Chapter 16

As the middle-aged warrior Ge Yi scolded the broad-faced youth, he only smiled gently and said, "Thirteenth Young Master might not come out of the mountain until tomorrow. We should head back first. Although Python Tooth Ridge is just a branch of Mount Tushan, if any fierce birds or beasts come out of the deep mountains at night, we might not be able to protect the two young masters..."

"Why would Thirteenth Uncle, who entered the mountain this time to find the Black-scaled Fox, be afraid of any fierce birds or beasts on Python Tooth Ridge? They wouldn't dare to come in and hurt people," the broad-faced youth said arrogantly and disdainfully, not wanting to travel back at night.

Chen Xun was shocked, never expecting that this group had entered the deep mountains of Python Tooth Ridge to find a Black-scaled Fox. He wondered if there was another Black-scaled Fox in the depths of Python Tooth Ridge.

He didn't know who this "Thirteenth Uncle" was, but he thought that if this person could leave a group of experts comparable to the peak of the Ninth Level of Savage Martial Arts and enter the deepest part of Python Tooth Ridge alone to find the Black-scaled Fox, he must be a Heavenly Savage powerhouse as described by Grandpa Zong Tu.

Just as Chen Xun was hoping this group would leave soon, a dark shadow sped through the deepening twilight and reached the treetops in the blink of an eye.

It was a black Peng bird, slightly larger than a Green-eyed Giant Eagle, with wings spanning six to seven meters wide. Its black feathers were like iron, and as it landed above the forest, it seemed like a hill had descended.

Its sharp eyes, like two burning black flames in the twilight, exuded an aura of supreme power.

Chen Xun felt a sense of suffocation:

This was a true savage creature. Despite its similar size, it was far more formidable than the Green-eyed Eagle.

If this giant Peng bird considered them all as prey, Chen Xun doubted how many could survive.

What made Chen Xun's jaw drop even more was that on the back of the black giant Peng bird, a green-armored warrior stood with ease...

"Why are you still here?" The giant Peng bird folded its wings and landed, and the green-armored warrior walked down leisurely, slightly dissatisfied to see Ge Yi and the others still wandering in the deep mountains as dusk approached.

"We saw this Green-eyed Eagle and wanted to catch it to give to Qingxuan, so we chased after it," the broad-faced youth, seemingly fearing the green-armored warrior, quickly lied before Ge Yi could speak.

The green-armored warrior's eyes, even in the deep twilight, shone with a green light. He glanced at the bloodied Green-eyed Eagle and then at Chen Xun sitting by the tree roots, saying nothing, clearly not fooled by the broad-faced youth's lie.

"Thirteenth Uncle, did you find the Black-scaled Fox?" another youth asked obediently.

"No," the green-armored warrior shook his head.

"It must be that the Black-scaled Fox is afraid of Thirteenth Uncle and has hidden away early—should we stay a few more days?" the youth asked.

"The Black-scaled Fox is comparable to the peak of the Rebirth Realm; I might not be a match for it. If I find it, I'll need to ask your Fourth Uncle to help capture it alive. I've been searching in the northern mountains of Python Tooth Ridge for three days and haven't found it. It's likely that the Black Mountain Tribe's people mistook some other wild beast for the Black-scaled Fox. I saw a few wild scale horses in the mountains that look very similar to the Black-scaled Fox. If I had the time, I could catch them and bring them out as mounts for you," the green-armored warrior said. "You'll have to endure some hardship tonight. We'll head back and can't linger outside any longer..."

The green-armored warrior gave orders, and the two youths had nothing to say.

The two higher-level Savage Warriors from the Black Mountain Tribe, fearing the green-armored warrior would blame them for the Black Mountain Tribe's false report, which wasted his three days searching for the Black-scaled Fox in Python Tooth Ridge, didn't dare to say anything more. They immediately took on the task, tying the Green-eyed Eagle's red-scaled claws with a rope, using a spear as a pole, and carried it away.

After everyone left, the middle-aged warrior Ge Yi stayed behind, walked up to Chen Xun, and gave him a green pill: "We're taking the Green-eyed Eagle. This pill is compensation for you."

"Thank you," Chen Xun said softly.

...

...

Su Qingfeng, seeing Ge Yi follow behind, and noticing that the injured young man who had been sitting by the tree roots was not with them, asked in surprise, "That kid, isn't he from the Black Mountain Tribe?"

"He says he's from the Black Python Tribe and entered the mountain alone. We just met him," Ge Yi reported, but he didn't directly expose the broad-faced youth's lie, believing that Thirteenth Young Master, with his keen eyes, would understand the situation after seeing the bloodied Green-eyed Eagle.

"Hmm..." Su Qingfeng pondered, looking back.

"Thirteenth Young Master, should I bring him back?" Ge Yi asked, "He's a good seed, able to endure such severe injuries and still hold on."

"Let it be," Su Qingfeng didn't want to complicate things, "The Green-eyed Eagle might have been injured before, which is why that kid got lucky."

Ge Yi didn't say anything, thinking that Su Qingfeng was right. If the Green-eyed Eagle hadn't been severely injured, it wouldn't have stayed on the ground, allowing a bare-handed young man to nearly kill it.

He couldn't imagine that Chen Xun and the Green-eyed Eagle had been locked in combat for a whole day and night near the cliff by the stream.

The broad-faced youth, seeing Ge Yi reveal everything to Thirteenth Uncle, was angry but helpless. He hated the young man even more, thinking that if it weren't for the young man's interference, they would have eventually found the Green-eyed Eagle and shot it down with their treasure bow.

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Chen Xun looked at the green pill the middle-aged warrior had given him before leaving, thinking that this group of people from Canglan wouldn't play any tricks on him. He immediately peeled off the wax shell of the pill.

A strange fragrance filled the air, and Chen Xun felt refreshed and invigorated, as if he had already taken a powerful tonic. He sensed that the medicinal power of this pill was at least twice as strong as the Black Python Pill.

This was the first time he had been so severely injured, and he didn't hesitate to use the pill. His priority was to heal and get out of the deep mountains.

However, he was worried that Gu Chen and Gu Hu might return, so he didn't dare to stay and take the pill on the spot. He struggled to walk about four or five miles towards the stream valley and hid in a dense thicket before putting the pill in his mouth, visualizing his Savage Soul, and refining the medicinal power.

Although the Black Python Pill had sustained his energy during the battle with the Green-eyed Eagle, preventing his vital energy from being depleted, the injuries he had sustained were more severe than any he had ever experienced.

Chen Xun sat cross-legged, his mind diving into his soul sea, visualizing the Great Peng Fist.

He could feel the medicinal power of the green pill seeping into his blood and qi, continuously transforming into divine essence. The core of his soul sea was radiant with golden light, like a stormy sea with waves surging, as if trying to extinguish the Savage Soul floating above it...

Chen Xun had never encountered such a situation before. When he visualized the Great Peng Fist in his soul sea, the core usually remained stable. He wondered what would happen if the waves of divine essence directly extinguished the Savage Soul.

With no other options, he was somewhat excited and didn't immediately stop visualizing. He saw a stream of divine essence surge from the core of his soul sea, condensing into a line of brilliant light that directly injected into the feet of the Savage Soul.

Chen Xun could now visualize the Great Peng Fist in detail, but the human-shaped shadow was only two inches tall and far from solid, like a simple sketch. However, after the golden light was injected, the Savage Soul rapidly solidified, transforming into a six-armed giant demon with golden radiance.

Although the size of the Savage Soul didn't change, this six-armed giant demon had six arms under its armpits, a single horn on its forehead, a fierce face, and eyes like those of a wrathful Buddha, exuding supreme authority. It was identical to the six-armed giant demon that had brought Chen Xun to this world, as if it had been resurrected in his soul sea...

Everything felt so real. Chen Xun could even feel the six-armed giant demon's steady breathing, the intertwining of its muscles and bones, the flow of blood and qi, and the beating of its heart...

How was this possible?

Grandpa Zong Tu had said that only those who condensed the blood of the ancient savages could achieve the "True Reality" state, where the Savage Soul would have a tangible form.

Could it be that the drop of golden demon blood that the giant demon had infused into his body hadn't been entirely used to transform his body, and a significant portion was hidden in his soul sea?

At this moment, Chen Xun's spiritual awareness expanded, as if a third eye had leaped from the top of his head, looking down at his body from above.

He saw his body glowing, like a magnetic field, drawing the moonlight from the stream valley like a tidal wave, surging into his body.

The deep wounds on his body, which were visible to the bone, emitted a radiant light and were healing at a visible speed.

The moonlight, besides healing his wounds, also directly penetrated his skin, condensing on the six-armed giant demon. Although the process was slow, the third eye could clearly see the two-inch-tall six-armed giant demon growing taller...

Directly channeling the essence of heaven and earth to refine the Savage Soul and temper the body was a capability only achieved after reaching the "True Reality" state.

"True Reality" meant that the Savage Soul, when visualized in the soul sea, had a complete form, including muscles, bones, and blood vessels, like a person within a person, a form within a form.

However, reaching this state meant breaking through the physical barrier.

Chen Xun didn't think he could directly advance to the Heavenly Savage realm with a single practice session.

All these changes might still originate from that drop of golden demon blood.

He had previously thought that his training method, which pushed his body to its limits, was the most primitive way of practicing Savage Martial Arts. He didn't realize that when his body was on the verge of collapse, the golden demon blood was actually activated, repairing his body.

In his battle with the Green-eyed Eagle, his body was again on the verge of collapse, and the golden demon blood was reactivated.

However, this six-armed giant demon was not formed by his visualization but directly condensed from the large amount of golden divine essence surging from the core of his soul sea—what did this mean?

Could it be that his vast golden soul sea was actually formed from that drop of golden demon blood, and the six-armed giant demon was just the autonomous form of that golden demon blood?

Chen Xun had heard from Grandpa Zong Tu that most Savage Warriors who awakened their Savage Souls, when using their third eyes to see the core of their soul seas, saw a pond-sized area, surrounded by a void that the third eye couldn't penetrate, bound by their bones, muscles, and blood.

The size of the core of the soul sea usually determined the potential for training, but it could be enhanced by absorbing the true blood of exotic beasts.

Ordinary medicinal herbs affected the blood and qi, which were then refined through the visualization of the Savage Soul to temper the body. Only the true blood of exotic beasts could directly affect the soul sea.

The landscape of heaven and earth, the essence of the Dao, the spirit of all things, and the visualization of their forms.

Not only humans practiced; fierce birds and beasts that could be called savage creatures also practiced.

When these savage creatures practiced to a certain level, they would also condense true blood within their bodies.

Hunting these savage creatures and collecting their true blood was a treasure for Savage Warriors, capable of cleansing and transforming their blood and bones.

A drop or two of true blood, though small, was more valuable than the entire body of an exotic beast, and it was extremely difficult to collect.

Zong Ya, Zong Ling, and other young Black Python Warriors, when their souls were tempered by the true blood of the Black-scaled Fox during the Soul Sacrifice Feast, saw their soul seas expand dramatically, like vast lakes. However, compared to Chen Xun's boundless, stormy golden soul sea, they were far inferior.

The uniqueness of Chen Xun's golden soul sea suggested that it was formed from that drop of golden demon blood.