As soon as the interval for taking the medicine was over, Chu Kong swallowed another Jade Fragrance Pill, and the spiritual power that had already recovered by more than half instantly became vast and abundant.

He ambled along the mountain forest, with dozens of spirit beasts following behind Nie Kong, their incessant roars and snarls shaking the mountains and rivers.

"That fellow is really lucky."

As Nie Kong sensed Xiao Cheng’s luck, he couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. Merely because the spirit beasts attacking Xiao Cheng had blocked his path for a few seconds, Xiao Cheng was teleported out of the Illusory Mulberry Space at the last moment, thereby escaping his “Mountain Shattering Strike…”

Chu Kong didn't particularly care about Xiao Cheng's escape.

Of course, Nie Kong was still very regretful that he couldn't keep him this time, after all, Xiao Cheng had intended to take his life, and he had almost succeeded.

If such a life-and-death hatred wasn't settled, what spiritual power was Chu Kong cultivating for? He might as well wait for his bloodline to erupt and die.

Fortunately, he still had plenty of time in the Spirit Control City, so he wasn't in a hurry.

Failing this time meant trying again next time.

Now that he had safely passed the crisis brought about by the "Shadow Flowing Light Beast" and Xiao Cheng, Nie Kong no longer needed to be cautious about anything.

Nie Kong’s reliance was the pale red pill he had taken when struggling with the "Shadow Flowing Light Beast"!

Yesterday, while refining the "Spiritual Flower Ascending Dragon Pill," Chu Kong accidentally discovered that the medicinal properties of the "Blood Scale Thorn" and the "Bitter Zen Flower" were extremely compatible. Thus, he spent an entire day taking the "Blood Scale Thorn" and the "Bitter Zen Flower" as primary ingredients, combining them with other medicinal herbs to refine a new medicine.

"Blood Zen Pill!"

This was the name Chu Kong gave the new medicine, taking one character from each of the two main ingredients.

The properties of the "Blood Zen Pill" were extremely peculiar. After consumption, it emitted a strange fragrance from the body, which could interfere with the senses of spirit beasts attracted by the "Blood Scale Thorn," causing them to regard the person who took the "Blood Zen Pill" as one of their own kind, thus refraining from attack.

The only pity was that this was a third-grade medicine, only effective against third-grade and lower spirit beasts. If they encountered a fourth-grade spirit beast, the interfering effect of the "Blood Zen Pill" would likely be greatly diminished, perhaps even nullified. Of course, this was just Nie Kong's deduction based on the medicinal power.

Furthermore, the activation process of this "Blood Zen Pill" was somewhat slow, requiring at least ten minutes. When struggling with the "Shadow Flowing Light Beast," Nie Kong had reached into his robes to retrieve the "Blood Zen Pill" early for it to take effect sooner.

Later, Nie Kong was caught up to by Xiao Cheng while searching for a place to recover his spiritual power. As he fled, the "Blood Zen Pill" finally took effect. Consequently, Nie Kong secretly channeled his spiritual power, taking out the "Blood Scale Thorn" from his pet bag, and stalling Xiao Cheng with words to allow the fragrance of the Blood Scale Thorn to spread.

At that time, the exchange between the two was sharp, appearing outwardly calm, but the situation was extremely perilous for Nie Kong. If Xiao Cheng had acted prematurely, Nie Kong would have been in danger.

Fortunately, that fellow was exceedingly pretentious, advocating both "not taking life" and "benevolence," which allowed Nie Kong to turn the tables and win. Relying on the spirit beasts attracted by the "Blood Scale Thorn," he managed to give the elegant Xiao Cheng a terrible time, almost costing him his life.

Now, possessing the "Blood Scale Thorn" and the "Blood Zen Pill"... was tantamount to having two powerful cheat codes, making the Grand Hall Competition effortlessly achievable.

Moreover, Nie Kong was not afraid of Xiao Cheng spreading rumors. If necessary, he could simply place the "Blood Scale Thorn" and the remaining "Blood Zen Pills" into his pet bag and claim that Xiao Cheng was cheating. No one—not even the Vice Hall Masters and instructors of the Spirit Control City—would doubt him, nor would they find any evidence!

"Hiss!"

A sharp, low hiss suddenly startled Nie Kong awake, immediately followed by a thick, black shadow charging out of the dense forest ahead.

Nie Kong felt a gust of foul air rush towards him, and a huge, round belly rushed before his eyes. Two lantern-like eyes stared down at him, their icy gaze and the tongue occasionally flicking out from the gaping maw sending shivers down his spine.

"This giant snake must be extremely close to the fourth grade!"

Seeing the thick, massive body of the black snake, Nie Kong's heart skipped a beat. He remained perfectly still, letting the scarlet snake's tongue flicker right before his eyes. Only when it hissed, lowered its belly, and began to drag its body sluggishly across the ground did Nie Kong secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Nie Kong did not have any reference data for this giant snake in his mind, but judging by its initial reaction, he could roughly estimate its strength.

Even typical third-grade spirit beasts, such as the "Shadow Flowing Light Beast," would hesitate momentarily when looking at Nie Kong, rather than immediately targeting him. As for second-grade spirit beasts, upon sensing the aura of the "Blood Zen Pill," they didn't even have that brief moment of hesitation.

Only this black snake stared directly at Nie Kong for nearly a full minute before being influenced by the "Blood Zen Pill's" aura. This proved that Chu Kong's judgment about the "Blood Zen Pill" was correct: this medicine probably had little effect on spirit beasts above the fourth grade.

It was true that for spirit beasts of higher grades, the fragrance of the "Blood Scale Thorn" was less effective at interfering with their senses. It was logical that the "Blood Zen Pill," mainly refined from it and the "Bitter Zen Flower," would exhibit this limitation. If the "Blood Zen Pill" worked on all spirit beasts, wouldn't he be invincible?

What reassured Nie Kong was that in this Illusory Mulberry Space, specifically set up for the Grand Hall Competition, fourth-grade spirit beasts would not appear. A spirit beast like the black snake, which was extremely close to the fourth grade, must already represent the peak of the spirit beasts present in the Illusory Space. Since the Blood Zen Pill could affect it, Nie Kong could traverse the entire Illusory Space.

"Even the most formidable spirit beasts have been drawn over by the Blood Scale Thorn. Wouldn't it be a waste just to wander around inside the Illusory Space?"

Looking at the group of nearly sixty spirit beasts surrounding him, Nie Kong felt a stirring in his heart, and a strange smile involuntarily curled the corner of his lips. "Luo Sheng, didn't you want to take my life in this Illusory Space? Then the delicacies I've prepared will be for you to enjoy!"

In a flash, Nie Kong unreservedly mobilized all the spiritual power in his body using the "Primal Life Rejuvenation Art," unleashing the "Flying Flower Shadow Dance" to its utmost. Amidst the piercing sound of air tearing, Nie Kong's figure darted through the mountain forest like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, moving with lightning speed.

As Nie Kong sped on, the "Blood Scale Thorn" also moved rapidly, and the spirit beasts attracted by it became even more frenzied.

"Roar!"

"..."

Amidst a chorus of savage roars, dozens of spirit beasts leaped and descended simultaneously!

In an instant, it was like ten thousand horses stampeding; the ground trembled, the trees shook, and a thick, foul wind howled past, earth-shattering, darkening the sky and shifting the clouds...

"Bang!"

Outside a valley, a Spirit Control City disciple was completely bewildered by the spirit beasts that suddenly appeared and fled. This spirit beast had chased him for dozens of miles, leaving him exhausted. He had already made up his mind to use the "Jade Pattern Evasion Talisman" to escape; after all, being an Inner City disciple was important, but life was more important.

However, just as he clenched the "Jade Pattern Evasion Talisman" in his right hand, the spirit beast suddenly abandoned him and rushed forward.

The spirit beast showed him mercy?

He gasped for breath, momentarily confused, then quickly dismissed the question and sat down cross-legged. After fleeing for so long, if he didn't recover his spiritual power quickly, once discovered by other spirit beasts or fellow disciples, he would have no ability to fight back and could only leave.

"Rumble!"

At that moment, the ground ahead suddenly began to shake violently. In the blink of an eye, the vibration intensified, causing the surrounding scenery to tremble intensely.

The Spirit Control City disciple felt great surprise. Earthquakes in the Illusory Space? He had never heard of such a thing!

In a moment of distraction, he looked up in the direction where the rumbling sound came from, only to see the surrounding mountains shaking, with turbulent smoke and dust soaring hundreds of meters into the sky. Then, several high-pitched roars erupted from the shaking forest, making his ears buzz incessantly.

Damn it, this wasn't an earthquake; it was clearly a horde of spirit beasts!

The Spirit Control City disciple was terrified, and just as he was about to stand up, his eyes instantly widened like two bells. At the edge of his vision, colossal figures rushed out like lightning—nearly a hundred spirit beasts appearing simultaneously, including the one that had been pursuing him relentlessly!

He nearly fainted, his right hand trembling as he once again gripped the "Jade Pattern Evasion Talisman." If he delayed any longer, he feared he would be torn to shreds by this group of spirit beasts. However, just as he prepared to activate the talisman, he froze, his eyes staring blankly at the sight ahead.

At the forefront of nearly a hundred spirit beasts, there was a black shadow sprinting at high speed. The closest spirit beast was only a few meters away from the person, yet that figure showed not the slightest hint of panic, even cheerfully waving a palm towards him.

Yes, he was waving at him!

The Spirit Control City disciple was stunned. By the time he snapped out of it, the person and the nearly one hundred spirit beasts were only twenty to thirty meters away, instantly startling him, and the talisman slipped from his grasp. For a moment, he was terrified and hastily bent down, trembling, to retrieve it.

"Whoosh! Hoooo..."

Gusts of foul wind howled past. When he finally managed to channel spiritual power into the "Jade Pattern Evasion Talisman," he realized all the spirit beasts had charged past him, about ten meters away. The man in black was still running at the very front of the entire horde, looking as if he were strolling leisurely—extremely relaxed and unhurried.

"What... what is going on?"

The Spirit Control City disciple stood there with his mouth wide open, staring blankly at the receding figures of the dark-clothed man and the group of spirit beasts in the distant forest. After a long while, he awoke as if from a dream, muttering to himself, "A divine being! Truly a divine being! Which branch hall does this fellow belong to? He provoked such a huge swarm of spirit beasts and is completely unharmed? He certainly isn't an Inner City disciple... he doesn't have the badge for Inner City disciples on his clothes..."

—Second update delivered. There will be another update tonight! The following scenes will be very thrilling, brothers and sisters, please support with monthly votes if you have any!