It was a full moon night, with only one day left until the scheduled fight.
Within the dense forest, surrounded by tall trees and thick vegetation, stood Lian. He walked silently under the moonlight, making no sound. He held an inscription that was activated within a fabric made of magical beast leather.
Despite the active Qi in the inscription, nothing could be felt or seen. Lian was completely invisible and imperceptible to the demonic beasts in the forest.
Looking ahead, a large tree could be seen from above. Lian couldn't use the power of his soul to investigate. The demonic beasts couldn't see or sense him, but their instincts were sharp.
He calmly walked deeper into the forest, entering the territory of powerful demonic beasts. In a few hours, he arrived close to the large tree and stopped. As expected, a demonic beast was guarding it.
Standing at an imposing height of 4 meters, it was an intimidating presence in the landscape. Its appearance was marked by a dark metallic color that blended perfectly with the night's darkness, making it nearly indistinguishable in the shadows.
Upon closer observation, one could see metallic scales among its thick fur, giving off a unique aura. It was known as an Iron Blood Drinking Bear.
It appeared to be sleeping next to the tree, but it was actually cultivating, absorbing the leaked Qi from the tree.
Lian observed the large demonic beast attentively. On its black scales, he sensed a faint Yang Qi. There was no doubt now, the Iron Blood Drinking Bear shouldn't have such Qi. The large tree was a Dark Willow Tree.
For this kind of life to exist, a great Yang energy must be present on this continent. When he lived on this planet as Zeke, there was nothing like it.
More questions arose in Lian's mind. Where was this continent taken? It was a significant question.
After a few breaths, he refocused on why he came here. He was using the inscription made by Meili before, a rune that made his aura imperceptible. As long as he didn't get too close, his soul would confuse the beasts' senses, and he wouldn't be seen.
Facing this giant bear with power equivalent to a human in the Meridian Transformation Realm, he had to kill it without damaging its body. Everything about it was valuable to Lian at the moment.
A dagger was stabbed into the ground. Lian closed his eyes and transferred his Qi into an inscription on it. Then he moved away.
The eyes of the demonic beast abruptly opened, sensing the presence of an intruder in its territory. With a threatening roar, it tracked the source of the disturbance, determined to confront the intruder. To its surprise, it found another Iron Blood Drinking Bear before its eyes.
The intruder shares noticeable similarities with him, both in terms of Qi and aura. This resemblance causes a brief moment of confusion in his mind. However, his primal instincts cannot be suppressed. The urgency for reproduction ignites within him as he realizes that the invading bear is, in fact, a female.
He approached, raising his Qi to the maximum. His mind was completely absorbed by his instincts. When he walked a few meters away from the tree, his mind went blank.
Lian was by his side, with his hands on him, launching a direct attack on his soul. The Iron Blood Drinking Bear collapsed; it was dead.
Quickly, Lian approached and leaped onto the large tree. Jumping among the big branches, he reached the center of it all.
A two-meter branch with a scarlet color stood out among the others on the tree.
"According to the books of the Divine Plane, it is on this branch that all the vital Qi of the tree is concentrated. A form of life will be born from it someday," Lian thought, looking at it with curiosity.
He used a blade to cut the branch, quickly placed a piece of leather over it, and an inscription was activated. Lian sealed all the energy of the branch and kept it.
***
The first six realms of cultivation focused exclusively on refining and strengthening the physical body, with the ultimate goal of developing the ability to create a core. In contrast, most divine and demonic beasts are born with a core, combined with powerful bodies, which gives them an undeniable advantage.
However, humans and other races possessed a deeper understanding of celestial laws, which allowed them to develop specific techniques refined over countless generations. Among the available strengthening techniques, the use of the demonic beast's blood energy and spiritual energy was considered one of the most primitive and efficient approaches. Faced with this, Lian opted for the most brutal and powerful technique he knew.
The first rays of sunlight began to emerge.
Lian was now inside a cauldron, in a forge and alchemy room once again at the merchants' guild.
Inside the cauldron, the blood of a demonic beast was boiling furiously. A burning pain spread throughout his body, and the upper part of his body turned completely red. The corners of his mouth even overflowed with a shocking amount of blood. However, his eyes revealed no hint of pain or fear.
Several hours passed. Without caring about his body or what happened to him, he simply tore apart his muscles until he was about to die, making his bones creak with tension and overloading his body.
In the Divine Plane, beginners in body training were bathed in immortal Qi from ores to maximize cultivation in the early realms. Zeke came from a mortal world and never had that privilege.
In the Divine Plane, to compensate for his deficiency, he had to use various types of venomous poisons and cultivate demonic arts like the Infernal Heart Demon Diagram. Despite its power, only a few desperate cultivators would risk their luck with a demonic technique. The risk of the intentionally formed demon in the heart of his mind killing him was not small.
Now, with his knowledge, Lian would maximize his cultivation to the extreme. All the blood and essence of the bear would strengthen his body. He had to become as strong as he possibly could.