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

Sensing the hidden scheme, Gou An didn't take a single step forward, but stood at a distance and watched coldly.

Seeing that he wouldn't approach, the paralyzed female insect on the ground feigned weakness and pleaded, "What are you standing there for? Come here and give me a quick end!"

Gou An remained silent, flicked his wrist, and unleashed a fiery blade from afar, adding another burning wound to the mother insect.

Excruciating pain swept through her entire body; the mother insect's flesh convulsed, and she hissed through gritted teeth, "Why torture me like this!"

Gou An remained silent, then raised his hand and unleashed another ranged fire blade strike.

Seeing that the mother insect still had a chance to live, he swung his sword repeatedly, and five or six blazing blades of energy crashed down on the opponent's bloated body.

In a short while, the mother insect's body was covered with charred wounds that revealed the bone, layer upon layer of scars, a truly gruesome sight.

"They're quite difficult to kill," Gou An muttered under his breath.

The mother worm convulsed in pain, her breath coming in short, weak gasps: "Don't waste your energy. You only need to step forward and stab me in the heart to end this."

Gou An remained unmoved after hearing this and maintained a safe distance throughout.

The opponent was a genuine eighth-tier demon beast, and even though it appeared to be severely injured and on the verge of death, it could not be taken lightly.

He continued to remotely control the demonic fire, letting the flames spread and burn freely on the mother insect's body. The crackling sound of flesh being scorched echoed continuously in the cave, and a strong, pungent smell of burning permeated the air.

Seeing that the mother insect was almost charred by the raging fire and had not launched any surprise attacks, Gou An lowered his guard slightly.

He then swayed slightly, slowly stepped forward, and prepared to deliver the final, fatal assassination.

Upon reaching the mother insect, he raised his flaming longsword high, the tip aimed at her vital heart, ready to plunge it down.

Just then, the mother insect, who had been on the verge of death and utterly powerless, suddenly opened her eyes wide, her face contorted into a ferocious expression, and countless thick, sticky tentacles burst forth from her body, engulfing Gou An and attempting to bind him tightly.

But the next second, all the tentacles pierced straight through Gou An's body, grabbing nothing at all.

The figure in front of me had no physical form.

In the blink of an eye, the figure turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished without a trace with the wind.

The mother insect turned her head in shock and was horrified to see that Gou An's true form was still standing steadily in the distance.

What approached just now was nothing but an illusion!

"Luckily I was on guard. You old fat worm, you really were hiding some dirty tricks!"

Her trick was exposed on the spot. The queen insect no longer had time to pretend to be weak. Letting the flames scorch her body, she roared and pounced on Gou An, her voice filled with a mad, suicidal rage: "I'll take you down with me!"

Gou An's gaze sharpened, and he clearly saw that the mother insect's skin and flesh were torn open with countless fissures, from which a blinding and eerie green light emanated.

"Oh no, that old hag is going to self-destruct!"

Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he dared not delay any longer. He urged his body technique to retreat with all his might, leaping repeatedly to create a large distance between himself and others.

Seeing that she couldn't catch up no matter what, the mother insect let out a mournful roar on the spot, and her bloated and huge body suddenly expanded and exploded, with a terrifying shockwave sweeping through the entire underground cave.

At the critical moment, Gou An dodged and hid behind a heavy boulder to protect himself.

The violent explosion shook the entire mountain, causing the cave walls to tremble violently, and debris and mud rained down from above.

When the roar subsided and the dust settled, Gou An crawled out from the pile of rubble and cautiously poked his head out to look around.

Where the mother insect once stood, only a pool of highly corrosive, dark green blood remained, splashing onto the rocks and constantly making a hissing, corrosive sound, melting countless pits into the rock surface.

Gou An lightly touched the ground with his toes, found a safe foothold on the ground covered with corrosive venom, and quickly ran to the center of the explosion.

His gaze swept quickly across the rotten insect flesh scattered on the ground, and he immediately picked out a crystal from one of the pieces of flesh—the demon core of the mother insect.

Once they got their hands on it, they didn't linger. They quickly stepped onto the protrusions on the cave wall and climbed upwards at top speed.

Just before the entire cave wall began to collapse on a large scale, Gou An finally rushed out of the cave and successfully escaped back to the ground.

After regaining his footing, he looked back into the distance and saw that below the steep slope, which had previously been covered with rocks and thorns, a deep and huge pit had been formed, and the entire mountainside had sunk in.

Gou An let out a long breath, feeling his muscles and bones aching and his strength almost completely exhausted.

Fortunately, this eighth-tier queen insect was old and frail, and had old injuries. If it were an eighth-tier demon beast in its prime, I might not have been able to escape unscathed today.

He secretly resolved that he would never act so recklessly and recklessly in the future.

But then I thought, there is opportunity in danger. This adventure has been worth it for the precious eighth-tier demon core I have obtained.

Gou An held the demon core up to his eyes and examined it closely, but his brows furrowed slightly.

The crystal was clearly engraved with eight demonic patterns, confirming that it was indeed an eighth-order demonic core. However, the crystal's luster was dull and obscure, and the original demonic energy contained within it had been largely depleted and thinned out.

After a moment's thought, he had his answer.

It is likely that when the mother insect self-destructed, it overdraws the primordial power deep within the demon core, resulting in a significant loss of the demon core's vital energy.

Even though its demonic energy is incomplete, it is still a rare eighth-tier treasure.

Gou An casually wiped the foul-smelling blood off the surface of the demon core from his fur. He originally intended to swallow it directly to refine it, but when he thought of the ugly and bloated appearance of the mother insect, he felt disgusted and found it difficult to swallow.

He turned and walked away from the collapsed hillside, intending to find a quiet and secluded place to slowly refine the eighth-order demon core.

Finally, Gou An found a flat stone slab by a stream and sat down.

This place is extremely remote and deserted. Even wild animals that occasionally pass by are frightened away by the demonic aura emanating from Gou An.

It was already past midnight, and the sky in the distance was beginning to lighten.

Gou An took out the eighth-order demon core and washed it carefully in the water several times, but he was still a little uneasy.

Knowing that the demon core had been almost completely cleansed, Gou An finally brought it to his mouth with satisfaction, curled his tongue, and swallowed it.

As Gou An crushed and swallowed the eighth-tier demon core, he felt a surge of powerful demonic energy explode within his body, rapidly spreading throughout his entire being. After circulating once, it all converged towards the demon core on Gou An's chest.

Gou An closed his eyes, and his demonic power was indeed increasing rapidly.

Unfortunately, the increase in demonic power did not last long and eventually came to a halt.

[Current Realm: Sixth-Tier Demonic Beast]

[Demon Power Value: 42650/50000]

Looking at the demonic power panel in his mind, Gou An sighed slightly.

If that old hag hadn't self-destructed, this demon core might have allowed her to directly advance to the seventh rank.

Not content with mere survival, he was not discouraged, as he had after all gained over 40,000 points of demonic power.

This is the largest single increase in demonic power that Gou An has ever experienced so far.

It's only a little over 7,000 points short. I'll go to the Monster Mountain Range to refine a few more pills; it won't take much time.

Most importantly, Gou An discovered that after consuming the demon core, his injuries had almost completely healed.

"Looks like it's time to go back."

Gou An planned to return to the Monster Mountain Range, find a cave to hide in, and slowly improve his strength.

Before going back, Gou An planned to return to the village first.

After all, the He family father and daughter had saved my life, so I couldn't just leave like that.

With that thought, Gou An's figure flickered and he transformed back into the shape of a big yellow dog, then headed towards the mountain village.