With the help of the alchemist token received from Su Zi, Li Ying easily left the sect.
Li Ying sprinted towards the Double Peak Valley, where two majestic mountains pierced the sky.
He moved using all four of his limbs to traverse the rugged terrain. His two arms stretched out in front of him, while his two legs kicked off from behind, resembling the posture of a leopard.
His untamed hair fluttered behind him, concealing most of his facial features. He was a strange sight to behold. Dressed in a black robe and sporting a mane of hair, he looked more like a demonic beast than a righteous cultivator.
Li Ying had enquired about the weakest demonic beasts nearby the Bright Moon Sect. He was told that the weakest were 'Shining moose' who lived in the double peak valley.
Along the way, Li Ying came across many demonic beasts, including serpentail wolves.
A pack of wolves were running for their lives, and a savage demonic beast was chasing them. Oh wait, it was a human.
Ironically, a year ago, these serpentail wolves were chasing Li Ying while roaring and growling. Now, it was Li Ying who was chasing them, and they were the ones whining like a dog.
Li Ying closed the gap between him and a serpentail wolf that was the weakest in the group. It was only at the third stage of Qi Condensation, while Li Ying was at the ninth stage.
The snake-like tail on that wolf was even more afraid of Li Ying. It swayed above the wolf, as if to break from it.
Li Ying captured that wolf, and the rest got away.
He plucked out its tail, and it came out quite easily. He then bound the wolf's mouth with its own tail.
Grabbing the wolf by its legs and putting the legs on his shoulder to hang its torso behind him, Li Ying made his way to the Double Peak Valley.
The Double Peak Valley was a vast land filled with trees and greenery. It was the domain of the shining moose.
The demonic beasts were very protective of their territory, and would not tolerate any intruders, especially other species of demonic beast. That was the reason why Li Ying had brought a serpentail wolf with him, as bait.
He drew a formation on the ground with his spiritual energy and placed the serpentail wolf on it.
He untied the wolf's mouth but bound its four limbs tightly. The wolf howled in pain and fear as its mouth touched the dirt.
Li Ying quickly hid behind a nearby bush crawling stealthily. The wolf's howls attracted the demonic beasts nearby.
The shining moose came running towards the howl. They looked majestic and beautiful.
As the name suggested the body of the shining moose glowed, making them seem like mythical beasts. It seemed when their ancestors had achieved enlightenment, they chose to cultivate their appearance rather than their strength which made their descendants beautiful, but weak and vulnerable.
They had two distinctive features that set them apart from other demonic beasts. One was their mysterious aura that gave them a beautiful and mysterious look. The other was their reproductive capacity, which ensured their survival and prosperity.
Even though they were constantly under attack by demonic beasts like serpentail wolves, they never faced the threat of extinction. Even if only two shining moose of opposite genders were left, they would repopulate the valley in a few years.
Four moose shone brightly, all above the fifth stage of Qi Condensation. They spotted the serventail wolf lying on the ground.
They looked angry and charged at the wolf with their sharp antlers.
But as they approached the howling wolf's body a loud bang resounded in the forest.
The ground had exploded. The blast flung two of the moose away and the other two barely halted in time. The wolf was reduced to shreds.
It was now Li Ying's time to make the entry. He jumped with his two hind limbs and emerged from the bush, continuing running like a leopard.
The scene startled the moose. Li Ying dashed with his four limbs towards the moose that was on the ground.
Li Ying pounded his chest like a gorilla and lifted the wounded moose. He threw it at the other injured moose.
Throughout the year, Li Ying had mastered two more martial arts. One was the Gorilla Throwing Art, a technique that let him hurl heavy objects with great force.
He then focused on the two remaining moose who were prepared to fight. They bent their heads and aimed their antlers at him, hoping to skewer him with their horns.
Li Ying dodged the antler and lifted one of the moose by its belly. He bellowed like a bear, a sound that rattled the trees and frightened the birds.
The second technique he had learned was the Bear Splitting Art, a technique that let him rip his foes apart with his bare hands.
He split the moose in two, spilling blood and innards everywhere.
He glanced at the last moose who was now attempting to flee.
Li Ying pounced on its back like a leopard and snapped its neck.
More moose arrived at the scene, attracted by the noise. They were all inferior to Li Ying in cultivation. He used the same three martial arts and slaughtered more moose.
Sometimes he would thump his chest like a gorilla, sometimes he would roar like a bear and sometimes he would sprint like a mad man. When he got overwhelmed he would use the explosive talismans. The explosions made the scene more chaotic.
Li Ying relished the battle very much. He felt as if he was soaring to the sky.
If he was oblivious to the fact that Mu Xuanyin was watching him, he would have even torn his clothes to be one with nature. He looked like a demonic beast who had encountered his sworn enemies.
The slaughter continued for hours. The green field was now stained with red.
Demonic beast carcasses could be seen everywhere. It was a brutal sight.
"Li Ying stop it." Mu Xuanyin's voice echoed in Li Ying's head.
"Why? I thought you enjoyed this kind of stuff." Li Ying replied but he did not stop behaving like an animal.
"Hmph. What about you is enjoyable?"
"If you don't like it then stop looking."
"Who wants to look at you? It is just that you are not allowed to look like that as my disciple."
Li Ying wanted to shout at her for ruining his fun but he refrained. "If you are so concerned then impart some good martial arts to me. I will look like an elegant hero then"
"Fine. Just stop what you are doing. I will give you the martial arts later."
'An unexpected gain.' Li Ying grinned.
Li Ying stopped and drew a sword from his spatial storage. He had asked for this sword from Su Zhi.
He activated a barrier around him with the help of the jade token. The jade token was really a treasure. It could create a small barrier around Li Ying and no one below his realm could penetrate the barrier.
All the moose wanted to charge at him but the barrier blocked them.
Li Ying began to use his divine sense. Even though the divine sense of a Qi Condensation cultivator like him was very feeble, with the help of the jade token, he could extend his divine sense for up to 200 meters. He detected a foundation building level moose approaching him.
'Finally.' Li Ying smiled. He waved his sword horizontally and started concentrating.
5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds. His sword sparkled with lightning dancing around the blade.
The foundation building stage moose saw Li Ying who was encircled by the other weak moose who couldn't breach the barrier around him. The moose charged at him.
Li Ying slashed at the moose, the bolt of lightning pierced the moose who was in front of Li Ying and then traveled to hit the foundation building moose.
The moose shrieked in pain and collapsed on the ground.
The bolt of lightning was accompanied by a surge of force which swept away every moose surrounding Li Ying.
'Truly amazing.' Li Ying smiled looking at the result.
"This is a martial art that a human should use." Mu Xuanyin praised.
The Foundation Building moose was paralyzed by the lightning. Li Ying walked to him and stabbed its heart.
The sky was turning dark, Li Ying sat cross-legged and waited for the morning.
The next morning, Li Ying took out a mortar and a pestle from his spatial storage, along with some raw herbs that he needed to make pills. The herbs were given to him by Su Zhi.
He ground the herbs into a fine paste with the mortar and pestle.
When he had enough paste, he used his divine sense to scan his surroundings and make sure no one was around.
Li Ying activated the Spiritual Qi Reaping Art. The white spiritual qi from about 40 moose carcasses floated up and gathered into a sphere near Li Ying's chest.
The white qi gradually turned purple as it became more dense. The sphere was huge. It would take a long time for Li Ying to absorb that much qi, even with his tenth grade aptitude. That's why he decided to turn the qi into pills.
He had learned alchemy for a year and was now a first grade alchemist.
Li Ying concentrated his mind. Thin purple threads emerged from the sphere like strands of yarn.
The threads moved and mixed with the paste in the mortar. The paste rose from the mortar like serpents and twisted into a spiral with the purple qi. The spiral spun faster and faster in the air, fusing the purple qi with the semi-solid brown paste.
The result was a dull purple stick that fell to the ground.
Li Ying had failed to produce shiny and round pills. He had made a bland stick that looked unappetizing.
'Whatever, it won't affect the efficacy.' Li Ying sighed inwardly.
"Are you going to chew it like the Flame Horn goats? Li Ying, you are truly a demonic beast." A chuckle echoed in his head.
Li Ying stood up and decided to go back to his sect.
…
Li Ying arrived at the front of Su Zhi's cottage after his two-day trip.
He knocked on the door and said respectfully, "Master, I have returned."
"Come inside." Su Zhi's voice came from inside.
Li Ying entered the cottage and saw Su Zhi sitting in the lotus position on his bed.
"You are back so soon? I expected you to take longer."
"Master, I have gained enlightenment." Li Ying replied politely.
"Oh! What happened?" Su Zhi asked with a smile.
"When I saw crows feasting on a dead wild boar, I realized that death is inevitable for everyone. No matter how powerful you are, you can't escape the cycle of life and death. I know my previous master has abandoned me, but I don't hold any grudge against him. He had his own reasons." Li Ying said with a sad expression.
Su Zhi nodded, his face also showing sadness. "Li Ying, you have suffered a lot in your life. First you lost your family and friends in that tragedy, and then your master left you. But don't worry, this master of yours won't leave you so easily." Su Zhi said with a smile, trying to comfort him. But a tear streamed down his face, betraying his emotions.
Li Ying was touched. It was his first time, he felt bad for lying. He bowed deeply and said sincerely, "Master, thank you for everything."
Su Zhi nodded and said, "Li Ying, something about you has changed."
"No, master, I am still the same."
Nothing had changed, it was just that Li Ying had stopped acting naively.
"Master, I want to enter seclusion. It might take months." Li Ying said, changing the topic.
"Oh, you must want to act on your enlightenment. That's a good idea. I will tell everyone not to disturb you." Su Zhi nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, master." Li Ying bowed again and left the cottage.
…
Li Ying sat in a lotus position on his bed. He took out the purple wood like stick from his spatial storage.
He held it as if it was sugarcane and bit the end.
Crack! The rod was hard like wood, but with his cultivation, Li Ying could easily bite it.
He shut his eyes after only one bite. The purple stick vanished from his hands, returning to the spatial storage.
Li Ying focused and absorbed the qi into his lower dantian.
He repeated the process and ate the whole stick, bit by bit.
Four months later.
Li Ying opened his eyes. His hair was longer and wilder, enhancing his charm.
He smiled, 'I have reached the first stage of the Golden Core realm. Time to pay a visit to that stingy master of mine.'