New week, aiming for the charts, asking for favorites, recommendations, clicks~
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Zhou Heng paid no attention to Lin Fuxiang's thoughts, engrossed in the mysteries of Sky-soaring Second Form, and before he knew it, midnight had arrived. The Black Sword in his Dantian trembled, releasing a huge amount of energy.
He immediately sat cross-legged, absorbing these benefits using the Moonshadow Heart Jue, and twenty minutes later, he opened his eyes.
At this rate, he would be able to reach the peak of Body Refinement Sixth Layer by the end of the year, but whether he could go one step further and break through to the Bone Refinement Realm was a bit uncertain, for the higher the cultivation level, the more True Yuan Force needed to be accumulated.
Thinking of these things, he unknowingly fell asleep.
He was the last to fall asleep and the first to wake up. As soon as dawn broke, he got up, and after hunting down a hare, he started roasting it over a fire. Soon, it turned a golden brown, with a delicious smell wafting in the air.
"That smells good!" Lin Fuxiang came over and, without any pretense of politeness, reached out to grab some.
But as soon as she extended her hand, she saw Zhou Heng slap it away! She quickly withdrew her delicate hand, glaring at Zhou Heng with annoyance, and said, "What are you doing?"
"First of all, this is my catch, and you can have some if you ask nicely! Second, are you an idiot, grabbing something so hot with your bare hands?" Zhou Heng started off serious, but by the end of his speech, a smile covered his face.
Lin Fuxiang's good mood for the morning was completely ruined!
She looked at Zhou Heng's bright and handsome face, feeling it was filled with an expression begging to be punched, infuriating to anyone who saw it!
She huffed, "Do you think I'll starve if I don't eat your food?"
Whoosh, she leaped away and her graceful figure soon disappeared into the woods, presumably to hunt in defiance.
Zhou Heng chuckled, took the roasted golden hare, and began to eat.
As a martial artist in the Bone Refinement Realm, Lin Fuxiang had no difficulty hunting some game, and she soon returned triumphantly, holding a hare in her left hand and two pheasants in her right, her catch far outstripping Zhou Heng's.
After gutting and cleaning them with snow, she too threaded her prey onto a spit for roasting, but this Miss Lin had no talent for cooking; she left them over the fire and quickly, a burning smell arose.
One by one, all three pieces turned into blackened carbon, not looking like meat at all.
Trying desperately to maintain her composure, Lin Fuxiang bit the bullet and searched for any edible meat in the charred remains, looking at the black unrecognizable thing in her hand, her pretty face involuntarily twitched.
Zhou Heng couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Watching a beautiful woman suffer without lifting a finger, do you have any sense of chivalry at all?" Lin Fuxiang looked up and glared at Zhou Heng.
"If I had no sense of chivalry, I wouldn't have saved this half a hare for you!" Like Magic Tricks, Zhou Heng took out a branch from behind him, with a half-roasted rabbit still on it, golden and dripping, a stark contrast to the charred lumps in Lin Fuxiang's hands.
"Don't worry, I tore it with my hands; it's not covered in spit!" he added.
Who would've thought, this stinking brat actually knows how to care about people!
Humph, it seems that even the worst scoundrel can't resist this young lady's charm!
Lin Fuxiang delightedly thought to herself as she took the roasted hare, but as she glanced over the meat, she couldn't help but feel irate again— all four legs of the roasted hare were gone, and so were all the juicy parts on its back, leaving only the head, neck, and buttocks!
Is this what he calls half?
She really wanted to smack the roasted hare onto Zhou Heng's face, but hunger got the best of her, so she had to suppress her anger, shred the meat from the rabbit piece by piece, and eat while glaring at Zhou Heng as if she were chewing on his flesh.
"Are you cursing me in your heart?" Zhou Heng casually asked.
"Exactly!" Lin Fuxiang openly admitted it, but as a well-bred young miss, Miss Lin wasn't versed in foul language, with only a few words like scoundrel and detestable brat in her arsenal, so she kept them to herself!
Now, letting this stinking brat know she was cursing him would certainly make him imagine all sorts of dirty words, as though he were insulting himself!
Ha, she's so smart!
Unaware of Miss Lin's bizarre way of thinking, Zhou Heng nodded after Lin Fuxiang finished eating and said, "Let's set off!"
The two continued their aimless wander through the forest. With the short days of winter, night quickly fell, and they settled down in a cave. Lin Fuxiang, not willing to be looked down upon by Zhou Heng, took the initiative in hunting, while Zhou Heng was in charge of roasting and cooking.
Before they knew it, ten days had passed in a flash, and they still had nothing to show for it, but the new year was fast approaching.
"Miss Lin, we should call it quits; if we don't return now, we'll miss the New Year!" Zhou Heng had no desire to miss the holiday because of this Miss Lin's madness.
Lin Fuxiang's face was filled with displeasure, but if treasures could be found so easily, what would make them precious? The irritating part was that a few days earlier she had encountered a Demon Beast. Though it wasn't exceptionally valuable, it was still presentable.
But for these ten days, not to mention a Demon Beast, they hadn't even come across any large fierce animals!
Is that kid bringing bad luck?
She had made a solemn promise before leaving that she would return with some gain; if she came back empty-handed, wouldn't it be a total loss of face?
"Let's go one more hour!" she said, reluctant to give up.
"Just one hour?"
"I promise!" announced Miss Lin firmly.
"Alright then!"
The two continued onward, the weather had been good these past few days, with most of the snow having completely melted away. However, in places where the sunlight couldn't reach, the snow still lay thick, showing no signs of melting.
"Hmm?" After walking for about fifteen minutes, Zhou Heng stopped in his tracks as the silent broken black sword in his dantian suddenly reacted, its broken blade pointing diagonally towards the ground.
Could there be treasure beneath the ground that was causing the black sword to react?
"Ma Heng, what's wrong?" Lin Fuxiang walked a few steps, then turned sharply when she saw that Zhou Heng hadn't followed.
Zhou Heng had not revealed his real name, as this Miss Lin obviously had a very deep background, and he did not want to bring himself any trouble.
"It's nothing, just a whim!" he replied offhandedly.
A whim for a grown man? Lin Fuxiang felt a sense of frustration.
She paid no attention to Zhou Heng and strode forward.
Zhou Heng, however, had other plans. As he walked, he kept introspecting his dantian, observing the direction in which the black broken sword was pointing.
Diagonally down, diagonally down, diagonally down, straight down!
The thing that was making the black broken sword react was right underfoot!
Zhou Heng scanned the surroundings, his brow furrowing involuntarily.
——This was a continuous stretch of rocky mountains; digging a hole here was almost an impossible task.
"Hey, how much longer do you plan to slack off?" Lin Fuxiang turned and said.
Zhou Heng smiled and gestured towards a cave nearly a hundred meters away, "Let's go check out that cave over there!"
"Huh?" Lin Fuxiang showed a puzzled expression, "Why?"
Of course, because it's impossible to dig here, and the cave might extend to this position.
Zhou Heng would certainly not say it straight out, but made up an excuse, "Demon beasts mostly live in caves, and I noticed that cave is quite large, there might be demon beasts inside!"
"Really?" Although Lin Fuxiang sometimes seemed very innocent, she was no fool. She looked at Zhou Heng with some puzzlement, "Then let's go take a look!"
When the two arrived at the entrance of the cave, they saw that the opening was absurdly large, more than twenty meters tall and thirty meters wide. From within, gusts of cold wind blew, giving one the feeling of goosebumps.
"Roar——"
A low growl echoed, akin to the simultaneous chiming of bells and drums, reverberating continuously inside the cave and causing Zhou Heng and Lin Fuxiang's ears to ache slightly.
The two simultaneously took on a defensive stance only to see a shadow emerge from the cave, gradually revealing its true form – a giant beast over five meters long resembling a lion, but with six legs and a disproportionately large head.
"Six-legged Giant Head Beast!" Lin Fuxiang let out a soft cry, "A mature Six-legged Giant Head Beast has the strength of the Body Refinement Ninth Layer; it is not to be underestimated!"
The Body Refinement Ninth Layer, plus the demon beast's own brutal strength, was roughly comparable to a martial artist of the Blood Refinement Realm.
If it hadn't been for the fluctuations of the black broken sword, Zhou Heng would have had no intention of provoking a demon beast at the Body Refinement Ninth Layer, especially since he had not yet crossed into the Bone Refinement Realm, and there was a huge gap in strength between the two.
But now, he was determined to obtain it!
He held his sword horizontally in front of his chest, his eyes blazing with warfare, his confidence undoubtedly stemming from the Sky-soaring Nine Forms.
"Roar——" The Six-legged Giant Head Beast let out a deafening roar, furious that two bold humans had dared to intrude upon its territory. Every demon beast possessed a strong sense of territory and viewed intruders as the greatest provocation.
It trampled forward with its six legs, pressuring Zhou Heng and Lin Fuxiang, its large mouth agape and droplets of saliva spilling, just right – it hadn't tasted human flesh in a long time!
Boom!
The Six-legged Giant Head Beast exerted force with all six legs, its massive body immediately launching forward like a sweeping gale, attacking Zhou Heng first – this youth, though weaker in aura, posed a stronger sense of danger in the eyes of the beast.
Cloud Flying Step!
Zhou Heng's body swept lightly through the air, skillfully dodging the Six-legged Giant Head Beast's pounce; his long sword swung up fiercely, deploying the Sky-soaring First Form!
It was as if time and space froze for a moment!
Zhou Heng slashed with his sword, his mind reaching a serene emptiness, his consciousness seeming to merge with the entire world around him. Strange forces gathered from all directions, entering the blade, continuously amplifying the power of this sword strike!
Spurt!
A brilliant spray of blood shimmered across the neck of the Six-legged Giant Head Beast, the long sword penetrating nearly a foot into its flesh!
"Roar——" The beast let out a heart-wrenching, earth-shattering scream, madness sparking in its eyes as it violently shook its neck, managing to pull at the sword with such force that Zhou Heng couldn't hold onto the hilt any longer and the weapon flew out of his hands!
The Six-legged Giant Head Beast swiftly lashed a paw towards Zhou Heng, determined to kill this accursed human!
What, it didn't die after being hit straight at a vital point with a sword?
Zhou Heng couldn't help but be surprised; no wonder demon beasts were feared, fellow martial artists were simply no match for them! Although he was only at the Body Refinement Sixth Layer, with the merged power of the heavens and earth, the strength of that sword strike was no less than that of an expert at the Bone Refinement Realm!
Yet it had failed to slay the Six-legged Giant Head Beast, highlighting just how tremendously powerful the demon beast's defenses were!