36: Chapter 36 Encountering a Demon Bird's Nest, Obtaining a Silver Seed, and Breaking Through Spatial Limits

After his cultivation reached the Late Stage of the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, Ye Qing did not slack off.

His insights into the mutual generation of the Five Elements allowed his control of Spiritual Qi and understanding of Spells to enter a new realm.

He attempted to infuse a trace of the 'Earth Element's' heaviness into his Triangular Spirit Shield; the shield's defense increased sharply, and it could now neutralize some of the impact force.

He also incorporated the intent of the 'Water Element's' infiltration and transformation into his Pseudo-Fireball Technique. The fireball's trajectory became more elusive, and after exploding, it carried scorching steam, widening its lethal range.

The sharpness of the Metal Element, the vitality of the Wood Element, the explosiveness of the Fire Element, the heaviness of the Earth Element, and the transformation of the Water Element began to show signs of Fusion in his hands.

Although it was only a prototype and the increase in power was limited, the direction was correct, and the future was promising.

That day, as usual, he was in the deep mountains far from his temporary stone chamber, searching for a suitable target to practice on.

With his cultivation at the Late Stage of the Sixth Level of Qi Refining and his many methods, he was already capable of fighting a Late Stage First-Order Yao Beast.

He needed greater pressure to hone his Spells and verify his cultivation.

He extended his Divine Sense to ten zhang around him, acutely capturing the subtle fluctuations in the mountain forest.

After crossing a precipitous mountain ridge, a cloud-shrouded cliff appeared before him.

The cliff was steep, with a few gnarled old pine trees growing sporadically on the cliff face; deeper in, the clouds and mist obscured the view, making it hard to see clearly.

But Ye Qing acutely sensed that from within the clouds and mist, there were faint, sharp, and ferocious auras, as well as weak, Wind Element Yao Beast power fluctuations.

It was a Yao Beast bird! And not just one!

He concealed his aura, cast the second layer of the Breath Concealment Technique, 'Form Concealment,' and quietly approached, using the shadows of the cliff and the scattered rocks.

He lurked behind a protruding boulder at the edge of the cliff and carefully extended his Divine Sense.

As the clouds and mist dissipated slightly, he could see a huge, naturally formed stone cave in the middle of the cliff, and outside it, a massive nest made of dead branches, beast bones, and feathers had been built.

At the edge of the nest stood three Yao Beast birds, each the size of a calf, with blue-gray feathers, eyes as sharp as knives, and long, hook-like beaks. They stood quietly, vigilantly scanning the area below.

'Wind-Splitting Falcon, a Late Stage First-Order Yao Beast bird, skilled at controlling wind blades, extremely fast, possessing superior eyesight, and often appearing in groups.'

Ye Qing recognized this Yao Beast bird. Three Late Stage First-Order Wind-Splitting Falcons, coordinating tacitly and occupying the high ground, were much harder to deal with than a pack of Iron-Backed Wolves.

But there was no fear in his eyes; instead, he was eager to try.

The Wind-Splitting Falcon's Yao Beast core contained pure Wind Element power, which might be beneficial for gaining insights into Wind and Space attributes. Their feathers were excellent Materials for crafting flying Magical Artifacts and Wind Element Talismans. The nest might also contain treasures they had collected.

'Three of them... a bit tricky, but not impossible. I need to finish the battle quickly to avoid being entangled, and I must be especially careful that they don't call for their kind.'

He quickly formulated a tactic and cast his gaze toward the depths of the nest.

There seemed to be a faint silver radiance that flashed and disappeared between the gaps of the dead branches.

Was it a shiny object collected by the Wind-Splitting Falcons? Or... something else?

Ye Qing's heart stirred. That silver light seemed somewhat similar to moonlight, yet different—it appeared sharper and more elusive.

Perhaps it was a Wind Element treasure? Or a strange object related to Space or the Void Realm?

It was worth investigating.

He took a deep breath and adjusted his state to his Peak.

He would start with the slightly more relaxed Wind-Splitting Falcon on the outermost edge.

His fingertips moved slightly, and a 'Pseudo-Wind Blade,' only the size of a grain of rice, highly compressed, and without a trace of firelight, quietly condensed.

This was a sneak attack method he had newly deduced by combining his insights into Wind attributes and spatial fluctuations with the compression principle of the 'Pseudo-Fireball Technique.' It was silent, soundless, and specialized in attacking vital points.

'Ssh.'

An imperceptible, light sound.

The Wind-Splitting Falcon was preening its feathers when a spray of blood suddenly erupted from its neck; an invisible 'wind blade' had pierced its throat, a vital point.

It didn't even have time to let out a miserable shriek before the light in its eyes rapidly dimmed, its body tilted, and it fell from the edge of the nest.

The other two Wind-Splitting Falcons were instantly alerted, letting out sharp, piercing cries. With a flap of their wings, a fierce wind suddenly rose, and countless pale green, cicada-wing-thin wind blades covered the place where Ye Qing was hiding like a rainstorm!

At the same time, their figures turned into two green shadows, one left and one right, as fast as lightning, swooping in to kill! Their sharp claws glinted with a cold light, aiming straight for Ye Qing's head and chest.

Ye Qing had been prepared; instead of retreating, he Advanced, rushing out to meet the rainstorm of wind blades!

He waved his left arm, and a pale golden spirit shield, fused with the heaviness of the Earth Element and the toughness of the Metal Element, instantly expanded, blocking most of the wind blades and emitting a dense clanging sound.

His right fingertips flashed wildly with crimson-white light, and two scorching white light bombs, fused with the transformation of the Water Element and the explosiveness of the Fire Element, shot out in eerie arcs toward the Wind-Splitting Falcons attacking from left and right.

The Wind-Splitting Falcons were too fast; they actually made sharp turns in the air, narrowly dodging them.

But that fleeting delay was exactly what Ye Qing wanted.

He pushed his Light Body Technique to the limit; his figure was like a ghost, and in the nick of time, he passed through the gap in the Wind-Splitting Falcons' pincer attack, heading straight for the center of the nest!

The two Wind-Splitting Falcons were shocked and furious, shrieking as they turned around. A fierce wind rose again, and countless wind blades and sharp claws sealed off Ye Qing's retreat.

Ye Qing did not look back. His Divine Sense locked onto that spot of silver light in the depths of the nest. He held his right hand with fingers together like a sword, and a spot of light at his fingertip, scorching white to the extreme and containing the intent of the Five Elements' rotation, suddenly lit up. He pointed it fiercely at the pile of dead branches and bones!

'Break!'

'Boom!!!'

An unprecedented, violent explosion erupted in the narrow nest!

The violent Five Elements Spiritual Qi and the highly compressed flames instantly tore apart the dead branches and bones, blowing a huge hole in the nest.

The blast wave sent the two pursuing Wind-Splitting Falcons flying, their feathers scattering, and their movements stalled.

Ye Qing was also shaken by the recoil, his blood and Qi surging, but he forced himself to raise his Spiritual Qi, his figure moving like lightning through the smoke of the explosion, rushing straight toward the spot of silver light.

As the smoke dissipated slightly, he saw that at the bottom of the nest were scattered a few high-quality 'Wind Spirit Stones,' several crystal-clear bones of unknown Yao Beasts, and a small pile of shiny Ore fragments.

In the center of this debris lay a strange seed, only the size of a soybean, completely silver-white, its surface covered with natural spatial spiral patterns, and inside it, a miniature storm seemed to be swirling. It lay there quietly, emitting weak yet heart-stopping spatial and Wind Element fluctuations.

'This is...' Ye Qing's pupils constricted slightly, and a stormy sea surged in his heart.

This was definitely not an ordinary spiritual plant seed! The Space and Wind Laws contained within it were several times purer and more intense than that spiral-patterned stone! It was simply an Innate object condensed from some kind of Void Realm storm or spatial fragment!

The space within his body transmitted an unprecedented, almost frantic desire and palpitation!

At the same time, a fierce wind arrived from behind; the two Wind-Splitting Falcons had come swooping in with red eyes, swearing to tear apart this intruder who had destroyed their home and stolen their treasure.

Ye Qing had no time to look closely; he grabbed the silver seed along with the surrounding Wind Spirit Stones and crystal bones, stuffing them into his bosom—in reality, sending them directly into his space.

Then, he turned around abruptly, facing the swooping Wind-Splitting Falcons, a cold light exploding in his eyes.

Since the treasure was obtained, there was no need to hold back.

He let out a long whistle, and the Spiritual Qi of the Late Stage of the Sixth Level of Qi Refining in his body erupted without reservation. He raised both hands and flicked his fingers repeatedly!

'Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!'

Countless Spiritual Qi light bombs, wind blades, earth spikes, and water arrows, fused with the true meaning of the Five Elements—some scorching white, some pale gold, some crimson red, some earthy yellow, some water blue—slammed into the two Wind-Splitting Falcons like a violent rainstorm.

For a time, on the cliff, spiritual light flashed, roaring sounds continued, feathers flew, and blood splattered.

Although the two Wind-Splitting Falcons were fierce, under Ye Qing's unreserved, Five Elements-rotating violent attack, they soon became covered in wounds, their Yao Beast power dissipating.

Finally, Ye Qing seized an opening; a finger beam fused with the sharpness of the Metal Element and the explosiveness of the Fire Element pierced the skull of one Wind-Splitting Falcon. The other was also blasted with half of its wing shattered by a following 'Pseudo-Fireball Technique,' and it fell off the cliff with a mournful cry.

The battle ended.

Ye Qing panted slightly and quickly cleaned up the battlefield.

The corpses of the three Wind-Splitting Falcons, the scattered feathers, the Yao Beast cores, the unexploded Wind Spirit Stones, and the crystal bones were all collected into the 'waste area' of his space.

He searched the entire nest carefully again to confirm there were no omissions, then quickly cleaned up the traces of the battle, his figure moving like lightning as he fled into the distance.

He ran for over a hundred li in one breath and found a new, more hidden cave to hide in.

He sealed the cave entrance and set up a warning.

Only then did Ye Qing impatiently check that silver seed.

His consciousness sank into the space.

He saw that soybean-sized silver seed floating quietly in the center of the space, next to the moonlight jade tree.

The moonlight jade tree shimmered with silver light, and it was actively and slowly injecting wisps of pure moonlight energy into the silver seed.

Nourished by the moonlight, the spatial spiral patterns on the surface of the silver seed seemed to come alive, rotating slowly, and the speed of the miniature storm swirling inside accelerated by a fraction.

The space itself transmitted waves of joy and desire; the black soil, the spiritual mist pool, and all the spiritual plants were vibrating slightly in resonance.

'This silver seed... it actually has such strong affinity with the space and the moonlight jade tree! What exactly is it?'

Ye Qing tried to communicate with the space, slowly injecting a trace of spatial Origin energy into the silver seed.

'Hum!'

The silver seed vibrated gently, and the silver light on its surface flared brightly. A pure, profound energy containing the intent of spatial tearing and storms was fed back, merging into the space.

The gray mist at the edge of the thirty-five-zhang space surged violently again, expanding crazily!

Forty zhang... forty-five zhang... fifty zhang!

It expanded until it was nearly sixty zhang in radius before the expansion slowly ceased!

The central black soil surged as well, now twenty zhang square! The Spiritual Qi mist rolled like clouds, and there was a faint whistling sound of wind and thunder. The moonlight jade tree's silver light shot into the sky, its three fruits shimmering with light, brimming with vitality.

What surprised Ye Qing even more was that after the space absorbed that spatial storm energy, it had faintly opened up a small area in the gray mist zone at the edge, no more than a zhang in radius, but with chaotic airflow and a faint sense of tearing—a 'Void Turbulence Zone'!

Although it was extremely weak and highly unstable, it meant that the space had begun to evolve more complex and Advanced rules! It was a qualitative leap!

The fed-back energy was like a floodgate opening, more vast and pure than any previous time, and it carried a clear intent of spatial tearing and storms.

Ye Qing's whole body shook violently; his Meridians, acupoints, Dantian, and even his Divine Soul were frantically scoured, baptized, and filled by this energy.

The barrier from the Late Stage to Perfection of the Sixth Level of Qi Refining was like paper.

His cultivation broke through aggressively, stepping into the Qi Refining Seventh Layer!

His Qi Sea expanded again, the total amount and purity of his Spiritual Qi skyrocketed, becoming thick like paste; as it flowed, it was accompanied by faint wind and thunder, and the intent of the Five Elements' rotation became more harmonious. His Divine Sense skyrocketed, his perception range breaking through fifteen zhang, and his sensing of spatial fluctuations was strengthened several times over.

His Physical Body was also tempered by the spatial storm energy; although he had not specifically engaged in Body Refining, his muscles, bones, skin, and membranes faintly gained a trace of toughness and elasticity, as if they could neutralize some of the impact.

Ye Qing slowly opened his eyes, the divine light in them like lightning, as if a miniature storm were swirling, before it quickly retracted.

Qi Refining Seventh Layer, achieved!

His Foundation remained perfect; his Spiritual Qi, Divine Soul, and Physical Body were simultaneously strengthened, and he had gained a trace of insight into the true meaning of the spatial storm.

Within him, the sixty-zhang space operated stably, moonlight flowed, spiritual plants flourished, and the 'Void Turbulence Zone' at the edge rotated slowly; although weak, it symbolized infinite possibilities.

Ye Qing looked at the silver seed floating beside the moonlight jade tree. The seed's radiance had dimmed slightly, but it was full of vitality, seemingly having established a deeper connection with the space.

'Let's call you 'void wind seed' for now. I wonder what kind of divine object you will grow into in the space in the future.'

His heart was full of anticipation.

A trip to a dangerous place, and his strength had taken another leap.

On the road of steady development, opportunities and risks coexist.

Only by being prepared at all times can one seize the fleeting Opportunity.

Loose Cultivator Ye Qing, the Late Stage of Qi Refining had been achieved.

The road ahead is long, and his Dao Heart is ever firmer.