Chapter 8

As he walked along, Meng Hao’s expression became increasingly excited. The path he had taken was stained with blood...

It was the blood of dozens of mountain beasts whose rears had exploded.

*Bang.* In front of Meng Hao, a wild wolf with a full coat of fur let out a miserable howl as it was hit three times in the rear by an invisible force, causing its rear to explode into a bloody mess.

*Boom.* A large bird that had been diving into the forest to find food didn’t even have time to take off before it let out a miserable cry, as if experiencing a nightmare it had never before encountered. Its rear exploded directly.

*Bang, boom.* It was a ferocious tiger, roughly the size of a person, charging out of the forest toward Meng Hao. However, while still in midair, its terrifying roar turned into a miserable cry. Half of its rear exploded in a bloody mess. Perhaps due to the tiger’s thick fur, it exploded five times in a row.

"This is a powerful treasure," Meng Hao thought, his expression extremely excited. Unconsciously, it was already dusk. He looked at the bronze mirror in his hand. Throughout the day, the number of ferocious beasts whose rears had exploded due to this mirror was already close to a hundred.

Fortunately, there were many desolate mountains here; otherwise, if they were all concentrated on one mountain, it would have been drenched in blood.

"However, this mirror isn’t effective against everything. I tried it on pythons and river fish, and it had no reaction to creatures with scales. Instead, the more fur a creature has, the more powerful the mirror becomes." Meng Hao had tried it multiple times and also discovered that the mirror had no effect when stored in a storage bag; it only worked when held in hand. He even had a strange feeling that the bronze mirror seemed more excited than he was when it exploded the rears of wild beasts, as if the rust on it was melting, as if it had never been released in such a way for countless years.

As dusk approached, Meng Hao had already walked beyond the desolate mountains. A night breeze blew, and Meng Hao took a deep breath, feeling excited. He prepared to return to his cave dwelling along the same path. After all, this place was filled with desolate mountains and beasts, and Meng Hao had even heard that there were beasts capable of cultivation that occasionally appeared here. Although he was excited, he was also aware of the danger.

On the way there, he had to search for wild beasts, so he couldn’t move quickly. However, on the way back, he was focused on returning, and Meng Hao’s figure darted through the mountains and forests. Before long, the moon was high in the sky, and he was just three desolate mountains away from his cave dwelling when suddenly, a hot wind blew in his face. The wind was filled with a pungent smell, causing Meng Hao to pause, his heart skipping a beat. Without hesitation, he quickly retreated.

*Roar!*

A low roar that shook the surroundings echoed almost simultaneously with Meng Hao’s retreat. With the hot wind came a ferocious beast, roughly the size of a person, resembling a monkey. The beast had bloodshot eyes, revealing a cruel intent, and its fur was extremely lush, even trailing down.

The beast stared intently at Meng Hao, its eyes filled with a bloodthirsty desire. Meng Hao’s expression changed, and he felt a mental shock as if his consciousness was being sucked away by the beast’s eyes. He also sensed fluctuations in the beast’s cultivation.

"Second Stage of Qi Condensation!" Meng Hao’s body retreated further, his expression extremely grim. He knew this wasn’t just a ferocious beast; it was a demonic beast, clearly attracted by the bloodshed in the desolate mountains during the day.

Time didn’t allow Meng Hao to think. The monkey-like, long-haired demonic beast suddenly leaped up, and a ball of fire appeared around its body. The fire didn’t burn its fur but instead rushed toward Meng Hao with the beast.

In this critical moment, Meng Hao’s expression changed. He didn’t know if the bronze mirror would work on demonic beasts, but he didn’t have time to think. As the demonic beast pounced, Meng Hao awkwardly dodged, took out the bronze mirror, and shone it at the beast.

A miserable cry instantly echoed around. The demonic beast, in midair, spurted blood from its rear, its expression twisting. Its eyes, which had been cruel, now showed a look of confusion, as if it had never experienced such an injury in its life. However, it didn’t retreat. Then, it let out a more miserable cry, and its rear exploded, spewing a large amount of blood.

This time, the confusion in its expression turned into unprecedented shock. In its eyes, the mirror held by the young man before it was terrifying beyond imagination. It turned, covering its rear with a claw, and without hesitation, tried to escape, but before it could get far, its rear exploded again. This time, it exploded five times in succession, and as it fled over ten meters, Meng Hao clearly felt the bronze mirror in his hand tremble with excitement. A powerful force erupted, heading straight for the demonic beast’s rear, instantly penetrating it.

An unprecedented miserable cry echoed throughout the desolate mountain. The lower half of the demonic beast’s body exploded, and it fell to the ground, bloodied and barely alive, its expression still filled with fear as it died.

This scene happened too quickly. After it ended, Meng Hao stood there for a while, then drew a deep breath. When he looked at the bronze mirror in his hand, his breathing quickened.

"Even demonic beasts can’t escape the fate of having their rears explode. This mirror… must be an extraordinary magical treasure." Meng Hao, in his excitement, felt a greater reverence for the bronze mirror. He put it away and looked at the corpse of the demonic beast, his heart stirring.

"The Scroll of Qi Condensation mentioned that demonic beasts have demonic cores, which contain the essence of heaven and earth and can be consumed directly." He quickly walked to the corpse of the demonic beast and found a small, translucent demonic core in its abdomen. Compared to the blood, the demonic core emitted a fragrant aroma, making him feel refreshed.

After putting away the demonic core, Meng Hao continued on his journey. Unfortunately, demonic beasts in the desolate mountains were not common. By the time he returned to his cave dwelling, he hadn’t encountered another one, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

When he returned to his cave dwelling, it was already late at night. Meng Hao sat cross-legged on the ground, looking at the demonic core and the bronze mirror in his hand, his eyes flashing with light.

"This demonic core can be consumed, but the Spirit Condensation Pill given by the sect is still available. I’ll take the Spirit Condensation Pill first, then the demonic core." Meng Hao made up his mind, placed the demonic core and the bronze mirror beside him, and also took out the half spirit stone, placing it there. With the spirit stone nearby, he could absorb more spiritual energy.

After doing this, Meng Hao took out the Spirit Condensation Pill and swallowed it. The pill dissolved in his body, releasing a gentle flow of spiritual energy. Meng Hao circulated his cultivation, quickly digesting the power of the pill.

After half an hour, Meng Hao opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing in them. He silently acknowledged that the power of the pill was indeed faster than meditation, but unfortunately, there were too few Spirit Condensation Pills. Unable to resolve this, Meng Hao stopped thinking about it. He focused, raised his right hand, and grabbed the demonic core, swallowing it without hesitation.

The demonic core entered his body, and the spiritual energy it contained far exceeded that of the Spirit Condensation Pill, causing Meng Hao’s body to tremble as if it couldn’t bear the load. He rapidly circulated his cultivation, continuously integrating the energy. His body gradually trembled, and even impurities began to seep out of his pores. After four to five hours, Meng Hao’s mind buzzed, and he felt his body become light. The spiritual energy in his body, which had been a gentle flow, now intertwined, forming a small stream.

"Like a stream of spiritual energy, my body excretes impurities. This… Could this be the Second Stage of Qi Condensation?" Meng Hao opened his eyes, revealing an expression of disbelief. He looked down at his body, carefully sensing it for a while, and finally confirmed that he had indeed broken through the First Stage of Qi Condensation and entered the Second Stage.

"Is the effect of this demonic core really so powerful?" Meng Hao’s eyes brightened. He walked around the cave dwelling a few times, feeling the stream-like flow of spiritual energy in his body, and a sense of joy filled his heart.

"I’m now a Second Stage Qi Condensation immortal!"

"Unfortunately, demonic beasts are not common. Otherwise, I would have found a way to accelerate my cultivation. All of this is thanks to the bronze mirror." Meng Hao looked at the bronze mirror, but as he did, his body suddenly trembled, and he instinctively rubbed his eyes, looking closely. He immediately showed an expression of disbelief.

The bronze mirror was still there, but the half spirit stone was gone, and on the mirror was another demonic core!

"This… This…" Meng Hao’s mind buzzed, a mess of confusion. He felt as if he had lost the ability to think, staring blankly at the demonic core on the mirror. At that moment, he even doubted himself, remembering that he had placed a demonic core and a half spirit stone there. He was suddenly unsure whether he had swallowed the demonic core or the spirit stone.

"It can’t be that I swallowed the spirit stone…" Meng Hao stood there for a while, feeling incredulous. He picked up the demonic core, hesitantly brought it to his nose, and sniffed it. The scent confirmed that he had indeed swallowed the demonic core.

"This… This is what’s happening. Could it be that I misremembered, and the demonic beast had two demonic cores?" Meng Hao’s mind became even more confused. He shook his head hard, forcing himself to calm down. Staring at the demonic core in his hand and then at the mirror, his body began to tremble, and his eyes showed a light of intense excitement, as if he had seen a fortune. He almost couldn’t hold the demonic core in his hand.

"Could it be… that the mirror absorbed the spirit stone and turned the demonic core into two!" Meng Hao’s voice trembled. He had thought the mirror’s ability to explode the rears of ferocious beasts was its most powerful function, but he never expected it to have such a mysterious effect.

After a long time, Meng Hao recovered. Although he was mostly certain, he had no spirit stones to test it with. He was both excited and nervous, desperately wanting to test it with a spirit stone.

"Spirit stones, I need spirit stones!" Meng Hao’s eyes showed a ferocious light. At that moment, the spirit stones seemed to surpass gold and silver in his heart, even surpassing his former desire to become an official.

Spirit stones were essential for cultivators, especially for Meng Hao. His desire for spirit stones was unprecedentedly strong amidst the tension and anxiety.

However, the