112: Slay the spirit deer, break the golden cage

After finishing this, he finally relaxed slightly, chose a direction, and used Forest Darting Steps to move forward quietly.

The forest was silent; even as his footsteps tread upon years of fallen leaves, they made no sound.

Within half an hour, there was a sudden movement in the bushes ahead.

A beast, entirely green and blue, resembling a moose but with a single horn on its head, stepped out. Halos of light swirled around its body, and its aura was around the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

Qi Xuanlin's eyes narrowed, and his figure glided low across the ground. A three-foot green blade had appeared in his hand—the sword's body shimmered with a faint, eerie light; it was indeed a first-tier peak grade Magical Artifact.

This sword had been specially commissioned by his father from Great Master Tie Feng, nearly exhausting the Family's years of savings for it.

A flash of sword light!

The Earth Spirit Deer seemed to sense something and raised its head to cry out, but the Qingfeng Sword had already pierced the side of its neck like a venomous snake.

The fierce Sword Qi contained within the blade erupted, and the deer's body trembled violently before dissipating into a shower of light specks.

Only a fist-sized, misty green glow remained suspended in the air.

"Master Tie's craftsmanship is truly remarkable."

He stroked the cold spine of the sword, feeling grateful in his heart.

It is difficult for a Qi Refining Cultivator to refine a first-tier peak grade Magical Artifact, but someone like Tie Feng, whose Spiritual Platform was not entirely destroyed despite failing Foundation Establishment...

...and instead found a blessing in disguise by reaching the "Qi Refining Tenth Layer" where part of his magic power liquefied, could barely touch the threshold of Artifact Refining for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Back then, his father sending Eighth Brother to the Hundred Refinements Pavilion was indeed a far-sighted move.

"So this is earth spirit qi..."

Qi Xuanlin activated his Cultivation Technique and slowly absorbed that glow into his body.

In an instant, a warm and heavy power flowed through his Meridians. His originally green-blue magic power actually solidified slightly, and its circulation became a bit more brisk.

"It really works!"

He was slightly joyful, but he didn't dare to be careless.

According to his father, the Earth Spirit Secret Realm was originally a Trial Grounds established by the Profound Purity Sect for Inner Sect Disciples to reach Foundation Establishment.

The Secret Realm nurtures "earth spirit qi."

This Qi is mysterious; it can refine a Qi Refining Cultivator's magic power, nourish the Meridians and Dantian, and greatly increase the success rate and quality of forming a "Foundation Establishment Spiritual Platform."

However, earth spirit qi does not simply drift everywhere in the Secret Realm for anyone to absorb.

It combines with the Origin aura from when the Secret Realm was formed, evolving into "Earth Spirit Beasts" of various forms and strengths.

Only by killing these Earth Spirit Beasts can one obtain enough earth spirit qi.

Entrants must use their own Cultivation Technique to continuously absorb and refine earth spirit qi until their magic power is completely "permeated" and "assimilated," reaching "harmony" with the rules of the Secret Realm.

Only then can they trigger the pure earth spirit origin hidden within the Secret Realm's world to complete the final Foundation Establishment transformation.

And the deeper one's own foundation, the larger the amount of earth spirit qi required—for those with pure magic power, the amount needed might be several times that of an ordinary Cultivator.

He estimated privately:

To completely transform his magic power and even push for the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, he would likely need to slay five hundred Earth Spirit Beasts.

This was only the most ideal estimation, not yet accounting for other dangers within the Secret Realm.

For five consecutive days, Qi Xuanlin carefully traversed the forest and killed another sixteen Earth Spirit Beasts. His magic power transformation was gradually progressing, but he had yet to see a single soul.

It wasn't until noon on the sixth day that he suddenly smelled a faint scent of blood.

A hundred paces away, the corpse of a Cultivator dressed in brown clothing lay slumped against a tree root.

A shocking charred claw mark was on the chest, yet the Storage Pouch at the waist was actually intact.

Qi Xuanlin paused, his Spiritual Sense sweeping the surroundings—no traps, no ambushes, not even signs of a fight.

His thoughts raced: If this person hadn't been ambushed and fled here in panic only to die of exhaustion, then this Storage Pouch was... He stepped forward slowly, eyes fixed on the corpse, his right hand already pressed against the Earth Spirit Shield.

Just when he was ten paces from the corpse, a sudden change occurred!

“Buzz—!”

Several golden lines suddenly lit up on the ground, weaving into a cage that trapped him within!

At the same time, the sound of breaking air came from above as three golden sharp blades slashed down in a triangular Formation. It was none other than the First-Tier High Grade technique, "Golden Edge Slash"!

“A Array Master!”

Qi Xuanlin's pupils constricted, and the Earth Spirit Shield instantly expanded, turning the size of a door to block in front of him.

“Clang, clang, clang—!”

Amidst the sound of clashing metal, the spiritual light on the shield flickered wildly, but it steadily withstood those three sneak attacks.

A thin, wizened figure emerged from behind a tree not far away, his face as gloomy as iron.

He had originally set up a "Golden Light Formation" here, using the Cultivator's corpse and Storage Pouch as bait, and had already successfully ambushed and killed two people, reaping a rich harvest.

Just now, he had sensed Qi Xuanlin's aura was only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and thought he was another fat fish. Who would have known this person's reactions were so swift, and he even possessed a peak-grade defensive Magical Artifact!

“Fellow Daoist, what is the meaning of this?”

Qi Xuanlin's voice was cold as his gaze swept over the other party—dressed in a gray robe with an obscure aura, his cultivation was actually at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

“The meaning?”

The thin Cultivator sneered, greed flashing in his eyes:

“Fellow Daoist? You're nothing but an ant!

Hasn't the Zhao Family widely distributed the slots precisely to tacitly allow us to kill and plunder each other?

Seeing how condensed your magic power is, you must have slain quite a few Earth Spirit Beasts these past days, right?

Perfect, earth spirit qi refined by a Cultivator... is much purer than those beasts!”

Before his voice could fade, he pinched a hand seal. The Golden Cage flared with light, and countless fine golden needles shot out from the cage walls like a torrential downpour!

“He was actually prepared...”

Qi Xuanlin's eyes turned cold, but he did not panic.

He had already noticed that the Spiritual Qi here was thin; the power of this Formation relied entirely on Spirit Stones and certainly wouldn't last long.

The Earth Spirit Shield's spiritual light pulsed, protecting his body.

The golden needles clinked against the shield, causing the spiritual light to sway violently, yet it never broke.

While maintaining a steady defense, Qi Xuanlin secretly circulated the Yimu Longevity Sword Art. Green-blue magic power surged through his Meridians like a rushing stream, continuously pouring into the sword's body.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Formation's light began to dim.

The thin Cultivator's face changed slightly, and he was about to activate his backup plan—

“Break!”

Qi Xuanlin gave a low shout, and the Qingfeng Sword suddenly let out a clear ring!

A foot-long Green Wood Sword Qi erupted from the tip of the sword, slashing through the air toward a weak point in the cage!

“Rip!”

The Golden Cage of light was actually sliced open, leaving a gap!

The Sword Qi's remaining momentum didn't dissipate, plowing a six-zhang-long deep furrow into the ground, grinding all the vegetation along its path into dust!

“Sword Qi?! You're a Sword Cultivator!”

The thin Cultivator cried out in horror, the greed in his eyes instantly turning into terror.

Having cultivated for over fifty years, he prided himself on his Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation and his expertise in Formations and metal-attribute techniques. He had been like a fish in water in the Wood Domain, having ambushed and killed several Cultivators of the same level.

But this man in green before him clearly only had the aura of the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, yet the purity and thickness of his magic power far surpassed his own, and he had even mastered Sword Qi!

Having lost all Battle Intent, he raised his hand and threw out three shimmering golden Talismans—First-Tier High Grade "Golden Edge Talismans" that transformed in the wind into nine crescent-shaped golden blades, attacking Qi Xuanlin's head, chest, and abdomen from three directions!

Simultaneously, he tapped his foot and retreated rapidly like a falling leaf, actually performing a decent Wood Evasion Technique, seemingly about to merge into the shadows of the ancient trees behind him.

Qi Xuanlin's sword strike had just broken the cage, and he was at the point where his old strength was spent and new strength had yet to arise.

Facing the nine cunningly aimed golden edges, he could only pull back his sword to parry, the Qingfeng Sword dancing into a mass of green light.

“Clang, clang” repeated as he blocked them all, though his movements were hindered for a moment.

In that single instant, the thin Cultivator had already fled over thirty zhang away. His voice drifted back from a distance, carrying a hint of shaken urgency:

“Brother, stop! The commotion just now wasn't small and will surely attract others. Why should we both suffer just to let someone else benefit?”