Early the next morning, dewdrops fell and birds chirped.
Lin Yuan stretched lazily, feeling refreshed. Though he had only slept for two hours the night before, there was no trace of fatigue on his face.
“If I walk another 30 kilometers outward, I should encounter the Azure Wolf Beasts.”
Azure Wolf Beasts were common demonic beasts. They moved in packs, usually numbering between six to ten.
To successfully kill one and harvest its fur and fangs, one needed to at least reach the 7th stage Qi Refining Realm.
Originally, Lin Yuan only intended to try his luck.
He hadn’t expected to break through to the 6th stage Qi Refining Realm overnight, which boosted his confidence immensely.
After confirming the direction, he continued on his way.
The farther he got from the sect, the more beasts he encountered.
Fortunately, the ones so far were only at the 3rd or 4th stage Qi Refining Realm, and dealing with them wasn’t difficult.
As he walked, a line of text suddenly flashed before his eyes.
[Entered Bewildering Illusion Formation. Side effect acquired: sensory confusion.]
Bewildering Illusion Formation?
He’d accidentally stepped into an array?
Lin Yuan looked puzzled. He had never heard of an array being in this area.
Though it was far from the sect, Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could fly using objects.
For them, reaching this place only took a few hours.
Golden Core Realm elders would be even faster.
If there was a formation here, why hadn’t they marked it?
After a moment’s thought, Lin Yuan decided to leave the formation first.
Sensory confusion could be transferred to others, so it wasn’t a problem.
But if he encountered a killing formation or trapping formation, he’d be doomed.
If even Golden Core Realm elders hadn’t detected the formation’s presence, the danger here was unimaginable.
Perhaps it wasn’t that they didn’t mark it—but rather that they were also affected by the Bewildering Illusion Formation and couldn’t perceive it.
“A Bewildering Illusion Formation… sounds familiar. Once I complete the mission, I’ll check it out at the Martial Hall.”
The second floor of the Martial Hall stored techniques and martial skills. The first floor had various miscellaneous books.
For just 1 spirit stone, he could read all day and even borrow books.
Lin Yuan planned to research the Bewildering Illusion Formation properly after returning.
Exiting the formation’s range, he changed direction and continued heading toward the Azure Wolf Beasts’ territory.
Two hours later, a hidden valley came into view.
This was precisely where Azure Wolf Beasts were known to roam.
But instead of encountering Azure Wolf Beasts, he ran into another troublesome beast.
Seeing the glistening slime on the ground, Lin Yuan shivered.
This type of beast didn’t have high cultivation—generally between the 6th and 7th stage Qi Refining Realm—but its venom was terrifying.
Even a cultivator at the 10th stage Qi Refining Realm, without an antidote pill, wouldn’t survive once poisoned.
Just as he was about to leave the area, a rustling sound came from behind.
Without thinking, Lin Yuan leapt out of the way.
At that exact moment, a sharp obsidian-black limb stabbed violently into the spot he’d just vacated, embedding deeply into the soil.
“Good thing I moved fast, or I’d be finished by now,” Lin Yuan thought with lingering fear.
He looked up and saw a giant spider nearly 3 meters long growling lowly at him.
Its crimson eyes flashed with a violent glint.
Strangely, it didn’t inject venom with its fangs, but with its slender limbs.
Those limbs were semi-transparent, and the venom could be seen flowing inside.
That was the venom of the Obsidian Venom Spider.
Thud thud thud!
The spider was extremely cunning and gave Lin Yuan no time to prepare as it charged again.
Lin Yuan flipped his wrist, and his long blade appeared.
“Shadow Pursuit!”
His figure blurred into a streak of light, lunging toward the ferocious spider.
They were only a few meters apart. With both sides going all out, they clashed in an instant.
Lin Yuan didn’t aim to kill it with one strike. Instead, he used his agility to slash quickly, cutting off one of the spider’s legs.
Squelch!
Foul-smelling venom sprayed in all directions.
Fortunately, the venom only took effect once inside the body, so he didn’t even need to redirect the effect.
Losing a leg sent the spider into a frenzy. Its remaining limbs thrashed as it tried to back away.
But how could Lin Yuan allow that? He slashed again.
“Soul Sever!”
A burst of chilling air erupted, invading the spider’s body.
Its movements slowed immediately, and a thin layer of white frost formed on its surface.
Seizing the chance, Lin Yuan struck three more times, severing three additional limbs.
Losing four legs at once, the spider’s massive body could no longer stay upright and collapsed with a thud.
Lin Yuan stepped onto its back, climbed to its head, and delivered a final strike to finish it off.
“They say the venom sac of the Obsidian Venom Spider can enhance physical strength if properly processed. Wonder if that’s true.”
He jumped down from the corpse and quickly found the venom sac.
It wasn’t large, about the size of a fist, and dark green in color.
He cut it out and stuffed it into his storage ring. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
After wiping the remaining blood off his blade, Lin Yuan sighed.
Ordinary iron weapons were cheap, but not durable.
In just two days, the blade edge was already full of chips, like it had been gnawed by a dog.
The blade itself was covered in cracks and could snap at any moment.
“I’ll have to find a way to buy a proper artifact when I return.”
Cultivators at the Qi Refining Realm used artifacts, Foundation Establishment Realm used spirit tools, Golden Core Realm used magical treasures.
Each tier had four grades: low, mid, high, and top-grade.
Of course, that was the ideal scenario.
In reality, plenty of broke Foundation Establishment cultivators still used basic artifacts.
Lin Yuan moved on.
Not long after, he spotted tracks of an injured Azure Wolf Beast.
These wolves usually lived in packs—it was rare to see one alone.
If one was injured and alone, there were two likely reasons.
One, it lost a fight for the pack leader’s position.
Two, its position as leader had been taken.
Either way, the lone wolf wasn’t someone to mess with.
Just as Lin Yuan was considering whether to attack, a faint scent of blood hit his nose.
He turned to look behind him—only to see a bloody beast limb flying through the air toward him.
Azure Wolf Beasts were extremely sensitive to the smell of blood. Was someone trying to divert the threat to him?
He quickly scanned the surroundings but didn’t spot anyone.
Awooo!
The Azure Wolf Beast in the distance smelled the blood and immediately noticed Lin Yuan hiding in the shadows.
It raised its head and let out a long howl, then charged at him with its injured body.
Even seriously wounded, it wasn’t something anyone could covet easily.
It was incredibly fast. Dozens of meters meant nothing to it.
By the time Lin Yuan turned back, the beast was almost upon him.
He instinctively raised his blade to block.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out.
The already overburdened blade fulfilled its final duty—and shattered into pieces.
Lin Yuan was sent flying from the impact.
But the next moment, he bounced off the ground and charged back at the Azure Wolf Beast.
[Severely impacted. Side effect acquired: Qi and blood surging, muscle bruising.]
[Designated recipients: Lai Ren, He Peng, Wang Lie.]