Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter 43 The Destiny of Two People

While Tie Changqing was searching for Xiao Chong everywhere, Xiao Chong was also trying his best to find him.

Xiao Chong had an extremely clear understanding of his own strength. Tie Changqing's martial arts cultivation was at the peak of the Martial Apprentice level, and he had already opened thirty-five acupoints in his body, while Xiao Chong had only opened three. Compared to his opponent, the gap was enormous.

If the hunting competition ends and both sides leave Broken Soul Ridge to compete in full view of everyone, I'm afraid I won't have the slightest chance of winning.

Only by utilizing the terrain of Broken Soul Ridge, along with some secret methods, could he possibly cause trouble for his opponent. If he was lucky, he had a high chance of killing them.

However, finding Tie Changqing does not mean confronting him openly after finding him, but rather seizing the opportunity to kill him by underhanded means. On this point, Xiao Chong and Ding Ling held a surprisingly consistent view.

After killing Tie Xiaoyi the day before and sending Yin Feng to meet up with two disciples of the sect, Xiao Chong bid farewell to them and followed the direction Tie Xiaoyi had fled, focusing all his efforts on finding Tie Changqing.

Over the past two days, he has encountered several crises, but he has managed to overcome them all. During these crises, he killed one disciple of the Tie family, hunted down four ferocious beasts, and obtained four beast cores, two of which were of good quality, comparable to those of the Bloodthirsty Silver Bear.

As for the Tie family disciple, he was pitifully poor. Apart from his tattered equipment, he didn't even have a single pill. A scion of a prestigious clan, with martial arts cultivation only at the level of a martial apprentice, his worth was less than that of a wild beast. How dare he participate in this level of competition? Xiao Chong felt nothing but utter contempt for him.

What annoyed Xiao Chong the most was that all five beast cores had been reserved by the cauldron spirit. According to the cauldron spirit, the beast cores had been nourished by the flesh and blood of ferocious beasts for many years, and the vital energy they contained was highly compatible with the cauldron spirit, making them very easy to absorb.

Despite claiming to be the Crown Prince, he insists on associating himself with ferocious beasts. Did your family have a history of incestuous relationships between humans and animals? Xiao Chong expressed strong doubts about the bloodline of the cauldron spirit.

But while there may be suspicions, it's best not to ask such sensitive questions, lest the spirit of the cauldron become angry and turn against them at a crucial moment.

Besides these crises, Xiao Chong also encountered two groups of Xiao family disciples. In one of these groups, he even spotted the Xiao family leader, who was also a martial arts apprentice whose cultivation was almost at its peak. However, he didn't go up to greet him, but instead walked around him from a distance.

These disciples of his sect have always been at odds with him; associating with them would do more harm than good. Who knows when they might use him as a shield to push him to the front lines?

Therefore, Xiao Chong felt that it was more appropriate to go it alone, at least he could deal with wild beasts and enemies without having to be on guard against the people around him all the time.

He had a feeling that Tie Changqing was even more anxious than he was, and that the two of them would get closer and closer and meet soon. It was a destiny that he couldn't avoid, and he couldn't escape it.

With this deep sense of destiny, Xiao Chong turned his gaze to the distance, where a half-sunset sun shone, its color as red as blood.

After a moment of distraction, Xiao Chong found a thousand-year-old tree, sat down with his back against the trunk, and, following the strong request of the cauldron spirit, took out a beast core and chewed it in his mouth.

"Pooh!"

"The taste was really bad, the bloody smell was too strong, next time we must add some seasoning."

"Moreover, these animal cores are obtained from the bodies of various ferocious beasts and have not been steamed or boiled for sterilization. We don't know if eating them will cause diarrhea or even rabies?"

A fragment of a beast core flew out from the corner of his mouth and was spat more than two zhang away. Xiao Chong's mind was filled with all sorts of strange fantasies.

But Dingling was right about one thing: apart from the terrible taste, the effects of the beast cores were indeed very good.

As the beast core was chewed up, streams of vital energy surged out and quickly dispersed into the limbs. This nurtured vital energy did not convert into much elemental power, but it greatly accelerated the circulation of blood and qi within the body.

At the very least, the beast core he had just consumed made Xiao Chong feel his blood energy almost boiling, more than twice as vigorous as usual.

However, this situation only lasted for a brief moment before returning to its original state. Xiao Chong knew that most of the vital energy contained in the beast core had been absorbed by the cauldron spirit.

"Can't you just swallow a few at a time, like a cow chewing on a peony? This isn't a tasting competition, why do you have to make yourself look like a woman!"

The indignant voice of the cauldron spirit came from my mind, sounding just like a shrew cursing in the street.

"I don't have time to argue with you right now. I'll settle the score with you later! Prince, huh? Are you as powerful as the princelings of my past life?"

Xiao Chong cursed under his breath, then put the remaining four beast cores into his mouth and bit down hard.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

Dingling coughed violently, as if he had choked on something.

Xiao Chong also felt his chest churning and his whole body burning like fire, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

……

……

As the sun completely sets, Broken Soul Ridge is shrouded in a thick black curtain. The night wind blows, and the trees rustle, creating a sound as if one is in a dark ocean.

A low, mournful wolf howl came from afar, sounding extremely shrill and unsettling.

Stimulated by the wolf howls, Xiao Chong's spirits were somewhat lifted.

He had eaten those four beast cores too quickly, causing his blood and qi to surge like a raging sea, almost capsizing his little boat. The turmoil hadn't completely subsided yet.

The cauldron spirit was an extremely irresponsible fellow. After absorbing the benefits of the beast core, it simply fell asleep with a burp. If Xiao Chong had paid close attention, he could even faintly detect the creature's snoring.

"This is so unreliable! It seems I need to be more discerning about what Dingling says in the future."

After glancing at the blood moon on the horizon, Xiao Chong secretly grumbled to himself, feeling it was necessary to re-evaluate the other party's reliability.

The Blood Moon can only be seen at Broken Soul Ridge because red mist sometimes rises from the ridge. Against this backdrop, the moonlight shining through the forest mist is tinged with an eerie dark red, appearing as if it has been soaked in blood.

The old man in Feiyue City said that the red mist was caused by the fact that too many people had died unjustly in Duanhun Ridge over the years. Their spirits were restless and always wanted to find a substitute to seek liberation.

Therefore, the appearance of a blood moon is an ominous sign, and those who see it will suffer a bloody disaster.

Xiao Chong considered this to be utter nonsense.

Logically, after experiencing such a miraculous time travel, he should be even more convinced of this strange theory, but for some reason, he is the one who is least able to accept it.

A terrible omen? A bloody disaster? It's not like I'm the only one who can see it. Does this mean all the hunters in Broken Soul Ridge are going to die? Who are the hunted? And who are the hunters?

Xiao Chong glanced at the Blood Moon again, shook his head, and prepared to get up to find a safer place to stay, lest he be devoured by beasts in his sleep.