I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

"Rage—!"

The golden dragon was cut.

The sixth-level demonic bird at the forefront let out a mournful cry as its neck was slashed hard by the huge golden silhouette!

Feathers fluttered around its neck.

Blood splattered.

Although it did not die on the spot, it was already teetering on the brink of collapse.

Zhou Yuan gave it no chance to catch its breath.

With the support of the equipment slots, the mana in his body was almost fully restored in an instant!

He made a hand seal and unleashed another Golden Dragon Scissors Killing Technique!

The two golden dragons coalesced once more, intertwining and descending to transform into giant golden scissors, fiercely slashing at the already severely injured demonic bird!

This time, it had no way to avoid it.

"Snap!"

The enormous silhouette sliced ​​it in two, and the body fell to the ground.

Zhou Yuan's gaze shifted, locking onto the second level-six demonic bird.

Golden Dragon Scissors Killing Technique!

Golden Dragon Scissors Killing Technique!

He was like a tireless killing machine, unleashing one Golden Dragon Scissors Killing Technique after another.

Each spell consumes enough mana to deplete half of an ordinary Core Formation cultivator's mana, but with the combined blessing of that high-grade wood-attribute spirit stone and the Spirit Eye Spring...

Zhou Yuan's magical power was quickly restored to full!

The second demonic bird is dead!

Immediately afterwards, the third demonic bird also fell to the golden dragon's scissors!

The three level-six demonic birds were killed in just over ten breaths from the moment Zhou Yuan made his move!

"call--"

Zhou Yuan finished his hand seals and stood up, letting out a long breath of turbid air.

He stepped forward and took out three level-six demon cores from the three demon bird corpses.

These three demon cores were all pitch black, gleaming with a faint demonic light, completely different from the eighth-level demon core he had previously acquired—they were brimming with demonic power, with almost no loss of it.

Because the battle was resolved so quickly, the three-headed demonic bird didn't even have time to expend its demonic power before being instantly killed.

This means that these three level-six demon cores retain their complete medicinal value, enough to refine three batches of excellent Core Formation stage pills.

Zhou Yuan put the demon core into his storage bag with satisfaction.

At this moment, he looked around.

The ground and the sky were littered with the corpses of those low-ranking crows.

Most of them perished in that magnificent blaze, and now, along with the still-burning wildfires on the ground, they have been reduced to piles of charred remains.

The entire island looked as if it had experienced an apocalyptic catastrophe.

Zhou Yuan did not linger.

He turned and walked toward the corpse of the level eight transformed demon, and began to dissect it.

After all, it is an eighth-level demon beast, and its body is full of treasures.

He carefully used the Green Radiance Sword to cut off the pair of claws—these claws gleamed with a cold, eerie light and were incredibly sharp, making them top-tier materials for crafting offensive magical artifacts.

Whether it's forging it into a grappling hook, a sword pellet, or integrating it into other magical artifacts to enhance its sharpness, it's an excellent choice.

Next, he removed the broken wing skeleton and some bones that could be used for crafting.

After doing all this, Zhou Yuan walked to the remains of the Ninefold Sealing Pill Formation.

The array plate was shattered, the array flags were broken, and the array that he had painstakingly crafted over many years was now in ruins.

Zhou Yuan squatted down, examined it carefully, and shook his head slightly.

"It can be repaired, but it will require a lot of materials..."

He carefully collected the broken array plates and flags one by one.

Although this formation is severely damaged, the core array patterns and crafting principles are still intact. With enough time and materials, it can be completely restored to its original state.

After getting ready, Zhou Yuan raised his head and looked at the highest mountain in the center of the island.

That was the nest of these birds.

"Let's go check out that crow's old nest."

He rode the beam of light and flew towards the mountain peak.

Before long, Zhou Yuan arrived at the mountain peak.

This peak soars into the clouds, with a steep slope.

On the mountainside, countless towering trees grow, and on their branches, one can vaguely see many huge bird nests built from withered branches—the habitat of low-level demonic birds.

What truly catches the eye is the giant tree atop the mountain, reaching a height of hundreds of feet!

The trunk of that giant tree was so thick that it would take dozens of people to encircle it, and its canopy blocked out the sky, almost covering the entire mountaintop.

Unlike the demonic birds on the mountainside, there are no bird nests on the mountaintop—the habits of a transformed great demon are completely different from those of a low-level demon.

Bird-like monsters are naturally averse to caves.

They prefer to perch atop tall trees, overlooking their territory.

Even after transforming into human form, this habit remained unchanged.

Zhou Yuan floated in mid-air.

A powerful divine sense surged forth like a tide, carefully exploring everything around it.

On the west side of the mountaintop, there is a pile of rubble.

Zhou Yuan's gaze swept across the pile of rocks and he discovered that there were hundreds of enormous skeletons piled up among them!

Those skeletons were all the remains of snakes and pythons, some of them were tens of feet long and some were as thick as buckets, indicating that they must have been quite powerful in life.

"This crow is quite fierce, having hunted down so many snake-like and python-like monsters..."

Zhou Yuan thought to himself.

He continued to scan with his divine sense, exploring every inch of the giant tree.

Suddenly, his consciousness paused slightly on a certain tree trunk.

Something seems amiss there.

Zhou Yuan flew closer and landed in front of the tree trunk.

From the outside, this place is no different from other places, with rough tree bark and cracks left by time.

He reached out and touched it gently—

"Buzz!"

A faint light suddenly appeared, and a gentle force pushed his hand away!

Forbidden!

A hint of joy flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

Something fishy is definitely going on!

The restriction was cleverly designed, blending seamlessly with the tree bark; it would have been almost impossible to detect without his powerful divine sense and careful examination.

Next, the restrictions will be broken.

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged in front of the tree trunk and began to carefully study the restriction.

Although that transformed demon was at level eight, its mastery of restrictions was clearly limited.

This restriction is not particularly profound; it merely utilizes the natural texture of the tree trunk for its concealment, rather than being an elaborate array.

Several hours later, Zhou Yuan had figured out the intricacies of the restriction.

He took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and sent his magical power, like threads, into the restriction, carefully beginning to break it.

Several more hours passed.

"Click—"

With a soft, crisp sound, the faint glow finally dissipated.

Zhou Yuan stood up and gently pushed him.

The seemingly hard bark actually opened inwards like a door!

A tree hole appeared before him.

The interior of the tree hole is quite spacious, about two zhang square, and has been artificially divided into several areas.

The furnishings inside were exactly the same as those in the cave dwellings of human cultivators.

There are stone tables and chairs, cushions and beds, and even several rows of simple wooden frames.

Zhou Yuan stepped inside, a playful smile appearing on his lips.

These demons constantly refer to humans as "inferior" and "weak."

But deep down, they are filled with envy for human civilization and lifestyle.

After all, cultivation is difficult for the demon race.

They must grow to level eight and pass through the tribulation of transformation lightning before they can awaken their intelligence and transform into human form.

Before this, they were in a daze, acting entirely on instinct, and were far from being true "intelligent life".

The human body is naturally suited for cultivation—with complete meridians and diverse spiritual roots, the cultivation speed far surpasses that of the demon race.

This is why those transformed demons, after passing through the tribulation of lightning and gaining sentience, choose to transform into human form or even imitate the human way of life.

The demon cultivator in front of us, who had transformed from a black bird, was no exception.

Zhou Yuan's gaze swept across the cave dwelling, and he quickly spotted the first thing that piqued his interest—

A bookshelf.

The bookshelves were neatly arranged with many classic human texts.

There are ancient paper books, as well as jade slips commonly used by cultivators.

The collection is quite diverse, including martial arts techniques, geographical records, monster illustrations, and even a few books of poetry and prose.

"Heh, these demons, on the one hand, belittle my human race, and on the other hand, secretly study my human civilization..."

Zhou Yuan shook his head and smiled, then with a wave of his hand, he put all the books into his storage bag.

These things may not be of much use to him, but they might contain some useful information, so it's not too late to take them back and study them at your leisure.

He turned to the second shelf.

On this shelf are more than a dozen jade boxes of different sizes and materials, each emitting a faint spiritual light.

Zhou Yuan was overjoyed and immediately picked up the top jade box and carefully opened it.

A fist-sized, emerald-green demon core with a lustrous sheen lay quietly in the box!

His pupils suddenly contracted!

The aura of this demon core... he was all too familiar with it!

The demon core of a level seven demon beast—the Jade Spirit Python!

Zhou Yuan once helped Master Mulong refine the Jade Spirit Pill and personally touched this demon pill countless times.

He would never mistake that unique aura of both water and wood attributes!

He hurriedly opened the second jade box.

Another emerald green demon core!

It's also a level seven Jade Spirit Python!

"You search high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly!"

Zhou Yuan was overjoyed!

His main goal in this voyage to the open sea was to find the main ingredient of the Jade Spirit Pill—the demon core of a level seven Jade Spirit Python.

I thought it would be a lot of trouble, and I might even leave empty-handed.

Unexpectedly, they obtained two of them at once from the treasure vault of this transformed demon!

This means that he can refine two batches of Jade Spirit Pills!

He calmed his excitement and opened the third jade box.

This demon core was entirely crimson red, radiating a scorching aura, completely different from the previous two.

Zhou Yuan frowned slightly.

Although he could sense that the demon core was also of the seventh grade, he could not accurately determine its origin.

It's okay, he has an equipment slot.

With a thought, Zhou Yuan equipped the demon core to his fifth equipment slot.

A pale blue light screen appeared:

[Equipment Slot 5: Crimson Fire Dragon Demon Core (Level 7)]

[Effect 1: Increases comprehension of fire-attribute magical abilities!]

[Effect 2: Increases cultivation speed during the Core Formation stage!]

Zhou Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted!

Crimson Fire Flood Dragon Demon Core!

The demon core of the Jiaolong clan!

This bird that has transformed into a human is incredibly bold!

How dare they collect the demon core of the Flood Dragon Clan!

It should be noted that in the outer seas, the Jiaolong clan is one of the absolute overlords.

They are born much stronger than ordinary demonic beasts, with noble bloodlines and astonishing supernatural powers.

More importantly, the Jiaolong clan has a terrifying leader whose strength has reached level ten—

Golden Dragon King!

A level 10 demonic beast is a terrifying existence equivalent to a human in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm!

The Golden Flood Dragon King's might has shaken the chaotic star sea for tens of thousands of years. Apart from the Suanni clan, the royal family of the ten-thousand-foot sea, almost no one in the outer sea dares to provoke the Flood Dragon Clan!

This black bird dared to hunt down a dragon and even stored its inner core in its cave—if the dragon clan found out, it wouldn't have enough lives to survive!

"This is... a huge profit!"

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart.

Among the pill formulas he had previously collected was an extremely ancient one—the Dragon Immortal Pill!

Han Paopao's new novel, "Chaos Star Sea," is here! Cola Novels is the first to update it online!