Devour

Cheng Bai sniffed it. His sense of smell was not as sharp as Xiao Bai's. He carefully distinguished the smell of ghost brain flower. Eating so much of it made him and Xiao Bai stronger. It was very familiar to him. He was suspicious: "We picked them all last time. Could they grow again so quickly? No, the skull is hidden deep in the ruins of the palace. It is impossible for it to grow outside."

After walking around the ruined building for a while, I noticed something unusual. The evil spirits such as Xieshun and Weichi that were occasionally seen outside the ruins were nowhere to be seen.

After hesitating for a moment, Cheng Bai decided to go in and take a look. He asked Xiaobai to wait outside and explored deeper into the ruins according to the route he remembered.

Inside the magnificent ruined palace, there was a huge bloody skull covered with broken flesh. It could now capture the Xiexun and Weichi that wandered nearby. It could swallow them with just a suck from its mouth, then spit out a paper-thin skin bag that would float to the ground.

The number of monsters nearby dropped sharply, and the tempting aroma spread farther and farther, reaching outside the ruins, attracting monsters from farther away to approach.

The Lord of the Black Jade Banner, wearing a black robe, stood in front of the skull, followed by a male and a female Wind and Rain Messenger, who watched silently as the skull performed the act of capturing prey.

After a long silence, the Black Jade Banner Master said, "Bone King, can you stand up?"

The skull growled hoarsely, "It's still a long way to go. Why are you helping me?"

The Black Jade Banner Master hesitated and said, "I just want to help myself. Your power can help."

"Give me more flesh and blood, and I will come back."

The skull murmured in pain, and an incomplete eyeball struggled to emerge from a huge eye socket, staring at the three people.

The leader of the Black Jade Banner did not answer, but turned around and left with the Wind and Rain Envoys.

The Wind Envoy whispered, "Master, it may take many years for it to recover its strength. We can't wait."

The Black Jade Banner Master sighed, "There must be an opportunity, and it's coming soon."

The three of them strode past, completely unaware of Cheng Bai who was hiding nearby.

As they walked away, Cheng Bai became more curious and cautiously approached the palace where the skull was.

Seeing the huge changes in the skull, Cheng Bai was shocked: "What on earth was the ghost brain flower I ate before? Could it really be its brain?"

No matter what, ghost brain flower is undoubtedly a good thing.

Relying on his invisibility, Cheng Bai looked closely at the skull from a distance in the hall. Suddenly, he found that the skull's eye was staring at him, wherever he walked, the eye followed him.

Cheng Baimao was horrified and whispered, "Can you see me?"

The skull roared hoarsely, "Invisibility is a deception, little Daoer. We have all practiced for more than ten thousand years, how could we not see through it?"

Cheng Bai asked curiously: "What are you?"

The skull stared at him with its one eye and said, "I am the son of an ancient god, the essence of the continent, a king born and raised by nature."

Cheng Bai still didn't figure out what kind of monster it was.

Just as he was doubtful, the skull opened its mouth and sucked. A powerful devouring force enveloped Cheng Bai's position and was about to suck him away.

Cheng Bai quickly used his internal energy to resist the opponent's suction. His strength was much stronger than that of the Wei Chi and other monsters. He slowly stepped back and gradually got rid of the suction effect.

The skull's attack failed to work, so it stopped swallowing and began to struggle and tremble violently, causing the surrounding area to shake continuously. Two huge hand bones protruded from the ground and extended further upwards.

Cheng Bai didn't dare to get close and tried to send a thunder and fire bomb to hit the skull. The fire dissipated with a roar, and the skull was intact, without even a trace of mark left.

This meant a huge gap. The opponent in front of him was incredibly powerful and full of hostility. Cheng Bai was unsure and unwilling to fight him forcefully, so he turned around and left quickly.

He ran outside, rode Xiaobai for a distance, and looked back at the sky above the Howling Ruins. There was a giant skull phantom condensing there, looking towards Chengbai with its mouth wide open, as if mocking and ridiculing him.

He quickly quickened his pace and left the Haunted Forest.

"Could the entire Howling Ruins be a trap set by the Skull Monster? Ordinary monsters are merely its prey, and there is more than one such super monster." Cheng Bai thought to himself as his mount continued to move forward into the Fearless Wilderness.

"I must become stronger as soon as possible. I am still too weak in this strange world."

Cheng Bai was not in a hurry to travel, but continued hunting as usual. During his daily training, he would practice the Six Paths of Bliss Fist several times first. Then he would practice the Six Paths of Supremacy, feeling smoother and more comfortable. He then practiced his swordsmanship, pondering the mystery of the future fifth sword.

Before arriving at Tianquan City, Cheng Bai took a detour into Shell Mountain to hunt, replenish the stone marrow of the petrified snake, and collect the crystal cores to upgrade the hunter mark, and spend the night outside the city.

I entered the city at daybreak and cleared out all the crystal cores in stock at the Hunter's Guild. The points I earned were enough to upgrade to level 22 and exchange for the corresponding hunter mark, which just met the requirements for participating in the Martial Arts Hunting Conference.

Compared with other cities, Tianquan City has a very important terrain, with convenient transportation, bustling crowds, a prosperous and magnificent city, wealthy people, and hunters who are all ambitious. A few thousand taels of gold may not seem like a big deal, but the number of high-level hunters is scarce, which inevitably attracts attention.

"Look, there's a new guy coming up."

"Every generation has its own talents, maybe he will be a dark horse."

"The fifth quasi-king, the 'Crazy Staff King', appeared in Tianji City. She inherited the Flying Sand Staff Technique and is a woman."

"This congress will surely be star-studded, with more prospective kings than ever before."

A high level does not necessarily mean strong strength, but it definitely means strong ability. Hunting monsters is a life-threatening matter, and it is not easy to accumulate a high number of guild points. The hunters looked at Cheng Bai with very different eyes.

"Looks like I can form my own team... No, it's not the right time yet."

Cheng Bai is not in a hurry to recruit soldiers. Just as Shi Ziyu said, if a genius's talent cannot grow to a certain level, he is most likely to die young. It is not necessarily a good thing to attract attention. It is better to develop in a humble way.

I came to the Tianquan branch store of Qi Zong and ordered two sets of clothes made from the three-color moonlight deer fur in stock. As the Buddha relies on gold and people rely on clothes, these clothes are much more beautiful and practical than the gray ones I'm wearing.

The store was full of all kinds of goods, and the treasures were much more complete than the previous major armor and weapon stores of Qi Zong. Not only were there magic weapons and equipment, but there were also a variety of blades and weapons. The Yanling knife used by Fu Ying and the Wu Tie spear used by Lu Miaoting were both available in the store, but they were refined ordinary weapons and were suitable for ordinary warriors.

After Chi Zhongming showed up, Cheng Bai poured out a total of more than 3,000 kilograms of mountain copper ore from his treasure bag and commissioned him to refine it.

Chi Zhongming examined the weight and evaluated: "Although it is a rich mountain copper ore, the total refining cost is not small, but there is a lot of material, and we can get 20 to 30 kilograms of mountain copper material, which can be used to forge a good weapon. The chief elder of the Tianquan branch has profound skills in refining weapons, and he is confident that he can refine it into a high-quality treasure."

Cheng Bai didn't quite understand the difference in quality. He just felt that the grade mentioned was a bit low. He didn't plan to forge a mountain copper weapon, so he said casually: "Let's make it into ingots first, and we can talk about weapons later."

The most urgent thing is to travel light. Cheng Bai took out the ten thousand jin Feiying Stone and asked, "What can this thing produce?"

Chi Zhongming smiled and said, "Flying Shadow Stone is rare and expensive. Its value lies in itself. It cannot be used to refine any metal. It is often used as an auxiliary material for refining tools. Such a large piece is unprecedented. It can be used to refine many treasures."

Cheng Bai hurriedly asked: "What kind of treasure can be refined?"

Chi Zhongming said truthfully: "It is a good material for refining treasures. If mixed with black iron, it can be refined into flying shadow steel. If mixed with dark refined gold, it can be refined into shadow-transforming black gold. If mixed with some longevity iron, it can be refined into shadowless steel. It has many uses and is a rare treasure."

Cheng Bai was secretly delighted and put away the Feiying Stone.

Chi Zhongming memorized the receipt, took the ore and deposit, and said, "Come and pick it up the day after tomorrow. This is my last order at the branch store. I will leave Tianquan City in two days and go to the main hall of Qizong to take up my post."

Cheng Bai accepted the receipt and said, "Congratulations on your promotion. I hope you have a bright future."

Chi Zhongming smiled and said, "Years of hard work are not as good as discovering my talent overnight. It turns out that I am different from others, which is why I was promoted. I am ashamed to say this."

Cheng Bai was not in a position to ask more questions, so he encouraged her, "It's always an opportunity, just seize it."

After leaving the Qi Sect branch, Cheng Bai went to the Yao Sect to be commissioned to refine the Stone Marrow Pill.

The Yaozong branch store was crowded with people coming and going, business was booming, and the storefront was decorated with lights and colors, as if welcoming some important figure.

Watching the spiritual medicine master come out of the pharmacy and deliver the finished pills, Cheng Bai thought to himself: "Forging tools and refining medicine are both profound studies. If you can learn a little bit, you will definitely benefit a lot."

He then secretly asked the thin old man sitting beside him, "Does the Medicine Sect accept any disciples?"

The old man's hair was half black and half white. The pharmacists around him were very respectful to him. Cheng Bai guessed that he was the store steward, who must be highly respected and knowledgeable.

Hearing Cheng Bai's question, the old man's eyes sparkled and he smiled, "The Medicine Sect is strict in accepting disciples. To be a spiritual pharmacist, only those with compatible five elements, delicate minds, outstanding spirits, noble morals, and excellent talents can be qualified. To meet the requirements, one must be cautious and consider again and again, and only after the Sect Master's approval can one be admitted and taught the skills. The procedures for becoming an apprentice are complicated and numerous, including burning incense, chanting scriptures, repenting, swearing an oath to show one's determination to enter the practice, kneeling down to the ancestors of all generations to remember their kindness, kneeling down to the master to use the inheritance method to make the medicine path prosperous... The ceremony can be as short as half a day or as long as a day."

Cheng Bai was already confused before he finished listening. He laughed dryly and said, "It's really not easy. It seems to be particularly lively today?"

The old man was very interested and said a few more words: "Registration for the Martial Arts Hunting Competition has begun. The Saint Son of the Sect is rushing back to Tianquan City. Only he can defeat the Hunter Academy's Gate God, the Wild Hammer King."

"What is the Holy Son?" Cheng Bai inquired carefully. The secret art of communication could always help him obtain more information.

The old man said softly, "The chief disciples of the major sects are respectfully called 'Holy Sons'. The Hunter Academy also has one, Tie Baohan, who is known as the Wild Hammer King. He guards the door and only allows masters he recognizes to register. He is very domineering."

Cheng Bai was surprised and asked, "Does it take the consent of the local boss to sign up?"

The old man laughed and said, "That's wrong. The competition has already begun before the conference even begins."