"As expected, even with my many trump cards, I still cannot completely contend with a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in my current state."
Lu Qing had roughly figured out his own strength.
Although he still had trump cards he hadn't used in the battle against that Nascent Soul Realm wind beast.
But he estimated that even if he really used all his strength, it would be difficult to truly kill that Nascent Soul Realm Wind Beast.
A newly born wind beast in the Nascent Soul Realm, with low intelligence and obvious shortcomings in all aspects except for strength.
He couldn't defeat them head-on.
If it were to face those cultivators who had cultivated for countless years, were incredibly shrewd, and had perfect control over their own power—truly great beings of the primordial spirit realm—they would be invincible.
Or perhaps those cunning and treacherous primordial spirit demon cultivators among the demon race.
I'm afraid I'll lose badly, and whether I can escape with my life is another matter entirely.
"It seems that I should still cultivate in a low-key manner and continue to accumulate strength, which is the right path."
After summarizing and reflecting, Lu Qing finally came to a conclusion.
He benefited greatly from this battle.
Not only did he gain a general understanding of his own strength level, he also honed his swordsmanship.
His mastery of the 【Little Heaven-Breaking Sword】 was becoming increasingly effortless.
Even the supreme inheritance in his mind, 【Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi】, showed faint signs of being able to truly comprehend it.
Indeed, real-world experience is one of the best ways to hone one's skills.
"Ah Qing, where are we going next? Are we going back to meet up with the convoy?" Xiao Li asked.
“Of course not.” Lu Qing shook his head.
He had no intention of going back to see Old Man Joe and the others.
He was willing to cover their retreat, which was part of his plan; he would leave immediately afterward.
After all, his cultivation level had already been exposed, so there was no point in him staying in the caravan any longer.
"After I go into seclusion for a day to digest what I've learned from this battle, we'll leave directly," Lu Qing said.
When he left, he chose the opposite direction from the convoy, and now he has crossed the Stormy Plains and arrived at the mountains on the other side.
Xiao Li and Wu Xing naturally had no objection to Lu Qing's decision.
So the next day, after Lu Qing finished his seclusion and restored himself to his peak condition, he continued his journey with Xiao Li and the others.
However, before setting off, he used the formless and shapeless, ever-changing abilities of the perfect golden core.
He changed his image again, transforming himself into a seemingly honest-looking young man.
Even Xiao Li's fur was transformed using a transformation talisman.
It changed from gray to a mix of black, orange, and white.
As for the Five Elements, they don't need to be changed.
The little guy always hid in his pocket and rarely appeared in front of outsiders, so there was no need to change his appearance all the time.
Lu Qing, carrying the two little ones, used his movement techniques to travel through the mountains.
Having learned his lesson from being attacked by a strange bird in the air before, Lu Qing now rarely flies when traveling.
After all, he was unfamiliar with the Tianyuan Great World. If he were to accidentally fly over the head of some powerful being, he might get into trouble.
After leaving the Stormy Plains, they entered a vast mountain range.
Lu Qing traveled non-stop for several hours.
Suddenly, Xiao Li crawled out of his arms.
"Aqing! I sense the aura of a treasure!"
"Hmm?" Lu Qing was taken aback and stopped in his tracks. "The aura of a treasure?"
"That's right, I can sense the aura of a treasure not far to my left, drawing me in!" Xiao Li said with certainty.
"A treasure..."
Lu Qing began to ponder.
He recalled Xiao Li's strange sensory abilities, which seemed to have an unusual reaction to treasures.
Even Yan once said that the Black Night Spirit Fox clan has an extremely outstanding talent in treasure hunting.
Given Xiao Li's current strength, anything that it can still call a treasure must be extraordinary.
So after a moment's thought, he made his decision.
"Since there's treasure here, let's go take a look."
It just so happens that this place is deep in the mountains, rarely visited by people, so perhaps we can find some good treasures.
Immediately, Lu Qing followed Xiao Li's guidance and flew to the left.
Soon, they arrived at a valley.
"Ah Qing, the treasure is up there."
Xiao Li stretched out its paw and pointed upwards.
Lu Qing looked up and saw a short, sturdy, peculiar plant growing on the cliff face of the valley above, its roots intertwined and firmly planted in the crevices of the rock.
More importantly, a deep red fruit, about the size of half a fist, was growing at the top of the plant.
Upon seeing the red fruit, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Lu Qing's heart skipped a beat.
Although the spirit was concealing itself, the red fruit did not emit any powerful spiritual energy.
But his intuition told him that this fruit was extraordinary.
He immediately activated his superpower.
Before long, a rich purple light of supernatural power emerged from the red fruit, and several messages floated out.
【Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit: A top-grade spiritual herb, a powerful fruit containing the bloodline of a dragon, soon to ripen.】
【This Vermilion Fruit Tree was once nourished by the blood of a dragon, thus undergoing a mutation and transforming into the Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit Tree.】
【A single Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit can only bear fruit once every five hundred years, containing the essence of dragon blood.】
【Human cultivators who consume it can increase their lifespan and cultivation level; spirit beasts who consume it have a certain probability of transforming into beings with purer bloodlines.】
...
"Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit, a top-grade spiritual medicine?"
When Lu Qing finished reading the messages on the note, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Xiao Li's intuition was indeed correct; this red fruit was indeed a rare treasure.
High-grade spiritual herbs are not common even in this Tianyuan Great World.
As for top-grade spiritual herbs, they are even rarer.
Even a Nascent Soul Realm expert would not hesitate to snatch it if they encountered it.
More importantly, this Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit has a certain probability of causing a spirit beast to undergo a bloodline transformation.
For those who are small, they might be of great use.
"Ah Qing, should we pick this fruit now?"
Xiao Li stared longingly at the blood-red fruit.
Its innate, unique senses told it that the immense medicinal power contained in this fruit would be of great benefit to it.
The same applies to the Five Elements.
Its tail wagged incessantly, and its vertical pupils almost shone brightly.
"Not yet, the fruit is not fully ripe. We need to wait a few more days."
Seeing the words "coming soon" displayed on the note, Lu Qing suddenly stopped rushing on his way.
He used his flying sword to cut a cave in the cliff face on the other side.
Then they set up an array to conceal their presence, and temporarily settled inside with Xiao Li and the others.
He cultivated while waiting for the Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit to ripen.
Three days passed in this way. At noon that day, Lu Qing, who was cultivating with his eyes closed, suddenly felt a very strong spiritual energy fluctuation coming from outside.
"Ah Qing, are the fruits ripe?"
Xiao Li and Wu Xing were also awakened by this spiritual energy fluctuation.
"It should be."
Lu Qing removed the formation and came to the cave entrance.
On the cliff directly in front of them, the Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit, which had previously been perfectly still and looked like an ordinary wild fruit, was undergoing an astonishing transformation.
A powerful suction force is forming inside the fruit, constantly drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of dozens of miles was rapidly converging, forming an astonishing vortex of spiritual energy around the Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit.
At the same time, a faint medicinal fragrance began to drift out of the valley.
Such a commotion immediately stirred up all the spirit beasts and demon beasts within a hundred miles.
The spirit beasts nearby, drawn by the scent of the medicine, rushed towards the valley as if possessed.
"What a wonderful elixir!"
Lu Qing also smelled the medicinal fragrance and felt his spirits lift. The speed of his internal magical power seemed to increase slightly.
He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
You must know how pure his magical power is, given his current cultivation level.
Even a top-tier Golden Core cultivator at the peak of their Golden Core realm, whose magical power is of the highest purity, is probably not as good as him.
And a wisp of medicinal energy from this Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit could actually influence his magical power.
This clearly demonstrates his extraordinary nature.
"Ah Qing, a lot of guys are trying to steal our food!"
At this moment, Xiao Li also sensed the spirit beasts and demon beasts rushing towards this place outside the valley.
Among them were many with powerful auras and strength reaching the Golden Core realm.
"It's alright. As long as it's not a spirit beast or demon beast at the Nascent Soul Realm level, no one can take this fruit away," Lu Qing said confidently.
However, he still made preparations in advance.
With a flick of his fingers, he sent jade talismans flying into the valley.
Soon, he heard a series of beast roars, and saw dozens of spirit beasts and demon beasts of different shapes and sizes rushing into the valley together.
Among them, there are seven or eight that have reached the Golden Core realm.
As soon as they entered the valley, the spirit beasts and monsters saw the strange phenomenon on the cliff.
When they saw the blood-red fruit, their eyes gleamed with greed.
Without thinking, he lunged straight up.
During this process, they had already begun to fight and struggle.
Some of the weaker spirit beasts were torn to shreds.
A wave of bloody energy suddenly filled the valley.
Among all the spirit beasts and demon beasts, the fastest was a bird resembling a golden eagle.
In the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of the Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit, a smug look in its eyes, ready to swallow it whole.
The other spirit beasts and demon beasts lagging behind it were extremely anxious, but helpless.
To see the golden eagle in flight, one must swallow the Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit.
Just then, a gray shadow suddenly appeared in front of the golden eagle.
Before the golden eagle could even react, its head was smashed open with a swipe of its claws.
Before he could even scream, he fell from the sky.
This sudden change stunned the other spirit beasts and demon beasts.
The Golden Core Realm spirit beasts, in particular, were so shocked that they froze in mid-air, not daring to go any further.
They stared in horror at the golden eagle, its head shattered, falling from the sky.
Bang!
After the golden eagle's body fell to the bottom of the valley, it struggled for a few moments before its life force gradually dissipated.
All the spirit beasts and demon beasts knew that it had completely perished.
All the spirit beasts and demon beasts immediately turned their attention to the figure that had killed the golden eagle.
It was a small spirit beast with a petite body and fur that was a mixture of black, orange, and white colors, resembling a raccoon.
However, despite its small size, none of the spirit beasts and demon beasts dared to underestimate it.
Instead, his eyes were filled with fear as he stared intently at the other person.
Such fear wasn't limited to this tiny creature, which had just easily killed the fastest of them, the golden eagle.
Furthermore, the aura emanating from the other party was incredibly terrifying.
"You dare to steal my things?"
At this moment, Xiao Li was surrounded by a terrifying aura, and her eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Ah Qing said that the spiritual fruit is currently in the ripening stage, and if it is interrupted, its medicinal effect may be greatly reduced.
Just now, the spirit fruit was almost swallowed by that silly bird, how could it not be furious?
Sensing the murderous aura emanating from Xiao Li, the remaining spirit beasts and demon beasts all trembled.
But after smelling the increasingly rich fragrance emanating from the red fruit behind Xiao Li...
The fear in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by greed, and they turned on Xiao Li with intense hostility.
"Hmm? Something seems off."
Lu Qing frowned slightly when he saw the behavior of those spirit beasts and demon beasts.
He was well aware that among spirit beasts and demon beasts, the law of the strong being respected has always been followed.
If they encounter a spirit beast that is much stronger than themselves, they rarely dare to provoke it.
However, these spirit beasts and demon beasts, seeing how easily Xiao Li killed a golden eagle that was no less powerful than themselves, were still unwilling to retreat. Instead, they showed greed and wanted to attack Xiao Li.
This unusual behavior immediately made Lu Qing feel that something was wrong.
"Is it because of the fragrance of the Dragon Blood Vermilion Fruit?" Lu Qing asked thoughtfully.
However, he still did not make a move, but simply instructed Wu Xing to help later.
However, they wanted to use this situation to give the two little ones a chance to grow and mature.
Since leaving their home world, Xiao Li and the Five Elements have made great progress in their cultivation.
However, they have never experienced any significant battles.
After all, the enemies he had encountered all along were extremely powerful, beyond what Xiao Li and the others could handle.
Since such a good opportunity was rare, he simply decided to stand by and watch.
Let the two little ones get some good exercise.
"You still want to lay a hand on me?"
Xiao Li became even more furious when she saw the hostility in the eyes of the guys opposite her.
Just then, an incredibly strong wave came from behind it.
The dragon blood vermilion fruit suddenly absorbed all the surrounding spiritual energy.
Then, a light like blood diamonds flashed from the fruit.
An incredibly rich medicinal fragrance wafted out, instantly filling the entire valley.
"Xiao Li, be careful, the spirit fruit is fully ripe, those guys are about to riot."
Lu Qing's voice has been echoing in my mind since I was little.
Meanwhile, the spirit beasts and demons in the valley, upon smelling the rich medicinal fragrance, completely lost their reason.
Along with his fear of Xiao Li, it all disappeared completely.
They roared and pounced on Xiao Li, wanting to tear this troublesome guy to pieces.
"Perfect timing!"
Xiao Li's gaze sharpened, but her body suddenly vanished.
Just as the group of spirit beasts and demon beasts were slightly stunned, a scream rang out.
However, it was one of the demonic beasts that had been cut into several pieces at some point.
With that scream, a massacre started by Xiao Li officially began.
