After returning to school, Xu Mu returned the Formation Legacy he had borrowed from the Library. Although Xu Mu had not yet managed to grasp the basics, he remembered the contents inside clearly; he just needed to study and delve into them slowly later.
Just as he returned to the classroom, Cheng Hongbo sidled up to him and said in a low voice, "You came back a bit late and missed the excitement."
"What excitement?" Xu Mu asked curiously.
Cheng Hongbo sighed with emotion, "The Class Vice-Monitor we don't get along with had his Cave Abode breached by the Demon Race."
"That guy cried his heart out, even insisted on jumping off a building to kill himself. He's been taken back home now."
The greatest danger in the Cave Abode World is demons and monsters. Demons of the same level are somewhat more formidable than Yao Beasts. A Qi Refining Third Layer Cultivator might be able to slay an Early Stage Qi Refining Yao Beast, but they might not necessarily be a match for an Early Stage Qi Refining Demon.
He probably hadn't been cultivating in the Cave Abode World for long before his cave was gone. This means he can never go to the Cave Abode World again in the future. For students at the Immortal Alliance Middle School at this stage, there probably isn't anything more tragic than this.
Although the Class Vice-Monitor and Xu Mu didn't get along, neither of them could laugh about it, because something like this could happen to anyone.
A classmate nearby overheard their conversation and said with a chuckle, "If you ask me, that kid just can't see reason. Even if he wanted to die, he should've just taken the five Spirit Stones from the newbie starter pack and gone to Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon to enjoy himself for a night. At least then he'd have no regrets in this life."
Cheng Hongbo was very curious, "Is that place really that amazing? One night and you'd have no regrets in this life?"
"Heh heh, you'll know if you try it," the classmate beside him said with a sly grin.
Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon is a high-end club; in ancient times, it was called a brothel. The girls inside are all beautiful female cultivators skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Although they only accept Spirit Stones and the cost of indulgence is high, many cultivators still find it so pleasurable they forget to return home, lingering and reluctant to leave...
After finishing a day's classes, Cheng Hongbo said, "I plan to continue asking for leave, to take a gamble!"
The newbie protection period for his Cave Abode World had also ended. Every day from now on, there was a possibility of being discovered and breached by demons and monsters. So he needed to improve his strength as quickly as possible to deal with the crisis and not follow in the footsteps of the Class Vice-Monitor.
"Let's go together," Xu Mu replied.
The things taught in the school curriculum are useful, but at this stage, they needed to improve their cultivation base more urgently. The Class Teacher noticed that both of them had already reached Qi Refining Second Layer. He praised them briefly and then approved their leave request.
Returning home, Xu Mu ate dinner and went directly to the Cave Abode World. As usual, he first opened the trading platform to see what was available for purchase.
Tianyuan Star is much larger than the planet Xu Mu lived on in his previous life, and its population is also larger, over thirty billion. According to a ratio of one in a hundred, Tianyuan Star has at least three hundred million cultivators. Even if some of their cave abodes have already been breached, there are still many left. Therefore, new items for trade are uploaded every moment.
Xu Mu still had 230 Spirit Stones. He needed to make full use of them, exchanging them for items more valuable to himself. For example, Qi-Gathering Pills for cultivation, Spirit Rice for daily consumption, and Formation Flags needed for setting up formations.
After browsing trading information for half an hour and spending 3 Spirit Stones to buy an ordinary Formation Flag, he finally began cultivating. Just as Xu Mu finished his cultivation session, he discovered that his newbie protection time had only about ten minutes left.
Xu Mu was just about to start delving into the Dao of Formations when he suddenly noticed a tall figure about fifty meters outside his cave abode. Although it had a humanoid form, it wasn't human. It was about two meters tall, with a robust build, and its entire body was earth-yellow, as if composed of rock.
[System Message: Demon Race: Earth Demon]
[System Message: Cultivation Base: Early Stage Qi Refining]
Xu Mu abruptly stood up, his eyes wide.
It's actually an Earth Demon from the Earth Demon clan at the Early Stage Qi Refining level!
Common Demon Races include the Five Elements Demon Clan, each with its own characteristics. The Earth Demon clan's greatest traits are immense strength and strong defense. Most attack methods of Early Stage Qi Refining cultivators find it difficult to harm them, but being hit by one is almost certain death or severe injury.
The current Xu Mu was simply no match for this Earth Demon in a fight.
Leave quickly, leave quickly!
Xu Mu's heart was in his throat; he wished the Earth Demon would leave immediately. Although it couldn't discover Xu Mu's cave abode now because he was still within the newbie protection period, if it didn't leave and stayed right here, once the ten minutes passed and the newbie protection period ended, it would definitely discover Xu Mu's cave abode immediately.
As if hearing Xu Mu's inner plea, the Earth Demon actually turned and left in another direction. Until its figure completely disappeared from sight, and several more minutes passed.
"Phew..."
Only then did Xu Mu let out a sigh of relief, actually feeling a sense of having narrowly escaped disaster. A few more minutes passed before Xu Mu regained his composure. At this point, his newbie protection period had ended. If any more demons or monsters passed by this area, they would immediately discover Xu Mu's cave abode.
"Hiss!!"
Xu Mu had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly discovered that a black snake demon over three meters long had appeared behind him at some unknown time! At this moment, its emerald-green vertical pupils were fixed intently on Xu Mu, its forked tongue flicking.
[System Message: Yao Beast: Black Scale Snake]
[System Message: Cultivation Base: Early Stage Qi Refining]
"Damn! I just escaped the wolf's den only to fall into the tiger's lair!!"
The Black Scale Snake twisted its body and charged straight towards Xu Mu. As the Black Scale Snake approached the edge of the courtyard, a pale blue protective shield appeared outside the cave abode, covering it like an inverted giant bowl, blocking its advance.
Bang!!
The Black Scale Snake swung its tail, striking the shield hard. Ripples spread across the shield's surface, but it remained largely undamaged. After all, it was a First Rank Low-grade defensive formation; blocking attacks from an Early Stage Qi Refining Yao Beast wasn't a problem.
But the current Xu Mu was not yet a Formation Master. Once the formation was damaged, he would have no way to repair it and defend against other demons and monsters. So Xu Mu needed to act quickly to prevent it from damaging the formation. Even if he couldn't kill it, he had to drive it away.
"You really think I'm a soft persimmon you can squeeze at will!!"
Xu Mu formed hand seals with one hand while chanting incantations under his breath.
Boom!!
A massive fireball suddenly condensed in front of him, scorching the surrounding air.
Whoosh...
Xu Mu waved his hand, and the fireball flew out. The Black Scale Snake was quite agile. It sidestepped, and the fireball missed it. But the next moment, Xu Mu cast another spell.
Another fireball. Seizing this opportunity, Xu Mu moved much closer to the Black Scale Snake's direction, now only five or six meters away from it. This fireball was also dodged by the Black Scale Snake. Its body was slender, and without any restrictions, it wasn't easy to hit.
But Xu Mu's spellcasting movements showed no sign of stopping.
"Swish!!"
The spell used this time changed. It wasn't the Fireball Technique, but Wind Blade. A one-foot-long transparent wind blade shot out in the blink of an eye.
Thud!!
Because the Wind Blade was fast and Xu Mu was close enough to the Black Scale Snake, it was difficult for the snake to dodge. The blade accurately struck its seven-inch vital spot. Although the Wind Blade's power was average and didn't cut it in half directly, it left a two-inch deep wound.
Xu Mu held a Spirit Stone in one hand, absorbing its energy to restore his mana, while his other hand continued to release Wind Blades. Before the pained Black Scale Snake could twist away to escape, another Wind Blade landed on its wound.
Thump!!
The Black Scale Snake was cut in two at its seven-inch point. The upper half fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still. Xu Mu was about to deliver a finishing blow when he noticed a medium-sized bronze box appearing beside the corpse. This indicated the Black Scale Snake was dead and had dropped an ordinary box.
Xu Mu observed his surroundings. After confirming there were no other dangers, he stepped out of the cave abode and retrieved both the Yao Beast corpse and the box. Then, Xu Mu opened the box.
[System Message: Player obtained: 1 Water Arrow Talisman, 1 Star Stone, 5 jin of First Rank Low-grade Spirit Rice.]
The Water Arrow Talisman is also a First Rank Low-grade talisman. Star Stones, like Azure Moon Stones, are both rare and extraordinary items. Once one masters any of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation and unlocks that profession, they can consume Star Stones to raise the profession's grade.
Killing an Early Stage Qi Refining Yao Beast and receiving such rewards was considered pretty good, but Xu Mu had the System!!
The next moment, the System notification sounded.
[System Message: Detected that the Host has obtained rewards: 1 Water Arrow Talisman, 1 Star Stone, 5 jin of First Rank Low-grade Spirit Rice. Critical strike possible.]
[System Message: Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a twentyfold critical strike amplification.]
[System Message: Rewards amplified to: 20 Water Arrow Talismans, 20 Star Stones, 100 jin of Spirit Rice.]
[System Message: Rewards have been stored in the System space and can be extracted at any time.]