Chapter 6 Part 1

Lian Yunzhi never imagined he would be so unlucky.

The day before, he had entered the Yunshan Small Secret Realm with Fang Tianxin, after which they parted ways.

Fang Tianxin headed to the relatively safer shallow forest area for training.

Lian Yunzhi cautiously ventured into the dense forest he had stumbled into last time, attempting to explore the underground cave again.

Along the way, he killed quite a few Third-Order Demon Beasts, even some Tier 4 Demon Beasts. Although he gained the training and consolidation he sought, he also sustained many injuries.

That morning, he hid behind a giant boulder to apply Injury Medicine to his wounds. But he never expected that boulder to be a Demon Beast itself!

Though the Giant Stone Demon Beast was only a Tier 4 Demon Beast, it was exceptionally tough and thick-skinned. Lian Yunzhi battered half its body to pieces, yet it still managed to launch an attack!

In the end, Lian Yunzhi won, but it was a grueling victory. He swallowed several Pills, yet his body remained in a state of spiritual power depletion and couldn’t fully recover.

It was at that moment he encountered the Tier 5 Demon Beast.

Lian Yunzhi knew his own strength well. Even at his peak, he wasn’t guaranteed to defeat a Tier 5 Demon Beast, let alone in his current state.

Thus, his first instinct was to flee.

But the Tier 5 Demon Beast had wings. He had just taken to Imperial Sword Flight when the beast swatted him down, forcing him into a corner with no way to retreat.

Only then did he finally get a clear look at the Tier 5 Demon Beast’s appearance.

Red wings, green eyes, tusks, a pig nose, and two black-red hands instinctively protecting its swollen belly.

Lian Yunzhi felt a mix of sorrow and joy.

The sorrow was that the beast was so close—he figured it could swallow him whole in the next instant.

The joy was that he had seen this type of beast before—he had even witnessed someone slay one just like it, down to being pregnant!

Yes, this was the exact same type of Demon Beast that Lian Yunzhi had seen Mu Cheng spare in the Water Mirror because it “shed tears over its pregnant state,” resulting in him taking heavy injuries himself!

Of course, the story’s end saw the Golden Core cultivator Mu Cheng slay the beast in three moves. Afterward, as he killed it, he muttered to himself in reflection: “I shouldn’t have been merciful from the start. This type of Demon Beast is easiest to kill—just stab your sword into its pregnant belly, and it dies instantly…”

Lian Yunzhi’s heart steadied at once. He took a deep breath, and in the instant the Demon Beast lunged at him, opening its massive maw, he gripped his Long Sword and thrust it viciously into the beast’s belly!

…

Lian Yunzhi had no desire to recall everything that happened next.

It was a nightmare through and through.

After his sword pierced the Demon Beast’s belly, its “pregnant” stomach suddenly burst open. What fell out wasn’t the corpse of offspring, but a mass of yellow, acidic, rotten mist!

The yellow mist reeked terribly, making him retch. It weakened his limbs, leaving him collapsed on the ground. Worst of all, to other Demon Beasts, this mist was the perfect lure!

The ground began to tremble, as if countless Demon Beasts were charging toward him, eager to tear him to shreds and devour him!

It was laughable, really.

Lian Yunzhi survived purely by luck—and because he was “not tasty.”

When the last Protective Jade Pendant on him activated on its own and shattered, and a horse-sized Demon Beast clamped down on his calf, Lian Yunzhi was still exerting every ounce of strength, crawling forward on all fours.

He didn’t even know where he was crawling to. Deep down, he knew there was no escape ahead, yet he kept crawling desperately onward.

Then, a miracle occurred.

The Demon Beast that tore a chunk of flesh from his leg suddenly spat out the meat with a “pthoo,” then furiously kicked at Lian Yunzhi as if it had been scammed!

Bang!

Lian Yunzhi was flung a foot away, crashing hard. But as he prepared to crawl again, his fingers broke through the bushes and touched something familiar—the edge of a tree hollow.

Lian Yunzhi trembled with excitement. With his last bit of strength, he lunged forward—

Bang!

He fell once more into the bottomless tree hollow.

The moment he crashed onto the ground, Lian Yunzhi first felt the joy of escape, followed by excruciating pain.

No problem, it didn’t hurt, it didn’t hurt… He was already at Foundation Establishment Peak. He wasn’t afraid of this! As long as he didn’t die or become crippled, these injuries would temper his body, becoming steps on his path to the immortal summit!

Lian Yunzhi gritted his teeth, psyching himself up.

Once the pain eased slightly, he reached for his Storage Bracelet to take some Pills, only to find his spiritual power drained dry. He was so depleted he couldn’t even open the storage Magic Artifact.

Lian Yunzhi closed his eyes, then opened them to survey his surroundings. Finally, he crawled toward a stalk of Spirit Capturing Grass.

He plucked the part richest and purest in spiritual power and stuffed it into his mouth.

A thread of spiritual power as fine as silkworm silk entered his Dantian, then seeped into his parched, cracked body like spring rain into soil, vanishing without a trace. He still had no usable spiritual power.

But it was useful, at least.

If he could get more.

So he continued searching for Spirit Capturing Grass.

The spiritual power in Spirit Capturing Grass was too meager, so along the way, he also stuffed any other non-toxic spiritual herbs rich in spiritual power into his mouth.

Lian Yunzhi trusted his ability to identify spiritual herbs; he’d never been wrong in this regard.

But the mistake happened anyway.

After eating an unknown spiritual herb with a sweet taste, abundant spiritual power, and crescent-moon-shaped leaves, he suddenly found it hard to breathe.

Lian Yunzhi lay flat on the ground, mouth agape, gasping desperately, but his face still flushed red. Tears blurred his vision uncontrollably, and even his mind began to grow hazy.

Was he going to die? Why?!

He was at Foundation Establishment Peak! One step from breaking through to Golden Core! After that, he’d be Xiaoze State’s Second-Ranked Native Golden Core Cultivator—no, with Mu Cheng crippled, he’d be number one!

Mu Cheng…

In his fading consciousness, a phrase echoed repeatedly in Lian Yunzhi’s mind.