The burning sensation came in spasms.
Di Tian had tears to cry but chose to grit his teeth and silently endure. It was bad enough that his b*lls were on fire, but he definitely couldn't cry out loud.
He could just imagine Fang Ao coming back and asking him why he was crying? What would he tell the cultivator then, that his b*lls f*cking hurt?
Thankfully, the pain subsided after a few seconds. Di Tian gingerly unzipped his trousers and peered between his legs.
The situation wasn't the worse he imagined. On the contrary, it was the opposite effect. Di Tian didn't know whether he should laugh or cry.
"I get it now, those Spirit Herbs have aphrodisiac properties," Di Tian said.
He zipped back his trousers. It wasn't so bad; apart from a general giddy feeling and some heaviness from the swollen bulge, he would be fine.
But he made up his mind not to consume any more of that particular Spirit Herb for now. Who knew if further consumption would increase the swelling? Or make it permanent? He didn't fancy the idea of genital hernia.
"First it was the Giant Muntjac, then this herd of wild monkeys," Di Tian thought. "There will surely be some new Demon Beasts up ahead."
Di Tian decided to proceed further but with caution. The plan was to continue fighting the Demon Beasts to familiarize himself with his new strength while refining his battle sense. If the situation turned dire at any point, he would consume Spirit Herbs and try to breakthrough in battle.
The advantage he had was that he didn't need to worry about overstuffing himself. On the contrary, the more Spirit Herbs he consumed, the faster his cultivation speed. The fear of exploding due to an excessive influx of energy did not apply to him as his body could dually regenerate spontaneously in that situation.
Thinking of Spirit Herbs, Di Tian did not forget to collect the ones in the Wild Monkeys' territory. There were six of them in total, all of the same type but different from the ones he had gathered so far from the other territories.
"Great, not another set of aphrodisiac-type Spirit Herbs," Di Tian mused, then he realized this set's effect was unknown and might as well be.
"I'll only consume these if necessary," he decided and continued his journey.
It was a pity he had to leave the carcasses of the wild monkeys here. Their golden-orange furs were extremely beautiful. Di Tian briefly imagined an eager market's response to them before he shook his head.
Chances were that such markets would be created on the planet soon enough. With animals evolving into Demon Beasts, endangered species included, Di Tian imagined that animal protection laws might take a backseat in this cultivation era.
*****
The next territory Di Tian entered appeared to have no guardian.
"Hhm?"
Di Tian was worried it was a trap. But it was an open space, so the chances of an ambush plan were less likely. Still, he was not settled.
"That's right, why didn't I think of that!" A light bulb lit in Di Tian's mind and he turned his attention to the sky.
Sure enough, a large bird was silently flying several meters above ground, observing him closely.
Di Tian recognized it by its characteristic features to be a Golden Eagle. But this one had also clearly undergone a bloodline evolution and was now the Golden Eagle Demon Beast, appearing far larger and more majestic.
It cawed loudly when it noticed Di Tian had seen it, leaving him confused.
Afterall, Eagles did not typically caw but screeched. Could he be mistaken, and was this Golden Eagle actually a Crow?
Di Tian didn't have time to reflect on this for much longer as the creature came at him, flapping its wings maliciously.
"This..." Di Tian felt this would be a tough battle due to one particular factor; the scales on the skin of the bird formed a thick metal armour that enclosed its body completely.
"In this kind of situation, the areas to target are the eyes or the rear opening of the bird, hehe," Di Tian recalled what he learned from the Life Encyclopedia. "Another option is to attack it from inside out."
The latter method was an ingenious strength application technique to delay the explosive impact of an attack until it had passed through a blockage. It was a high-level combat method.
"Well, there's no harm in trying," Di Tian protected his vital parts and sidestepped to avoid the bird's sneaky claws.
Seeing that Di Tian managed to escape the first attack, it flapped its wings and flew away, leaving him confused.
But he understood the next minute when he saw it make a turn mid flight and descend fiercely towards him.
Naturally, the free fall made this attack far more lethal than the previous one. Di Tian was more alert than ever and tried to channel most of his strength into his hands.
He wanted to try to grasp the peculiar combat method in this battle.
But his first attempt was a sorry failure as he very nearly almost broke all the bones in his hand after making contact with the thick skin layer of the bird's outer body. Di Tian stifled a shout and retreated hurriedly.
The Golden Eagle suddenly took the opportunity to open its mouth.
SCREEEEEEEEECH!
"Finally acting like a real eagle," the thought flashed across Di Tian's mind before he froze. It was unknown whether the Golden Eagle's shriek contained hallucinogenic properties or a similar effect, but Di Tian found himself stunned at that moment.
The Golden Eagle took the opportunity to unleash a dangerous combo of wild attacks on Di Tian while he was disoriented. If it wasn't for the fact that his body instinctively moved to deflect some of the danger last minute, these attacks were enough to take his life several times over.
After a brief spell, Di Tian regained his bearing. He had cold sweat running down his spine as he realizes the situation.
The gaze he used to look at the Golden Eagle immediately changed, and he threw away any idea of using it as a sparring partner.
He had to kill the goddamn bird as soon as possible.