"You are giving even a Demon King the cold shoulder?" Elder Zhen Peng's eyes opened wide as he cried out in alarm. Then, a look of admiration covered his face as he said, "The young master's broad ambitions is something the likes of us can't compare with."
Inwardly, Elder Zhen Peng was yelling miserably, Young master, if you don't want the Demon King, you can still subdue it and make it my mount, right? I will absolutely welcome him to my side!
Zi Changhe also shared Elder Zhen Peng's thoughts. Although he already had the elder wolf as a mount, the lightning condor king was much more powerful.
"Where is Little White?" asked Xiang Shaoyun when he did not see Little White around.
"He was still by my side when you went to gather the lightning, but shortly after, he went missing and still hasn't returned," Zi Changhe said guiltily.
"What an unruly kid. Looks like he is unwilling to stay idle and must have gone to grow strong himself as well," Xiang Shaoyun said nonchalantly, not putting any blame on Zi Changhe at all.
Little White had swallowed a demonic core and a tiger tooth, and he had also been fed a large number of old medicines and spirit medicines. He was already an Intermediate Demon, and he would be safe so long as he remained careful in the forest. More importantly, Little White had an extraordinary bloodline. Even if he encountered a demonic beast stronger than him, it was likely that the beast would not easily attack him.
"Should we wait for him, then?" Elder Zhen Peng asked.
Xiang Shaoyun said, "Since I have grown somewhat stronger, I will wait here. Both of you can return first." He paused and gave Zi Changhe a stalk of lightning transformation grass before saying, "Senior brother, take this. It might be helpful for you."
This was the low-grade lightning transformation grass Xiang Shaoyun had gotten from the lightning condor king. Zi Changhe cultivated the power of lightning. The lightning transformation grass would help weaken the destructiveness of lightning so as to help him better absorb lightning energy when cultivating.
"Ok. I have been searching for one of these for a long time, but in the end, you are the one to have found it for me," Zi Changhe said in excitement.
"Wait, young master, you have grown that much? You're now at the seventh stage!" Elder Zhen Peng cried out in alarm when he finally noticed the change.
Apart from the growth in Xiang Shaoyun's cultivation, Elder Zhen Peng also noticed the transformation of Xiang Shaoyun's body. He seemed like a completely new person, his skin sleek and tender yet robust. Even his presence felt much stronger.
Hearing his exclamation, Zi Changhe also studied Xiang Shaoyun. Shock filled his eyes. It had only been half a month since they last saw him. Increasing three stages in half a month was a speed so fast it was unimaginable.
"It's nothing worth mentioning. I am still stuck in the Astral Realm. Some powerful organizations have geniuses capable of reaching the King Realm at my age," Xiang Shaoyun said grimly. He was not lying. There were indeed King Realm cultivators his age.
Elder Zhen Peng and Zi Changhe were once again shocked speechless. It was also now that they finally had an inkling that Xiang Shaoyun was one who viewed the world from a completely different height from them.
Soon, both Elder Zhen Peng and Zi Changhe left.
"Well, since there is still a little bit of time, I'll properly temper my new strength," Xiang Shaoyun muttered. His cultivation level had increased, but he also needed to have a combat prowess matching his cultivation level.
He started striding toward a certain direction, his target the exit of the Hundred Beast Mountain Range. He wanted to leave this place relying on his own strength. When he came, Elder Zhen Pen had escorted him. Now, he wanted to rely on his own strength and fight his way out.
The moment he left the lightning condor's territory, demonic beasts attacked him. The demonic beasts in this part of the mountain range were not weak at all. They were at least Intermediate Demons, and Great Demons were aplenty as well.
Xiang Shaoyun did not dare to be careless as he advanced cautiously and quickly killed each demonic beast he encountered. Before long, a Great Demon blocked his path.
"Roar! Roar!"
It was a two-headed black canine, and it was a second-stage Great Demon. The two pairs of sinister canine eyes were glaring at Xiang Shaoyun as the beast bared its fangs. Its body, as sturdy as a cow's, was currently charging straight at Xiang Shaoyun.
A second-stage Great Demon was equivalent to a second-stage Transformation Realm human. And in terms of actual combat prowess, a second-stage Great Demon was comparable to a third-stage Transformation Realm human.
Any other Astral Realm cultivator meeting a Great Demon like this would have no choice but to flee. But Xiang Shaoyun did not do so. Rather, he strode forth to meet the beast. If others saw, they would think this young man had gone crazy. A seventh-stage Astral Realm cultivator battling a second-stage Great Demon was no different than suicide.
"Kill!" Xiang Shaoyun's battle intent surged as he advanced with his Lightning Spear.
Lightning Spear Technique!
Like a bolt of lightning, he dashed forward and stabbed forth with his spear. Strains of lightning immediately surfaced on his spear, flowed to the tip, then shot out in the form of a lightning bolt.
This was an attack far beyond what a seventh-stage Astral Realm cultivator should be able to unleash. In fact, this was an attack one normally needed to reach peak Astral Realm before they could unleash.
The two-headed black canine was much stronger than Xiang Shaoyun. It spat out a clump of black energy that transformed into a black ball. The black ball smashed down upon Xiang Shaoyun's lightning attack, completely shattering it.
The black ball continued rushing forward and arrived before Xiang Shaoyun in the blink of an eye. Xiang Shaoyun moved to the side, dodged the attack, and leaned against a tree. He then kicked the tree and darted toward the two-headed black canine.
But the two-headed black canine also reacted quickly. It roared before leaping, and it dodged Xiang Shaoyun's approaching spear before pouncing at Xiang Shaoyun. It clawed at Xiang Shaoyun with incredibly sharp claws. The claws were filled with an overbearing power capable of tearing even stones apart.
As of this moment, Xiang Shaoyun was still midair. It would thus be hard for him to dodge the attack. With no other option, he shielded his chest with the Lightning Spear to defend against the attack.
Clang!
The attack landed, creating a large amount of sparks, and it actually broke the Lightning spear in half! Part of the attack also reached Xiang Shaoyun, but fortunately, only his cloth was torn and he himself was uninjured.
With his cloth torn, the inner armor he was wearing was revealed. This was no regular inner armor. Rather, it was a king-grade inner armor. This was something he had received from the old drunkard, but he had never used it before now.
But after the lightning gathering incident, he had no choice but to be even more careful. Thus, he decided to put the armor to use. After all, nothing was more important than protecting his life.
Because of that, he was completely unhurt by the two-headed black canine's attack. In fact, after the attack landed, an opening appeared for him to attack.
Star Destroying Finger!
Before Xiang Shaoyun landed on the ground, his finger shot forward toward the two-headed black canine.
Bang!
The Star Destroying Finger launched a beam of purple lightning energy that arrived before one of the two-headed black canine's heads in the blink of an eye. The two-headed black canine was unable to react in time, and thus the attack struck it, causing it to yell in pain.
It was only now that Xiang Shaoyun finally landed on the ground. But as soon as his foot touched the ground, he dashed forward. At the same time, he pulled back his clenched fist. Purple electrical currents danced all over his body, and as he punched out, all the lightning energy shot out together.
Lightning Bolt Fist!