Chapter 190: Chapter 190: The Strengthened Spirit Seed

In the Red Flame Mountain Range, a dense sea of forest stretched to the horizon—a world of green. When the wind blew, the trees bent in unison like waves in a hurricane-tossed sea, their rustling a ceaseless, thunderous roar.

BOOM...

Amidst the swaying trees of the forest, a sudden explosion rang out. A cloud of dust billowed up, a jarring sight in the ocean of green.

SWISH! 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

With a soft whoosh, a figure shot past at extreme speed, leaving several faint afterimages in his wake. It was none other than Shen Haoran, who had come to the mountains for his Cultivation.

Shen Haoran had barely flashed by when a massive Spirit Beast appeared behind him. Judging by the aura it exuded, it was actually a Tier Four Spirit Beast!

Strangely, however, the Tier Four Spirit Beast was covered in wounds, its fur matted and messy. Its crimson eyes were locked onto the fleeing Shen Haoran, and a series of furious growls rumbled in its throat.

Shen Haoran glanced back, a cold smirk touching his lips. He then reversed course, charging toward the Tier Four Spirit Beast like a bolt of lightning!

ROAR!

Seeing Shen Haoran charge back, the Tier Four Spirit Beast roared in fury. Its originally grayish-brown fur turned completely blood-red. It seemed to have activated its bloodline Talent!

However, upon seeing the Spirit Beast’s explosive increase in power, Shen Haoran’s lips curled into a grin. "So you’ve finally activated your bloodline Talent?"

Immediately after, his Fire Spirit Black Obsidian flared up, forming a suit of Black Flame Armor that enveloped him. He then began a frenzied assault on the Tier Four Spirit Beast.

Having activated its bloodline Talent, the Tier Four Spirit Beast was incredibly ferocious. Every attack was accompanied by sonic booms. When its fist fell, the earth trembled, and countless towering ancient trees were snapped by the fierce, Powerful Qi!

Fortunately, Shen Haoran was agile. Relying on the Second Layer of his Nine Heavens Shocking Cloud Step, he constantly sought opportunities to strike amidst the Spirit Beast’s savage attacks, always aiming for its existing wounds.

"Heaven-Breaking Double Kill!"

Shen Haoran dodged another of the Tier Four Spirit Beast’s punches and, like a cannonball, slammed into the wound on its chest. The terrifying force ripped the gash wide open, and blood sprayed out instantly!

ROAR!

The intense pain made the Tier Four Spirit Beast roar. It swatted out with its right paw, viciously striking the Flame Armor and sending Shen Haoran flying backward!

BAM... The immense force smashed Shen Haoran into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Cough, cough..." Shen Haoran coughed lightly as a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. ’Thankfully, the Tier Four Spirit Beast was already exhausted, and the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian absorbed most of the impact. Otherwise, that one blow would have severely injured me!’

ROAR!

The Tier Four Spirit Beast roared again, enraged by the pain in its chest. It raised its feet and stomped down viciously on Shen Haoran, who was still embedded in the ground.

Watching the foot grow larger and larger, Shen Haoran’s pupils shrank!

BOOM!

The next moment, a tremendous roar echoed as the Tier Four Spirit Beast stomped down hard where Shen Haoran had been. A huge crater appeared, and the ground spiderwebbed with cracks under the immense force!

The Tier Four Spirit Beast let out a triumphant roar, looking at the spot it had crushed underfoot. But before it could celebrate, a sharp cry came from above. As it turned out, what the Spirit Beast had stomped was merely one of Shen Haoran’s afterimages!

"Nine Dragon Stomp!"

Shen Haoran’s figure abruptly appeared above the Tier Four Spirit Beast. He took a single step, and a terrifying might rushed toward the beast like a flood from a burst dam!

BOOM!

This stomp was one that could truly shake mountains and rivers. The Tier Four Spirit Beast was slammed directly into the earth. A terrifying shockwave ripped the topsoil away, felling all trees within a radius of several dozen meters and cracking the ground!

However, it wasn’t over. After his first stomp, Shen Haoran actually followed with a second step!

"Nine Dragons Second Step—Blade’s Edge Manifest!"

His once-scattered aura now gathered frantically, forming a Sharp Sword that shot directly toward the Tier Four Spirit Beast’s head, pinning it viciously to the ground!

Looking at the now lifeless Tier Four Spirit Beast, Shen Haoran’s body went limp, and he fell from the sky. The Nine Dragons Second Step had completely drained his Spiritual Power, leaving him utterly weakened.

Shen Haoran stuffed several Spirit Revitalizing Pills into his mouth, chewed them haphazardly a few times, and swallowed. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt his Spiritual Power slowly begin to recover.

Afterward, Shen Haoran walked over to the Tier Four Spirit Beast’s corpse. Seeing that it was still in its activated bloodline Talent state, he smiled with satisfaction.

Then, Shen Haoran closed his eyes. A strange fluctuation emanated from his body, enveloping the Tier Four Spirit Beast. A moment later, a crystalline mist surged from the beast’s body, drilled into Shen Haoran, and merged with his Spirit Seed!

"Whew..." Seeing his Spirit Seed had grown a bit larger, Shen Haoran’s face filled with joy.

Looking at the Spirit Seed, which was now the size of a fist, Shen Haoran licked his lips and said, "Just as I thought, killing Spirit Beasts that have activated their bloodline Talent is the fastest way!"

It turned out that half a month after Shen Haoran had condensed his Spirit Seed, a Spirit Beast had attacked him. After he killed it, his Spirit Seed had unexpectedly unleashed a strange suction force, pulling a tiny wisp of "Spirit" from the beast’s body. Seeing that small wisp, which was equivalent to half a month’s worth of his own absorption, Shen Haoran was stunned. A moment later, he was ecstatic. ’So Spirit Beasts also have this so-called "Spirit" in them!’

From then on, Shen Haoran began hunting Spirit Beasts to strengthen the weak Spirit Seed in his Dantian. Later, during another hunt, he learned that Spirit Beasts that had activated their bloodline Talent possessed even more "Spirit" than ordinary ones. The problem was, Spirit Beasts with a bloodline Talent were at least Tier Four, with strength comparable to a Spirit Marquis expert!

Looking at the bean-sized Spirit Seed inside him back then, Shen Haoran had gritted his teeth and decided to brave the danger. ’Fortune favors the bold,’ he had thought.

After several life-and-death struggles, the Spirit Seed within Shen Haoran grew stronger and stronger. He himself had broken through several times while hovering on the brink of death, and he even learned the Nine Dragons Second Step!

"A Spirit Seed of this size should be enough for me to use the second tribulation of the Heaven-Dominating Tribulation once!" Shen Haoran murmured to himself, gazing at the fist-sized Spirit Seed.

Then, Shen Haoran’s gaze fell upon the faintly glowing Spirit Crystal, and another wave of joy washed over him.

Two months of constant battle with Spirit Beasts had brought him to the verge of another breakthrough. Advancing a full tier in two months—such a Cultivation speed was simply heaven-defying!

"Sigh, looks like it’s time for another trip to the Celestial Essence Hall," Shen Haoran said softly.

His constitution was different from ordinary people’s; his breakthroughs required an extremely abundant supply of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power. The Cultivation Rooms in the Celestial Essence Hall were the perfect place for that.

With this in mind, Shen Haoran didn’t linger. With a flash, his figure disappeared as he headed for the Five Elements Sect...!