Chapter 531: Chapter 337: Still No Advantage_2
Yan Xiaobao turned around and sighed, his entire body drenched in sweat because he had just escaped from the Black Shadow Rhinoceros Bird; however, this time he had successfully managed to injure the beast, even if it was just a small scratch.
"Perhaps I’m just not strong enough," Yan Xiaobao thought. He scanned his surroundings, and seeing that there were no animals nearby, he jumped into a tree, sitting cross-legged on a thick branch and closing his eyes.
As he closed his eyes, he saw Wang Julong, with Deng Wu behind her. He saw the Rong twins, Sha Yun, Ma Gong, Gao Yan, and even Xu Biao. All of them were etched into his mind. As he began cultivating, his resolve remained as firm as ever—only the strong have the right to determine their own future. Yan Xiaobao wished to return to his friends, but at this moment, he was too weak to even protect himself. Returning to his friends? That would only be possible once he became strong. Sitting under the tree, Yan Xiaobao’s breathing slowed down, becoming so faint that no one passing beneath the tree would be able to detect him. As Yan Xiaobao ventured deeper into the Divine Origin Border, he gradually realized that beasts capable of scanning the area using Beast Energy rarely scanned the trees above. They typically focused their searches on the ground, with only a few thinking to scan the treetops.
There were many reasons for this. Firstly, it cost them Fog Energy, and secondly, the forest was divided into two main areas: the Leaf Ocean and the forest floor. Although these two regions never overlapped, magical beasts living in the Leaf Ocean never descended to the forest floor, and those on the ground rarely climbed up into the Leaf Ocean.
Yan Xiaobao chose the treetops rather than the floor because of the beasts inhabiting this area. While the treetops contained numerous amazing insects, birds, monkeys, and reptiles, most of them were not territorial. Those inhabiting the area focused solely on guarding their territory and cared little about anything else.
Most of these insect beasts were quite weak. None of them were stronger than a practitioner level, which allowed Yan Xiaobao to protect himself easily. Even if a whole group arrived, they were hardly a threat to the white-haired boy. Fighting them was as simple as swatting ordinary flies in many ways.
It turned out that snakes in this area posed a bit of trouble, but their ranks were relatively low. Most possessed the strength of a Master level cultivator. When Yan Xiaobao allowed his Qi and spiritual energy to enter his body, their venom could be neutralized, flowing through the Dai Mai Meridian into his muscles, blood vessels, and bones, where it was eliminated entirely.
The most challenging creatures to avoid were the monkey family groups. There were many different types of monkeys and apes. For example, there was the Mellowed Dawn Ape, which typically wouldn’t attack unless provoked in some way. Though its usual temperament was mild, it was far from gentle when enraged.
As long as Yan Xiaobao remained vigilant and didn’t trespass into the territory of strong opponents or monkey and ape clans, he knew he would be safe.
Observing his current state, Yan Xiaobao sighed deeply, fully aware of his inability to fight—he was indeed weak. He sat down and retrieved a pill from his bag, popping it into his mouth.
’Wait. Stop!’ Lan Feng’s voice rang out in desperation. ’I understand you want to grow stronger, but you can’t rely solely on medicine pills to increase your strength. Your cultivation base will lose its balance and eventually shatter. You need to fight on your own!’
Hearing the concern in Phoenix’s voice, Yan Xiaobao couldn’t help but chuckle. ’I know.’ However, with a soft tone, he continued, ’I’m going to stay here until we break through to the Duke level. What I plan to do is take one pill a week and spend the rest of the week fighting magical beasts. This way, I can accumulate more real combat experience. I’ll also be able to manage my cultivation base to prevent it from breaking down due to overusing pills while collecting more Demon Cores and materials.’
Upon hearing his response, the bird chirped a few more times but eventually fell silent as Yan Xiaobao placed the pill in his mouth. It dissolved instantly into a liquid that coursed through his meridians. Yan Xiaobao sat down and began activating his Qi Swirl, sending strands rushing through his meridians. As they locked the liquid energy into the Qi Chain, they gradually adopted the same color as the strands. After a while, they matched in size and texture.
Once the newly created Qi Chain finished replicating the original chain, it released the original. The two chains merged and returned to the Qi Swirl within his body.
Ever since Xu Yue last used a pill, he preferred to cultivate using his own strength. Using pills, even just one, could throw one’s cultivation base into an unbalanced state—a precarious condition.
An unbalanced cultivation base didn’t mean one couldn’t use their energy; rather, the energy within them would vary in quality. This, in turn, caused their attacks to have inconsistent properties. Upon entering a serious battle, this could result in their demise.
Although this sounded dire, the likelihood of such an occurrence was quite low, which is why medicinal pills remained highly popular. The stronger the pill, the lower the chance of triggering any adverse effects.