CHAPTER 7: INTO THE DEMONIC BEAST FOREST

Lu Chen felt a surge of power coursing through his body. Without hesitation, he threw a punch at the massive boulder before him, shattering it into pieces. That single strike carried the strength of ten thousand jin.

Just as he was rejoicing over the breakthrough in his cultivation, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, splattering it on the ground. The blood instantly corroded the earth beneath.

Feng Tiancheng quickly stepped forward to support him and examined his condition.

"I've been using my spirit qi to temporarily replicate the effect of the Yin Ocean Pearl, keeping the yin and yang of the twin fish in balance. But the Yin Ocean Pearl in the white fish is only an imitation. The fire poison from the Yang Ocean Pearl in the black fish has been suppressed for now, but it will continue to build up with each cycle. If we don't find the real Yin Ocean Pearl, then the next time it erupts, I won't be able to save you even if I give it my all."

As he spoke, Feng Tiancheng guided the flow of spirit qi within Lu Chen's body. He pressed his palms together, with his middle and index fingers slightly bent. Then he chanted an incantation and traced a sealing formation over the point where Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool was located, reinforcing the balance of yin and yang within him.

"So our next goal is to find the Yin Ocean Pearl, isn't it?" Lu Chen asked weakly as Fang Tiancheng supported him into the house they were living in.

After helping Lu Chen to his bed, Feng Tiancheng answered, "Yes. Aside from the Yin Ocean Pearl, we also need to retrieve the other missing pieces. The Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk is meant to be whole. Any missing part will throw the balance of yin and yang into chaos. If this continues, the consequences will only grow more severe."

Lu Chen lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts drifted through everything he had experienced over the years. His carefree childhood had ended when he was nine. After failing the test at Heavenly Pool Lake that year, his life had taken a sharp turn.

He had been ridiculed for having no talent and mocked for years, only to eventually step onto the path of cultivation at the cost of the lives of almost everyone in his village.

Now, he had finally made a breakthrough in his cultivation, but he discovered a critical flaw. The Twin-Fish Medallion within him was incomplete. If he wanted to survive, he had no choice but to keep pushing forward, grow stronger, and seize the treasures he needed.

Lu Chen recalled the old storyteller from his childhood, who used to spin tales of disgraced young masters rejected from marriage alliances or so-called "good-for-nothings" who rose from the ashes to lead their clans. Now, Lu Chen couldn't help but feel as if he had stepped into one of those stories himself, only his ending had yet to be written.

With those thoughts swirling in his mind, sleep gradually took hold of him.

Feng Tiancheng quietly pulled a blanket over Lu Chen. He watched as the Yin Fish and Yang Fish in Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool continued to circulate, releasing steady streams of spirit qi that gradually advanced his cultivation.

Feng Tiancheng let out a sigh. "This child truly has a difficult life. He may have been born with exceptional talent, but he has endured so much in just these past few days."

With that, Feng Tiancheng returned to the internal space of the Twin-Fish Medallion to continue recovering his strength. The internal space of the medallion had expanded nearly tenfold with the addition of the Yang Ocean Pearl, and the concentration of fire-element spirit qi had increased significantly. This time, he could clearly feel his recovery progressing at a much faster pace.

Based on the current recovery rate of his cultivation, Feng Tiancheng estimated that with a few more months of accumulation, he would return to the peak of the Qi Regulation Realm.

He turned his attention to another corner of the internal space of the Twin-Fish Medallion, which was a plot of farmland. Ever since the addition of the Yang Ocean Pearl had made this area accessible, he had begun transferring important spirit plants into it. The plants grew at ten times the speed of the outside world within this space, and that rate might increase even further in the future.

After that, Feng Tiancheng sat down cross-legged and began focusing on his recovery. An unshakable sense of urgency pressed upon him, urging him to restore his strength as quickly as possible. For a cultivator, such instincts were critical. They were often harbingers of things to come.

Time passed quickly. After merging the Twin-Fish Medallion into his body, Lu Chen's cultivation had advanced rapidly. However, with no clues about the whereabouts of the next piece of the Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk, he had no choice but to shift his focus to honing his combat techniques.

Aside from the Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Disk as a cultivation conduit, a vast number of cultivation arts and enchanted artifacts had also been developed across the Eastern Pole Continent. These were ranked by power into four tiers: Ordinary, Human, Earth, and Heaven. Heaven Tier techniques were the most powerful, but extremely rare. Ordinary Tier techniques were the weakest but also the most widely used among cultivators. As for the Human Tier, one martial technique or enchanted weapon alone was enough to spark fierce battles among countless cultivators.

Lu Chen trained daily in front of a wooden stake, practicing how to strike, how to dodge, and how to swiftly defeat his target.

During this time, he had already mastered the second form of the Golden Snake Nine Variations—Silver Snake Emerges From Its Lair. This technique focused on swift, aggressive movements, and also had a slight restraining effect. When Lu Chen unleashed it, his figure blurred, and two snake-like shadows shot out from the ground, shattering the wooden stake before him. As the illusions faded, he reappeared two meters away.

He had grown very familiar with this move. Golden Snake Nine Variations was only an Ordinary Tier movement art, but its potential was immense. If one could fully master all nine forms, its power could rival even a Heaven Tier technique. It might even lead to comprehending the legendary Nine-Dragon Cloning Art, as the Green Emperor had once done.

The first variation, Star-Serpent Cloud Concealment, was a pure evasive move that allowed the body to turn ethereal and slip away from enemy attacks. The second variation was Silver Snake Emerges From Its Lair. Lu Chen had gotten very proficient in this technique, but something about it still felt off.

He had felt the same thing when he used the cultivation art, Heaven-Splitting Six Yang Palms. It was a formidable Earth Tier technique Feng Tiancheng had earned through a fierce struggle for resources, and he had now bestowed it upon Lu Chen. Rumor had it that once fully mastered, the art could split the very heavens.

Lu Chen had only grasped a portion of it. However, when paired with the Yang Ocean Pearl within his body, it could unleash blazing flames capable of incinerating everything in its path.

The technique's power was impressive, but the problem was that each time Lu Chen used it, his spirit qi would be completely drained in a single strike. No matter how much his spirit qi grew, that one palm attack always left him completely depleted.

All of this left Lu Chen feeling deeply frustrated. He had started to sense that he had hit a bottleneck. He practiced his movement arts and strikes every day, but his moves were starting to feel awkward and stiff.

Lu Chen felt lost. Grandfather is still waiting to be rescued. The other pieces of the disk still need to be found. Yet, my progress has stalled. What am I supposed to do?

One day, Lu Chen sought out Feng Tiancheng and shared his doubts with him, hoping for guidance.

Feng Tiancheng explained, "Your cultivation power may have improved rapidly thanks to several fortunate encounters, but cultivation power alone isn't enough for you to survive in this world. You also need martial techniques and movement skills. Only with both can you handle your enemies with ease. But real mastery of martial techniques comes from life-and-death trials.

"You can still grow more familiar with your martial techniques and movement skills by practicing like this, but once you face real cultivators or demonic beasts, you'll likely find yourself overwhelmed. If you truly want to improve, you need to temper yourself through real life-and-death combat."

Lu Chen quickly grasped what he meant. "Then let's head out, Grandpa Feng. I've already looked into it. If we travel a bit further, we'll reach the area under the Heavenly Mandate Hall's control. The Demonic Beast Forest is there. We can go train by fighting demonic beasts, and while we're at it, maybe I can find a chance to join the Heavenly Mandate Hall and ask around about the identity token."

Feng Tiancheng nodded in agreement with Lu Chen's suggestion. He was still unfamiliar with the power distribution on the continent and could only take things step by step to understand what was going on in the outside world.

The next day, Lu Chen stored all the herbs, spirit plants, enchanted artifacts, and secret manuals back into the space within the Twin-Fish Medallion for future use. After that, the two of them set out for the Demonic Beast Forest.

Along the way, they made frequent stops to ask for news about Blindman Lu, but no one had any solid information. Eventually, they arrived at the forest.

Lu Chen stepped into a nearby tea stall and ordered a pot of tea. Inside, four to five groups of cultivators were eating dry rations and sipping tea.

Just then, Lu Chen overheard a group of cultivators discussing something unusual. The demonic beasts in the forest had gone berserk for an unknown reason. Apparently, a secret realm was about to open in a few days, and cultivators from all major sects were rushing over.

Lu Chen listened closely to their conversation. Since the forest was his next destination, he needed to gather as much information as he could.

He approached one of the cultivators and asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you know what's happening inside the Demonic Beast Forest? Could you tell me more?"

The cultivator gave Lu Chen a quick glance and replied, "I heard someone discovered Yin-Yang Sand near a secret realm deep in the forest. You know what that stuff is, right? Just a single grain can significantly boost the power of an enchanted artifact."

He paused, then added, "For some reason, the news leaked out. Now the Heavenly Mandate Hall is inviting others to explore the secret realm with them. Cultivators from all over are pouring in. I've heard that Violet Flame Fortress and Herb King Manor have already arrived. With treasure like that, there's bound to be a fight over it. People like us probably won't even get close."

A cultivator from another table of cultivators joined the conversation. "Fellow Daoist, I wouldn't say that. There are so many cultivators gathered here, and even the weakest are already at the Qi Regulation Realm. If we sneak in when the secret realm opens, they might not be able to stop us. Fortune favors the bold. If we're lucky enough to seize some resources, we could soar in the future."

Others around them voiced agreement.

After that, the two groups of cultivators got up and left without another word, heading straight toward the beast forest. The rest of the cultivators quickly followed, afraid they would miss the moment when the secret realm opened.

Lu Chen watched as the cultivators left one after another, feeling a strong urge to check out the secret realm himself. Nevertheless, those heading there were all at least in the Qi Regulation Realm, while he was only at the fifth level of the Qi Absorption Realm. Charging in now would be no different from throwing his life away.

Still, he had to go to the Demonic Beast Forest. Even if he couldn't take part, watching high-level cultivators battle from a distance would still be a valuable learning experience.

He shared his thoughts with Feng Tiancheng, who responded through the Twin-Fish Medallion. His voice echoed in Lu Chen's mind, calm but serious, "This is your first time entering the Demonic Beast Forest. Whatever you do, don't go too deep. You must remain cautious."

"I will, Grandpa Feng." Lu Chen replied. He then resumed drinking his tea as he quietly assessed his current situation.

He had already reached the fifth level of the Qi Absorption Realm. From here on, he needed to raise his cultivation level as quickly as possible and find a sect to join so he could investigate the identity token. His grandfather was still waiting to be rescued. Additionally, to prevent the fire poison within him from erupting again sooner or later, he needed to search for the remaining pieces of the Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk.

The weight of these burdens left Lu Chen with no choice but to grow stronger, and he had to do it quickly. Time was running out.

With that thought, he lost all desire to rest. His mind was already set on heading into the Demonic Beast Forest to begin his training.