Luda slapped the back of his head with a hand, irritated, and said, "Are you a pig?"
"Forget it, let's leave him be, let's go." Luda turned and walked away.
The other two people behind him followed silently, returning to the treehouse.
Soon, a rumor spread throughout the treehouse tribe.
A little fellow at the Gathering Origin Realm had entered the intermediate area alone, carrying great treasures on him.
Many people quietly departed.
At this moment, Xiayu also encountered his first high-level fierce beast—a blue-eyed, multicolored black tiger.
Comparable to a fierce beast of the Spirit Origin Realm, the blue-eyed multicolored black tiger let out a roar and lunged straight at Xiayu.
Any human who entered its territory deserved to die!
Xiayu closed in smoothly, without a word of nonsense, and threw a punch with all his might.
Ancestral Dragon Fist, Immeasurable!
"Boom..."
With a loud crash, dust and smoke filled the air, and shattered stones flew in all directions.
Xiayu was blasted flying over ten zhang away, landing on the ground with a loud thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Xiayu staggered to his feet.
On his forearm, two bloody wounds were gruesome to look at, exposing the pale arm bones.
A high-level fierce beast comparable to the Spirit Origin Realm was simply too powerful for him right now.
He was heavily injured from just a single blow.
The Yuan Power of the Micro-world surged at full force, healing his injuries.
The blue-eyed multicolored black tiger only retreated a tiny step.
It stared at Xiayu and let out a low roar.
Its front paws scratched lightly against the ground, searching for the best opportunity to strike.
From Xiayu's punch just now, it realized that the human before it was no ordinary person; it had an unspeakable, dangerous intuition.
Xiayu grinned and said in a deep voice, "That hurts! But it's this kind of battle that gets the blood pumping! Come again!"
With a stride, Xiayu charged straight ahead.
"Boom..."
Another loud crash echoed, and Xiayu was once again blasted flying.
Puff!
Mid-air, a mouthful of blood sprayed out.
Xiayu flipped and landed on his feet, stumbling slightly, but the smile on his face only grew wider.
"Come again!"
With an angry roar, Xiayu charged forward once more.
Ancestral Dragon Fist, Immeasurable!
Putting everything into it!
"Boom..."
Xiayu was sent flying again.
"Boom..."
Once more...
After a dozen times or so, Xiayu crawled up, staggering, and grinned, fresh blood dripping from his full mouth.
On his chest were three wounds so deep his bones were visible, the flesh turned outward.
Yet, Xiayu's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
If the young men of the Li, Gong, and Zhang families from Huacheng were here, they would surely be utterly shocked.
They all knew that the more injured Xiayu was, the more he smiled; and the more he smiled, the more unhinged he became.
And peculiarly, the more unhinged he became, the harder he fought, and the more formidable his combat power grew.
That feeling was spine-chilling!
Even long after you had fought him, just recalling it would make your heart race with terror!
"Found it!"
Xiayu muttered to himself, his voice seeming audible only to him.
The next moment, he suddenly threw his head back and roared.
"Kill!"
The cry of killing shook the heavens!
Xiayu charged straight ahead, every step he took raising a flurry of dust and leaving a deep footprint in the ground.
Not only that, but with every step he took, the imposing aura around him grew a fraction stronger.
Suddenly, this mighty aura seemed to trigger some sort of change, as a towering, peerless momentum surged from his body straight into the sky.
In mid-air, a phantom appeared, dozens of zhang tall, its muscles looking as though they were cast from solid gold, with long hair draped over its shoulders, clad in nothing more than a strip of animal skin around its waist.
It looked up at the void and let out a silent roar.
The next instant, it plummeted downward, plunging right into Xiayu's body.
At that moment, Xiayu threw a punch.
Ancestral Dragon Fist, Immeasurable!
Giving it his all, holding nothing back!
Either he died, or the tiger perished!
A dozen miles away in the treehouse tribe, a man sitting cross-legged in meditation suddenly looked in Xiayu's direction.
"Who is this? They've actually managed to gain a rudimentary comprehension of battle intent?"
"Never mind, I've reached a critical juncture. Once I finish my seclusion, I'll go look for him."
Deep within the Myriad Demon Forest, a peerlessly beautiful woman in white pierced an opposing fierce beast back with a single sword strike, then turned her head to gaze toward Xiayu's direction.
"Elementary battle intent! How interesting. When I come out, he'll be worth a look."
"Roar!"
At that moment, the blue-eyed multicolored black tiger let out a low roar, took a slow step back, and then violently lunged at Xiayu.
"Bang!"
A muffled thud rang out.
Dust flew, and shattered stones scattered everywhere.
The blue-eyed multicolored black tiger slammed heavily onto the ground, its massive body lying completely motionless.
As for Xiayu, his figure was nowhere to be seen.
"This fellow is vicious! A ruthless character! What a pity he's only at the Gathering Origin Realm; in the end, he still ended up buried in the black tiger's belly."
Not far away, a lean male cultivator slowly shook his head.
"Big brother, let's go kill the tiger. That kid definitely has some heavy treasures on him."
"Yeah, big brother, this black tiger is worth a lot of money too."
Beside the male cultivator stood four other people.
The male cultivator shook his head and said, "No, our strength is too low; we can only follow secretly. There are still experts lurking in the shadows. If we make a move, we'll only be marching to our deaths."
"Haha, when the snipe and the clam grapple, it's the fisherman who profits. Old man Ning Yidao is here—irrelevant people, get lost right now, or don't blame this old man for being ruthless!"
A figure slowly walked toward the blue-eyed multicolored black tiger.
This person wore a wide black robe and had a full head of white hair.
"It's actually Butcher Ning! Let's go, we won't touch this thing."
Immediately, people around began to disperse one after another.
However, a portion of them remained unmoving.
Ning Yidao was extremely famous within the treehouse tribe.
Once, someone offended him in the treehouse tribe, and not only did he kill that person, but he also went all the way to their home and slaughtered their entire clan.
Crucially, this man was an expert—at the Fourth Heavenly Layer of Profound Origin Realm—and a tyrant even within the treehouse tribe.
Just as Ning Yidao was about to reach the black tiger, a hoarse, aged voice suddenly rang out.
"Then does this old man count as the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"
A hunchbacked figure, leaning on a cane taller than himself, slowly stepped out.
The moment he appeared, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop significantly.
"Old Man Hanyuan? It's actually you! I didn't expect you to be interested in this kid too?"
Ning Yidao was startled, his expression instantly turning ugly.
Old Man Hanyuan, just like him, was a lone wanderer of the Myriad Demon Forest.
However, Old Man Hanyuan's cultivation was much higher than his, rumored to have reached the Half-Step Monarch Realm many years ago.
Ning Yidao belonged to the treehouse tribe of the northern Myriad Demon Forest, while Old Man Hanyuan hailed from the western treehouse tribe and was even one of that tribe's powerholders.
He was undoubtedly a top-tier expert of the Myriad Demon Forest!
"Cough, cough, I was merely passing by and noticed battle intent soaring into the sky, never expecting there would be such an opportunity here. This black tiger and that kid, I want them both."
"Cough, cough, I am old and don't have many years left to live. My only wish is to advance further. Ning Yidao, I think you'll let this old man have this, won't you?"
Ning Yidao remained silent, turned around, and walked away.
In the woods, many subtle sounds suddenly arose as even more people withdrew.
Old Man Hanyuan cocked his ear to listen for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Hehe, what good children, truly good children!"
Old Man Hanyuan's face was covered in wrinkles as he broke into a chilling smile and muttered, "I hope you, little fellow, are also a good child. Comprehending elementary battle intent—not simple at all!"
"This old man also wants to comprehend battle intent and advance further. I'm too old, too old! I must advance further; I don't want to die yet!"
Muttering to himself, Old Man Hanyuan walked up to the blue-eyed multicolored black tiger.
"Little fellow, I know you're not dead yet, but you're down to your last breath. A Seventh Heavenly Layer of Gathering Origin Realm cultivator beating a high-level fierce beast to death—you're good seedling stock. Become my disciple; as long as you tell me how you comprehended that battle intent, I'll let you inherit my legacy, and becoming a Great Expert of the Emperor Realm in the future won't be difficult."
"Otherwise, with a gentle poke from this old man's rotten fingers, both your treasures and your life will be gone, hehe..."
The blue-eyed multicolored black tiger remained motionless, making no sound at all.
"Good, refusing to shed a tear until you see the coffin—you've got personality, I like it!"
Old Man Hanyuan nodded, and the cane in his hand gave a gentle poke against the tiger's body.
The cane pierced straight through the tiger hide, passed through the black tiger's body, and stabbed right into Xiayu who lay beneath it.
This cane was Old Man Hanyuan's weapon—a supreme-grade spirit weapon.
The very instant Old Man Hanyuan stabbed Xiayu, he froze.
Because the cane had suddenly vanished.
The supreme-grade spirit weapon that had accompanied him for half his life had vanished into thin air.
Bizarre!
His expression darkened. With a wave of his large sleeve, the massive carcass of the blue-eyed multicolored black tiger was rolled over.
Xiayu's entire body was plastered right against the tiger's wide-open jaws.
His body was covered in multiple gasps and tears, blood flowing freely.
Old Man Hanyuan nodded and said, "Clever, actually knowing to attack from the inside."
As it turned out, taking advantage of the tiger's wide-open maw, Xiayu's fist had punched straight through its upper palate and into its brain.
This strike had been unimaginably perilous.
Any earlier, and he wouldn't have broken through; any later, and he would have ended up buried in the tiger's mouth.
Old Man Hanyuan flicked his sleeve, pulling Xiayu's right arm out from the tiger's jaws, dripping with fresh blood.
On his right arm were several foot-long gasps, deep enough to expose the bone.
Thud!
Xiayu lay on the ground, completely motionless, save for the faint rise and fall of his breath in his chest and abdomen.
"Little fellow, you sure have a tenacious life. Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"
Old Man Hanyuan looked down at Xiayu's lower abdomen. His supreme-grade spirit weapon should have pierced down right there, yet this fellow didn't seem to have any wounds in that area.
Strange!
At that moment, a gurgling sound came from Xiayu's throat, as if he had heard Old Man Hanyuan's words and was reacting.
Old Man Hanyuan bent down, lowering his head to press close to Xiayu's ear.
"Do you want to live? If you want to live, tell me the method of how you comprehended the battle intent, and I'll save you immediately. If you agree, just nod your head."
Xiayu seemed insufficiently conscious as his head made a difficult, slight nod.
A satisfied smile appeared on Old Man Hanyuan's face as he reached into his robe to pull out a cosmos sack, preparing to retrieve medicinal pills to save him.
Suddenly!
A drastic change occurred!
A hand caked in blood suddenly shot out and clamped onto Old Man Hanyuan's neck with an iron grip.
Snap!
Without the slightest hesitation, that bloody hand directly snapped Old Man Hanyuan's neck.
Caught completely off guard and before he could even react, Old Man Hanyuan's eyes bulged as he died as dead could be.
Xiayu opened his eyes and said coldly, "You should thank your supreme-grade spirit weapon; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to recover a shred of strength, nor would I have been able to take your life."
He glanced at Old Man Hanyuan's corpse in his hand, and just as he wanted to toss it aside, another drastic change occurred.
The Burning Heaven Melting Furnace in his lower abdomen trembled violently.
A powerful suction force dragged Old Man Hanyuan's body right toward it.
Xiayu got a fright and hurriedly said, "Little Furnace, you're not planning on eating people, are you? Absolutely not, that's way too disgusting!"
Yet how could the Burning Heaven Melting Furnace pay him any mind?
Old Man Hanyuan's corpse vanished in an instant.
In that split second, Xiayu wanted to retch!
Killing people didn't feel like much, but the thought of refining people entirely—just like eating a person—was far too damn disgusting.
Right in the next moment, the Burning Heaven Melting Furnace trembled abruptly, and a gush of incomparably pure spiritual energy surged into Xiayu's body.
Like a long-parched land meeting sweet rain!
That sensation!
In an instant, Xiayu couldn't help letting out a soft moan—it felt too damn good!
How intoxicatingly sweet!
The spiritual energy wandered across his wounds, healing them in an instant.
The Micro-world frantically absorbed this spiritual energy, converting it into Yuan Power.
All the Yuan Power of a Half-Step Monarch Realm cultivator, combined with a supreme-grade spirit weapon—even if only half the spiritual energy was successfully converted, the amount was still absolute abundance.
Xiayu looked inward at his second Micro-world and was incomparably shocked to discover that the Yuan Power had actually reached over seventy percent.
This...
Was simply too fast!
At this moment, Xiayu no longer cared at all about whether he felt like retching.
With a single punch, he smashed open the skull of the blue-eyed multicolored black tiger, retrieved its core, and slapped it right into the Burning Heaven Melting Furnace.
Finally, the entire massive carcass of the black tiger followed.
"Boom..."
The second Micro-world instantly filled to the brim with Yuan Power.
Activated: the second Micro-world.
A faint, indistinct dragon roar echoed within Xiayu's body.
From each of the two Micro-worlds, a stream of dragon-shaped Yuan Power rushed forth, and two tiny golden dragons swam through Xiayu's body.
The Ancestral Dragon Power began to crazily reinforce Xiayu's physique, strengthening every single cell in his body.
Xiayu closed his eyes, indulging in the feeling.
This was the sensation—the feeling of flying.
At the same time, Xiayu's cultivation realm broke through abruptly.
Eighth Heavenly Layer of Gathering Origin Realm!
Ninth Heavenly Layer of Gathering Origin Realm!
Tenth Heavenly Layer of Gathering Origin Realm!
First Heavenly Layer of Imperial Origin Realm!
Second Heavenly Layer of Imperial Origin Realm!
Third Heavenly Layer of Imperial Origin Realm!
Breaking through a major realm and six minor realms all at once.
Xiayu was left dumbfounded; this was merely from activating the second Micro-world.
This...
And the strength of this body had clearly improved by leaps and bounds.
Xiayu clenched his fist sharply, producing a popping sound of cracking joints.
He slowly closed his eyes, recalling the operational method of the Ancestral Dragon Fist.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he threw a punch!
Immeasurable!
Immeasurable, powered by the activation of two Micro-worlds!
In an instant, Xiayu felt the Ancestral Dragon Power in both Micro-worlds surging forth almost simultaneously.
Just as the Ancestral Dragon Power from the first Micro-world rushed past his fist, the Ancestral Dragon Power from the second Micro-world arrived right behind it.
"Bang!"
The air in front of his fist directly exploded.
A single punch triggered a sonic boom!
The next moment, Xiayu's body suddenly vanished.
A few breaths later, more than ten zhang away, Xiayu slowly materialized.
Dragon Concealment!
The moment Xiayu's figure appeared, it gave a sudden shiver.
The next instant, this afterimage began to slowly blur and fade.
Meanwhile, Xiayu's actual figure reappeared five zhang further out.
Dragon Stepping!
Xiayu's figure vanished once again.
"Boom..."
Suddenly, twenty zhang away, a sonic boom rang out.
Xiayu's figure appeared once more.
Dragon Concealment!
Immeasurable!
"Boom..."
A blur flashed across five zhang in an instant, a sonic boom echoing as the void trembled.
Dragon Stepping!
Immeasurable!
In a flash, Xiayu's eyes lit up.
The combination of Dragon Concealment and Immeasurable was ghost-like and unfathomable, with formidable might.
As for the combination of Dragon Stepping and Immeasurable, it was pure strength and speed; while its bizarre trickiness might not match the combination of Dragon Concealment and Immeasurable, its destructive power increased twofold.
"Hahaha..."
Xiayu laughed out loud, his spirits soaring.
If he were to face the blue-eyed multicolored black tiger right now, he wouldn't need to fight desperately for his life; just using Dragon Stepping and Immeasurable would be enough to blow it to pieces.
At this moment, Xiayu finally understood that activating the second Micro-world was what truly constituted stepping across the threshold of Immeasurable.
Third Heavenly Layer of Imperial Origin Realm, combat power comparable to the Profound Origin Realm, and a vastly enhanced physique—Xiayu was extremely satisfied.
With a flicker of his body, he vanished from the spot.
The next instant, he appeared five zhang away.
His figure flashed continuously as he vanished deep into the forest.
When he landed once more, the ground beneath his feet suddenly gave way, and his entire body dropped downward.
Reaching out to touch the rock walls, he found them incomparably smooth as his whole body slid downward at high speed.
Bold due to his high skill, Xiayu continued sliding down along the rock cavern.
Gradually, he grew a bit surprised.
Because this slide had lasted a full few miles, yet it still showed no signs of stopping.
He estimated mentally that at this distance, he had already reached the depths of the earth.
Finally, a gleam of red light appeared before him.
Chapter Nine: Cursed Dragon Spear
With a thud, he tumbled to the ground.
This was a massive cavern, shimmering with a dim red glow.
The air was thick with an indescribably bizarre and foul stench.
On the ground and all around were piles upon piles of pale, shattered bones.
There were shattered human bones as well as shattered bones of fierce beasts, layered thickly across the ground.
Amidst the shattered bones were some strange objects; Xiayu even caught sight of a few rusted blades and swords, along with fragments of armor.
Xiayu picked up a blade and sword, wanting to stash them into his lower abdomen, but it didn't work.
Suddenly, two pieces of information flooded his mind.
"Are you sick in the head?"
"You're treating pieces of scrap iron with not a shred of spiritual energy as treasures!"
Instantly, Xiayu was left speechless, mocked by a little furnace.
Patting his belly, Xiayu broke into a smile and muttered, "Little Furnace, care to make a bet? I have a feeling there are treasures here."
The Burning Heaven Melting Furnace ignored him entirely without the slightest reaction.
Xiayu didn't mind either. With his strength vastly increased after the breakthrough, he was in a great mood, kicking aside shattered bones as he proceeded along the cave wall.
Since there were so many shattered bones here, there ought to be a path.
Sure enough, having barely walked half a circle, he discovered a circular passageway.
The passageway sloped upward, leading goodness knows where.
However, the fishy stench inside the passageway was even more pungent than in the main cavern.
Xiayu turned around, found two rusted longswords, and climbed into the passageway.
Not long after climbing upward, he spotted more shattered bones of unknown animals.
Continuing his climb upward, he found a few more rusted weapons, though they were quite a bit better than the longswords in his hands.
He swapped them for two better longswords and kept climbing.
The increasingly heavy, fishy stench was enough to make one dizzy after just a single breath. Xiayu tore open a piece of his clothing and plugged his nose with it, only then feeling slightly better.
After climbing for a long time, Xiayu was fumigated to the point where he could barely keep his eyes open.
At that moment, he was surprised to find that there was no way forward.
The path ahead seemed to be completely blocked off.
Approaching for a closer look, he found that there were rotting bones encrusted with decaying flesh here, along with some foul-smelling, excrement-like substances.
It was precisely these things that were blocking the path.
Wrinkling his nose, Xiayu brandished his swords and hacked away wildly.
Gurgle...
The decaying bones with rotting flesh, along with the excrement-like muck, rolled down the passageway.
The path was clear!
At that moment, Xiayu was speechless—he seriously suspected he was inside some fierce beast's latrine.
Blech!
Xiayu felt like vomiting!