Shen Xiang could easily catch up with the blue-eyed panther, but he deliberately kept a pace neither too fast nor too slow. His intention was clear: he wanted to follow the panther to see where it would flee.
The old folks in the Elder Courtyard quickly saw through Shen Xiang's plan, which made them feel a little irritated.
Shen Xiang followed the blue-eyed panther to a large tree. The panther climbed up the tree, and Shen Xiang followed suit.
Inside the tree was a hollow. Shen Xiang entered it, while the blue-eyed panther trembled, having no way to escape.
In the grass pile inside the tree hollow, there were several egg-shaped stones, emitting a faint green glow. Shen Xiang gasped and exclaimed, "Green Profound Fruit, and there are five of them! This is an important ingredient for refining the Foundation Building Pill!"
The Green Profound Fruit is a type of earth fruit, growing beneath the roots of ancient trees where a lot of spiritual energy accumulates, under special conditions of time and place. It's extremely rare!
Without hesitation, Shen Xiang quickly stored the five fruits in his storage bag and grinned at the blue-eyed panther. "Thanks! I'll spare your life."
Jumping down from the tree, Shen Xiang left the forest excitedly. Obtaining these five Green Profound Fruits was beyond his expectations. Even the elders in the Elder Courtyard were caught off guard. Although they were all powerful experts, seeing such valuable items fall into the hands of a youngster who hadn't even reached the True Martial Realm filled them with envy.
As dawn broke, the warm sunlight bathed the mystical realm. Shen Xiang stood on a small hill, holding his steel blade, gazing at the green grasslands, searching for beasts.
Some of the elders in the Elder Courtyard had left, but Wu Kaiming and Elder Dan remained. They were in charge of supervising the trial and ensuring the entire process was monitored.
"This annoying brat is seeking death by wandering the plains in broad daylight. That's where the tenth-grade Armored Demonic Bulls feed!" Elder Dan sneered.
"This kid's martial arts are peculiar. He can make demonic beasts fear him. Could it be some kind of dragon martial art?" Wu Kaiming's face was full of suspicion.
At that moment, Shen Xiang spotted a herd of around twenty demonic bulls emerging from a nearby forest. Their heavy steps made loud thudding noises as they walked. Each of the bulls had red-brown armor-like scales covering their bodies, which looked incredibly sharp. On their heads were two large horns, resembling scythes, seemingly capable of piercing through anything.
Twenty demonic bulls, and all of them were tenth-grade beasts. Any ordinary martial artist would definitely avoid such a group, but Shen Xiang, without hesitation, charged at them with his blade.
"Is this kid crazy? He's seeking death!" Wu Kaiming couldn't help but remark. Though he had witnessed Shen Xiang's strength before, he didn't believe Shen Xiang could handle twenty Armored Demonic Bulls.
Upon seeing Shen Xiang rushing toward them, the herd of bulls let out deep roars. One particularly large bull charged out from the group, bellowing furiously. Its powerful, sturdy hooves stomped on the grassland, kicking up dirt and grass as it thundered toward Shen Xiang. The force of its charge even created a gust of wind.
The bull's two massive horns pointed straight at Shen Xiang like two sharp spears ready to impale him.
As the bull charged, Shen Xiang sidestepped and slashed with his steel blade. Infused with True Qi, the blade emitted a sharp aura, making it even more lethal.
With a loud "clang," Shen Xiang's steel blade struck the bull's neck, creating a burst of sparks and a strong shockwave. However, the blade shattered, unable to cut through the bull's armored neck.
At that moment, Shen Xiang realized that ordinary weapons, even reinforced with True Qi, couldn't easily deal with this tenth-grade demonic beast. Despite his efforts, the only result was his weapon being destroyed.
"This kid is still too inexperienced. I knew he'd suffer sooner or later," Elder Dan sneered. She and Wu Kaiming could both see the rest of the bull herd charging toward Shen Xiang.
Discarding the broken blade, Shen Xiang's expression became serious. Clenching his fists, he channeled his formless True Qi, drawing power from his five True Qi Beast Statues, merging them into one, forming the colorless and formless Universe True Qi!
This was Shen Xiang's true strength—simultaneously utilizing his five elements of True Qi!
"Dragon Subduing Fist!" Shen Xiang's Universe True Qi transformed into Dragon Qi, and his fists became like those forged from gold, radiating a sharp, intimidating aura. A wave of force spread out, piercing the air.
As soon as the dragon's might appeared, the demonic bull was immediately struck with fear, its body trembling. Without hesitation, Shen Xiang unleashed dozens of punches, golden afterimages flashing as they all landed on the bull's head. The powerful energy from each punch seeped into the bull's head, wrecking its body from the inside.
In just a few moments, Shen Xiang had delivered over two hundred Dragon Subduing Fist strikes, causing the once formidable Armored Demonic Bull to collapse in a pool of blood!
After reaching the ninth level of the Mortal Martial Realm, Shen Xiang's True Qi had been compressed and become incredibly dense. Even after using such intense and continuous attacks with Universe True Qi, he didn't have to worry about depleting his energy.
Seeing this, the remaining twenty demonic bulls, sensing the faint dragon's might from Shen Xiang, turned and fled in terror.
Shen Xiang suddenly leaped high into the air, soaring like an arrow. He flew over the herd of bulls, raised his hand, and let out a loud roar as he unleashed a powerful strike toward the ground!
His hand emitted a dazzling burst of cyan and red light—his Azure Dragon and Vermillion Bird True Qi, fully unleashed and merged into one. The raging True Qi was condensed by his divine sense into a massive palm.
Shen Xiang's compressed True Qi gave it a near-tangible form, not like the gaseous state it had been before!
The enormous palm descended swiftly, enveloping the entire herd of bulls.
With a deafening boom, the ground shook violently. A gigantic palm print was left on the grassland. Shen Xiang quickly retracted his remaining True Qi, directing it back into the dimmed True Qi Beast Statues within his dantian. When True Qi is depleted, these statues become transparent like crystal. By refilling them with True Qi, they would shine brightly once again.
Shen Xiang landed on the ground and walked toward the massive handprint. The twenty demonic bulls had all been crushed to death in an instant, turned into nothing more than large piles of meat. The sight of blood and flesh smeared across the ground was revolting.
Wu Kaiming blinked several times, making sure he hadn't seen wrong, then muttered through clenched teeth, "Monster!"
Everyone else was equally shocked by Shen Xiang's strength. In their eyes, only the top-ranking inner disciples could accomplish something like this. Those disciples had been in the sect for a long time, learning various martial arts, and their compressed True Qi was incredibly dense!
After collecting the corpses of the demonic bulls, Shen Xiang retraced his steps. He wanted to quickly enter the inner sect!