The Rock-Swallowing Behemoth was enormous, its entire body composed of slabs of hard rock.
But this Rock-Swallowing Behemoth had only one eye atop its head.
That meant it was merely the lowest level. After killing it, one could obtain two points.
The Rock-Swallowing Behemoth fixed its eye on Xia Wuji. Savage, ferocious light flashed in its single eye. Then it let out a low growl, and its massive body charged madly toward Xia Wuji.
"Rumble, rumble!"
The ground itself trembled.
Xia Wuji gave a cold snort and pointed a finger.
Sword Essence burst forth, condensing into a streak of Sword Qi that howled through the air. Its speed was unmatched. Before the single-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth could reach Xia Wuji, its head had already been cleaved open by his Sword Qi!
Immediately afterward.
"Crash, crash!"
The Rock-Swallowing Behemoth's enormous body disintegrated. Chunks of stone fell away, smashing into the ground. Then those shattered stones merged into the earth and vanished without a trace.
Strictly speaking, the Rock-Swallowing Behemoth could not be considered a living creature. It was merely a special force born under the rules of the secret realm of Azure Star Academy.
Xia Wuji glanced at the token he had received when registering for the trial. It directly displayed the points he currently possessed: two.
He tucked the token into his robes and stared at the area where the pile of stones had vanished, his eyes flickering.
"A single-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth is only equivalent to roughly the fifth level of the Sea of Qi Realm. No wonder killing one only gives two points."
"This secret realm should be quite large. If I simply rely on luck to search for Rock-Swallowing Behemoths, the efficiency will be terrible."
"But I can use a few minor methods to pinpoint the locations of the Rock-Swallowing Behemoths!"
Xia Wuji murmured softly to himself. He already had an idea. He immediately formed hand seals and cast the technique he had used before—the Spiritual Eye Technique!
His fingers swept across the space before his eyes. A faint golden light instantly rose within his pupils, and the flow of energy throughout the secret realm appeared clearly within his vision.
"The Rock-Swallowing Behemoth is a condensed body of earth-attributed power. Wherever earth-attributed energy is dense, a Rock-Swallowing Behemoth will certainly exist. The denser the earth-attributed energy, the stronger the Rock-Swallowing Behemoth, and the more points gained after killing it!"
Xia Wuji stared at the energy flowing through the secret realm and caught the direction of the earth-attributed aura. He immediately followed the guidance of that energy. In less than half a quarter of an hour, he arrived at the edge of a valley.
From all directions, traces of earth-attributed energy converged toward the valley, sinking into the ground at its very center.
"It should be considerably stronger than the single-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth I killed just now," Xia Wuji said. The next moment, his body shot toward the center of the valley like an arrow loosed from its bow.
He had only just entered the valley.
The Rock-Swallowing Behemoth hidden within had already sensed him.
"Boom!"
The ground at the center of the valley suddenly exploded!
Huge boulders smashed toward Xia Wuji.
Each boulder weighed several thousand pounds, and as they tore through the air, they raised terrifying sonic booms.
Xia Wuji neither dodged nor evaded. He continued charging into the dense barrage of rocks flying at him. In an instant, a fierce sharpness burst from within his body, transforming directly into streaks of howling Sword Qi that cleaved every boulder into tiny fragments.
Xia Wuji passed through the region filled with flying shards of stone.
A gigantic stone figure appeared in his line of sight. It stood five zhang tall and possessed two eyes.
His judgment had been correct.
A two-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth existed here, which meant ten points!
Xia Wuji did not slow down. He continued charging forward.
The two-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth suddenly swung one arm at Xia Wuji.
After being hurled out, the enormous stone arm continued to grow, sweeping toward Xia Wuji like a mountain peak.
"Hum!"
A clear Sword Cry rang out!
The Jinghong Sword, which Xia Wuji had reforged to the level of a first-tier mid-grade spirit sword, instantly left its sheath!
Gripping the hilt, he swept his sword across.
The arm of the two-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth, which had smashed toward him like a mountain peak, was cleaved apart down the middle by Xia Wuji's sword.
Immediately afterward, Sword Qi burst from the tip of the blade and swept across the neck of the two-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth!
Its enormous stone head crashed to the ground.
The two-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth's massive body disintegrated as well. Chunks of stone dissolved into the ground, and the earth-attributed energy returned to the secret realm.
The points displayed on Xia Wuji's token changed.
Points: twelve.
"This two-eyed Rock-Swallowing Behemoth is actually equivalent to roughly the first level of the Primal Energy Realm. However, Rock-Swallowing Behemoths have extremely strong defenses. An ordinary first-level Primal Energy Realm martial artist would have to pay a tremendous price even if they could win in a one-on-one fight." Xia Wuji thought to himself.
Afterward, he used the Spiritual Eye Technique again, searching for new Rock-Swallowing Behemoths according to the energy flows within the secret realm.
After a full day.
The points displayed on Xia Wuji's token had already reached sixty-eight.
The main reason was that using the Spiritual Eye Technique consumed a great deal of mental power, making it impossible to maintain continuously.
Over the course of the day, he also encountered several other participants in the trial.
But those people had not come forward to provoke him, and Xia Wuji had no need to make trouble for them either.
Night descended upon the secret realm.
Xia Wuji swallowed a first-tier peak-grade Spirit Intent Pill given to him by Lin Piaoxue.
In his hand, he held a Yuan Crystal he had obtained that day, though it did not contain an especially abundant amount of energy.
He circulated his cultivation technique, absorbing the energy of the pill and the Yuan Crystal, accumulating Sword Essence within his dantian and striking at the bottleneck of the Primal Energy Realm.
In front of him, a pile of firewood burned with bright flames. A rabbit, roasted until its skin glistened with oil, was suspended over the fire.
Although the vital energy within the secret realm was sparse, some living creatures still existed. This was what Xia Wuji had casually caught earlier.
After finishing his cultivation, the pill's energy had been completely refined and the Yuan Crystal's energy exhausted. Xia Wuji felt that he had taken another great step toward the Primal Energy Realm.
He opened his eyes and looked at the wild rabbit nearly done roasting before him. Suddenly, his brows knitted together, and he shouted coldly, "Sneaking around in the shadows—get out here!"
At once, several figures rushed out of the darkness and surrounded Xia Wuji!
"Xia Wuji, it's time to settle our account!"
one of them shouted furiously.
This person was none other than Su Xin!
When Xia Wuji had first entered Qingyun City, the two had clashed. Su Xin had suffered a loss, and even his spirit sword had been seized by Xia Wuji.
Su Xin was a first-level Primal Energy Realm cultivator.
Another first-level Primal Energy Realm cultivator had appeared here together with Su Xin.
The remaining few were between the seventh and tenth levels of the Sea of Qi Realm.
"I spared your life before, yet you still came looking for death." Xia Wuji showed not the slightest fear. His expression was indifferent.
He did not even have any intention of standing. He remained seated beside the fire, focusing intently on roasting the meat.
Su Xin gritted his teeth and roared, "The only reason I suffered a loss last time was because I was careless. Today, I absolutely will not give you another chance!"
"Young Master Su, why waste words on him? Once we capture him, you can do whatever you want with him. Let you vent your anger first, then we'll find the Twelfth Prince and hand him over while he's half-dead for the Twelfth Prince to deal with. Hahaha, this is a chance to win the Twelfth Prince's favor!"
"There's no need for Young Master Su to act personally against this fellow. Leave him to me!"
At once, a Sea of Qi Realm martial artist suddenly charged toward Xia Wuji.
Xia Wuji did not even look at him. With a casual wave of his hand, a streak of Sword Qi shot out as though tearing the curtain of night apart!
"Swish!"
One sword sealed his throat!
The corpse still retained its forward momentum. It crashed to the ground and rolled several times.
Su Xin and the others: "..."
"Young Master Su, it seems this brat really has some ability. Let's attack together!" said the first-level Primal Energy Realm martial artist who had come with Su Xin.
As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his saber, trampled the raging wind beneath his feet, and charged forth to kill.
Su Xin also let out a low growl. A peak-grade treasured sword flashed with icy light as he attacked Xia Wuji!
Two first-level Primal Energy Realm martial artists attacked with saber and sword from the left and right. Saber light and sword shadows surged together, and they were about to engulf Xia Wuji's body.
Xia Wuji, seated on the ground and roasting meat, lightly slapped one palm against the earth.
At once, the flames from the burning firewood burst apart, scattering sparks in every direction.
The seemingly feeble sparks transformed in an instant, after Xia Wuji infused them with his Sword Essence, into countless Flame Sword Qi!
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