Bai Yi stretched his body, then lowered his head and glanced at the Green-Scaled Venom Python's corpse.
A flash of sword light swept around. The Azure Peak Sword pierced the Green-Scaled Venom Python's seventh inch, bringing a blood-stained Demon Core flying back to him.
"So this is a Demon Core."
He used Spiritual Power to remove the bloodstains. The instant Bai Yi's fingers touched the Demon Core, the Dao-Deriving Mirror deep within his sea of consciousness trembled again.
"Hm?!"
Feeling the Dao-Deriving Mirror stir, Bai Yi raised an eyebrow and closed his hand around the Demon Core, which was only the size of a peanut.
He focused his thoughts on the Dao-Deriving Mirror. A stream of energy flowed along his arm from the mirror and poured into the Demon Core once more.
A violent surge of Demon Power erupted, spilling out in every direction.
A moment later,
under the guidance of that energy, a rich Life Essence flowed into the depths of his sea of consciousness, where the Dao-Deriving Mirror gradually absorbed it.
"The Dao-Deriving Mirror can actually extract the deepest Life Essence from a Demon Core."
Bai Yi watched the Dao-Deriving Mirror in his sea of consciousness, now glowing a little brighter. A trace of delight rose in his heart.
Originally, he had planned to enter the Secret Realm and search for some Spirit Ore and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to nourish the Dao-Deriving Mirror, so he could produce one or two more Enlightenment Glimmers.
With only a month this time, he had worried that he might not find enough resources to nourish the Dao-Deriving Mirror.
But he hadn't expected it could also extract and absorb the Demon Cores of demonic beasts.
Judging by the results, it wasn't as effective as devouring Spirit Ore, but this Green-Scaled Venom Python was only an ordinary demonic beast at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, and its Demon Core was only the size of a peanut.
Besides, while precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures might be rare in the Blue Mountain Secret Realm, there was no shortage of demonic beasts.
"Fortunately, there are plenty of areas where demonic beasts often appear along the way to Flying Stone Peak. I can take care of them while I'm at it."
Bai Yi projected a Holographic Sand Table Map from his Terminal. With a swipe of his finger, a steep, rugged mountain with jagged rocks and a peak shaped like a flying dart appeared.
At the halfway point of Flying Stone Peak, three lines extended into a frame, marking three abandoned Spirit Ore sites.
The Vajra Crystal Mine, the Jadeite Mine, and the Wood-Heart Iron Mine...
These three Second-Tier Mining Sites, abandoned after the Immortal Alliance finished mining them, often saw lucky Rogue Cultivators unearth one or two buried spirit ores.
Having made his decision, Bai Yi closed the Terminal's map and swiped across the screen.
His Nanoparticle Dao Robe instantly transformed into a Fitted Short Tunic. Numerous nanoparticles extended from his neck, forming a thin cloth that covered his nose and mouth.
It didn't matter much inside Lanshan City, but within the Secret Realm, the Immortal Alliance's rules would hold far less sway.
To make things convenient, covering his face was essential. Besides, a mask formed from these nanoparticles would also conceal him as much as possible from technological scans and Divine Sense probes.
With the Azure Peak Sword at his side, Bai Yi plunged into the Dimly Lit Forest.
Towering trees stretched into the clouds, their gnarled roots and branches entwined. Vines either coiled around the trunks or dangled from the treetops.
Clusters of dark yet brilliantly colored exotic flowers and plants grew sparsely throughout the forest.
Dense branches and leaves blocked out the sunlight. In the dim, damp gloom, a stray ray occasionally pierced through the canopy and fell on the dead branches and withered grass.
Rustle...
Bai Yi leapt over the treetops, and a piercing cry suddenly rang out.
Atop the canopy, a Black-Feathered Sparrow with a wingspan of about two meters beat its wings and glared furiously at Bai Yi, who had suddenly appeared before it.
Black-Gray Demon Qi surged forth, transforming into two Wind Blades that sliced through the trees and howled toward him.
In the dim surroundings, a flash of azure sword light passed by. It easily shattered the Wind Blades, pierced through a tree trunk, and ran the Black-Feathered Sparrow through the head.
The sword light then wheeled around and flew out of the Black-Feathered Sparrow's belly, carrying a pea-sized Demon Core into Bai Yi's hand.
After devouring the Demon Core in his hand, Bai Yi glanced at the Dao-Deriving Mirror's glimmer, which had advanced only a tiny bit, and the corner of his eye twitched.
Over the past half-day or so, he had slain three demonic beasts at the Second or Third Layer of Qi Refining, in addition to the Green-Scaled Venom Python.
Four Demon Cores had nourished the mirror's progress by less than one-twentieth.
At this rate, he would need at least a hundred demonic beasts at the Second or Third Layer of Qi Refining to reliably nourish one Enlightenment Glimmer to completion.
"A Demon Core from a demonic beast at the Second or Third Layer of Qi Refining goes for around two or three thousand on the market."
"A hundred of them would be worth two or three hundred thousand."
Bai Yi's brows relaxed. A hundred was a lot, but at least he now had a fallback option.
More importantly, besides these early-stage Qi Refining demonic beasts, there were also mid-stage ones in the Blue Mountain Secret Realm-and even great demonic beasts in the late stage of Qi Refining.
By then, one Demon Core would probably be worth several.
Just as Bai Yi was thinking, a needle-prick sharpness flared in his Divine Sense.
Before he could think any further, Bai Yi suddenly flipped over and fell from the treetops. The instant he hit the ground, a huge black shadow pounced on the Black-Feathered Sparrow's corpse.
In the sparse sunlight, a Black-Cloud Wolf Ape with fur like black needles, four arms, a long tail, and a face as fierce as a wolf's grabbed the Black-Feathered Sparrow's corpse and shoved it into its mouth, chewing hard.
Crack...
Its sharp fangs snapped the bones in the Black-Feathered Sparrow's belly. Bits of flesh and bone fell through its teeth.
Apparently sensing no Demon Core, the Black-Cloud Wolf Ape spat out the mangled flesh and bones in one mouthful, then glared down at Bai Yi with its vertical pupils, savage and violent.
The Black-Cloud Wolf Ape's berserk Demon Qi erupted around it. Its figure flashed back and forth among the treetops.
Turbulent Demon Power enveloped its claws. Using the dim surroundings as cover, it reached Bai Yi's back in an instant.
Its Demon Power-clad claws tore through the air as it struck out viciously.
Facing this claw, swift as thunder, Bai Yi seemed to have anticipated it. As he turned, a Clearwind breeze stirred, and a light, nimble Sword Light appeared behind him.
The Azure Peak Sword rode the wind. Sword Qi ripped through the Demon Power, cleaving apart the Demon Power-clad claws and piercing through the wolf ape's paw and head.
Red and white matter flew out with the sword light.
Bang!
The Black-Cloud Wolf Ape's body lurched forward a few steps from its momentum, then crashed heavily to the ground.
Even beneath that sword light, swift as lightning, its face remained twisted in a ferocious expression until death.
Talk of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao appeared.
Bai Yi turned his sword light and plucked out the Demon Core. He used Spiritual Power to shake away the bloodstains, then smiled faintly at the Demon Core in his hand, which was the size of a glass marble.
Energy flowed through it, and within seconds, the Demon Core crumbled into dust.
"That's equivalent to the Spiritual Resonance of four Demon Cores from the Third Layer of Qi Refining."
Bai Yi glanced at the Black-Cloud Wolf Ape's corpse on the ground. The Azure Peak Sword severed its most valuable fangs and swept them up, then he leapt toward Flying Stone Peak and continued on his way.
At the foot of Flying Stone Peak,
like a stream of flowing spring water, Bai Yi bent down in front of a Peony plant that gave off a faint spiritual glow.
He sent Spiritual Power into the soil and gently tugged, pulling up the entire White Jade Grass by its roots. Then he put it into a sealed pocket on the side of his backpack.
"A First-Tier Superior-Grade White Jade Grass can fetch ten thousand Spirit Value on the market."
Bai Yi patted the backpack, which was already half full, and looked up at Flying Stone Peak not far away.
In a week, he had wound his way through more than three hundred kilometers of forest.
Along the way, he had slain nearly sixty demonic beasts, ten of them at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining or above. Among them was even a Clearwave White-Horned Ox at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.
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