The panther strolled towards him. Its gigantic body waved from one side to another. Like a drunk man. Unbalanced. Qin Meng felt as if the death had engulfed him. He could see the cruelty and killing intent in the creature's eyes. He wanted to run, but his legs refused his command. He tried to think of some other way, but his mind failed to come up with any idea.
When the beast was just around five meters away from him, Qin Meng resigned himself to fate and closed his eyes.
At this moment, however, he heard a sound. As if something colossal had collapsed. His heart raced, and he opened his eyes. The gigantic body of the panther was lying in front of him. Unconscious. He had an urge to escape as soon as possible, but he suppressed his fear and anxiety and turned towards the Spirit Liquid Pool. He gritted his teeth and moved towards it.
Suddenly, he remembered something and waved his hand. The fire started to burn on his hand. The effect of the elixir had vanished. "Good," he grinned.
Then he covered his hand with fire and dipped it inside the pool. Eventually, he used his Soul Power to pull the Spirit Liquid inside his ring. Slowly, the crimson liquid started to change location. At the start, the process was slow, but as the time passed, he became proficient and the speed increased.
After two hours, he emptied the pool by one fourth. Although he wanted to continue, he dared not to. It had already been two hours, the beast could wake up at any time. That would be a certain death for him.
He eyed the beast and his eyes glittered with an evil light. "Should I try to kill it?" he muttered.
Qin Meng gritted his teeth and unsheathed the knife. He walked towards the monster with a nervous expression. When he was just a few inches away from the panther, he took a deep breath and attacked the beast with every ounce of strength he had inside his body.
However, the outcome shocked and terrified him. Not even a scratch appeared on the panther's body. He eyed the beast and sighed in relief. It was still unconscious. He could tell how weak he was as compared to this monster. The gap was as vast as the gap between the size of a mammoth and an ant. The beast was injured and unconscious. Yet, he could still not kill it.
He looked one last time at the Spirit Liquid Pool and then at the stalactite on the ceiling. Then he turned around and walked out of the cave. No matter what, he had benefited a lot this time around.
— —
"Roar!"
A thunderous roar reverberated in the distance. Furious. The panther must have awakened and realized that its Spirit Liquid had been stolen. Qin Meng grinned. He was already a few kilometers away. The panther won't be able to find him. Moreover, it was also injured.
"Let's find somewhere to stay," he said as he continued. He looked up towards the blazing sun. There were still four to five hours until dusk. He could feel the scorching flames on his head and face. His cracked lips ached. His legs were feeling numb, cracking every time he moved. He had never run as much as he did today. In the desert, at that.
His entire body was covered with sunburns. His duster was used to cover his body from sunlight that he had lost.
Nevertheless, he found a cave between two large boulders. It wasn't large but enough to take shelter for some time. He collapsed on the ground. He brought a water-skin from his ring and drank for his heart's content. Only then he looked at the ring in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.
The Spirit Liquid could be used to refine the pills and elixirs. Or to cultivate. With it one could increase his cultivation speed by many folds. Qin Meng was going to use it to cultivate. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in the Boundless Space.
Then the Spirit Liquid appeared in front of him. Just when he was about to start the refining process. He looked towards the Mysterious Cauldron. More specifically at the fireball that was supposed to rotate around it, but for some reason, had stopped, only flapping its golden wings on the single spot.
Qin Meng was confused. It had never acted this before. He looked at the liquid and a light flashed inside his eyes. He thought briefly and then threw the Spirit Liquid towards the fireball.
At this moment, something amazing happened. The fireball, which had no nose or mouth or any facial feature, suddenly had a mouth—double the size of its own body and filled with hundreds of spiky teeth made of flames—by which it gulped down the Spirit Liquid that Qin Meng had sent towards it.
"Holy…" Qin Meng was gobsmacked. He just wanted to test if the Martial Spirit had stopped because of the Spirit Liquid. He never thought such a scene would appear in front of him. His eyes shone, and then he continued to send the liquid towards the fireball, which continued to swallow it like a bottomless pit. Only after devouring half of the Spirit Liquid did it stop.
Qin Meng sighed in relief. At the start, he thought it would consume all the liquid. He eyed the fireball, which had returned to its original form. The spiky-mouth had vanished.
However, when Qin Meng assumed it was the end, the Martial Spirit trembled and rushed inside the cauldron. Then he felt as if something was being sucked out of him. Soul Power. He realized. This time, he wasn't as weak as the last time. He refused to fall unconscious as he did the previous time.
The cauldron continued to tremble, and after fifteen minutes, its lid opened. A blinding light was the first to escape from the top, followed by a tremendous screeching of a bird.
Qin Meng stared at the entrance of the cauldron eagerly. He could guess what was happening, but he was still nervous and doubtful about many things.
Soon, a shadow dashed out of the cauldron. Qin Meng looked at the Martial Spirit and his eyes widened in shock.
-------
It was silent under the foot of the volcano. The lava bubbled and charade bodies floated inside the lava-puddle. They were burnt, some missing limbs, and some of them were without heads. If Qin Meng were here, he'd have recognised these people in just a single glance. This was the first bandit group he had encountered. They were after some kind of treasure. Instead of finding the treasure, they found the death.
In the distance was standing a colossal body of a creature. It eyed the two moons in the sky and roared in its thunderous voice.