Devouring Qi and Blood

In the rotting dense forest, gusts of yin wind swept through, carrying a trace of chill.

"Ferocious Horned Wolves, Five Immortal Mountains, a wolf king at the peak of the Spiritual Perception Realm—this wolf pack truly has some foundations."

The radiance of his soul faded. Recalling the information he had gleaned, Jiang Chen fell into thought. By now, he had gained a certain understanding of the wolf pack entrenched on Goat Horn Mountain.

Just as he had expected, this wolf pack had indeed come from elsewhere, its origin being the Five Immortal Mountains. Demon blood flowed within them. So long as they successfully awakened their spirituality and drew in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the bloodline within their bodies would be activated. The mark of this was the small horn that grew from their foreheads.

At that point, the ferocious wolves could truly be called Ferocious Horned Wolves, beginning to grasp the innate demon arts of their kind. However, the Ferocious Horned Wolf before him had only recently become a demon creature, and its aptitude was mediocre. The only talisman art it had truly mastered was the Tracking Art.

"The Tracking Art uses scent to lock onto enemies. It is the most basic talisman art of the Ferocious Horned Wolf clan, and also the easiest to master. Beyond that, the Ferocious Horned Wolf clan also possesses the Gale Art and the Lesser Wind Blade Art as talisman art inheritances."

"However, compared to the Tracking Art, these two talisman arts are much harder to master. In the present Ferocious Horned Wolf clan, only that wolf king has mastered them all."

As his thoughts turned, Jiang Chen unconsciously began comparing his strength with that of the wolf king.

In terms of cultivation, the wolf king was slightly above him. But in terms of accumulation, the wolf king might not necessarily surpass him. After all, he had cultivated the Lingsong Breathing Method to perfection. The tempering of his body far exceeded that of ordinary people, and his spiritual resonance could be called deep and abundant.

"If the wolf king is only as it appeared in this Ferocious Horned Wolf's memories, I am still confident I can defeat it. I have to say, the Ferocious Horned Wolf clan does have some foundation. Their clan possesses a rather good inherited spiritual item. Not only does it benefit cultivation in the Spiritual Perception Realm, it can also provide some help in breaking through to Qi Refining."

"Moreover, the Ferocious Horned Wolf clan is too close to Golden Sand Valley. If I do not wish to give up Golden Sand Valley, I must deal with the Ferocious Horned Wolves. Based on the information I have obtained so far, the Ferocious Horned Wolf clan truly is fine prey."

Turning his gaze toward Goat Horn Mountain, Jiang Chen formed several ideas in his heart. Taking action against the Ferocious Horned Wolf clan had long been on his mind, and the existence of that spiritual item only strengthened his resolve.

"That wolf king appears to be preparing to attempt a breakthrough into Qi Refining. I must act a little faster."

Withdrawing his gaze, Jiang Chen looked once more at the Ferocious Horned Wolf that had already breathed its last.

"To deal with the wolf king, I must first cut away its wings. I can use this opportunity to strengthen myself as well. One rises while the other falls—that is where the chance of victory lies."

A talisman art circulated, and a spark of flame flicked from Jiang Chen's fingertip.

The next instant, blood-colored flames completely enveloped the Ferocious Horned Wolf's corpse.

"After studying the Bloodflame Art for so long, it is time to reap the harvest."

A thought arose, and a scarlet gleam flashed through Jiang Chen's eyes. It was Eye Killing.

Sensing that chilling killing intent, Rat Prodigy beside him could not help but shudder.

As he silently watched the Ferocious Horned Wolf's corpse turn to nothing within the bloodfire, Jiang Chen restrained all of his killing intent and suddenly opened his mouth to inhale.

Whoosh. The bloodfire churned and streamed endlessly into Jiang Chen's mouth like flowing water. At that moment, the qi and blood throughout Jiang Chen's body began to surge. His entire body was like a small furnace, radiating heat, and even the surrounding chill faded somewhat.

In this way, after the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Jiang Chen had devoured every last trace of bloodfire.

"Sure enough, compared to ordinary ferocious beasts, this Ferocious Horned Wolf's qi and blood are of superior quality. Devouring just one has doubled my own qi and blood."

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Feeling the changes within himself, a hint of joy could not help appearing on Jiang Chen's face.

Of course, his progress was not solely because the Ferocious Horned Wolf was brimming with qi and blood. The main reason was his powerful soul and strong control, which allowed him to effectively absorb and suppress this blood qi. For ordinary people, absorbing even one or two parts out of ten would already be the limit.

"My martial talent in this body is not actually outstanding. However, cultivation tempers the spirit embryo, raising the upper limit of how much qi and blood I can contain to a certain extent. My powerful soul force has caused that limit to undergo a second sublimation."

"I need more now. Not only can I absorb qi and blood, I can also practice my spells. Prodigy, have your little rats help me find them."

His gaze fell on Rat Prodigy as Jiang Chen issued the command.

Upon hearing this, Rat Prodigy did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately let out a string of urgent squeaks. Before long, more and more rats rushed into the darkness.

From that moment onward, a ghostly shadow appeared within these mountains and forests. It came and went like a phantom, constantly hunting ferocious wolves. Every ferocious wolf it encountered was drained dry of qi and blood, leaving neither corpse nor bones behind.

Faced with such a situation, even ferocious wolves as savage as these could not help falling into panic. Fortunately, the only remaining Ferocious Horned Wolf in the pack besides the wolf king stepped forward and temporarily stabilized the situation.

As though it had learned from the lesson of the missing Ferocious Horned Wolf, it did not act rashly again. Instead, it issued orders to recall all the Ferocious Horned Wolves outside, adopting a posture of strict defense.

"This Ferocious Horned Wolf truly is rather intelligent. It actually responded so quickly."

Beneath a great tree, Jiang Chen gazed into the distance at Goat Horn Mountain, his expression indifferent. After this period of slaughter, the coldness he had once deeply concealed began to reveal itself naturally.

"Begin the second phase of the plan. Though the wolf pack possesses some spirituality and knows to seek advantage and avoid harm, the vast majority of wolves are still merely beasts. They do not possess true intelligence."

Leaving those words behind, Jiang Chen's figure vanished once again.

Hearing this, Rat Prodigy, who controlled the rat swarm, immediately began making new arrangements. During this period, the rat swarm under his command had indeed suffered grievous losses beneath the wolf pack's hunting, its losses devastating. Yet under Jiang Chen's guidance, he had found quite a few wild rats in these mountains and forests.

Using his own abilities to forcibly bring them into the swarm, these rats might not have matched those carefully raised rats in ability, but fortunately, there were plenty of them. They were more than sufficient as cannon fodder.

At night, faint rustling sounded out. A ferocious wolf caught the scent of prey and immediately pounced.

Before long, it successfully swallowed a rat whole. But just as it happily prepared to return, another faint rustling sounded nearby.

Hearing that sound and vaguely catching sight of a blurred shadow, the ferocious wolf's eyes immediately lit up.

Without giving it much thought, it smacked its lips and hurried after it. That rat just now had been too small; it had not even tasted it properly. Thus, without realizing it, it left Goat Horn Mountain and was ultimately swallowed by the darkness. Similar events continued to play out.