“No, that’s not right—”
Moments later, Jiang Han’s body trembled violently, his face taking on the expression of one who had just seen a ghost.
A bronze cauldron had suddenly appeared within his mind.
Its shape was identical to the vanished jade pendant—three legs and two handles.
In his mind, the bronze cauldron emanated an ancient, boundless aura, as if it had weathered countless eras.
Jiang Han could clearly see over twenty lifelike Demon Beasts carved into its outer surface.
The Demon Beasts looked almost alive, each baring its fangs and glaring fiercely, as though it might leap out and devour a man.
Heavenly Beast Cauldron.
Three large, flowing characters were carved into the cauldron’s exterior.
The calligraphy was elegant and unrestrained, vigorous as a startled dragon.
Along with the cauldron’s appearance, an inexplicable surge of information echoed in his mind:
Kill the Demon Beasts etched upon the Heavenly Beast Cauldron, refine ten drops of their Source Essence Blood, and awaken that Demon Beast’s Bloodline Divine Ability.
This was a wondrous treasure!
Jiang Han’s breathing grew ragged.
He had seen plenty of Demon Beasts.
The Heavenly Fox Mountain Range to the north of Jiang Family Town was crawling with wild animals and Demon Beasts alike.
To be called a Demon Beast meant it possessed a Bloodline Divine Ability.
Some could inflict poison, some released lightning, some breathed fire, and others sprayed water…
A truly powerful Demon Beast could destroy a Profound Nether Realm expert like the Third Elder with a single breath.
Naturally, Demon Beasts were not the only ones to possess Bloodline Divine Abilities.
Nearly every martial artist on the Nine Provinces Continent could awaken one.
It was a cultivator’s primary method for striking down their enemies.
As their cultivation realms advanced, many martial artists could awaken multiple Bloodline Divine Abilities.
It was said that the Jiang Clan’s Patriarch possessed a Bloodline Divine Ability called “Raging Fire Burning Body,” while the First Elder held one known as “Bramble Overgrowth.”
However, Jiang Han had never heard of anyone awakening a divine ability in the Purple Mansion Realm.
The absolute minimum threshold to awaken one was the Profound Nether Realm.
Now that he had obtained the Heavenly Beast Cauldron, could he actually awaken a Demon Beast’s Bloodline Divine Ability directly?
Most importantly—there were twenty-seven Demon Beasts upon the Heavenly Beast Cauldron.
Didn’t that mean he had a chance to possess twenty-seven Bloodline Divine Abilities?
Wasn’t this… a little too heaven-defying?
Silver-Horned Rhino, Phantom Mouse, Earth Dragon Beast!
Jiang Han examined the carvings carefully and realized he only recognized three of the twenty-seven Demon Beasts.
The nearby Heavenly Fox Mountain Range had plenty of these three species.
All were rank-one Demon Beasts.
He had never had the opportunity to identify stronger Demon Beasts, because encountering one would mean certain death.
“I’ll go up the mountain tomorrow morning and see if this is real!”
Jiang Han suppressed the urge to run outside immediately.
The sky was turning dark, and with his current strength, wandering the mountains late at night was a sure way to end up dead.
That night.
Jiang Han tossed and turned, barely sleeping at all.
He was worried about Jiang Li, his mind was consumed by the Heavenly Beast Cauldron, and he needed to analyze his current situation to figure out his path forward.
The next day.
Jiang Han rose before dawn.
He fried some leftover rice to fill his stomach, gathered all the family’s remaining savings, and hurried out the door.
He first visited a local shop to buy eleven Heavenly Fragrance Fruits and a specific bundle of medicinal herbs.
Without looking back, he left Jiang Family Town and headed north toward the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range.
…
“Big brother!”
Not long after Jiang Han left the town, a short, heavily built youth arrived outside the courtyard where Jiang Li was being held.
He leaned close to Jiang Long and whispered, “I just saw Jiang Han leave town. He headed for the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range. He also bought eleven Heavenly Fragrance Fruits from Uncle Zheng at the shop.”
This short, stocky youth was Jiang Hu, Jiang Long’s younger brother.
One brother was tall and gaunt, the other short and thickly built.
They did not look like blood brothers in the slightest.
Many in town even gossiped that their mother had been rather flirtatious in her youth, and that her eyes had never been very honest…
Hearing Jiang Hu’s report, Jiang Long frowned, his voice full of suspicion.
“What is Jiang Han doing in the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range? Heavenly Fragrance Fruits? Is he trying to lure and kill a Silver-Horned Rhino?”
Heavenly Fragrance Fruits were expensive, costing one Profound Stone each.
Jiang Han’s family had fallen on hard times since his parents vanished. Eleven Profound Stones was likely his entire fortune.
The fruits were delicious but offered little aid to cultivation.
Their greatest use was serving as bait for a Silver-Horned Rhino.
The Silver-Horned Rhino was a rank-one Demon Beast possessing the Bloodline Divine Ability “Power of Frenzy.”
Once activated, its physical strength multiplied fivefold, allowing it to shatter trees so thick that three men were needed to encircle them.
It was exceptionally vicious.
However, it had one fatal weakness: an extreme gluttony for Heavenly Fragrance Fruits.
As long as the fruit was laced with sleeping powder, the beast could be lured and killed with ease.
But a Silver-Horned Rhino’s materials were hardly valuable, roughly equal to the cost of the Heavenly Fragrance Fruits themselves.
Nearby martial artists rarely hunted them.
It was a thankless task, and a single misstep could result in serious injury.
Jiang Han had left Jiang Family Town first thing in the morning and spent all his savings on eleven Heavenly Fragrance Fruits.
This behavior was incredibly strange, forcing Jiang Long to grow suspicious.
“Here’s what we’ll do.”
Jiang Long thought it over and felt uneasy.
“Take Jiang Bao and follow him,” he ordered Jiang Hu. “If Jiang Han tries anything unusual, capture him immediately and drag him back. Do not ruin Third Uncle’s plans.”
“If we can please Lord Han this time, he might recruit me into Yunmeng Pavilion. There will be endless wealth and glory waiting for us, and all of you will reap the benefits!”
“Why bring him back?”
Jiang Hu rubbed the scarred flesh on his face, a savage glint flashing in his eyes.
“The Heavenly Fox Mountain Range is far from here… why not just end him and be done with it? Big brother, have you forgotten how his father suppressed our branch all those years ago?”
“If not for his father, Grandfather would never have risked entering the mountains, only to be killed by Demon Beasts.”
“If we finish him off in the wilderness and feed him to the beasts, who can prove we did it?”
“Besides, the First Elder is about to die. No one else will interfere in this matter!”
Jiang Long’s eyes flickered.
He pondered for a moment and did not object, only warning, “Just be careful. Do not spend all your days hunting geese, only to have one peck your eyes out.”
“Him?”
Jiang Hu scoffed in disdain.
“Jiang Bao and I are both at the sixth level of the Purple Mansion Realm. He is just a fifth-level piece of trash. Either of us could crush him like a bug.”
“Don’t worry, big brother. This day next year will be his death anniversary!”
Jiang Hu grabbed his sword and hurried off.
Jiang Long put the matter out of his mind.
This world was crawling with Demon Beasts.
Every year, more than a few people from Jiang Family Town met their end in the jaws of one.
Regardless, the only person in the clan who cared about Jiang Han—the First Elder—was knocking on death’s door.
No one would investigate this matter.
…
At this moment, Jiang Han had already entered the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range.
Jiang Long had guessed correctly—he had indeed come to lure and kill a Silver-Horned Rhino.
He had spent every last copper of his family’s savings for one final, desperate gamble!
He was betting that the Heavenly Beast Cauldron was a wondrous treasure that could grant him a Demon Beast’s Bloodline Divine Ability.
As long as he could acquire one, his combat strength would skyrocket.
He had to elevate his combat strength to match a ninth-level Purple Mansion Realm martial artist within half a month.
Only then would he have a chance to take Jiang Li and escape Jiang Family Town.
There was no future for them in Jiang Family Town.
If they did not leave, the Third Elder would absolutely toy with the two siblings until they were dead.
The Heavenly Fox Mountain Range was boundless and vast, reputed to hold five hundred peaks and three hundred valleys.
Legends claimed a Heavenly Fox dwelled in its deepest depths, capable of taking human form and wielding terrifying divine abilities.
Jiang Han only dared to move around the outermost seven or eight peaks.
He was only at the fifth level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
If he encountered a powerful rank-one Demon Beast, his only choice would be to flee.
Such creatures could only be slain by martial artists at the eighth or ninth level.
Jiang Han cautiously made his way to Black Head Peak.
He remembered that Silver-Horned Rhinos often appeared in this area.
He retrieved a wooden box from his robes and took out a Heavenly Fragrance Fruit.
He carefully smeared a thick green sap over the fruit’s skin, placed it in an ideal spot, and swiftly scaled a nearby tree.
Roo-roo—
Only the time it takes an incense stick to burn passed before a massive rhinoceros came charging through the underbrush.
This beast had three silver horns on its head.
It was colossal, built as sturdily as a bull elephant.
The Silver-Horned Rhino made a beeline for the Heavenly Fragrance Fruit and gulped it down in a single bite.
It continued to root around the area, seemingly searching for more.
Thud!
The sleeping powder smeared over the Heavenly Fragrance Fruit was highly potent.
Half an incense stick’s time later, the Silver-Horned Rhino collapsed heavily to the dirt.
In the branches above, Jiang Han’s eyes lit up.
He scanned his surroundings to ensure no other Demon Beasts lurked nearby, then leapt down.
He raised his blade and hacked savagely at the Silver-Horned Rhino’s neck, butchering the creature until it breathed its last.
Next, he swiftly dug out the creature’s Demon Core.
He sliced it open with his blade to reveal a single drop of dark golden blood within.
This was the Silver-Horned Rhino’s Source Essence Blood.
Jiang Han circulated the profound energy within his body, enveloping the essence blood to rapidly refine it.
“It works!”
Jiang Han’s heart gave a violent tremor.
He realized the Silver-Horned Rhino carving upon the Heavenly Beast Cauldron had noticeably deepened in color, looking as though it were on the verge of coming to life.
“Good, good, good!”
Jiang Han was overflowing with excitement, clenching his fists tightly.
There were many more Silver-Horned Rhinos on Black Head Peak.
With a bit of luck, he could kill the required ten in half a day at most.
Then he would acquire the creature’s Bloodline Divine Ability, “Power of Frenzy.”
He had to seize every second!
Jiang Han quickly left the area.
The stench of blood would attract other Demon Beasts, and he had no time to get entangled with them.
Half a day later.
Jiang Han slaughtered another Silver-Horned Rhino.
After extracting its Demon Core, his heart pounded with unmatched exhilaration.
He had already refined nine drops of Silver-Horned Rhino Source Essence Blood.
With each drop, the carving on the Heavenly Beast Cauldron shifted and grew increasingly vivid.
Now, he could finally refine the tenth and final drop.
“Refine!”
Jiang Han did not hesitate, choosing to refine the essence blood immediately.
A few breaths later, the Heavenly Beast Cauldron in his mind suddenly shuddered, erupting with a blinding golden light.
Even more miraculous—the carving of the Silver-Horned Rhino flew off the cauldron’s surface.
It rapidly condensed into a solid phantom before transforming into a wisp of azure smoke that merged directly into Jiang Han’s mind.
At the same time, streams of bizarre energy surged from within the Heavenly Beast Cauldron, sweeping rapidly through his entire body.
Jiang Han stood rooted to the spot, his eyes shut tight.
He remained perfectly still, sensing the minute changes coursing through his flesh, bones, and meridians.
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
A moment later, the crunch of light footsteps broke the silence of the forest.
Two figures emerged from the underbrush.
The one leading the way was short and thickly built, his face covered in tough, scarred flesh.
Who else could it be but Jiang Hu?