Chapter 72

At the Broken Sky Ridge, the secret realm of the Flame Crow Clan, on the Azure Dragon Peak.

Lu Shaoyou handed a Purple Mansion Cloud Lotus to the elder in charge of the mission desk amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd. The elder looked at Lu Shaoyou with shock, unable to utter a word for a long time. A Purple Mansion Cloud Lotus! This young man actually managed to pick a Purple Mansion Cloud Lotus! It should be known that the Purple Mansion Cloud Lotus grows in the Bloodthirsty Forest within the Transverse Mountain Range! Ordinary Qi Practitioners and demon cultivators dare not enter that area, as it is too perilous! Initially, he was lamenting that this young man was about to die, but he never expected him to actually bring it back!

Seeing the elder's prolonged silence, Lu Shaoyou couldn't help but frown and asked the elder in fine robes, "What's wrong? Is there any problem?"

"No! No, no!" The elder finally reacted, waving his hands repeatedly, a kind and benevolent smile on his face as he said to Lu Shaoyou, "Good, the Purple Mansion Cloud Lotus. You have obtained a spiritual herb, and this herb is for Transcendent Mortal level experts. Therefore, the merit points you receive are quite substantial. The expert who issued this mission offered a reward of 100,000 merit points. Now you have 100,000 merit points! You can exchange these 100,000 merit points for anything you want within our Flame Crow Clan, such as elixirs, cultivation techniques, magical treasures, and so on. Of course, you can also apply to go to the Asura Battlefield for training or apply to visit the Library! All of these are possible! However, I advise you to go to the Asura Battlefield, where you can hone yourself. After all, visiting the Library once costs 10,000 merit points, which is a waste."

Listening to the elder's well-intentioned advice, Lu Shaoyou nodded with a smile and turned to leave.

On his way back to his cave, many ordinary disciples pointed and whispered about him. Most of the demon cultivators were in awe, respect, and fear, but there were also many who looked at Lu Shaoyou with vicious and venomous eyes, seemingly plotting some sinister schemes. However, Lu Shaoyou didn't pay much attention. These people were now no different from ants in his eyes. His perspective had unconsciously elevated, and he no longer considered himself among the ordinary disciples but at the level of core disciples. It was no wonder Lu Shaoyou felt this way; he was now capable of competing with core disciples. After slaying Yan Hongchen and others, he had experienced a significant mental leap. Looking back at these ordinary disciples, he naturally found them uninteresting.

On his way back to the cave, Lu Shaoyou heard many rumors.

"Hey, did you know! Li Yuchen, the genius female disciple of the Vermilion Bird Peak, has already reached the third level of the Foundation Establishment realm! She's a monster! She has only been in the sect for such a short time and has already become a core disciple!"

"Of course! She's insane! This woman is just insane! Besides, she even possesses a Dao Artifact! It's said that she is the reincarnation of an ancient great being! Her combat power is far beyond that of an ordinary third-level Foundation Establishment expert."

"Hey! If only I had a cool past life too!" A young male demon cultivator said dejectedly.

"Save it! You're just a wimp!" A male demon cultivator beside him couldn't help but mock him.

"Hey, your information is outdated!" Another male cultivator walked by and said to them, "You don't know that the Vast Heaven Peak has also produced a genius! It's said that he is the inheritor of the Middle Ancient Slaughter Sword Sect! It's said that he returned from the Transverse Mountain Range and immediately entered seclusion to comprehend the Slaughter Sword Sect's supreme sword technique, seemingly due to some stimulation! He has already emerged from seclusion! It's said that he is also at the third level of the Foundation Establishment realm! When he emerged from seclusion, the entire cave was filled with sword qi, and the relentless killing intent was terrifying!"

"And there's Ye Ku from our Azure Dragon Peak!" Reminded by this, a male cultivator slapped his thigh and said, "It's said that he is the preacher of the Treasure Light Bodhisattva! His body is filled with the aura of suffering and sorrow. He became a core disciple a few days ago! When he broke through, the Treasure Light descended, and the sky was filled with colorful rays!"

"They are all geniuses!"

"Yes!"

...

Lu Shaoyou returned to his cave, took a deep breath, and was surprised to find that the few people who came with him at the time had already become core disciples! He absolutely could not fall behind! Lu Shaoyou closed his cave tightly and began his seclusion!

Lu Shaoyou took out his storage ring and first pulled out the corpse of the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino.

The first step was to devour the corpse of the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino! This Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino was already at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm and had already condensed an inner core. Originally, Lu Shaoyou planned to swallow this inner core first, but later, the divine pig reminded him that he must first devour the corpse of the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino before he could devour the inner core.

"Stupid! Do you think the inner core of the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino is so easy to devour? You need to first devour the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino's bloodline, otherwise, the inner core will not find the dragon bloodline in your body and will directly explode!"

Lu Shaoyou was frightened by this, realizing he had been too rash!

"Besides, extracting the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino's bloodline will also benefit you. I have already scanned the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino's bloodline with my divine sense and can happily tell you that the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino's bloodline is very pure. Although it only has a trace of Heavenly Dragon bloodline, you can definitely assimilate it. When you do, your strength, physical body, and so on will surge!"

A fierce light flashed in Lu Shaoyou's eyes: "With my current accumulation, my Foundation Establishment is at least ten times harder than others! So I need sufficient strength. Moreover, I urgently need to improve. If I wait any longer, I fear I won't be able to wait!"

"Strong! I want to be stronger!" Lu Shaoyou's face was solemn, "I am still far from enough! I need to be even stronger!"

"Kunpeng Swallowing! Devour the bloodline!"

Lu Shaoyou's entire body was filled with profound energy, and the ancient scripture continuously resonated. Mysterious light beams shot out from Lu Shaoyou's body, and a faint Kunpeng shadow appeared behind him. In front of Lu Shaoyou, the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino began to twist, and silver light beams shot out from its corpse, seemingly trying to escape. However, the Kunpeng shadow behind Lu Shaoyou roared and swallowed these silver light beams one by one.

As these light beams disappeared, the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino's body began to crack. When Lu Shaoyou had devoured all the silver light beams, the Thorny Iron Dragon Rhino's massive body turned to powder, and its enormous form collapsed.

"Quick! Swallow the inner core!" The divine pig shouted in Lu Shaoyou's mind, "Now is the best time! Quick! Integrate the inner core! Remember to suppress the impulse to Foundation Establishment! Continuously refine the demon essence, but do not convert it into mana!"

Without hesitation, Lu Shaoyou swallowed the crystal-clear inner core. The inner core dissolved upon entering his mouth, turning into a fluid that directly merged into Lu Shaoyou's body. Lu Shaoyou immediately felt as if a fire had been ignited inside his body, instantly lighting up the dragon blood he had just absorbed. Lu Shaoyou felt as if he were being roasted by a scorching flame! This fire not only roasted his body but also his soul!

It was too painful. Lu Shaoyou's face was contorted in pain, and he realized for the first time that cultivation could be so painful.

Lu Shaoyou focused his mind, mobilized his profound energy, and frantically refined the demon essence. At this moment, the fire suddenly exploded, and a massive energy burst out, surging towards Lu Shaoyou's eight extraordinary meridians. Lu Shaoyou bit his lower lip and fiercely circulated the ancient scripture, gathering the chaotic energy into his dantian. Lu Shaoyou deeply knew that his dantian was currently unable to contain such a vast amount of blood and essence, but he remembered the mysterious stone stele, which might help him!

Lu Shaoyou's skin began to crack, and blood spurted out! At this moment, Lu Shaoyou's features were completely distorted, and he let out a loud roar, with streams of blood gushing from his broken skin.

Indeed, Lu Shaoyou's gamble paid off. As soon as the chaotic energy entered his dantian, the mysterious stone stele trembled, and a purple gas shot out. The chaotic energy instantly calmed down, as if a subject had met its ruler! The purple gas circled Lu Shaoyou's body, healing all his internal injuries, and even making his meridians stronger than before! After circling once, the purple gas finally settled in Lu Shaoyou's dantian, seemingly aware of Lu Shaoyou's purpose, and began to help him refine the demon essence!

Lu Shaoyou couldn't help but groan, feeling as if his entire body had been thoroughly cleansed! His tendons, bones, and blood vessels were fiercely forged! At this moment, Lu Shaoyou felt that his physical body could easily withstand a mid-grade treasure!

Incredible! It was truly incredible! Lu Shaoyou praised the mysterious stone stele in his dantian once again.

In less than half an hour, the demon essence in Lu Shaoyou's body was thoroughly refined! The quality of the demon essence was directly improved by several levels, even comparable to mana! Imagine, if such high-quality demon essence were to be converted into mana, what level of mana quality would it reach! Terrifying! Unbelievable!

Lu Shaoyou took a deep breath and began his Foundation Establishment!

PS: First update! Lu Shaoyou is about to Foundation Establishment! So, dear readers, are you going to give some recommendations and collections? There will be a small climax soon... Throw all your clicks and whatnot at me! I want to break 60,000 clicks today! Support me... Another update in the afternoon!