Mu Chen stood where he was, steadying his breathing.
The blood and vitality surging through his body like mighty rivers slowly settled. The frenzy and exhilaration of battle gradually cooled, replaced by a deep, lingering satisfaction.
He lowered his head to look at his knuckles. The white mark left by his head-on clash with the beast's claw had already faded without a trace.
That felt good.
Utterly exhilarating.
Mu Chen shook his hand, flinging away the blood and sticky residue with a burst of force to reveal his long, powerful fingers and well-defined knuckles.
He dug out the Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast's soul essence, a blazing orb of dark golden light.
Within it, the faint miniature phantom of a Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast roared soundlessly, radiating heart-stopping remnants of its ferocity and tremendous energy.
A soul essence from an Earth Ranking spirit beast!
Without hesitation, Mu Chen let the Blood Token absorb it.
Whoosh!
The token shuddered violently, blood-red light blazing across its surface. A torrent of power, far greater and purer than any before it, surged brutally into Mu Chen's body!
The raging torrent scoured his limbs and bones. Every meridian, every inch of flesh, cried out in ravenous delight!
His fifth-grade spirit body instantly reached the barrier at its peak. Then, under the impact of that irresistible power, the bottleneck shattered, and he reached level six!
Water flowed, and the channel formed-there was not the slightest resistance.
"Not bad!"
Mu Chen lightly clenched his fist. Surging power filled his entire body, as though a casual punch could bring a mountain crashing down.
With the strengthening complete, he turned his attention back to the Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast's corpse, took out his dagger, and began processing his spoils.
Every part of an Earth Ranking spirit beast was a treasure.
Mu Chen remembered clearly that the Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast's blood contained the essence of its powerful bloodline and was exceptionally effective at tempering the body and strengthening its defenses!
He never wasted anything. After all, without gathering small steps, one could never travel a thousand miles; without gathering little streams, one could never form rivers and seas!
Blood as thick as molten gold slowly flowed out. Unlike the crimson of ordinary blood, it had a deep golden hue and gave off a faint, scorching heat and an unusual fragrance.
"Awooo-!!!"
A howl with a young, babyish note came from the forest behind him to one side, accompanied by the rustling of disturbed vegetation.
Mu Chen paused and looked back.
A golden spirit beast burst out from behind the dense bushes!
The spirit beast was not large, only about the size of an ordinary water buffalo. Fine, dark golden scales covered its body, and the two little horns atop its head barely protruded.
It was a Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast cub!
At the sight of Mu Chen, the little beast opened its mouth, its tiny milk teeth gleaming coldly. It charged toward him, leaped up, and snapped at him.
Thud!
Mu Chen kicked out, killing the cub outright!
"What can I say? I'm kindhearted. Go keep your parent company!" Mu Chen remarked, collecting its soul essence and blood as well.
Buy one, get one free. Not bad at all!
For the next half year, Mu Chen roamed the most dangerous regions of the Final Spirit Road like a ghost.
After breaking through to a level six spirit body, his perception extended even farther, and his instinct for danger grew sharper, making it easier to find powerful Earth Ranking spirit beasts!
He once ventured into a swamp shrouded in poisonous miasma and fought a fierce battle with an Eight-Legged Ghost-Faced Spider King, leaving numerous holes corroded through his robes.
He once climbed a solitary icy peak and battled an Extreme-Cold Ice Python, wearing even his shoes to tatters!
With the aid of the two Earth Ranking spirit beasts' soul essences, his level six spirit body advanced to a level seven spirit body!
The soul essences of ordinary high-tier spirit beasts now had almost no effect on Mu Chen, while Earth Ranking spirit beasts were elusive encounters that could not be sought at will.
Thus, he increasingly turned his attention to the other participants undergoing trials on the Spirit Road, returning to his old trade of seizing Blood Tokens while slaying spirit beasts along the way.
One afternoon, sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, casting dappled patches of light and shadow over the ground.
Mu Chen was about to turn toward a mist-shrouded valley when his steps suddenly halted.
He lowered his head and looked at a waist-high bush beside his feet. A few spots of blood stained it, their color still fresh, as though they had only recently left someone's body.
Mu Chen crouched down. Alongside the smell of blood, he detected an extremely faint, sweet, bloody scent.
Poison? Interesting.
He stood and looked in the direction of the scattered drops of blood. The hills rose gradually toward a forested mountain with more complicated terrain.
The wounded person had fled there.
Without hesitation, Mu Chen set off, following the blood trail. He could harvest a few more tokens!
The trail was intermittent, appearing sometimes on blades of grass and sometimes on exposed gray-brown rocks, guiding him onward.
After he had pursued it for roughly seven or eight li, the bloodstains grew more frequent. He even came across a boy's corpse!
Mu Chen's gaze remained calm, but his pace quietly quickened.
After another three or four li, he passed through a narrow cleft in the rocks, and the view ahead suddenly opened up. A natural ledge lay halfway up the mountain, backed by a sheer cliff. Jagged rocks lined its edge, and a deep gorge lay below.
At the center of the ledge, a confrontation was unfolding.
Six boys in assorted clothes, weapons in hand, had formed a semicircle around a lone figure, blocking every escape route toward the cliff and the other sides of the ledge.
The person surrounded in the middle was a girl.
Mu Chen stood in the shadows at the mouth of the cleft. From this angle, he could not yet see her face.
All he could see was her waterfall of long silver hair, now somewhat disheveled, yet still reflecting a cool light in the slanting afternoon sun.
It was like a length of brocade fallen into dust and mud, its inherent splendor undiminished!
Luo Li.
Mu Chen silently repeated the name in his mind.
That distinctive silver hair, along with the cool composure that had not deserted her even in danger, allowed him to recognize her instantly!
Luo Li was clearly in poor condition. She braced herself with one hand on her longsword, supporting her swaying body.
Her other hand pressed against the side of her lower abdomen, dark, poisoned blood continuously seeping between her fingers.
The six boys surrounding her wore expressions that mingled wariness with the excitement of impending success.
Most of them bore wounds of varying severity. Clearly, Luo Li had made them pay during the pursuit and their earlier fighting.
"Luo Li, you can't escape!" a boy wielding a long saber barked in a low voice. A fresh bloody scratch marked his face, and his fierceness carried a hint of bluff.
"Leave your Blood Token and that longsword, and we can spare your life! Otherwise... the bottom of this cliff will be your grave!"
Another boy, tall and thin and wielding a spear, chimed in sinisterly, his gaze sweeping over Luo Li's exquisite profile and the Luo God Sword. "That's right. You've cultivated to the peak of a level three spirit body, Luo Li. You're certainly very powerful."
"But now that you've been poisoned and wounded by us, stop dreaming of escaping."
"You killed three of our brothers. You're outstanding, all right. On this Spirit Road, probably only Ji Xuan could compare to you..."
Before his words had finished, a figure shot out from the shadows of the rocky cleft beside the ledge.
Before the six attackers could fully react, he had landed lightly half a step in front of Luo Li, placing himself squarely between her and them.
It was Mu Chen.
The six boys started violently and instinctively retreated half a step, all their weapons swinging toward the uninvited newcomer.
Luo Li, too, was clearly stunned for a moment by this sudden turn of events.
When Mu Chen's handsome, composed face came into view, a flicker of surprise passed through her glass-clear eyes.
Mu Chen's gaze lingered briefly on her bloodstained clothes and pale face. He frowned. "Why is it that every time I see you, someone's hunting you down?"
Luo Li's lips moved slightly, as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she merely watched him in silence.
Mu Chen did not seem to need an answer. He spoke again, his calm gaze meeting her clear eyes:
"Want to work together?"
"...All right!"
Before you continue