Azure Emperor Divine Vine

Lu Chen followed the road toward the Demonic Beast Forest. Along the way, the trees grew increasingly lush, and wild beasts began to appear. Clearly, these posed no challenge to Lu Chen, and he dealt with them one by one.

However, as Lu Chen ventured deeper, the beasts grew stronger and began actively attacking him. In the end, he used them to practice the Nine Transformations of the Golden Serpent.

Back in the Secret Realm, Lu Chen had always practiced against wooden posts. But the posts did not move, and he had merely copied the cat while drawing the tiger. After practicing against beasts several times just now, however, his understanding of Star Serpent Hidden in Clouds was no longer limited to evasion.

Lu Chen tried using Star Serpent Hidden in Clouds twice when a beast attacked. He flashed backward and made the beast's pounce miss, then surged forward and struck downward with his palm. Before the beast could react to that back-and-forth exchange, it had already been killed, saving him quite a bit of trouble.

Lu Chen also developed different applications for it—evasion, sudden assaults, concealing his aura—and had even practiced Silver Serpent Emerging from its Lair to the beginner level.

As evening approached, Lu Chen killed the wild boar before him. Using the small knife he carried, he cut open its hide, removed two pieces of meat from its belly, cleaned them, skewered them on branches, and began roasting them over the fire.

Feng Tiancheng flew out of the Twin Fish Token and sat beside Lu Chen. Over the past few days, he had watched Lu Chen practice the Nine Transformations of the Golden Serpent over and over, and felt gratified by Lu Chen's diligence and aptitude.

Looking at the stone stele ahead engraved with the words "Demonic Beast Forest," Feng Tiancheng said to Lu Chen, "Little Lu, you have practiced your Movement Technique well. Wild beasts are basically no longer of any use to you. You need to fight Demonic Beasts fiercer than wild beasts. Next, prepare to enter the outer region of the Demonic Beast Forest."

Feng Tiancheng pointed at a stone stele not far away. "Once you pass that stele ahead, you will be in the true outer region of the Demonic Beast Forest. Every creature inside is a true Demonic Beast. They have already begun cultivating and developed intelligence. For you, one careless mistake means death. Although your Movement Technique has improved considerably, the Six Yang Palms that Split the Heavens consumes too much of your spiritual energy. You still lack an offensive method."

Lu Chen handed the roasted meat to Feng Tiancheng and said as he ate, "Grandpa Feng, can you teach me that sword radiance you used before? That move looked pretty cool."

Feng Tiancheng looked at the divine ability mark on Lu Chen's waist and abdomen, then said, "Sword radiance is merely an application of spiritual energy. You must wait until the Breath Regulation Realm, when you can release the spiritual energy within your Celestial Pool Qi Sea beyond your body, before you can use it. But I can teach you how to use divine abilities now."

The moment Lu Chen heard the words "divine ability," his interest was piqued. "Grandpa Feng, what is a divine ability? Is it powerful? I want to learn."

Seeing Lu Chen's excited expression, Feng Tiancheng said, "In ancient times, whenever someone reached a new realm in cultivation, using a secret method would generate a divine ability. Divine abilities were very common then. But now, inheritances in this world have been severely lost. It is likely extraordinarily difficult to generate one now. However, when you entered the Qi Gathering Realm, I used a secret method to generate a divine ability for you. Take a look at your waist and abdomen."

Lu Chen hurriedly set down the roasted meat, lifted his clothes, and looked at his waist and abdomen. There, he saw something shaped like a black Yin Yang Plate. Lu Chen had always thought it was something that would appear upon entering the Qi Gathering Realm, and had wondered what use it had. But if he learned to use divine abilities, he would gain another means at his disposal.

Feng Tiancheng had Lu Chen sit down and taught him the meridian circulation method for using divine abilities, explaining, "The divine ability each person generates has a different effect. You can try it."

As he spoke, Feng Tiancheng began circulating his spiritual energy and unleashed his divine ability. A tentacle glowing green extended from his waist and abdomen. The tentacle divided into two, then two into four, slowly becoming more and more numerous as they surrounded Feng Tiancheng.

"Watch closely. This is called the Azure Emperor Divine Vine." Feng Tiancheng pointed with both hands, and all the tentacles shot directly toward a distant boulder, smashing it apart. The tentacles then separated again and shattered the smaller stones.

Lu Chen stared, dumbfounded. He ran to Feng Tiancheng's side and pestered him to teach him.

Lu Chen sat cross-legged. After circulating his spiritual energy once as Feng Tiancheng had instructed, he injected spiritual energy into the divine ability at his waist and abdomen. As an endless stream of spiritual energy poured into it, ten tentacles instantly extended from it and began attacking the surroundings out of control. Lu Chen hurriedly stopped supplying spiritual energy.

In that brief instant, everything within ten meters of the area had been cleared away. Moreover, everything struck by the tentacles seemed to lose its vitality, instantly withering away.

Lu Chen stared wide-eyed at the surroundings. He could not believe he had done this himself. Although that instant had consumed an enormous amount of spiritual energy, the power it produced was equally immense.

Looking at the scene around them, Feng Tiancheng recalled that his first divine ability had also been tentacles. He had long known that Lu Chen's divine ability was tentacles. This was a divine ability unique to the Azure Emperor Bloodline, but those tentacles had previously only been able to attack and possessed no ability to absorb life energy.

He suddenly recalled Qingfang Village, where the spiritual energy launched by that cultivator leader had vanished the moment it touched the tentacles. Judging by the usual pattern, the tentacles had mutated again upon encountering Lu Chen, beginning to develop unique abilities.

Feng Tiancheng could not help becoming fascinated by Lu Chen's future. Everything that encountered Lu Chen mutated one after another. This was absolutely no coincidence. Perhaps Lu Chen's future would open up a new world of its own.

Lu Chen looked at his own divine ability, then at Feng Tiancheng's. They were clearly the same, yet Feng Tiancheng's divine ability seemed like a part of his body, incomparably docile, while Lu Chen's was uncontrollable.

Feng Tiancheng understood Lu Chen's confusion and said, "It is not enough to simply inject spiritual energy into a divine ability. You must also treat it with your heart. The Azure Emperor Divine Vine, in particular, has the possibility of developing intelligence. Only by learning to control it can the Azure Emperor Divine Vine become your aid. Otherwise, it will bring nothing but disaster. And if you wish to control the Azure Emperor Divine Vine, you must learn to control your spiritual energy down to the finest thread and fraction."

"This is also something every Martial Skill and cultivation method must achieve. With the same Martial Skill, the more refined and precise your control of spiritual energy, the less spiritual energy you consume when using it. Therefore, your next goal is to enter the true Demonic Beast Forest, fight Demonic Beasts, learn to control your spiritual energy with ever-greater precision, and become proficient in using both the Six Yang Palms that Split the Heavens and the Azure Emperor Divine Vine."

Lu Chen looked at Feng Tiancheng and nodded heavily. His growth in strength over the past few days had filled him with confidence that he could rescue his grandfather. He wolfed down the wild boar meat in a few bites and prepared to enter the Demonic Beast Forest.

The moment Lu Chen stepped into the Demonic Beast Forest, he immediately sensed that it was different from the outside world. It was far quieter here. Outside, he could still hear tigers roaring, but here there was not a single sound. The silence was frightening, thick with oppression.

Feng Tiancheng's voice rang out. "Demonic Beasts are called Demonic Beasts because they have developed intelligence and begun to possess territorial awareness. Within any given area, there is often an exceptionally powerful Demonic Beast that rules as king. Within its territory, only Demonic Beasts weaker than it can exist. And the stronger the Demonic Beast, the larger its territory."

Feng Tiancheng continued, "Demonic Beasts, like humans, also have cultivation levels. Humans cultivate spiritual energy, while Demonic Beasts cultivate inner cores, but the basic cultivation process is much the same. Of course, that only applies to ordinary Demonic Beasts. Demonic Beasts with Bloodline Inheritance cannot be judged by such common sense. I will explain when we encounter them in the future. For now, all you need to do is begin fighting."

Lu Chen answered in acknowledgment as he listened to Feng Tiancheng.

Lu Chen moved forward cautiously, but after walking for some time, he did not encounter a single Demonic Beast. Yet recalling Feng Tiancheng's words only made him even more vigilant.

Just then, a rumbling "Rumble, rumble" came from the hillside ahead. Lu Chen used Star Serpent Hidden in Clouds to conceal his aura and carefully crept over. He saw only a massive rhinoceros tearing into and gnawing on a wild boar carcass.

Seeing the nearly two-meter-tall rhinoceros, Lu Chen was immediately thrilled. This was the first Demonic Beast he had ever seen.

The rhinoceros was covered all over in hide like armor, its eyes blood-red. On its head were two horns, one large and one small, lined up together. They glinted with sharp light as they continually tore open the wild boar's hide.

Within the Twin Fish Plate, Feng Tiancheng said, "From the looks of it, this is a sixth-level Qi Gathering Realm Demonic Beast, an Ironclad Rhinoceros. Ironclad Rhinoceroses are famed for their defensive power. Their horns are extremely hard, and they generally use them to ram their enemies."

Watching the Ironclad Rhinoceros, Feng Tiancheng continued, "Every part of a Demonic Beast is treasure. Take this Ironclad Rhinoceros, for example. Its horn can be made into weapons, its hide into armor, and its flesh, tendons, and bones can be used as medicinal ingredients for refining pills. More importantly, once a beast becomes a Demonic Beast, it cultivates a Demonic Core within its body. Demonic Cores have even greater uses. Weapon cores, pills, formations—all of them require Demonic Cores."

Looking at the savage Ironclad Rhinoceros, Lu Chen cautiously asked, "The Ironclad Rhinoceros is so huge. Does it have any weaknesses?"

Feng Tiancheng told Lu Chen, "Although the Ironclad Rhinoceros has tremendous defense and formidable attack power, its reactions are especially slow, and it turns very slowly. This Ironclad Rhinoceros is perfect for you right now. It has high defense but low agility, making it a suitable first battle for hunting Demonic Beasts. Furthermore, its backside is not covered in rhinoceros hide, making it the weakest part of its defense. You can attack there."

Feng Tiancheng's analysis made it sound simple, but Lu Chen had no experience fighting Demonic Beasts. He stared at the Ironclad Rhinoceros's backside and felt that it could probably sit on him and crush him to death in one blow.

Just as Lu Chen was considering how to deal with the Ironclad Rhinoceros, a black bird suddenly flew above his head and cawed twice. Lu Chen shooed it away and shouted, "I'm doomed, you hateful bird!" Then he turned and ran toward a safe place.

Lu Chen's shout instantly drew the Ironclad Rhinoceros's attention. The Ironclad Rhinoceros turned its head and stared at Lu Chen, its eyes turning feral. Its forelegs scraped against the ground before it charged straight at him.