"This Form-Shaping Grass isn't much use to me, but Magical Beasts are practically obsessed with it."
Ling Xi lightly tapped the ground with his toe and leaped onto the flat patch of land in the middle of the pool.
"Judging by its condition, this Form-Shaping Grass must have ripened only recently."
Ling Xi examined the Form-Shaping Grass before him and clicked his tongue in admiration.
"I never expected to come across something this valuable after entering this space."
Ling Xi took a jade box from his Nakai Ring, dug up the Form-Shaping Grass and its roots, then carefully placed it inside.
"When snipes and clams fight, the fisherman profits. I guess I'm the lucky one."
After putting away the jade box containing the Form-Shaping Grass, Ling Xi raised a hand and summoned the Heavenly Demon Puppet, giving it an order.
"Take me up there."
The Heavenly Demon Puppet bent slightly and grabbed Ling Xi by the shoulder.
Boom!
A dull thud rang out. Ling Xi felt a fierce gust of wind rush across his face and past his ears.
In the next moment, he had appeared atop the cliff.
"Heh, you two keep fighting."
After recalling the Heavenly Demon Puppet, Ling Xi glanced once more at the spot where the two Fifth-order magical beasts were battling, then turned and headed in the opposite direction.
"Thwack!"
Deep in the mountain forest, a spear silently shot through the dense undergrowth, carrying terrifying force as it plunged into a patch of shadow.
Green blood immediately seeped from the shadow. A strange lizard, nearly three meters long, was pinned firmly to a tree trunk.
It writhed violently a couple of times, but soon it stopped moving.
"Whoosh!"
A black figure darted nimbly through the forest. With each light step, it moved like a streak of fire, too fast to make out clearly.
The dense trees posed no obstacle at all. Within a few breaths, the figure had landed squarely before the lizard.
"Although a second-tier Chameleon Demon Lizard can blend into its surroundings, it can't fool my Soul Perception."
Pulling the Star-Splitting Spear from the tree trunk, Ling Xi used its tip to split open the Chameleon Demon Lizard's head.
"A second-tier wood-attributed magic core. Just what I need."
Ling Xi dug a green magic core out of the lizard's head, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
After nearly two months of surviving in the wilderness of this space, he had clearly lost some of his earlier youthful innocence.
In its place was a faint, murderous air.
He had originally planned to reach the Seventh-tier Magical Beast in this space within half a month.
But after his last chance encounter with the Form-Shaping Grass, he had abandoned that plan.
After all, this space had been opened up by the Pill Tower, and it contained no shortage of extremely precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
Since he had come here, he wanted to make the most of the trial, so he had slowed his pace.
The results had been encouraging. His mastery of Dou Techniques and his combat experience had both improved greatly.
"As for eating this lizard... I'll pass."
Ling Xi glanced at the Chameleon Demon Lizard, which was thoroughly dead on the ground. After hesitating, he waved his hand and released a mass of Crimson Sun Fire, burning its corpse to ashes.
In a Magical Beast forest, the smell of blood and the bodies of Magical Beasts often attracted even stronger Magical Beasts.
That was something Ling Xi had learned over the past two months, after nearly losing his life once.
"I've more or less gathered everything I need. Time to go."
Slinging the spear across his back, Ling Xi circulated his Dou Qi and sped into the distance.
Rumble!
The roar of rushing water suddenly filled the air. Ling Xi used his soul power to sense his surroundings, then slipped into the waterfall.
A man-made cave came into view before him. There were even a few household supplies inside.
"I'm a Three-star Dou Master now. I'd better reach the Da Dou Shi level before I leave."
With practiced ease, Ling Xi took a medicine cauldron and all sorts of medicinal ingredients from his Nakai Ring, including the second-tier magic core.
He sat cross-legged, and Crimson Sun Fire immediately flared to life inside the cauldron.
Guided by Ling Xi's increasingly refined soul power, dozens of medicinal ingredients entered the cauldron together.
He carefully controlled the heat. Each ingredient was thoroughly refined before turning into medicinal powder or liquid, which fell into the jade bottles he had prepared in advance.
One reason Ling Xi could cultivate so quickly was the many treasures he had obtained through check-ins. The other was his identity as an Alchemist.
Ling You was an Eight-rank Alchemist, and his collection of prescriptions was the greatest treasure Ling Xi had gained.
Though his Dou Qi level held him back, for now he was only a Four-rank Alchemist.
Still, the pills a Four-rank Alchemist could make were more than enough to provide the resources a Dou Master needed to cultivate.
Once he had finished refining all the ingredients he needed, Ling Xi took a wooden tub from his Nakai Ring.
The waterfall was right beside him, so getting water was easy.
After filling the tub more than halfway with clear water, Ling Xi poured in all the medicinal powders and liquids he had just refined.
As he stirred with his soul power, the water, which had been clear, instantly turned pitch-black and became much thicker.
"That should do it."
After stirring for a little longer, Ling Xi leaned closer and sniffed it twice before nodding.
He took off his clothes and climbed straight into the wooden tub.
The moment he entered, the thick liquid seemed to come alive, spreading over his entire body.
"Mm!"
Ling Xi furrowed his brow slightly.
This was a prescription Ling You had passed on to him. It was simple to prepare, yet its effects rivaled those of a fourth-grade pill.
Besides healing hidden injuries, it could also speed up cultivation and make one more sensitive to the energy of the world.
Crimson Sun Fire silently spread over Ling Xi's skin.
Under his control, it did not contaminate the other medicinal liquid in the tub.
Instead, the medicinal power and worldly energy entering Ling Xi's body were further purified by the Crimson Sun Fire.
He closed his eyes and immersed himself in cultivation.
As worldly energy continually flowed into Ling Xi's body, he could clearly feel the Dou Qi in his dantian growing increasingly abundant.
Spiritual Qi also nourished his soul power and every inch of his flesh and blood.
Ling Xi could even sense that his soul power was undergoing some kind of transformation, though he could not put it into words.
He had no idea how long he cultivated like this.
Only when all the medicinal liquid in the tub had turned into charred, solid matter did Ling Xi slowly open his eyes.
"Hoo!"
He let out a long breath of stale air and clenched his fist.
"Three-star Dou Master?"
Considering the difficulty of cultivating the Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art, Ling Xi was probably the fastest cultivator of the technique in the entire Ling Clan.
"I still envy Xiao Yan. He can make a huge leap in strength just by refining a Heavenly Flame."
Ling Xi shook his head.
"But no matter what, it's still a long time before the 'thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river' part of the timeline. I have plenty of time."
He looked toward a towering mountain in the distance, a glint in his eyes.
"Next, it's time to find the boss around here."
Before you continue