Chapter 304 - 260: Contemplating the Sword

Chapter 304: Chapter 260: Contemplating the Sword

[Consumed Fog Beast Origin to feed the Red Refining Snake. Acquired 40,000 Essence Points!]

[Consumed Fog Beast Origin to feed the Golden-Winged Eagle. Acquired 40,000 Essence Points!]

...

As the system notifications sounded, Yu Changsheng was momentarily surprised, but his smile only grew wider.

’It seems the Fog Beast Origin from the Blood Moon Wolves the Blood Moon Wolf King devoured wasn’t wasted. It was all counted. That’s eighty thousand Essence Points right there. Excellent, excellent.’

Yu Changsheng beamed, a subtle glint appearing in his eyes as he stared at the Red Refining Snake and Golden-Winged Eagle.

After the Red Refining Snake and the Golden-Winged Eagle swallowed the Fog Beast Origin, a fierce red light erupted from their bodies. They grew hot as the bottleneck in their Cultivation began to waver, and their Cultivation levels rose rapidly. A moment later, the two beasts’ auras reached their apex. With a muffled CRACK, an invisible ripple spread out from their center, and two flashes of white light shone.

[The Red Refining Snake has successfully advanced to Tier Two Fifth Layer. Acquired 10,000 Essence Points!]

[The Golden-Winged Eagle has successfully advanced to the Fifth Layer. Acquired 10,000 Essence Points!]

Feeling the synchronized feedback from their Cultivation flowing into him, Yu Changsheng was ecstatic.

’A hundred thousand Essence Points in one go. Excellent, excellent. I hope I run into more Blood Moon Wolf Kings. All that effort was definitely worth it in the end. Yes, completely worth it.’

Yu Changsheng nodded to himself, contemplating the successive boosts to his own Cultivation.

’The further I progress, the slower my Spirit Platform solidifies. All three of my Spirit Beasts have now reached the Tier Two Fifth Layer, and yet my Spirit Platform is still not even seventy percent solid...’

Yu Changsheng clicked his tongue. He glanced at the color of the sky and shook his head with a sense of resignation.

’Still, my Cultivation speed isn’t slow by any means. I’ll just have to take it one step at a time. I hope I can still make some significant gains in this Secret Realm.’

By now, the night had receded. The dark red sky had brightened slightly; while still a dusky red, it felt less grim. The iconic blood moon had also quietly vanished.

The surrounding fog closed in once more, shifting from dark red to a pure white. Perhaps the battle between Yu Changsheng and the Blood Moon Wolf King had served as a deterrent, as no other creatures attacked him.

Yu Changsheng scanned his surroundings before taking two Elixirs to recover his strength, making sure to maintain his peak Status. He remained vigilant as he ventured deeper.

’One of the three days has already passed. I need to pick up the pace.’

Yu Changsheng let out a slow breath and considered his next move. His three Spirit Beasts fanned out around him, scouting ahead.

This expanse of white fog was immense, unlike the previous two Yu Changsheng had encountered, which had dissipated after he’d killed most of the Fog Beasts within them. The annihilation of the Blood Moon Wolf Pack seemed to have had no effect on this fog at all.

"It’d be nice to run into another pack of Fog Beasts like the Blood Moon Wolves," Yu Changsheng muttered as he and his three Spirit Beasts advanced through the white fog. But he knew full well that Fog Beasts like the Blood Moon Wolf Pack were rare. He was lucky to have encountered one at all, and you needed to be strong enough to handle them. Otherwise, such an encounter wouldn’t be a fortunate opportunity, but a complete disaster.

He did encounter a few more scattered Fog Beasts along the way, and the rewards were satisfactory.

The fog’s density wasn’t uniform; it varied from one area to the next. In some places, it was so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, making every step a struggle. In others, it was as thin as the mist over a lake, merely a sheer layer.

Just then, for instance, the white fog around Yu Changsheng was quite thin. A gentle breeze blew, parting the veil to reveal the true landscape.

HUMMM...

Yu Changsheng’s brows shot up in surprise. Condensing his Divine Sense into a fine thread, he probed forward. The white fog was thin here, and a breeze from an unknown source drifted past, carrying with it a dreamlike haze. Before him appeared a colossal stone forest, which he roughly estimated to span tens of thousands of acres.

Tall stone pillars pierced the clouds like mountain peaks, standing erect one after another. They were jagged and bizarrely shaped, some like swords, others like sharpened blades. Ancient patterns, traces of ages past, were etched upon their surfaces.

The most eye-catching, however, were the stone peaks in the central region. Their entire upper halves had been sheared clean off, leaving behind perfectly smooth surfaces—clearly not a work of nature, but of man.

"Such powerful Sword Intent..."

Yu Changsheng breathed out, his eyes narrowing as a sharp pain pricked his mind, forcing him to retract his Divine Sense slightly.

’All of these... were they all severed by a single sword strike?’

Lost in thought, Yu Changsheng first confirmed that there was no immediate danger before walking forward. He gently caressed the smooth surface of one of the severed peaks, his expression one of pure astonishment.

There was no telling how long these stone peaks had stood here, yet with his Divine Sense, Yu Changsheng could still perceive the lingering sword marks upon them. He could even hear the faint, ethereal ring of a sword, a sound that seemed to echo from ancient times. Though scoured by the ages, the sharp, piercing Sword Intent remained palpable.

’What level of power would it take to unleash a strike like this... for its traces to remain even to this day.’

Yu Changsheng’s brow furrowed. The Golden-Winged Eagle soared high above, transmitting the view from its eyes down to him. Now, he could see the full topography of the area. It spanned tens of thousands of acres, dotted with scattered stone peaks. Many had already collapsed, and the rest looked ready to crumble at any moment.

The ground was littered with countless broken stones. After a moment’s thought, Yu Changsheng began to walk deeper into the stone forest. Here, the white fog had thinned considerably, replaced by a swirling mist that lent the place the indescribable charm of a celestial paradise.

HUMMM... HUMMM...