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

Chapter Sixty-One: Taking Stock of the Harvest! Blood of a Level Three Demonic Beast! Reappearance at the Heavenly Star Sect Market!

Inside the cave.

Zhou Ding sat cross-legged beside the Spirit Eye Spring, with the spoils he had plundered from the Li family's treasury spread out in front of him.

Spirit stones, pills, magical artifacts, materials... a dazzling array, piled up all over the ground.

He counted and sorted the items one by one, a satisfied smile on his face.

There are 3,700 low-grade spirit stones and 12 mid-grade spirit stones.

This number was much higher than he had expected.

Although the Li family is a low-level cultivation family, they have been rooted in Feiyun City for hundreds of years and have accumulated a considerable fortune.

Pills: Qi-nourishing pills, spirit-restoring powders... there were seventy or eighty bottles of various pills to enhance cultivation and restore mana. Although most of them were pills used in the Qi Refining stage and had little effect on him in the Foundation Establishment stage, he could still sell them for a considerable amount of spirit stones.

Magical artifacts: five mid-tier magical artifacts and one top-tier magical artifact. The top-tier magical artifact was a cyan flying sword, with a slender blade, containing spiritual light, and of quite good quality. Although it couldn't compare to the exquisite ones he forged using materials from a black dragon, it was still quite rare.

Materials: Various ores, spirit wood, monster bones... a wide variety, among which some ores are of extremely high quality and can be used to refine top-tier magical artifacts.

All in all, it amounted to nearly ten thousand spirit stones.

This is the accumulation of hundreds of years by a low-level cultivation family.

Looking at the pile of treasures in front of him, Zhou Ding was filled with emotion.

The Li family patriarch had worked hard for hundreds of years to accumulate this family fortune, hoping to pass it on to his descendants and ensure the continuation of the Li family line.

Unexpectedly, overnight, he lost his entire fortune and even his life.

All of this was because he killed Zhou Yong.

Zhou Yong...

The image of that aged face flashed through Zhou Ding's mind, and a complex emotion welled up within him.

Zhou Yong devoted his entire life to his family, working tirelessly and selflessly.

In his youth, he devoted all his efforts to breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, becoming a highly respected Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In his middle age, he took charge of the Zhou family and protected its members.

In his later years, he still worried about the future of his family, even going so far as to fight with others, ultimately dying from his injuries.

What did he get?

A debt of gratitude that future generations will remember?

But so what?

he died.

Once you die, you lose everything.

Before Zhou Yong's body was even cold, the Zhou family was already in crisis.

If I hadn't intervened, the Li family would have eventually swallowed up the Zhou family, destroying the Zhou family's centuries-old foundation in one fell swoop.

As for himself, if it weren't for that blood tie, he wouldn't care about the life or death of the Zhou family at all.

Zhou Ding shook his head, a resolute glint in his eyes.

He became even more convinced of his beliefs.

One should wholeheartedly pursue the path to immortality and not be burdened by external things.

Family, kinship, grudges...

These are all obstacles on the path of spiritual practice.

Zhou Yong dedicated his life to his family, but what was the outcome?

If Zhou Long fails to establish his foundation this time, the Zhou family will eventually disappear.

Without powerful cultivation and the ability to live forever, everything is in vain.

A hundred years, or perhaps several hundred years, the Zhou family and the Li family will be lost to the passage of time, forgotten by all.

Only self-cultivation is fundamental.

Immortality is the only pursuit.

Zhou Ding took a deep breath and put all the treasures on the ground into his storage bag, leaving only a few bottles of pills that he might need in the future.

He stood up, walked to the Spirit Eye Spring, and looked at the gushing water from the spring, his mind becoming clear.

The matter concerning the Zhou family ends here.

Next, I should focus on my spiritual practice.

……

Three days later.

Huangfeng Valley Market.

Zhou Ding concealed his aura and walked slowly down the street of the market.

The market was as bustling as ever, with a constant stream of cultivators coming and going, and the sounds of hawking and bargaining rising and falling.

He walked through several streets and came directly to Wanbaolou.

Zhou Ding pushed open the door and entered.

The shop is elegantly furnished, and several staff members are greeting customers.

One of the slightly overweight, kind-faced middle-aged cultivators saw Zhou Ding enter and his eyes lit up. He quickly came to greet him.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, you've finally arrived!"

It was Manager Wan.

Zhou Ding nodded slightly: "Manager Wan, has what I ordered arrived?"

Shopkeeper Wan smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly, "We've arrived! Fellow Daoist Lu, this way please."

He led Zhou Ding through the hall to a secluded, elegant room.

The two sat down, and Manager Wan took out three palm-sized jade bottles from his storage bag and gently placed them on the table.

The jade bottle was crystal clear, with a faint, blood-red glow.

A sealing talisman was affixed to the mouth of the bottle to prevent the spiritual energy of the contents from escaping.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, these are the level three demon beast essence blood you ordered, the Black Water Python's essence blood, a total of three bottles."

Manager Wan pushed the jade bottle in front of Zhou Ding, a hint of smugness on his face: "This thing is not easy to get. I went to great lengths and pulled a lot of strings to get it from the Spirit Beast Mountain Market. Those guys at Spirit Beast Mountain treat demon beast blood as a treasure and are unwilling to let it out easily, and the price is ridiculously high."

Zhou Ding picked up the jade bottle and gently peeled back a corner of the sealing talisman, and a strong, bloody aura immediately filled the air.

The aura contained violent fluctuations of demonic power, undoubtedly the essence and blood of a level three demonic beast.

He nodded in satisfaction and carefully put the jade bottle away.

"Thank you for your trouble, Manager Wan."

He took a cloth bag from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

"These are spirit stones, Manager Wan, please count them."

Manager Wan took the cloth bag, scanned it with his divine sense, and his smile widened.

"Fellow Daoist Lu is so kind! If you need anything again next time, just come find me!"

Zhou Ding nodded and added, "If there's any more level-three demon beast blood essence later, I'll take it all, regardless of the species. Author Nongfu Spring 123 presents 'In Yellow Maple Valley, I Have a Demon Beast Avatar!' on Cola Novels. The price can be 20% higher than the market price."

Manager Wan's eyes lit up, and he readily agreed.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Lu, leave this to me! While the essence blood of a level three demon beast is rare, it's not entirely impossible to obtain. As long as Fellow Daoist Lu is willing to make an offer, I will do my utmost!"

Zhou Ding nodded, stood up, and took his leave.

……

Back in his cave, Zhou Ding immediately began preparations.

He took out the three bottles of Black Water Python's essence blood and placed them in front of him.

Since breaking through to the fifth level of the Hundred Beasts Body Tempering Technique, the blood of the Ink Dragon has been used up.

For the past two years, he has been searching for suitable demon beast blood essence, but has yet to succeed.

The most crucial aspect of cultivating the Hundred Beasts Body Tempering Technique is the need to temper the physical body with the essence and blood of various demonic beasts.

Each time the body undergoes a demon blood tempering process, it absorbs the essence of the blood and becomes even stronger.

In theory, the more types of demonic beasts one refines, the higher the quality of their essence and blood, and the greater the improvement in one's physical body.

However, in practice, it is extremely difficult.

In the Yue Kingdom, monsters are already hard to find, let alone level two or three monsters.

Although the Taiyue Mountains are vast, first-level demonic beasts are rare, and second-level demonic beasts are even rarer.

Occasionally, you might encounter one or two, but killing them is difficult, and they might even be spirit pets kept by other cultivators, let alone obtaining their essence and blood.

Over the past three years, he has searched almost the entire Taiyue Mountains, but has only managed to hunt down a few level-one demonic beasts, without encountering a single level-two demonic beast.

Without the essence of demonic beasts, the Hundred Beasts Body Tempering Technique stagnates.

Looking at the jade bottle in his hand, Zhou Ding couldn't help but think of the Chaotic Star Sea.

If it were in the chaotic sea of ​​stars...

According to the original work, the Chaotic Star Sea is extremely rich in monster resources, and monsters of all levels, from level one to level four and five, are found everywhere in the sea.

That place is simply a paradise for cultivating the Hundred Beasts Body Tempering Technique.

If one could cultivate in the Chaotic Star Sea for a few years and reach the seventh or eighth level of the Hundred Beasts Body Tempering Technique, achieving a physical strength comparable to that of a level five or six demon beast…

A look of longing flashed in Zhou Ding's eyes.

Unfortunately, now is not the time.

He didn't know the location of the ancient teleportation array yet.

Moreover, with his current cultivation level, going to the Chaotic Star Sea might not be safe for him.

hold on.

When my cultivation level is higher, and when my preparations are more thorough.

……

Time flies, and another three months have passed.

On this day, in a quiet room.

Zhou Ding sat cross-legged, his blood and qi surging, and a scorching aura emanated from his body.

Several empty jade bottles were placed in front of him.

The Black Water Python's essence and blood have all been used up.

After three months of arduous training, he tempered his body with demon blood day and night, each time feeling as if he were being burned by raging fire, suffering unbearable pain.

But he gritted his teeth and persevered.

At this moment, he could clearly feel that his physical body was much stronger than it had been three months ago.

Muscles become firmer, bones become stronger, and blood and energy become more abundant.

I'm not far from breaking through to the sixth level of the Hundred Beasts Body Forging Technique.

But it's still a little short.

It's still a bit lacking.

More level-three monster blood essence is needed.

Zhou Ding opened his eyes, looked at the empty bottles in front of him, and frowned slightly.

The Blackwater Python's blood has been used up.

In the past two years, Manager Wan has only sent one bottle of level-three demon beast essence blood, which was obtained with great difficulty.

At this rate, it'll be ages before we gather enough essence and blood for a breakthrough.

"We need to find a way to get more demon blood."

Zhou Ding muttered to himself, lost in thought.

Just then, a talisman at his waist suddenly trembled slightly, emitting a faint blue light.

Zhou Ding's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly took down the talisman.

This is a talisman for communicating with people at a distance.

When he left Tianxing Sect Market, he left a spirit communication talisman with Xin Ruyin, instructing her to use it to notify him if there was any progress or danger.

The talisman is reacting right now...

"Could it be that there's been progress on Xin Ruyin's end?"

A look of anticipation flashed in Zhou Ding's eyes.

He had always been thinking about the ancient inscription on that golden treasure chest.

If Xin Ruyin can break the restriction and open the treasure chest, the key to the third level of the Crimson Forbidden Land inside will be his.

With that key, he could find a way to re-enter the Crimson Forbidden Land and seize the inheritance and treasures within.

The legacy of the master of the Crimson Forbidden Land, as well as the legendary "Six Ding Heavenly Armor Talisman," are all inside.

Zhou Ding took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and got up to pack his things.

"It's a good time to go to the Tianxing Sect to purchase a batch of demon blood."

With a thought, he gathered up the clutter in the quiet room and strode out of the cave.

……

A moment later, a white streak of light flew out of Qingyuan Cave, piercing the sky and speeding northward.

It was the Divine Wind Boat.

Zhou Ding stood at the bow of the boat, his clothes fluttering, his gaze fixed on the distance.

Half a day later.

Within the territory of Yuanwu Kingdom, Tianxingzong Market.

The magnificent market town built in the middle of a huge valley reappeared at the edge of Zhou Ding's field of vision.

He stowed away his divine wind boat and landed at the entrance of the market.

Several disciples of the Tianxing Sect were still on duty at the entrance, and after verifying the identity of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, they respectfully allowed them to pass.

Zhou Ding stepped in, passed through the bustling core area, and headed west.

After walking for about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the surrounding noise gradually faded away, replaced by the tranquil bamboo forest and the babbling brook.

The familiar bamboo grove courtyard appeared before his eyes.

The courtyard remains the same, the bamboo fence remains the same, and the pavilion remains the same.

only……

Zhou Ding glanced at the scene and frowned slightly.

Several unfamiliar cultivators stood at the entrance of the courtyard.