Is that a Wisp?

"I'll need you to make a medicine ball using this… this… and these two herbs. Grind them into a paste first, then add these three ingredients after that…" Krune gave a recipe to the cook after barging into the kitchen, instructing the cook to move as he wanted him to. 

The kitchen itself was a large manor where food for everyone in the estate was prepared. Of course, the place where food for the household was prepared was separate, in an extravagant part of the manor. 

They had a large storage of precious herbs and other medicinal ingredients to use when necessary, including every type of fruit, vegetable, and spice that was available in the Daxia Empire.

Using the Soul Needle, Krune thought of the end product he needed, using it to direct the necessary ingredients. Then, thanks to the instinct and knowledge he had as a Spiritual Chef, he used the Soul Needle to point at those deemed 'Treasures' among the list of recipes he randomly created, eventually finalizing one. 

As long as he had the necessary knowledge, Krune was able to bypass a lot of trial and error thanks to the Cloud Whale. As long as he thought of a certain result as a 'treasure,' then the Soul Needle would be pointing at the required ingredients and would continue doing so until he picked up enough of the ingredients. 

With this, determining the recipe was easy. 'I guess I can become a reputable alchemist with this factor alone. That's great!'

Smiling in response, Krune iterated all the details to the cook, also writing things down on a piece of paper to ensure they wouldn't mess up the recipe. 

"Prepare me thirty pills before evening." Leaving behind a command, Krune returned to his manor, beginning to train with the two Imperial Warlocks. 

Even though Krune's physique had grown stronger thanks to the Cloud Whale's reinforcement as an active ability, he noticed that Wang Hao's physique was improving by leaps and bounds. 

Just the flesh in his human form had become so tough that regular blades would barely be able to scratch him. In his Yin Beast form, it would probably require a ballista in the army's possession to even injure him. 

Krune wasn't able to train with the Imperial Arms yet because recharging it was difficult, if not a nuisance. After all, as a Star Imperial Arms, it needed either lightning or had to bask in the light of stars for months to fully recharge. 

'I don't have the freedom to wait for long times between each battle.' Frowning, he pondered over something, eventually muttering to himself, "I should figure out a method to reduce the recharging time."

Finished with their lunch at noon, all three headed to sleep. 

…

"Are you prepared?" Krune asked as he looked at the other two, watching them nod in response. 

He then took out a bag, sniffing the pills within, nodding based on the smell that the cook had followed the indicated recipe to the dot. He sighed in relief, splitting ten pills each per bag, giving one to Wang Hao and Chen Xue as he told them, "They're called Nutrition Pills. Take one pill every time you use a strong ability."

"It's a concentrated version of our meals, so it would replenish your energy reserves in an instant," he continued. 

For him, even if his Star Imperial Arms ran out of power, he didn't mind it too much. After all, he still had his Cloud Whale and Soul Needle to use. Plus, the amount of heat the Soul Needle was able to exude was greatly different from when he was Wang Hu. 

As Wang Hu, he wasn't even able to use the full extent of his already pitiful powers. 

But now, as Liu Heng, once he integrated the memories of everyone into himself, it caused his Soul Needle to grow in strength accordingly, now able to contain a lot of power. In any case, the heat it emitted was the property of the Sun Stone, greatly effective against Nightmares. 

For a regular Yin Beast, the Air Needles were enough to riddle them with holes, especially since the Cloud Whale had become a lot stronger. With its body being bigger than him, the amount of strength it was capable of exerting was like heaven and earth compared to Wang Hu.

Summoning the Cloud Whale, he popped two Nutrition Pills into his mouth, swallowing them as he could feel a sensation of warmth in his stomach. As his body digested the two pills, his expended energy would be replenished. 

"Hop on!" Krune said, jumping onto the Cloud Whale, patting his back. Chen Xue landed behind him gracefully while Wang Hao sat at the end, assuming a defensive stance. 

Slowly, the Cloud Whale took off to the skies before beginning to fly towards their destination, Four-Cross Jade Town. 

"Once we arrive there, use your senses to determine traces of the Yin Beast," Krune said, watching the Cloud Whale constantly accelerate. The air currents generated around it were in such a way that the trio on its back didn't experience any air resistance. 

Their travel was smooth sailing as they managed to reach their destination within three hours.

"What… the hell happened here?" Wang Hao frowned, exuding a suffocating presence due to his anger, gazing at the row of corpses on the ground. All of them were soldiers, and judging by the state of their bodies, they had only been killed a couple of minutes ago. 

"Be careful," Krune spoke in warning as he used his Sonic Radar to scout their surroundings. In the dark, with the moon blanketed by the clouds, this was his only means of reliance. 

Wang Hao and Chen Xue manifested the ears and nose of their Yin Beasts, using them to feel their surroundings. 

There was a lone torch on the ground, situated at the foot of a small hill. It was the only source of light in the desolate place, allowing them to make out the countless corpses strewn around. 

"Hello there, hatchling meats!" Suddenly, a voice resounded, causing the hearts of the trio to skip a beat. 

After all, the voice wasn't human but was uttered through the vocal cords of a beast, apparent from the pronunciation. 

Krune focused on the entity coiled around the top of the hill, shuddering in fright for a moment as he sensed the entirety of the Yin Beast through his Sonic Radar, whispering to the others, "When I give a signal, go all out! This is one of the fabled Yin Beasts recorded in legends…"

"A Yin Dragon!"