"Want to increase your cultivation speed? It's simple. Find some rare treasures of heaven and earth, or magical weapons and artifacts. If worst comes to worst, get some spirit stones. Once I, Lord Cauldron, refine them, I can return the spiritual energy to you, ensuring your cultivation speed soars!"
Starlight rippled within the Devouring God Cauldron, and Lord Cauldron's voice echoed in Lin Yu's sea of consciousness.
"Lord Cauldron, I'm confined here. Not to mention rare treasures or magical weapons, I can't even get my hands on spirit stones!"
Lin Yu shook his head helplessly—he truly was powerless.
"No rare treasures? Magical weapons work too. I, Lord Cauldron, am not picky. Demonic beasts, demon cultivators, or even human cultivators—Lord Cauldron can refine them all and boost your cultivation!"
Lord Cauldron chuckled, pointing Lin Yu in a clear direction.
"Demonic beasts...!"
Lin Yu's heart stirred. North of the imperial mausoleum lay the Qilian Mountains, where the Mausoleum Guard Army stationed at the foot to fend off the once-every-three-years beast tide.
The Qilian Mountains teemed with countless demonic beasts, a constant threat to the Great Han Dynasty. But for Lin Yu now, they were a treasure trove.
He stowed the Devouring God Cauldron. When night fell, he immediately 施展 (executed) his movement technique, transforming into a phantom and dashing toward the Qilian Mountains.
Most of the Mausoleum Guard Army were only Rank 3 or 4 warriors, with the commander being a mere Rank 7. Their role was to monitor demonic beasts and block the first wave of the beast tide.
When the true beast tide arrived, the imperial city's powerhouses would sortie en masse, and young prodigies from royal families and sect clans would secretly compete to see who could hunt more demonic beasts. Thus, the once-every-three-years beast tide was also known as the Autumn Hunt.
As long as Lin Yu avoided the Guard commander, he could easily cross the 防线 (defense line) and enter the Qilian Mountains to hunt.
The Mausoleum Guard Army had always defended against demonic beasts charging out of the Qilian Mountains, never expecting someone to go against the grain and break into this den of dragons and tigers. Thus, after carefully evading the commander, Lin Yu successfully entered the mountains.
The range stretched tens of thousands of miles, infested with demonic beasts. The deeper one went, the more formidable the beasts became!
In the outer reaches of the Qilian Mountains, deep in the forest, a black-furred rabbit the size of a hunting dog with two flames dancing in its eyes eyed a rat as large as a civet cat, its body covered in 寒光 (cold light)-glinting black iron scales.
They were the Rank 1 demonic beasts Red Flame Rabbit and Iron Scale Rat, ubiquitous in the Qilian Mountains.
The rabbit and rat faced off in the dark. Just as the Red Flame Rabbit ignited flames to attack, a large hand emerged from the shadows, snapping its neck. The flames on the rabbit instantly vanished.
The Iron Scale Rat's scales stood on end in fear. Before it could turn to flee, Lin Yu stomped out, kicking it flying. It tumbled to the ground, 瘫倒 (paralyzed).
Lin Yu stepped from the shadows, summoning the Devouring God Cauldron. Flowing light flashed as both the Red Flame Rabbit and Iron Scale Rat were drawn into the golden cauldron.
Immediately, a thread of pure spiritual energy welled up from the cauldron like a warm current, entering his meridians and being absorbed by the Saint Emperor Sword Body.
Lin Yu could clearly feel his cultivation increase slightly. If he cultivated step-by-step, such progress would take ten days or half a month.
"Too weak, too weak! These demonic beasts are too weak! Kid, if you want to boost your cultivation quickly, hunt more and stronger beasts. With me, Lord Cauldron, you won't be short of benefits!"
Lord Cauldron rambled in Lin Yu's sea of consciousness.
"Lord Cauldron, this is just the beginning. In these mountains, there's no shortage of anything—especially demonic beasts!"
Lin Yu looked into the dark forest ahead, a faint smile curling his lips.
Then his figure flickered as he rushed into the dense forest, beginning his hunting spree.
...
Before dawn, on a clearing in the dense forest, hundreds of demonic beasts piled into a mountain.
A ripple of starlight swept them into the Devouring God Cauldron. A surge of thick spiritual energy then entered Lin Yu's meridians, boosting his cultivation continuously.
Suddenly, cracking sounds echoed from within Lin Yu. Spiritual energy surged, rippling out from his body and spreading outward.
Lin Yu's slightly lowered eyes slowly opened.
"Rank 7 Warrior—this cultivation speed is too fast!"
He knew the Saint Emperor Sword Body's cultivation speed was exceptional, but with the Devouring God Cauldron's help, it exceeded all expectations.
In the Divine State Continent, cultivation realms were divided into Warrior, Innate, Purple Mansion, Myriad Manifestations, Void Transformation, Spiritual Concentration... The gap between each realm was like a chasm, nearly impossible to cross unless one was a peerless prodigy. Even the gaps between minor realms were enormous, making advancement extremely difficult.
Previously, Lin Yu had cultivated to Rank 8 Warrior at a young age, earning him the title of the imperial family's number one prodigy. After reforging his Saint Emperor Sword Body, his cultivation returned to Rank 6 Warrior. Who would have thought that in just one night, he had Startlingly (obviously) stepped into Rank 7 Warrior.
Such cultivation speed was simply astounding!
With the Devouring God Cauldron's help, Lin Yu felt like a fish in water in the Qilian Mountains. He believed it wouldn't be long before he broke through the bottleneck and advanced to Innate.
In this world, the strong ruled. Not only did demonic beasts run rampant, but demon clans also roamed, and various heretical cults and devils plagued the people. Only the strong could survive; the weak could only hope for the mercy of the strong.
Thus, although Lin Yu's Saint Emperor Sword Body and Devouring God Cauldron could definitely help him reclaim what he had lost and leave the barren imperial mausoleum, he had no such plan.
Leaving the mausoleum and the Qilian Mountains, where else could he find a place with so many demonic beasts? The Qilian Mountains were truly a feng shui treasure land for his cultivation!
Moreover, once outside, he would be bogged down in trivial matters and forced to scheme against other princes. It was better to guard the mausoleum, cultivate alone, and improve his strength. Then, he could not only kill Lu Da but also make the mastermind behind the scenes pay in blood.
Lin Yu composed his mind and continued to cultivate in seclusion within the imperial mausoleum.
Time flew by like a white horse passing a gap. In the blink of an eye, two years passed.
Over these two years, the Great Han imperial family, noble clans, and major sects had nearly turned the imperial city upside down, yet neither the Human Emperor Sword nor the prophesied sword dao prodigy had been found.
As night fell and the moon hung high, Lin Yu pushed open the door of the mausoleum and looked toward the dimly lit Qilian Mountains in the night.
"The demonic beasts you've been hunting lately are getting fewer. You need to work harder, kid! At this rate, when will you advance to Innate Rank 4?"
Lord Cauldron's loud voice echoed in Lin Yu's sea of consciousness.
Lin Yu shook his head and smiled. Over the past two years, he had nearly cleared out the demonic beasts in the Qilian Mountains. Now, unless he ventured deeper into the mountains to confront the Innate-rank great demons, it was hard to satisfy Lord Cauldron's appetite!