Towering ancient trees pierced the sky in the mountain forest.
Fierce birds of prey perched among them, emanating a savage aura.
Zhou Yan circulated his movement technique, leaping through the dense woods like a flying arrow, constantly advancing.
"Huh? A smell of blood?"
A moment later, he frowned and whispered.
Following the scent of blood, he arrived by a river.
At this moment, a giant egg was suspended above the river.
"This is... a Golden Crow egg!"
Zhou Yan's eyes lit up with surprise and joy.
He had heard before that Golden Crow eggs contained strange energy and were a great tonic.
"Hahaha..."
Zhou Yan let out a wild laugh and reached out to grab it.
"Hmph? This ant actually wants to snatch my food? He's courting death!"
An enraged roar echoed from within the Golden Crow egg, followed by a fiery red figure that burst forth, launching an aerial assault.
It was a Crimson Flame Bird, its wings spread wide, spanning two meters.
Its entire body blazed with fierce flames, and its sharp talons, like hooks, glinted with cold light.
"A petty trick!"
Zhou Yan disdained it, his right arm muscles bulging as he threw a punch to meet the attack.
The fist's power ripped through the air, vibrating the void with the sound of roaring wind and thunder.
This punch landed heavily on the Crimson Flame Bird's talons.
The Crimson Flame Bird let out a piercing shriek, its body sent flying backward, crashing violently into distant trees.
Boom!
The thick tree snapped on the spot, disintegrating into wood chips that scattered.
Zhou Yan stood his ground, unmoving, while the Crimson Flame Bird was blasted away, falling heavily to the ground.
It struggled to get up, its body covered in blood, its wings damaged, and a large bloody hole in its abdomen.
Zhou Yan's punch had actually pulverized one of the Crimson Flame Bird's talons!
"Such immense brute strength!"
"I surrender... I admit defeat, please spare my life..."
The Crimson Flame Bird was utterly terrified, groaning and begging for mercy.
"Only admitting defeat now? Too late!"
Zhou Yan coldly shouted, stepping forward and raising his hand for another punch.
Bang!
The Crimson Flame Bird cried out and was sent flying again, falling into the dust.
Blood splattered, and the Crimson Flame Bird's body twitched twice before falling completely still.
"As expected of an innate fierce beast. The strength of this punch is no less than that of a demigod. No wonder those martial cultivators suffered setbacks."
Zhou Yan mused to himself.
"Huh, this demonic bird is actually a chick?"
Zhou Yan squatted down and examined it, his face suddenly filled with delight.
In the center of the demonic bird's abdomen was a jade-green bead, the size of an infant's fist. It was cylindrical, crystal clear, as if cast from pure jade.
Within the green bead, immense vitality was contained.
"It's actually a Pure Yang Azure Luan!"
Zhou Yan examined it closely for a moment, his face flushed with excitement as he murmured.
The Pure Yang Azure Luan was a rare spiritual beast, rumored to be born in the Sun Palace.
These spiritual beasts were nurtured by the Sun Palace.
It was said they possessed mystical abilities from birth, and once adult, they could easily defeat demigod-level experts!
Furthermore, their blood could enhance a martial cultivator's aptitude for cultivation.
"Haha, I didn't expect to find a raw gem here."
Zhou Yan grinned and reached out to grasp the Pure Yang Azure Luan chick.
Suddenly, the Azure Luan chick let out a sharp cry and abruptly spread its wings, soaring high.
"Not good!"
Zhou Yan's face turned pale with alarm. Just as he was about to stop it, it was already too late.
The Pure Yang Azure Luan chick instantly vanished into the depths of the dense forest.
"Damn it..."
Zhou Yan gnashed his teeth in frustration.
The Pure Yang Azure Luan chick seemed to have sensed the dangerous aura emanating from Zhou Yan and fled in haste.
"Forget it, I'll have to find another opportunity!"
Zhou Yan sighed, turned, and swept towards the outer reaches of the mountain range.
...
In a secluded valley, Zhou Yan sat on a rock, gazing at the Azure Luan chick in his hand, lost in thought.
"How could a spiritual beast of this caliber end up in such a remote wilderness?"
Zhou Yan stroked his chin.
This mountain range was filled with dense demonic energy, which most martial cultivators avoided, not daring to venture deep.
Yet, this Pure Yang Azure Luan had nested and laid eggs here.
Could it be... a demonic beast egg?
"Never mind, whatever demonic beast egg it is, I'll hatch it first."
Zhou Yan shook his head and activated the "Nine Dragons Swallowing Sun Art," guiding the vital energy within the Azure Luan chick into his meridians.
"Nngh..."
The Azure Luan chick writhed in pain, letting out muffled cries.
"It seems the mother of this Azure Luan chick must also be an innate fierce beast. They contain a trace of innate pure energy within them, which can help martial cultivators temper their muscles and bones, increasing their combat power!"
Zhou Yan pondered for a moment and decided to give up for now.
Because the cultivation technique he practiced was the "Chaos Star Art," the most suitable for humans in the memory of the Immortal Emperor.
This technique was said to be able to contain all races and absorb various elemental energies from them.
Therefore, the vital energy within this Azure Luan chick was of little use to Zhou Yan.
After all, his physique was too monstrous. Relying solely on this vital energy to cleanse his meridians would instead harm him.
"Since that's the case, I'll use this Azure Luan chick as medicinal material!"
Zhou Yan took out various spirit herbs from his embrace and threw them on the ground, starting to burn them.
This spirit herb was crimson all over and emitted a scorching aura.
"Vermillion Bird Grass..."
This was a three-thousand-year-old spirit herb, worth a considerable amount.
Zhou Yan rubbed his palms.
Then, he took out a dagger, dug a pit, and buried all the spirit herbs.
Afterward, Zhou Yan took out two bottles of water, pouring one over the Azure Luan's carcass and sprinkling the other on it.
Hiss hiss hiss...
Instantly, the remaining impurities turned into ashes.
He then wrapped these potent impurities with his true energy and slowly integrated them into the Azure Luan's body.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Yan's eyes slowly opened.
"Success? The medicinal efficacy within this Azure Luan has been completely absorbed!"
Zhou Yan was exhilarated.
He felt that the bloodline power of this Pure Yang Azure Luan chick was several times stronger than he had anticipated.
This medicinal efficacy had allowed Zhou Yan to condense four dragon patterns!
"Although it's a bit less, it's still good!"
Zhou Yan nodded in satisfaction.
"Chirp chirp!"
Suddenly, the Azure Luan chick leaped up, flew into the air, circled Zhou Yan once, and finally plunged into his forehead, disappearing.
"Heh heh..."
Zhou Yan chuckled lightly: "This Pure Yang Azure Luan probably mistook me for someone who was going to eat it."
"This is good, too, lest it keep following me."
"Next, it's time to search for other spiritual treasures."
Zhou Yan's eyes gleamed with sharpness.
He wore a black robe and a hooded cloak, concealing his face, and quickly left the area, speeding towards the depths of the mountain range.
"Hmm? There's actually a spirit spring here?"
Suddenly, Zhou Yan's eyes lit up, and he immediately leaped into the spirit spring.
Splash splash...
Zhou Yan's movements were agile as he concealed himself beside the spirit spring, observing the surroundings.