After parting ways with Xu Yul, Li Xin walked alone along the forest path. When he suddenly lifted his head, the scene spread out above him was quite a spectacle—a school of Soul Fish with gleaming crimson scales was swimming through the sky, their fins scattered like mist, and their slow movements added to the sense of mystery. Although Soul Fish were demonic beasts, they posed no real threat, and their byproducts were useless, so they were mostly ignored.

  At that moment, a shadow fell over the school of Soul Fish drifting overhead.

  That is…

  A pitch-black bird was targeting them. It was about the size of a crow, with eerie blue patterns etched between its black feathers, and every flap of its wings stirred a sinister aura—Shuo Spirit Bird, a demonic beast he had only seen in records now appeared before his eyes, alive and moving.

  In an instant, the Shuo Spirit Bird snatched a Soul Fish and soared upward. At that moment, all sound vanished. The Soul Fish’s struggle, the bird’s wingbeats, even the wind in the forest—everything. The Shuo Spirit Bird was a demonic beast with the peculiar ability to form a silent domain.

  Flying demonic beasts are troublesome. It’s better to avoid it.

  Moreover, this thing was Tier One, mid stage. It was by no means an easy opponent for Li Xin in his current state. Fortunately, the Shuo Spirit Bird was so engrossed in its tasty snack that it did not spare Li Xin a glance.

  How much farther had he walked like that? Li Xin discovered something wriggling within the underbrush.

  Pushing through the low shrubs, a demonic beast emerged, making a sound similar to a rat. But upon closer inspection, it was an entirely different creature. Its head resembled that of a bat, and its torso had three legs attached to it. Most grotesque of all were the red blood vessels extending from its body, crawling over the ground like vines.

  …Blood Tree Rat.

  Roughly at Tier One, Second Layer. It was suitable as a first hunting target.

  The moment it saw Li Xin, it let out a sharp roar. Instantly, his head throbbed and his vision wavered.

  A mental attack as well, huh.

  Li Xin calmed his mind with the Calm Heart Mantra, then immediately drew his sword. When he lightly overlaid it with the aura of Flame Blaze, crimson flames wrapped around the blade and flared up.

  Blazing Flash.

  And without hesitation, he swung his sword. Sword light flashed, and the Blood Tree Rat’s neck was severed in a single stroke. A clean strike without a single drop of blood splattering. Yet the creature was not dead. From the severed body, red blood vessels burst forth and began stretching toward each other once more.

  This is why Blood Tree Rats are such a nuisance.

  However, at that moment, the flames clinging to its body came alive. Far from regenerating, the creature’s entire body began to burn. With a final agonized scream, the Blood Tree Rat was burned to death by the aura of Flame Blaze.

  Li Xin looked down at the corpse for a moment. A charred body, blackened to the point its original form was hard to discern. The hide was scorched and useless, and all the blood had evaporated. All that remained were ashen flesh and shattered bones.

  "Flame Blaze really isn’t suited for hunting."

  Li Xin muttered regretfully as he sheathed his sword. From next time on, it would be better to finish things with Shattering Mountain Fist. Engraving the lesson from his first hunt into his heart, Li Xin turned to leave the burned corpse behind and set off again.

  But then—a faint vibration was felt beneath his feet. Li Xin instinctively sensed danger and immediately unfolded Azure Smoke Step. His body scattered like blue smoke as he shot up onto a nearby tree in an instant.

  What is it?

  The moment he looked down, Li Xin’s brow creased slightly.

  Bursting up through the ground was a gigantic, black, earthworm-shaped demonic beast. Its entire body was covered in hardened black armor, and from the gaps emanated the stench of decay—Deathground Worm. A demonic beast that fed on baleful energy and harbored potent poison within its body, to the point that ordinary cultivators hesitated to even approach it. But Li Xin’s eyes instead lit up.

  Shadow Binding Art.

  The Deathground Worm’s combat power was weak, but its speed at burrowing underground in an instant was fast. Li Xin moved before it could hide. The aura of Ice flowed from his fingertips and seeped into the soil around the Deathground Worm.

  Sensing danger instinctively, the Deathground Worm writhed and tried to burrow into the ground, but—below it was already blocked by a frozen wall of ice.

  Now.

  With its movements sealed, Li Xin drew upon the power of the Strength Talisman, leapt down from the tree, and slashed in one motion. From the body split in half, foul-smelling blood poured out.

  What a waste.

  Li Xin hung the corpse from a tree branch, then took out a vessel from his Dusk Pouch and set it beneath. Before long, dark crimson blood began dripping steadily from the severed cross-section.

  About an hour should do, right?

  Training the Demon Blood Tempering Steel Art could only truly begin after enough blood had been gathered, so in the meantime Li Xin decided to look around the area.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  They say there’s a high chance of spirit materials near places where demonic beasts have stayed.

  He opened the Seeking Eye, sensing the flow of energy, not letting a single blade of grass or twig escape his attention.

  One step, then another. Holding his breath, he traced the signs of the forest.

  This is…

  Perhaps his effort paid off, because before long, Li Xin discovered a peculiar plant. Within a cracked crevice of a rotten old tree, growing there was a black-brown herb whose leaves looked completely dried out. Looking closer, there was a small pattern at the center of the leaf, pulsing faintly like a living heart.

  "How curious."

  The surroundings were filled with dead trees and decaying soil, yet that spirit herb alone emitted vivid vitality, as if it were breathing.

  Li Xin did not know exactly what kind of spirit herb it was. But judging by the density of its aura, it did not seem extremely precious. He carefully harvested the spirit herb and placed it into his Dusk Pouch. If the chance arose, he planned to find out more about it in the outer city.

  When he returned to the spot, a fair amount of blood had collected in the vessel. A dark crimson, oppressive poisonous aura seeped out from the blood. For an ordinary cultivator, even approaching it would be dangerous, but for Li Xin now, it was instead a precious tonic.

  There’s no need to register this with the Merit Token.

  Low-grade demonic beasts were worth very little merit anyway, and even that required handing over the corpse or some byproducts to be acknowledged.

  At the entrance of the Immortal City, an array corresponding to the Merit Token’s Blood Qi Response Array was laid out, and unregistered demonic beast byproducts could not pass through it. The Daejin Sect controlled Demon Hunters in this manner, thoroughly managing merit distribution and resource recovery.

  …No other dangers around.

  Li Xin gave the surroundings one final sweep. While collecting the Deathground Worm’s blood, there were no signs of other demonic beasts approaching.

  Then let’s begin.

  There was no hesitation. Li Xin poured the blood from the vessel directly over his head.

  The hot, fishy liquid flowed down from the crown of his head, dyeing his body red. The horrific stench assaulted his nose, but Li Xin immediately began chanting the incantation of the Demon Blood Tempering Steel Art.

  As the poisonous aura seeped into his skin, his flesh quickly heated up, and his blood vessels bulged and writhed. His bones felt as if they were twisting from within, delivering searing pain.

  Li Xin swallowed his breath and forced the pain down. Clenching his teeth, he drew forth the demonic qi that had been sleeping deep within his body—black, condensed energy slowly awakened. It charged madly toward the poisonous aura contained within the demonic beast’s blood.

  Beneath his skin, demonic qi and poison collided violently. Along with a chilling sound, pain surged as if his entire body were being torn apart. However, the pain did not last long. Soon, the momentum of the demonic qi overwhelmed the poison, and the Deathground Worm’s toxins were gradually absorbed and assimilated into Li Xin’s body.

  His blood grew clearer, his muscles became more compact, and a faint sheen appeared on his skin. The cultivation succeeded without incident. But the result was not satisfying.

  …As expected, is it because the grade is low?

  The Deathground Worm’s blood was useful for the Demon Blood Tempering Steel Art, but the degree of change fell short of expectations.

  At this rate, I’ll need to hunt three or four more to reach Two Stars.

  Li Xin finished a quick calculation. At the same time, he judged this method to be inefficient.

  It’d be better to aim for a higher-grade demonic beast instead.

  Of course, that came with greater risk. Demonic beasts were not merely cultivation materials, but threats that could take one’s life at any time. But it was also clear that the more risk one took, the faster one grew.

  Li Xin lifted his head. There was no hesitation or fear in his gaze. Only a burning desire to grow stronger resided there.

  Despite the sticky bloodstains remaining on his body, Li Xin did not seek out a stream.

  The smell is awful, but if it’s for safety, I can endure it.

  Unexpectedly, the stench of the Deathground Worm’s blood had the effect of discouraging other demonic beasts from approaching. They could not use a Deathground Worm, saturated with poison, as prey. Having achieved a certain degree of camouflage, Li Xin was about to head deeper into the forest in search of suitable prey, when—a faint sound reached his ears as he pushed through the branches.

  Li Xin instinctively hid himself within the shadows and listened closely. At first, he thought it was the wind, but beyond an area thick with trees and bushes, the vague outline of a person came into view. Qingshan was vast, but this was the mountain’s outer perimeter. Running into other humans by chance was not strange.

  One, two… three people?

  They were moving cautiously while scanning their surroundings, as if searching for something. To avoid unnecessary friction, Li Xin unfolded Azure Smoke Step, muffled his footsteps, and tried to quietly circle away through the trees of the forest. He wanted to avoid needless misunderstandings or drawing attention.

  Just as Li Xin was about to turn away—along with the sound of something cutting through the air, chilling killing intent surged toward him.

  A flying sword?

  Reflexively, Li Xin drew up the aura of Ice. Blue light spread from his fingertips, forming an ice shield in the blink of an eye. The flying sword rebounded off the shield, and Li Xin was pushed back half a step.

  Li Xin cast a cold gaze toward the direction the flying sword had come from.

  "What the—there’s a person?"

  Three cultivators emerged, pushing through the forest. One woman, two men. They all looked around the same age as Li Xin, and their identical attire made it clear they belonged to the same group.

  Around Tier One, Fourth Layer…

  Their aura was purer than Li Xin’s, and they stared at him with eyes full of vigilance. Li Xin quickly assessed the situation and began acting startled.

  "That attack just now… It startled me! What is the meaning of this?"

  But they already seemed to regard Li Xin with suspicion, their eyes filled with doubt and wariness. One of the male cultivators snorted and spoke.

  "A mere Tier One, Third Layer cultivator wandering this mountain alone? You’re definitely up to something!"

  The other added sharply.

  "And judging by how you’re drenched in demonic beast blood… you’re clearly a brigand who hunts humans while avoiding demonic beasts’ detection!"

  Brigands. Vile individuals who hunted humans instead of demonic beasts. Most of them were cultivators who had fled their sects or greedy ruffians steeped in depravity. To think the Deathground Worm’s blood would cause such a misunderstanding.

  "I am—"

  "Hmph! Enough excuses. A brigand who disrupts the order of the mountain will be dealt with here and now!"

  Li Xin tried to take out the Xu Clan identity token to clear up the misunderstanding, but the female cultivator immediately drew her sword and spoke decisively. Righteous fervor burned in her eyes.

  Li Xin was left speechless. It was unfair, but there was no way words would reach someone who drew their sword before listening.

  An unwanted conflict. Yet the situation had already gone awry.

  Li Xin let out a sigh and moved his hand to the hilt of his sword. His gaze sank into icy calm.