Ise planted the newly acquired spiritual seeds and spiritual herbs in the Life-Spirit Cave Abode.
Ryu Seonghan helped Ise with an intrigued expression before bowing to him.
“Then I’ll be heading back.”
Before they parted, Ise asked one more question.
“Is there any way to get information on Foundation Establishment demon beasts or demonic cultivators?”
“Are you going demon beast hunting?”
When Ise answered that he was, Ryu Seonghan pondered for a moment before making a suggestion.
“In that case, why not go to the Great Heavenly Demon Mountain?
It would be better if you want to hunt without worrying too much.
As long as you don’t go too deep, there shouldn’t be much danger.”
“How far is it from here?”
“About five thousand li south.”
It wasn’t as far as he had expected.
It would have taken a long time back when he traveled on foot, but flying on the Dream-Saving Cloud would make it a quick journey.
“Then I suppose I should.
Cultivate diligently.
Send me a communication talisman if anything happens.”
“Yes.
Please take care of yourself.”
Ise raised a palm in farewell before retrieving the Secret Realm Key and storing it in his Universe Pouch.
***
Passing the unfortunate Heavenly Ice Palace cultivators who were still conducting their inspections, Ise headed south aboard the Dream-Saving Cloud.
The scenery of Tiandao city gradually grew smaller and flowed beneath his feet.
Once he left the territory, the familiar snowy wilderness appeared again.
Still, perhaps because this was among the southernmost parts of the Northern Continent, the cold was not particularly severe.
The Dream-Saving Cloud flew swiftly.
The pure-white earth gradually revealed grayish-brown soil, while the coniferous forests slowly gave way to mixed forests containing more and more broadleaf trees.
The cold gradually weakened, and at the point where the rivers began flowing rather than remaining frozen, a massive mountain range appeared.
‘That river and mountain range must be the boundary.’
The peaks extended endlessly, their dark blue ridgelines linked together like the backbone of some enormous creature.
There were no walls.
Rather than foolishly building massive walls like the Zheng Empire, the people of the Northern Continent had settled in environments so brutally cold that demon beasts would not cross them.
The fact that not a single city existed in the land between the Great Heavenly Demon Mountain and the frozen wilderness was proof enough.
Once again, humanity’s ability to survive in almost any environment was impressive.
Ise stopped in midair in the center of the mountain range and used the Wide-View Talisman.
Despite the grand name of the Great Heavenly Demon Mountain, there were surprisingly few demon beasts in the areas near the Northern Continent.
Apparently, he would have to go deeper.
He flew slowly at low speed while searching for prey.
It was a calm search, like a hunter following the tracks of a deer.
He also sent Bisan into the air beside him and gave him instructions.
“When I go down to hunt, keep watch from above.
If anything approaches, don’t engage it.
Come straight down to me while making noise.”
“Grru!”
Bisan bobbed his beak as though he understood.
Just then, an unknown Qi Condensation demon beast entered his field of vision.
Ise immediately descended.
He shot downward vertically like a falling meteor and swung the Small Axe just before reaching the ground.
The target was cleaved in two before it even had time to scream.
Ise immediately devoured its demonic qi, then stored the remaining half of the corpse in the Demon Beast Sealing Album.
Its head and chest had been blown away.
For this hunt, he intended to skip spirit expulsion and simply devour the demonic qi.
He had already established a self-sustaining system for spiritual qi.
What he needed now was demonic qi.
He was somewhat troubled by the resentment that might give birth to other demon beasts, but he decided to make up for it with supplementary hunts later.
The sun gradually sank toward the west, and the hunt continued.
After hunting nothing but Qi Condensation demon beasts for some time, Ise’s hungry eyes caught sight of a Wood-type demon creature at the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm emerging from the grass.
It was a massive creature far taller than a human, with limbs like thick vines and bluish-green leaves sprouting from its body.
The moment Ise descended toward his prey, dozens of vines shot from the creature’s arms like whips.
Flames erupted from his body.
Before the thorn-covered vines could even reach him, the flames surging from his entire body spread backward along the vines like sparks falling onto oil.
At the same time, he cast Fire Cloud Art and created a massive fiery meteor in midair.
The meteor fell toward the Wood Man, accompanied by a tremendous impact.
Even as it burned in the flames, the Wood-type demon beast continued firing sharpened vines toward Ise.
But a mass of primordial qi he launched flew out in the shape of a sickle, cutting through every vine it struck before finally cleaving the Wood Man’s body in half.
Blue sap flowed from the severed section.
The demonic qi of the Foundation Establishment demon creature was drawn into Ise.
Only now did he finally feel his thirst beginning to ease.
***
Going a little deeper, demon beasts began emerging, living up to the name of the Great Heavenly Demon Mountain.
They were everywhere, practically as numerous as fish in water.
The Demon Beast Sealing Album gradually filled with demon beasts.
He had been sealing away every demon beast that looked edible, but at this rate, the Sealing Album would run out of space.
So he began storing only demon beasts at the late Qi Condensation Realm or above.
“Next.
Where to?”
Ise decided on the next direction according to Bisan’s guidance.
Most of what he hunted were Qi Condensation demon beasts, with the occasional Foundation Establishment demon beast mixed in.
The amount of demonic qi he absorbed from each was small, but by relentlessly overwhelming them with sheer numbers, he was somehow making steady progress toward his goal.
‘Capturing that beast was the right decision.’
The amount of demonic qi he had obtained by hunting and devouring the Foundation Establishment Perfected beast, Uin, had been considerable.
Without that, the hunting period would have been much longer.
When night fell, Ise left the Great Heavenly Demon Mountain.
Evil spirits emerged from the shadows at night.
He did have the Vajra Pestle, but a Qi Condensation treasure artifact wasn’t particularly reliable.
Whenever possible, he didn’t want to get entangled with an evil spirit alone without a shaman.
After spending the night in the sky outside the Great Heavenly Demon Mountain, he resumed hunting as soon as dawn broke.
Fortunately, not long after beginning the hunt, he managed to kill a mid-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast.
‘There aren’t many left now.’
It would be perfect if a late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast appeared around now.
That was what he was thinking when it happened.
Flames suddenly descended from the sky.
A brilliant red pillar of light connected heaven and earth.
“…?”
For a moment, Ise wondered if his eyes were deceiving him.
This wasn’t a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.
Why was there a pillar of fire?
It appeared to be quite far away, yet the pillar of fire was so enormous that it could be seen clearly.
The scale of it was astonishing even at a glance.
As Ise stared blankly at the flames for a moment, a thought flashed through his mind.
Heavenly Tribulation.
That was one of the forms of Heavenly Tribulation: the Fire Tribulation.
He had heard that while Heavenly Tribulations most commonly took the form of Lightning Tribulations, with bolts of lightning descending from the sky, they could also appear in various forms such as Fire Tribulations and Wind Tribulations.
In other words, one of the demon beasts was attempting to break through to the Core Formation Realm.
A strange light appeared in Ise’s eyes.
A breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm had to begin only after making thorough preparations, such as setting up a barrier and arranging protectors.
But the demon beasts of the Great Heavenly Demon Mountain had inevitably lacked adequate preparation due to their environment.
If things went well…
This might be an opportunity to hunt a Foundation Establishment Perfected demon beast without a fight.
Even if he couldn’t hunt it, Heavenly Tribulation was something he would have to experience someday himself.
It wouldn’t be a bad experience to witness one firsthand while he had the chance.
Cultivation was essentially like walking a tightrope.
Balancing between the danger of taking risks and the safety of avoidance was the fate of every cultivator.
Choosing only safety meant that one could not grow.
Choosing only challenges made it difficult to survive.
When an opportunity within reach appeared, seize it.
When an insurmountable crisis appeared, avoid it.
Ise put Bisan into the Spirit Beast Pouch, used a Concealment Talisman and an Invisibility Talisman, and slowly headed toward the site of the Core Formation breakthrough.
Once he arrived nearby, he descended to the ground and moved while suppressing even the slightest trace of his presence.
The pillar of fire was still violently descending from the heavens, and burning meteors were crashing into the ground between each eruption.
Standing at the center of the Heavenly Tribulation was a flower.
More precisely, a demon creature in the shape of a flower.
Its upper body was roughly human in shape, but its skin was a pale pink, as though made from layers of delicate flower petals.
Instead of hair, luxuriant petals cascaded from its head.
Where its legs should have been were merely pale green stems that seemed to emerge directly from the earth.
Below the knees, they writhed like ghosts as they rested against the soil.
Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be a demon creature that had evolved from a Strange-Transformation Demon and reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Similar-looking Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment demon creatures were scattered around it in every direction, acting as protectors.
They were probably its subordinates.
‘I can’t attack it in the middle of the Heavenly Tribulation.’
Attacking or assisting the target while the Heavenly Tribulation ritual was underway would cause him to become caught up in it.
That meant the insane flames would be redirected toward him.
The flames didn’t look like something that could be extinguished with a Water-type Art.
‘Could I fight it if I wait until the Heavenly Tribulation ends and ambush it immediately after it has just formed its Golden Core?’
Ise pondered deeply.
After breaking through a major realm, one needed time to adapt to the changes immediately afterward.
Even so, the latter stage of the Core Formation Realm still carried considerable danger.
If he had already reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, perhaps it would be different, but now was too soon.
His gaze shifted toward the demon creatures acting as protectors.
If he attacked those creatures, wouldn’t the demon creature’s state of mind become disturbed?
Simply knowing that a threat was nearby during the Heavenly Tribulation would undoubtedly interfere with its concentration.
If its state of mind became shaken and it failed the breakthrough, he would devour it on the spot.
If its foundation proved firm enough to succeed despite that, he would withdraw before then.
Ise finished making his decision.
He gathered primordial qi and suddenly swept it out, cutting down a nearby flower demon creature.
The strange creature let out a shrill cry, and the surrounding demon creatures rushed toward him all at once.
As expected, the flower creature being struck by the Heavenly Tribulation seemed to lose its concentration, and flames began catching on its body.
‘That’s right.
Be shaken.’
Ise began hunting the attacking flower demon creatures one by one.
He burrowed underground with Earth Escape Technique, burned their roots, then burst out like a surprise attack and swung his primordial qi.
The paralyzing poison they sprayed wildly spread in every direction, but Ise possessed a body immune to ten thousand poisons.
The pollen had no effect on him whatsoever.
The vines, however, were sharp enough to resemble thorns and posed a considerable threat.
They were even capable of scraping his body despite his Hardening Technique.
Ise took out the Yellow Great Parasol and focused on protecting his head as he calmly hunted the demon creatures standing guard.
Once all the protectors had fallen, the flames engulfing the demon creature undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation became increasingly intense.
It was definitely being shaken.
Ise went a step further and created a Fire Bomb.
He deliberately increased its size menacingly, as though he could hurl it at the demon creature at any moment.
Of course, he didn’t throw it.
He merely wanted to disturb its state of mind and threaten it.
But perhaps the creature was no ordinary demon either, because the Heavenly Tribulation gradually began to subside.
Despite Ise’s relentless interference, it ultimately overcame the Heavenly Tribulation and successfully refined its demon core into a Golden Core.
‘What a shame.’
It was a real pity.
If he had hunted it, he wouldn’t have had to worry about demonic qi for quite some time.
But he couldn’t afford to take the risk.
The might of a demon creature that had nearly reached the Core Formation Realm was intimidating even at a glance.
The moment the Heavenly Tribulation ended, the demon creature began spreading its divine sense widely, seemingly intent on retaliating against Ise.
‘That would be troublesome.’
His objective had already been achieved.
Thanks to the way he had neatly gathered all its subordinates together, he had been spared the trouble of searching for prey himself.
Ise immediately mounted the Dream-Saving Cloud and rapidly flew away.
The flower demon creature let out a bizarre shriek as though venting its fury, but it would probably have difficulty pursuing him immediately while recovering from the aftermath of its Core Formation breakthrough.
Instead, it opened its mouth and fired a pillar of glittering light resembling pollen.
‘You’re pushing yourself too hard.’