'This Cultivator is trouble!'
A powerful survival instinct drove the Ghost-faced Spider to immediately spit out its web, preparing to trap its enemy.
But a fist-sized fireball, one step faster, shot from Xiao Chen's fingertips, tearing through the web and exploding directly on the Ghost-faced Spider's body.
"BOOM~!"
A massive burst of fire erupted. The rolling heatwave that washed over him made Xiao Chen instinctively raise a hand to shield his face.
Since entering the Feihong Mountain Range, this was the first time he had encountered a Spirit Beast that his Fireball Technique couldn't pierce.
The Ghost-faced Spider's tough carapace had actually managed to block his Magic, triggering the Fireball Technique's explosion.
This was actually the normal way the Fireball Technique was meant to attack—by injuring enemies with its explosive flames.
In all previous cases, his opponents' Defense was simply too poor to even trigger the secondary explosion.
The next moment, more flames shot into the sky.
The webs hidden in the grass were especially good kindling and were instantly set ablaze.
The surging flames forced Xiao Chen to retreat three steps and set the Ghost-faced Spider's entire body on fire.
"Spare me..."
The Ghost-faced Spider had just opened its mouth to speak when a second fireball shot accurately inside.
"POP!"
Another explosion rang out, and the Ghost-faced Spider collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Xiao Chen chanted an incantation and pointed a finger. "Go!"
A third fireball followed close behind, slamming viciously into the Ghost-faced Spider's face.
It completely burned its head to a pile of ash.
This Ghost-faced Spider had undergone atavism through its bloodline, gaining a degree of sentience and a small amount of intelligence.
Relying on its strength at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage, it had hunted several Cultivators in the past few days. Even those at the sixth level were nothing more than its playthings.
But even in death, it couldn't understand.
Why was this enemy, who felt relatively weak to its innate senses, so much harder to deal with than those who were slightly stronger?
In the short span of ten breaths, Xiao Chen had fired three fireballs in a row, at three times the speed of an ordinary Cultivator.
The reason he was so fast was thanks to the Featherweight Augment, which increased his Magical Power circulation speed by ten times.
Although the circulation speed of Magical Power was only one factor affecting casting speed, it still tripled the rate at which he could launch his fireballs.
This allowed him to successfully land consecutive hits on the Ghost-faced Spider, finishing it off in one smooth sequence.
"Whew, what a strong Spirit Beast. It actually withstood three of my attacks. It must have been at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage."
Xiao Chen let out a breath and regulated his Inner Breath, then fired another fireball at the corpse just to be sure.
'No reaction. Looks like it's dead for good.'
Only then did he relax. 'It's definitely not an ordinary Spirit Beast. Could this be the legendary Ghost-faced Spider?'
'No wonder it's called "Ghost-faced." The likeness was so vivid, I didn't doubt its disguise for a second.'
'But for this Ghost-faced Spider to be able to deceive people and even speak human words... isn't that a bit too intelligent?'
It wasn't that Xiao Chen was prejudiced against Spirit Beasts; it was mainly because he remembered Old Wu saying that only Spirit Beasts at the Foundation Establishment Stage could develop high-level intelligence and learn human speech.
But he would be the first to refuse to believe that the Spirit Beast before him was at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
If that were the case, he would be the one lying on the ground right now.
Filled with doubt, Xiao Chen cut open the Ghost-faced Spider's abdomen and began searching for a Points Jade Token.
He didn't expect to find not the Jade Token, but a small, round, golden orb first.
HISS~!
'What is this? It can't be a Golden Core, can it?'
'Did I just kill a Golden Core Stage Spirit Beast?'
Shaking his head, he tossed the strange thought aside and reached out to pick up the small orb.
It wasn't sticky as he'd imagined, but it was far heavier. The small, half-inch orb felt like it weighed at least ten pounds in his hand.
'Could this be a Spirit Beast's Inner Core?'
Generally, Spirit Beasts at the Foundation Establishment Stage have a chance of forming an Inner Core ahead of time. When they break through to the Golden Core Stage, their Inner Core transforms into a Golden Core.
However, Xiao Chen had never heard of a Spirit Beast at the Qi Refining Stage having an Inner Core.
'What's going on?'
Although he was extremely curious, he acted with caution. He didn't swallow the suspected Inner Core directly, instead cutting off a piece of the spider's hide on the spot and wrapping it up.
There was no need for him to take risks right now. After returning to the Sect, there would be plenty of ways to find out whether this thing was truly an Inner Core.
Xiao Chen then pulled out the Ghost-faced Spider's Jade Token and prepared to continue on his way, looking for his next target.
Unexpectedly, there was another surprise in the Ghost-faced Spider's stomach.
Pressed right up against the Jade Token was a Flying Sword, corroded down to a mere foot in length, and a small Jade Box shimmering with Spiritual Light.
The Flying Sword looked remarkably familiar. It was clearly the Standard Flying Sword issued by the Sect, which nearly every Outer Disciple possessed.
Although it was now horribly disfigured from being digested, Xiao Chen still recognized it at a glance.
However, he was now more curious about the undamaged Jade Box next to it.
He took out the Points Jade Token and the small Jade Box, washing them clean with the Water Therapy Skill.
After the Jade Box was cleaned, the Spiritual Light on it actually dimmed, no longer shining brightly.
'Oho, interesting.'
This situation reminded him of those specially made storage boxes.
Old Man Wu had a storage box, said to be a high-quality item he had specifically purchased in his youth to study Alchemy.
Every year when new disciples were recruited, he would take it out for a special demonstration. His looked much more advanced than the one before him now.
It was said that these storage boxes were impervious to blades, fire, and water. They could only be opened by actively infusing them with Magical Power, making them especially suitable for storing precious Spirit Pills or other Spiritual Materials.
He tried to input a stream of Magical Power, but the feedback he received was that his Magical Power was insufficient.
Xiao Chen's eyes lit up, and he hastily injected another stream of Magical Power.
"CLICK."
The Jade Box finally opened, revealing a large, perfectly round Spirit Pill stored inside.
"A Yuan Combination Pill!"
This was a Top Grade Tier One Elixir. It contained a large amount of Spiritual Qi and could help a Cultivator condense Magical Power more easily, generally used to aid in breakthroughs.
Xiao Chen had seen a picture of it in a catalog last time he was at the Merit Hall to exchange for a Qi Nourishing Pill. A single one like this sold for a full ten Spirit Stones.
He had considered buying one at the time, but he only had a little over forty Spirit Stones on him.
Limited by his tight purse strings, he ultimately decided to rely on his own cultivation and save a few Spirit Stones for a rainy day.
He never expected to have such an unexpected gain this time, scoring a ready-made Yuan Combination Pill for free.
After several days of high-intensity Magic casting and Spirit Beast hunting, Xiao Chen's Magical Power had already been strengthened to a certain degree through the process of depletion and recovery.
Now, with the Yuan Combination Pill to assist him, he was 99% confident he could break through directly to the sixth level of the Qi Refining Stage.
If not for the unsuitable location and his worry that a breakthrough would delay him and make him late, he would have loved to complete the breakthrough on the spot.
Carefully putting away the storage box, Xiao Chen put on his Cloak and headed straight for the Sect's meeting point.