Chapter 11: Beastfire

“Hmm?”

The man in the black robe’s expression tightened. “At sixteen years old, he can easily defeat someone like you, a first-level Blood Condensation realm cultivator! It seems this youth must be a prodigy from some powerful sect or family. But since he dares to start a fight here in Wushan City, he must pay the price. Otherwise, if the Wolf Blood Mercenary Group’s reputation is completely ruined, how can we continue to hold our ground in Wushan City?”

With that, his gaze shifted toward a man in gray sitting below. “Gray Wolf, take some men and capture this kid. Remember, bring him back alive first. If he resists, kill him on the spot.”

“Yes, sir!”

Gray Wolf acknowledged the order.

…

In the Luoyin Mountain Range.

After parting ways with Su Jingya and the others, Qin Xingchen slowly ventured deeper into the mountains.

“There probably aren’t the five medicinal herbs I need here in the Luoyin Mountains, and even if there are, it would be difficult to find them in this terrain.”

In truth, ever since he slew Lu Wenfeng, Qin Xingchen had sensed he had been deceived from the start.

Lu Wenfeng’s claim that the Luoyin Mountains contained the five herbs Qin Xingchen sought was merely a ruse to lure him away from the sect, intending to attack him outside the sect’s protection.

If he died outside the sect’s boundaries, the sect would find it difficult to take responsibility.

But in the end, Lu Wenfeng was killed by Qin Xingchen instead.

So now, entering the Luoyin Mountains, Qin Xingchen was merely trying his luck, hoping to find at least a few of the herbs.

“Since I’m here, I might as well continue searching for the herbs.”

At that moment, Qin Xingchen sensed a disturbance in the forest.

His expression instantly became alert.

“Roar!”

Suddenly, a massive figure burst out from the shadows among the trees.

It was a huge beast, fiercely blocking Qin Xingchen’s path.

Standing over ten feet tall, it resembled a gigantic gorilla. When it opened its mouth, sharp and terrifying fangs gleamed. Its eyes glowed red with fury as it glared at Qin Xingchen, pounding its chest in a display of ferocity.

Qin Xingchen was taken aback. “A mid-stage second-rank beast, a Black Sky Ape!”

Beasts were ranked from first to ninth level, each further divided into early, mid, and late stages.

This mid-stage second-rank beast was roughly equivalent in power to a fifth-level Blood Condensation realm martial artist.

Moreover, due to their physical constitution, beasts were inherently several times stronger than humans.

Thus, a mid-stage second-rank beast could even hold its own against a sixth-level Blood Condensation realm cultivator.

Now, the Black Sky Ape bared its teeth with a terrifying snarl, its face twisted into a hideous grimace.

Qin Xingchen gripped his sword tightly, his eyes gleaming sharply.

He could feel the killing intent radiating from the beast.

“Aooh!”

The Black Sky Ape roared toward the sky and charged at Qin Xingchen with great force.

When it reached about three meters away, it raised its massive fist—larger than a human head—and slammed it down toward Qin Xingchen’s head.

The punch was ferocious, carrying the weight of thousands of pounds, generating a rushing wind as it descended.

It was clear that if this punch connected, even a sixth-level Blood Condensation realm fighter’s head would explode instantly.

“Thunder Flash Step!”

Qin Xingchen executed his Thunder Flash Step, leaping back swiftly and narrowly evading the massive fist.

The Black Sky Ape snarled in fury at missing its target.

Seizing the beast’s moment of anger, Qin Xingchen vanished from his original spot like a phantom.

“Phantom Shadow Sword!”

In the next instant, he was already in front of the Black Sky Ape.

Before the beast could react, a sharp sword pierced straight through its skull.

Thus,

The Black Sky Ape’s red eyes widened, then it froze motionless before collapsing into its own pool of blood.

Qin Xingchen looked at the dead beast and murmured, “Thankfully I acted quickly and ended it with one strike. Otherwise, if I had to engage in a prolonged melee with this Black Sky Ape, it could have attracted other beasts with the noise, which would be disastrous.”

As he spoke, the chaotic divine cauldron within him trembled faintly.

“Looks like the Chaotic Divine Cauldron can also absorb the essence of beasts!”

With a thought, he guided the cauldron to rapidly absorb the essence from the Black Sky Ape’s body.

Soon, the beast’s corpse dried into a husk before turning to ash.

Qin Xingchen felt that although absorbing this beast’s essence didn’t push him to the second level of the Blood Condensation realm, his spiritual power had grown significantly stronger.

He then pressed deeper into the mountains.

Along the way, he killed eleven beasts in total.

Most were between the first and second ranks.

Especially near the end, he nearly lost his life battling two powerful late-stage second-rank beasts.

But after those two bloody battles, he finally slew both beasts.

After absorbing the essence of over a dozen beasts, his cultivation finally broke through to the second level of the Blood Condensation realm.

After half an hour of recuperation,

At this moment,

He encountered a red-striped saber-toothed tiger of early third rank.

The tiger’s eyes gleamed with ruthless intent; its sharp, curved fangs dripped with sticky saliva.

Clearly, it regarded Qin Xingchen as a delicious prey and was ready to strike at any moment.

“I can’t defeat this big one for now; retreating is the best option.”

A third-rank beast’s power was equivalent to a martial artist of the Mortal Realm.

Having just advanced to the second level of the Blood Condensation realm, Qin Xingchen could at best contend with a tenth-level Blood Condensation martial artist.

Facing a Mortal Realm expert, he wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight.

The third-rank red-striped saber-toothed tiger was thus a formidable foe.

So he wasn’t foolish enough to fight it to the death now.

That would be suicide.

With that thought, he turned and sprinted away without hesitation.

Seeing him flee, the saber-toothed tiger gave chase fiercely.

“It’s chasing so fast!”

Qin Xingchen’s face grew grave.

The tiger’s speed was astonishing.

When the beast was only a few meters behind, it leapt suddenly, lunging at him with terrifying speed, nearly impossible to evade.

At the critical moment—

“Thunder Flash Step!”

Qin Xingchen shouted and deployed his technique to the fullest.

In the end, the saber-toothed tiger missed.

Qin Xingchen had already moved ahead.

Frustrated at being toyed with, the tiger howled toward the sky and angrily continued its pursuit.

This time, it accelerated to nearly its top speed.

“This is bad—I’ve really angered this giant!”

Qin Xingchen grimly thought.

He was using all his strength to escape, even employing Thunder Flash Step while running.

Yet the saber-toothed tiger behind him was closing the distance.

Eventually,

He was cornered atop a cliff in the mountains, forced to halt.

Turning back, he saw behind him a steep cliff, likely tens of meters high.

At that moment,

The saber-toothed tiger closed in.

Pushing off with its hind legs, it lunged fiercely toward Qin Xingchen.

The beast was overwhelmingly powerful and relentless.

Qin Xingchen felt death’s threat crashing down upon him.

Now,

He had only two choices.

Either be devoured by the tiger,

Or jump off the cliff.

Jumping might mean death,

But there was still a sliver of hope.

Being eaten was certain death.

“Fight or die!”

With no other option, he leapt off the cliff without hesitation.

The saber-toothed tiger had to halt its charge.

Seeing its prey jump off the cliff,

It glanced down reluctantly, then turned away in frustration.

…

Time passed unknowingly.

Below the cliff,

When Qin Xingchen opened his eyes again, he stood up and shook his heavy head.

“Falling tens of meters and still alive—after gaining the Chaotic Overlord Body, my physical form really is extraordinarily resilient!”

Muttering, he surveyed his surroundings with a puzzled gaze and realized he had landed in a massive deep pit.

“Did I really fall into a huge pit below the cliff?”

Scanning the pit’s environment, he saw no trace of grass, animals, or any life—only barren, lifeless ground, giving off a strange, eerie feeling.

“This desolate place is so hot—no wonder nothing grows here.”

He finally noticed the high temperature inside the pit.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, he detected an abnormal, scorching heat emanating from ahead.

His gaze fixed on the center of the pit.

Driven by curiosity, he began walking toward the center.

The closer he got, the hotter it became.

At last, he clearly saw what lay ahead.

There, resting in the center, was a gigantic corpse.

A colossal beast’s carcass!

Though it appeared to have been dead for decades, the corpse still invoked a deep sense of dread.

“What is that?”

Qin Xingchen’s eyes widened as he spotted something at the heart of the beast’s remains.

Approaching, he was stunned.

“This… this is… beast fire!”