I am in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have a demonic beast clone!

Chapter Fifteen: Thirteenth Level of Qi Refining! Black Spirit Claw!

Watching Han Li's somewhat hurried figure disappear at the end of the mountain path of Xuankun Mountain, Zhou Ding slowly withdrew his gaze, turned around and closed the courtyard gate.

"Han Li..."

He muttered to himself, a hint of emotion in his voice.

This legendary figure, who will stir up storms in the future, whose footprints will spread throughout the human realm, the spirit realm, and even the immortal realm, and who will attract the attention of countless giants and powerful figures, is now completing a seemingly ordinary pill formula transaction with his "fellow disciple".

The threads of fate are indeed wondrous and unpredictable, weaving together unexpected patterns.

However, this feeling was fleeting, like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, creating a few ripples before quickly subsiding.

Zhou Ding quickly gathered all his wandering thoughts, and his eyes regained their clarity and determination.

Regardless of what the other party does in the future, this deal is a real benefit for him right now.

Although the Condensing Essence Pill is good, after taking too much, its auxiliary effect on his current cultivation level, which is close to the perfection of Qi Refining, is not as good as before. He urgently needs a more potent pill to take over.

If Han Li can successfully refine the Golden Source Pill and the Purple Spirit Pill, their effects will likely far surpass those of the Condensing Yuan Pill, greatly shortening the time he needs to reach the perfect thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

After putting away the jade slip containing the elixir formula, Zhou Ding's gaze calmed down, and he began to ponder another, more important matter.

"Lu Mingyuan, Chen Qiaoqian... Foundation Establishment Pill." The seemingly well-matched couple from the exchange meeting flashed through his mind.

If we could obtain those two Foundation Establishment Pills from them...

A sharp glint flashed in the depths of Zhou Ding's eyes.

"I need to plan this out carefully," he muttered to himself, already having a plan in mind.

While the Crimson Forbidden Land is indeed a way to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, it is extremely risky.

If it can be obtained in advance through other means, that would naturally be the best option.

However, this matter requires careful consideration and meticulous planning.

……

Half a month later, Han Li arrived as promised.

He still had that unremarkable appearance, and that reserved and composed demeanor.

Without saying a word, he took out two small jade bottles and placed them on the stone table in the courtyard.

"Senior Brother Zhou, I have successfully completed the mission. Four Golden Origin Pills and five Purple Spirit Pills have been successfully completed. Please inspect them, Senior Brother."

Zhou Ding opened the bottle, and immediately a variety of pure and distinct medicinal fragrances wafted out.

The Golden Source Pill is light gold in color and has a sharp spiritual energy; the Purple Spirit Pill is deep purple and has a rich medicinal power.

These two batches of pills are of very good quality, with abundant medicinal power and very few impurities.

"Junior Brother Han is indeed a trustworthy person, and his alchemy skills are truly admirable," Zhou Ding sincerely praised. He then readily paid the agreed-upon amount in spirit stones, a price ten percent higher than the market price for Condensing Essence Pills, to show his sincerity.

Han Li put away the spirit stones, a look of relief appearing on his face. He cupped his hands and said, "Senior Brother Zhou, you flatter me. Without the pill formula you provided, I wouldn't have been able to begin refining it. Now that this matter is settled, I'll take my leave."

After seeing Han Li off, Zhou Ding immediately returned to the quiet room.

He first adjusted his state, then took out a Golden Source Pill and swallowed it, beginning another round of secluded cultivation.

The medicinal power of the Golden Source Pill and the Purple Spirit Pill is indeed extraordinary, far surpassing that of the Condensing Essence Pill, and its medicinal properties are more refined and easier to refine and absorb.

With the aid of ample elixirs, Zhou Ding's cultivation progressed steadily toward the peak of the Qi Refining stage.

…………

A month later.

Inside the quiet room of the small courtyard on Xuankun Mountain, spiritual energy surged like the tide, then suddenly collapsed inward at a certain moment, returning to calm.

As Zhou Ding sat cross-legged on the futon, a subtle yet significant change occurred in his aura.

His originally outward spirit has been completely restrained, returning to his original simplicity, yet giving people a sense of unfathomable depth.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze bright and clear, but then he quickly withdrew them, returning to a calm and undisturbed state.

Qi Refining Level 13!

The state of perfect perfection!

With a slight thought, his divine sense spread outwards like mercury spilling onto the ground without any hindrance.

Four hundred and fifty meters, five hundred meters, five hundred and fifty meters!

It eventually stabilized within an astonishing range of 550 meters!

"Five hundred and fifty meters of divine sense!" Zhou Ding thought with joy.

This surpasses many cultivators who have just entered the early stages of Foundation Establishment!

Having such divine sense during the Qi Refining stage gives one an absolute advantage, whether it's gaining the upper hand in combat, controlling multiple magical artifacts, or conducting daily investigations and warnings.

Immediately afterwards, he focused his inner vision on his dantian (lower abdomen).

In the center of the originally hazy, gaseous ocean of magical power, two crystal-clear droplets, each the size of a soybean and as green as liquid jade, were suspended!

They rotated slowly, emanating an aura that was far purer, more refined, and more powerful than the surrounding gaseous magic!

"Liquid mana essence! Although there are only two drops, this is indeed a form of mana that only a Foundation Establishment cultivator can possess!" Zhou Ding almost couldn't help but let out a long roar.

These two drops of liquid true essence mean that the purity of his magic power has reached the threshold of Foundation Establishment!

Its value far surpasses that of a vast amount of gaseous magic.

When unleashed at a crucial moment, whether activating a magical artifact or casting a spell, its power will undergo a qualitative change!

However, the joy did not last long before a familiar and surging current of feedback heat roared in from the point of soul connection!

"Xiao Jin's feedback!" Zhou Ding immediately focused his mind and switched his consciousness to his clone in the Spirit Eye Spring a thousand miles away.

Inside the Spirit Eye Spring, Xiao Jin's enormous demonic body, already as robust as a giant wolf, was completely enveloped by a dense spiritual light interwoven with gold, yellow, and black.

Demonic energy surged into the sky, yet it churned repeatedly within the confines of the cave.

Its body seemed to have expanded slightly again, its muscle lines were more ferocious and powerful, and its four dark golden claws gleamed with a cold light, as if they could tear apart metal and stone with a light stroke.

A powerful and profound pressure, far exceeding that of a top-tier first-level cultivator, was faintly emanating from it.

The changes brought about by the feedback lasted for about an hour.

As the light faded, Zhou Ding immediately sensed the earth-shattering changes in Xiao Jin's body through his own.

His physical strength surged once again, and the sharpness of his claws reached a new level.

With a thought, an invisible detection wave instantly spread out!

This time, the feedback came back with a qualitative change!

It is no longer limited to earth vein fluctuations and ground contact objects.

Within a radius of 5,000 meters, whether underground, on the ground, or in the air, anything containing spiritual energy fluctuations can be captured, identified, and located in a relatively clear way!

Like an all-around spiritual energy radar!

Moreover, the ability to hear from the ground seems to possess a kind of "perceptual ability beyond a distance".

Even with the fine detection mode turned off, as long as it remains on, the location and intensity of intense or unusual spiritual energy fluctuations (such as fierce battles, powerful demonic beast auras, or the emergence of treasures) within a radius of several miles can still be vaguely sensed, serving as an ultra-long-distance early warning system!

When using the Earth Escape Technique, the speed is nearly 50% faster than before!

Even more surprisingly, when Zhou Ding tried to control Xiao Jin to wrap a rock around him with his demonic power, the rock sank into the ground along with Xiao Jin!

This means that the Earth-遁术 (Earth-遁术) can move with objects!

Can it carry live animals?

This still needs to be tested.

What excited Zhou Ding the most was a brand new, bloodline-derived technique of transformation!

With a slight thought, a deep, restrained, and seemingly light-absorbing black light suddenly covered Xiao Jin's dark golden right front paw.

The dark light did not radiate outwards; it remained firmly attached to the surface of the claw blades.

Little Gold casually raised its paw and gently scratched a protruding, hard granite piece on the cave wall beside it.

There was no sound, no sparks.

The granite, with a hardness comparable to a low-grade magic weapon, was silently sliced ​​open with a smooth, mirror-like cut, just like a hot knife cutting butter!

The texture of the rock is clearly visible on the cross-section.

"What a sharp, dark gleam!" Zhou Ding thought to himself, his mind reeling.

This dark light seems to have the ability to break through all kinds of energy defenses!

He named it Wulingzhao.

Although you can feel that each use consumes the dark light accumulated on your claws, it takes time to recharge.

But this undoubtedly transformed Xiao Jin from a purely auxiliary reconnaissance unit into one with terrifying close-range defense-breaking and attack capabilities!

With his current strength, breaking through the protective aura of a top-tier magic artifact should not be difficult!