25: Chapter 25 Snatching Food from a Tiger's Mouth: Harsh Cultivation Conditions

Qi Yang lay flat in the large crater, holding his breath for dear life.

The corpse of a menial disciple, killed by the shockwave, pressed down on him as warm blood trickled down his neck.

Yet his entire body remained like a cold stone, not daring to move even an inch.

The battle above his head was growing increasingly intense!

The Magic Treasure lights of three Foundation Establishment Stage Elders intertwined into a dazzling web of death, while the Demonic Qi of that Tier 2 Green-Eyed Golden-Crystal Ape collided frantically like a violent black tornado!

Every wave of shock that swept past felt like scraping bones and shaving flesh, shaking the surrounding ruins with deafening roars.

At this moment, a crystal-clear heavenly spirit fruit petal radiating seven-colored rosy light drifted down leisurely through a torn gap in the Formation.

Qi Yang's heart pounded frantically at this very moment!

That was a heavenly spirit fruit petal!

As long as he got his hands on it, the final core main ingredient for the foundation establishment pill would be completely gathered!

But he did not move.

The Law of surviving through obscurity dictated that he must never expose even a trace of greed right under the noses of experts!

That petal was far too conspicuous!

With the seven-colored rosy light flowing around it, even if he reached out to grab it now, he would definitely not escape the spiritual sense perception of the three Foundation Establishment Stage Elders in the sky.

Moreover, that manic Green-Eyed Golden-Crystal Ape would undoubtedly tear anyone who dared to lay hands on the heavenly spirit fruit into mincemeat!

Sure enough, the moment the petal drifted out of the Formation, an incomparably sharp Sword Qi descended from the sky, directly shredding the petal into powder!

"You beast! You still dare to be distracted to protect the treasure!"

A Foundation Establishment Elder shouted angrily.

The petal shattered, transforming into invisible pollen that scattered wildly in all directions with the violent shockwave.

A terrifying piercing light suddenly erupted from Qi Yang's lowered eyes!

"Right now!"

He did not need a complete petal; the target was too large and too dangerous.

He only needed a tiny bit of active plant tissue!

The Heaven-Defying ripening effect of the black gourd was enough to let a single grain of pollen regenerate a complete top-grade Spirit Medicine!

Qi Yang still lay flat amidst the pile of dead bodies.

However, the Wood-attribute Spiritual Power of Qi Condensation 6th Layer within his body was frantically compressed by him, transforming through his fingertips into a guiding thread a hundred times finer than a strand of hair.

This thread of Spiritual Qi silently extended out of the large crater, perfectly blending into the surrounding violent Spiritual Qi storm, making it completely inconspicuous.

The guiding thread coiled flexibly in mid-air, accurately capturing a few falling grains of heavenly spirit fruit pollen.

"Retrieve!"

Qi Yang let out a low shout in his heart as the thread suddenly retracted, rolling those few grains of pollen directly into a small jade bottle he had long hidden in his cuff.

Clack.

The jade bottle was tightly sealed.

Snatching food from the tiger's mouth, a perfect success!

But just as Qi Yang succeeded, the Green-Eyed Golden-Crystal Ape in mid-air seemed to sense the faint loss of the heavenly spirit fruit's aura.

Its eyes turned crimson, and it let out a violent roar that shattered the clouds!

"Roar!!!"

The terrifying sound wave, like tangible ripples, spread crazily in all directions!

This was the wrathful strike of a Tier 2 Yao Beast, and its power was comparable to the full-force outburst of a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

The sound wave indiscriminately swept across the large crater where Qi Yang was located, and the menial disciple corpse covering him was directly shaken into a mist of blood!

Qi Yang bore the brunt of it!

The black turtle shield that he wore close to his body, bought for two hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, desperately resisted the impact of the sound wave.

Crack!

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

The surface of the Grade 1 superior defense Magical Artifact, the black turtle shield, directly split open with a deep crack!

The violent vibration force penetrated his body, and Qi Yang felt as if his internal organs had been heavily smashed by a large iron hammer, a thick, sweet, fishy taste surging up into his throat.

He clenched his teeth tightly, forcefully swallowing that mouthful of blood back down!

He absolutely could not spit blood!

Once the scent of fresh blood diffused out, it would definitely attract that beast's attention, and by then death would be certain with zero chance of survival!

Qi Yang continued to urge the medicinal power of the turtle breathing pill, turning himself into a completely lifeless corpse, letting the surrounding rubble and soil mercilessly bury him.

The battle lasted for a full half-hour.

In the end, under the joint suppression of the three Foundation Establishment Stage Elders, the Green-Eyed Golden-Crystal Ape let out an unwilling wail and was forcibly driven back into the depths of the Forbidden Ground.

The damaged Formation was also resealed by the Elders.

"Clean up the ruins! Carry away the dead menial disciples!"

The cold shout of an Inner Sect Disciple came over.

Only then did Qi Yang "laboriously" crawl out from the soil.

He deliberately made himself look covered in dirt, putting on a cowardly appearance of being scared out of his wits and unable to stand steadily, mixing into the surviving menial disciples' team and shivering as he retreated from Beast Taming Peak.

Keeping his head down all the way, Qi Yang returned to the outer sect's Special Grade Herb Garden.

He double-bolted the wooden door and activated the Formation.

Qi Yang strode into the secret chamber located ten zhang deep underground.

Not until he sat on the bronze stone platform did he finally fail to suppress his injuries, vomiting a large mouthful of black blood.

"A Tier 2 Yao Beast... fucking terrifying."

Qi Yang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes held not a shred of fear; instead, they were filled with excitement.

With trembling hands, he pulled out the small jade bottle from his cuff.

Through the translucent jade wall, a few grains of powder emitting a faint seven-colored fluorescent glow could be seen inside.

heavenly spirit fruit pollen!

"The Materials for the foundation establishment pill have finally been gathered!"

Disregarding his wounds, Qi Yang immediately cleared out a small plot of the most fertile spirit soil in the corner of the secret chamber.

He carefully poured the pollen onto the soil and then pulled out the stopper of the black gourd.

Drip.

A drop of emerald-green mysterious liquid accurately dripped onto the pollen.

Qi Yang held his breath, staring fixedly at the soil, anticipating the moment when a tender shoot would break through the ground.

Ten breaths passed.

Half an incense stick's time passed.

The soil remained completely motionless.

Upon contacting the green liquid, those few grains of pollen not only failed to take root and sprout, but instead emitted a strong repulsive force, the seven-colored fluorescence on their surface even beginning to dim!

"What is going on?!"

Qi Yang's expression changed drastically.

The black gourd had never failed in ripening Spirit Medicine; as long as it was a plant, even seed fragments, dropping the green liquid could quickly revive them.

Why wouldn't it work for the heavenly spirit fruit pollen?

Qi Yang did not dare to drop any more green liquid, afraid of destroying these few remaining grains of pollen.

He immediately rummaged through his Storage Pouch, dumping out all the ancient books and Jade Slips concerning Spirit Medicine cultivation that he had collected over the past century.

Acting like a madman, he flipped through them one by one, searching for the reason word by word.

For three whole days and nights, Qi Yang did not sleep or rest.

Finally, in a tattered scroll titled "An Examination of Ancient Spirit Flora", he found the answer.

"The heavenly spirit fruit is born from gathering the most Yang and pure Qi of heaven and earth. After its pollen leaves the parent tree, its Yang Qi is overly excessive. If there is no extremely Yin and extremely cold Yao Beast blood to neutralize it, its vitality will self-combust, making it difficult for all methods to generate life..."

Looking at the records on the Jade Slip, Qi Yang's brows knitted together tightly.

It required extremely Yin and extremely cold Yao Beast blood to neutralize the Yang Qi?

Furthermore, it had to be the essential blood of a Yao Beast containing immense vitality to serve as a hotbed for the pollen to take root!

Ordinary chilly spiritual water was completely useless!

Qi Yang's brain raced at high speed.

Throughout the entire Xuantian Sect Outer Sect, where was there an extremely Yin and extremely cold Yao Beast?

The terrifying giant beast he had caught a glimpse of at the back mountain cold pool a few months ago suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The Outer Sect back mountain cold pool—a Tier 1 Late Stage Yao Beast, the Ice Python!

That Ice Python coiled year-round at the bottom of the extremely cold water, and its demonic blood was definitely top-grade extremely Yin and extremely cold material!

Qi Yang's gaze slowly shifted toward the direction of the cold pool, a trace of mad murderous intent flashing through his murky old eyes.

"A Tier 1 Late Stage Yao Beast is equivalent to a human Cultivator at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer..."

Qi Yang muttered to himself.

The Realm gap in the Cultivation World was like a natural chasm; Qi Condensation 6th Layer pitted against Qi Refining Ninth Layer was under normal circumstances an absolute death sentence with zero chance of survival, let alone the fact that a Yao Beast's Physical Body was far stronger than a Cultivator of the same stage!

"Fighting head-on means certain death, but for the sake of Foundation Establishment, I am definitely going to get this Ice Python's blood!"

Qi Yang put away the ancient book, his gaze turning incomparably ruthless.