Cultivation: I can see the proficiency level

It was midday, with the sun high in the sky.

The path through the lush forest was bathed in light and shadow, with dappled patterns of light scattered everywhere. Not far from the path, Wang Mian was completely buried in the dead leaves, with only his eyes showing as he stared intently at the path.

About a hundred meters away from Wang Mian, a striped tiger demon the size of a water buffalo was resting on a large rock.

If you look closely, you'll notice that this tiger demon's expression is shifty. It keeps glancing at some hidden spot, and after meeting those threatening eyes, it turns its huge tiger head away in fear.

Even the imposing "king" character on his forehead seemed a bit droopy.

At the end of the path, a woman dressed in a plain dress flew by, and each time her toes touched the ground, the talisman on her calf would flicker slightly.

In the blink of an eye, with effortless grace, one can cover a distance of several meters.

At this speed, they arrived in front of Wang Mian in just a short while.

She did not notice Wang Mian, whose breathing and heartbeat were suppressed to the extreme.

She turned her gaze to the tiger demon, her eyes brightening slightly. In the blink of an eye, she had already grasped a long sword with a cold, gleaming light in her hand.

The roar of a tiger echoed through the forest.

The piercing sense of threat made the tiger demon instantly adopt a defensive posture, its gaze secretly fixed on a certain spot, and it firmly suppressed its desire to escape.

"It's actually a low-grade demon beast. Today is the day I can make a fortune." Feeling the aura emanating from the tiger demon, which was only equivalent to the first to second level of Qi Refining, Lu Xiuzhi couldn't help but feel pleasantly surprised.

With her cultivation at the third level of Qi Refining and wielding a magical artifact, dealing with such a low-grade demon beast would be a piece of cake for her.

At this moment, she had even figured out the preparation method.

They shaved off tiger penises, soaked them in medicinal wine, and exchanged their flesh and bones for spirit stones.

Using the Vajra Amulet and a Lightness Technique, she was enveloped in golden light, her movements lithe and graceful. The longsword in Lü Xiuzhi's hand pulsed with magical power, its blade gleaming. She launched her attack, aiming straight for the tiger demon's throat.

In a short while, they were right in front of him.

A foul-smelling, demonic wind accompanied by a tiger's roar carried two golden, blade-like spells that slashed directly at Lü Xiuzhi. The moment Lü Xiuzhi lunged forward, the tiger demon, compelled by the sense of threat, unleashed its spell.

After the whooshing sound, a tinkling sound rang out in the forest.

Two spells imbued with golden energy were blocked by Lü Xiuzhi's magical artifacts. Following closely behind were even more golden blades, which were impenetrable to her longsword. Only the dense sounds of impact echoed through the forest.

The golden blade sliced ​​through ancient trees and jumbled rocks, causing trees to fall and rocks to crumble, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

The golden blades, which had been dense, became sparse. Lü Xiuzhi was delighted, guessing that the tiger demon had exhausted its magic power and was powerless to continue. It was the perfect time to strike while the tiger was down.

He immediately lunged forward, his sword strikes sharp, blocking the tiger demon's retreat.

Unable to retreat or escape, the tiger demon had no choice but to fight head-on. After only seven or eight desperate struggles, half of its enormous tiger claw was cut off, leaving it covered in blood.

The anxious roar of the tiger, filled with resentment, abruptly ceased in the forest.

The longsword was pulled away from the tiger demon's neck. Lü Xiuzhi, with a look of joy on her face, dispelled the spell, removed the talisman, took out a vessel from her storage bag, and began to extract the demon beast's essence blood.

Skinning, deboning, and cutting the meat, tiger blood splattered on Lü Xiuzhi's face. She simply wiped it away with the back of her hand, and her pretty face regained some color.

She smiled, seemingly oblivious to the bloodshed, and used a short knife to remove bones, twisting her hands to collect all the removed flesh and bones into her storage bag.

The forest suddenly fell silent, with only gentle breezes blowing through it, ruffling Lü Xiuzhi's long hair.

next moment.

The gentle breezes around Lü Xiuzhi suddenly transformed into cyan chains, binding her tightly like snakes.

This sudden turn of events left Lü Xiuzhi horrified. When she activated her magic power, she discovered that even with her Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation, she couldn't break free from the cyan chains for the time being.

The layers of blue chains tightened, binding Lü Xiuzhi until she could no longer break free.

Her expression shifted, and she realized that the tiger demon she had encountered earlier was likely a trap to lull her into a false sense of security, but she had been so caught up in her joy that she had completely lost her vigilance.

"I am a cultivator from the Lü family of Taixi Lake. I beg you to show yourself, fellow Daoist. I am willing to offer my storage bag and magic artifacts in exchange for your mercy and spare my life." Lü Xiuzhi's voice echoed through the forest.

Wang Mian, who was hiding, did not speak, still covered with thick layers of withered branches and leaves, and stared intently at Lü Xiuzhi, who was bound.

A moment later, a white-furred dog demon emerged from behind a large rock not far from Lü Xiuzhi.

The demonic power that had been deliberately concealed was released, and the aura of the dog demon gradually intensified as it stepped towards Lü Xiuzhi.

Sensing her struggle, it exhaled a burst of cyan demonic energy, which transformed into numerous sharp needles as thick as an arm, aimed directly at Lü Xiuzhi's throat, chest, forehead, and dantian.

Lu Xiuzhi's trembling body felt the imminent presence of death and shivered slightly.

The dog demon's aura was much stronger than hers, and its cultivation was clearly higher than hers, approaching the level of a mid-grade demon beast, not inferior to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Lu Xiuzhi, whose face was gloomy, became more and more desperate.

If they were cultivators, there would still be room for negotiation. But this time, being captured by demonic beasts, they would likely perish and their bodies would be lost forever.

The dog demon, Stepping on the Wind, was level with her, who was suspended in mid-air by magic. The moment its claws were raised, Lü Xiuzhi closed her eyes, hoping only that her family could avenge her blood feud.

However, the expected excruciating pain did not occur. When the claw touched her head, it made a dull thud, and Lü Xiuzhi felt a blackout before losing consciousness.

……

A dog barked.

Wang Mian stood up from the withered leaves, walked towards the dog demon with a smile, and affectionately patted the dog's head.

"Good Ninth Sister, you have made a great contribution. When we find something good, you will be the first to enjoy it."

"Ugh."

He took out half a bottle of muscle-softening powder, pinched Lü Xiuzhi's mouth and poured it down her throat. Then he used his magic to seal several of her vital energy acupoints, blocking the flow of his magic power. Lü Xiuzhi became a lamb to the slaughter.

Don't stay here for long.

Wang Mian picked up the magical artifact that was placed aside, reached out and took the storage bag from the other party's waist, and then took off the talisman.

To be on the safe side, Wang Mian also stripped off his outer garments, leaving the female cultivator only with a bodice and thin trousers to cover her private parts.

After doing all this, the original three cyan chains were reinforced with several more, and Wang Mian then carried Lü Xiuzhi and mounted the white dog.

The demon dog rode the wind, its feet not touching the ground, and landed in a remote mountain stream dozens of miles away.

Riverbank.

Wang Mian's slap landed on Lü Xiuzhi's face, and the pain made Lü Xiuzhi slowly wake up. The first thing she saw was a figure with a black cloth covering his face.

Beside him, the dog demon that had knocked her unconscious stood quietly, its shimmering blue demonic aura making Lü Xiuzhi immediately realize that the person in front of her was the real mastermind.

As the wind blew through the mountain stream, Lü Xiuzhi felt that her clothes were too thin. When she looked down, she was so angry that she almost bled from all seven orifices.

This scoundrel is shameless!

They even stripped her of her brocade outer garment, removed her silk stockings, and even took away the jade ornaments on her wrists and neck. The jade bracelet wasn't even a magic artifact; it was just a slightly spiritual accessory.

Such despicable and shameless behavior—plucking feathers from a passing goose, leaving only skins on a fleeing beast, hiding one's head and showing one's tail—made Lü Xiuzhi suspect the young man's origins.

"Are you a fellow Daoist from Fallen Mountain?" Lü Xiuzhi spoke in a tone that was always open to negotiation: "Fellow Daoist, please be merciful and speak your mind."

Within a radius of hundreds of miles, only a destitute hermit could produce such a shameless person, who wouldn't even leave them clothes.

With her life hanging in the balance, and knowing full well that there was little difference between the beasts and monsters on Luopo Mountain, Lü Xiuzhi still couldn't help but try to fight for her life.

Even ants try to survive, and so do cultivators.

Wang Mian's face stiffened, and he spoke in a hoarse voice: "I never expected that you, fellow Daoist, would be such a straightforward person."

Lü Xiuzhi's smile was slightly stiff.

This person is only at the first level of Qi Refining. If he hadn't been relying on his power, how would he have dared to humiliate her like this?

"Fellow Daoist has gone to such great lengths, there must be something you wish for. Please tell me, and I will do my utmost to fulfill your request," said Lü Xiuzhi.

"It's nothing serious, I just wanted to borrow your Qi Refining Technique to take a look," Wang Mian said.

Her life was in the other party's hands, and she was powerless to resist. The treacherous villain was aggressive, and the dog demon was eyeing her covetously. If she did not agree, she would be beheaded.

Lu Xiuzhi hesitated for only a moment before agreeing decisively, "Okay!"

"Fellow Daoist, you may simply recite it verbally." Wang Mian, who had taken out paper and pen, gestured for her to read it aloud.

This time, Wang Mian went to great lengths, came prepared, and even risked offending the Lü family by kidnapping their members. This was Wang Mian's core objective.

Wang Mian obtained the Qi Refining Technique that the other party was practicing.

Like a fish on a chopping board, Lü Xiuzhi's hesitation earned her a slap from Wang Mian, drawing blood from her gums.

Without further hesitation, she began to recite the Qi Refining Technique word by word, and finished reciting it.

"Repeat it again." Wang Mian looked at the Qi Refining Technique he had memorized and felt that Lü Xiuzhi had tampered with it.

Lü Xiuzhi's face stiffened.

She did indeed replace some of the techniques in the cultivation method. If one were to cultivate according to the breathing technique she gave, going into qi deviation would be the least of one's worries; bleeding from all seven orifices and exploding heart meridians would be considered a complete death.

"Fellow Daoist, please forgive me. I seem to have misremembered two of the incantations, but I've remembered them now." With blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and tears streaming from her eyes, Lü Xiuzhi corrected herself.

Wang Mian wrote down the exercise method again.

Wang Mian did not make her recite it again, but instead kept picking out words and phrases to ask her questions. If she couldn't match them, he would start to torture her.

The interrogation went on for a day, with the location changed seven or eight times. Lü Xiuzhi was bruised and swollen, and kept begging for mercy.

Wang Mian finally obtained the low-grade Qi refining technique he had longed for, which was vastly different from the inferior technique he was currently practicing.

Lu Xiuzhi chuckled as she looked at Wang Mian, who had gotten his wish, then looked down at the blue chains that had never loosened even slightly. Clearly, the other party had no intention of giving her a chance to live.

"Fellow Daoist!"

"Um!"

"I am twenty-three years old and have no Daoist partner. My virginity is still intact. Before I die, may I ask for one night of pleasure to end my regrets?"

A three-foot-long cyan wind blade sliced ​​across Lü Xiuzhi's neck, blood slowly seeping out. Her eyes widened, and she collapsed.

"Pah, you're despicable!"

As a ball of demonic fire ignited, Wang Mian rode the dog demon and fled into the mountains.