Inside the resting chamber, Lu Xiaotian had no trace of sleepiness. He eagerly examined the Spirit Beast Ring in his hand. Though still young, Lu Xiaotian could tell that the black-robed old man had no intention of teaching him anything else. He seemed to regard him only as a tool for raising the little green ants. Being able to obtain this Spirit Beast Ring and the Beast-Taming Art made taking some risks worthwhile.
Today's gains had truly been plentiful. He also put away the Qi-Gathering Pill. Such an important pill would be gone once used, and Lu Xiaotian felt it would be more effective to use it when breaking through to the Second Layer of Qi Refining.
The black-robed old man rested in the cave dwelling for only one night before leaving early the next morning.
Lu Xiaotian studied the Beast-Taming Art in the cave dwelling for ten days. Once he had gained considerable confidence, he used the incantation bestowed by the black-robed old man one morning to command the black bear.
The black bear gave a few lazy, low growls. Lu Xiaotian continued reciting the incantation, and after the ancient silver Spirit Beast Ring around the bear's neck flashed several times, it unwillingly swayed its fat body and carried several large boulders over to block the entrance to the cave dwelling.
A thoughtful look appeared on Lu Xiaotian's face. "It seems the booklet was right. It is much easier to control a spirit beast of one's own. This black bear is the black-robed old man's spirit beast, so commanding it is indeed somewhat difficult. It seems I'll have to give this black bear some benefits first."
For this reason, Lu Xiaotian took the black bear outside and specifically searched for foods it liked, such as berries and honey from wild beehives. The black bear had been confined in the cave dwelling for too long, and it was rare for it to roam so freely through the valley. After satisfying its appetite, its attitude toward Lu Xiaotian became much more affectionate.
"Roar!" After the black bear's nose twitched a few times, it darted into a patch of shrubs, startling several wild sparrows into flight. It stretched out a thick paw and swept it back and forth. Its fat head dipped down, and when it lifted its head again, it was chewing a crimson fruit along with a few leaves and twigs.
The few fruits on the branches were all bitten into the black bear's mouth. Smelling the exotic fragrance released as the red fruits were crushed, Lu Xiaotian could not help swallowing several mouthfuls of saliva.
Only after the black bear backed out of the shrubs did Lu Xiaotian enter along the path it had flattened. To his disappointment, he found that the black bear had gnawed away even half of the small fruit tree.
He could not help complaining inwardly, What a gluttonous bear.
Just as Lu Xiaotian was about to withdraw from the shrubs in disappointment, he suddenly caught a faint medicinal scent. It even vaguely resembled the smell of the Qi-Gathering Pill.
When the black-robed old man refined pills, he usually did not allow Lu Xiaotian into the pill room. However, through refining the Spirit Beast Pills eaten by the little green ants, he knew that every kind of pill was made from corresponding spirit herbs or spiritual materials.
Thinking of this, Lu Xiaotian crawled into the shrubs and carefully parted the weeds, searching for the source of the scent.
A moment later, Lu Xiaotian finally discovered two pale-purple blades of grass about half a foot tall. Each had seven leaves, their veins clearly visible. These two small plants were obviously different from the surrounding weeds. They emitted an aura that made Lu Xiaotian feel extremely comfortable, spiritual energy very similar to the scent of the Qi-Gathering Pill.
Excitedly, Lu Xiaotian gathered the two small plants and stored them in a jade box. Before leaving, he had brought several jade boxes for collecting the herbs used in Spirit Beast Pills, and he happened to have spare empty boxes.
He searched the surrounding area again, but found no more of the same grass. Lu Xiaotian could not wait to return to the cave dwelling with the black bear.
Back in the resting chamber, Lu Xiaotian opened the jade box and plucked a leaf from one of the plants, placing it in his mouth. After chewing it a few times, a fierce and overbearing surge of spiritual energy rushed directly into his body, rampaging wildly. Pain wracked Lu Xiaotian so badly that beads of sweat rolled down his face.
Lu Xiaotian was horrified. He hurriedly sat cross-legged and circulated the vital energy in his dantian through his meridians in a grand cycle.
There's a way! Lu Xiaotian was overjoyed to discover that part of the spiritual energy had begun flowing through his meridians along with his vital energy. Although the rest of the spiritual energy battered him until he was in unbearable pain, Lu Xiaotian saw hope. He continued doing his utmost to guide the rampaging energy. One cycle, then two cycles. More and more of the fierce spiritual energy became gentle. As it circulated alongside the vital energy within his body, it was slowly transformed into vital energy.
After continuously completing five grand cycles, all the spiritual energy that had entered his body was transformed. Only then did Lu Xiaotian realize that his clothes had already been soaked through with sweat. The vital energy swirling within his dantian was now much stronger than before, roughly equivalent to the energy he would have accumulated through several days of arduous cultivation. If he consumed the entire spirit herb, it would save him a month of bitter cultivation.
He had never imagined that a single spirit herb could save a month of hard cultivation. If he could find more spirit herbs, he could break through to the Second Layer of Qi Refining sooner as well. The black-robed old man and the others often entered and left the valley, surely to search for spiritual items and increase the speed of their cultivation. The black-robed old man would not return for the time being, so he could go out and search several more times later. Lu Xiaotian thought excitedly.
Since there was still time that night, Lu Xiaotian washed away the smell of sweat, changed clothes, and then went to the pill room to refine a batch of Spirit Beast Pills. The next day, after scattering several Spirit Beast Pills into the jade pool and feeding the little green ants, Lu Xiaotian took the black bear out of the cave dwelling again. Man and beast walked through the hazy white mist. Feeling the threads of spiritual energy within the valley, Lu Xiaotian felt a wave of contentment.
"Roar!" The black bear displayed its might and slapped a wild boar that had tried to ambush Lu Xiaotian to death with one paw. By noon, Lu Xiaotian was somewhat hungry as well. He gathered some firewood, set up a rack, skinned and gutted the wild boar, then placed it over the wooden frame to roast. This time, Lu Xiaotian had made preparations before going out and brought salt with him. He sprinkled salt and a little seasoning over the pork as it roasted, and before long, the fragrance spread everywhere.
The black bear watched the pork roasting over the fire and circled the fire impatiently. Saliva streamed from its mouth.
Yet at the same time, the sound of beasts panting came from all around. Lu Xiaotian looked toward the sound in alarm and saw five or six gray giant wolves lurking amid the nearby grass. They were nearly twice the size of ordinary wolves, with Killing Intent faintly flickering around them.
"Demonic beasts!" Cold sweat broke out across Lu Xiaotian's back. Since entering the First Layer of Qi Refining, he had been able to sense the difference between ordinary beasts and demonic beasts. The demonic Killing Intent carried by demonic beasts was something ordinary beasts did not possess. Moreover, Lu Xiaotian was no longer the man he had once been. With the short sword tucked in his robes, he did not fear a lone wild wolf. But against a pack of five or six wolves, he was utterly helpless. After all, although Lu Xiaotian was now at the First Layer of Qi Refining, he knew no offensive or defensive spells, nor any martial skills. Only his body was much stronger than before. What was more, these were five or six wolf demonic beasts.
From any one of them, he could sense fluctuations of demonic Sha power far stronger than his own. If demonic beasts were divided into levels, Lu Xiaotian felt these gray giant wolves should be around the Second Layer of Qi Refining. They were considerably stronger than him.
Before the gray wolf pack could surround them, the black bear had already bared its teeth, roared furiously, and pounced at the nearest gray wolf. With its weight of more than two thousand jin, the black bear's charge was truly terrifying.
"Awoo!" A wolf demonic beast was struck solidly by the thick bear paw. It screamed as it flew more than ten feet away, crashing heavily onto the ground without another sound.
I nearly forgot. Lu Xiaotian slapped his forehead and hurriedly pulled the ancient silver Spirit Beast Ring from his robes, beginning to recite the incantation.
One wolf demonic beast opened its huge mouth and spat out an ice-crystal spike, which shot toward the black bear. But an earthen-yellow light flashed across the black bear's fur. The ice spike struck its body with a tremendous bang, as though it had stabbed an iron plate, unable to penetrate even an inch.
Roar! The black bear rose onto its hind legs and let out a thunderous roar. Its might suppressed the demonic Killing Intent of the wolf demonic beasts all at once. Its massive body dropped down, and its bear paw pressed against the ground. Suddenly, an earthen-yellow Earth Spike burst from the ground beneath one wolf demonic beast, piercing straight through the belly of the creature before it could escape.
Two more gray giant wolves died beneath the black bear's paws in quick succession, while the remaining few fled in a miserable state with their tails tucked between their legs. Lu Xiaotian ran forward to inspect them. Of the three wolf demonic beasts on the ground, two were dead beyond all doubt. As for the other, it had been pierced clean through by the Earth Spike, so there was no need to even consider its fate.
Lu Xiaotian immediately felt somewhat discouraged. The black bear was not, after all, a spirit beast he had personally tamed. Furthermore, the black bear's level was far higher than his own, making it impossible for him to command it as easily as moving his own arm.
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