Chapter 177 - 153: Advancement, Departure

Chapter 177: Chapter 153: Advancement, Departure

Back on the first floor.

Li Changsheng waved a hand, summoning a Blood-winged Red Bamboo. He channeled Spiritual Power into the demon bone, and in the next instant, a crimson light shot into the insect’s body.

He watched with anticipation.

The crimson light transformed into a blood-red mark, searing itself onto the insect’s exoskeleton.

’Huh...?’ Li Changsheng’s eyes widened in surprise.

He could sense the Spiritual Qi in the air funneling into the insect’s body, rushing in like a tidal wave.

In just a few moments,

the insect’s body swelled by nearly half. Its wrinkled, scale-like skin became smooth, and its aura broke through to the mid-grade, continuing to expand rapidly as it radiated a violent energy.

HISS...

The insect, seemingly unable to bear the violent Spiritual Qi within, zipped through the air, leaving ripples in its wake and hissing without end.

Its speed had more than doubled, so fast it was almost leaving afterimages.

Just then,

Li Changsheng’s expression changed. With a slight shift of his feet, he moved to the top of the stairs.

The next instant,

BANG...

the insect exploded. The violent Spiritual Qi that had built up inside it blasted outwards, overturning tables, chairs, and teacups.

Li Changsheng surveyed the main hall, his brow furrowed slightly.

’Based on the insect’s reaction, the Magic sealed within the demon bone must be some kind of enhancement technique. The insect was just too weak to withstand it, causing it to explode and die.’

Another question then surfaced in his mind: Where did the demon bone come from?

’Do all demon beasts that awaken an innate Magic have one?’

’Then why didn’t I find a demon bone when I dismembered that Leopard Demon?’

Li Changsheng rubbed his temples, a headache coming on.

Logically, this should all be common knowledge, but that was precisely what he lacked.

’Sigh... When I have time, I’ll have to ask Senior Brother Tan and the others if they have any jade slips on this topic...’

The thought passed through Li Changsheng’s mind as he used a Minor Raincloud Technique to clean up the mess. He then sat down in a chair, propped his chin on his hand, and stared blankly into the curtain of rain outside.

After he had mentioned his grudge with Yan Shaoyuan and Bai Shui, Tan Hu and Ma Rong had departed in a hurry.

He had guessed what their fate would be. But when Yan Shaoyuan and Bai Shui knelt before his courtyard gate, he suddenly felt his own thinking had been a bit shallow.

Whether he had intended it or not.

Revenge had been served, and the matter was closed.

Whatever became of them now, Tan Hu was the one to decide their fate, which was his way of settling the matter for Li Changsheng.

’Is this what the Demon Sect is like...?’

Li Changsheng’s eyes darkened as he muttered to himself.

As evening fell,

Little Xiaohua, caked in mud, trotted up to the door. A low oink drifted into the house.

Li Changsheng snapped out of his daze and looked up to see the filthy Little Xiaohua, stunned for a moment.

He walked out the door and reached out to pat Little Xiaohua’s dirty head, chuckling. "You guys are the best..."

OINK OINK... Little Xiaohua grunted, its two small, round eyes fixed on the demon bone in his palm. It opened its mouth and chomped down.

Huh?

Li Changsheng felt his palm go light. Before he could react, he saw that Little Xiaohua had already swallowed the demon bone.

"Wha—"

This gave him quite a scare. He hurriedly reached out and pried open its mouth.

A foul stench wafted out. Little Xiaohua’s mouth was empty; it had clearly swallowed the demon bone.

Furious, Li Changsheng smacked it on the head, then immediately checked to see if anything was wrong.

The moment he checked, his brow furrowed.

Little Xiaohua’s status panel was the same as before, except it was gradually growing blurry.

While he was watching,

Little Xiaohua suddenly started to wobble as if drunk, then collapsed heavily into the muddy water.

The panel slowly faded away, and a message flooded into his mind.

[Advancing...]

Li Changsheng’s eyes lit up. "It’s advancing!" he exclaimed in surprise.

But before he could celebrate, Little Xiaohua’s body began to convulse violently, and large amounts of blackish-red blood poured from its mouth and nose.

With his current sensitivity to life force, he could clearly feel a significant drop in Little Xiaohua’s vitality.

Li Changsheng’s expression changed. Without hesitation, he flipped his hand over to produce a jade vial and tipped out a deep red Blood Pill.

He pried open Little Xiaohua’s mouth and used his Spiritual Power to guide the pill down its throat, continuing until he had fed it an entire bottle of Mid-grade Blood Pills.

The rich, bloody energy gushing from the Blood Pills finally reached a delicate balance with the blood it was expelling.

Little Xiaohua’s life force gradually stabilized.

As time slowly passed, the blood mixed with the rainwater, flowing until it filled the entire courtyard with the faint scent of iron.

Xiaohua and Big Flower walked over to Little Xiaohua’s side, nudging its body with soft grunts before nestling beside it.

Li Changsheng didn’t move it either, instead squatting nearby to monitor its condition.

Gradually, the blood stopped flowing from Little Xiaohua’s mouth and nose, and the life force within its body began to grow, slow but strong.

On its pearly white tusks, crimson threads slowly began to spread and intertwine.

An unknown amount of time passed.

The crimson threads on Little Xiaohua’s tusks formed a complex pattern, and the aura it emitted suddenly intensified several times over.

Li Changsheng’s eyes brightened as he focused his gaze.

[Target: Little Xiaohua]

[Race: Tusked Pig (Male)]

[First-Order High-Grade: 1%]

[Innate Magic: Steel Armor, ...]

[Status: Healthy.]

’A second innate Magic...’

Li Changsheng looked at the Magic section, and in the next instant, a message entered his mind.

[Incubating...]

Little Xiaohua shook its body, opened its eyes, and rolled over to stand up.

Big Flower and Xiaohua, who had been lying nearby, got up, nuzzled it with their heads, then turned and returned to the mud pit by the door to lie down again.

OINK OINK...

Little Xiaohua stared at him with its small, round eyes, oinking softly.

"All you think about is eating!"

Li Changsheng stood up, patted its head with a smile, and activated his robes with Spiritual Power. He stepped out into the rain and headed for the kitchen.

Little Xiaohua trotted happily behind him, its tail wagging furiously.

To the crisp sound of clanging pots and pans, smoke from the kitchen chimney began to slowly curl upwards.

Time passed quickly.

「Half a month later.」

In the wooden house, on the third floor.

"Hooo..."

Li Changsheng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes. He put away the Yin Blood Jade and the Talisman Bottle containing the Earth Fire Evil.

Feeling the searing Spiritual Power surging through the Spirit Veins in his body, he focused his gaze inward.

[Cultivation: Eighth Level of Qi Cultivation (66%)]

With a thought, Li Changsheng dismissed the panel. He got out of bed, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

The damp air, carrying the earthy scent of soil, blew in, refreshing his spirits.

"Half a month of continuous rain. It’s finally cleared up."

Seeing the clear, sunny day, Li Changsheng smiled, stretched languidly, and then headed down the stairs.

Back on the first floor,

Li Changsheng looked at Xiaobai, who was sprawled out on the tea table, and shook his head helplessly.

Over the past half-month of being fed Leopard Demon flesh, Xiaobai had grown a size larger than a common mutt. Its cultivation had also reached the peak of its current stage, just one step away from a breakthrough.

However, this final step was proving to be difficult.

To advance, Xiaobai needed to consume and refine a Spirit Flower with a specific elemental attribute.

But he didn’t have any Spirit Flowers, with or without attributes.

He did know where to find one, but that Spirit Flower belonged to someone else. Besides, it was still far from mature and couldn’t be used yet.

Li Changsheng shook his head and walked into the courtyard.

The family of four Tusked Pigs was still lying by the courtyard gate, with Little Xiaohua being the most conspicuous.

After half a month, its body was a full size larger than Xiaohua and Big Flower. With its blood-red tusks and bristly, brownish-black mane, it looked extremely formidable.

And although Little Xiaohua’s physical attributes had been greatly enhanced, its other Magic was still incubating, showing no signs of awakening.

He guessed that the Magic contained within the demon bone was too complex for Little Xiaohua’s current physical strength to bear, which was why it had yet to awaken.

After Little Xiaohua’s breakthrough, the conditions required for Xiaohua and Big Flower to advance also appeared.

In addition to a demon bone, they also needed to consume a combination of Bone Refining Flower, Muscle Forging Grass, and Blood Marrow Spirit Rice.

But he had none of those things and would have to wait.

Li Changsheng scanned his surroundings, then turned and entered the kitchen.

Just as he started cooking...