While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

Good guy!

It really is a 'crystal core'!

Tianyan held the irregular gray-white crystal up to his eyes and examined it carefully by the dim light of the runes on the cellar wall.

It feels warm to the touch and has a rough surface, like pebbles washed by river water.

But when he probed into it with his magical power, he could clearly feel a faint energy pulsating inside, as if the remnant soul of some creature had not completely dissipated.

"Is this the 'monster core' the system wanted?"

He fiddled with it for a bit, and was just about to put it in his pocket when something unexpected happened!

The crystal core in his palm suddenly trembled slightly, emitting a very faint buzzing sound.

The thick black smoke that dissipated around the area as the cursed spirit completely vanished was the residual curse power after death.

As if drawn by some kind of magnet, it began to frantically pour into the crystal core!

The originally dull crystal core gradually began to glow with a strange emerald green light. Although its size did not increase, the energy fluctuations contained within it became increasingly abundant.

"Is this the start of 'charging'?"

Tianyan raised an eyebrow, looking at the crystal core, which had become somewhat more translucent.

However, the fluctuations from absorbing the level three curse spirit did not dissipate, which he guessed meant that the 'monster crystal core' had not yet fully formed.

Moreover, the cursed spirits in the cellar, which were originally timid and hiding in the shadows, suddenly seemed to be stimulated by something and let out a restless hiss.

Those crimson eyes, which had initially held a hint of fear and hesitation, were now fixed intently on him.

To be precise, they were eyeing the crystal core in his hand!

"Oh?"

Tianyan raised an eyebrow, showing no sign of nervousness. Instead, he looked at the crystal core with interest, and then at the restless cursed spirits around him.

"You want this?"

Before he could finish speaking, the nearest cursed spirit could no longer contain itself. It sprang out on all fours like a lizard, its massive jaws full of sharp teeth lunging straight at his wrist!

Tianyan didn't even move a step.

He simply raised the hand holding the crystal core high, while simultaneously sweeping his right leg out, the instep, imbued with cursed power, slamming it hard into the side of the cursed spirit.

"Bang!"

The level-three cursed spirit was like a baseball hit by a bat, flying sideways and crashing into the stone wall, exploding into a puddle of black mud, without even having time to let out a scream.

However, the curse power it released after its death did not dissipate into the air as usual, but turned into a wisp of gray-black mist, which was suddenly sucked into the crystal core in Tianyan's palm!

The crystal nucleus lit up slightly, and the grayish-white luster on its surface seemed to intensify.

"really......"

Tianyan looked down at the crystal core, a flash of understanding appearing in his eyes.

His guess was right, and the system didn't even give him a notification that he could submit the quest items.

"In other words..."

He raised his head and looked at the dozens of scarlet eyes gleaming in the darkness deep inside the cellar, a bright smile slowly spreading across his lips.

"You bunch of unlucky bastards, you're no longer cursed spirits in my eyes."

"It's an experience pack!"

"Don't blame me, it's all because of this chaotic world that you've all been ruined!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed out!

In the darkness, the cursed spirits finally felt fear.

They are low-level cursed spirits, lacking intelligence and acting solely on instinct, but they instinctively know one thing...

The human in front of me is different from the ones that were thrown in before!

The previous "prey" would be afraid, would retreat, and would spend the night trembling in the dark.

And this...this person rushed in laughing!

They came for them!

Tianyan's figure left a trail of afterimages in the darkness.

He brought his five fingers together to form a knife, and the bone blade pierced out from between his fingers, transforming into a black iron-colored bone knife about half a meter long.

He swung his arm and swept the blade across, severing the three huddled cursed spirits in one fell swoop. Their upper bodies slid down, still flailing their claws in vain.

The crystal core trembled violently in his left hand, frantically absorbing the remnants of cursed power permeating the air, and the grayish-white luster on its surface became increasingly intense at a visible speed.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

A slightly larger near-level two cursed spirit was finally provoked. It rushed out from the deepest shadow of the cellar, looking like a charred giant bear, its body covered with cracked shells, each step it took leaving spiderweb-like cracks on the stone slabs.

Tianyan's eyes lit up.

"Oh, there's a big one too?"

He stuffed the crystal core into his belt, crossed his hands in front of him, and spread his fingers.

"Hyperplasia, bone cage!"

Dozens of bone spurs burst out simultaneously from the palm, between the fingers, and on the back of the hand, intertwining to form an irregular cage-like structure that completely enveloped the bear-like cursed spirit.

The giant bear spirit roared and rammed into the bone cage, sparks flying from its shell and cracks appearing on several bone spikes.

But Tianyan had already closed in, his right elbow wrapped with all his curse power, and slammed into the gap of the bone cage!

"Eight Extremes Collapse!"

He used all his strength in that elbow strike!

The vortex of cursed energy within his body accelerated to its maximum in an instant, and the cursed energy surged into his right arm like a floodgate being opened.

The moment it touched the giant bear's carapace, its own force exploded, and fine cracks appeared on the carapace!

Immediately following this is the hidden force that comes with the combat technique!

The hidden force exploded out with a bang, and the impact was like waves rippling wildly within the giant bear's body.

"boom!"

The giant bear's cursed spirit exploded from the inside, scattering black pieces of flesh and blood that turned into a dense mist of cursed power.

The crystal core at Tianyan's waist suddenly lit up, like a shark that had smelled blood, and devoured all the mist with an almost greedy speed!

The crystal core trembled violently in his palm, and the grayish-white layer on its surface faded away at a speed visible to the naked eye, replaced by a warm, milky-white luster, like a dusty jade being wiped clean.

But not enough.

Tianyan could sense that the "hunger" signal inside the crystal core was still strong; it was still craving more.

He looked around.

There were still a dozen or so cursed spirits left in the cellar, all huddled together in a corner, their scarlet eyes filled with terror.

They didn't run away.

It wasn't because they didn't want to run away, but because the cellar door was closed. This place was originally a "beast cage" used by the Zen family to imprison cursed spirits; once you're in, there's no way out.

Tianyan looked at the group of trembling cursed spirits and smiled.

That smile, in the eyes of the cursed spirit, was probably no different from that of the Grim Reaper.

"Don't be afraid."

He stretched his neck, his joints cracking, and strode toward the group of cursed spirits.

"Very soon."

For the next few minutes, the only sounds echoing in the cellar were the sharp whistling of bone blades cutting through the air and the dying cries of cursed spirits.

Tianyan didn't use any complicated techniques anymore, just the simplest slashing, piercing, and sweeping.

Although his spell power has not yet recovered to level two, his body, strengthened by the Foundation Establishment Elixir, combined with the bones of the [Bone Iron Luo Hunt], means that every strike he makes carries enough force to tear apart a level three spell spirit.

One.

Two.

Five.

Ten.

The crystal core vibrated wildly around his waist, absorbing the crystal faster and faster until it no longer needed his conscious guidance.

The cursed power that dissipates after the death of those cursed spirits will be actively attracted, forming a miniature vortex that pours into the crystal core!