Chapter 5: Spiritual Herbs, Wolf Demon Beast

In the lounge, Lu Xiaotian felt no trace of sleepiness, instead examining the spirit beast ring in his hand with great interest. Although young, Lu Xiaotian could see that the old man in the black robe had no intention of teaching him anything else; he seemed to view him merely as a tool for raising the small green ants. Being able to secure this spirit beast ring, along with the "Beast Taming Techniques," made taking a few risks worthwhile.

Today’s harvest was truly bountiful. He tucked away the Qi Gathering Pill; such an important pill was gone once used, and Lu Xiaotian felt it would be more effective to use it when breaking through to the second level of Qi Refining.

The old man in the black robe only rested in the cave dwelling for one night before leaving early the next morning.

Lu Xiaotian spent ten days in the cave studying the "Beast Taming Techniques." Feeling more confident, he used the incantation taught by the old man one morning to command the black bear.

The black bear let out a few lazy, low growls. As Lu Xiaotian continued to chant, the ancient silver spirit beast ring on the bear’s neck flashed several times. Reluctantly, the bear shook its fat body and moved a few large stones to block the entrance of the cave.

A thoughtful expression crossed Lu Xiaotian’s face. "It seems the book was right; it is much more convenient to control one's own spirit beast. Since this black bear belongs to the old man, it is indeed difficult to drive. It seems I must first offer the bear some benefits."

To that end, Lu Xiaotian took the black bear out, specifically searching for berries, honey from wild beehives, and other foods the bear enjoyed. Having been confined to the cave for too long, the bear was delighted to roam the canyon so freely. After satisfying its appetite, its attitude toward Lu Xiaotian became much more affectionate.

"Roar!" After twitching its nose a few times, the black bear darted into a thicket, startling a few wild birds. It reached out with a thick paw to push aside the brush, lowered its massive head to take a look, and when it raised its head again, it was chewing on a bright red fruit along with a few leaves and twigs.

The bear had bitten off several fruits from the branches. Smelling the exotic fragrance released as the red fruits were crushed, Lu Xiaotian couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

When the black bear retreated from the thicket, Lu Xiaotian followed the path it had trampled. He was disappointed to find that the small fruit tree had been half-devoured by the bear.

He couldn't help but grumble to himself, "What a gluttonous bear."

Just as Lu Xiaotian was about to turn away in disappointment, he suddenly caught a faint scent of herbs—one that was vaguely similar to the smell of the Qi Gathering Pill.

When the old man in the black robe refined pills, he usually didn't allow Lu Xiaotian into the alchemy room. However, through refining the Beast Spirit Pills for the small green ants, he knew that every pill was made from corresponding spirit herbs or materials.

Thinking of this, Lu Xiaotian crawled into the thicket, carefully pushing aside the weeds to search for the source of the scent.

A moment later, Lu Xiaotian finally discovered two small, pale purple plants about half a foot tall. Each had seven leaves with clearly defined veins. These two plants looked distinctly different from the surrounding weeds and emitted an aura that made Lu Xiaotian feel very comfortable—a spiritual energy very similar to that of the Qi Gathering Pill.

Excited, Lu Xiaotian harvested the two plants and placed them in a jade box. He had brought several jade boxes to collect herbs for the Beast Spirit Pills, and fortunately, he had a few empty ones left.

After searching the surroundings and finding no more of these plants, Lu Xiaotian impatiently returned to the cave with the black bear.

Back in the lounge, Lu Xiaotian opened the jade box, plucked a leaf from one of the plants, and put it in his mouth. After chewing it slightly, a fierce and overbearing spiritual energy surged directly into his body, rampaging through his meridians. Lu Xiaotian was in such pain that beads of sweat rolled down his face.

Terrified, he quickly sat cross-legged and began to circulate the vital energy in his dantian through his meridians in a Great Circulation.

"It's working!" Lu Xiaotian felt a surge of joy as he realized that a portion of the spiritual energy had begun to flow along with his vital energy. Although the rest of the energy caused him excruciating pain as it rampaged, Lu Xiaotian saw hope and continued to guide the chaotic energy. One cycle, two cycles. More and more of the fierce energy became gentle, and as it circulated with his internal vital energy, it was slowly converted into his own.

After completing five Great Circulations, all the spiritual energy that had invaded his body was converted. Only then did Lu Xiaotian realize his clothes were soaked with sweat. The vital energy swirling in his dantian was now much stronger than before, roughly equivalent to several days of hard cultivation. If he were to consume the entire spirit plant, it would be equivalent to saving a month of bitter practice.

To think that one spirit plant could save a month of cultivation! If he could find more, he could break through to the second level of Qi Refining much faster. The old man and the others who frequented the canyon must also be searching for spirit materials to increase their cultivation speed. The old man wouldn't be back for a while, so he could go out and search more often. Lu Xiaotian thought excitedly.

Taking advantage of the remaining time that evening, Lu Xiaotian washed off the sweat, changed his clothes, and went to the alchemy room to refine a batch of Beast Spirit Pills. The next day, after sprinkling a few pills into the jade pool to feed the small green ants, Lu Xiaotian took the black bear out of the cave again. Man and beast walked through the misty haze, feeling the faint spiritual energy in the canyon, his heart filled with comfort.

"Roar!" The black bear displayed its might, swatting a wild boar that tried to ambush Lu Xiaotian to death with a single blow. By noon, Lu Xiaotian felt hungry, so he found some firewood, built a rack, skinned and gutted the boar, and roasted it. This time, he had prepared for the trip and brought salt. He sprinkled salt and a few spices onto the pork, and soon, the aroma filled the air.

The black bear watched the pork over the fire, circling the flames impatiently, drool dripping from its mouth.

However, the sound of heavy breathing from beasts suddenly came from the surroundings. Lu Xiaotian looked over in alarm, only to see five or six grey giant wolves lurking in the nearby grass, their bodies nearly twice the size of normal wolves.

"These are demon beasts!" Cold sweat broke out on Lu Xiaotian's back. Since reaching the first level of Qi Refining, he could distinguish between ordinary beasts and demon beasts. The aura of demonic malice that demon beasts possessed was something ordinary beasts lacked. Moreover, Lu Xiaotian was no longer the same as before; with the short sword in his tunic, he didn't fear a single wild wolf, but he was helpless against a pack of five or six. After all, although he was at the first level of Qi Refining, he knew no offensive or defensive spells, nor any martial arts; his body was simply much stronger than before. And these were five or six wolf demon beasts.

He could feel that the demonic aura from any one of these grey wolves far exceeded his own. If demon beasts were ranked, Lu Xiaotian felt these grey giant wolves were likely at the second level of Qi Refining—much stronger than him.

Before the wolf pack could surround them, the black bear bared its teeth and roared, lunging at the nearest grey wolf. With the black bear’s weight of over two thousand pounds, its charge was truly terrifying.

"Awoo!" One wolf demon was struck by a thick bear paw, flying over ten feet away with a miserable howl before landing heavily on the ground, motionless.

"Almost forgot." Lu Xiaotian slapped his forehead and quickly pulled the ancient silver spirit beast ring from his tunic, chanting the incantation.

A wolf demon opened its maw and spat an icicle-shaped spike, shooting it toward the black bear. However, a yellowish light flashed over the bear's fur, and the ice spike struck the bear's body with a loud bang, as if hitting an iron plate, failing to penetrate even an inch.

Roar! The black bear stood on its hind legs and roared loudly, its momentum suppressing the demonic aura of the remaining wolves. As its massive body landed, it slammed its paws into the ground, and suddenly, a yellowish spike erupted from the earth beneath one of the wolves, piercing it through the abdomen before it could escape.

Following this, two more grey giant wolves died under the bear's claws, and the remaining few tucked their tails and fled in a panic. Lu Xiaotian ran over to look; two of the three wolves on the ground were dead beyond doubt, and the third, pierced through by the earth spike, was no better off.

Lu Xiaotian felt a bit discouraged. After all, the black bear was not a spirit beast he had tamed himself, and its level was far higher than his own; he could not command it as easily as he wished.