One week later...
"The abandoned area of the Spirit Beast Garden holds some out-of-control spirit beasts," Luo Yue said, sitting across from Yan Kui. "They've lost all value for domestication. Some are too vicious, some have already injured disciples, and others refuse to obey any commands. The sect plans to dispose of them, but sending people to clear them out would be a waste. Your physical defense is unrivaled, so using these trash spirit beasts to hone your combat skills is just right. It'll let you train your body further."
There was a deeper meaning behind Luo Yue's words.
Yan Kui understood perfectly. Officially, he'd be "clearing out the trash," but in reality, Luo Yue wanted to see how he'd perform in a real fight.
For Yan Kui, this was a chance. Killing these spirit beasts marked for execution wouldn't violate the sect's rules; the sect would even thank him for saving them the trouble. More importantly, it was an efficient way to obtain Origin Power.
"I'll go," Yan Kui agreed succinctly.
Luo Yue's eyes flickered, and he nodded with satisfaction.
The Spirit Beast Garden lay in the back mountains of Qingyun Sect, a secret Forbidden Area isolated by a powerful formation. The moment Yan Kui was led inside, a stifling, eerie aura washed over him. It wasn't pressure from someone's cultivation, but a warning of danger radiating from the environment itself.
A gloomy sky hung over the entire Spirit Beast Garden. It wasn't a natural dusk; some powerful formation had distorted the light, leaving the area in a perpetual gloom. Sporadic roars echoed from the distance, each one carrying a terrifying presence that would leave an ordinary person gasping for breath.
"The abandoned area is over there," Luo Yue said, pointing to the western side of the Spirit Beast Garden. "They're fed regularly, but you don't need to approach them. Those spirit beasts are vicious; they'll come to you. Remember, they're the sect's trash. If they die, no one will care."
His meaning couldn't have been clearer: do whatever you want with them.
Yan Kui nodded and went in alone.
The abandoned area lived up to its name. Conditions there were even worse: the stone walls were mottled with age, claw marks and bloodstains covered the ground, and the air reeked of rot and wild beasts. Powerful formations reinforced the stone cages holding the spirit beasts. Inside, the out-of-control creatures battered the bars, letting out piercing roars.
Yan Kui passed cage after cage. The spirit beasts inside saw him and excitedly lunged at the doors. Some spat venom, some bared their fangs, and others slashed furiously at the formation barriers with their claws. They were all Qi Cultivation spirit beasts—mindless, savage predators.
"Open this cage," Yan Kui said, pointing to a three-meter-long spirit snake.
The disciple tending the formation was about to say something, but then he saw Yan Kui's massive, 2.5-meter-tall dark red body, and the words caught in his throat. He didn't dare refuse and went straight to adjusting the formation.
The spirit snake burst out.
It moved fast, its body shooting toward Yan Kui like lightning. Its sharp fangs and claws gleamed coldly in the gloom. Clearly, this spirit beast was not only highly venomous but also well-armored.
Yan Kui charged forward instead of retreating.
The power of the Crimson Extreme Golden Body was on full display. Each heavy, forceful step left a deep dent in the ground. The spirit snake's fangs sank into his shoulder with a series of clacks—the sound of hard scales colliding. His flesh didn't break at all. The venom slid across his dark red skin, unable to penetrate, and finally dissipated into wisps of green smoke.
The spirit snake tried to recoil in terror, but it was too late.
Yan Kui seized its body. His huge hand squeezed lightly, and the spirit snake's bones began to crack. Giving it no chance to react, Yan Kui hoisted the three-meter-long snake and slammed it hard into the ground.
"Bang—"
The ground split apart. The snake's body was smashed to pieces, its innards flying and blood spraying everywhere. The spirit beast was brutally destroyed, leaving only a mangled corpse and the stench of blood in the air.
[Qi Cultivation spirit beast slain · Spirit Snake]
[Origin Power: +2.0]
A second spirit beast appeared, then a third. One was a nimble Spirit Crane; another was a well-armored Spirit Badger. Yan Kui dealt with them the same way. His Crimson Extreme Golden Body's defense was unrivaled, and the spirit beasts' attacks couldn't hurt him. His strength and size let him crush them outright.
But a problem gradually emerged.
When the fourth spirit beast appeared, it spread its enormous wings—a highly agile Spirit Crane—and circled through the air at tremendous speed. Yan Kui leaped to hit it, but his body was too heavy. He landed with a deep footprint, while the Spirit Crane had already flown dozens of meters away.
He lacked agility.
That was the Crimson Extreme Golden Body's only weakness: the price of its immense weight. As his strength and defense reached their peak, his agility and flexibility were severely diminished. Ordinary attacks couldn't harm the spirit beasts, but a nimble enemy could keep him at bay with speed and skill.
Yan Kui calmly adjusted his strategy. Instead of trying to hit his opponent, he waited for the Spirit Crane to fly lower, then used brute force to smash apart a whole patch of ground. Forced to land, the Spirit Crane was instantly crushed beneath Yan Kui's foot.
"Roar—"
The fifth spirit beast charged out. It was a huge Spirit Badger, its body covered in hard scales and its eyes blazing with ferocity. It lowered its head, aiming its sharp fangs at Yan Kui.
Yan Kui didn't dodge. He took the blow head-on. The Crimson Extreme Golden Body's defense was on full display. The fangs struck his chest with a tremendous boom, but when the smoke cleared, Yan Kui was unscathed. The Spirit Badger let out a despairing roar. It was already too late.
The battles that followed grew repetitive and monotonous. Three, then four, then five spirit beasts fell beneath Yan Kui's crushing attacks. They were all Qi Cultivation spirit beasts; no matter how tough their defenses, they couldn't withstand the Crimson Extreme Golden Body.
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[Qi Cultivation spirit beasts slain ×3]
[Origin Power: +5.0]
Night fell.
Yan Kui settled into a cave in the Spirit Beast Garden. It had once been the den of a powerful spirit beast, but he had already cleared it out. Faint afterglows from some mineral flickered on the cave walls.
He began counting up the day's gains.
The spirit beasts he'd killed lay scattered across the abandoned area. Yan Kui had absorbed the spiritual energy within them and converted it into Origin Power. A warm current of energy coursed through his body, the feeling of growth in power that every cultivator dreamed of.
But more importantly, during his battle with an aged spirit snake, Yan Kui had found an ancient secret manual, long sealed away in its den. The manual was half-rotted, but its contents were still legible: Spirit Snake Steps.
A cultivation manual for movement techniques.
Yan Kui carefully read through it and found that its core principle was to improve a cultivator's agility and footwork by learning how spirit snakes moved. Spirit snakes were famed for their bizarre contortions and nimble movements; those who learned this manual could gain similar advantages in movement.
He had also found remnants of Spirit Snake Silk Hand and Earth Fire Body Tempering in two other dens in the Spirit Beast Garden. They were all techniques he needed.
The Crimson Extreme Golden Body was powerful, but he had now discovered its fatal weakness: a lack of agility. If he could integrate a movement technique like Spirit Snake Steps and combine it with the Crimson Extreme Golden Body's strength and defense, he could make up for that flaw.
That night, Yan Kui made his decision.
He sat cross-legged in the cave and began to burn Origin Power.
His first cultivation session began with the basics of Spirit Snake Steps. This would be his first breakthrough: he would no longer rely on overwhelming force, but learn to fight with greater agility and efficiency.
"Cultivate Spirit Snake Steps. Origin Power consumed: -3.0"
[Origin Power consumed: -3.0]
Boom—
A surge of heat welled up from his dantian and coursed along his meridians to his limbs. Yan Kui's muscles began to adjust on their own. The thick Muscle Fibers, originally built for strength, started growing more supple, able to twist and stretch in more complex ways.
His joints cracked as the range of their motion expanded dramatically under the influence of Origin Power. His vertebrae loosened one by one, as if becoming a spirit snake's spine. The tearing pain came with the increase in strength, but for Yan Kui, who had already endured the fusion of the Crimson Extreme Golden Body, this pain was nothing.
Five minutes later, the transformation was complete.
Yan Kui opened his eyes and tried moving. His steps had become light; he no longer tramped across the ground with heavy footfalls. When he moved quickly, his figure even seemed to flicker.
[Spirit Snake Steps · Beginner]
[Effect gained: Basic movement technique (movement speed +5%)]
Next, he began cultivating a second technique—Spirit Snake Silk Hand. Its core principle was to bind and control an enemy's movements by coiling around them.
[Cultivate Spirit Snake Silk Hand. Origin Power consumed: -2.0]
Origin Power gathered around his arms and torso, its snake-shaped patterns winding around his body. He felt his muscles grow more supple, and his joints could now twist and stretch in ways they couldn't before.
[Spirit Snake Silk Hand · Beginner]
[Effect gained: Binding ability +10%]
After the two training sessions, Yan Kui's body had changed noticeably. He was no longer a pure strength-type fighter; he was beginning to master combat skills across more dimensions.
That night, he lay in the cave, feeling the changes in his body. The day's hunting and cultivation had brought considerable gains: his Origin Power had increased by 10.0 points, while cultivation had cost 5.0, for a net gain of 5.0. More importantly, he had found a way to make up for his lack of agility.
Roars continued to echo outside, but to Yan Kui, they were nothing but the sounds of food.
[Crimson Modifier] Host: Yan Kui Origin Power: 31.7 → 36.7 (+10.0 spirit beasts, -5.0 cultivation) Strength: 10.5 Agility: 3.0 → 3.3 ↑ Constitution: 12.0 Realm: Crimson Extreme Golden Body (First Tier) Techniques learned: Crimson Extreme Golden Body, Spirit Snake Steps (Beginner), Spirit Snake Silk Hand (Beginner) Effects gained: None Notice: The first day of hunting was successfully completed.
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