「Several days later.」
「Demon Beast Wilderness Island.」
Within the dense jungle, a streak of crimson sword light flashed and vanished!
ROAR!
An agonized roar from a Demon Beast echoed through the trees.
In a clearing encircled by a few towering trees, a massive Black-striped Leopard lay on the ground. Its body had been sliced in two at the abdomen, yet it wasn't quite dead and continued to struggle.
Two pale-gold Gu Insects reluctantly flew out from the wound and disappeared deep into the jungle.
「A short while later.」
A man emerged from the tall grass and approached the Black-striped Leopard.
'With the help of the Vajra Gu, I can even hunt Tier One Late Stage Demon Beasts now.'
The man was Fang Cheng. Watching the dying Black-striped Leopard, he flicked his finger, sending out a flash of sword light to end its life for good.
This Black-striped Leopard was the king of this island, a Tier One Late Stage Demon Beast that had always occupied the area in the island's center where the Spiritual Qi was richest.
Not only was the leopard incredibly powerful, but it was also a master of concealment and moved with extreme speed. It was rumored that many Servant Disciples who had come here to hunt Demon Beasts had died by its sharp fangs.
Rumor had it that even Outer Disciples had come specifically to hunt this beast, only to return empty-handed.
Since he transmigrated, Fang Cheng had stuck to the island's outer and central regions, hunting numerous Tier One Early and Mid Stage Demon Beasts and becoming intimately familiar with the terrain.
After his recent breakthrough, he had grown bolder and ventured deeper toward the island's center.
The Black-striped Leopard must have sensed his low Cultivation and taken the initiative to attack. However, Fang Cheng's reaction was swift. He first used a Poison Gu to release a potent toxin, secretly wounding the leopard.
Next, he unleashed two Vajra Gu in a surprise attack!
First, the Vajra Gu latched onto the Black-striped Leopard, devouring its Protective Spiritual Light. Once they bit through it, they began to consume its flesh, eventually burrowing inside to destroy its organs.
Meanwhile, Fang Cheng calmly engaged it with his Cyan Profound Sword Technique. After a fierce struggle, the Black-striped Leopard was gradually overwhelmed and tried to flee.
Unable to catch up, Fang Cheng had no choice but to pour all his Magical Power into one final strike, at last slaying the beast.
The power of that last strike had far surpassed that of a First-rank Middle-grade Magical Artifact. It had shattered the leopard's Protective Spiritual Light and torn through its tough hide, slicing it in two.
The strike had instantly drained all of Fang Cheng's Magical Power. He had to swallow a few medicinal pills before he could follow after it.
...
Flames danced, and the aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
By a small river in the forest, Fang Cheng had started a bonfire and was leisurely roasting the leopard meat.
He had already used his Poison Gu to cleanse the Poisonous Gu from the Black-striped Leopard's flesh. The organs were fed to his Vajra Gu, and the pelt was skinned and left to dry, ready to be sold at the market later.
As for the remaining meat, Fang Cheng planned to enjoy it himself.
This was the first Tier One Late Stage Demon Beast he had ever hunted. The occasion was worth commemorating.
Once the meat was roasted to a golden brown and dripping with fat, Fang Cheng took it off the fire and began to feast.
Now, there were basically no Demon Beasts left on the Demon Beast Wilderness Island that could threaten him.
A sense of ease and security, the likes of which he had never felt before, washed over Fang Cheng.
Previously, whenever he came to the Demon Beast Wilderness Island, he had always been exceedingly cautious. He would steer clear of anyone he encountered, whether it was a pack of Tier One Mid Stage Demon Beasts or other Servant Disciples.
His entire strategy revolved around one principle: lying low.
Now, he finally had some power to protect himself...
The flesh of a Tier One Late Stage Demon Beast packed a strong punch. As it settled in his stomach, it transformed into a warm current that spread through his limbs, and his Magical Power actually increased by a sliver.
'If I ate this entire Demon Beast, it would probably be worth three months of hard cultivation!'
This was Spiritual Cuisine!
Fang Cheng circulated the One Qi Technique to refine the essence in his stomach. The more he ate, the more invigorated he felt.
Cultivators from prominent families, or the Inner Sect Disciples of the Yinluo Sect, often occupied High-tiered Spirit Veins. They enjoyed dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, supplemented by cultivation-enhancing pills and Spiritual Cuisine. Their rate of cultivation was terrifyingly fast.
But ordinary Servant Disciples and Loose Cultivators had no Spirit Veins and no medicinal pills. They could only rely on their own day-in, day-out, arduous cultivation.
The disparity was immeasurable.
As Fang Cheng enjoyed his Spiritual Cuisine, his mind wandering, something in his storage bag suddenly rang with the clarity of a Jade Chime, catching his attention.
"Hm?"
He set down the leopard meat and made a beckoning gesture at the opening of his storage bag. A Jade Talisman flew out and landed in his hand.
A ferocious beast, part dragon and part elephant, was carved onto the Jade Talisman. The patterns were archaic and grand, concealing a hint of Dao rhythm. It was none other than the talisman he had found in the Demon Ape's wooden hut.
At this moment, the Jade Talisman was shimmering with a radiant light and emitting waves of Spirit Sound. If Fang Cheng hadn't been holding it tightly, it looked as if it would fly away at any moment.
Fang Cheng's expression shifted as he wondered, 'Could it be? Is the treasure hoard about to open?'
'It was a classic cliché: the treasure hunt, the dungeon crawl, the most common trope in the novels of his past life. But now that it was actually happening to him, he couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement and nervousness.'
He focused his Divine Sense on the Jade Talisman, and a map instantly flooded his mind.
It was a map of the eastern shore of the Abyssal Marsh, and it was becoming clearer by the second. Two small dots of light appeared on it; one was stationary, while the other pulsed slowly.
As if he understood something, Fang Cheng held the Jade Talisman, rose into the air, and flew a circle around the area.
Amazingly, the pulsing dot of light on the map moved along with him.
The stationary dot, then, must be the location of the treasure.
He descended, returning to the bonfire. His gaze was heavy as he stared into the dancing flames.
'Should I go, or not?'
'With my Golden Finger, the path ahead seems clear. If I just keep lying low, that could be a perfectly valid way to live.'
'But... when I think about the gap between me and cultivators like Feng Ling—Inner Sect Disciples of the Yinluo Sect and scions of powerful families—I feel a faint sense of unwillingness.'
'Even with my Golden Finger, my cultivation resources can't even begin to compare to theirs.'
'Some of life's greatest opportunities can only be seized by taking risks. That was true in my past life, and it's even truer in this one!'
Having lived two lives, Fang Cheng was not one to be indecisive. After a moment's thought, he made his decision.
「A moment later.」
A streak of light shot away from the wilderness island, heading straight for the eastern shore of the Abyssal Marsh!
...
...
...
Dark clouds hung low. A sinister wind howled, and murky waves crashed against the sky.
Streaks of lightning flashed across the sky, blindingly bright. The ensuing thunder was deafening. Rain poured down in sheets. Below, the Daze churned like an ocean, throwing up waves dozens of feet high.
A bright streak of light shot through the space between the sky and the water.
Within the light was a young man.
He was tall and well-built, with broad shoulders and a strong back. His face was sharply defined, with striking, sword-like brows and eyes as bright as stars.
The man wore a dark, cloud-patterned Daoist Robe and possessed an extraordinary air. A sharp, faint Sword Intent emanated from him.
This was none other than Fang Cheng, who had come in search of the treasure.
He shot through the torrential rain, shielded by his Protective Spiritual Light, which kept the wind and water at bay.
The sky ahead was dark and foreboding, filled with flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder—a truly apocalyptic scene.
Guided by the map within the Jade Talisman, he wouldn't lose his way, even in such weather.
「Before long.」
A mountainous island appeared not far ahead.
The entire island was a single, majestic mountain rising from the Abyssal Marsh. Its slopes were covered in lush vegetation, but there wasn't the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.
The absence of a Spirit Vein meant that no Demon Beasts or Loose Cultivators resided on the island.
Fang Cheng felt a knot of tension within him loosen slightly.
The treasure was located on this very island!