Snow White Beast

Xiao Yu did not hesitate. Gripping Black Scale, he circulated the Dou Qi within his body. "Hah!"

A streak of sword qi tore through the air and shot toward the stone door. With a thunderous boom, dust flew everywhere, and the heavy stone door was blasted open with a huge hole by Xiao Yu's single strike!

Xiao Yu lightly waved his hand, releasing a burst of Dou Qi that swept away all the dust in the air. Raising his torch, he finally saw the scene inside the cave!

Xiao Yu walked inside. It was a large yet simple stone chamber. Aside from several Moonlight Stones embedded in the walls and a skeleton, Xiao Yu indeed saw three stone boxes at the very back. There was also a small flower bed in the corner.

Xiao Yu headed straight for the flower bed. It contained quite a few precious medicinal herbs, and he recognized them: purple orchid leaves, snow lotus seeds, hundred-spirit ginseng fruit, fire spirit fruit, and an Ice Spirit Flame Grass that gave off a peculiar fragrance.

It was an essential ingredient for refining Blood Lotus Pills, but it was of no practical use to Xiao Yu right now. Still, who would ever complain about having too many medicinal herbs?

Xiao Yu knew that Xiao Yi Xian also knew about this cave, so he did not dig up all the herbs, leaving at least half behind. However, he remembered that the skeleton possessed a flying Dou Technique scroll and a fragmentary map of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. He walked over to the skeleton, removed the three keys, and examined the dry bones. At last, he discovered a scroll in the gap between the arm bones. Upon opening it, he saw a bewitching lotus design that seemed to be the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. Below it was a map, though Xiao Yu could not make out where it led!

After taking the three keys, Xiao Yu opened the first stone box. Inside was a seven-colored scroll. Unfurling it, he saw four large words: Seven-Colored Poison Scripture. It recorded methods for concocting poisons, but it was not of much use to Xiao Yu. Moreover, Poison Masters did not have a good reputation on the Dou Qi Continent. Besides, Xiao Yu himself was already a Second-grade Alchemist, so there was no need for him to study how to become a Poison Master!

Xiao Yu shook his head and put the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture back into its stone box. He would leave this for Xiao Yi Xian. Then he opened the third stone box. Inside was a black scroll. Opening it, he found that it truly was the flying Dou Technique, Eagle's Wings! It was even a Xuan Tier High-Grade flying Dou Technique. Xiao Yu happily put it away; it was another means of saving his life!

Only the last stone box remained. Xiao Yu opened it, and a strange fragrance wafted out. Inside was only a pill the size of a longan fruit. That unusual scent had come from it. "A Breakthrough Pill?"

Xiao Yu gave a soft cry of surprise and reached out to take the Breakthrough Pill in hand. "It's even a top-grade Breakthrough Pill. What a pity—it's only one step away from gaining a Pill Pattern. Still, not bad. I got a Fifth Grade Pill for free!"

This Breakthrough Pill was a Fifth Grade Pill, but it was even harder to refine than Sixth Grade Pills. Xiao Yu estimated that in the entire Jia Ma Empire, only Pill King Gu He could refine one—and even he could not produce a top-grade version. This thing had only one purpose, much like the Qi Gathering Powder. However, this Breakthrough Pill could help a cultivator at the Da Dou Shi realm break through to the Dou Ling realm, which was its greatest benefit. Of course, Dou Zhes breaking through to Dou Shis and Dou Shis breaking through to Da Dou Shis could use it as well, but its effect was greatest when a Da Dou Shi advanced to the Dou Ling realm!

Xiao Yu planned to save it for when he broke through to the Dou Ling realm himself. After clearing out the entire cave, he walked outside. Tapping lightly against the horizontal beam with the tip of his foot, his body shot into the air. Using the cliff face for leverage, he flipped and leaped several times before successfully reaching the top of the cliff, then left the area directly.

Half a day after Xiao Yu left, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's herb-gathering team arrived nearby. Taking advantage of the herb-gathering, Xiao Yi Xian secretly went to the cliff's edge to take a look, intending to descend after nightfall. She had no idea that the treasures inside had already been thoroughly looted by Xiao Yu!

Elsewhere, Xiao Yu found a place to hide: a valley with a waterfall inside. After surveying the surroundings and confirming that the environment was relatively safe, he found a small cave to stay in. After scattering some medicinal powder to ward off mosquitoes and insects, he took out his bedding from the Storage Ring and temporarily set up a place to sleep. Once everything was arranged, Xiao Yu took out the flying Dou Technique.

Unfurling the scroll, he saw an image of a pair of purple wings. With his Soul Power, Xiao Yu could naturally sense the soul of a Purple Cloud Eagle within it. But he was not afraid of such things. With a soul on the verge of entering the Spirit realm, Xiao Yu was utterly fearless!

His palms slowly pressed against the Purple Cloud Wings. A violent soul aura surged directly toward Xiao Yu's mind. Within his consciousness, Xiao Yu saw an enormous Purple Cloud Eagle flying at him. Its sharp cry, which pierced straight into his soul, made Xiao Yu's soul tremble slightly.

"Do you think you can scare me?" Xiao Yu gritted his teeth, gathering his Soul Power into the shape of a fist and smashing it fiercely toward the Purple Cloud Eagle.

Screech!

The Purple Cloud Eagle let out a painful wail. Its entire body began to fade before finally turning into a mass of white energy that dispersed through Xiao Yu's mind. Xiao Yu was overjoyed. This was good stuff! He immediately urged his soul to absorb it.

Who knew how much time passed before an invisible, strange power slowly radiated outward from Xiao Yu as its center. Xiao Yu's soul realm began to transform, charging toward the Spirit realm!

Boom!

Xiao Yu's mind suddenly buzzed. Immediately afterward, he felt his spiritual sense become far more powerful. He could sense every change in the grass and trees within several miles, and his soul's control had become much stronger as well!

Amid his delight, Xiao Yu also discovered that a pair of palm-sized black eagle-wing tattoos had appeared on his back. As the Dou Qi in his body circulated at his will, the tattoos flashed with light and transformed into solid wings over three meters long. With a thought, the wings began to flap, and a powerful gale swept through the cave. Xiao Yu hurriedly stopped!

Xiao Yu sensed the changes in his Dou Qi. With his current reserves, he could probably fly for around twenty minutes. Perhaps once he became a Dou Shi, his flight time could roughly double!

For the next stretch of time, Xiao Yu settled down here. Every day, he cultivated his techniques, practiced Dou Techniques, and refined pills. At night, he trained his practical combat ability in the dream realm. Occasionally, when he had time, he went hunting to treat himself. His days were quite comfortable.

Beneath the thundering waterfall, Xiao Yu stood with his sword in hand. Looking at the waterfall's immense force, he gave a low shout, "One Sword Breaks Heaven!"

A crimson sword qi shot toward the waterfall, striking directly into its center. With a thunderous explosion, the waterfall was split in two and severed at the waist by the sword qi. The scorching aura evaporated the mist, creating a stretch of empty air. Its power was plain to see!

Over the course of a month, Xiao Yu had raised his strength to the Nine-star Dou Zhe level. The next step was advancing to Dou Shi!

Just as Xiao Yu was preparing to practice the Purple Cloud Wings, several sharp cracking sounds of trees breaking reached his ears. His expression shifted, and he spread his wings, flying directly toward the top of the waterfall!

Xiao Yu saw several towering trees falling to either side. After several thunderous crashes, he finally saw that a second-tier magical beast, a Cloud Wood Elephant, had smashed them apart. Before it stood an extremely small magical beast—a snow-white little creature that resembled both a cat and a tiger, glaring fiercely at the enormous beast before it!