The fiery red husky growled again, watching Wei Chen warily.
"Yo, not so tough now, are you?" Wei Chen said with a smug smile as the beast continued to growl at him.
The beast didn't understand how it had happened, but its instincts told it that the attack a moment ago was no lucky shot. The power behind the stone, infused with spiritual qi and strong enough to wound it, was not something chance could reproduce.
Maybe… just maybe, this human was like those hunters or predators that disguised themselves to stalk prey.
That was why, even with its strength equivalent to the early stage of Nascent Soul, it had still been hurt by this human's attack. It also detected that the stone which struck it had been infused with dense spiritual qi, equivalent to the attack of an early stage of Nascent Soul. That was why the stone had been able to injure it.
Growl…
With this in mind, the beast growled once more, slowly stepped back, and finally turned to flee. It ran deep into the forest until it vanished completely from sight.
Seeing this, Wei Chen let out his signature smug smile before heading back toward the same cavern where he had sensed the dense spiritual qi.
When he arrived, the place was empty. As expected, the red husky hadn't returned. So, he began cultivating.
A phenomenon started as the spiritual qi within a 10-kilometer radius was drawn into his dantian, and within minutes the area was sucked dry.
Wei Chen felt that his dantian still needed much more energy before he could advance. From his senses, it wasn't even filled to five percent of the amount required to break through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
"Hm… is it because I used a black hole as the foundation for my comprehension during Foundation Establishment? Is that why it needs more energy?" he muttered, thinking. He had a strong feeling this was the reason.
Without wasting time, Wei Chen quickly moved on to another location, using his senses to search for a place rich with spiritual energy.
—
The red husky beast settled down in its sub-lair. This lair wasn't as good or as comfortable as its main lair, but it would do. A smart beast like itself didn't keep just one lair, it had several!
Thinking about that human predator, it decided it was better not to provoke him. But it wasn't because it feared that human! No, it was simply too annoying and bothersome to fight.
At this time, the red husky heard the sound of footsteps.
Ah! Perfect. An unsuspecting, foolish human had wandered into its lair. This was good, it would get a snack and a chance to vent its frustration on this unlucky human!
To vent properly, it wanted to scare this foolish human shitless first.
The red husky prepared itself, sitting in the most dignified posture and getting ready to roar. The moment that fool stepped into the cavern, it would unleash an earth-shattering roar.
Step…
Here it comes!
Roooaar… er…!?
Wait. Why? Why was it this human!? The red husky was alarmed when it saw the same human who had beaten it step into its sub-lair.
"Oh? Is this your lair?" Wei Chen looked startled. "Sorry, I didn't know this was yours. But since I'm already here, can you move to another one? I need to use this place."
The red husky understood what the human said, but this time… it was angry! This was too much!
The beast roared at the hateful man and rushed toward him, jaws wide open, determined to bite this insolent human to death.
But the human sidestepped, and before the beast even realized it, a sharp pain like being hit by solid rock exploded across its face.
Boom!
The red husky was punched and blown back into the cavern wall. It was badly injured; its face hadn't even healed from the last beating yet! Why did this hateful human always go for its face!?
And worse, this time it could feel the human was stronger! What had happened!?
But no matter! it had to save itself first.
With this in mind, the red husky beast turned tail and ran once again.
Seeing the beast flee, Wei Chen began cultivating once more.
The same scene repeated itself, and the spiritual qi within ten kilometers dried up.
Wei Chen frowned. This time, he couldn't even gain 3% progress in his cultivation session. Altogether, he had barely reached 8% progress toward breaking through to the middle stage.
According to the basic knowledge of this world that the Lord of Death had given him, all the spiritual qi he had absorbed should have been enough to break through to the late stage already!
If not, then at the very least it should have carried him into the middle stage, in case this Samsara Sovereign's Scripture cultivation method was so advanced that it required more energy.
So why was there barely any progress at all!?
He was confused but quickly decided to look for a new place to cultivate.
At the same time, the red husky was about to rest in its last sub-lair. Today was truly an unlucky day… too much bullying from that human expert.
Just then, its sensitive ears picked up a familiar set of footsteps.
Could it be…?
It slowly turned its battered face toward the entrance of the lair.
"Ah! This is also your lair? Sorry, sorry, but…" Wei Chen paused, smiling apologetically at the giant red husky.
"You know the drill, right?"
Know the drill my ass!? This is my last f*cking lair! You heartless human!
The red husky wanted to fight, but it knew it couldn't win. All it could do was howl and yelp pitifully before fleeing.
You heartless human, one day I'll get my revenge!
It howled in misery before escaping its last lair.
Seeing this, Wei Chen nodded in satisfaction. This doggo was very smart. Now it was time for him to cultivate.
Once again, the same scene played out. The tremendous suction force drained all the spiritual qi in the atmosphere within a ten-kilometer radius.
This time, Wei Chen only gained about 2% progress. The gain had clearly diminished!
Altogether, he had barely reached 10% progress toward the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment realm.
But he quickly pushed aside his frustration and once again sought out a new place rich in spiritual qi.
From day until dusk, from dusk into the second day, and all the way into the evening, the scene of wrecking spiritual beasts' homes and sucking all the qi dry repeated hundreds of times. By then, the wilderness where he cultivated was nearly depleted of spiritual qi.
Looking at the desolate land with barely any qi left, Wei Chen felt agonized inside.
He had only reached 50% overall progress. Wasn't this much qi supposed to be enough for him to ascend to Core Formation already!?
He was confused, but then he remembered the trope in Xianxia worlds, cultivators usually sat on their asses for at least a hundred years, sometimes even hundreds of thousands of years, just to improve their cultivation.
This…
Was f*cking bullsh*t!
He didn't have time to waste sitting on his ass! He only had eight years! If he spent it cultivating like this, who knew if he'd even be alive at the end!?
From what he knew, it was dangerously easy to lose oneself in a cultivation trance. Once they entered meditation at higher realms, the next thing cultivators knew, a hundred years had already passed!
If it were him, when he finally regained clarity after such a long session, he'd probably open his eyes and find the Lord of Death's bony face cackling at him.
That was something he definitely wanted to avoid!
Wei Chen grew alarmed. He had just realized that cultivation at the Foundation Establishment realm wasn't fast like during Qi Refining, where he had sat for a few hours and broken through easily.
Was this something every cultivator had to face!?
This couldn't go on. He needed to consult with the Lord of Death, either to let him to extend his lifespan or give him something to speed up cultivation. There was no way that being stuck at the insignificant early stage of Foundation Establishment would be enough to survive in this chaotic world.
With this in mind, he quickly found a suitable cavern and contacted the Lord of Death through the broadcasting orb.
The call connected, and he saw the Lord of Death busy reducing the piles of papers beside him. The glasses perched over the eye sockets of his bony face looked a bit comical. If not for the man's intimidating aura, Wei Chen might have laughed.
"Oh! Good timing, I was just about to get bored with this unending work. It's good that you called. I can take a short break," the Lord of Death said, picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip.
Wei Chen had no idea how that tea could even disappear, but he was certain of one thing, the Lord of Death only had bones. It was a mystery how this guy managed to drink tea at all.
"What's the progress on your end? Have you worked on your content yet? No hurry, though. What's important for you now is cultivating enough strength to survive up there," the Lord of Death added with a surprisingly relaxed vibe.
"Err… your honor… that's the reason I'm calling you. There's a… problem," said Wei Chen.
"Oh? Tell me in detail what happened. The Samsara Sovereign's Scripture cultivation method I provided is one with very decent speed and strength. Even in the higher realms, it's extremely rare to find a cultivation method of this level. You should have reached at least Core Formation by now, right?" the Lord of Death asked.
"No… your honor… I'm still only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment."
"Huh?"
"It's like this, your honor." Wei Chen then began recounting everything to the Lord of Death, from the very start of his cultivation up to now, including his decision to use a black hole as inspiration to comprehend his foundation when he advanced to Foundation Establishment.
After listening to Wei Chen, the Lord of Death finally came to an understanding. He let out a tired sigh.
"To be honest, Wei Chen, you are a genius… but also an idiot," the Lord of Death stated.