Blade shadows flew through the air.
The red-eyed giant-toothed rabbit fell to the ground with a thud, blood gushing out instantly.
Lin Yuan stepped forward, plucked out the two large rabbit teeth, and stuffed them into his storage ring.
These rabbit teeth were valuable.
With a bit of polishing, they could be made into excellent weapons.
After a simple cleanup, he moved on.
Perhaps because the sect frequently sent people to sweep the area, aside from the red-eyed giant-toothed rabbit, he found nothing else.
Night soon fell.
Lin Yuan lit a bonfire and used the residual heat to soften the hard biscuit in his hand.
The sect sold Fasting Pills—ten per bottle. One pill could stave off hunger for three days and cost 1 spirit stone.
Hard biscuits, on the other hand, were a sect welfare benefit and could be requested infinitely—essentially free.
Eating one was enough to fill the stomach.
That’s why ordinary servant disciples rarely bought Fasting Pills.
After eating the biscuit, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged and began cultivating the Bloodburn Technique.
[Practicing Bloodburn Technique. Side effect acquired: burns blood and Qi, shortens lifespan.]
“The side effects can’t be enjoyed alone. Gotta share the love.”
He selected Lai Ren, He Peng, and Wang Lie as the recipients, then calmed his mind and began cultivating.
The moment he began, Lin Yuan immediately sensed spiritual Qi madly rushing toward him.
Before, when cultivating, the spiritual Qi barely paid him any attention. He had to entice each wisp individually before it would enter his body.
But now, the spiritual Qi seemed like eager dogs wagging their tails, all scrambling to be absorbed by him.
“So this is what talent feels like?”
Lin Yuan’s thoughts stirred, and he accelerated the rate at which his blood and Qi burned.
In an instant, the surrounding spiritual Qi became even more violent.
The accumulated Qi condensed into white mist surrounding him.
Nourished by the spiritual Qi, his spiritual power surged wildly.
In just an hour, he touched the barrier to the 6th stage.
“Break!”
He gathered all his spiritual power and charged at the barrier with full force.
With no resistance, the barrier shattered with a boom.
6th stage Qi Refining Realm—achieved.
“In the past, reaching the 5th stage of Qi Refining Realm and mastering one martial technique was enough to qualify for the outer sect.”
“Now I’m at the 6th stage and have the Seven-Slaughter Demon Blade by my side. Getting into the outer sect is no longer an issue.”
“Not to mention the Blood Demon Sect watching like a tiger stalking its prey—this level of strength still isn’t enough.”
“Foundation Establishment. I must reach Foundation Establishment Realm before I can truly stand firm.”
Just as he was thinking, Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed and he looked toward a large tree nearby.
Behind the tree stood a twin-tailed boar, drooling as it stared at him.
More precisely, it was eyeing the spiritual Qi swirling around him.
The next moment, the boar charged straight at him.
“Perfect. Let’s test the power of the 6th stage Qi Refining Realm.”
With his cultivation improved, wielding the first move of the Seven-Slaughter Demon Blade felt even more natural.
Lin Yuan stepped forward and slashed with a single strike.
The iron blade, reinforced with spiritual power, was as sharp as a divine weapon.
With one slash, he cleaved the twin-tailed boar clean in half.
Looking at the carcass, a faint smile appeared on his face.
He was sick of eating hard biscuits. Time for some roasted pork.
Since the twin-tailed boar cultivated by absorbing spiritual Qi, its meat was tender and firm, without the stench of ordinary wild boars. A rare delicacy.
He sliced a few pieces, skewered them on branches, and set them over the fire.
Soon, the aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
“Not bad at all. Crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside. Tastes amazing.”
Lin Yuan tore off a chunk of roasted pork and devoured it happily.
Before long, all the meat was gone.
He sliced a few more pieces and roasted them for the next day.
While the meat was roasting, Lin Yuan began practicing his blade technique on the side.
With Shadow Pursuit fully mastered, he was now practicing the second move of the Seven-Slaughter Demon Blade—Soul Sever.
Soul Sever could convert spiritual power into cold energy and release it.
Before the blade even landed, the cold would invade the enemy’s body, gradually dulling all five senses.
This move had tremendous power, but it also came with severe side effects.
Aside from muscle tears and recurring nightmares, the cold energy generated during practice would also invade the user’s body.
Over time, it would accumulate into a toxic cold that tormented the body day and night.
As usual, Lin Yuan passed on the side effects to the other three, allowing him to train without hindrance.
Meanwhile, at Lai Ren’s residence.
After a month of rest and a supply of pills from the Fragrant Pill Pavilion, not only had his strength not diminished, it had actually increased.
“Never thought I’d reach the mid-Foundation Establishment Realm one day. The Fragrant Pill Pavilion… forget it.”
“If I send a few servant disciples over every year, with their supply of pills, maybe I still have a shot at forming a Golden Core and living for 500 years.”
Lai Ren sipped his wine and felt the surge of energy and spiritual power in his body, laughing aloud.
And being in the mid-Foundation Establishment Realm, even in the inner sect, he wasn’t weak.
But soon, his expression changed.
“Something’s wrong. Why is the spiritual power circulating faster and faster?”
“So hot… it’s so hot!”
Lai Ren’s face turned crimson. Wisps of white steam rose from his head like a freshly cooked lobster.
He flung the wine jug away and rushed outside.
Bang!
He didn’t even bother opening the door—just crashed through it and dove headfirst into the courtyard pond.
Blub-blub-blub!
Bubbles rose on the surface.
The servant disciples who had been tidying the courtyard widened their eyes in shock.
No way… Lai Ren jumped into the pond again?
Tonight, Lai Ren wasn’t the only one in distress.
Elsewhere, the heat from burning blood and Qi had also awakened He Peng.
He rushed outside and doused himself with cold well water.
Wang Lie, who lived with him, was startled awake by the commotion and saw He Peng acting like a madman.
He asked, “What’s going on with you now?”
“I don’t know. I just feel hot all over. Way too hot,” He Peng said as he poured more water on himself.
Wang Lie sighed helplessly.
First it was cold, now it’s hot.
If he hadn’t felt the heat radiating off He Peng’s body, he would’ve thought the guy was messing with him.
But soon, he too sensed something was off.
An intense burning sensation spread through his limbs, clouding his mind.
He immediately rushed outside and followed He Peng’s lead, dousing himself with icy water.
The two of them kept at it for an hour, taking turns with the buckets, before finally stopping.
Exhausted, they leaned against the well to recover their strength.
Suddenly, Wang Lie pointed into the distance, his face filled with horror.
“Look… what… what is that?”
He Peng looked up, only to see a wave of cold air instantly freeze everything in front of him.
The icy wind struck them head-on, chilling them to the bone.
The leftover water on their bodies froze instantly.
They looked at each other—and screamed in terror.