Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

A flash of crimson gold light appeared in Li Xiuyuan's hand, and the top-grade magic weapon, the Golden Light Sword, shimmered in his grasp.

The sword gleamed with a cold light, carrying a dangerous and terrifying aura that spread outwards.

An Ran's gentle face shifted between light and shadow, and a hint of anger surfaced in her usually calm demeanor. She raised her jade-like hand and said to Li Xiuyuan with a slightly angry tone, "Fine, then I'll give this item to you, Senior Brother. I'll stay here and cover for you."

Judging from Li Xiuyuan's movements as he wielded the magic sword, if she refused his request, the incredibly sharp sword energy would surely strike her the next moment.

The menacing aura emanating from him was undeniable.

Indeed, as Li Xiuyuan said, she had only recently broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage and had not yet consolidated her cultivation before sneaking out of the sect.

It was simply because she had never left the mountain since she began practicing Taoism, and she longed for the wonderful world outside.

She learned by chance that a phoenix-blooded demon beast on Mount Luofeng was about to break through to the second tier. She thought she could take the opportunity to capture this stunningly beautiful demon beast as her spirit pet and bring it back to the sect to show off to her girlfriends.

Who would have thought that as soon as they descended the mountain, they would encounter Li Xiuyuan, an unreasonable cultivator.

The sisters in the sect were right after all; male cultivators are all big jerks!

Seeing this, Li Xiuyuan smiled and bowed to An Ran.

"Then I'll have to trouble Fairy Anran to help me. After I slay this beast, I'll definitely provide spirit stones to replenish your magical power."

After saying that, he turned and headed towards the barren mountain at his feet without looking back.

"Pah! Who wants your spirit stones!"

An Ran's face puffed up like a steamed bun, and she cursed Li Xiuyuan in her heart.

……

Li Xiuyuan nodded slightly when he saw that Huang Zhongren and the others had finished setting up the formation.

He addressed the group in a loud voice, "You may all step back. With Fairy Anran protecting me, your mission is complete."

Having said that, he prepared to slay the demon!

Li Xiuyuan paused, his figure instantly transforming into a streak of crimson-gold light, and arrived atop the rocks.

A crimson-gold stream of light appeared at his fingertips, which was his [Crimson Flame Mystic Light] sword energy.

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

The sharp, boundless sword energy, accompanied by the burst of golden flame magic, instantly raised the surrounding temperature to an extremely high level, causing the surrounding rocks to gradually melt.

It split into three, forming three palm-sized crimson-gold sword energies that pierced into the rocks in unison.

Bang bang bang!

Countless rocks burst open amidst the sword energy, revealing a flamingo larger than the hills.

Three streaks of scarlet blood were now flowing down its crimson feathers.

The demonic power of the early second-tier cultivator erupted, and from the sky above, an inexplicable ray of sunlight descended, about to transform into a flying arrow.

"rise!"

The main array token was activated, and a array flag flew out, spreading out a white aura that quickly connected into a single formation.

Whoosh whoosh!

Li Xiuyuan's figure transformed into a flash of fire, instantly dodging the flying arrows.

A few stray needles occasionally landed on him, but they were all blocked by the purple light emanating from the Azure Cloud Feather Robe.

The residual recoil was neutralized by his powerful second-tier body refinement cultivation.

"The Foundation Establishment period is too short, and there are too few Foundation Establishment techniques at hand."

Li Xiuyuan sighed inwardly, then dissolved a drop of magical liquid.

A terrifying pressure, far exceeding that of a Qi Refining cultivator, emanated from him.

He drew a strange talisman with his hand, and instantly spat out a ball of red light from his mouth.

In an instant, the crimson light transformed into three crimson-gold firebirds, wreathed in raging flames, flapping their wings and slamming down on the flamingo.

The three firebirds slammed into the flamingo's wounded area, tearing its already mangled flesh to shreds.

Squeak!

The flamingo let out a pitiful cry, but refused to leave the hill below it, as if it were protecting something.

Seeing this, Li Xiuyuan pressed his advantage.

As he landed, his blood and energy surged violently, and he stomped his foot on the ground.

Bang bang bang!

The hill where the flamingos were located was shaken violently by Li Xiuyuan's sudden attack.

The hailstones pelted it with a soft, pattering sound, but even so, it refused to leave, stubbornly guarding its spot.

Knowing it was facing a life-or-death crisis, it frantically summoned the light of the great sun, condensing fiery arrows to attack Li Xiuyuan relentlessly.

But Li Xiuyuan remained calm, as his fighting style was inherently flexible and varied.

Seeing that the flamingo seemed to have some reservations, he stopped attacking fiercely and instead chose to harass it frequently from a distance using magical artifacts and spells.

With the array restricting it from the outside, it probably can't escape very far.

And so, the two sides remained deadlocked for most of the hour.

Finally, the flamingo, which had only recently broken through to the next level, could no longer hold on. More and more wounds on its body were torn open by Li Xiuyuan's spells and magical artifacts, and blood flowed incessantly. Its aura gradually weakened, like a candle flickering in the wind.

"Crimson Flame Mystic Light!"

Seeing that the opponent was in low spirits, Li Xiuyuan knew he had him in the bag and planned to finish him off swiftly with a sword technique.

Card wipe!

Strands of crimson-gold sword energy emerged from his golden sword, bombarding the flamingo's wounds like a storm.

Compared to Li Xiuyuan's previous slow and steady attacks, this Crimson Flame Mystic Light could shatter a large area of ​​protective demonic energy with a single strike, and would also leave extremely deep scars on its physical surface.

"It's time!"

Li Xiuyuan stepped into the formation with a smile on his face.

Splash!

Another series of attacks followed, and suddenly the flamingo opened its mouth wide.

A massive ball of crimson fire erupted, like the sun descending upon the world, carrying a desperate and violent force as it slammed into the formation.

Huang Zhongren's face turned pale, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Cracks appeared on the array plate.

If he hadn't simultaneously cultivated his body and qi to the ninth level, the backlash from that attack that shattered the formation would have cost him his life.

"Are you planning to fight to the death?"

Li Xiuyuan chuckled and reached out to touch the Azure Cloud Feather Robe.

A purple aura appeared, and a spark of light flickered between his brows.

Within Li Xiuyuan's sea of ​​consciousness, an invisible, malevolent blade imbued with the essence of the sun, moon, and stars pierced straight into the flamingo's consciousness.

This method is a secret divine sense attack technique inherent in the Foundation Establishment chapter of the Divine Refinement Technique: the Fiend God Thrust.

It is elusive and specializes in attacking spiritual sense. Its soul power is extremely strong, but its weakness is that it can only deal with those whose spiritual sense is weaker than its own. Otherwise, it will suffer a strong backlash from spiritual sense.

In mild cases, it damages one's consciousness; in severe cases, it destroys one's soul and prevents one from entering the cycle of reincarnation.

Splash!

Another burst of crimson sword light slashed down, all landing on the flamingo's flawless white heart.

"I am not reconciled! Your son will avenge your mother!"

The flamingo's spirit roared in resentment before collapsing with a crash.

"Yes, his breath stopped, he's finally dead."

Li Xiuyuan landed, made hand seals, and slowly guided the remaining essence of the flamingo into a bright pearl the size of a pebble.

Half an hour later, having finished all this, he withdrew his divine sense from the flamingo.

Looking at the giant bird, which was dozens of feet tall, a smile appeared on his face: "A second-tier low-grade bloodline demon beast, just right for refining the Heavenly Gang True Fire Bell."

Although he knew nothing about weapon crafting, there were quite a few second-tier weapon crafting masters on the front lines of the sect.

"It's a pity that this beast has just broken through and hasn't had time to purify its demon core yet."

Li Xiuyuan swiftly used the sharp blade in his hand to cut it apart and extracted an irregular crystal the size of an egg.

The crimson crystal is the core of a demon beast's demonic power—the demon core—which will be formed when it becomes a third-tier great demon.

This demon core will condense into a demon core, just like the golden core of a human cultivator.

"It would be great if there were a few more second-tier demonic beasts like this."

Li Xiuyuan grumbled, then suddenly his expression brightened.

With a flash, it arrived at the foot of the hill that the flamingo had just sworn to protect with its life.

"Wow, this is an unexpected bonus!"