"...What the hell?"

Yi Chen muttered in disbelief as he turned his head in different directions. To his utter surprise, all the trees and shrubs around him weren’t shrouded in darkness but were crystal clear.

Earlier, when the surroundings had turned completely dark all of a sudden, he had felt as if someone had turned on a huge flashlight in front of him.

If not for how different things appeared to be right now, he would have assumed that it was already daytime.

"Just what is going on with me..." he thought while moving his gaze all around.

Unlike his regular vision, everything appeared in the shades of black and grey.

The black lines on the leaves, the line of ants on the ground, the insects buzzing around the bush...everything popped out more distinct and clearer than it ever did, as if the darkness wasn’t a bane but a boon for him.

It was at that time that he was suddenly reminded of something.

"Yes...The True Demon Physique. It’s because of that!" Yi Chen exclaimed in realisation.

He had guessed right.

If he could see his eyes right now, he would notice that his brown pupils were glowing red at the moment, similar to the demons he had once slain inside the trial domain.

"Well...that’s convenient," he muttered a few seconds later while his eyes scanned through the surroundings, still adapting to the changes.

Being able to see everything clearly in pitch dark naturally gave him a sense of comfort as he went back to setting up his tent with a lighter heart.

Once that was done, it was time to satiate his hunger, so he took out a few fish and started roasting them in a well practised manner.

’Ah, I should have placed those wolves in my storage ring back then...’ Yi Chen suddenly thought as a bitter smile formed on his face.

Although his cooking was pretty good, he had started to grow tired of eating the same meal for so many years.

The little stock of Qi induced meat, which Gao Zhen used to have, had all come from the demonic beast, so he didn’t doubt whether it would be edible or not.

He let out a disappointed sigh the next instant.

"Well...what’s done is done. Maybe I’ll get to meet them again tomorrow."

He muttered while watching the fish cook. From the smell he had long become used to, they would be ready in five minutes’ time.

"Hm?" Yi Chen’s eyes narrowed all of a sudden.

Grrrrr

Grrrr

Grrrr

"It seems I won’t be able to have my meal in peace..." Yi Chen muttered while standing up.

From the familiar growls, it was evident that the beasts surrounding him were the Nether Wolves. They soon walked past the surrounding vegetation and revealed themselves.

’They must be here for revenge...’ he thought while glancing around him to check their numbers.

There were almost fifty of them.

If not for his ability to see in the dark, he would have no clue as to how many of them were actually there.

It was also because of this ability that he was able to spot a wolf that looked much larger than the rest.

GRRR

It growled while narrowing its eyes, noticing Yi Chen’s gaze, its growl much stronger than the rest.

"Oh?" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Noticing it, Yi Chen immediately checked its status panel.

====== STATUS ======

Name: Nether Wolf King

Nature: Water

Cultivation: Grade 2 [Between Third and Fifth Qi Absorption Stage]

Remark: Can lead packs of almost a hundred Nether Wolves. [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]

===================

"I got a little agitated by that title...so it’s just a weaker version of the Glacial Soldiers," Yi Chen chuckled and pointed his finger towards the Wolf King.

Hearing Yi Chen’s mocking chuckle, its gaze sharpened with hatred.

Wanting to let Yi Chen get a taste of his own medicine, the wolf king tilted its head up and prepared itself to howl loudly, a signal for the launch of a coordinated attack.

However, with everything clearly visible to him, how could Yi Chen allow that to happen?

At that very moment, a red light the size of a pin stretched out from the tip of his finger at the speed of light.

PIERCE!

With its defence being far inferior to the Glacial Soldiers, the needle-sized Qi blade pierced through the wolf king’s skull as if it were paper.

YAK!

Only a painful yelp escaped its throat before life faded from its eyes, and the next instant, its body fell to the side.

Thud!

With their king down like a headless chicken, the entire pack became disorganised.

Several groans and cries rang out from the front lines towards the back as Yi Chen noticed the wolves in front of him slowly retreating.

"Where are you going? I still have to deal with the rest of you, don’t I?" Yi Chen grinned.

The next moment, just like he had done while facing the horde of Glacial Soldiers, a long blade stretched far and wide from his hand. Then, without a second thought, he ran around the campsite.

Hooowl!

Grrrrrr!

Yee-lp!

Several cries rang out, which were soon accompanied by the sounds of several trees falling down either on them or around them.

His blade didn’t discriminate between anything and sliced in half whatever that met its way.

As a result, when he had stopped, an area of about fifty meters had been cleared around Yi Chen with all the trees and bushes cut in half and the bodies of the wolves buried underneath the debris.

"Well...looks like I overdid a little,"

It was at that moment that a distinct smell entered Yi Chen’s nostrils, making him turn his head towards the campsite.

Black smoke could be seen rising above the fish.

Noticing this sight, he couldn’t help but exclaim bitterly, "Ah shit! It got burned..."

From the amount of smoke, it was obvious that it was already too late.

He sighed in disappointment as, after dealing with all the wolves, his appetite had only grown stronger, and he had started to look forward to the meal even though it was just roasted fish.

"..."

It was at that moment that he turned his head in a particular direction as his gaze fell on the wolf king’s body, which was lying just a few feet away from him.

Being closer to the campsite, it didn’t fall victim to the falling trees and was still intact.

"Well...looks like this was god’s way of fulfilling my wish to eat something different tonight."

Yi Chen muttered in amusement.

A few seconds later, he dragged the wolf next to the fire and started skinning it with his Qi blade, extending out of his fingers.

Once that was done, he finally started dismembering its pieces. While at it, he got his hands on something.

"Oh? There’s the pseudo core."

Yi Chen muttered while reaching for the blue core buried deep inside the wolf’s abdomen.

Wiping the blood off on the wolf’s fur, he momentarily admired the glowing blue sphere in his hand that had two distinct dark spots on it.

"Hm? The grade one wolves whose cores I checked earlier had only one dark spot each...I see, so it increases with each grade."

Yi Chen thought out loud while concluding.

Curious as to what this core can be used for, he checked its status panel.

====== STATUS ======

Name: Demonic Beast Core.

Grade: 2

Nature: Water

Remark: Can be used by water-natured cultivators. [Regenerate: 10,000 EXP]

====================

"Oh?"

Reading the remark, Yi Chen’s curiosity only increased further as his eyes lingered on the ’Regenerate’ button.

However, taking a deep breath, he controlled that urge.

Even though slaying the wolves had given him a significant amount of experience points, it was still not enough to overindulge on it.

He immediately placed the pseudo core inside his storage ring, the next instant.

"I’ll just need to be patient...Once I’ve arrived at the Lava City, I can just inquire about these details at the Red Velvet Pavilion’s branch..." Yi Chen muttered to himself.

The sole reason he was going to the Black Rock Kingdom was to go to the Lava City, which was the Kingdom’s capital, and use the Teleportation array available at the Red Velvet Pavilion there.

So, since he was already going there, using experience points at this stage would be too wasteful.

With those thoughts, he started cooking the Qi-enriched meat pieces while placing the extra pieces inside his storage ring for future use.

A while later, the scent of the wolf’s meat pervaded the air, making Yi Chen gulp in anticipation.

His taste buds had been craving for a new taste all this while, so he didn’t make them wait for long.

The moment the meat was fully cooked, he immediately grabbed it and, not wasting a single second, took a large bite.

The crunchy texture and juicy flavour exploded in his mouth, giving his taste buds the exact sensation they were craving for.

"Delicious ~"

Yi Chen muttered, satisfaction evident in his voice.