The scent of blood and death filled the small clearing in the forest where the brutal battle had taken place. Wei Shen stood panting, his lean body covered in mud, sweat, and his own blood mingled with that of the "Steel-Clawed Rock Tiger" lying lifeless at his feet. A deep gash on his left arm, where one of the tiger's steel-like claws had grazed him, was bleeding profusely, and multiple aches tore through his body from the blows and bruises he had sustained during the fierce confrontation. But his eyes gleamed with a cold glint, the triumphant glint of a hunter who had brought down precious prey.
"No time to rest," Wei Shen muttered, his voice hoarse from exertion. "Blood attracts death in all its forms. And negligence here means a quicker end."
Quickly, despite his pains, he began to scan his surroundings. His senses, sharpened by reaching the second level of Qi Condensation, were working at their utmost capacity, picking up any strange sound, any suspicious movement in the dense shadows of the "Forest of Lost Souls." He detected no immediate danger, but he knew this scent of blood wouldn't go unnoticed for long.
He returned to the massive tiger's carcass. This was the first time he had seen a spiritual beast of this size and power up close, dead. Its spotted fur that had allowed it to blend with the rocks, its steel-like claws that had nearly torn him apart, and its sharp fangs – every part of it radiated a primal power.
"An excellent offering," Wei Shen thought as he began the grim process of harvesting.
His priority was the blood. Using one of his ivory daggers made from boar tusks – which had proven surprisingly effective against the tiger's thick hide – he made a precise incision in the tiger's neck and began to collect the flowing spiritual blood in the leather waterskin he had emptied and cleaned beforehand. The tiger's blood was heavier and denser than that of the "Poisonous Mist Serpent," its color a dark red, almost black, and it carried a strong musky scent mixed with a faint metallic aroma of spiritual energy. Wei Shen felt the "Blood Qi" in his body tremble slightly as he handled this blood, as if recognizing a similar but superior power.
After collecting as much blood as possible, he moved on to the more difficult task: extracting the beast core. He knew from the scattered memories of the original "Wei Shen" that a spiritual beast's core was the source of its power and contained the essence of its Qi.
His ivory dagger, despite its hardness, struggled to penetrate the tiger's tough chest bones. It took considerable time and effort, leaving his hands swollen and newly scratched, but he finally succeeded in reaching the chest cavity and extracting the core.
It was the size of a small pigeon's egg, a warm amber color, and within it was a faint glow resembling a tiger's burning eye. When he held it in his hand, he felt a gentle warmth and a pure, concentrated energy emanating from it – energy from the first level of Qi Condensation, but from a Rock Tiger, making it more potent and dense than the Mist Serpent's core.
Then, he looked at the tiger's steel-like claws. They were long, curved, and sharp as if they were polished blades. Using his second-level enhanced body strength and his ivory dagger as a lever, he managed, after great effort, to pry off two of the largest and most intact ones. They were incredibly heavy and solid. "These… will make excellent spearheads, or perhaps tips for more lethal weapons in the future."
He didn't concern himself much with the meat this time; the focus was on the blood, the core, and the claws. Besides, dragging the entire massive tiger carcass back to the cave would be impossible and extremely dangerous. He contented himself with cutting a few strips from the choicest parts of the meat, thinking that the flesh of a spiritual beast might have better energetic benefits than that of ordinary animals.
After carefully securing his spoils, he began the arduous and perilous journey back to his cave. His body groaned with exhaustion and pain, and the scent of blood emanating from him was like an open invitation to every predator in the forest. He moved with extreme caution, utilizing every shadow, every rock, every bush as cover. His senses were heightened to their utmost limit, his heart beating with a steady rhythm.
Several times he was forced to stop and hide when he heard strange sounds or sensed suspicious movement nearby. On one occasion, he glimpsed from afar the shadow of a black wolf, a spiritual beast of some level, sniffing the air in the direction he had come from. Fortunately, Wei Shen had moved far enough away and managed to hide until the wolf passed without noticing him.
When he finally reached the cave entrance, darkness had begun to fall, and Wei Shen was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. But the sight of the silent "Blood-Devouring Stone" in the wall gave him a new surge of energy.
He entered the cave and threw his spoils onto the ground. He didn't rest. He didn't eat. He approached the stone directly, his heart pounding with cold anticipation. This was the moment he had been waiting for.
He began by offering the spiritual tiger's blood first. He poured the dark, rich red liquid onto the smooth surface of the stone.
The stone's reaction this time was astonishing, surpassing all his expectations.
An unprecedented, brilliant crimson glow erupted from the stone, flooding the entire cave with a dense, blood-red light, as if the sun itself had risen in the color of blood. The small cave trembled violently, and small pieces of rock fell from the ceiling. A deep, powerful hum, like the roar of a mythical beast awakening from a deep slumber, filled the air and made Wei Shen's bones tremble.
A wave of "Blood Qi," tainted, but now saturated with the powerful essence of the Rock Tiger, surged from the stone – dense, violent, and carrying a primal, savage power that almost crushed Wei Shen where he stood. He felt the echo of the tiger's spirit, its rage, its strength, merging with that dark energy.
"This is the power I seek," Wei Shen thought, his eyes gleaming with the reflection of the crimson light. "Pure in its savagery, direct in its bestowal."
Then, he placed the amber "beast core" onto the surface of the glowing stone. At first, the core resisted, its internal glow intensifying as if trying to defend itself. But the "Blood-Devouring Stone" was stronger. It began to absorb the core's energy slowly but steadily, the stone's red glow swallowing the core's amber radiance, as if devouring its essence. After moments, nothing remained of the tiger's core but a pale gray husk, which soon crumbled to dust.
Now, the stone throbbed with immense energy, a fusion of the tiger's blood and its core's essence, all converted into that unique, dark "Blood Qi."
Wei Shen immediately sat in a meditative posture, ready to absorb this energy feast. He knew this time would be different.
He began to draw that immense energy into his body. It still possessed that savage and aggressive nature, but thanks to his foundation at the second level, and his Qi pathways having adapted to this tainted energy, he found the process of guiding and absorbing it… smoother.
The pain hadn't entirely disappeared; his body was still under enormous pressure trying to assimilate this concentrated power. But it was no longer that tearing agony that had nearly made him lose consciousness in previous attempts. It was more like the sensation of muscles stretching to their utmost limit, of vessels expanding to accommodate a stronger current.
"This time… it's different," Wei Shen thought as he guided the torrent of red energy through his pathways. "It's as if the body, the stone, and this Blood Qi… are beginning to understand each other. There is… mutual acceptance."
He guided the energy with an iron will, compressing it, refining it, and pushing it towards his Dantian. He felt the barrier separating him from the third level, which had seemed solid and strong just a short while ago, begin to tremble, to crack.
With absolute concentration, he pushed with all his willpower, and with all the wild blood energy his body could endure, towards that barrier.
Suddenly, with a muffled internal sound like an ancient wall collapsing, the barrier shattered.
The new "Blood Qi" surged freely, filling his Dantian, which had expanded noticeably, and flowed through his Qi pathways, now wider and more robust.
He had broken through. The third level of the Qi Condensation stage!
Wei Shen felt a wave of pure power (by the standards of this dark path) sweep through his body. It was far stronger than anything he had felt before. His wounds began to heal more rapidly, and he felt his body become lighter and more vital, despite the profound exhaustion left by the breakthrough process. Even his senses seemed to have been honed to an entirely new level.
Wei Shen opened his eyes. The stone's crimson glow had begun to fade, but a deeper, more dangerous glint now danced in the depths of his own eyes.
"The third level…" he whispered, a cold, confident smile playing on his lips. "Every sacrifice… brings me closer to the peak."
Then, he looked at the "Blood-Devouring Stone," which had returned to its quiescence, like a sated beast that had fallen asleep