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

Night had already fallen outside the cave, and inside the deep cave, it was pitch black and thick, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Gou An condensed a ball of demonic fire in his palm, and with a gentle toss, the flame hovered in mid-air, barely illuminating a small area around him.

Su Yun, standing to the side, was listless and weak, no longer possessing the arrogant air she had when they first met.

Gou An had no time to pay attention to her. He closed his eyes and focused on the attribute panel that appeared in his mind.

[Current Realm: Seventh-Tier Demon Beast]

[Demon Power Value: 15680/200000]

"What? Two hundred thousand?"

Gou An was startled and couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise.

At the sixth rank, it only required 50,000, but this time it has quadrupled. Based on this increase, could the next rank require over a million demon power?

This system is just too ruthless!

The thought had barely formed in his mind when system notifications popped up one after another.

[Congratulations on breaking through to the seventh rank of Demon Beast, you have gained eighteen new Demon Arts Points]

The following magical arts can be exchanged using magical points.

[Soaring Through the Clouds: The physical body breaks free from the earth's constraints, allowing for aerial strides and short-term flight; speed increases with one's demonic power. (Exchangeable for 18 Demonic Points)]

[Spirit-Devouring Claws: After the sharp claws grip the target's neck, they can absorb the spiritual energy from the target's body. (Exchangeable for Demon Points: 12 points)]

[Demon Aura Missile: Use demonic energy to gather energy projectiles and control the attack at will. (Exchange for Demon Points: 11 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)]

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

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

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

This breakthrough only unlocked a brand new sorcery technique, "Soaring Through the Clouds." Gou An stared at the panel and pondered for a moment.

The ability to soar through the clouds grants the ability to fly, and the effect itself is indeed tempting.

But then he reconsidered and realized that his skills in hiding in the mountains and forests and concealing his tracks were already highly refined.

If we were to take off rashly, the target would be too conspicuous, making it easy to expose our whereabouts. At this stage, it is not very practical.

What he lacks most now is the ability to sustain himself in close combat.

The Nine-Separation Demon Fire is quite powerful, but it consumes demonic energy too quickly. If it encounters an opponent with thick skin or agile movements, continuously releasing the flames will only deplete its own resources.

In the end, he might even be defeated because he would be exhausted and powerless without the enemy even having to make a move.

He desperately needs a low-cost offensive sorcery as a supplement.

Although the Demonic Energy Missile is a long-range weapon, it is essentially the same as the Nine-Part Demonic Fire, and its consumption of demonic energy is equally enormous. It was directly eliminated by Gou An.

The hair-shooting technique may seem flexible, but each time it's used, you have to shoot out your own hair. If you use it too many times, you'll probably become a leech, which is really not advisable.

After some searching, Gou An's gaze settled on the wolf's claws.

Simply strengthening the claw blades will hardly consume any extra demonic power. Combined with his own afterimage movement technique, he can have a lot more lethality and confidence in close combat.

Even more coincidentally, the Spirit-Devouring Claw can be perfectly paired with the Claw, and the points required for the two sorcery skills are exactly the eighteen sorcery points available.

Having made up his mind, Gou An finalized the exchange plan.

I spent twelve points to exchange for the Spirit-Devouring Claw, and used the remaining six points to exchange for the Greedy Wolf Claw.

After the exchange was completed, the methods for using these two demonic arts flooded into his mind. Gou An slowly opened his eyes and immediately activated his demonic power to test the enhancement of his claws.

With its claws outstretched, Gou An was stunned.

The claw blades, enhanced by sorcery, gleamed with a chilling light. Each one resembled a crescent-shaped steel dagger, sharp and menacing, inexplicably reminding him of Wolverine, whom he had seen in his previous life.

He found a nearby rock to test it, and with a light scratch of his claws, the hard rock was immediately split open and cracked into several pieces.

"The effect is good." Gou An nodded in satisfaction.

He also planned to try out the remaining Spirit Devouring Claw on the spot, and his gaze naturally fell on Su Yun, who was bound by ropes.

The effects of this sorcery were clearly imprinted in my mind.

By using sharp claws to lock the target's neck, one can plunder the spiritual power within the opponent's body.

Without further hesitation, Gou An strode forward and his sharp claws gripped Su Yun's neck.

Su Yun, who had been in a daze, suddenly woke up. Seeing Gou An standing right in front of her, she asked in shock and anger, "What do you want to do?"

"Nothing else, I just learned a new skill and I'm testing it on you."

Before he finished speaking, Gou An immediately activated the Spirit-Devouring Claw.

In the blink of an eye, a pure and gentle spiritual energy flowed continuously from the tip of the claw into its meridians.

The tactile sensation is exactly the same as when absorbing spirit stones.

He instantly understood the key point.

Spirit stones are containers for storing spiritual energy, and human cultivators cultivate for many years, accumulating a vast amount of spiritual power within their bodies. At this time, they are equivalent to walking, large-scale spirit stones.

His spiritual energy was rapidly draining away, and a tearing pain shot through his meridians. Su Yun panicked instantly, trembling as he pleaded desperately, "No! Stop!"

"You promised you'd let me go!"

Gou An became addicted after just one use and couldn't stop.

"Wait! Let me experience it a little longer!"

Gou An looked completely content.

Su Yun was in so much pain that she was covered in cold sweat!

"pain!"

"Relax! It's normal to feel pain at first!"

"Let me go!"

"Don't worry, I'll be done in a minute!"

Seeing that Su Yun's spiritual energy was about to be completely drained, Gou An suddenly released his claws and immediately reverted to his wild dog form.

He didn't even bother with the magical ropes binding Su Yun; he turned and fled at high speed along a side passage on the other side of the cave.

The restraints around his neck suddenly disappeared, and Su Yun gasped for breath, like a drowning person who had miraculously escaped death.

Before she could catch her breath, a figure squeezed through the largest opening and entered—it was a disciple of the Heavenly Star Sect.

The other party immediately spotted Su Yun trapped beside the rock and shouted loudly towards the outside of the cave, "Elder Su is here!"

In the blink of an eye, a large number of Tianxing Sect cultivators rushed towards the depths of the cave upon hearing the sound.

Gou An escaped in time; had he been a few seconds later, he would have been surrounded by a group of cultivators and would have been trapped with no way to escape.

Just as the disciples of the Tianxing Sect were rescuing Su Yun, Gou An had already concealed all his presence and was running at top speed in one of the directions.

This place is not safe to stay any longer; we must leave quickly!

Otherwise, it would be troublesome if the disciples of the Tianxing Sect set their sights on them.

Gou An ran for dozens of miles before stopping. Once he was sure someone was chasing him, he found a secluded ravine and lay down to rest.

Having just absorbed Su Yun's spiritual energy, its demonic power, which was originally only a little over 10,000, has increased to over 20,000.

I did a rough calculation, and it increased by about six thousand!

This made Gou An very happy!

If there were more cultivators like this to slowly absorb their power, the speed at which he could accumulate demonic energy would be unimaginably fast.