125: Chapter 125 Demon Core

The Pangolin burrowed out from the ground.

Sensing its master's danger, it lunged from the ground behind the Electric Eel and bit down hard on the Electric Eel's tail!

Its teeth sank deeply into the skin—then slid right off.

The Pangolin was stunned.

It looked down at its teeth, then at the faint white marks on the Electric Eel's tail, its eyes filled with disbelief, as if to say, "This is impossible."

Lin Xuan saw it too.

The Pangolin's teeth couldn't even break the Electric Eel's skin?

This thing's defense was even stronger than he had anticipated.

"Return!" Lin Xuan commanded through the contract. "Don't force it, you can't break its defense!"

The Pangolin reluctantly let go and dove back into the ground.

Although the Electric Eel hadn't been injured by the bite, it was clearly enraged.

Its body began to writhe violently, the purple-gold patterns on its sides suddenly lighting up, electrical sparks crackling loudly, and the air filled with a pungent smell of ozone.

Then, it opened its mouth.

It wasn't to fire a thunder beam.

It was to inhale.

That circular mouth opened wide like a black hole, generating a powerful suction force!

The sand, gravel, and seashell fragments on the beach were all sucked up, spiraling toward its mouth!

Lin Xuan also felt that suction.

His body involuntarily leaned forward, his feet carving two deep furrows into the sandy ground.

The projection of the earth fiend bell began to slightly deform under the pull of the suction.

"This beast has another trick up its sleeve?"

Lin Xuan gritted his teeth to stabilize his stance, drew a Thunder Shield Talisman from his Storage Pouch with his left hand, and slapped it onto his body.

Pale purple thunder light swirled over his skin, reinforcing his defense.

Then, with a flick of his right hand, he whipped out the startling thunder whip, the tip wrapping around a waist-high reef nearby.

He used the leverage to steady himself.

After inhaling for a few breaths and finding it couldn't pull him in, the Electric Eel closed its mouth, and the suction vanished.

Lin Xuan seized the opportunity to release the whip, activated Thunder Flash Step again, and flashed to the side of the Electric Eel.

He was observing.

Looking for a weakness.

Every Yao Beast has a weakness.

Either in the eyes, the abdomen, or some specific part.

The Electric Eel's eyes had degenerated into two small black dots buried in its skin, barely visible, but that should be one of its weaknesses.

And also—

Lin Xuan noticed that every time the Electric Eel fired a thunder beam, the purple-gold patterns on its sides would dim for a moment.

About two breaths.

That must be the interval when its Thunder Spiritual Energy was circulating.

Its Thunder Spiritual Energy was consumed and needed a brief moment to replenish.

Two breaths.

That was enough.

Lin Xuan had a plan.

He contacted the Pangolin through the contract: "Create vibrations underground, the bigger the better, and draw its attention."

The Pangolin received the order.

The ground began to tremble slightly.

Not the large-scale tremors of an earthquake, but focused beneath the Electric Eel's body, as if something were burrowing back and forth underneath.

The Electric Eel was indeed distracted.

Its head turned slightly, seemingly sensing the movement underground.

Without eyes, it relied on sensing vibrations on the ground.

Now!

Lin Xuan exploded into action!

He activated Thunder Flash Step at full power, his figure turning into a pale purple streak of light as he lunged from the Electric Eel's side!

Three zhang!

Two zhang!

One zhang!

The Electric Eel sensed danger, its head whipping around, its mouth opening—

But it needed to charge up to fire a thunder beam.

Charging required time.

And Lin Xuan wouldn't give it that time.

Thunder-Striking Thorn, draw!

The twelve-inch-long thorn body was dark purple, with thunder light condensing at the tip to form a three-foot thunder blade!

Lin Xuan held the thorn in his left hand while whipping out the startling thunder whip with his right, wrapping the tip around the Electric Eel's head and yanking it, pulling its head half a foot to the side!

Then, he aimed the Thunder-Striking Thorn at that little black dot of its left eye and stabbed down hard!

"Squish!"

The three-foot thunder blade pierced through the eyeball and straight into the brain!

The Electric Eel's body stiffened abruptly.

Then, it writhed madly!

The immense pain caused it to lose its senses, its body thrashing, rolling, and lashing out on the ground like a snake whose tail had been stepped on!

Its tail swept across the beach, kicking up a sky full of sand and dust!

Its body slammed into rocks, shattering them!

Lin Xuan was flung away, rolling several times on the ground before his back hit a rock, bringing him to a stop.

He lay on the ground, gasping for air, and looked up.

The Electric Eel was still struggling.

But it was already failing.

Its writhing became weaker and weaker, the purple-gold patterns on its sides rapidly dimming, the electrical sparks vanished, and even the luster on its skin turned dull and gray.

After a few more breaths.

It finally stopped moving.

It lay sprawled on the beach like a dried salted fish.

Lin Xuan waited for a while, confirming it was truly dead, before slowly crawling to his feet.

His whole body ached.

The spot on his back where he hit the rock was burning, likely bruised a large patch.

The blood at the corner of his mouth had dried, sticking to his skin, which was uncomfortable.

He walked over to the Electric Eel and gave it a kick.

No reaction.

Dead.

Lin Xuan flopped onto the beach, panting heavily.

The Pangolin burrowed out of the ground, covered in mud, sniffed the Electric Eel's corpse, then looked up at Lin Xuan with an expression that said, "This thing was really tough to deal with."

The Herb-Seeking Mouse poked its head out from his robe and squeaked twice, as if asking, "Is it dead?"

"It's dead." Lin Xuan reached out to stroke its head. "Don't be afraid."

Only then did the Herb-Seeking Mouse dare to jump out of his robe, cautiously approach the Electric Eel, sniff it, and then quickly run back, squeaking a string of sounds.

Lin Xuan didn't understand what it was saying, but he could roughly guess— "So big! So scary! Master, you're so amazing!"

He smiled, leaned against the rock, and closed his eyes for a moment.

His heartbeat slowly calmed down.

His breathing steadied as well.

He opened his eyes and looked at the two-zhang-long Electric Eel corpse in front of him, feeling a mix of complex emotions.

First Tier High Grade.

At least one minor Realm higher than him.

He had won.

Although the process hadn't been easy and he had sustained some injuries, he had indeed won.

This gave him a clearer understanding of his current combat power—at the Late Stage of Qi Refining Level 6, with top-tier Magical Artifacts and a Spirit Beast, he could fight a First Tier High Grade, but it wouldn't be easy.

If two came at once, he would have to run.

If three came, unless he used Second Tier Talismans, he might not even be able to escape.

Lin Xuan stood up, stretched his limbs, walked over to the Electric Eel's corpse, and squatted down.

It was time to collect the loot.

He took a dagger out of his Storage Pouch and began to dissect it.

The Electric Eel's skin was very thick, but after death, its defense had noticeably decreased.

He sliced through the weak spot on its abdomen with the dagger and cut all the way along the midline of its body.

The skin and flesh peeled back, revealing the internal organs inside.

Lin Xuan carefully rummaged through the body.

Yao Beast Core.

Any Yao Beast that had reached a certain grade might condense a Yao Beast Core in its body.

The probability of a First Tier High Grade Yao Beast condensing a Yao Beast Core wasn't very high, but it wasn't impossible either.

After searching for about half a cup of tea's time, his fingers touched something hard.

Below the Electric Eel's head, near the spine.

Lin Xuan reached in and pulled it out.

A bead.

Thumb-sized, dark purple, with a smooth surface and a faint light faintly flowing across it.

It felt slightly numb to the touch, like holding a small lightning-struck stone, but smoother and more active than a lightning-struck stone.

Yao Beast Core.

A First Tier High Grade Thunder-attribute Yao Beast Core.

Lin Xuan held it up before his eyes and examined it carefully.

Inside the bead, fine thunder patterns were faintly visible, as if countless tiny bolts of lightning were darting through it.

Good stuff.

A First Tier High Grade Yao Beast Core was an excellent material, whether for direct absorption to Cultivate, or for Alchemy and making Talismans.

Back at the Sect, a single First Tier High Grade Yao Beast Core was worth at least seven or eight hundred contribution points.

Rarer ones with better grades were worth even more.

Lin Xuan carefully put the Yao Beast Core into a jade box inside his Storage Pouch and continued the dissection.

The Electric Eel's skin.

Two zhang long, over a foot wide at its widest point.

The skin was thick and extremely tough; it required considerable force to cut through with the dagger.

This skin could be made into armor—robes, inner armor, or bracers and knee guards, which would have good resistance against Thunder-attribute attacks.

Lin Xuan spent a quarter of an hour peeling off the entire skin intact, rolled it up, and stowed it in his Storage Pouch.

Next were the teeth.

The rows upon rows of fine, sharp teeth in the Electric Eel's mouth were numerous, each about the size of a small fingernail and extremely sharp.

These teeth could be used to craft Magical Artifacts—flying needles, daggers, arrowheads, anything would work.

Lin Xuan pulled them out one by one and packed a full jade box.

Finally, the purple-gold patterns on the sides of its body.

Those were naturally formed runes.

Lin Xuan used his dagger to carefully cut off those two patterns, skin and flesh included, and stored them separately.

He wasn't sure how to use this, but it was definitely good stuff.

He would study it later; maybe it could be used for making Talismans or setting up formations.

As for the remaining flesh and blood, he stored it all in the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

The flesh could feed the Herb-Seeking Mouse and the Pangolin.

Chopped up and mixed into the soil, it could also serve as fertilizer to nourish the spiritual plants in the space.

Although this creature had Thunder Spiritual Energy in its body, the spiritual plants should be able to absorb it.

Couldn't waste it.

After cleaning up the loot, Lin Xuan sat on the beach, looking toward the horizon.

The eastern sky was already starting to turn white.

Not a bright white, but a hazy, pale cyan color, as if washed by water.

The stars were fading away one by one.

A thin layer of mist rose above the sea, shrouding the distant reefs and small islands in a haze.

The waves continued to lap against the beach with a splashing sound.

Everything was very calm.

As if the battle that just occurred had never happened.

Lin Xuan leaned against the rock and let out a long breath.