A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Rogue Cultivator

"Probably not, right?"

In previous years, these disciples, regardless of whether they were at the twelfth or thirteenth level of Qi Refining, prioritized their own safety and would avoid top-tier demonic beasts. Surely, just because they possess a few ordinary top-tier magic artifacts doesn't mean they're confident they can go toe-to-toe with top-tier demonic beasts?

Surely you can't be that naive?

There's a reason why level-one demonic beasts are divided into lower, middle, upper, and top tiers. They are basically equivalent to lower, middle, upper, and top tiers of magical artifacts.

In other words, the raw materials for most ordinary top-tier magic artifacts come from these first-level top-tier demonic beasts.

For a Qi Refining stage cultivator to use one or two ordinary top-tier magic weapons to kill those beasts assembled from a large number of first-tier top-tier materials, one can only say that their courage is commendable.

"Fifth Brother, were the top-tier magic artifacts that Grandfather bestowed upon us all just ordinary ones?"

"What do you think? We're only using the best quality items; do you expect to give those disciples the rarer ones?"

Upon hearing this, Fatty Chen blinked, speechless.

Even top-tier magical artifacts are divided into different levels.

Common, Fine, Rare, Top Grade.

Top-grade magical artifacts haven't appeared for a long time because the materials used are parts from level five or higher demonic beasts, which are sufficient to forge magical treasures.

Rare items require materials from at least level three or four demonic beasts to craft, and their price is no less than eight hundred low-grade spirit stones.

High-quality artifacts are mostly crafted from valuable items found on level-two demonic beasts. (In the original storyline, Han Laomo's Divine Wind Boat, Black Dragon's Roar, and Azure Fire Mist were all top-tier high-quality magical artifacts. The Divine Wind Boat, in particular, was a rare and exceptional flying magical artifact.)

The finest items are already top-tier goods circulating in the market. It would be unreasonable for Patriarch Chen to be so generous as to bestow them upon disciples who are not his bloodline.

"Fifth brother, don't worry. Even if they are just ordinary top-tier magic artifacts, it shouldn't be too difficult for them to protect us from top-tier demonic beasts."

By combining the power of two or three ordinary top-tier magic artifacts, it shouldn't be a problem to temporarily hold off a top-tier demonic beast.

In the original storyline, Nangong Wan, whose cultivation had fallen to the Qi Refining stage, relied on her greatly weakened Vermilion Bird Ring magic weapon to trap one powerful top-tier demonic beast after another guarding the underground palace. She then had pairs of young disciples practice anatomy and draw blood. She swept through more than a dozen dangerous areas that disciples from other sects dared not tread. Killing demonic beasts and seizing spiritual herbs made the Hidden Moon Sect incredibly wealthy and indirectly helped the Azure Sky Old Monster win his duel with Fuyunzi and Li Huayuan.

Someone once suspected that the reason why Li Huayuan, who possessed the Three Yang Body, died at the hands of Master Mulan more than 20 years later because his cultivation had not improved at all was largely because he lost the competition and spent all those years refining iron essence for the Cangqiong Old Monster of the Hidden Moon Sect, thus neglecting his cultivation!

It can truly be said that one wrong step leads to another.

"Fifth Brother, I have a feeling we've been too reckless this time! Think about it, what if those disciples are unlucky and run into not just one top-tier demonic beast, but two? What if they're even more unlucky and run into something other than an ordinary top-tier demonic beast, but a special kind that can fight against an early Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

Fatty Chen is about to fall into a trance.

Even before the black dragon reached level two, Nangong Wan, who could easily imprison other top-tier level one demonic beasts, was helpless against it. The Vermilion Bird Ring couldn't hold it for long. Once this beast reached level two, it became even more ferocious, actually becoming comparable to a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. Nangong Wan directly dismissed all the other disciples who were helping, staying behind to cover the rear and hold it off.

And within this vast forbidden area, there is certainly more than just the Mo Jiao as an exception.

"Are the elites I've chosen really that stupid? That unlucky?"

This mountain gate isn't guarded for nothing.

Chen Tianya had always held a positive view of his disciples' shrewdness. After all, those he had taken a liking to were all like Wang Li, individuals with exceptional talent. They had all started as rogue cultivators, but later had fortuitous encounters that allowed them to rise above their circumstances and ultimately stand out among the tens of thousands of Qi Refining stage disciples in Huangfeng Valley.

However, Uncle Chen overlooked one point: not all poor people can stay true to their original aspirations after they become wealthy.

More than anything, it's the ostentatious self-confidence of the nouveau riche.

Moreover, the larger the number of people gathered, the more unrestrained this flamboyant confidence became, which greatly increased the likelihood of problems arising.

Unlike Wang Li, who always knew his own limitations and would never be complacent because of a little achievement; therefore, he always kept a low profile, avoided conflicts as much as possible, and used his brain instead of brute force.

So, is it possible for a Qi Refining stage disciple to kill a top-tier level one demonic beast that is full of treasures?

Of course there are.

With just a normal attack power equivalent to that of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, these small treasure troves can be easily harvested.

For example, fully activating a lethal talisman.

For example, cultivators can form formations to amplify their individual attack power and surround and kill each other.

For example, multiple top-tier magical artifacts can coordinate their attacks to launch a fierce assault on a single top-tier demonic beast.

Alternatively, advanced equipment can be forged using higher-grade materials that are of much higher quality than ordinary top-tier materials.

You can also spend money to buy a large number of basic, mid-to-high-level talismans, and even intermediate-level talismans.

There are many methods, but the prerequisite is that you have a lot of money or a strong backer.

Now let's talk about Fuyunzi.

"Excellent, excellent! Senior Brother Lin and Senior Sister Liu are indeed kind and righteous. They are so generous to the members of their clans, giving away top-grade magic artifacts and talismans so readily. I am no match for them!"

Previously, the old Taoist priest had almost no hope of winning this bet; but after learning about the specific situation of the two seed-level disciples in his trial team from the Foundation Establishment stage manager, his confidence was immediately rekindled.

There was no way around it; the two senior brothers and sisters in the Core Formation stage were just too generous.

The two seed-level disciples, one wielding a powerful talisman and the other possessing a magic weapon unparalleled among the sects, both also possess numerous low-level, high-level, and even mid-level talismans. With the protection of their talisman and two top-tier magic weapons that excel in both offense and defense, and various talismans as life-saving trump cards, even without considering prolonged combat, the two could fight and even kill a lone top-tier demonic beast.

If I can't get fifteen or sixteen spiritual herbs, I'll be letting down my elders who have placed such high hopes on me, and I'll also be letting down Fu Yunzi who has placed such expectations on me.

In addition, there are three Qi Refining Level 13 elites who participated in the forbidden area trial last time. If they are lucky enough to have two of them survive, they can bring out about ten more spiritual herbs.

With the other dozen or so disciples, and if one or two more were lucky enough to emerge, it wouldn't be difficult to gather six or seven spiritual herbs.

With over thirty medicinal herbs, it easily ranks among the top three of the seven sects.

Huangfeng Valley has consistently ranked fourth or fifth in recent years. Even with this extra effort, the probability of bringing out thirty spiritual herbs is still slim, because among those disciples, he only seems to recognize two of them.

This shows what?

Instead of sending experienced disciples who participated in the trials last time and the time before that, sending in some greenhorns who have magic power but no experience will likely not yield good results.

He has experience in this area.

Oh right, it seems like Huangfeng Valley had a pretty bad run last time too. They managed to gather a team of 21 people, but only 6 of them made it out in the end.

With this in mind, Fuyunzi became even more confident.

"As for the Chen fellow, it's still uncertain who will emerge victorious. Let's wait and see!"

Inside the forbidden area, Wang Li was already complaining bitterly.

Knowing full well the power of top-tier demonic beasts, he had no intention of confronting the giant toad head-on.

Jade Marrow Ganoderma, one of the three main ingredients of the Foundation Building Pill?

what is that?

He doesn't care about jade or marrow anymore. He doesn't need mature chalcedony mushrooms. He just wants to quietly find some seedlings!

Wang Li's movements were undeniably fast, a result of the combined power of the Wind Control Technique, top-tier lightness skill, and Swift Wind Boots. But what was truly astonishing was the toad's equally astonishing speed; it shot out like a cannonball. In the blink of an eye, the man and beast had covered over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

Wang Li first emerged from the stone cellar, followed closely by the giant toad.

Considering that toads mostly move by jumping and usually lack agility and dynamism after jumping, he didn't hesitate and darted into the nearby primeval forest, hoping that the towering trees that would require several people to hug would slow down the beast's pursuit.

Wang Li never imagined that a toad could climb a tree. Moreover, its speed in leaping between the branches was faster than an arrow released from a bow, and even faster than his own, closing the distance between them by half in a matter of minutes.

This made someone's heart sink.

Left with no other choice, he had to use a low-level high-level Divine Wind Talisman to put his pace into a quartet, which significantly increased his speed to the point that it was no longer visible to the naked eye.

"sough……"

Wang Li wanted to shake off the "sky bullfrog" behind him, but the one clinging to his rear seemed to have a stubborn streak. It wouldn't be satisfied until it caught and killed the insect in front of it.

Seeing its prey about to slip away, the giant toad puffed out its cheeks in anger.

The next moment, Wang Li nimbly leaped again, hiding behind several large trees, thus avoiding a blind spot.

But at that very moment, as he focused his divine sense on the Heavenly Bullfrog, his heart pounded and the hairs on his body stood on end! A very ominous feeling made him, who was suspended in mid-air with nowhere to gain leverage, feel a chill run through his entire body from the inside out in that 0.1 second!

flash!

Get out of the way!

How can I dodge it?

With a flick of her wrist, Butterfly slapped her storage pouch, swiftly summoning the Wind Chaser Sword and a high-grade magic weapon dagger placed beside it. She immediately kicked the Wind Chaser Sword away, using the recoil and the traction of her flight technique to barely deviate from her original trajectory by about ten feet. At the same time, relying on her senses, she threw the dagger-like magic weapon backward, attempting to interrupt the attack that the giant toad hiding behind the tree was likely to launch.

They only had time to finish these tasks, and didn't even have time to summon the defensive magic shield or erect the defensive light barrier.

"Whoosh."

Chapter 36 Slaying

A bright red glint of light grazed Wang Li's side for about three feet before shooting into a large tree in front of him.

The series of sounds—"puff puff," "clink," and "snap"—accompanied a chill as they reached Wang Li's ears.

Under his divine sense, the magic weapon knife he had just thrown seemed to have collided violently with extremely hard refined iron, followed by a crisp groan, and many cracks appeared on the blade, greatly damaging its spiritual power.

Fortunately, it wasn't completely destroyed, otherwise, he, who was connected to it mentally, would probably have suffered a great loss.

What exactly happened?

Sword energy stretches across 30,000 miles, a single sword's light chills 19 provinces?

It wasn't that exaggerated; it was just that the bullfrog ejected his tongue.

Inside the Tianzhi Pavilion in Huangfeng Valley, there is a rough record of this kind of monster, which does mention that this beast is good at attacking with its long tongue; but even if Wang Li were beaten to death, he would never have imagined that this guy could shoot his tongue twenty feet away!

Fortunately, his divine sense was naturally strong, slightly better than that of other Qi Refining cultivators of the same level, and he kept a close eye on the Heavenly Bullfrog's every move, thus sensing the danger in time and reacting quickly.

Otherwise, a moment's carelessness or being a half-beat too slow could very well result in being pierced through the flesh by a long tongue covered in blue beads, just like those three big trees in front of you.

You have to understand, those were three trees that would take five or six people to encircle, and they were as big as three sheets of toilet paper, easily pierced with a single poke.

"What a treacherous beast."

Wang Li felt a wave of fear wash over him.

Originally, he planned to use the cover of several large trees to deliberately hide in a blind spot, attempting to further increase the distance between them. However, he never expected that the Heavenly Bullfrog was exceptionally intelligent. Based on its previous two experiences, it quickly figured out his intentions and decisively targeted the large trees where he was hiding to put them into practice.

And there he was, puffing out his cheeks and spitting out a tongue.

Toads are naturally good at capturing things in motion, and with this sudden burst of energy, he almost got himself killed.

The man and the beast, in their chase, had unknowingly covered more than two miles, and had indeed created some distance between them. However, at this moment, Wang Li's expression became unusually solemn.

After he instantly killed a low-level demonic beast, the Mountain-Leaping Monkey, blocking his path with a single sword strike, he realized the seriousness of the situation.

The giant toad had likely already strayed out of the monster's territory, but the beast showed no sign of letting him go, relentlessly biting him.

Regardless of the reason, this situation definitely cannot continue.