An expanse of rugged mountains and dense primeval forest stretched out, filled with towering ancient trees.
In a secluded patch of thick woods, a clearing lay where Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged.
The piercing sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled light upon Ye Yunfei's form.
Before him lay the dark, unassuming dagger.
"This single dagger forged from Void Profound Gold alone makes my journey to the Heavenly Beast Forest immensely worthwhile," Ye Yunfei smiled.
"Right, better to refine and assimilate it first."
Ye Yunfei began forming hand seals. Special sigils constructed from Spiritual Qi continuously condensed and flew from his hands, landing upon the dark dagger.
Finally, these sigils merged into the dagger itself.
Refining Void Profound Gold was a highly difficult task. An average martial artist, even upon obtaining such a dagger, would struggle immensely to refine it.
However, it posed no difficulty for Ye Yunfei.
As more and more sigils integrated, the dagger began to react, starting to tremble lightly.
Hummmm…
Waves of metallic vibration emanated from the dagger.
Approximately two hours later.
"Arise!"
Ye Yunfei suddenly uttered a light cry and pointed a finger.
Swoosh!
The dark dagger trembled violently, soared into the air, and shot towards Ye Yunfei's chest. With a sharp *whoosh*, it drilled into his chest and vanished without a trace.
Then, Ye Yunfei extended his palm. The dagger directly emerged from the center of his hand, grasped firmly, radiating a chilling, oppressive killing intent.
Boom!
Ye Yunfei casually waved his hand. The dagger flew from his grip, striking a giant tree in the distance, cleanly severing it at the waist. The tree collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Even as the giant tree rumbled to the ground, the dagger silently and mysteriously reappeared in Ye Yunfei's palm.
"Hah! Void Profound Gold truly lives up to its name! From now on, I shall call you Void Blade," Ye Yunfei laughed heartily.
Void Profound Gold could ordinarily merge with flesh and blood, hidden as part of the body.
When confronting an enemy, a mere thought would summon it forth; a wave of the hand would make it vanish.
Moreover, it possessed certain void-like properties, allowing it to conceal its form within space, coming without a shadow and leaving without a trace—profoundly mystical.
In combat, using it against foes made it the ultimate weapon for ambush!
This was precisely why Ye Yunfei valued Void Profound Gold so highly.
"I should rest properly now. Next, it's time to start hunting demonic beasts and collecting Bloodline Essence."
Ye Yunfei withdrew the dagger into his body and began circulating his energy, regulating his breath to recover Spiritual Qi. Refining the Void Blade had nearly depleted over half of the Spiritual Qi within him.
Several hours later, Ye Yunfei's Spiritual Qi was fully restored. He stood up and began to move, commencing his hunt for demonic beasts.
The dense forest was quiet and tranquil. Occasionally, small animals would leap through the woods; now and then, birds would startle and take flight.
Ye Yunfei moved with lightness and grace, gliding over the grass within the forest without making the slightest sound.
Simultaneously, he released his Soul Power, extending his perception into the surroundings.
Originally, it would be absolutely impossible for someone at the Body Tempering realm to possess Soul Power. Even Earth Realm experts could not possess Soul Power.
However, Ye Yunfei was special. Because Ye Yunfei was a Heavenly Emperor reborn, he retained a sliver of a Heavenly Emperor's Soul Power.
"Hmm? A second-tier demonic beast, a Blood Arrow Boar. Though weak, something is better than nothing. For cultivating the Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art, the more Bloodline Essence, the better."
Ye Yunfei's Soul Power detected a massive beast several hundred meters away. Its entire body was a vivid crimson, its skin as hard as rock.
The Blood Arrow Boar's size was nearly four or five times that of an ordinary wild boar. Its whole body was blood-red, sporting a pair of ghastly white tusks that resembled two sharp swords.
Ye Yunfei raised his foot and walked over.
Roar…!
The Blood Arrow Boar also discovered Ye Yunfei and immediately let out a furious roar.
Its pair of bloodthirsty beast-pupils fixed on Ye Yunfei. Its thick nostrils, dripping intermittently with foul red liquid, began to breathe violently, and its massive frame faintly emitted waves of red light.
This was the prelude to an attack.
Swoosh!
At that moment, a flash of black light streaked out. A dagger emanating a bone-chilling aura appeared at its throat and slashed fiercely.
Aaaaaargh…
The Blood Arrow Boar emitted a wretched howl, collapsing onto the ground littered with rotten branches and dead leaves. It thrashed desperately, shaking the entire forest.
After a few breaths, all sound ceased.
"The Void Blade's power is quite satisfying," Ye Yunfei remarked with approval.
"By the laws of my demonic power, I extract the bloodline essence of all beings!"
Ye Yunfei arrived beside the Blood Arrow Boar's corpse, took out a bottle, placed it on the ground, formed hand seals, and chanted softly.
The Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art was an inherited technique of the True Demon Race. Once activated, it could refine the bloodlines of all living beings with overwhelming dominance.
"Refine!"
Ye Yunfei uttered a light cry, sending several sigils saturated with Demonic Qi into the Blood Arrow Boar's enormous body.
Immediately, strands of bloody mist began to rise from the still-warm flesh and blood of the beast, slowly drifting into the bottle.
A short moment later, the bottle contained several drops of strikingly bright crimson blood, faintly shimmering with peculiar symbols.
These few drops of blood were the Blood Arrow Boar's Bloodline Essence!
By now, the Blood Arrow Boar's corpse on the ground had turned into a pile of residual dust, gradually scattering with the wind!
"No way… such a large demonic boar yielded only these few drops of Bloodline Essence? How many demonic beasts do I need to kill to collect enough?" Ye Yunfei couldn't help but stare in dismay.
"Fine. Since things have come to this, there's no other choice. I'll just have to speed up and hunt demonic beasts diligently."
Ye Yunfei gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
After that, Ye Yunfei continued to venture deeper.
Whenever he encountered a demonic beast, he immediately took action.
Second-tier demonic beasts were almost always instantly killed by Ye Yunfei—resolved with a single move.
Third-tier demonic beasts were much stronger in terms of power, speed, and reaction ability. Moreover, they possessed various special innate talents.
But with his Soul Power, movement techniques, Void Blade, and Soul-Devouring Needles, Ye Yunfei could slay a third-tier demonic beast in just a few moves.
For an entire day, Ye Yunfei operated like a machine, tirelessly and frenziedly hunting demonic beasts everywhere.
On that day alone, Ye Yunfei slaughtered over five hundred demonic beasts! Some were second-tier, others third-tier.
Approximately ten bottles of Bloodline Essence were collected.
Night fell.
"Still far from enough," Ye Yunfei murmured, sitting cross-legged on a flat area amidst the mountains. Looking at the ten bottles of Bloodline Essence placed before him, he couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.
"It seems that the outer regions of the Heavenly Beast Forest are mostly inhabited by first- to third-tier demonic beasts. Lower-tier demonic beasts contain pitifully small amounts of Bloodline Essence.
Alright. Starting tomorrow, I'll enter the central region of the Heavenly Beast Forest.
It's said that the central region is inhabited by demonic beasts with strength ranging from the fourth to the ninth tier.
The quantity of Bloodline Essence that can be collected there is sure to be much greater," Ye Yunfei spoke to himself.
If people knew that a mere kid at the Body Tempering Sixth Level intended to enter the central region of the Heavenly Beast Forest alone, they would surely be utterly shocked.
Even an Earth Realm expert would need to proceed with extreme caution upon entering the central region!
If one encountered a ninth-tier demonic beast, even an Earth Realm expert would flee at the mere rumor of its presence!