Swallowing the Demon Spirit in One Go (Bonus Chapter)

Luo Heng leaned on the Qingxuan Sword and caught his breath. More than half of the Spiritual Power in his Niwan Palace had been consumed, and only thirty percent of his Primal Energy remained. This battle had truly not been easy.

But the gains were immense. His practical combat experience had risen by a great deal, and he now had a clearer understanding of his own strength at the Earthen Yuan Stage.

"This feels great."

Luo Heng clenched his fist, feeling the power within his body. It was something his past-life self could never have imagined.

Luo Heng walked over to the Black Iron Demon Leopard's corpse. Feeling the yearning emanating from the Great Devouring Art within him, he smiled faintly.

When Demon Beasts cultivated, they condensed Demon Spirits within their bodies. These were equivalent to the Primal Energy cores of human martial artists and contained the essence of a Demon Beast's entire life.

The Demon Spirit of a Heaven Yuan Realm Demon Beast was worth a fortune. If sold in Flame City, it could fetch several hundred Yang Yuan Stones.

But to Luo Heng, this Demon Spirit had an even more important use.

He drew the Qingxuan Sword and precisely thrust its tip into the Demon Leopard's brow. With a light flick, he extracted a crystal core the size of an infant's fist, within which sat a miniature Black Iron Demon Leopard.

This was the Black Iron Demon Leopard's Demon Spirit!

The Demon Spirit felt cool and warm in his hand. Violent energy circulated faintly within it, while a trace of the Demon Beast's savage aura from before its death still lingered.

Luo Heng did not hesitate. He sat cross-legged, held the Demon Spirit in both hands, and activated the Great Devouring Art at full force.

The black vortex in his dantian suddenly spun faster. A powerful suction force erupted, madly devouring the energy within the Demon Spirit.

"Buzz!"

The Demon Spirit shone brilliantly as the violent energy inside poured out like a breached flood, rushing through the meridians in Luo Heng's arms toward his dantian.

This energy was immensely vast and impure, filled with the unique wildness and savagery of Demon Beasts. If an ordinary martial artist dared absorb it directly, they would suffer damaged meridians at best; at worst, they would be corroded by demonic qi and lose their mind.

But at this moment, the tyrannical nature of the Great Devouring Art was displayed to the fullest.

The black vortex was like an enormous millstone. No matter how much impure energy flooded into it, it was forcibly crushed, purified, and refined into the purest Primal Energy before being absorbed by Luo Heng's Primal Energy mass.

"What pure energy!"

Luo Heng was delighted. He could feel his Primal Energy mass expanding at a visible rate, and it was exceptionally solid.

The bottleneck of the Early Earthen Yuan Stage began to loosen.

"This is the perfect chance to use this power and break through to the Mid-Earthly Yuan Stage!"

Luo Heng made up his mind and guided the immense energy with all his strength to strike at the barrier of his realm.

Time passed second by second.

The Demon Spirit's glow gradually dimmed, and its size slowly shrank.

Yet Luo Heng's aura continued to rise. Faint pale-gold Primal Energy and icy-blue cold mist intertwined over his body. It was the power of the Mysterious Nether Water merging with the Demon Spirit's energy.

About half an hour later—

"Crack."

The Demon Spirit shattered completely, turning into a mass of gray light that scattered from Luo Heng's hands.

And at that very moment—

"Boom!"

A soft muffled sound came from within Luo Heng's body. The bottleneck to the Mid-Earthly Yuan Stage had been broken through!

Within his dantian, the icy-blue mass of Primal Energy abruptly expanded by a full circle, becoming denser and deeper. The violet-gold patterns on its surface also became increasingly distinct, radiating powerful Primal Energy fluctuations.

Mid-Earthly Yuan Stage, achieved!

Luo Heng opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them. His aura was several times stronger than before.

He stood and stretched his limbs. Primal Energy surged through his body like a river, while the range of his spiritual perception expanded to roughly one hundred and fifty meters.

"System, bring up the status panel."

[Host: Luo Heng]

[Age: Sixteen]

[True Cultivation: Mid-Earthly Yuan Stage]

[Cultivation Art: Qi Guiding Art (Second Grade), Great Devouring Art (Beginner Chapter · 15%)]

[Martial Arts: Mountain-Shaking Palm (First Grade), Gale Sword (Second Grade), Soaring Dragon Steps (Self-Created · Third Grade), Flowing Cloud and Soaring Goose Steps (Ninth Grade · 25%), Tiangang Thunderclap Fist (Ninth Grade · 30%)]

[Spiritual Power: First Seal Rune Master (Myriad Law Seal)]

[Spiritual Secret Art: Myriad Techniques Spirit Needle (Refined Grade · Beginner)]

[Origin Divine Skill: Great Devouring Art]

[Daily Check-in Attempts: 0/1 (Used)]

[Monthly Check-in Attempts: 0/1 (Used, Countdown: 19 Days)]

[Yearly Check-in Attempts: 0/1 (Used, Countdown: 353 Days)]

[Combat Assessment: Can defeat an Early Heaven Yuan Realm opponent; Spiritual Power can suppress a Two-Seal Symbol Master]

Seeing the combat assessment, Luo Heng nodded in satisfaction.

With cultivation at the Mid-Earthly Yuan Stage, defeating an Early Heaven Yuan Realm opponent already put him at the level of a top genius.

If he added the element of surprise from the spiritual secret art, the Myriad Techniques Spirit Needle, he would even dare fight a Middle Heaven Yuan Realm opponent.

"It's time to check out the Mine Vein's core."

He had noticed during the battle that the deeper he went into the valley, the denser the Yang Essence Qi became and the higher the temperature rose. The Mine Vein's core should be there.

After walking roughly a hundred paces, he found a cave entrance hidden behind vines on the mountain wall ahead. Dense Yang Essence Qi was pouring out from within.

After pushing aside the vines, Luo Heng entered the cave.

The cave was not dark. Fragments of crystal embedded in the rock walls emitted a faint red glow, dimly illuminating the passage.

It was also much hotter than outside, and the air was filled with a scent of sulfur mixed with ore.

He walked for about the time it took to burn an incense stick before finally stopping.

Ahead lay a massive natural cavern. Numerous stalactites hung from the ceiling, while pale-red crystals of various sizes lay scattered across the ground. They were Yang Yuan Stones!

At the center of the cavern was an area where the Yang Yuan Stones were clearly of higher quality, darker in color, nearly deep red. A faint sheen flowed across them. These were the finest among Yang Yuan Stones—Yang Yuan Essence Stones!

"So this is the Mine Vein's core."

Luo Heng walked to the center of the cavern and casually picked up a Yang Yuan Essence Stone. It felt warm in his hand, and the Yang Essence power within was pure and immense.

"These Yang Yuan Essence Stones are enough for the family to cultivate two Heaven Yuan Realm experts and several Earthen Yuan Stage martial artists."

Luo Heng made a rough estimate. Though the reserves of this Mine Vein were not particularly vast, for the forces of Qingyang Town, it was absolutely a treasure capable of changing the entire balance of power.

Earthen Yuan Stage martial artists could also absorb Yang Yuan Stones, though the efficiency was far inferior to that of Heaven Yuan Realm martial artists.

The Lei Clan had guarded Ironwood Estate for so many years, yet they had focused only on the Ironwood aboveground while overlooking the Mine Vein below. They truly had eyes but failed to see.

"Hmm? That is..."

At that moment, Luo Heng's gaze swept over a corner of the cavern and suddenly halted.

There was a relatively dry patch there, with several deep claw marks on the rock wall. It seemed to have been the dwelling place of the two Black Iron Demon Leopards.

Beside the claw marks grew several inconspicuous gray, mushroom-like plants.

Luo Heng approached and inspected them closely before shaking his head.

"What a pity. They're only ordinary Fire Tinder Mushrooms, not Fire Ancestor Demon Flowers."

The Fire Ancestor Demon Flower was an extremely rare fire-attribute spiritual herb. It contained immense fire essence and held a fatal attraction for Demon Beasts, especially fire-attributed ones. It could also aid the cultivation of fire-element cultivation arts and even had remarkable effects in repairing soul damage.

In the Original Work, Xiao Diao had initially awakened with the aid of a Fire Ancestor Demon Flower.

Luo Heng carefully searched the cavern once over, but he truly found no trace of a Fire Ancestor Demon Flower.

"I just don't know which mine tunnel holds that Fire Ancestor Demon Flame. Forget it, I'll let nature take its course."

Luo Heng felt somewhat regretful, but he did not dwell on it too much.

Opportunities could not be forced. Though the Fire Ancestor Demon Flower was good, it was not essential to his current cultivation system. Besides, Xiao Diao would have many opportunities to awaken in the future. He would not lack this one flower.

"The most urgent matter is to mine this Mine Vein as quickly as possible and strengthen the family."