Unstoppable Momentum

Shi Lei's persistence led Shi Yuan to relent. He nodded and said, "Alright, if we gain other rewards on this trip, I'll be willing to give him a share."

Li Yue remained silent. The woman's natural beauty was mesmerizing; just standing there, she exuded an overwhelming allure. Even Xiao Yi, who was usually composed, had to reign in his emotions. She was gazing intently at the purple haze bow on his back, and her bright eyes flickered with a hint of confusion.

Xiao Yi didn't speak. For him, this wasn't a journey to compete with others; it was a path toward finding his way home. If it weren't for protecting Shi Lei, he would not have agreed to come along.

Meanwhile, Yun Shan gave Xiao Yi a friendly, goofy smile. His gaze was gentle, and though he carried a large white bone staff on his back, his aura was heavy. Despite not having revealed his cultivation, Xiao Yi could still sense the strong vitality surging within him. But unlike the others, Shi Yuan and his companions couldn't see through Xiao Yi's true strength. The Mighty Elephant Power Technique was a top-tier combat technique, and Xiao Yi had comprehended the essence of the Mighty Elephant Map through his understanding of its divine rhythm. Under the honing of his future self, his control over his own power had reached an almost microscopic level. Ordinary people would never detect any hint of it.

When the sun fully rose, Xiao Yi and the others entered the Wild Ancient Forest. The 800-year-old Silver Ginseng was located seventy miles west of the tribe, hidden deep within a secluded valley.

The Wild Ancient Forest was a perilous place, and every inch of land was fraught with danger. Even though Xiao Yi had lived here for a year, he still maintained his vigilance. Despite his calm appearance, every sense of his being was alert, his mind scanning the surroundings. The Mighty Elephant Power extended outward in subtle strands, enveloping a ten-pace radius around him. This was Xiao Yi's limit. If he focused purely on extending his spirit, he could reach five hundred paces, but that would cause him to lose control over the immediate vicinity.

By maintaining the Mighty Elephant Power at all times, Xiao Yi could both accelerate his comprehension of the divine rhythm and sharpen his mental fortitude. He had just broken through to the intermediate stage of the ordinary realm, but his grasp of spiritual power still had some gaps. Now, every moment was a chance to improve, pushing his control over his mental power toward perfection.

"Xiao Yi, you have the lowest cultivation, so you won't be fighting," Shi Yuan said after they entered the forest. "But you must lead the way."

Xiao Yi had no objections to this arrangement. It was actually better this way. Staying with the group too long would hinder his ability to act freely.

They hadn't traveled three miles when they came across a giant bear standing at three meters tall. Its dense black fur shone, its bloodshot eyes bulging, and its mouth drooled with stinking saliva. This was a Tiger Bear, a top-tier low-level wild beast, already on the verge of breaking into the middle-level wild beast category.

Without hesitation, Xiao Yi drew the broken spear from his back. He fused with the spear in one swift motion, transforming into a streak of wind and charging toward the Tiger Bear. At this moment, the bear's gaze faltered slightly before it was consumed with rage. It was rare for such a lowly creature to dare attack it in the Wild Ancient Forest.

The bear swung its paws, and sharp black fur stood like iron needles. It resembled a grinding stone falling, and the air was pressed down with a deep, rumbling sound.

Xiao Yi's mind sharpened. In an instant, his Mighty Elephant Power surged, and the divine rhythm of the elephant descended. The tip of his spear released a three-foot-long, crystalline spear aura.

At the moment Xiao Yi made his move, the Tiger Bear's eyes filled with terror. To it, it seemed that the one charging toward it was not Xiao Yi, but a towering, mountain-like elephant covered in green scales. This was the power of Xiao Yi's aura, a unique force born from his practice of the Mighty Elephant Technique and his deep understanding of the divine rhythm. His spiritual will fused seamlessly with this power, making it the perfect match for his true essence.

The bear was paralyzed by the overwhelming mental pressure, and before it could even scream, Xiao Yi's spear pierced through its chest, rupturing its heart.

Xiao Yi inhaled deeply, mimicking the actions of a mighty elephant drinking water. A thunderous sound erupted within his body, and in that instant, the Tiger Bear's vital essence was devoured entirely. With a swift motion, Xiao Yi slapped his palm, and the bear's lifeless body fell into a nearby thicket, disappearing from sight.

Half a day passed.

"Why is the Wild Ancient Forest so quiet today?" Shi Lei asked in surprise. "We've been walking for so long, yet we haven't encountered a single wild beast with more than ten jun of blood energy."

What Shi Lei didn't know was that all the wild beasts with more than ten jun of blood energy had already been slain by Xiao Yi. For Xiao Yi, only those lower-level wild beasts with ten jun or more of blood energy were worth his time to absorb, and the ones below that were left unharmed, their lives taken instantly when they crossed paths with Shi Lei and his group.

"I once heard some of the Fifth Battalion leaders mention that there are two possible reasons for the scarcity of wild beasts in the Wild Ancient Forest," Shi Yuan said in a low voice. "One possibility is that it's a remote area with scarce water sources. The other possibility is that there are powerful wild beasts here that, with their overwhelming presence, have claimed the land as their territory, forcing ordinary beasts to stay away."

Shi Lei's expression changed. "Does that mean Xiao Yi is in danger?"

"He's several miles ahead of us," Shi Yuan replied coldly. "We cannot afford to split our forces. Whether he can return depends on his fate."

Shi Lei's gaze flickered, and after a few moments of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said nothing further.

"Wind rising, thunder roaring!"

Five miles away, Xiao Yi's expression tightened. He executed the first stance of the Wind and Thunder Spear Technique. The technique merged with his aura, instantly altering the surroundings. Under the influence of his Mighty Elephant Power, within a ten-pace radius, countless fist-sized fragments of rock floated up, and as Xiao Yi moved the spear, they exploded. A three-foot-long, light-blue spear aura shot from the tip of the weapon, piercing through the air with a sharp, sizzling sound.

A red-eyed leopard, a top-tier low-level wild beast nearing its peak, was the source of the disturbance. Its blood energy exceeded thirty jun, and it moved like the wind, its sharp claws as curved as scimitars. The air around it was torn apart as it lunged toward Xiao Yi.

This was an enemy Xiao Yi previously could not have matched. Only through meticulous planning and careful timing could he have hoped to ambush and kill it with archery. But now, after breaking through to the intermediate stage of the ordinary realm and mastering the Mighty Elephant Power under the waterfall's training, opponents like this were no longer a threat. Xiao Yi's blood energy accumulation also increased significantly as a result.

The spear aura collided with the leopard's claws, producing a sound like metal striking metal, and sparks flew in all directions. The red-eyed leopard let out a painful cry as three of its claws shattered, its front paw pierced through by the spear aura. Without slowing, Xiao Yi drove the spear forward, piercing its throat and silencing the beast forever.

Xiao Yi absorbed the leopard's blood energy, which was refined by the Stone Mirror into a pristine, pigeon-egg-sized sphere of blood essence. This leopard's blood energy was almost equivalent to the cultivation of thirty human celestial meridians. Since the beast's body was larger than a human's, it could hold even more blood energy. Xiao Yi estimated that by slaying a hundred or so such leopards, he could advance further and open his seventh celestial meridian.

Xiao Yi speculated that a hundred or so red-eyed leopards would provide enough blood energy for Shi Lei to break through and reach the seventh or eighth celestial meridian. As Xiao Yi's mastery of the Mighty Elephant Power deepened, the requirements for blood energy increased. As his celestial meridians connected and his physical body was tempered, the same blood energy that could help him open the first celestial meridian would no longer be enough to affect the seventh.

Xiao Yi now understood why Shi Gong had been unable to master the Mighty Elephant Power. Without the Stone Mirror, Xiao Yi knew that his progress would have been much slower. His future self had deeply integrated the divine rhythm of the elephant into every movement, and every battle, every kill, allowed him to absorb a fragment of the divine essence, a process that accelerated his comprehension. Without this constant absorption, it would have been far more difficult to grasp the full potential of the Mighty Elephant Power.

"Absorbing the blood energy of wild beasts isn't the only way. Some old medicinal herbs can also enhance my blood energy. If I find any rare herbs, they could help me break through faster."

Along the way, Xiao Yi had found some herbs, but most were over a hundred years old at best. A few were guarded by wild beasts and didn't offer any significant benefits for his blood energy enhancement.

A streak of purple energy shot through the air, dazzling like the rays of a setting sun. The shockwave spread outward, rippling like waves on water, and it took several breaths before it dissipated.

Looking at the low-level wild beast several dozen paces away, which had been shot through the throat by an arrow, Shi Yuan couldn't help but praise, "Li Yue, your archery has improved again. The Purple Mist Arrow leaves traces even in the wind, and it has reached the realm of mastery. It won't be long before you touch the threshold of the Cracking Sound Realm."

Li Yue smiled, "You flatter me, Shi Yuan. The Cracking Sound Realm requires one to understand the concept of lightness in heaviness, to create one's own momentum, and then blend that momentum into archery. I still have a long way to go."

Her words were accompanied by the sight of her slender, ivory-like legs and her enchanting eyes that shimmered with a mesmerizing light, instantly making Shi Yuan's gaze somewhat dazed.

In order to speed up, the five of them simultaneously refined the blood energy of the cloud wolf. Within several breaths, the cloud wolf, which had stood over ten feet tall, turned into a dried corpse. Not long after the group had passed, four armored celestial soldiers emerged from a patch of shrubs. Their green armor was intact, and their overwhelming blood energy flowed together like a great cauldron boiling with power.

"An eight-hundred-year-old silver ginseng," one of them muttered in awe. "How did those bloodstone tribe people manage to find such a treasure? We should follow them, wait until they find the silver ginseng, then strike and kill them all. We can take their heads and the ginseng to report to Commander Chen Shan, who is stationed three thousand miles away."

"Indeed," another soldier agreed, "Our four battalion leaders have been cautious, leaving behind over a hundred men to guard the rear. Otherwise, the bloodstone tribe might have wiped us out entirely. Over the past year, our celestial cultivators have been nearly wiped out. Of the three thousand commanders, it seems only Commander Bi Shui survived, but he's gravely injured and disappeared without a trace."

"I didn't expect the bloodstone tribe to have a commander of the ten thousand-man level," the first soldier muttered, shaking his head. "But it doesn't matter. With the profound cultivation of Commander Chen Shan, once we've eradicated the Black Wind Tribe, we can slowly take care of the bloodstone tribe. I'll make sure not a single soul survives."