The outskirts of the Cloud-Soaring Mountain Range were full of first-tier, low-level Demon Beasts. Not one could last two moves against Lu Chenxing.
So, after spending so long in here...
He had found it novel at first.
But gradually, he had begun to feel bored.
Now that he had finally encountered a Demon Beast at his own realm, how could Lu Chenxing let this fine opportunity slip away?
As he spoke, he sent his flying sword slashing toward the Black Cloud Leopard without waiting for Lu Changfeng to agree.
Lu Changfeng opened his mouth but said nothing.
After thinking it over, he could only let Lu Chenxing have his way.
It was merely a second-tier Demon Beast at the Foundation Establishment early stage, after all. He could slay it with a casual strike.
"Be careful. Black Cloud Leopards are extremely fast, and their claws have terrifying tearing power. You mustn't let it get close."
Demon Beasts all possessed powerful bodies and could attack at both close and long range.
They were even more terrifying in close combat.
Ordinary cultivators would maintain sufficient distance when fighting them.
Lu Chenxing nodded to show he understood.
He focused his attention meticulously on the Black Cloud Leopard.
Just as the flying sword was about to strike it, afterimages suddenly blurred into view.
The Black Cloud Leopard burst into motion, dodging the attack and charging at Lu Chenxing himself. Lu Chenxing directed his flying sword to pursue it, only to discover that the sword's speed actually couldn't keep up with the leopard.
He promptly retreated.
He formed hand seals and chanted an incantation.
"Quicksand Technique, go!"
Directly ahead of the Black Cloud Leopard, the solid ground suddenly softened. Caught off guard, it sank into the quicksand.
The Demon Power within its body erupted, and it sprang free.
The Quicksand Technique could only trap it for a brief instant.
But an instant was enough. Lu Chenxing had already opened up some distance, and his flying sword had also moved ahead of the Black Cloud Leopard, slashing toward its face.
The Black Cloud Leopard roared.
A gale of astral wind actually burst from its mouth and collided with the flying sword.
Sword and wind clashed in midair.
A moment later, the flying sword was driven back, while the Black Cloud Leopard was also hurled away by a concussive force.
Before it could steady itself...
A vine that had emerged from who knew where bound it tightly.
And that was not the end.
Rain suddenly began falling from the sky.
As the rain fell, it abruptly solidified into long, slender needles.
Guided by a force, they all shot toward the Black Cloud Leopard.
The Black Cloud Leopard repeatedly stirred the Demon Power within its body, trying to break free of the vine, but the vine was so tough that it could not tear through it right away.
Yet the murderous intent of the rain needles filling the sky had already arrived.
It opened its mouth and roared, releasing astral wind to defend itself.
But that astral wind could only disperse attacks from one direction.
The needles formed from raindrops attacked from every direction, finding every opening.
"Aaargh!!!"
Its screams echoed through the mountain forest.
As the rain needles pierced the Black Cloud Leopard's flesh and churned relentlessly inside its body, its presence gradually began to weaken.
Just then, the flying sword arrived in a streak of light.
One thrust pierced the Black Cloud Leopard's head.
Its cries cut off abruptly.
Watching from the side, Lu Changfeng was momentarily stunned by how cleanly Lu Chenxing had slain the Black Cloud Leopard, a Demon Beast at his own realm.
He had not employed any greater power.
Only a simple combination of flying sword and techniques.
But there was something Lu Changfeng found strange.
Lu Chenxing had previously said that he possessed a single-attribute wood Heavenly Spirit Root.
Yet in this battle, he had used not only the wood-element Vine Technique, but also the earth-element Quicksand Technique and the water-element Rain Needle Technique.
He still did not ask why.
He even made excuses for Lu Chenxing in his heart.
He thought that the boy must have his own reasons for refusing to tell the truth.
He only needed to hold firmly to one fact.
The Lu Household, Lu Chenxing!
"Clap, clap, clap!"
Applause rang out as Lu Changfeng walked up to Lu Chenxing, unstinting in his praise.
"Well done!"
"Little Chenxing, you're far stronger than your clan leader grandpa was in his youth!"
Back then, the first opponent Lu Changfeng had faced after reaching Foundation Establishment had also been a Demon Beast, but he had been utterly bedraggled.
He had not even managed to kill it in the end.
Instead, he had slunk away with his tail between his legs.
Lu Chenxing was stronger than he had been by far more than a little.
However, Lu Changfeng had not comprehended Sword Intent or embarked upon the path of a sword immortal back then. The man he was today could not be compared with his former self.
Never mind a Demon Beast at the same Foundation Establishment middle stage as him.
Even a Foundation Establishment late-stage Demon Beast could be slain by his sword!
Lu Chenxing said modestly, "Clan leader grandpa, your potential as a sword immortal is one in ten thousand. I'll have to keep working hard to catch up with you."
After offering his praise, he did not forget the traditional virtues of cultivation either.
He walked over and put away the Black Cloud Leopard's corpse.
These three days of slaying Demon Beasts had brought him a modest harvest.
If he sold those Demon Beast corpses, he could obtain at least ten thousand Spirit Stones.
It seemed easy to acquire resources.
But one must not forget that Lu Chenxing was a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, accompanied by a sword immortal capable of slaying Foundation Establishment late-stage opponents to reduce the risks.
If an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator entered the Cloud-Soaring Mountain Range...
They would certainly proceed with the utmost caution.
Whether they would gain anything was hard to say, but they were more likely to lose their life.
So cultivation was not easy.
It only appeared easy because they had not encountered a stronger opponent.
Lu Changfeng hurried out of the Cloud-Soaring Mountain Range with Lu Chenxing.
Since they could encounter a second-tier Demon Beast at the Foundation Establishment early stage, there was no guarantee they would not encounter one at the Foundation Establishment peak, so leaving quickly was the wisest choice.
Lu Chenxing had hunted Demon Beasts inside for three days.
He should have had his fill of fun.
Lu Changfeng hoped that after returning this time, he could settle down to cultivate and remain in the Lu Household until he broke through to the Golden Core Realm.
Golden Core was an unattainably distant realm for him.
He needed to pile up his cultivation over long years, until one day he had accumulated enough and comprehended the Dao in a single moment.
For Lu Chenxing, however...
It was something very easy.
To be honest, Lu Chenxing still felt he had not quite had his fill.
The magnificent sweep of the cultivation world had revealed only the tip of its iceberg to him. In the novels he had read in his previous life, there had been disciple tournaments, secret realm explorations, cave abodes of cultivators from High Antiquity, perilous ruins, and so on.
He actually yearned for all of them.
But he also understood one principle.
Only by staying alive could he qualify to attain the Dao of longevity and ascend to immortality.
So...
A little taste of the cultivation world was enough.
Next, he would keep turtling!
Just as the old men wished, he would turtle until the Golden Core Stage before considering anything else.
On the way back to the clan, Lu Chenxing turned into a chatterbox.
"Clan leader grandpa, you must have killed lots of people, right? About how many?"
He had certainly killed people, but as for exactly how many...
Lu Changfeng could not remember. He carefully thought back.
About...
"Not many. There should be fewer than a hundred people who have died by my sword."