
The dark brown gelatinous essence visibly shriveled and dissolved! It transformed into torrents of incomparably pure and incomparably vast energy, carrying a heavy earth-attribute aura and vigorous blood qi, which surged madly into Lin Chen's body!
Rumble!!
Lin Chen felt as if his body had been thrown into a gigantic furnace once again!
That heavy, majestic earth-attribute energy and blood qi were like rushing magma! They swept wildly through his body, nourishing his limbs and bones, tempering his sinews, skeleton, flesh, and skin!
His physical strength began to rise slowly yet steadily once more!
The realm that had been somewhat unsteady after breaking through to the Seventh Layer Late Stage was swiftly stabilized by this vast influx of energy! Moreover, it slowly and firmly advanced toward the peak of the Seventh Layer!
As expected! The flesh essence of demonic beasts is most effective for tempering the body! Lin Chen was overjoyed!
He could clearly feel his bones becoming denser! His muscles tougher! His blood qi more vigorous! Even his defensive power seemed to have improved considerably! It was as though he had gained a trace of the Ironclad Savage Bull's heavy, solid qualities!
After roughly the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the head-sized mass of flesh essence had been completely squeezed dry and wholly absorbed by the Myriad Dao Furnace!
Lin Chen's cultivation had also successfully stabilized at the Body Tempering Realm Seventh Layer Late Stage! He was only a thread away from the peak! His physical strength had improved by at least ten percent!
"Exhilarating!" Feeling the replenished power within his body, Lin Chen could not help letting out a satisfied low roar!
The feeling of constantly growing stronger through plunder and devouring was simply too intoxicating!
After dealing with the demonic core and flesh essence, Lin Chen glanced at the small mountain-like bull carcass on the ground, still emitting faint residual warmth—mainly that suit of iron armor he could not strip away—and regret flashed through his eyes.
That iron armor was absolutely top-grade material for forging defensive magical artifacts! If only he could take it away...
Unfortunately, it was too large! Too heavy! And too conspicuous! With his current abilities, there was no way he could carry it off intact.
"Looks like I can only come back later, when I'm stronger, and see whether there's another chance." Lin Chen shook his head, abandoning the impractical thought.
However...
His eyes flashed as he activated the Myriad Dao Furnace once more!
This time, his target was the bull's two enormous horns, curved like scimitars and gleaming with an icy, sinister light!
Those horns were likewise incomparably hard! They also contained pure earth-attribute energy and a hint of sharpness! Perhaps he could refine something useful from them?
Sizzle, sizzle...
The furnace's power worked upon the bases of the horns again. This time, perhaps because the horns were not completely fused with the flesh, the process of refining and stripping them away was far easier than removing the iron armor!
After spending about half an hour, Lin Chen finally succeeded in "melting off" the two enormous bull horns, each nearly a meter long and incredibly heavy, intact from the bull's skull!
He placed those two massive horns into his Storage Ring as well—fortunately, the ring's space was large enough. Though he did not yet know what they could be used for, his instincts told him that they were definitely good things!
Only after doing all this did Lin Chen finally stop.
He carefully cleaned up the scene once again, erasing his traces. Then he identified his direction, chose a route different from the one he had taken here, and continued stealthily toward the deeper reaches of the Green Peak Mountain Range.
He needed to find a new, absolutely safe hiding place as quickly as possible to refine that Eighth-grade earth-attribute demonic core!
That was the greatest harvest from this hunt! It was also the key to his assault on a higher realm!
This time, he was even more cautious.
Going deeper into the mountain range meant he might encounter even more powerful demonic beasts, perhaps even the legendary Foundation Establishment Realm demon kings!
He pushed Phantom Step and Darkness Stealth to their limits. Like a ghost, he darted through dense forests and mountain ravines, perfectly avoiding every potential danger.
Around dusk, he finally found another hidden, dry cave deep within a desolate forest of jagged rocks.
This cave was larger and deeper than the previous one. Its entrance was concealed by huge boulders and vines; without careful investigation, it would be impossible to discover. A faint earthy stench filled the cave, suggesting that it had once been the nest of some burrowing demonic beast, though it had now stood empty for a long time.
After carefully inspecting it and confirming that it was safe, Lin Chen set up simple warning measures again.
Then, unable to wait any longer, he sat cross-legged and cautiously took out that Eighth-grade earth-attribute demonic core, which radiated a heavy and vast aura!
The egg-sized demonic core was wholly a rich earthy yellow, with what seemed like rocky patterns flowing across its surface. It felt heavy in his hand, as though he were holding a condensed heart of the earth! The terror of the energy it contained even made Lin Chen's heart palpitate!
"An Eighth-grade Demonic Core, earth attribute." Lin Chen's eyes were filled with fervor and anticipation!
The energy within this demonic core not only far surpassed the Seventh-grade Dark Panther Core from before, but its earth attribute's heaviness and defensive properties were precisely what he currently lacked!
If he could successfully refine and absorb it...
His cultivation would absolutely break through the bottleneck in one stroke and enter the Body Tempering Realm Eighth Layer! Perhaps even higher!
His physical defensive power would certainly undergo a qualitative leap as well!
More importantly!
He might even gain insight into a trace of the mysteries of earth's origin from it?!
At that thought, Lin Chen could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart!
He took a deep breath and cast aside every distracting thought! His mind became intensely focused!
Myriad Dao Furnace! Nine-Orifice Dao Foundation! Operate at full power!
"Refine for me!!!"
With a furious roar in his heart!
An unprecedented devouring force, terrifying to the extreme, like an ancient demon god awakening, instantly enveloped that Eighth-grade earth-attribute demonic core!
Crack, crack, crack!!!!
The surface of the Eighth-grade Demonic Core, harder than steel by far, was instantly covered in dense cracks! It seemed as if it would completely shatter the next instant!
Immediately afterward!
A vast earth-attribute primordial energy essence, viscous like yellow magma and filled with heaviness, defense, endurance, and a trace of the rhythm of the earth's pulse, along with even more majestic and pure attribute-less energy, came like the Yellow River bursting through its banks! It blotted out the sky and covered the earth, surging wildly into Lin Chen's body!!!!
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!!!!!
The entire cave seemed to shake violently beneath the impact of that terrifying energy!
Lin Chen's body was like a balloon on the verge of bursting! Countless tiny wounds instantly split open across his skin! Golden blood trickled out!
Yet he gritted his teeth tightly, his eyes bloodshot, his face filled with madness and resolve!
Pain! Pain beyond pain! It felt as though his body were about to be torn apart completely!
But accompanying the agony was an unprecedented, ultimate exhilaration as his strength soared madly!!!
His cultivation! His body! His spirit! All underwent earth-shaking transformations beneath the cleansing and tempering of that terrifying energy!!!
Body Tempering Realm Seventh Layer Peak!
Break!
Body Tempering Realm Eighth Layer!!!
As natural as water flowing into a channel! As unstoppable as a landslide!!!
An even more powerful, more robust, more imposing new aura exploded from Lin Chen's body! It swept through the entire cave! It even stirred the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth outside, forming a gigantic energy vortex visible to the naked eye!
Wind rose! Clouds surged!
Within the cave, the tide of energy gradually subsided, yet that suffocatingly powerful pressure still filled every inch of space.
Lin Chen sat cross-legged, the golden radiance around his body slowly withdrawing into him. The tiny wounds that had split across his skin from bearing the impact of the vast energy had long since healed automatically beneath his powerful blood qi and recovery ability, not even leaving behind the slightest scar.
At this moment, he did not appear much different from before. He was still that somewhat slender youth in black. Yet upon close observation, one would find that his gaze had grown deeper and more restrained, as if it concealed stars and a vast sea; his skin had become more crystalline and translucent, faintly flowing with a layer of heavy earthy-yellow divine light; even his every movement carried the steady bearing of deep pools and towering mountains, as though he had merged with the earth beneath his feet!
This was the majesty of the Body Tempering Realm Eighth Layer!
And it was not merely the initial Eighth Layer!
The energy contained within that Eighth-grade earth-attribute demonic core was simply too vast! Even Lin Chen's Dantian Sea of Qi, after expanding several times, had nearly been burst apart!
After breaking through the barrier at the peak of the Seventh Layer, the remaining energy was still like a vast river, driving his cultivation onward in triumphant song!
Only after all the energy had been completely absorbed and refined did Lin Chen's cultivation finally stabilize at the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm Eighth Layer!!!
The peak of the Eighth Layer was no longer beyond distant reach!
Before you continue