I Tame Beasts by Feeding

Li Minghan and the others nodded. Without any pretense, they each took one of the Evil Jade Demon Flowers and, as Yu Changsheng had instructed, swallowed them.

Instantly, their expressions changed. They quickly closed their eyes to refine the flowers, their auras growing slightly chaotic. Specks of Evil Qi began to emanate from their bodies as their blood gave off a faint, crimson glow and their temperatures rose.

"Is the reaction this strong?"

Yu Changsheng was taken aback. He muttered to himself, scratching the back of his head. After a moment of thought, he formed a theory.

He looked at the last two Evil Jade Demon Flowers. After feeding one to Red Purgatory, he placed the other in his mouth, chewed it lightly, and swallowed. Other than a warmth spreading through him and his Physique strengthening by another sliver, he felt nothing else.

Watching the others, who were now bracing themselves to slowly digest the flower they had swallowed, Yu Changsheng nodded to himself.

’Perhaps this is the normal reaction. My physical body reached the Golden Core Level long ago, and my Divine Soul isn’t afraid of the impact from the Evil Qi. So naturally, this Evil Jade Demon Flower has little effect on me. For them, however, it’s a different story.’

Seeing this, Yu Changsheng was in no hurry. He rose to his feet and stood guard beside the three of them, acting as their Dharma Protector.

「An hour later」

It wasn’t long before Shen Xingchen and Zhang Tianwen opened their eyes at almost the same time. They slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, having finished their refinement.

"This Evil Jade Demon Flower is truly amazing."

Zhang Tianwen swung his arms vigorously, a series of CRACKLING sounds erupting from all over his body. His physical strength had improved considerably.

Shen Xingchen stretched languidly, looked at Zhang Tianwen, and nodded, a faint smile on his face as he spoke:

"Indeed. The natural world is full of countless Celestial and Earthly Treasures with wondrous properties. Only in a place like the Celestial Slaughter Secret Realm could such a peculiar thing be nurtured."

"I can feel it. Compared to before, our ability to adapt to this environment has improved tremendously. That oppressive feeling is finally gone."

Shen Xingchen sighed with emotion. "It’s just a shame. I can feel that for an ordinary human body, refining a single Evil Jade Demon Flower is already pushing the limit. Any more, and just as Changsheng said, our internal organs would begin to corrode."

As the others were talking, Li Minghan also finished his refinement and slowly stirred. A smile appeared on his face as he looked at them.

"Let’s keep moving forward. I do still have a use for these Evil Jade Demon Flowers," Yu Changsheng said slowly. He had glanced at the others and then at their surroundings; their earlier skirmish had already cleared out most of the nearby Ghost Trees and Evil Ghosts.

"Alright."

The three of them had no objections. They exchanged a look and nodded in agreement.

The four of them pushed forward continuously. Three days passed in a flash. During that time, Yu Changsheng found several more Evil Jade Demon Flowers. After he fed them all to Red Purgatory, it grew even stronger, but it was still just shy of breaking through the bottleneck to Tier Three.

After killing another Evil Ghost, Yu Changsheng glanced at his Evil Qi Token. His Evil Qi Points had risen to 380. He turned to look at the relaxed expressions on Zhang Tianwen and the others, and after a moment’s thought, he spoke softly.

"That’s about all there is to the first level of this Secret Realm. If you have no objections, how about we head to the second?"

"I’m fine with that."

Zhang Tianwen was the first to speak. Shen Xingchen also nodded his agreement, and after a brief moment of hesitation, Li Minghan smiled and nodded as well.

"Perfect. Grinding these mobs all the time was getting a bit boring anyway. If we want to find a real opportunity, we have to go to the second level. But... you all have to promise to protect me," Li Minghan said with a teasing chuckle.

"Deal." Yu Changsheng laughed, slapping his chest. He turned to look at the distant, Heaven-Reaching pillar of crimson light, and without further hesitation, took the lead and flew toward it.

This pillar of light, which had appeared the day before, was the passage to the second level of the Celestial Slaughter Secret Realm.

As they drew closer, the Evil Qi Tokens at their waists began to grow warm and vibrate gently.

Without any hesitation, the group linked hands and stepped into the pillar of light. In that instant, they were overcome with a dizzying sensation of the world spinning. When they opened their eyes again, the environment before them was completely different.

Zhang Tianwen opened his eyes, and after confirming that the group hadn’t been separated during the teleport, he took in the thick Blood Evil Qi around them. "The Evil Qi is much denser here," he said in surprise. "If we hadn’t taken the Evil Jade Demon Flower, we’d be hard-pressed to even move."

"Yes. It seems the deeper we go, the higher the Cultivation requirements," Shen Xingchen said softly, letting out a breath.

Yu Changsheng nodded as he surveyed their surroundings. They had landed in a dense, seemingly endless forest. Overall, this second level wasn’t drastically different from the first, except that the surging Evil Qi was much denser, and there were now two Hao Suns in the sky instead of one.

As the group was observing their surroundings, a sudden commotion up ahead instantly put them on alert.

The next moment, the undergrowth burst open, and a desperate figure stumbled out, fleeing in a blind panic. She kept glancing back over her shoulder as she ran, as if a terrifying beast was hot on her heels.

The fleeing figure was a woman in a slightly tattered green robe. Her unadorned face was a mask of panic, her brows tightly knitted, and a trickle of crimson blood ran from the corner of her mouth. As she flew at high speed, she had no time to compose herself, and her ample chest swayed eye-catchingly, adding a certain allure to her desperate flight.

"Isn’t that Jing Xueyi? Why does she look so pathetic? Is she being hunted?" Zhang Tianwen muttered, staring at the fleeing figure in confusion.

Yu Changsheng had noticed her as well. He gave a slight nod but made no rash moves, his gaze instead fixed on what was behind her: eight blood-red streaks of light. Inside were eight Cultivators, their Cultivation ranging from Late-stage Foundation Establishment to the Peak. As they watched Jing Xueyi’s desperate flight, their eyes gleamed with excitement, their faces twisted into cruel, bloodthirsty smiles, with flashes of lechery passing through their eyes.

"Run? Where do you think you can run? Since you’ve fallen into our hands and can’t fight back, why not just lie back and enjoy it?"

"I’ve been drooling over this little vixen for ages. This is the perfect chance to blow off some steam. Fucking hell, if things weren’t so tight back on the Martial Continent that we barely dared to move, I wouldn’t have been pent-up for this long."

"Little vixen, I told you to stop running! Just come to your Big Brother’s arms. I’ll be real good to you, HAHAHAHA..."

As the vulgar, lecherous shouts reached her, Jing Xueyi’s petite frame trembled. She bit her lip so hard her face grew even paler. Her eyes were filled with stubborn defiance, but deep within them, despair began to swirl.

She could all too easily imagine the fate that awaited her if she were caught by these men.

And so, the despair in her eyes deepened, threatening to consume her—until she saw Yu Changsheng and his party.

Like a drowning person grasping at a final straw, a brilliant light ignited in Jing Xueyi’s eyes. Without a moment’s hesitation, she changed course and flew toward Yu Changsheng’s group, crying out:

"Fellow Daoists of the Wanxiang Sect! Yu Changsheng! I am Jing Xueyi of the No-Mind Sect! The animals chasing me are from the Dark Stream! I implore you, senior brothers, please show mercy and save my life! I will be eternally grateful and reward you handsomely!"

The incident where Yu Changsheng had single-handedly suppressed Zhang Chengming of the Cang Lei Sect had left a deep impression on many, which was why Jing Xueyi recognized him.

As her voice faded, the expressions of the eight men chasing her darkened. They didn’t panic, however. Instead, they turned to face Yu Changsheng’s group, and one of them spoke in a sinister tone:

"Kid, I advise you not to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. Be careful when playing the hero saving the damsel—you might just get yourselves killed."

"Men from the Dark Stream?"

Yu Changsheng ignored their threats. His eyes narrowed as he watched the pitiful Jing Xueyi fly toward him, and he gave her a slow nod.