The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

As Shen Yifei stood at the edge of the woods, he smelled a strong stench of blood.

The smell of blood was strong and carried by the wind, making him feel nauseous.

Shen Yifei frowned and followed the scent of blood. He hadn't gone far when he saw an open space ahead with several corpses lying there.

He crouched behind a tree and peered out.

Three corpses, two men and one woman. They were all wearing Daoist robes from the Qingyun Sect and were all at the Golden Core stage. Their deaths were gruesome. One man's head was smashed open, and blood and sweat gushed onto the ground. Another man had a large hole ripped from his chest, and his heart was missing. The woman's death was the worst; her lower body was gone, and her intestines were hanging out of the ground.

Shen Yifei crouched behind the tree, his heart pounding wildly!

Three Golden Core stage Qingyun Sect disciples died so tragically. If he, a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, had encountered that thing, he probably wouldn't even have left a bone fragment.

He quietly backed away, wanting to leave this place of trouble.

He had only taken two steps back when his foot stepped on a dry branch with a crisp "crack".

Shen Yifei's heart tightened, and he froze on the spot.

After waiting for a while, there was no movement around.

He had just lifted his foot, preparing to back away, when he suddenly heard a voice.

"Cluck cluck cluck, it sounds like a person laughing, or like an owl hooting!"

The sound wasn't loud; it came from above.

Shen Yifei felt a chill run down his spine. He slowly raised his head and saw a person squatting on a horizontal branch of the big tree above him.

Look closely, it's not a person!

The thing had a human body, but a bird's head, covered in feathers, with wings on its arms, and long, thin fingers with nails like iron hooks.

It perched on a tree branch, tilting its head and staring at Shen Yifei, making "clucking" sounds!

Shen Yifei was so frightened by this thing that the hairs on his body stood on end!

The images of the three Qingyun Sect disciples lying on the ground flashed through his mind—a large hole ripped out of their chests, their hearts missing.

This is the thing that killed him!

Without saying a word, Shen Yifei turned and ran.

He used his lightness technique, putting in all his strength, and his legs moved like wheels of fire as he darted into the woods.

He heard a whooshing sound behind him, followed by a "crack" as the tree he had just been standing on was split in two by something.

Shen Yifei turned around and saw that the human-faced owl had already taken flight. Its bright green eyes were fixed on him, and its sharp beak opened, letting out a piercing scream.

"Gah..."

The scream pierced his ears like a knife, and Shen Yifei felt a headache coming on. He stumbled and almost fell.

He quickly bit his tongue to steady himself and continued running forward.

The monster hovered above his head, occasionally swooping down to grab him. Shen Yifei dodged left and right, and several times the hook-like claws grazed his scalp.

"Damn it, I just came in to pick up some bargains, I didn't do anything to you, why are you chasing me?" Shen Yifei cursed as he ran.

The monster swooped down again.

This time, Shen Yifei didn't dodge. He suddenly stopped and turned around to unleash a fireball.

The fireball hurtled straight at the monster's face. The monster dodged to the side, flapped its wings, and a gust of wind blew it back several steps.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Yifei took out the Myriad Things Cauldron from his ring and held it in his hand.

The monster spun in the air and then swooped down. This time it was smarter; instead of charging straight down, it swooped in from the side, grabbing his head with one claw and his chest with the other.

Shen Yifei rolled to the side, dodging the claw aimed at his head, but he couldn't avoid the claw aimed at his chest.

"Sizzle..."

His clothes were torn open, revealing the skin and flesh underneath. The claws of the owl scratched at his chest, making a "crunching" sound, like iron claws scratching an iron plate.

Shen Yifei looked down and saw five bloody marks on his chest. He had not been disemboweled!

It seems this monster can't break through my own skin!

The monster was clearly surprised that its claw hadn't penetrated the human, and it was momentarily stunned!

In that instant, Shen Yifei leaped up and smashed the Myriad Things Cauldron down on the monster's head.

"Bang!"

The monster's head lolled to the side from the impact, letting out a miserable "ga" sound. But instead of being taken in, it flapped its wing, sending Shen Yifei flying several meters away.

Shen Yifei rolled several times on the ground, his whole body aching as if it had been broken apart. He struggled to get up, looked down at the Cauldron of All Things, and then at the monster.

The monster was stunned by the blow, standing on the ground swaying, a dent in its head, and green blood dripping down its beak.

"His realm is higher than mine, why don't you take the cauldron?" Shen Yifei cursed inwardly.

He recalled the pattern he had previously observed: the cauldron only accepted cultivators of higher cultivation levels. But this monster had even killed a Golden Core cultivator, so why hadn't it accepted him?

Unless... it's not about realm, but about strength?

This monster must have been injured. Those three Golden Core stage Qingyun Sect disciples on the ground were no pushovers; they dealt it a few hard blows before they died.

This thing is now at its last gasp; its actual combat power is probably similar to his, or even weaker.

Therefore, the cauldron was not collected.

Once Shen Yifei understood this crucial point, he felt more confident.

The monster shook its head, regaining its balance. Its green eyes stared at him, and it made a "clucking" sound. It spread its wings and was about to pounce again.

Before it could pounce, Shen Yifei rushed forward.

He held a fireball in his left hand and the Cauldron of All Things in his right. The fireball hit his head, and the cauldron smashed into his body.

The monster flapped its wings, sending the fireball flying, but Shen Yifei's cauldron had already arrived.

"Bang!"

The blow struck the monster's wing base, the sound of bones breaking clearly audible. The monster screamed in pain, half its wing drooping down, and it could barely stand.

Shen Yifei gave it no chance to breathe, pounced on it, straddled it, and swung the Myriad Things Cauldron down on its head.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

One, two, three...

He smashed the monster's head to pieces, splattering green blood and white brain matter all over him. Only when the thing stopped moving completely did Shen Yifei stop, panting heavily, and roll off its body.

After resting for a while, he got up and dug out the demon core.

This demon core is much larger than the demon cores of those first-tier demon beasts. Shen Yifei estimates it to be at least third or fourth grade.

Shen Yifei returned to the three corpses and took out three storage bags from their bodies. Upon opening them, he found a considerable amount of spirit stones, pills, and magical artifacts, roughly estimated to be worth several thousand spirit stones.

Shen Yifei transferred everything into his ring and casually tossed the storage bag aside.

"Fellow Daoists, thank you for injuring that thing. I've avenged you. I'll accept your belongings. May you be reborn into a better place in your next life and never come to a place like this again." He cupped his hands to the three corpses, then turned and left.

Shen Yifei wandered around the forest for most of the day, encountering several more demonic beasts, all of which were first or second tier and posed no real threat.

Adhering to the principle that "even mosquito legs are meat," he killed them all, extracted their demon cores, skinned them, and plucked their fur. He killed as he went, and his storage ring was filled with a lot of things.

As evening fell, he found a stream and squatted down to wash the blood off his body.

The blood was green and red, mixed together, sticky and difficult to wash clean. He took off his torn outer robe and threw it away, then pulled out a clean one from his ring and put it on.

Suddenly, a faint sound of water came from downstream.

Shen Yifei followed the sound of the water and carefully made his way forward. Soon, the sound of the water grew louder and louder. Through the gaps in the bushes, he could vaguely see a person in the river bend downstream.

It was a woman, standing in waist-deep river water with her back to him.