Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

Hidden inside a mountain cave.

Gou An vomited up everything he had just looted and neatly laid it out on the ground.

Looking at the spoils before him, Gou An was very satisfied.

The fifth-tier demon core of the Blazing Bear, in particular, made the dog extremely happy.

Such a valuable item carries an increased risk of unknown danger the longer it remains outside.

So Gou An first swallowed it into his mouth, chewed it up, and then swallowed it in one gulp.

This time, even hotter energy poured into his body.

At the same time, the demonic power value on the panel in his mind was also increasing rapidly.

Before long, Gou An witnessed his demonic power level being fully charged.

[Current Realm: Fourth Tier of Demon Beast]

[Demon Power Value: 8580/8000]

[Demonic power overflows, automatically triggering a realm breakthrough...]

Gou An frowned slightly as he watched the power level increase to demonic power.

When I consumed the fifth-tier demon core of the white fox before, I clearly gained more than 5,000 points, but this time I only gained more than 2,000 points.

However, it was clear that when it devoured the demon core of the Blazing Bear this time, it felt that the energy was much more abundant.

After much thought, Gou An came to a conclusion.

That is, when the demon power value reaches the upper limit of the current realm, the efficiency of demon power absorption will decrease.

The demonic power value cannot exceed the upper limit by much, resulting in a lot of wasted demonic power.

Although it didn't increase the demonic power as much as before, it finally gave Gou An enough demonic power for this breakthrough.

As the breakthrough progressed, the panel in my mind slowly changed.

[Current Realm: Fifth Tier of Demon Beast]

[Demon Power Value: 580/20000]

When Gou An saw the brand new panel, he was dumbfounded.

What?

Shouldn't it be 16,000?

How did it suddenly jump to 20,000?

Damn it, someone must have embezzled it.

Gou An began to curse inwardly.

At the same time, a new option for magic reappeared on the panel.

[Congratulations on breaking through to the fifth rank of demon beast! You have gained ten new demon power points.]

You can exchange Hex Points for Hex Arts from the following options.

【Nine-Separation Demonic Flame: Can release high-temperature demonic flames with extremely high adhesion, and can be controlled at will. (Exchange for Demonic Points: 10 points)】

[Giant Beast Body: Increases size, strength, and defense. (Exchanges for 9 Demon Points)]

[Hair Needle Shot: After using the Hair Needle Protection spell, you can shoot your body hair out as flying needles. (Exchange for 8 Demon Points)]

[Rough Transformation: Allows temporary humanoid transformation. The closer the transformation is to a human, the more energy it consumes. (Exchangeable for Demon Points: 7 points)]

【Greedy Wolf Claws: Claws enhanced, sharp as a knife. (Exchangeable for 6 Demon Points)】

[Iron Skin Technique: Skin is strengthened to the point of being as hard as iron, defense skyrockets. (Exchange for Demon Points: 5 points)]

[Chosen Dog King: Has a stronger deterrent effect on its own kind whose cultivation level is lower than its own. (Exchangeable for Demon Points: 4 points)]

[Concealment: Completely hides one's aura; the longer it is used, the harder it is to control. (Exchange for Demon Points: 3 points)]

[Male Dog Reproduction: Increases stamina and attractiveness to female dogs, allowing for rapid breeding of the dog population (Exchangeable for 2 Demon Points)]

[Carrion Eater: Consuming rotten flesh, feces, and other similar items grants more Demon Power. (Exchangeable for 1 Demon Point)]

Gou An never expected that this time, ten sorcery spells would appear at once for him to choose from.

In addition to the few familiar sorcery spells that I hadn't chosen before, I added quite a few other sorcery spells.

Because there were so many sorcerous spells, Gou An was somewhat at a loss as to what to choose.

So he opened his eyes, ready to think it over before making a choice.

Don't act impulsively and choose a sorcery that's unsuitable for the current situation; that would be troublesome.

It now takes a full 20,000 demonic power to reach the next breakthrough and upgrade.

As one's cultivation level increases, even if one obtains a fifth-tier demon core, the demonic power it provides will be significantly reduced.

Based on this calculation, if I want to break through to the sixth rank of demon beast at my current level, I would need at least six or seven fifth rank demon beast cores.

Just thinking about it makes me realize how long and far the road ahead is.

Gou An looked at the other spoils of war and began to examine the spirit stones.

Gou An still doesn't know the specific uses of the spirit stone.

But the most basic common sense of security is still clear to him.

Spirit stones are stones that possess spiritual energy.

So Gou An turned his attention to the spirit stones on the ground.

He licked the spirit stone with his tongue and felt a faint spiritual energy spreading through his body.

interesting!

Gou An immediately curled his tongue and put the spirit stone in his mouth.

Then try to feel the stone in your mouth and try to absorb it.

Perhaps it was the instinct of the demon beast, but Gou An actually absorbed the spiritual energy from the spirit stone.

At the same time, Gou An discovered that the demonic power value on the panel in his mind was also increasing.

Although it doesn't provide as much as a fifth-tier demon core, even such a small spirit stone can provide Gou An with more than 300 points of demon power.

The two provided a total of nearly 700 points.

Furthermore, after the spirit stone is absorbed into the body, there is no burning sensation like when the demon core is absorbed and refined.

Instead, it brought a pleasant feeling, like a gentle spring breeze.

"These spirit stones are really valuable!"

Watching the spirit stone turn into an ordinary stone after its spiritual energy was completely absorbed, Gou An sighed inwardly.

It's a pity there are only two of these; it would be great if there were more.

Gou An then focused his gaze on the folded paper, wanting to see what was written on it.

When you open it with your claws and mouth, your eyes light up.

This isn't some kind of martial arts technique; it's clearly a savings account.

Or, as written on the paper, it should be called the "Spirit Stone Archive".

The above is proof that the hunter had previously deposited one hundred spirit stones at a place called Cunlingzhuang.

One hundred spirit stones, and one spirit stone will provide me with three hundred demonic power.

One hundred pieces would cost over 30,000!

It can directly allow one to break through to the sixth rank of a demon beast.

Thinking of this, Gou An's heart was filled with turmoil.

But then another problem arose: this so-called Lingzhuang was located in a city where humans lived.

These places are inevitably frequented by human cultivators.

If I go like this, I'll definitely be discovered.

And even if it wasn't discovered, how could a dog like me take the passbook and retrieve the spirit stones stored inside?

So now there's only one way: learn the Transformation Technique, disguise yourself as a human, and take away these one hundred spirit stones.

However, a crude transformation technique alone seemed insufficient, so Gou An closed his eyes again to examine the skills among the other sorcery techniques.

The Transformation Technique requires seven points of Demonic Arts, and the remaining three points can be used to select Concealment.

Completely concealing one's aura, in conjunction with the transformation technique, is the best way to avoid being discovered.

So Gou An closed his eyes and chose these two sorceries.

Once the choice was made, the methods for using these two sorcery techniques were automatically integrated into his mind once again.

After completing his studies, Gou An couldn't wait to try it out.

As Gou An used the Rough Transformation Technique, his body began to slowly deform, and his bones cracked.

As its body swelled, the dog's paws began to transform into the shape of human hands and feet, and its waist began to straighten.

The entire process did not last long, and the deformation eventually stopped.

A yellow stray dog ​​that had been lying on the ground was now standing upright.