An Old Acquaintance

"The entire mountain is covered with them. You've killed too many; there's no way you can eat them all. What a waste..."

The young Fox Demon had not even finished speaking.

Gao Fei had already been charging power in his right hand for five seconds.

Without a word, he rushed forward and threw a front kick.

After the Fox Demon dodged it, he shifted into a golden rooster standing on one leg, continuing to seize the initiative with attacks at its lower body.

Every strike looked light and drifting, yet every time the Fox Demon blocked one, pain showed on its face.

Several of those kicks and stomps carried Dark Force.

When the Fox Demon stopped blocking and began dodging instead,

Gao Fei seized the moment. His right hand, held back at his side, had already turned crimson. Carrying waves of searing heat, he struck out with his palm.

Ten seconds of full charge.

The Fox Demon failed to evade. Its protective spiritual power appeared, but it only blocked the point of attack. Under the high-frequency vibrations, it was like thin paper, shattering at the slightest touch.

His palm struck squarely into its abdomen.

He withdrew his force, quickly clenched his hand into a fist, sank his body, and began charging power again.

Just as his punch was about to fly out, he received a system notification.

Killed a Middle Spirit-Absorption Realm Fox Demon. Merit Points +123.

Gao Fei hurriedly stopped. His hand was now unbearably hot, as though it were being roasted over a fire.

If he charged it to the limit once more, he felt his arm might be ruined.

He glanced at his left hand. Maybe I should try this one next time.

He picked up a spear from the side and dug out the Beast Core.

Merit Points: 957

Gao Fei looked around, found a patch of grass as tall as a person, and hid inside.

"System, use 900 Merit Points on the Golden Body Art."

In the first year, the injuries on your hand healed. You began tempering your body. Because you had entered Transforming Force, your control over the strength and effects of vibrations improved greatly, accelerating your progress.

In the seven hundredth year, your body improved. The spiritual energy in the Beast Core was exhausted, and you could only absorb the spiritual energy of the outside world.

In the nine hundredth year, your body improved.

"Nine hundred years of bodily improvement. Is that even polite?"

Gao Fei sensed himself. Both his strength and reaction speed had increased by more than double. The charging time for Bone-Melting Palm had risen to fifteen seconds, though each further increase would become increasingly difficult.

At this point, he felt he could fight Yellow Great Immortal at the Spirit-Absorption Realm, Perfected. Even if he could not win, he could still protect himself completely.

This Golden Body Art was rather extraordinary. Should he give it a new name?

He looked at the headless Fox Demon corpse on the ground, which had reverted to its true form.

He slung it over his shoulder, bypassed the village, and headed toward the county town.

The goal of this trip out of the city—improving his strength—had been achieved. There was no need to keep tangling with ordinary villagers.

After going back to sort things out, he would go find trouble with Yellow Great Immortal.

When Gao Fei entered the city carrying the Fox Demon's corpse, he once again received the same treatment as on his first day entering town.

The people around him all scattered, keeping far away from him.

The relationship he had only just eased with the neighborhood had grown distant again.

He looked at the Fox Demon corpse in his hand. It seemed this was because of it.

Gao Fei did not care. Experts had no need to care about such things.

When he arrived at Four Seas Residence, the owner took one look at the Fox Demon and saw that it was a high-ranking one. He hurriedly waved his hands in refusal, fled inside, and shut the doors in one smooth motion, not even caring about the customers outside.

"My lord, my little shop can't afford to take this. Go have a look at the pharmacy in the south of the city!"

Left with no choice, Gao Fei went to the pharmacy again.

"What a bother. If I'd known, I should've thrown this corpse away instead of carrying it back."

The pharmacy clerk did not drive him out, though he tremblingly led him into the back courtyard.

It was still the same female proprietor, Li Qingyao. When she saw the corpse Gao Fei tossed onto the ground, surprise appeared on her face.

Of the two times they had met, this was the first time Gao Fei had seen any expression other than the usual on her face.

Her face was not cold; it even bore a smile. Yet she always gave off a distant chill that kept people a thousand miles away.

"A two-tailed Spirit-Absorption Realm Fox Demon, without a Demon Core. I can give you one thousand taels. Did you kill this Fox Demon?"

"Yes!"

So many people had seen him entering the city. Even if he wanted to hide it, he could not.

Gao Fei needed Spirit-Absorption Realm cultivation techniques, and his second uncle Gao Linyue would need them soon as well. In the short term, they would need quite a lot of silver, and they also needed to have weapons forged in Qing Province.

Otherwise, he truly would not have wanted to haul a corpse back to sell.

"I have a question, and I hope you will forgive my presumption. How did someone at the Body Tempering Realm, Perfected kill a Middle Spirit-Absorption Realm existence?"

Gao Fei had expected someone to ask.

"Do you know that among the Four Body-Tempering Practices, each practice has a True Return Realm?"

"I know the Blood-Qi Realm has one, but I truly don't know about the later ones. Have you reached them in every practice?"

"Yes."

As for how he had killed it, Gao Fei did not say. No one could verify it anyway. She knew it was presumptuous and still asked, so naturally she would not receive an answer.

Li Qingyao returned to the tea table and sat down. Smiling, she poured a cup of tea, raised it toward the heavens in tribute, poured it onto the ground, then refilled another cup and drank it in one gulp.

"Among the Southern Mountain Fox Demons, there are four above the Spirit-Absorption Realm. The parents are at the initial stage. The daughter, Shangqiu, returned after studying abroad and should be above the Jade-Liquid Realm. The remaining one is the Middle Spirit-Absorption Realm creature before us."

"Half a year ago, my cultivation reached a bottleneck. Seeking a breakthrough, I brought Yatou here."

"I thought that with my Peak Spirit-Absorption Realm cultivation, defeating the Fox Demon and making her retreat would be no problem. Who knew she had been playing the pig to eat the tiger? Her realm had broken through long ago."

"I understand. Trying to show off and getting..."

Gao Fei nodded, then seemed to remember something and immediately shut his mouth.

Whether Li Qingyao did not understand or simply did not care, she continued with a smile.

"Yatou was killed, and my meridians were sealed. I have been waiting for my master to find time to come rescue me. So much time has passed, and I cannot even collect her body."

Gao Fei nodded in understanding. He had not received the silver yet, so he should comfort this young lady a little.

"What was Yatou's name? Where is her body? If I pass by there next time, I'll bury her properly and let her rest in peace."

After hearing this, Li Qingyao kept staring at Gao Fei, sizing him up from head to toe.

"Men really change their hearts quickly. Young Master first failed to pursue me, then settled for Yatou for two months. Now you have even forgotten her name. Her name is Yatou."

Gao Fei was instantly dumbfounded. The woman before him had an air of intellectual beauty. Every gesture was measured, carrying the bearing expected of a lady from a great family.

His former self had good taste, but this topic could not continue.

"I was injured some time ago and forgot many memories. Please do not mind it, miss. I have already turned over a new leaf."

Since she could speak of the Fox Demon's cultivation, she was already quite impressive. At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that he had not run into that female Fox Demon. Otherwise, he would have been drained dry again.

Li Qingyao extended a hand in invitation and poured a fresh cup of tea at the table.

"As far as I know, Young Master redeemed a courtesan queen and brought her home only a few days ago."

She smiled throughout her speech, and the hand pouring tea never paused.

"A fair maiden is sought by every gentleman. Miss, do you have any Spirit-Absorption Realm cultivation techniques? I'll buy one."

Two Fox Demons had died at Gao Fei's hands, especially the one today. Many people had seen him carry its corpse back into the city. This was a matter of life and death.

Li Qingyao watched the man sit down, scratch his head, and wipe his hands. She shook her head faintly and sighed.

"High-grade Spirit-Absorption Realm cultivation techniques are rare. The technique I cultivate is not suitable for you. Otherwise, it would not be impossible for me to accept you as a disciple on behalf of my master!"

Gao Fei understood. Even if it were possible, he did not want to become her disciple.

"Do you have any very poor techniques?"

Li Qingyao stood up, entered the inner room, and brought out an unnamed book, placing it on the table.

"Cultivation techniques are divided into ordinary, Yellow-tier, Mystic-tier, and Heaven-tier. Savage Bull Force is not bad; it is a Yellow-tier technique. The meridians it opens can form a Lesser Celestial Circuit."

"Can I switch to another cultivation technique later?"

"You can, but only to a technique of the same attribute."

"Fine. How much silver? I'll take it."