Qi Condensation Fifth Layer

The white-robed youth smiled. "Just kidding. That demon core is yours. It's useless in my hands anyway. With my current abilities, I can only devour demon cores below the sixth level of Qi Condensation. A seventh-level Qi Condensation demon core is worth some spirit stones, but no one here is willing to trade with me."

Su Hao narrowed his eyes, genuinely surprised.

The white-robed youth said no more. He swiftly collected the three fifth-level Qi Condensation demon cores and took the corpses of the three demon bears with him, clearly intending to roast them as well.

"What's your name? I still don't know your great name. You're only at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, yet you can unleash strength beyond the fifth level. I'm very curious about you." After taking two steps, the white-robed youth turned back and asked.

"Su Hao, disciple of the East Gate," Su Hao answered frankly.

"The East Gate?" Surprise flickered in the white-robed youth's eyes. Then he suddenly smiled. "Makes sense. This damned sect—its geniuses are all born in suffocating places. My name is Xia Xiaojiu, a genius servant of the Spirit Creek Sect. See you around if there's a chance."

Watching that retreating figure gradually disappear into the distance, Su Hao narrowed his eyes. A servant?

That youth's cultivation was at least at the sixth level of Qi Condensation. If they truly fought, Su Hao would not be his opponent.

With such talent, he was absolutely a monster-level genius, even more terrifying than the prodigies of the North and South Gates—yet he was actually a servant of the Spirit Creek Sect?

"Not simple."

Shaking his head, Su Hao cut open the remaining seventh-level Qi Condensation demon bear's chest and abdomen, taking out a fist-sized demon core that was half-golden and half-black.

This meant that the demon core had not yet completely transformed into a seventh-level Qi Condensation core.

"But it should be enough. Reaching the fourth level of Qi Condensation required more essence than it would for an ordinary person, but I've already swallowed more than three hundred low-grade spirit stones. With this demon core added in, it should be sufficient."

Su Hao muttered as he tossed the demon bear's corpse into his storage bag and strode away with the bald-feathered chicken.

After finding a cave, he took out several spirit stones and simply arranged a sealing formation outside the entrance to keep wild beasts and cultivators from disturbing him.

Su Hao's inheritance contained all manner of knowledge—formations, talismans, artifact refining, pill refining, and more—but his cultivation was too low, and the materials in his hands were insufficient. There were many things he simply could not use.

A fire rose within the cave. A wolf leg was set over the flames, and the bald-feathered chicken fussed with it back and forth, imitating Su Hao as it roasted the meat.

Su Hao, meanwhile, sat cross-legged with his back pressed against the cave wall and directly stuffed the demon core into his mouth.

The Supreme Heavenly Demon Art began to circulate. A golden lotus appeared above his head. The demon core's essence was incomparably violent, but under Su Hao's dual refinement, it was gradually refined bit by bit, transforming into pure energy that entered his sea of qi.

As the bald-feathered chicken roasted the meat, its glossy black little eyes suddenly fixed on Su Hao. Seeing the golden lotus above his head and sensing the tyranny of the demonic art, it could not help but be shocked.

"This kid really isn't simple. A Dao lotus flower, a supreme demonic art—neither is something a cultivator at his level should possess. And he cultivates both Dao and demonic paths, a method no one has ever attempted before. Is this kid really just the patriarch of some small family?"

Though it had fallen into ruin and lost all its cultivation, as a descendant of the Divine Phoenix and once a supreme expert, its discerning eye remained. It saw straight to the heart of the matter at once.

Time passed, and the sun and moon turned. Three days later, Su Hao finally opened his tightly shut eyes and exhaled a mouthful of pitch-black turbid air—the harmful impurities within the demon core.

"Beyond my expectations. Even after swallowing a demon core, I still failed to break through. I had to swallow several dozen more spirit stones before I finally reached the fifth level of Qi Condensation."

Su Hao muttered, silently doing the calculations as a headache began to form.

From the third level of Qi Condensation to the fourth, he had consumed roughly one hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones. From the fourth level to the fifth, the total had exceeded six hundred low-grade spirit stones—a fivefold increase.

"Won't cultivation keep stacking up like this from now on?" Just thinking about it made Su Hao's head ache.

If that truly happened, then advancing from the fifth level of Qi Condensation to the sixth would require three thousand stones, and from the sixth to the seventh, fifteen thousand... And that was only the cost of cultivating Qi Condensation.

Upon reaching the ninth level of Qi Condensation, he would need to establish his foundation in the spirit sea. The resources required would be an enormous leap.

Resources would be a major problem for his future cultivation.

"I need to find a way to make some money." Su Hao calculated in his mind as he kicked awake the sleeping bald-feathered chicken. He had told the damned thing to stand guard, yet it had been snoring away. Wasn't it afraid of being roasted in its sleep?

The bald-feathered chicken jolted awake and leaped up, roaring, "Who dares disturb this lord's cultivation? Taste my Nine Heavens Divine Phoenix Heaven-Extinguishing Fire!"

Seeing no one around, Su Hao left the cave. The chicken withdrew the pose it considered handsome and scurried after him.

The forest shrouded in mist had once again been blanketed by thick snow. Clearly, while Su Hao had been cultivating, a heavy snowfall had enveloped heaven and earth.

The snow lay white and endless, and the cold froze the land. At this time, even demon beasts were unwilling to come out to hunt. Su Hao wandered through the forest for two days and only managed to kill three demon beasts.

During that time, he also dug up some spirit herbs and precious ginseng. Once he returned, he could stew them together with the demon beasts into a pot of tonic soup.

Moreover, Su Hao happened to have a recipe in his mind: Eight Treasures Tonic Soup. It beautified the complexion, nourished the face, prolonged life, and could treat kidney deficiency and depletion alike. It worked wonders for both men and women.

This was even more effective than ordinary pills. If he brought it back to the sect and sold it, he could earn some spirit stones.

"Lin Yaoyao should have broken through by now as well. With his talent and the assistance of the Nine Revolutions Heavenly Demon Formula, reaching the fifth level of Qi Condensation should be easier for him than for me. After all, he needs fewer resources."

Su Hao muttered a few words, then headed straight for the sect with his spoils.

Once he left the Misty Forest and entered the range covered by the Spirit Creek Sect, the snow vanished and the temperature became mild. Here, it was still like spring.

There were several hundred servants at the foot of the mountain, tending spirit vegetables, slaughtering spirit beasts, washing rice, and cooking meals for the disciples on the mountain—except for those of the East Gate, where Su Hao belonged.

A large black dog patrolled nearby. Whenever it spotted anyone other than a servant, it would glare viciously at them. When Su Hao arrived, it targeted him in particular, remembering this "thief" who had once tried to steal.

"Scram." Su Hao made a face at it. "I've got plenty of ingredients on me. I don't need your nutrientless garbage."

He strode forward. At the foot of the mountain, a group of people had gathered beside the narrow winding path, seemingly watching some excitement. Their conversation reached Su Hao's ears.

"I heard this person is a newly recruited disciple of the East Gate. No idea who he offended, but he was beaten this badly. His meridians were severed, his dantian destroyed, and the tendons in both his hands and feet were cut—yet they won't even let him die. This is torture."

Several servants shook their heads and sighed.

Su Hao's expression changed at once!