Jiang Liu continued flowing back along the river, seemingly still quite determined to take a bath.
Hearing the sound of the waterfall again, Jiang Liu cautiously approached, carefully observed the area, and after confirming that there was no one or any Exotic Beast around, he leaped and shot towards the waterfall.
It flew across the surface of the pool, crashed straight into the water curtain, and plunged into the back of the waterfall.
It turns out that Jiang Liu had already noticed the cave behind the waterfall when he arrived, but he was chased by the Iron-Horned Rhinoceros and didn't have time to check it out.
The space behind the waterfall was quite large, filled with jagged rocks, and was relatively dry inside. There were only some water stains along the edges.
Jiang Liu thought to himself, "It seems that using this place as a temporary training ground is acceptable."
Jiang Liu tidied up the cave casually and began cultivating.
Just as he was about to activate his inner power technique, Jiang Liu suddenly sensed something spying on him, so he immediately dispersed his consciousness.
Then he looked up and to the side, and there was a Seventh Grade Exotic Beast, Golden-Striped Python. There was an internal cave in the wall, which was blocked by an upside-down boulder. Jiang Liu hadn't noticed it before because the Golden-Striped Python's head hadn't been exposed.
The Golden-Striped Python opened its mouth wide, its tongue flicked out, its body arched, and with a sudden burst of speed, it lunged straight at the Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu Liuzuo conjured an Ice Blade in each of his right and left hands, then slapped his eyes together at the flying Golden-Striped Python, before activating a protective shield of vital energy.
The Golden-Striped Python let out a miserable cry and crashed into the energy shield, flying backward and crashing to the ground.
Jiang Liu casually drew his Ninth Rank Greatsword, took a step forward, approached the Golden-Striped Python, and with a swift slash at its head, split the Golden-Striped Python's head in two. Jiang Liu remembered that when he killed snake-like Exotic Beast before, simply cutting off their heads wouldn't kill them.
Hmm! Dinner's ready. Roasted snake meat is pretty good, especially since it's Seventh Grade Exotic Beast; the meat is even more delicious, and just a sprinkle of spices makes it even more fragrant.
After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Liu took a relaxing hot bath. Then he sat cross-legged, took out an eighth-grade Exotic Beast core, and began to refine the vital energy inside.
After cultivating for two hours straight, the vital energy within the eighth-grade Exotic Beast core continued to provide Jiang Liu with a steady stream of energy to absorb and refine.
This eighth-grade core indeed has twice the energy capacity of Seventh Grade core! If it were Seventh Grade Exotic Beast core, it would be almost depleted by now.
If other martial artists knew that Jiang Liu cultivated in this way, they would be furious, probably furious to death.
Even a Seventh Grade martial artist must be extremely careful and absorb a sixth-grade Exotic Beast core with great care. A single sixth-grade Exotic Beast core is enough for a Seventh Grade martial artist to cultivate for several days, and the key is that it must be of the same attribute as their own.
If Jiang Liu were to use a sixth-grade Exotic Beast core for cultivation in his current state, well! He'd be ruined in half an hour. A fifth-grade Exotic Beast core would be completely useless to Jiang Liu in his current state; he'd be much faster at meditation.
As for why martial artists choose to cultivate using the cores of Exotic Beast, and why they only meditate and cultivate out of necessity, it's because Spiritual Qi contains nine attributes. To cultivate, one must separate the Spiritual Qi that matches one's own attribute and then refine it into the elemental energy of the attribute one needs.
Cultivating with Exotic Beast cores eliminates this step; you can directly select an Exotic Beast core that matches your attributes and refine it.
Jiang Liu was even simpler; he could cultivate with any type of Exotic Beast core, regardless of its attribute. Moreover, his refining speed was incredibly fast. The amount he refined in one day was equivalent to what others refined in eighteen days.
The next day, early in the morning,
Jiang Liu slowly woke up from his meditation and let out a long sigh. After washing up, he also groomed his hair. Having had that experience once, Jiang Liu would groom himself whenever he had time; he didn't want to be called a savage again.
Passing through the waterfall to the shore, Jiang Liu couldn't suppress his curiosity as he looked at the source of the waterfall. He gathered his energy and activated his flying technique, his body felt light, and with a push of Jiang Liu feet, he leaped upwards.
In front of them was a large lake, and on the shore were several Red-Beaked White Cranes of unknown rank, leisurely drinking water. The Jiang Liu closer, but the cranes were not afraid and continued drinking.
Jiang Liu stood by the lake, gazing into the distance, and spotted what appeared to be a small island in the middle of the lake. He rose up, leaped, and flew towards the island.
Suddenly, the Red-Beaked White Cranes that were leisurely drinking water by the lake cried out. Jiang Liu was struck dumb, unable to catch his breath, and collapsed into the lake, flowing downstream with the waterfall.
The Jiang Liu was carried downstream by the current.
Fortunately, Jiang Liu's body had been thoroughly forged, and his internal energy flowed slowly and spontaneously, preventing any major damage. In addition, this was a deep section of the mountain range where there were fewer Exotic Beast and people; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
If anyone could see light now, they would see that the sapling Jiang Liu was carrying was emitting a faint light that converged towards Jiang Liu's head. After a while, Jiang Liu slowly woke up, enduring his headache, and quickly gathered his qi and circulated his vital energy to emerge from the water.
Sitting cross-legged on the shore, I circulated my vital energy once and found no physical injuries, only a foggy mind. I knew I had been subjected to a mental attack.
He quickly mustered his strength, found a large tree on the shore, and climbed up. He sat there and began to circulate his inner energy to regulate his breathing.
After noon, Jiang Liu finally recovered. He thought to himself, this time it was truly dangerous, and I was careless. I thought that since the white cranes ignored me, they were harmless. I didn't realize that this was the Ten Thousand Mountains; could there be any harmless Exotic Beast here?
This lesson for Jiang Liu was profound enough. If there had been any Exotic Beast or other people present when he rushed down, Jiang Liu might have considered whether he could be reincarnated.
Jiang Liu spent three days recovering from his mental trauma, and thankfully, with the help of the sapling, he finally fully recovered. Otherwise, he doesn't know how long it would have taken.
These three days weren't entirely fruitless; at the very least, my mental strength has increased significantly. Now, with my consciousness spread out, I can clearly see any unusual activity within a 200-meter radius.
As for my belongings, there was no loss. Luckily, the acupuncture practice diagram was wrapped tightly in oilcloth, so it didn't get wet. The other items are fine as long as they didn't get wet.
Jiang Liu stood up, glancing back at the waterfall with lingering fear. He didn't plan to go there until he advanced to the Grandmaster level.
He spread his body and slowly disappeared into the dense forest.
P. S.: This is the first time the protagonist has suffered such a severe emotional blow. He wants to make amends.