Soaring Experience Points, Nine Nether Blood-Prison Saber

"I hope that kid blows himself up!"

Chen Wang fell silent for a moment before speaking helplessly.

"Forget it."

"You Tai, take Ruoxue and the injured disciples back to the outskirts of Black Triangle Mountain first."

Chen Wang made his decision.

These past few days, even with him holding the fort,

the group had still suffered some injuries, though fortunately, no one had died.

Letting the injured retreat to the outskirts of Black Triangle Mountain

would keep them from encountering powerful demon beasts.

When the time came, if he was too busy to cope and could not look after them, the group would suffer grievous casualties.

"Yes, Master."

You Tai answered.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, hidden in the shadows, took everything in.

Seeing everyone withdraw in an orderly fashion,

he no longer hesitated.

With a light tap of his Carefree Steps,

he used the forest's grass and trees as cover

and slipped deeper into the dense woods.

Without Lin Ruoxue by his side,

Lu Yuan felt much lighter all over.

"Ah! Since when did slaying demons require hiding from people?"

Lu Yuan shook his head with a smile.

He began his solitary demon hunt in this mountain range teeming with demon beasts.

Alone, Lu Yuan first found a cave to hide in and rest.

He swallowed a Detoxification Pill, roasted meat, and recuperated, conserving his strength.

After resting for a night, Lu Yuan

felt that his whole body had become much clearer.

"Time to kill!"

Lu Yuan stood atop a small hill.

Feeling the morning sun,

he suddenly opened his eyes.

These past days, the demon beasts of the Azure Cloud Mountain Range

had been pouring out in great numbers for some unknown reason.

And he had already ventured nearly a hundred li deep into Black Triangle Mountain.

Here, the weak and Rogue Cultivators had become scarce.

There were far more traces of demon beasts.

Lu Yuan quickly picked up the trail of demon beasts.

It was the rotten, foul stench of decay.

Following the scent,

Lu Yuan entered a swamp.

There, he discovered three First-Order Low-Grade Gray-Scaled Crocodiles.

"These things are thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, and they are exceptionally nimble in swamps. An ordinary First-Rank Lower Martial Artist would suffer badly from the knee-deep mud alone."

Lu Yuan muttered.

Every demon beast had an environment where it was most at ease.

And in such an environment, its combat strength would rise dramatically.

However, Lu Yuan possessed Carefree Steps.

This muddy ground did not affect him much.

As the Blood-Baleful Demon-Slaying Saber unfolded,

saber light fell as dense as snow.

In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, all three Gray-Scaled Crocodiles were slain.

But just then,

a venomous snake hidden beside the swamp grass suddenly sprang up.

Like a sharp arrow, it shot straight toward Lu Yuan.

"This Black-Spotted Viper is the most treacherous..."

Lu Yuan cursed.

When its venomous fangs were less than three inches from his ankle, he located it by sound and drove it into the mud with a backhanded slash.

[ Ding! Slain First-Order Low-Grade demon beast Gray-Scaled Crocodile ×3. Obtained 150 experience points. ]

[ Ding! Slain First-Order Mid-Grade demon beast Black-Spotted Viper. Obtained 150 experience points. ]

[ Current experience points: 1510. ]

Seeing his experience points soar higher and higher, Lu Yuan was filled with fighting spirit.

Soon afterward, he encountered a flock of ten Red-Eyed Crows.

All of them were First-Order Low-Grade.

Their sharp beaks could peck through even leather armor.

As the Blood-Baleful Demon-Slaying Saber unfolded, three Red-Eyed Crows were cut down in an instant.

Feathers scattered through the air.

Blood splashed across the ground.

Such a ferocious display

also sent the remaining Red-Eyed Crows fleeing in panic.

"My experience packs just flew away like that."

Lu Yuan sighed.

Unfortunately, he could not catch up to them.

[ Ding! Slain First-Order Low-Grade demon beast Red-Eyed Crow ×3. Obtained 150 experience points. ]

Not long after, while Lu Yuan was dealing with the Red-Eyed Crow meat,

the scent of blood drew over a high-grade Blackwind Bear Demon.

The bear demon stood two zhang tall.

Its black fur was like steel needles. With a single swipe, it snapped a pine tree thick enough for two people to encircle, its savage might reaching the heavens.

"ROAR!!!"

With a furious roar,

the Blackwind Bear Demon charged at Lu Yuan like a war chariot.

"A blind bear?"

Feeling the Blackwind Bear Demon's terrifying sense of power,

Lu Yuan finally understood

that even among First-Order High-Grade demon beasts,

there were still differences in strength.

The Azure-Scaled Fish Demon Lu Yuan had slain before

was much weaker

than this Blackwind Bear Demon.

"CLANG!!!"

The Blackwind Bear Demon swatted down with a paw.

Lu Yuan raised his saber to block.

It was like a thousand-pound sledgehammer crashing down.

An immense force surged over.

Lu Yuan's arms went numb.

His whole body was sent flying.

He crashed through a tree so thick that one person could barely encircle it

before finally coming to a stop.

The impact made Lu Yuan's blood and qi churn violently.

"What a fine demon beast..."

Rather than being alarmed, Lu Yuan was delighted.

A demon beast that could pressure him

without posing too great a threat to his life

was perfect for letting him seek an opportunity for breakthrough through battle.

It was an excellent whetstone.

"Again."

Lu Yuan circulated Wild Bull Force.

The muscles all over his body bulged.

The Ironhide Body-Tempering Art also began to circulate.

His skin membrane tightened.

Man and bear launched into a fierce battle amid the pine forest.

First-Rank Skin Tempering

meant that throughout the entire First-Rank realm,

one had to unify the toughness of the skin membrane across the whole body.

There could be no weak points or blind spots.

One had to completely shed the superficial flesh and skin on the body's surface, fully seal the pores, and squeeze out the skin membrane's potential.

Only then could external evils be prevented from invading the surface of the flesh.

Upon reaching the limit, one could break through into the Second-Rank Flesh-Tempering Realm.

At this moment, Lu Yuan's battle with the demon beast was tempering his body.

"ROAR!!!"

In pain, the Blackwind Bear Demon let out a furious roar. Three claw marks deep enough to expose bone had appeared on its body.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan had also slashed the Blackwind Bear Demon seven or eight times.

Especially since the saber carried Blood-Baleful Intent,

the Blackwind Bear Demon's blood kept flowing, unable to clot.

The bear demon's stamina gradually ran dry.

In the end, he seized the opening when the bear demon's two paws struck empty air and its chest was left wide open. Taking an unorthodox angle, he thrust his saber into its throat, driving it all the way to the hilt and ending the vicious creature.

[ Ding! Slain First-Order High-Grade Blackwind Bear Demon. Obtained 300 experience points. ]

[ Current experience points: 1810. ]

This bloody battle benefited Lu Yuan greatly.

Under the terrifying pressure of the bear demon's immense strength, his force-generating techniques in Wild Bull Force and force-dispersing methods in the Ironhide Body-Tempering Art deepened further. The coordination between his skin membrane and muscles also became increasingly smooth and seamless.

He lit a fire on the spot and roasted the bear demon's most nutritious heart-protecting meat.

At the same time, he roasted the three Red-Eyed Crows as well.

The higher a demon beast's realm, the more blood and qi it contained.

A warm current flowed through his limbs and bones, nourishing his scarred body.

It also gradually restored Lu Yuan's energy.

Today's hunt ended here.

Lu Yuan found a cave and rested for the night.

He restored his energy to its peak.

The next day, Lu Yuan summoned the system panel.

[ Host: Lu Yuan ]
[ Realm: First-Rank Lower Martial Adept (Skin Tempering) ]

[ Lifespan: 360 days ]
[ Cultivation Arts: Blood-Baleful Demon-Slaying Saber (Advance to Nine Nether Blood-Prison Saber (10/6000), Wild Bull Force (Perfect 0/500), Carefree Steps (Minor Accomplishment 0/100), Ironhide Body-Tempering Art (Minor Accomplishment 0/100), Withered Wood Fist (Major Accomplishment 0/300)]

[ Current experience points: 1810. ]

[ Lottery draws: 1 (Free) ]

Seeing that the three question marks after the Blood-Baleful Demon-Slaying Saber had already transformed into Nine Nether Blood-Prison Saber, Lu Yuan's eyes immediately lit up.