The air in the valley seemed to have congealed, thick with the cloying stench of blood and the acrid smell of corroded rock. The ground was a mess of shattered stone and scorched vegetation. The two Greenwood Family retainers, Hawk and Wolf, stood back-to-back, breathing like broken bellows. Wolf's right arm hung uselessly, clearly broken; a deep, bone-gouging claw mark on his chest oozed with an ominous green glow as the venom continued to eat away at his vitality. His face was ashen, sustained only by sheer will. Hawk was in slightly better shape, but a deep gash on his left leg from the viper's fang made movement agonizingly difficult. His once-sharp eyes were now filled with exhaustion and grim resolve.
Their opponent, the Second Rank Mid-Stage Puffadder Viper, was equally mangled. The pulsating lump on its head was ruptured, leaking pus and blood; one eye was completely destroyed, the other dim. Its massive body was crisscrossed with cuts and stab wounds, its movements sluggish, its hisses full of pain. Yet, the fierce, menacing aura of a Second Rank magical beast still clung to it.
A stalemate between two wounded forces! Hidden in the shadows, Silas knew the opportunity was fleeting. He had to act now!
The moment the viper raised its head in agony, exposing the relatively vulnerable scales beneath its jaw—
Whoosh!
A figure shot out from the shadows at the valley entrance like a ghost, leaving only an afterimage! Silas's eyes were icy cold, his target clear—eliminate the remaining human threats first!
His Earth Sense gave him a perfect grasp of every vibration and energy flow in the area. His steps were precise and uncanny. The obsidian-like Energy Claws snapped out from the fingertips of his left hand, aiming for the throat of the hampered Hawk! In his right hand, the Saber-Toothed Dagger gleamed with a cold star-point, thrusting towards the heart of the severely wounded Wolf!
"You little rat! Seeking death!" Hawk was both shocked and furious. Experienced in battle, even gravely injured, his reflexes remained. He barely managed to raise his water-parting spikes to block. Wolf also roared, swinging his war knife with his good left arm towards Silas, trying to save Hawk by attacking him.
Clang! Thud!
Silas's Energy Claws slammed hard into Hawk's spikes, sparks flying! Weakened by his injuries, Hawk's strength was greatly reduced. The impact numbed his arm, sending him stumbling back, his defenses wide open. Meanwhile, Silas didn't dodge Wolf's descending knife at all! He merely twisted his body slightly, meeting the blade with the thick muscle of his shoulder blade!
Thwack! The blade bit deep into flesh, blood spraying! Silas grunted, his face paling, but the momentum of his dagger thrust towards Wolf's heart didn't diminish in the slightest!
"You—!" Wolf never expected such a fearless, suicidal trade! It was too late to change his move.
Squelch! The dagger plunged accurately into Wolf's heart. The retainer's eyes filled with stunned disbelief, his body stiffening before collapsing limply.
"Wolf!!" Hawk, witnessing his companion's death, was enraged and grief-stricken. Ignoring his leg wound, he erupted with all his remaining spiritual energy. His water-parting spikes shot forward like a venomous snake, whistling through the air with a piercing shriek, aimed directly at Silas's back! This strike, fueled by fury, was terrifyingly powerful!
Silas had just killed Wolf; his old force spent, new force not yet generated, his back completely exposed! He forced his body to twist, his Energy Claws hastily rising to meet the attack!
BOOM!
A explosive sound erupted, spiritual energy scattering wildly! Silas was sent flying by Hawk's hate-filled strike, vomiting blood mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground several meters away. The Saber-Toothed Dagger flew from his grasp. The clothes on his back were shredded, revealing a deep gash that reached the bone. His aura instantly withered, and he lay prone, coughing violently, seeming to lack even the strength to stand.
Hawk, having landed his blow, had also worsened his leg wound from the exertion. Blood gushed out as he leaned on his spikes, barely standing, gasping for breath, his eyes fixed hatefully on the prone Silas.
This scene instantly ignited hope in Lynn, who had been hiding behind a rock trembling, and Lina and her companion, who were supporting each other, wounded and pale.
"He's done for! He's badly injured! Uncle Hawk, kill him!" Lynn shrieked, his face a mask of wild joy and venom.
Lina also breathed a sigh of relief. Though she found the youth strange, he certainly seemed at the end of his rope. She exchanged a glance with her companion, both seeing the same killing intent and desire to seize the spirit fruit in each other's eyes.
Hawk's gaze was icy as he limped towards the prone Silas, raising his spikes aimed at the back of his head. "Vile vermin, die!"
Just as Hawk's spikes were about to descend—
A sudden change occurred!
The seemingly incapacitated Silas flipped over violently! His eyes held no trace of weakness, only icy killing intent! The Energy Absorption/Rebound ability he gained from the "Jelly" beast activated instantly! An invisible field enveloped him!
Hawk felt a powerful suction force pulling at his spiritual energy; the power behind his thrust seemed to vanish into a bog! Immediately after, a force even more violent than his own attack rebounded back, surging up the spikes into his arm!
Crack! The sound of snapping bone was unmistakable! Hawk screamed, his spikes flying from his grasp as the tremendous force sent him hurtling backwards to smash against the cliff wall. He vomited blood profusely, clearly not long for this world.
This sudden reversal utterly stunned Lynn and Lina!
What terrified them even more was the horrifying, deep gash on Silas's back and the wound on his shoulder blade, which were now squirming and healing at a visible rate! Though not instantaneously fast, the sight of this unnatural regeneration made their scalps crawl!
"M-monster!" Lynn was scared out of his wits, turning to flee.
Would Silas let him escape? His figure blurred, scooping up the fallen dagger, and charged forth like a leopard, his Energy Claws slashing towards Lina and her companion.
Lina and her companion put up a desperate defense, but they were already injured and their spirits shaken by Silas's terrifying recovery and ruthless methods. In just a few exchanges, Silas had killed them both.
Finally, Silas caught up to Lynn, who hadn't gotten far, and ended his life amidst desperate pleas for mercy.
Within the valley, only Silas's heavy panting remained. He acted quickly, plucking the Silverthread Soulfruit and swallowing it. A vast, soul-nourishing energy flooded through him, assisting his successful breakthrough to the Second Rank Initial Stage in soul strength!
Silas forcibly suppressed the new perceptions and joy brought by his soul's ascension and began calmly looting the battlefield. From the bodies of Lynn, Lina, and the other Greenwood disciples, he gathered a considerable number of low-grade spirit stones and some common wound-healing potions, which were merely supplementary for him. What truly caught his attention were several warm, smooth jade slips and a thick, sturdy book bound in what seemed to be tanned beast hide, its cover blank.
He first picked up the leather-bound book. It felt slightly heavy and cool to the touch. Opening it, he found neat handwriting in the common tongue of the continent, accompanied by numerous diagrams of human meridians and energy circulation patterns.
"Detailed Guide to Basic Spiritual Energy Channeling"
Silas read with intense focus. This wasn't some profound technique, but a systematic explanation of the most fundamental, yet core, knowledge of spiritual energy cultivation. It detailed:
· The Nature of Spiritual Energy: The process of drawing the free-floating energy between heaven and earth into the body and making it one's own.
· The Meridian System: The specific pathways within the human body through which spiritual energy flows, like river channels. Different techniques corresponded to networks of varying complexity.
· Cyclical Circulation: The completion of a full cycle of energy through the main meridians, called a revolution, was the basic method for accumulating and refining spiritual energy.
· Refinement Techniques: How to use specific breathing methods and mental focus to purify the heterogeneous energy absorbed into a purer, more easily controlled personal spiritual energy.
· Basic Application: How to coat weapons with spiritual energy to enhance damage, how to concentrate it on the body's surface to form simple protections, and the most basic methods of external energy release.
"So that's how it is…" Silas's mind suddenly felt clear. His previous cultivation had relied entirely on the instinct of the Law of Life and the physical enhancements from multiple fusions—a form of savage growth. His fine control over spiritual energy was almost nonexistent. This book was like a standard "textbook" provided to him, a cultivator who had learned on his own. Though basic, it perfectly compensated for his biggest shortcoming—Spiritual Energy Application Skill. This would greatly enhance the efficiency of his future energy growth and utilization, moving beyond mere quantitative change leading to qualitative change.
Putting down the "Detailed Guide to Basic Spiritual Energy Channeling," he picked up a jade slip that emitted a faint, sharp aura and sank his consciousness into it. A flood of information instantly filled his mind:
"Beast Taming Art: Introductory Essentials (Fragment)"
The value of this fragment far exceeded the previous basic book! It clearly revealed the core mysteries of the Beast Taming Art system, giving Silas a overturning understanding of the physical cultivation path:
· First Rank: Forging the Beast Foundation: The core of this stage was Fusion. The practitioner needed to find suitable magical beasts, absorb their life essence and special abilities, and integrate them into themselves. Theoretically, the perfect state for the First Rank was to successfully fuse nine different types of beasts with different attributes and traits! But this was extremely difficult. Each fusion brought intense rejection reactions and bestial impulses, placing极其严苛 (extremely stringent) demands on the practitioner's physical body strength, willpower, and resources (potions, arrays for stabilization, etc.). Those without exceptional talent or substantial backing often reached their limit after three or four fusions. Attempting more would lead to physical collapse or the mind being submerged by bestial instincts. The stronger and more complementary the fused beasts, the more solid the First Rank foundation.
· Second Rank: Taming the Fated Beast: The key to breaking through to the Second Rank lay in the word "Taming." One needed to select a magical beast of great potential at the Second Rank as their "Fated Beast." The breakthrough wasn't a simple fusion, but rather using the vast "essence, energy, and spirit" accumulated from all the beasts fused during the First Rank as a bridge and resource to communicate, connect, and ultimately "tame" the core power of this Second Rank beast. Upon success, the practitioner and the "Fated Beast" would form a deep symbiosis. Not only would they gain its power, but they would also gain complete control over all the bestial powers fused in the First Rank, wielding them as easily as moving their own limbs. Therefore, the more and the stronger the beasts fused at the First Rank, the more stable the "bridge" built during the Second Rank breakthrough, the greater the power gained, and the higher the future potential.
Reading this, Silas's burning gaze fell upon the corpse of the Puffadder Viper. Eight kinds! He had already fused the traits of eight different beasts: the Blindfish (underwater breathing), the Hill Wolf (endurance), the Brush Antelope (flexibility), the Sharp-Eyed Hawk (farsight/incipient Light Wings), the Dire Rat Spirit (digging/treasure sensing), the Stone-Claw Mongrel (Energy Claws/Earth Sense), the Striped Tiger (base strength), and the Jelly Beast (Energy Absorption/Rebound)!
He was only one short of achieving the theoretical First Rank perfection—the Nine Beasts Perfected state!
This Second Rank Mid-Stage Puffadder Viper was undoubtedly an extremely powerful candidate. Using it to fill the final slot, once successful, would make his physical foundation unimaginably solid!
Finally, he looked at another, darker jade slip that seemed older and sank his consciousness into it.
"Miscellaneous Records of the Hundred Beasts Body Tempering Art"
This wasn't a complete technique but more like a collection of notes, conjectures, and ideas from some senior. It recorded many unconventional methods, medicinal bath recipes, and even dangerous physical exercises involving the use of different demon beast essence blood, souls, and even marrow for body tempering. Many ideas were wild and seemed far-fetched, lacking systematic verification. But for Silas, who possessed the Law of Life and a unique sensitivity and control over life energy, this miscellany was like opening a door to a new world. Many of the seemingly dangerous concepts might be achievable for him in unique ways, providing more diverse ideas for tempering his body.
Closing the jade slip, Silas took a deep breath, his eyes becoming extremely determined. The harvest exceeded expectations! Not only had his soul broken through, but more importantly, the path ahead was now clear.
"Nine Beasts Perfected… I will use you to achieve my perfect First Rank foundation!" He looked at the Puffadder Viper's corpse, no longer hesitating.
Use it directly as his"Fated Beast" for the Second Rank breakthrough?
No,he had greater ambitions! He would use the vast power of this Second Rank beast to forge his own peerless First Rank foundation!
He sat down cross-legged, placed his hands slowly on the viper's cold, tough scales, closed his eyes, and fully activated the Law of Life, beginning the most dangerous, yet ultimately most rewarding, ninth fusion!