I'll make you the furnace and the cauldron, so you can refine Yin and Yang and prove the Great

Over the next half day, guided by the little beast, Li Hanshan obtained several more spiritual herbs, including a hundred-year-old Golden Sun Flower, two Black Jade Lingzhi mushrooms, and a small clump of Dragon Blood Grass.

Each of these medicinal herbs is quite valuable and can be sold for a considerable amount of spirit stones. Li Hanshan can also use them to refine some excellent pills.

"Eee!"

The little beast perched on his shoulder, swishing its tail triumphantly, as if to say, "Following me, you won't suffer any losses."

Just as Li Hanshan was about to speak, he suddenly realized something and his expression changed.

A terrifying aura was rapidly approaching from behind.

Tier 3 monster!

They're here!

"Walk!"

Without a second thought, Li Hanshan activated his flying sword with all his might to escape, the aura behind him growing ever closer. Although he was extremely fast, he was ultimately only at the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage, no match for a third-tier demonic beast.

Li Hanshan used fire-style techniques repeatedly, but still couldn't shake off his opponent.

He glanced down at the small animal on his shoulder.

The third-tier demonic beast was coming for the little beast; if he dropped it, he would surely be able to escape.

The little beast seemed to sense Li Hanshan's thoughts. Its eyes were filled with fear, its little paws gripping his collar, and it let out a low whimper.

"If you want to live, speed up," Li Hanshan said.

He was not prepared to throw the little animal away.

This little beast has a mysterious origin and a magical ability to find treasures. From now on, this Monster Beast Mountain Range will be his herb garden!

The little beast nodded hurriedly, and the golden fur on its forehead once again shone with a faint golden light, enveloping Li Hanshan, causing the flying sword's speed to explode.

Although the third-tier demon beast behind them was in hot pursuit, the distance between them was widening.

This demonstrates the wonder of the little beast, which enabled Li Hanshan, a Foundation Establishment Level 6 cultivator, to achieve a speed surpassing that of a Golden Core cultivator in a short period of time.

Just when Li Hanshan thought he had escaped, a thick black aura suddenly surged up in front of him.

The black mist surged like a tide, blotting out the sky and forming a massive black barrier that blocked the way. Within the barrier, countless distorted faces appeared and disappeared, emitting mournful howls.

Soul flag!

Li Hanshan's pupils contracted, and he abruptly stopped the sword flash.

A gaunt figure emerged from the black mist. The person wore a black robe, had a emaciated face, sunken eyes, and was surrounded by an intensely dense aura of malevolent energy.

It was the same old demon, the fake Dan, who had been causing trouble in the Zhao Kingdom just a few months ago!

"It's you?" Li Hanshan blurted out.

Wu Zhanlong and Jiang Caiwei failed to kill the old demon, and Li Hanshan thought he must have escaped. Little did he know that this guy actually ran to the Monster Mountain Range.

When the old demon saw Li Hanshan, he grinned.

"A junior from the Joyful Union Sect? Hahahaha! Heaven is truly helping this old man!" He threw his head back and laughed, the Myriad Soul Banner in his hand churning with black energy. "I've been chased like a stray dog ​​by your Joyful Union Sect, hiding in this Demon Beast Mountain Range to recuperate, just when I was worried about not having good materials for soul refining. And you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep!"

Before his laughter had even faded, a ferocious roar exploded from behind.

The old demon's smile froze on his face, and he suddenly looked up.

A colossal monster came into view. It was entirely black, shaped like a giant ape, but had three blood-red eyes, and its aura was terrifyingly powerful. Every step it took shook the earth, causing the surrounding rocks to shatter.

A third-tier demonic beast comparable to the Golden Core stage!

The old demon's face turned deathly pale: "Three-Eyed Demon Ape! Damn it!"

He didn't know that the three-eyed demon ape was after Li Hanshan; he thought that his appearance had attracted the ape.

He tried to escape, but the three-eyed demon ape's three blood-red eyes had already locked onto him. This guy clearly mistook the old demon for someone who was with Li Hanshan.

The next second, an invisible force field spread out from its body, and the space within a hundred feet seemed to freeze. This was the Three-Eyed Demon Ape's innate divine ability—gravity field.

Li Hanshan felt a sudden heaviness in his body, as if a massive boulder weighed down on his shoulders, making it difficult to even breathe. The old demon's complexion wasn't much better. Although he was a fake core cultivator, he was still recovering from serious injuries, and his strength had plummeted, making it equally difficult for him to move within this force field.

"Join forces!" Li Hanshan shouted.

His purpose in doing this was naturally to exploit an information gap, taking advantage of the fact that the old demon was unaware that the three-eyed demon ape was actually coming for him, so that he could get the old demon to fight the three-eyed demon ape with him.

The old demon's eyes darted around: "Alright!"

While verbally agreeing to join forces, he secretly activated the Myriad Soul Banner, and a Foundation Establishment stage Yin spirit quietly pounced on Li Hanshan's back—first kill this junior, seize his soul, and then deal with this beast.

Li Hanshan's divine sense had already covered the entire area, and he noticed the movements of the ghostly spirit. He sneered inwardly. This old demon really doesn't keep his word.

Before he could retaliate, the three-eyed demon ape had already made its move.

Its massive body leaped into the air with lightning speed, throwing a punch at the old demon. The fist carried immense force, causing the air to explode.

The old demon's expression changed drastically, and he hastily summoned the Myriad Soul Banner to shield himself.

boom!

The Myriad Souls Banner was blasted backward, and the old demon spat out a mouthful of black blood, crashing into a mountainside like a kite with a broken string. Countless rubble fell, burying most of him.

"Damn it!" The old demon struggled to crawl out from the rubble, a ruthless glint in his eyes. He bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence. He formed hand seals and chanted, "Blood as the bond, soul as the catalyst. Soul Devouring Technique!"

The blood essence transformed into a beam of crimson light that shot towards the three-eyed demon ape, piercing its brow. The three-eyed demon ape let out a painful roar, and blood tears simultaneously flowed from its three blood-red eyes.

But at the same time, it also lashed out with its claw, slamming it hard into the old demon's chest. The old demon's protective aura shattered instantly, his chest caved in, and blood gushed out.

These two guys actually fought to the point of mutual destruction!

It's now!

A glint flashed in Li Hanshan's eyes, and his flying sword transformed into a streak of light, piercing precisely through the indentation in the old demon's chest and exiting through his back. The old demon looked down at the transparent hole in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He seemed unable to believe that he had been ambushed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

At the same time, the small beast on its shoulder suddenly darted out, transforming into a white light and rushing towards the three-eyed demon ape. The golden fur on its forehead burst forth with dazzling light, slamming hard into the three-eyed demon ape's head.

The three-eyed demonic ape let out a mournful roar, its massive body crashing to the ground, causing the earth to tremble.

The little beast landed on the demonic ape's head, pried open its skull with its tiny paws, snatched out a demon core the size of an egg, and swallowed it with a gulp. Then it swayed and rolled off the demonic ape's head, closing its eyes.

"This little thing can actually kill a third-tier demonic beast!"

Li Hanshan was astonished.

Third-tier demonic beasts are comparable to Golden Core cultivators; even if they are injured, those below the third tier will find it difficult to kill them.

Putting everything else aside, even breaking through their defenses is difficult.

But the little beast did it.

This little beast is definitely not simple!

Seeing that the third-tier demon beast was dead, Li Hanshan walked up to the old demon. This pseudo-Core Formation cultivator was still alive; one of the biggest differences between Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators was the terrifyingly tenacious vitality of Core Formation cultivators. However, this old demon was only a pseudo-Core Formation cultivator, not yet fully formed. Having endured so many heavy blows, he was barely breathing.

"You...who exactly are you..." The old demon stared at him intently, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.

"The one who killed you."

Li Hanshan slashed down with his sword.

With a flash of black light, Xiao An flew out of the soul banner and said to the old demon's corpse, "Senior, his soul has not yet dissipated. May I refine it? The soul of a pseudo-core cultivator is enough to help me break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage."

Li Hanshan nodded: "Go ahead."

Xiao An formed hand seals, and countless black wisps of energy surged from the Soul Banner, enveloping the old demon's corpse and beginning to refine it.

Li Hanshan then turned around, walked to the corpse of the three-eyed demon ape, and picked up the small beast curled up in a ball. The little thing was sleeping soundly, its belly rising and falling. After swallowing the third-tier demon core, its aura became strong and weak, as if it was undergoing some kind of transformation.

This is definitely not an ordinary demon beast. An ordinary demon beast would be bursting if it swallowed something of a much higher level than itself, but this little thing swallowed it like a candy and is still sleeping so soundly.

He carefully placed the little beast in his arms and began to deal with the three-eyed demonic ape's corpse. A third-tier demonic beast is a treasure trove—its hide can be used to forge high-grade defensive magical artifacts, its bones can be used for weapon crafting, its essence blood can be used for alchemy, and its three blood-red eyes are excellent materials for crafting pupil-type magical artifacts. It's a pity the little beast swallowed its inner core; otherwise, it would be priceless.

After dismembering the demonic ape, Li Hanshan returned to the old demon's corpse. Xiao An had completed the refining process, and the black aura on the soul banner was much denser than before.

"Senior, the refining is complete." Xiao An's voice carried a hint of joy. "The soul of a pseudo-core cultivator is indeed a great tonic. I have already broken through to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment. Give me some more time, and I will definitely be able to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

Li Hanshan nodded, picked up the old demon's storage bag, and probed it with his divine sense. His eyes widened suddenly—the old demon's storage bag contained tens of thousands of spirit stones, several spare soul banners, various jade slips containing Yinming Sect cultivation techniques, and several bottles of Yin Sha pills.

"We've struck it rich!" "Is this guy just throwing money away?"

He put away his storage bag with satisfaction, then took out the jade slip containing the assessment task and glanced at it. The Three-Eyed Demon Ape was a third-tier demon beast, and its inner core had been swallowed by the little beast, so it didn't count. The Winged Viper was a late-stage second-tier beast, and counting the previous ones, he now had eight late-stage second-tier inner cores, two short of the required number. The inner cores of the other early- to mid-stage second-tier beasts didn't count.

With plenty of time to spare, he decided to continue exploring.