It hurriedly twisted its body, coiling layer upon layer to replicate its previous defensive posture, intending to block the strike with its physical scales.
But this time, the situation was completely different.
With a sharp, ear-piercing sound of tearing flesh, the coiled Horned Wood Snake was sliced cleanly in half by the slash imbued with Sword Force.
Ye Ling marveled in her heart. She had not expected that a Sword Force slash augmented by immense physical strength would possess destructive power far exceeding a pure Sword Force attack. The synergy between the two caused its power to skyrocket.
She quickly stepped forward, harvesting the valuable horn, remaining fangs, venom glands, and gall bladder from the Horned Wood Snake's body, and swept them all into her storage bag.
She then split open the snake's skull to search carefully, but found nothing.
Peak Xiantian Realm demon beasts had an extremely low probability of condensing an inner core in their brains. An inner core was the crystallization of a demon beast's lifelong cultivation.
However, any demon beast that broke through to the Tongxuan Realm would undoubtedly produce one.
Failing to find an inner core did not disappoint Ye Ling; her harvest this time was already incredibly rich.
Turning around, she walked toward the Crimson Radiance Spiritual Herb in the center of the clearing. As she drew near, a scorching, boiling medicinal force rushed over, making her skin feel slightly hot.
Ye Ling took out her cold jade box and carefully transferred the half-man-high Crimson Radiance Spiritual Herb inside.
Although the battle had not lasted long, the thick, bloody stench of the slain Horned Wood Snake had already drifted away with the wind. It would easily attract nearby demon beasts.
Ye Ling dared not linger. Leaping onto the Qinglan Sword, she swiftly departed the clearing.
Before long, Ye Ling found a quiet, secluded valley sheltered from the wind on three sides by mountains.
Sitting cross-legged, she retrieved the Crimson Radiance Spiritual Herb from the cold jade box. The moment the box opened, waves of heat instantly rolled out, causing the surrounding grass and leaves to curl slightly.
However, her physical body, having mastered the second layer of the True Dragon Unfettered Art, was already impervious to fire and water. This slight heat could not harm her in the least.
Ye Ling raised her hand, channeling spiritual energy to wrap around the spiritual herb as spiritual light flowed from her fingertips.
In an instant, the entire crimson herb was purified and refined, transforming into a boiling ball of blazing red liquid.
Ye Ling tilted her head back and swallowed the entire ball of medicinal liquid.
The moment the liquid slid down her throat, the violent, burning red medicinal force surged through her meridians, washing through her flesh and blood like countless streams of fire.
Fortunately, her body had already been tempered and reinforced by layers of True Dragon dragon qi. Though the overbearing medicinal force of a Profound-grade mid-tier spiritual medicine was fierce, it could not burn her meridians or bones.
Ye Ling focused her mind, running her cultivation method to guide the medicinal force into her limbs and bones.
In less than the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, the raging red medicinal force was completely absorbed by her physical body, leaving not a single trace behind.
Although this spiritual herb could not directly advance her cultivation of the True Dragon Unfettered Art, the medicinal force settled into her skin, flesh, and bones, further solidifying her already incredibly powerful physique.
Her physical body was already comparable to an ordinary Tongxuan Realm cultivator's, so even a microscopic improvement was a massive opportunity.
After meditating for a moment to completely stabilize the gains from the medicinal force, she rose, stepped onto the Qinglan Sword once more, and resumed her search for opportunities.
Ye Ling searched the lower areas of the second layer for several consecutive days. Along the way, she encountered dozens of peak Xiantian Realm demon beasts, yet she never caught sight of a single Tongxuan Realm demon beast.
She looked up toward the higher reaches of the mountain. It seemed the Tongxuan Realm demon beasts all resided in the summit areas of the second layer, close to the third layer.
Over these few days of searching, she had harvested a bounty, gathering dozens of various low-grade Xiantian spiritual herbs alone.
Handing these spiritual herbs over to the sect would fetch her several hundred spirit stones per stalk.
However, the resources in the lower areas had been largely depleted. Remaining there would yield no more precious opportunities.
Deciding to climb higher, she steered the Qinglan Sword and flew straight toward the highlands of the second layer, closer to the third layer.
The moment she stepped into this region, the atmosphere shifted drastically from below. A deathly silence hung in the air; not even the usual roars of demon beasts could be heard.
Scanning the horizon, she could not find a single Xiantian Realm demon beast within her line of sight.
“It seems this place is the exclusive territory of a Tongxuan Realm demon beast.”
Ye Ling grew vigilant, slowing down to cautiously investigate her surroundings.
Thousands of meters away, at the bottom of a deep pool, a giant fish beast as large as an elephant suddenly snapped its eyes open. Its cold, eerie gaze seemed to pierce through the water, locking onto the green-robed figure in the distance.
It thought to itself, A junior at the mid-stage Xiantian Realm actually dares to rashly intrude into the highlands of the second layer?
Could she be a newly appointed True Disciple of the Qinglan Sword Sect?
Yet, it was also puzzled. Normally, only two True Disciples dared to roam this area.
First True Disciple Lin Wanqing and Second True Disciple Leng Feng. Both possessed peak Xiantian Realm cultivation, giving them the confidence to venture here.
But this human junior before it was only at the mid-stage Xiantian Realm, yet she dared to venture deep into Bailing Mountain. She was far too reckless.
All the demon beasts in the Bailing Secret Realm had been captured from various parts of the Qingyun Kingdom by the ancestors of the Qinglan Sword Sect in the early years.
The secrets of this secret realm could only be understood by demon beasts that had reached the Tongxuan Realm.
They knew they were merely raised here to serve as training targets for the sect's disciples.
For countless years, they had constantly dreamed of breaking the restrictions and escaping.
Unfortunately, the Qinglan Sword Sect possessed deep heritage, and their formations were indestructible. Thus, the beasts were forced to remain trapped in the mountain.
The Qinglan Sword Sect had set a rule: Tongxuan Realm demon beasts could attack ordinary disciples, with life and death left to fate.
However, if they encountered the sect's top geniuses, they were strictly forbidden from killing them.
The Qinglan Sword Sect had never explicitly told their disciples about this rule, but in every generation, the genius disciples would gradually realize it.
In this generation, only First True Disciple Lin Wanqing and Second True Disciple Leng Feng had noticed the clues through their long-term training.
Although a chasm in cultivation separated the Xiantian Realm from the Tongxuan Realm, the Tongxuan Realm demon beasts occupying the highlands would not fight them to the death. This was why the two dared to search for opportunities in the second-layer highlands for so long.
The giant fish at the bottom of the pool mused. This junior was only at the mid-stage Xiantian Realm, yet she dared to trespass into the territory of a Tongxuan Realm demon beast.
Could Lin Wanqing or Leng Feng have told her the secret?
Unable to figure it out, and seeing that she did not venture deep into the pool, it decided not to pry further. It closed its eyes once more and sank back to the bottom to sleep.
Elsewhere, while searching around, Ye Ling happened to spot a pool of water ahead and walked straight toward it.
The pool spanned several hundred meters across, its water a dark, murky green, making it impossible to see the bottom. Just standing on the shore, she could feel the majestic demonic qi lurking beneath the surface.
Earlier, she had searched several miles of the surrounding mountain forests but had failed to find any trace of the Tongxuan Realm demon beast.
Now, she was certain that the beast was hiding at the bottom of this deep pool.
Ye Ling bent down to pick up a boulder, raising her hand to hurl it into the pool.
With a loud splash, the water exploded upward.
The giant fish resting at the bottom of the pool was suddenly disturbed. Sweeping its Divine Sense, it instantly locked onto Ye Ling, who was about to pick up a second boulder on the shore.
A surge of monstrous rage welled up within it. The entire dark-green pool instantly began to churn violently, waves crashing against the shore.
Rate on N.U.
