Rapid Advancement, Riding a Giant Eagle

Night had fallen. A cool breeze stirred, and soft moonlight spread over the grass, trees, rocks, and hills of the Monster Suppression Mountain Range like a veil of gauze.

Now and then, a great demon's low growl rang out between heaven and earth, startling the weaker Fierce Beasts into trembling, too afraid to make a sound.

Within a mountain valley, Xia Wuji swallowed the bear gallbladder's bile and felt a surging energy within him, as though it were about to burst forth.

He sat cross-legged, the Yuan Crystal with only a tenth of its energy remaining cradled between his seal-forming hands.

The Eternal Sword Canon began to circulate. A sharp edge burst from his body, like a drawn sword poised to tear open the night sky.

The heaven-and-earth essence within the Yuan Crystal, along with the bear gallbladder's immense energy, was rapidly refined by Xia Wuji. His aura strengthened at an unbelievable speed, and in mere moments, he broke through to the seventh level of the Qi Gathering Realm!

The bear gallbladder's energy had been exhausted, but quite a bit of essence still remained within the Yuan Crystal.

Xia Wuji poured out the remaining half-bottle of Replenishing Yuan Pills, swallowed them all in one gulp, and continued strengthening his power and raising his cultivation.

Two hours passed.

Within Xia Wuji's Dantian, the eighth vortex of Yuan power had condensed.

Eighth level of the Qi Gathering Realm!

Before he knew it, the sky had begun to brighten.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out.

The Yuan Crystal in Xia Wuji's hand shattered completely.

A powerful suction force suddenly erupted from Xia Wuji's seal-forming hands, absorbing every last wisp of heaven-and-earth essence from the Yuan Crystal fragments!

Combined with the remaining energy of the Replenishing Yuan Pills within him, he pressed forward in one breath and instantly condensed the ninth Yuan power vortex in his Dantian, charging into the ninth level of the Qi Gathering Realm!

In a single night, he had broken through three levels in succession. Feeling the Sword Essence within him grow far more abundant, Xia Wuji revealed a faint smile.

"Yesterday, I used Man-Sword Unity, causing the Sword Seed to exceed its limits and develop a crack."

"I'll solve that problem first!"

Xia Wuji muttered to himself. Having risen to the ninth level of the Qi Gathering Realm, his confidence had increased considerably. The next moment, he circulated the Sky Burning Art and instantly summoned the flames within his body.

The flames blazed fiercely as he tossed yesterday's spoils directly into them: the mid-grade treasure saber and the low-grade treasure bow.

Burn!

Refine!

Buzz! The Jinghong Sword left its sheath and plunged into the flames as well.

This sword's foundation was that of a top-grade treasure sword.

Under Xia Wuji's control, the substances refined from the curved saber and bow dripped onto the Jinghong Sword's surface bit by bit, then fused into its interior, thoroughly repairing the sword.

The instant the Jinghong Sword was fully restored, a dazzling sword light shot into the sky.

It had returned to the level of a top-grade treasure sword!

At that moment, Xia Wuji's hands rapidly formed seals. His Sword Essence surged out and rushed into the Jinghong Sword, igniting its sharpness. That sharpness then entered Xia Wuji's body, making his Sword Essence even more piercing.

The Sword Essence circulated through his body before returning to his Dantian. Carrying the sharpness of the top-grade treasure sword, it nourished the Sword Seed. The crack on the Sword Seed's surface slowly healed, and the Sword Seed itself became more stable and harder!

Not only had the Sword Seed's crack disappeared, it had also been strengthened, greatly enhancing the sharpness of the Sword Essence within Xia Wuji's nine Yuan power vortices.

This was a true sword cultivator—using the sword to nourish the body!

"Let's refine another batch of Grand Yuan Pills!" Xia Wuji muttered.

As the saying went, sharpening the knife did not delay the chopping of firewood!

Now that he had resources in hand, he had to make the best possible use of them and become stronger. Only then could he reduce the many risks involved in excavating the Mortal World Sword Master's tomb and harvesting the Crimson Jade Blood Ginseng.

For an alchemist to refine pills, apart from a pill formula, Spirit Medicine, and flames, an Alchemy Furnace was also needed.

Xia Wuji did not have an Alchemy Furnace, but Grand Yuan Pills were merely treasure pills. Thus, they could still be refined without a furnace!

Stalk after stalk of herbs was tossed into the flames. Their essences were extracted and impurities removed, while the essences of various Spirit Medicines intertwined within the fire. Different medicinal properties fused, producing unique transformations and condensing into pill after pill.

In the end, Xia Wuji used this batch of Spirit Medicines to refine twenty Grand Yuan Pills!

Every pill was round and full, gleaming with luster and exuding a rich fragrance. They contained dense, pure energy. If pills of this caliber appeared in the Sword Pavilion, they would surely make countless people green with envy.

Xia Wuji raised his hand and grabbed.

The flames in the air immediately dispersed, and the pills flew into his hand.

But at that very moment.

A piercing cry rang out. A massive eagle beat its wings and flew in from the sky.

"Arrow Feather Eagle!"

"A mid-grade Fierce Beast!"

Xia Wuji recognized the Fierce Beast's bloodline and strength at a glance.

Under normal circumstances, human martial artists could only briefly soar through the air upon reaching the Primal Energy Realm. To truly fly through the skies, they needed cultivation in the Core Formation Realm.

Thus, encountering flying Fierce Beasts was an enormous headache for the vast majority of martial artists below the Core Formation Realm.

This Arrow Feather Eagle had clearly been drawn by the fragrance of Xia Wuji's refined pills. Its wings suddenly beat, and in an instant, eagle feathers like arrows shot forth.

It was like a torrential downpour!

Every eagle feather flew at blistering speed, carrying powerful penetrating force and raising sharp howls through the air.

Xia Wuji snorted coldly, gripping the Jinghong Sword as its edge swept up.

True Sun Swordplay, Setting Sun's Afterglow!

The rising sword edge erupted with a sheet of fiery red sword light, blocking every arrow feather hurtling toward him.

Xia Wuji abruptly shifted his sword technique. From the fiery red sword light originally used for defense, a strand of scorching sword qi suddenly gathered and slashed fiercely toward the Arrow Feather Eagle in midair.

The Arrow Feather Eagle narrowly dodged Xia Wuji's sword qi. The ferocious aura unique to Fierce Beasts erupted from it, and its wings beat again, firing out a dense barrage of eagle feathers.

At the same time, the Arrow Feather Eagle followed behind the rain of feathers and dove downward. Its pair of claws gleamed with a dark metallic light, seeking to tear Xia Wuji's body apart.

Xia Wuji stepped with the Shadowless Wind Step, swiftly weaving through the dense eagle feathers that shot toward him like arrows with remarkable ease. Then, he slashed at the pair of claws that looked as though they had been cast from refined iron.

Sword light flared brilliantly, incomparably sharp. In an instant, it cleaved apart both of the Arrow Feather Eagle's claws!

The Arrow Feather Eagle cried out miserably in pain. Its body lost balance and tumbled backward through the air.

Seizing the chance, Xia Wuji exploded with power beneath his feet, kicking up a violent gale. His body leaped high into the air and shot forward. In an instant, his feet landed on the Arrow Feather Eagle's back.

"Get down here!"

Xia Wuji shouted as he held the Jinghong Sword against the Arrow Feather Eagle's head. This savage Fierce Beast immediately trembled all over. How could it dare struggle any longer? It hastily descended, sprawled on the ground, and shivered!

Having a flying Fierce Beast serve as a temporary mount isn't bad, Xia Wuji thought.

Beast taming was also a path many people pursued in the cultivation world. One method was to feed a Fierce Beast one's essence blood from the moment it was born; another was to use the power of the soul to impose a contract directly.

Xia Wuji still could not freely draw upon the power of his soul. Therefore, he could only condense a strand of Sword Essence and inject it into the Arrow Feather Eagle's body. Should it dare harbor any treacherous intentions, that strand of Sword Essence would erupt with a single thought from him and destroy the Arrow Feather Eagle's Beast Core!

"Serve me obediently. Once I have settled matters in the Monster Suppression Mountain Range, I can spare your life. If you perform well enough, I may even grant you a stroke of fortune!"

Xia Wuji said, patting the Arrow Feather Eagle on the head.

The Arrow Feather Eagle immediately nodded again and again.

The next moment, Xia Wuji rode the Arrow Feather Eagle and flew toward the location of the Mortal World Sword Master's tomb!