"Humph, there's not much I can do to help you. Cultivation is something you have to rely on yourself for. I hope you understand this," the Dark Golden Crow said, seeing Zhou Hong's excitement, and reminded him.
"Of course I understand. You just need to help me eliminate all the powerful enemies entering the sub-world, and that will be enough."
"Alright, then it's settled. I hope you will achieve something extraordinary in the future, as you say."
"I believe I will," Zhou Hong said with full confidence.
"The demonic beast I just killed, its demonic core, though not of great use, contains some spiritual energy. Quickly collect it."
Zhou Hong nodded and instantly collected a basketball-sized object floating in the air.
This object was the beast core of the demon beast that had just been killed. Refining beast cores would also help Zhou Hong's cultivation, but not by much.
Despite being a demonic beast core from the Spirit Condensation stage, the spiritual energy contained within was very thin. It would only be significantly useful for martial cultivators or those who had just begun their cultivation journey.
Zhou Hong instantly returned to the real world.
"Golden Crow Brother, from now on, we will communicate in our minds. You just speak, and I will be able to hear you," Zhou Hong said mentally.
"Fine, then stop wasting time. You are currently in the early Fusion stage. To cultivate and break through, you need ample spiritual herbs. Go and gather them first."
"But, spiritual herbs are not that easy to find," Zhou Hong sighed.
"There seem to be spiritual herbs in that cave ahead," the Dark Golden Crow guided Zhou Hong mentally.
Zhou Hong looked up. The cave the Dark Golden Crow mentioned was the Black Wind Cave, where the previous demonic beast had lived.
"You mean there are spiritual herbs in the Black Wind Cave? That cave is the one the demonic beast just lived in."
"Yes, hurry inside. That demonic beast lived in that cave all along, probably guarding something. If I'm not mistaken, there must be something good inside."
"Mmm hmm," Zhou Hong said excitedly and quickly entered the Black Wind Cave.
It was pitch black inside the cave, but Zhou Hong was not afraid at all. With the Dark Golden Crow's guidance, he was invincible. If there were any dangers in the cave, the Dark Golden Crow would definitely warn him.
As expected, when Zhou Hong reached the deepest part of the cave, he discovered a pool of water. At the bottom of the pool, there was a water plant emitting a blue light.
"See that water plant at the bottom of the pool? That's what the demonic beast was guarding. Although I don't recognize this low-grade spiritual herb, it looks pretty good," the Dark Golden Crow said in Zhou Hong's mind.
Zhou Hong immediately jumped into the pool and pulled out the water plant that was glowing blue.
"This water plant doesn't seem to be mature yet. Otherwise, the demonic beast wouldn't have guarded it; it would have eaten it already."
Zhou Hong said excitedly, "Golden Crow Brother, as far as I know, this is an eighth-grade spiritual herb."
"An eighth-grade spiritual herb? Is it very high grade?" The Dark Golden Crow seemed to lack a clear understanding, as in his mind, everything in the cultivation world was trash.
"Of course! If I could have obtained a fifth-grade spiritual herb before, that would have been amazing. Before I left, the patriarch of my clan said he would do his best to let me consume a fifth-grade spiritual herb within half a year. I never expected to get an eighth-grade spiritual herb directly."
"Oh! Then hurry up and use it."
"Okay." Zhou Hong wasted no more time and immediately sat down cross-legged in the cave. Originally, it would have been better to refine the spiritual herb into a pill, but Zhou Hong couldn't worry about that now. As long as the Dark Golden Crow was present, finding more spiritual herbs in the future would likely not be a problem.
Zhou Hong placed the eighth-grade spiritual herb in his palm and began refining it.
Time passed slowly.
Soon, half a month had passed.
Finally, Zhou Hong had completely refined this eighth-grade spiritual herb.
Zhou Hong felt spiritual energy continuously emanating from within him, flowing through his meridians and channels.
In this way, Zhou Hong's realm advanced from the early Fusion stage directly to the late Fusion stage.
"Golden Crow Brother, I've cultivated to the late Fusion stage," Zhou Hong said happily.
"What's there to be happy about? You've only improved two minor realms."
"Golden Crow Brother, you can't say that. In the cultivation world, each major realm is divided into early, middle, and late stages. To improve even one minor realm is extremely difficult. Moreover, I've advanced directly from the early Fusion to the late Fusion. If I hadn't obtained this eighth-grade spiritual herb, I don't know how long it would have taken me to break through to the late Fusion stage." Su Dan Novel Network
The Dark Golden Crow said nothing more.
"Now, if I were to take the entrance exam for the Primordial Academy, let alone be admitted, I would probably be in the top five hundred." Zhou Hong chuckled. On the Purple Heaven Continent, it had always been incredibly difficult to be admitted, and entering the top five hundred was even more unimaginable.
"Do you still need to go to the Primordial Academy now?" the Dark Golden Crow asked.
"Well, if I don't go to the Primordial Academy, then where should I go?"
"Never mind, going is fine too. The farther you travel and the more you see, the more opportunities you will discover." The Dark Golden Crow nodded.
"Then should I continue searching for spiritual herbs? There are still several months before the Primordial Academy's recruitment exam," Zhou Hong asked.
"As you wish. Spiritual herbs are not easy to find anyway."
"Uh, Golden Crow Brother, didn't you easily discover the spiritual herbs in this cave earlier? If we go to other forests, will we also be able to find more spiritual herbs quickly?"
"You're thinking too much. The reason I knew earlier was because I killed that demonic beast and obtained the information from its memories."
"Oh, I see. I thought you had some special method to quickly find hidden spiritual herbs."
"No," the Dark Golden Crow said directly.
"It's alright." Zhou Hong smiled wryly. If the Dark Golden Crow truly possessed such a powerful ability, he would have been incredibly fortunate. Searching the entire Sunset Mountain Range might have yielded an unknown amount of spiritual herbs. It was a pity that such heaven-defying things didn't exist in the world.
At this moment, Zhou Hong was unaware that in the imperial capital of the Purple Heaven Empire, more than a dozen disciples from the Qingfeng family had already returned to their clan. They had reported their encounter with Zhou Hong and their suspicion that he possessed Earth-grade or even Heaven-grade magical artifacts to their family.
Consequently, the patriarch of the Qingfeng family personally went to Zhou Hong's family, seemingly wanting to investigate whether Zhou Hong truly possessed such powerful artifacts. If it were true, the Qingfeng family would undoubtedly act without hesitation.