Extermination

Li Beichen first reached out and extracted the final meteorite shuriken from the brain matter inside the Black Wolf's skull.

This Black Wolf was truly worthy of being a ninth-rank Exotic Beast.

Its skull was incredibly hard.

The meteorite shuriken had entered through the eye socket but had failed to pierce through the back of the skull.

Instead, it had been deflected by the bone, bouncing back and forth inside the cranium several times.

Because the skull was so dense, the Black Wolf's brain had been churned into a pulp by the ricocheting shuriken.

Li Beichen's first Shuriken strike had been aimed at the neck precisely because he feared the skull's hardness might prevent a clean kill.

Had he attacked the head directly and been blocked by the bone, this hunt would not have gone so smoothly.

His second Shuriken strike, which landed perfectly in the eye socket, was a testament not only to his own superb skill but also to the foundation laid by the first strike.

Li Beichen returned the meteorite shuriken to his sword pouch and began to process the prey.

Processing this Black Wolf could not be done like a common wild wolf.

Every ounce of Exotic Beast Meat was too precious to waste.

However, Li Beichen noticed that the Black Wolf's body was covered in a mix of old and new wounds, some of which had only just healed.

It seemed the beast had been injured in the Lingnan Mountains and had fled to Small Gravel Mountain to recover.

Li Beichen drew his dagger, intending to gut the Black Wolf.

He would discard the entrails.

He planned to pack up the rest of the wolf carcass to carry down the mountain for more precise processing.

As Li Beichen sliced open the Black Wolf's abdomen with his dagger.

A mass of colorful viscera spilled out.

Facing such a bloody and foul-smelling scene, Li Beichen felt no discomfort at all.

Having fled from Bing Province to the Jiangnan Circuit, he had seen plenty of bleached bones along the way.

He had even seen people, driven by extreme hunger, dig up graves to eat the rotting corpses within.

That was what true disgust felt like.

In his eyes, this Black Wolf was a genuine treasure.

Li Beichen began to carve out the Black Wolf's organs.

The most eye-catching part was the stomach.

The Black Wolf had just consumed half a Yellow Sheep, leaving the stomach distended.

Li Beichen had originally intended to discard the whole thing.

But suddenly, the thought of tripe hotpot from his past life—a true delicacy—flashed through his mind.

With that in mind, Li Beichen decided it was worth the effort to clean it.

He used his dagger to slice open the stomach and, without changing his expression, reached in to scoop out the minced meat.

Suddenly, Li Beichen felt something hard.

He pulled it out and saw, to his surprise, a square bone fragment that had turned to jade, measuring two palms in size.

"The Black Wolf didn't even crush this; it swallowed it whole?"

Li Beichen was somewhat astonished. He wiped the bone fragment clean and found it had a fine texture, with seal script carved into it.

Both the front and back were densely packed with characters.

At the very top of the bone fragment, written in larger seal script, were the words:

[White Bone Spirit Refining Observation]

"Spirit Refining?!"

Li Beichen's heart skipped a beat. Thinking of the possibilities, he could no longer remain calm.

He immediately wiped the entire bone fragment clean and began to read it carefully.

[View the beautiful as white bone, to rid me of desire.]

[View the white bone as beautiful, to rid me of fear.]

[Without desire or fear, maintain the righteous thought.]

[Use the body as a vessel, refine the spirit to attain the Dao...]

"It really is a Spirit Refining martial art!"

The opening of this bone fragment was the general outline for a mental martial art.

Suppressing his excitement, Li Beichen continued to read.

"Ninth-rank Nourishing Spirit, eighth-rank Stabilizing Soul, seventh-rank Out-of-Body, sixth-rank Night Wandering, fifth-rank Day Wandering."

However, when Li Beichen read to this point, the entire content came to an abrupt halt.

"This bone shard is incomplete! It's only half a volume, recording cultivation techniques only up to the Fifth Rank!"

Li Beichen felt a tinge of disappointment, but joy soon reclaimed his heart.

Ordinary martial artists rarely even catch a glimpse of true qi martial arts.

As for spirit-refining martial arts, most people have never even heard of them.

If not for his master Meng Juxiang, who hailed from a major sect, Li Beichen would still believe that practicing martial arts was merely about tempering the physique.

This [White Bone Spirit Refining Observation], even as a mere half-volume, was a great stroke of fortune for him.

Li Beichen read through it once, but his brows furrowed.

Before the disaster struck Bing Province, his family had been well-off, and Li Beichen had attended a private school for several years, making him literate.

Yet, facing this [White Bone Spirit Refining Observation], he found himself out of his depth.

Many parts within were described in profound, esoteric terms, citing ancient classics.

Even after reading it through several times, he only grasped a superficial understanding, failing to comprehend the true meaning.

More importantly, the panel provided no prompts.

Looking at the bone shard, Li Beichen muttered to himself.

"To master this White Bone Spirit Refining Observation, I must study some scholarly knowledge."

He carefully tucked the bone shard away, keeping it close to his body.

Even if all the meat from the Ninth Rank exotic beast Black Wolf were lost, this bone shard could not be misplaced.

However, Li Beichen was not worried about the bone shard being damaged.

He had just carefully examined it and discovered that the material of the bone was extraordinary.

He estimated it was likely made from the remains of some high-rank creature.

After all, the bones of ordinary creatures could never withstand the corrosion of the Black Wolf's stomach acid.

Beyond high-rank creatures of the Sixth Rank Bone Refining stage or above, Li Beichen could think of no other possibility.

He guessed that the Black Wolf had discovered its extraordinary nature and wanted to devour it to absorb its essence.

But unable to bite through it, the beast had swallowed it whole.

And Li Beichen's guess was not far off; some time ago, an unknown Third Rank martial artist had fallen in the Lingnan Mountains, and this Black Wolf had snatched one of his relics afterward.

It had fled to Small Gravel Mountain to nurse its wounds while trying to digest this high-rank bone, only for it to become Li Beichen's opportunity.

Once packed up, Li Beichen grabbed the wolf pelt with one hand and hoisted the two-meter-long Black Wolf onto his shoulder.

Including skin and bone, the Black Wolf weighed at least two hundred catties.

Even just the pure meat, assuming a forty percent yield, would amount to several dozen catties.

Li Beichen carried it on his shoulder, still walking as swiftly as if he were on flat ground.

He soon descended the mountain.

After a moment's thought, he headed straight back to Clear Creek Village.

At that moment, it was noon, and the farmers were returning from their labor to eat.

They immediately saw Li Beichen approaching with a stack of wolf pelts and the carcass of a giant wolf on his shoulder.

Zhao Si was among them.

"Li... Master Li, have you slaughtered the entire wolf pack on Small Gravel Mountain?"

"Yes, Uncle Zhao, the wolf pack on the mountain has been wiped out."

Li Beichen gestured to the Black Wolf on his shoulder.

"Including the Black Wolf you saw."

Zhao Si was stunned; he knew martial artists were strong, but he could hardly imagine how Li Beichen had single-handedly slaughtered dozens of wolves.

The village head of Clear Creek Village heard the news and soon hurried over.

"Beichen... this old man thanks you for ridding Clear Creek Village of such a great scourge!"

Clearly, the old man understood the danger of the rapidly growing wolf pack on Small Gravel Mountain.

Yet, despite his deep anxiety, he had no silver to hire martial artists to sweep the mountain.

He had not expected that Li Beichen, having heard Zhao Si mention it once at the full-month celebration for Wang Er's son, would go into the mountains to eliminate the threat for Clear Creek Village on his own.

Thinking of this, the village head was moved to tears and immediately knelt, intending to kowtow to Li Beichen.

"You mustn't!"

Li Beichen set down the wolf pelts and quickly helped the village head up.

"Village Head, I returned to the village to tell everyone that the threat in the mountains has been removed, and you may return to the mountains from now on."

"Also, I only took the pelts from those wild wolves; the carcasses are still in the gully at the deepest part of the mountain."

"The day is still young, so you can send the villagers to go up and carry the carcasses back."

"It should provide you with a bit more meat."