Curtain of Flesh and Blood II

The sounds from the Fang Beast gradually faded until it no longer reacted.

Yuan stood by a tree, looking at the carcass of the Fang Beast before him, its head nearly severed. The flow of blood had slowed, clearly indicating it was almost drained.

After all, the amount of blood lost just moments ago was likely enough to fill a wooden barrel.

"It's dead!" Yuan injected Genetic Origin Energy into his sword once more, recalling the villagers' descriptions of this type of Fang Beast from a few days ago.

Then, using his Origin Energy weapon, he sliced along the Fang Beast's head to remove its single horn; that horn was the most valuable part of the entire creature!

After instructing the rest of the hunting team to spread out and keep watch, Shenghui and Sijian landed on the ground beside Yuan with smiles on their faces.

The two spoke almost in unison: "Congratulations, you have mastered the practical combat techniques of Light Artistic Conception!"

They exchanged a glance and laughed heartily, after which Sijian uttered a sentence that left Yuan nearly ecstatic.

"According to our recent deductions, with the amplification your Light Artistic Conception provides to your Origin Energy weapon, combined with your spiritual consciousness, you already possess the strength to engage an Earth Rank (Planet Rank) eighth-tier Desolate Beast head-on!"

Yuan clenched his fists in secret! The hope of returning home had grown a little brighter!!

His fear of Desolate Beasts had only existed because he had never encountered one before. Now that he had killed his first Desolate Beast with his own hands, Yuan felt it wasn't so daunting after all!

The Earth Rank ninth-tier youths who had originally been dissatisfied with Shenghui's praise of Yuan's talent were now completely convinced; what else could they do?

If Yuan could already rival them with only Earth Rank third-tier strength, what would happen once he continued to improve his power?

After all, given the energy density of Dongyuan Planet, it was like Earthlings constantly staying in a sauna to hydrate.

One could absorb energy at any moment during daily activities, making level progression during the Earth Rank stage relatively easy.

Without needing a reminder from Shenghui, the youths surrounded Yuan again, asking him for advice on cultivating artistic conception.

Unfortunately, Yuan had gained his Light Artistic Conception by pure luck after fainting and waking up, so he couldn't explain the "how" or "why" of it himself.

He only said that he felt a strong internal desire to control the light in the outside world.

The group was left bewildered after hearing this. They all wanted to learn how Yuan sensed light and comprehended an artistic conception corresponding to one of the eight major attributes, but none of them gained anything!

Although he had warned him before, Sijian still cautioned Yuan: "Let me remind you again, this is something you should only be able to do after stepping into the realm of Domain."

"Furthermore, since there are no corresponding cultivation manuals for this right now, you should temporarily suppress such thoughts to avoid any mishaps!"

Yuan followed the advice readily and stopped dwelling on it. After all, as long as he worked a little harder, he could reach Earth Rank ninth-tier combat power, giving him the strength to walk outside the wilderness; there was no need to rush.

"Yuan, your performance just now can only be considered barely passing," Shenghui suddenly said with a straight face.

"Village Chief Shenghui?" Yuan looked over. "Please, give me your guidance."

"Your movement techniques and attack skills are decent, but your efficiency is far, far too low," Shenghui said sternly. "Wait a moment, I will find an Earth Rank ninth-tier fighter to demonstrate how to kill a Desolate Beast!"

Leaving the spot, the group continued deeper into the jungle, and soon they encountered a lone Cixiao at the Earth Rank ninth tier.

This Cixiao was covered in sharp steel quills and resembled a vulture several times its normal size; it was as sturdy as a calf, and in terms of agility and ferocity, it was far superior to the Fang Beast from before.

"Watch me," an Earth Rank ninth-tier fighter said coldly. Without waiting for Shenghui's order, he charged forward!

Whoosh! With a shield in his left hand and a curved blade in his right, the man dashed straight toward the Cixiao!

"Zong Cao?" Yuan watched closely. "He and this Cixiao Desolate Beast are evenly matched in physical fitness; both are at the Earth Rank ninth tier."

He saw that Zong Cao did not dodge at all, colliding head-on with the Cixiao. No, to be precise, the moment the Cixiao shrieked and lunged, colliding with Zong Cao, Zong Cao turned his body slightly and struck the Cixiao with his shield at an angle.

This slanted impact caused the Cixiao Desolate Beast to lose its balance and tilt to one side.

"Puchi!" A cold, arc-shaped light snuck past the shield, slicing through the soft underbelly the Cixiao had exposed due to its loss of balance.

As blood sprayed out like a fountain, Zong Cao retreated rapidly, watching coldly as the Cixiao Desolate Beast shrieked in agony, eventually collapsing and losing its life.

Zong Cao cut off the thickest steel quill from the Cixiao's tail, extracted a nearly transparent tendon from it, placed it in his backpack, and walked back.

"Did you see that? There was no need for fancy movement techniques, and I only used ten percent of my strength, yet I killed it in one strike," Zong Cao said, looking at Yuan.

Yuan was somewhat shocked; the battle had indeed been decided in a split second.

In contrast, he had spent a great deal of effort to kill the Fang Beast, dodging its attacks repeatedly before finally striking its neck.

"Think about it carefully," Zong Cao said, offering no further explanation and leaving Yuan to ponder for a moment.

Yuan was completely stunned. Zong Cao's speed and technique weren't anything to boast about, but the results were incredibly effective!

"The best way to kill a Desolate Beast is to aim for its weak points," Zong Cao said indifferently. "The weak points of most quadrupedal Desolate Beasts are the eyes, the anus, the throat, and the mouth."

"Secondary vital points are the soft underbelly... and only after that comes the neck and back you were hacking at!"

Yuan nodded. He knew this, but the beasts moved so fast that piercing their eyes was difficult!

And since Fang Beasts and Cixiao usually kept their heads lowered, piercing their throats was also hard. Attacking the belly was equally challenging, making the neck the simplest target.

"Attacking weak points is difficult because opportunities are rare. Desolate Beasts aren't stupid; they protect their weak points well."

"However, if there is no opportunity, you can create one!"

"Like I just did—by using a sudden, angled collision to make the Cixiao lose its balance, momentarily exposing its throat."

"Then, I instantly thrust my curved blade from beneath the shield, piercing its neck and killing it instantly. The final strike was also launched from under the shield, giving the beast no time to react!"

"Remember, learn to utilize your own advantages," Shenghui concluded. "You must aim for the most effective and concise method!"

"Your footwork is excellent, but you don't need to show it off every time. When killing a Desolate Beast, the ultimate goal of every action is to kill it as efficiently as possible."

"Understood." Yuan nodded, and Zong Cao, who had been serious the whole time, revealed a rare smile.

Seeing that everyone had finished their discussion, Shenghui shouted, "It's almost noon, let's pack up and find a place to rest!"

The teenagers all cheered.

The temporary camp was a patch of soft velvet grass where everyone sat down on the ground.

Shenghui lightly brushed the ring on his finger, taking out some food and placing it on the grass for everyone to share.

Although those who reached the Earth Rank basically didn't need to eat—occasionally supplementing with some organic matter was enough—no one would pass up the chance to enjoy a delicious meal.

Watching Shenghui's magic-like movements, Yuan felt a bit envious. Shenghui had introduced him to the legendary Space Ring a long time ago!

In the Isis Race, these were priceless; every portable storage device that appeared would be auctioned off for an astronomical price, let alone a Space Ring, which was a symbol of status for the powerful!

No one knew exactly how large the capacity of Shenghui's Space Ring was. No matter how large the Desolate Beast carcass or mineral material, you could store it with him; even that Action Mecha was inside!

Both Shenghui and Sijian had one; the inferior Storage Tags could only be owned by powerful Flying Star Rank level 9s, and their capacity was merely a small cubic space with sides of three meters.

For Earth Rank level 9s, besides working hard on their cultivation, their greatest hope was to accumulate enough contributions to trade for a Storage Tag from Shenghui.

If they couldn't get a Storage Tag, they would be just as happy to get a Storage Belt.

Yuan also wanted to participate in the exchange, and Shenghui and the others naturally agreed happily. If it weren't for the fact that there was still a large village of tens of thousands of "Starship Humans" to support, he wouldn't even mind giving one to Yuan for free.

Yuan's primary goal for the exchange was, of course, not a Storage Belt, but to trade for some mineral materials containing high-level energy to see if they could help accelerate the recovery of the Purple Crystal in his sea of consciousness.

Resting was necessary to avoid the period around noon when the Tuya black hole hung high in the sky, causing the strongest gravitational tides and the most violent cosmic energy.

The strong magnetic and gravitational fields of Dongyuan Planet, while binding ordinary living beings to the ground, also indirectly protected these fragile creatures from the super-strong gravitational tides of the Tuya black hole.

In the afternoon, as everyone was packing their gear, Shenghui shouted to everyone, "Kid Yuan mastered the Light Artistic Conception much faster than expected."

"So, Sijian and I discussed it, and we'll use the extra time for the Earth Ranks to hunt and accumulate contributions!"

"Hooray!" All the Earth Rank level 9 teenagers cheered!

The path of the strong requires tempering, but in the wild where powerful Desolate Beasts are everywhere, one cannot safely proceed without the protection of the strong!

However, the cultivation time of the strong is also precious, so the time for each outing to cultivate, hunt, and mine is strictly regulated.

The time saved by Yuan this time, allowing them to hunt "unscrupulously" under the protection of Universe Rank powerhouses, was especially precious to the Earth Ranks!

Sijian smiled and looked at Yuan, saying, "You already have the strength equivalent to an Earth Rank level 8, so you can participate as well. I'll record your contributions!"

After everyone quieted down, Shenghui continued, "The Flying Star Rank (Star Rank) will be responsible for guarding the perimeter, and Sijian and I will keep watch from the air. Don't stray too far from the main group, and remember to bring back any extra materials—don't waste them, keep them for me and Sijian to hold..."

The teenagers scattered, splitting into small teams to hunt Earth Rank Desolate Beasts in all directions. Yuan also joined a small team, responsible for using spiritual power to control flying daggers for long-range support.

Occasionally encountering a lone Earth Rank level 9, Yuan could also land a few strikes, and the entire main group pushed forward in an orderly fashion.

The main group accidentally encountered a small, isolated pack of Earth Rank Iron-Backed Hyena Rats, each as big as a cow!

A complete pack of Iron-Backed Hyena Rats is usually led by a Flying Star Rank Iron-Backed Hyena Rat King, which is fast, cunning, and extremely vengeful.

Furthermore, their meat is very fishy and sour, making it inedible, so even powerful Desolate Beasts are unwilling to provoke them. Only their fur and bones are considered rare raw materials for daily necessities.

Unlike ordinary Desolate Beasts, the somewhat intelligent Iron-Backed Hyena Rat pack tried to retreat when they saw the situation was bad, but they were driven back by the Flying Star Rank humans on the perimeter.

In the midst of the chaotic battle, Yuan faced a young Earth Rank level 6 Hyena Rat. No longer dragging things out as before, every sword strike hit a vital point, and he killed the young rat in four or five strikes!

Shenghui, watching from the air, nodded repeatedly; his comprehension was good.

Determining that there was nothing around that required his help, Yuan dragged the cow-sized Iron-Backed Hyena Rat to the side, took out a razor, and began to practice skinning it alone.

Using origin energy to seal his nose and mouth so he wouldn't be affected by the fishy, sour stench, Yuan's technique gradually became proficient. When he reached the abdomen of the Iron-Backed Hyena Rat, he suddenly discovered a very neat wound that had already healed, complete with strange white stitches!

Yuan was a bit strange and pulled out the white silk thread, setting it aside. "Who injured it? With the recovery ability of an Earth Rank Desolate Beast, why go to the trouble of stitching it up?"

Curious, Yuan cut open the healed wound again, and a silver-white ring covered in blood fell out. Why did this ring look so familiar...