The First Battle of Demon Hunting

Lu Chen watched the charging Ironclad Rhinoceros and instantly calmed his mind. Although he had just been complaining about the rhinoceros crushing him, now that the enemy had attacked, he had to adjust his mindset and prepare to fight. This was the courage of a cultivator, never fearing the enemy, even if they were ten thousand times stronger.

Lu Chen watched the Ironclad Rhinoceros charge, not daring to underestimate it in the slightest. He immediately adopted an offensive stance. As the rhinoceros was about to reach him, he used Star Serpent Hidden in Clouds to dart behind it and deliver a punch to its rear, followed by a palm strike.

The Ironclad Rhinoceros immediately felt pain in its rear and tried to turn around, but its massive body made it difficult to twist. By the time it turned, it had already suffered five palm strikes from Lu Chen.

Lu Chen watched the Ironclad Rhinoceros turn around and used Silver Serpent Emerging from its Lair to restrict its movement. He then used Star Serpent Hidden in Clouds to jump behind the rhinoceros. After repeating this several times, the rhinoceros, constantly under attack, became even more ferocious and began charging erratically.

Lu Chen leaped to the treetop. He had already understood the Ironclad Rhinoceros's attack patterns and frequency. He also understood why Feng Tiancheng had said this rhinoceros was suitable for a beginner's monster hunt. He planned to use this opportunity to practice his movement techniques, martial skills, and spiritual powers on the rhinoceros. As long as he could control the rhythm of his attacks, he could kite the rhinoceros to death and also hone his spiritual energy control.

No sooner said than done, Lu Chen began attacking the Ironclad Rhinoceros non-stop, weaving around it. Punches, palm strikes, Star Serpent Hidden in Clouds, Silver Serpent Emerging from its Lair, Azure Emperor Divine Vine – he practiced them all, continuously strengthening his control over spiritual energy.

At this time, the Ironclad Rhinoceros's incredibly tough defense became apparent. Despite Lu Chen's prolonged attacks, the rhinoceros only sustained minor wounds, which was precisely what Lu Chen needed.

As Lu Chen continuously practiced on the Ironclad Rhinoceros, its wounds grew deeper.

Suddenly, the Ironclad Rhinoceros stopped and let out two roars towards the sky. Its body began to swell and grow larger, and its horns also thickened and lengthened.

Feng Tiancheng's voice quickly transmitted, "Little Lu, be careful! This beast is about to evolve."

Lu Chen's heart sank as he saw this. An evolved Ironclad Rhinoceros would be at the seventh level of the Qi Gathering Realm. A seventh-level Qi Gathering Realm Ironclad Rhinoceros was beyond his ability to handle. He couldn't afford to keep practicing; he had to speed up and kill it.

Lu Chen increased the intensity of his attacks, hoping to eliminate the Ironclad Rhinoceros before its transformation was complete. However, after only two attacks, the rhinoceros finished its evolution. Lu Chen quickly dodged backward, wanting to observe clearly before acting again.

The Ironclad Rhinoceros's body had doubled in size, and the two horns on its head emitted a fiery red glow as it charged directly at Lu Chen. Its speed was more than twice what it was before. Lu Chen couldn't dodge in time and was instantly sent flying, crashing into a large tree and breaking it.

Lu Chen struggled to stand up, rubbing his chest. I underestimated this beast's power, he thought. Its evolution made it so strong.

His previous attacks had already consumed a lot of his spiritual energy, and his stamina was also running low. Lu Chen circled the Ironclad Rhinoceros, looking for a suitable place to attack.

The Ironclad Rhinoceros also stared at Lu Chen, constantly scraping the ground with its hooves and snorting white mist from its nostrils. After a short while, it charged directly at Lu Chen.

Seeing the charging Ironclad Rhinoceros, Lu Chen formed hand seals. This was the first stance of the Six Yang Palms that Split the Heavens – Scorching Sun Splits the Heavens. He knew he only had one chance. If he could kill the Ironclad Rhinoceros with the Six Yang Palms that Split the Heavens, he would be safe. If not, he would have to flee, as survival was more important.

Lu Chen drew out the power of the Yang Sea Pearl and infused it into his hands to increase their power. He had previously noticed several wounds on the Ironclad Rhinoceros's rear, which were bleeding profusely. If this palm strike landed on those wounds, even if it couldn't kill the rhinoceros, it should severely injure it.

Slowly, Lu Chen completed his hand seals, his hands now covered in flames. He watched the charging Ironclad Rhinoceros and used Silver Serpent Emerging from its Lair to restrict its forward momentum. He then unleashed the Azure Emperor Divine Vine to entangle the rhinoceros's four hooves. Immediately after, he used Star Serpent Hidden in Clouds to dart behind the rhinoceros.

Focusing on the rhinoceros's rear, Lu Chen unleashed the Six Yang Palms that Split the Heavens towards the wounds. However, what Lu Chen didn't expect was that this all-out attack with the Six Yang Palms that Split the Heavens was truly formidable. Although it consumed all of Lu Chen's spiritual energy and stamina, it directly pierced into the Ironclad Rhinoceros's body with its fiery power.

The Ironclad Rhinoceros thrashed wildly in pain, flinging Lu Chen away. By this time, Lu Chen had completely exhausted his stamina and lay on the ground, unable to move.

The Ironclad Rhinoceros writhed and thrashed, but although its spiritual energy was depleted, the Azure Emperor Divine Vine miraculously did not disappear. It pursued the rhinoceros, absorbing its life essence and continuously channeling it into Lu Chen, replenishing his spiritual energy and stamina.

Slowly, the Ironclad Rhinoceros fell and lost its life aura. Lu Chen looked at its bleeding rear and let out a loud laugh. He had given his all, but the battle had been exhilarating! Many things he hadn't understood about his martial skills before were now clear, and his control over spiritual energy had reached a new level.

Lu Chen struggled to his feet, recalled his spiritual powers, bandaged his wounds, and sat down to recover his spiritual energy. Time flew by, and Lu Chen's spiritual energy was almost fully restored. Feng Tiancheng also flew out of the Twin Fish Plate.

Lu Chen approached the Ironclad Rhinoceros. Its body was now shriveled and dim, its life essence seemingly completely absorbed by the Azure Emperor Divine Vine.

Feng Tiancheng spoke, "The Azure Emperor Divine Vine, since its appearance, has only been able to attack, with some minor added functions at most. I originally thought your divine vine's mutation was due to you developing new functions yourself, but based on the current situation, your Azure Emperor Divine Vine might have developed some sentience and can absorb life essence not only from Spirit Plants but also from Demonic Beasts."

Lu Chen listened to Feng Tiancheng's words. He had felt it during the battle; the Azure Emperor Divine Vine could attack autonomously, without needing his excessive control. This was a good thing for Lu Chen.

He only had the Six Yang Palms that Split the Heavens as a powerful offensive method, and he could barely unleash two palms at full strength. But now, with the Azure Emperor Divine Vine capable of autonomous attacks, it meant Lu Chen was fighting two-on-one against enemies. Moreover, the Azure Emperor Divine Vine could continuously absorb life essence to replenish its own consumption. This way, through combat, he could wear down even stronger enemies.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen couldn't help but laugh heartily. Although the Azure Emperor Divine Vine consumed a lot, its energy absorption ability made that cost negligible. Compared to the consumption of the Six Yang Palms that Split the Heavens, Lu Chen felt it was more than worth it. He wondered what other functions the Azure Emperor Divine Vine might develop in the future, a thought that filled him with anticipation.

At this moment, Feng Tiancheng spoke, "Although I don't know why your spiritual power has become like this, when fighting others, you should still avoid absorbing their life essence. In the eyes of the world, this is no different from being a demon."

Lu Chen nodded in response, "Understood, Grandpa Feng. I will be careful."

Lu Chen took out the small knife he carried. He was about to collect the spoils of his first Demonic Beast hunt.

Lu Chen slid the small knife across the Ironclad Rhinoceros's belly. Without the support of spiritual energy, the rhinoceros hide was instantly cut open by Lu Chen.

Lu Chen reached into the Ironclad Rhinoceros's belly and began to search. Feng Tiancheng had said that the Demonic Core of a Demonic Beast was usually located in its abdomen.

After searching for a long time, Lu Chen pulled out a round Demonic Core from an inconspicuous spot.

The Demonic Core still retained the Ironclad Rhinoceros's aura, as if revealing its hatred. Lu Chen waved his hand, dispersing the aura. He looked at the Demonic Core – it was an Upper Qi Gathering grade Demonic Core, filled with spiritual energy fluctuations.

Humans could not directly absorb the Demonic Cores of Demonic Beasts. Therefore, they were usually used as materials for formations or elixirs, or traded for Spirit Stones or Spirit Liquid in human towns.

Spirit Stones and Spirit Liquid were both mined and refined from the Celestial Lake, filled with immense spiritual energy. One Spirit Stone was approximately equal to ten thousand drops of Spirit Liquid. These Spirit Stones and Spirit Liquid could not only be used for cultivation but also served as currency for cultivators' transactions.

Lu Chen looked at the Demonic Core in his hand, his heart filled with joy. He wondered how many Spirit Stones this Demonic Core could fetch. Once his grandfather was rescued, they could live a prosperous life. As he thought about it, Lu Chen couldn't help but chuckle.

Just as Lu Chen was about to retrieve the Demonic Core, an Azure Emperor Divine Vine suddenly emerged from his body and snatched the Demonic Core away. Lu Chen watched the Azure Emperor Divine Vine's action and was about to snatch the Demonic Core back. This was money to him!

Before Lu Chen could even reach for it, he saw a small opening appear at the front of the Azure Emperor Divine Vine, and it directly swallowed the Demonic Core. After absorbing the Demonic Core, Lu Chen clearly felt the Demonic Power within the Demonic Core being absorbed by the Azure Emperor Divine Vine, while the spiritual energy was transmitted to the two small fish within the Celestial Pool's Qi Sea.

The black and white fish, clearly having benefited from this, immediately cleared a circular area at the boundary between red and blue and gestured for the Azure Emperor Divine Vine to enter.

Lu Chen watched this scene, wanting to shout: You bandits! This is my Celestial Pool, my Qi Sea, my Demonic Core, and you're just dividing it up like this? You've gone too far!

After absorbing the Demonic Power, the Azure Emperor Divine Vine looked at the space cleared for it by the twin fish. All the Azure Emperor Divine Vines gradually merged into one and unhesitatingly jumped into it.

The entire vine stood upright in the cleared space, releasing countless root-like tendrils from below to anchor itself. It continuously burrowed deeper into the red and blue sides, absorbing spiritual energy from both sides to replenish itself, and also causing the foundation of the Celestial Pool's Qi Sea to gradually shrink and solidify.

Lu Chen thought this, but he knew there must be some fortuitous encounter involved, so he dared not stop it. He quickly asked Feng Tiancheng to watch with him.