"Is this the Azure Spirit Mountain Range?"
"All right, the journey begins!"
Gripping the Spirit Severing Sword tightly, Lin Bai walked straight into the Azure Spirit Mountain Range. Following the map Ye Suxin had given him, he headed directly toward the Spirit-Bearing Fruit.
Roar!
After taking only a few steps, Lin Bai heard some movement from the jungle ahead.
Lin Bai hurriedly put away the map and focused his gaze forward. A swift black leopard burst from the weeds before him, pouncing like a hungry tiger upon a wolf.
"Black Scale Leopard!"
Seeing the leopard pounce out, Lin Bai was startled at first. Then a cruel smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Since you've come to my door to die, I'll gladly grant your wish!"
The Black Scale Leopard was covered in black scales from head to toe, and ordinary weapons could hardly pierce them. It was a third-level True Martial Realm demon beast, perfectly matching Lin Bai in strength!
Dodging the Black Scale Leopard's swift attack, Lin Bai quickly drew the Spirit Severing Sword. A flash of sword light danced through the air and struck the leopard's abdomen, carving out a bloody gash.
"A first-grade spirit weapon. Although it's the lowest grade of weapon, its power is still pretty good."
His first strike had landed, filling Lin Bai's heart with delight.
"Let's try Blood Weeping Swordplay."
Blood Weeping Swordplay had five forms in total.
The first form, One Sword Bloodspray.
The second form, Rivers of Blood.
The third form, Bloody Tempest.
The fourth form, Cold-Blooded Strike.
The fifth form, Ten Steps, One Kill.
After arriving at the Azure Spirit Mountain Range, Lin Bai spent a day practicing. During that entire day, he diligently studied Blood Weeping Swordplay.
Once he reached the Azure Spirit Mountain Range, Lin Bai successfully mastered the first form with a single sword strike.
"Roar—" The Black Scale Leopard had been wounded by Lin Bai's sword and was furious. With an enraged howl, it pounced at him again.
Its vicious claws swept toward Lin Bai's chest as if they could tear the firmament apart.
"Beast, you still dare to bare your fangs!"
"One Sword Bloodspray!"
Whoosh—
A sword as swift as lightning swept through the air, leaving behind a blood-red crescent of sword light.
With a sharp splurt, the sword came down, severing the Black Scale Leopard's head on the spot.
The Black Scale Leopard, its head separated from its body, collapsed onto the ground.
After killing the Black Scale Leopard, Lin Bai was slightly pleased. Then he activated the Devouring Sword Soul.
"Devouring Sword Soul, devour!"
Lin Bai pressed his palm toward the Black Scale Leopard's corpse from across the air. The blood within the leopard's body rapidly evaporated, transforming into wisps of blood-red smoke that fused into Lin Bai's body.
The Devouring Sword Soul devoured the Black Scale Leopard's qi-blood power, cast out the impurities, and left behind only the purest qi-blood power for Lin Bai to absorb.
The so-called qi-blood power was the condensation of a demon beast's entire essence. It included its essence, energy, spirit, true qi, bloodline, and various other elements.
Qi-blood power was not something only demon beasts possessed. Martial artists had it as well...
However, the Devouring Sword Soul had never said that it could devour a martial artist's qi-blood power, so Lin Bai did not rashly try it.
"The Devouring Sword Soul really is powerful. I've only absorbed the Black Scale Leopard's qi-blood power, yet the true qi I just expended has already been replenished. I can even feel my cultivation improving!"
This was only a third-level Martial Dao demon beast, yet it had already made Lin Bai feel his cultivation advancing. And within the Azure Spirit Mountain Range, demon beasts stronger than the Black Scale Leopard were as plentiful as oxen's hair. If he killed them all, Lin Bai could hardly imagine how terrifying a level his cultivation would reach!
Before leaving, Lin Bai hid the Black Scale Leopard's corpse.
Although it no longer had demon blood, the Black Scale Leopard's flesh and bones were still excellent materials for refining first-grade spirit weapons. If taken to Spirit Rhino City and sold, they would be worth a hundred taels of silver.
Lin Bai planned to search out all the demon-beast corpses he had hunted when he was about to leave the Azure Spirit Mountain Range and return to Spirit Rhino City for supplies, then bring them all back to Spirit Rhino City and sell them.
"Half a month. I've finally found it!"
Half a month later, Lin Bai gazed disheveled at the great mountain before him.
This was the location of the Spirit-Bearing Fruit marked on the map.
During this period of more than half a month, Lin Bai had searched nearly half of the Azure Spirit Mountain Range and killed over a hundred demon beasts, raising his Martial Dao cultivation to the fourth level.
"I hope the Spirit-Bearing Fruit has already ripened."
With delight on his face, Lin Bai ran into the mountain. From the foot to the summit, he searched every inch of ground in a carpet sweep, looking for the Spirit-Bearing Fruit tree.
Finally, on the mountaintop, atop a steep cliff, Lin Bai saw a crooked tree covered in lush green leaves.
Three bright-red fruits hung from the branches of the great tree.
"Spirit-Bearing Fruit!"
Arriving at the cliff, Lin Bai stared excitedly at the three fruits.
"If the cultivation resources Father left behind hadn't been seized, I could have as many Spirit-Bearing Fruits of this level as I wanted." Lin Bai said this resentfully in his heart, and his hatred for Lin Zier and Lin Taiheng deepened another notch.
Climbing up the crooked tree, Lin Bai drew close to the three Spirit-Bearing Fruits.
Just then, a piercing bird cry rang out from above the firmament.
Lin Bai turned around in surprise and saw a massive eagle diving down from the highest reaches of the sky. Its sharp beak and talons came straight for him.
"A fifth-level Martial Dao White-Headed Eagle!" Lin Bai cried out. He hurriedly abandoned his urge to pluck the Spirit-Bearing Fruits, jumped down from the tree, drew the Spirit Severing Sword, and prepared to counterattack.
The White-Headed Eagle was no easy opponent. It was the overlord of the skies, with an extremely fast flying speed. A light touch of its beak or talons could tear away a huge chunk of flesh.
Moreover, it was a fifth-level Martial Dao demon beast, one level higher than Lin Bai's Martial Dao cultivation.
"To hell with it! So what if it's fifth-level Martial Dao? Anyone who blocks my path will die!"
As he watched the White-Headed Eagle dive down, unstoppable, a cold glint of blood flashed in Lin Bai's eyes.
"One Sword Bloodspray!"
With a backhand slash, he aimed straight for the White-Headed Eagle's abdomen, intending to disembowel it!
The White-Headed Eagle was startled and hurriedly twisted its body, dodging Lin Bai's sword.
"Beast, trying to run?" Seeing that the White-Headed Eagle had failed in its sneak attack and was turning to flee, Lin Bai immediately made the Spirit Severing Sword erupt with a monstrous blood-colored radiance.
"Second form, Rivers of Blood!"
The second form of Blood Weeping Swordplay, Rivers of Blood!
Splurt—
The blood-colored sword light struck the White-Headed Eagle's wing, spraying a torrent of blood through the air.
The White-Headed Eagle let out a shrill cry, and its body rapidly plummeted from the sky.
"Heh, you wanted to fight me?" Seeing the White-Headed Eagle fall from a height of half a meter, certain that it would be smashed into blood paste, Lin Bai revealed a cold smile.
Who would have thought that when the White-Headed Eagle fell to within three feet above Lin Bai's head, it would suddenly beat its wings and stabilize its body? Instead, it turned defeat into offense, twisting around and striking at the top of Lin Bai's head with a claw.
"Not good!"
Lin Bai cried out, and his scalp prickled numb.
"Bloody Tempest!"
The third form of Blood Weeping Swordplay, Bloody Tempest.
A blood-colored gale condensed around Lin Bai and surged out with his sword strike.
An endless storm enveloped the White-Headed Eagle. With a violent tremor of the vortex, the White-Headed Eagle began shrieking miserably. Its white feathers rapidly turned red, and its body was torn into three or four pieces by the sword in an instant, falling to the ground.
"Beast, you nearly got the better of me!" Lin Bai looked at the White-Headed Eagle's corpse, secretly shaken. If he had not already cultivated the third form of Blood Weeping Swordplay, he might not have escaped death beneath the White-Headed Eagle's sudden attack!
After the Devouring Sword Soul swiftly devoured the White-Headed Eagle's demon blood, Lin Bai walked toward the Spirit-Bearing Fruit tree.
"The demon blood of a fifth-level Martial Dao White-Headed Eagle really is much stronger than that of third- and fourth-level Martial Dao demon beasts." Lin Bai smiled delightedly as he reached the Spirit-Bearing Fruit tree and plucked the three Spirit-Bearing Fruits.
"Three Spirit-Bearing Fruits should be enough to let me break through to the Martial Dao realm, right?"
Lin Bai laughed happily.
"Brat, we of the Soaring Heavens Alliance have taken a fancy to the fruits in your hand!"
Just as Lin Bai was rejoicing, a cold laugh came from behind.