Ancient trees towered into the sky, vines hung down, and the dense spiritual energy was almost tangible. Tang Xiaoqi held his breath and focused his mind, pushing the concealment effect of the "Long Spring Art" to its limit. His figure darted nimbly between thick tree trunks and dense shrubs, like an inconspicuous blue shadow in the forest. He dared not be the slightest bit careless; his spiritual sense, like the most alert tentacles, remained within a twenty-zhang radius around him, meticulously perceiving any abnormal fluctuations of spiritual energy or life aura.
After advancing for about an hour, apart from a few startled low-level herbivorous spirit beasts and several brightly colored insects that seemed harmless but might contain potent toxins, he encountered no real danger. This allowed the tense strings of his heart to relax slightly, but also made him more certain that beneath the calm of this secret realm, there must be hidden deadly threats.
Just as he bypassed a giant ancient tree that would require over ten people to encircle, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and his footsteps halted instantly.
Not far ahead, in a relatively open, sunlit forest clearing, a peculiar plant grew quietly. It was about a foot tall, its entire body emerald green like jade, with heart-shaped leaves and clear veins. Most strikingly, at the top of the plant, a golden flower bud lay ready to bloom, and at its center, faint streams of light rotated, emitting pure and gentle metallic sharp energy.
"Golden Heart Grass!" Xiaoqi's heart leaped as he immediately recognized this spirit plant.
Golden Heart Grass was one of the main ingredients for refining "Geng Metal Pills," which had miraculous effects for cultivators practicing metal-attributed techniques in breaking through bottlenecks and refining spiritual energy. Even if not used for alchemy, the pure metallic sharp energy it contained was greatly beneficial for tempering magical tools and enhancing the power of certain offensive spells. Judging by the color of the flower bud and the fluctuations of spiritual energy, this Golden Heart Grass was at least fifty years old—quite valuable!
To think he would obtain such a harvest shortly after entering the secret realm! A trace of joy surged in Xiaoqi's heart, but he didn't let it cloud his judgment. Whenever there were natural treasures of heaven and earth, especially of a grade like Golden Heart Grass, there were bound to be guardian demon beasts nearby!
He immediately suppressed his excitement and scanned the area around the Golden Heart Grass with even greater care using his spiritual sense. Sure enough, in the shadow of a shrub not far behind the plant, he detected a heavy, violent aura! Like a dormant volcano, it carried the distinctive pressure of a second-tier demon beast. Although the other party seemed to be sleeping, the faintly emitted ferocious energy still made Xiaoqi's skin tighten slightly.
He cautiously adjusted his angle and peered through the gaps in the foliage. Behind the shrubbery lay a massive black bear! This bear was nearly twice the size of an ordinary bear, its fur pitch-black and glossy like steel needles. Most peculiar was that at its shoulder blades, there were a pair of folded, bat-wing-like black fleshy wings!
"Winged Black Bear!" Xiaoqi's pupils contracted. This was a rather troublesome second-tier intermediate demon beast, immensely strong, with thick skin and coarse flesh, and relying on those fleshy wings, it could achieve extremely fast burst speed over short distances, combining power with agility. Its weaknesses were its abdomen and eyes, but attacking those spots was easier said than done.
A second-tier intermediate Winged Black Bear roughly corresponded to a human cultivator at the eighth or ninth layer of Qi Refining. Moreover, demon beasts naturally possessed strong physical bodies and were fearless of death, often making them more difficult to deal with in actual combat than human cultivators of the same level.
Xiaoqi quickly weighed the pros and cons. Golden Heart Grass wouldn't directly aid his current cultivation of the "Long Spring Art," but it could be exchanged for a large number of contribution points, or saved for future resource needs—a rare opportunity. But this Winged Black Bear was no easy opponent.
"I'll give it a shot!" Xiaoqi's eyes turned fierce. In the past, he might have chosen to retreat, but now his cultivation had improved, his methods increased; he needed a real battle to test himself! Moreover, the Winged Black Bear seemed to be sleeping, perhaps allowing for a sneak attack.
He silently retrieved that black wok, holding it in his hand. For some reason, holding this wok gave him more confidence. He slowly mobilized the spiritual energy within his body, preparing to unleash his strongest attack, aiming to severely wound the demon beast in one strike.
However, the moment his spiritual energy fluctuated slightly as he prepared to burst into action, the previously crouching, sleeping Winged Black Bear suddenly opened its bell-like crimson eyes! Demon beasts' perception of killing intent and spiritual energy fluctuations was far more acute than humans'!
"Roar——!"
An ear-shattering roar instantly exploded, causing leaves around to rustle and fall. The Winged Black Bear stood upright on its hind legs, its massive body bringing a strong sense of oppression. Its crimson eyes locked firmly on the direction where Xiaoqi was hiding, filled with wrath from being disturbed.
Sneak attack failed!
Xiaoqi hesitated no longer. His figure shot out from his hiding spot like an arrow from a bowstring, heading straight for the Golden Heart Grass! Since a sneak attack was impossible, he would settle this quickly—seize the spirit plant and leave!
But his speed was fast, the Winged Black Bear's speed was faster! Its fleshy wings at the shoulder blades suddenly spread open; although insufficient for true flight, they provided powerful burst force. The massive body became like a black lightning bolt, bringing a foul wind as it instantly charged before Xiaoqi. A bear paw the size of a millstone, carrying a tearing wind, fiercely swatted toward Xiaoqi!
Before the paw wind arrived, the terrifying pressure already made Xiaoqi's breath catch!
Can't take it head-on! Thoughts raced in Xiaoqi's mind. His footwork changed, executing the Light Body Technique, his figure slipping sideways like a ghost.
"Boom!"
The bear paw missed, heavily smashing into the ground, leaving a deep crater and splattering mud.
Xiaoqi narrowly dodged this strike. The basic sword technique he had long prepared instantly thrust out, targeting the Winged Black Bear's relatively vulnerable eyes!
Yet the Winged Black Bear reacted extremely quickly, tilting its head. The long sword struck its hard skull, emitting a crisp "ding" sound, leaving only a white scratch—completely unable to penetrate its defense!
"What strong defense!" Xiaoqi's heart sank.
The Winged Black Bear was thoroughly enraged. Another bear paw swept horizontally, while simultaneously opening its bloody maw, a foul, stinky wind rushing toward Xiaoqi's face.
Xiaoqi pushed the Light Body Technique to its extreme, continuously evading. His hand holding the sword seized opportunities to attack, but whether stabbing, slashing, or thrusting, it was difficult to cause substantial damage to the thick-skinned Winged Black Bear. Instead, he nearly got swept by the bear paw several times, dangerously close to disaster. His attacks seemed like mere tickles to this giant beast.
This won't work! Spiritual energy consumption was huge; prolonged defense would inevitably lead to mistakes!
Xiaoqi's eyes turned ruthless. After anotherclumsy dodge from a bear paw strike, he suddenly transferred the long sword to his left hand, his right hand swiftly reaching into his storage bag. The next moment, that pitch-black wok was already in his grip!
Time to test this wok's power!
The spiritual energy from the "Long Spring Art" within his body madly poured into the wok, simultaneously activating the faint connection established through "heart refining" over these days.
"Hum——"
The wok emitted an extremely low, almost ancient hum. The wok's body seemed to have a barely perceptible dark light flash.
Just then, the Winged Black Bear roared and pounced again, its huge bear paw swinging down overhead!
Xiaoqi didn't retreat but advanced instead. Channeling all his strength into his right arm, he swung the wok in a full arc, neither dodging nor evading, meeting the massive bear paw head-on and smashing against it!
Wok met paw!
The anticipated tremendous impact didn't fully arrive. Instead, there was a dull, thudding sound like striking leather!
"Boom!!"
A strange, shockwave-like fluctuation centered on the point of contact violently spread out!
The Winged Black Bear let out a painful, startled roar. The swatting paw was forcefully shaken away, its massive body staggering backward two steps. The paw that had clashed with Xiaoqi was trembling slightly, as if the internal bones and muscles were injured by that bizarre shockwave!
Effective! The wok's shock effect indeed had miraculous results against thick-skinned demon beasts!
Xiaoqi's spirits greatly lifted. Seizing the moment the Winged Black Bear was off balance, he swung the wok again, like street fighting, relentlessly smashing toward the beast's head, neck, and other relatively vulnerable areas!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Dull thudding sounds continued without end. The Winged Black Bear was beaten dizzy, roaring incessantly, trying to retaliate, but the strange shock force transmitted from the wok not only caused intense pain in its flesh but also constantly interfered with the flow of demonic power within its body, making its movements sluggish.
Xiaoqi fought more fiercely, swinging the wok with vigor, combining with agile footwork, actually suppressing this second-tier demon beast for a time!
Finally, after over a dozen consecutive violent smashes on the same spot—near the Winged Black Bear's temple—the fierce demon beast emitted an unwilling whimper. Its massive body swayed and collapsed with a thunderous crash, stirring up dust all over the ground, already knocked unconscious.
Xiaoqi gasped for breath, his wok-holding arm trembling slightly. His internal spiritual energy was nearly half depleted. Looking at the fallen Winged Black Bear, then at the still black, unremarkable wok that had performed meritorious service, his eyes filled with surprise.
Without further thought, he swiftly rushed to the Golden Heart Grass, carefully dug out the entire plant along with a large clump of soil, and placed it into a pre-prepared jade box, sealing it well.
After completing this, he dared not linger. He didn't even bother dealing with the Winged Black Bear's corpse (materials from a second-tier demon beast were worth some spirit stones, but the risk was too great). Immediately, he performed the Light Body Technique and sped away headlong toward a direction far from this place, without looking back.
His figure soon disappeared deep into the dense ancient forest.
On the spot, only the unconscious Winged Black Bear and the messy traces of battle remained, silently recounting that brief yet intense encounter.
The secret realm's first lesson—Xiaoqi had already learned it. Danger and opportunity coexisted, and strength with suitable weapons were the only guarantees for survival.