He pulled out a small knife and dissected the Pillow Wood Marten. From its corpse, he dug out a Magic Core—a first-tier wood-type Magic Core.
Unfortunately, Magic Cores couldn't be absorbed directly. The power within them was mixed and violent, and even high-level experts didn't dare use them recklessly.
Although Magic Cores couldn't be absorbed directly, they were essential ingredients for alchemists. After an alchemist refined one using secret techniques, its violent properties would be neutralized by certain magical herbs, transforming it into one of the countless spirit medicines that could greatly increase one's strength and that everyone coveted. Its value would soar!
Magic Cores could also be embedded in weapons. Weapons imbued with a Magic Core were not only more destructive, but also had the alluring effect of amplifying Dou Qi, making them highly sought after by the Dou Zhe of the Dou Qi Continent.
Of course, besides weapons, Magic Cores could also be embedded in armor and other items, granting their owners powerful defenses and giving them a better chance of survival when facing danger.
With so many wondrous effects, Magic Cores had rightfully become the most popular mainstream material on the Dou Qi Continent. Not only Dou Zhe, but even the esteemed alchemists often humbled themselves to scour the world for high-level Magic Cores so they could refine higher-grade pills.
The exorbitant value of Magic Cores had naturally given rise to a great many mercenary groups that made their living hunting magical beasts. However, obtaining a Magic Core was no easy task.
First, magical beasts were not only powerful, but exceptionally cunning. Because of their ferocious nature and unique methods of attack, they were often several times stronger than human experts of the same level. Without exceptional strength, anyone who tried to hunt one alone could easily end up losing more than they gained.
Second, not all magical beasts had a Magic Core, an energy crystal, inside them. It seemed to be a matter of chance. Sometimes, after a mercenary group lost half its members killing a magical beast, they might come away empty-handed. Such things were commonplace on the Dou Qi Continent—not unusual at all...
Thus, Magic Cores had always commanded a high price on the Dou Qi Continent and were in great demand.
So Xiao Li had been pretty lucky this time.
However, the Magic Core couldn't increase Xiao Li's strength right away. The medicinal herb guarded by the Pillow Wood Marten was what mattered most at the moment.
Looking at the little white flower shimmering with a crystalline luster, Xiao Li didn't dare touch it carelessly. All the rare heavenly treasures had their own peculiar traits. It wouldn't do if it withered the moment he touched it.
He took the Complete Guide to Heavenly Treasures out of his Storage Ring and began reading carefully. The Xiao Clan had once been a great clan with a Dou Wang overseeing it, after all, and its store of knowledge was several times greater than that of an ordinary small clan.
The guide alone recorded hundreds of first- and second-tier heavenly treasures.
But considering that the Pillow Wood Marten was only a first-tier magical beast, Xiao Li focused mainly on the first-tier treasures.
The petals were crystalline and translucent, white, and gave off wafts of medicinal fragrance...
Without an artificial intelligence like Yao Lao, finding the right entry in a book was just like an open-book exam back in middle school—tediously difficult.
"Hey, I found it!"
Xiao Li excitedly looked at the illustration in the book. Its appearance and description were exactly the same as the little white flower before him.
"White Origin Flower, first-tier medicinal herb. It strengthens the body and replenishes vitality. Its medicinal effects are mild, and its essence is concentrated in the glowing leaves. Simply eat the leaves raw."
After reading the description, Xiao Li didn't hesitate. He pulled up the White Origin Flower by its roots and swallowed the flower head in one bite.
Feeling the energy welling up inside him, Xiao Li didn't delay. He found a cave with no living creatures in it and slipped inside, then used weeds to conceal the entrance.
Xiao Li had already reached the threshold of becoming a Nine-Star Dou Zhe. After eating the White Origin Flower, he could use this opportunity to break through to the Dou Master realm. That would make him a strong expert in Qingshan Town.
Feeling the energy surging rapidly through the world around him, Xiao Li hurriedly focused his mind and began guiding the energy of heaven and earth flowing in from all around him.
Although there was a vast amount of energy, it contained too many impurities. It had to be refined and purified through his meridians before he could absorb it completely. Otherwise, if something went wrong, it might even contaminate the Dou Qi he had painstakingly cultivated.
A steady pace laid a solid foundation.
As Xiao Li entered a state of cultivation, the energy surging through the world around him grew more and more vigorous.
In the end, Xiao Li's body seemed to become a black hole, endlessly absorbing the energy of heaven and earth that poured into him.
The White Origin Flower inside his body also released waves of energy. It was purer than the energy absorbed from the world around him, making it easier to refine.
Under Xiao Li's careful guidance, the energy of heaven and earth that had flowed into his body circulated once through his meridians before finally being fully refined into pure Dou Qi. Xiao Li then channeled it into the pale purple vortex.
The vortex, which had been spinning lazily moments before, suddenly began to spin at high speed as this surge of Dou Qi poured into it. As its rotation grew more and more violent, a fierce suction force burst forth from within.
Lightning surged through the vortex, purifying the mixed energy of heaven and earth one final time. Drops of liquid Lightning Attribute Dou Qi appeared.
The liquid energy shot into the rapidly spinning purple vortex, sending ripples of energy across it.
As drop after drop of liquid energy entered it, the purple vortex gradually began to shrink.
The purple vortex grew smaller and smaller, but Xiao Li wasn't too worried. He could also sense that although the vortex was shrinking, the Dou Qi within it was growing denser and denser.
Under the constant rush of energy from the world around him, Xiao Li suddenly discovered that his meridians and bones were also growing tougher and broader as they were washed and tempered.
Xiao Li could clearly feel his body gradually becoming more resilient as wave after wave of energy from heaven and earth coursed through him. The near-transcendent pleasure almost made him groan with delight.
After absorbing an unknown number of drops of pure liquid energy, the purple vortex was now no bigger than Xiao Li's palm. Yet the purple lightning covering its surface had grown denser and denser, showing no sign of weakening.
The vortex continued spinning for more than ten minutes before slowly coming to a stop. As its rotation gradually ceased, the fierce suction force inside Xiao Li also began to weaken, until it vanished.
The instant the suction force disappeared, Xiao Li, seated cross-legged in the cave, abruptly opened his eyes. At once, the black strands of hair behind him stirred without a breeze, and his clothes billowed on their own. A fierce aura several times stronger than the one he'd possessed just a few hours earlier awoke within him and burst forth!
"Breakthrough successful. A Dou Master expert!"