Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 235 Heart-Corroding

Fang Qing flew through the air on his sword, occasionally using his divine sense to converse with the two women of the Wang family.

These two female cultivators, both at the early stage of Core Formation, were quite adept at interpersonal relationships and seemed to have a subtle intention to become friends.

Fang Qing naturally revealed his true name, that he was the former flattering "Guest Elder Bai"—"Bai Jianfeng"!

"Brother Bai, are you truly devoted to the way of the sword..."

Wang Ziqin offered a few words of praise, then suddenly said, "That osprey beast has been entrenched in one place for quite some time and hasn't left... that must be its lair." *Sizzle!*

Fang Qing flew another hundred miles and saw a small island.

The island is shrouded in a hazy mist, exuding a faint spiritual aura, with one side of its black cliffs as straight as a knife.

Stab it!

Strands of azure lightning continuously struck the rocks, giving the cliff a metallic sheen.

"Luo Lei Cliff?"

The carriage paused, and Wang Zixuan flew out. Upon seeing this scene, a hint of joy appeared on her face: "I once read in the 'Eastern Sea Gazetteer' that such lightning-fallen cliffs are prone to giving birth to treasures with lightning and metal attributes... Could it be that the osprey beast chose this place as its nest to absorb some lightning power to temper its body?"

"And this island, hidden deep in the mist, also has a spiritual vein... If it weren't for this beast leading the way, it would have been really hard to find."

Wang Ziqin felt a little regretful.

If it weren't for the fact that outsiders had been invited, using this place as a secret branch of the Wang family after slaying that osprey beast would have been excellent. *Screech!*

Just then, a cry of an eagle pierced through the clouds from the cliff.

A third-tier demonic beast with the body of a fish and the head of an eagle, but with wings and sharp claws, rode the black gale and quickly took flight.

However, its demonic energy was insufficient, only around the lower third rank. It also had a wound on its abdomen, bleeding profusely; even with its demonic beast physique, the bleeding hadn't been completely stopped. "Haha, what a beast!"

Seeing the black wind blades attacking, Fang Qing laughed and cursed, and took the initiative to attack.

A highly refined sword aura, like a white ribbon, instantly shattered nine wind blades.

He merged with his sword, transforming into a beam of sword light, and engaged in fierce combat with the osprey beast.

"I need to get serious. I can kill this monster with a single sword strike. But where does the danger lie?"

While battling the osprey beast, Fang Qing was also thinking about the divination he had performed earlier.

If he hadn't come here on his own initiative and become a benefactor, these two Core Formation female cultivators would have surely perished.

What could cause the deaths of two early-stage Core Formation cultivators must have been no ordinary danger.

Fang Qing feigned a fight, and dozens of moves had already passed in the blink of an eye.

The osprey beast was struck by several sword energies, its scales shattering one by one. Enraged, it let out an even sharper cry: "Screech!!!" "Sister, let's join the fight too."

A purple jade sword appeared in Wang Ziying's hand. She looked at her sister, who was holding a zither, and was about to make a move when her expression suddenly changed.

A dark cloud approached at an extremely fast speed, emanating the mana fluctuations of a peak mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, along with wisps of demonic energy.

"Who dares to harm my spirit pet?"

With a hoarse voice, the dark clouds dispersed, revealing a black-robed cultivator. He appeared to be a young man with a hooked nose and slightly graying temples. He possessed both the youthful vigor of his prime and a somber, aged air. This blend of two distinct qualities made his aura all the more profound and unique, leaving an unforgettable impression at first glance.

"It's the Heart-Eating Hermit? You...you've actually reached the mid-stage of Core Formation?"

Wang Zixuan was taken aback: "Wait... you actually practiced demonic arts?"

This Heart-Eating Hermit was quite famous in the nearby seas during his youth, a renowned genius whose talent was only slightly inferior to that of a Heavenly Spiritual Root. However, he was arrogant and offended many people. When he was forming his Golden Core, he was plotted against, not only was his core-forming process disturbed, but the spiritual object he was forming was also tampered with. As a result, he barely managed to condense a low-grade True Core, which was of poor quality even among low-grade True Cores.

The quality of a True Core is closely related to cultivation during the Core Formation stage. As a result, the Heart-Eating Hermit has been stuck in the early stages of Core Formation for many years, and rumors have gradually spread that he has run out of talent. His personality has become increasingly eccentric, and in recent years, there have been rumors of his bloodthirsty nature. "Now it seems that this bloodthirsty nature is probably not just a rumor, but rather that he has fallen into the demonic path, deliberately killing cultivators to extract their essence and blood for cultivation..."

Wang Ziqin's heart stirred.

There are far too many cultivators in the East Sea cultivation world who are stuck at bottlenecks and lack cultivation aptitude, and then fall into demonic possession in a moment of delusion!

But the Heart-Eating Hermit was clearly different. After cultivating demonic arts, his cultivation truly advanced by leaps and bounds, breaking through the bottleneck from the early to mid-stage of Core Formation. He was quite a figure in the surrounding sea regions. However…

With her sister's help and the Wang family's backing, she was equally confident.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Shi Xin... I am Wang Ziqin from the Wang family. My sister and I came here to hunt demonic beasts. Fellow Daoist said that this fish-eagle beast is your spirit pet. Do you have any proof?" Wang Ziqin asked in a long voice, holding her zither.

If this monster is indeed a spirit pet, then she can simply apologize and leave.

But if this Heart-Eating Hermit tries to take advantage of the situation, the Wang family is not one to be trifled with.

"Hehe...good, very good!"

The Heart-Eating Hermit sneered, looking at Wang Ziqin: "Two lowly servants, how dare you insult me?"

He made a hand seal, and streams of black energy spread out, transforming into countless black snakes that swept across the area.

"Demon! You have fallen to evil!"

Wang Ziqin plucked the strings of her zither with her delicate hands, sending wave after wave of sound waves flashing through the air.

The countless black snakes were suddenly struck by a calamity, and many of them broke apart.

This fairy from the Wang family, Wang Ziqin, actually cultivates music-related techniques.

Furthermore, she also realized that this Heart-Eating Hermit had already fallen into demonic possession, and that what he said before was just an excuse.

Their real purpose is probably the essence and true core within the sisters and that sword cultivator!

For a Core Formation demonic cultivator, essence blood and true cores of the same level are naturally highly nourishing.

Furthermore, after mastering the basics of demonic arts, one's cultivation will indeed experience a period of rapid advancement, and it is less picky about aptitude, making it a boon for many with low aptitude. However, cultivating by consuming the essence and blood of other cultivators naturally has hidden dangers. The price might be the corruption of one's divine consciousness, leading to madness, or even encountering a lifelong bottleneck in future cultivation! But clearly, this logic no longer applies to the current Heart-Eating Hermit.

"Fellow Daoist...you deal with that osprey beast, and leave this demonic cultivator to us sisters."

Wang Ziqin transmitted a message to Fang Qing, and then grabbed her younger sister's hand.

The sisters, who had been connected at birth and had cultivated a special combined attack technique, now had their magical power working together, and were even faintly approaching the mid-stage of the Core Formation realm! Clang!

As Wang Ziqin plucked the strings of her zither, invisible sound waves spread throughout the void, carrying a sharp killing intent.

"Haha...good timing."

Shi Xin Sanren laughed loudly, took out a pitch-black ancient bell from his bosom, made a hand seal, and bit his tongue.

A stream of blood essence sprayed onto the ancient bell.

The ancient bell suddenly floated in mid-air, growing to the size of a house, with ancient seal characters appearing on its surface.

As the bell rang, countless black threads shot out from within the bell, sweeping towards the Wang Ziqin sisters.

"not good!"

Wang Ziqin's face changed color, and a string on her zither suddenly snapped: "What a powerful treasure... This Heart-Eating Hermit has been hiding for many years, not only advancing to the mid-stage of Core Formation, but also obtaining such a treasure?" Just as she was being devoured by the music, countless dark, fine threads had already attacked.

Wang Ziying immediately straightened his purple jade sword and slashed it in the air.

A flash of purple light transformed into streaks of purple flames, scorching the two sisters.

The true core's power surged, and the flames grew even hotter, yet the thin, black lines barely melted. They struck the two's true core protective shields, making a crisp sound like raindrops pattering on banana leaves. "Sister, my core power..."

Wang Ziying exclaimed in surprise, sensing the change in the elixir: "It's poisonous!"

She looked at the thin black lines, and a look of apprehension appeared on her face.

The two Wang sisters' internal energy collapsed simultaneously, and their auras instantly weakened considerably.

"Haha... How does this 'Black Poison' taste?"

The Heart-Eating Hermit laughed heartily, unleashing his natal magic weapon—a jet-black iron fork—which transformed into a two-headed giant python in mid-air, relentlessly closing in. This "Black Poison Bell," a rare treasure he acquired alongside the demonic cultivation technique, not only possessed sonic attacks, but its accompanying "Black Spirit Silk" was also extremely troublesome. It excelled at breaking through various protective shields of true core energy and was also highly poisonous! It would corrode the cultivator's body along the true core's power, like a bone-deep infection!

"not good!"

Sensing that the sisters' core essences were failing to connect due to the corrosive poison, causing them to both fall to the early stage of Core Formation, Wang Ziqin was extremely anxious. She raised her hand, intending to recall the luxurious carriage so that the sisters could escape.

Otherwise, I fear things will turn out badly today!

Hiss!

But the two-headed python coiled its tail and instantly sent the carriage flying.

The Heart-Eating Hermit had somehow arrived within ten feet of the two sisters, his face full of smug satisfaction.

Just then, he suddenly heard a mournful cry of an eagle.

锆！

With a single, brilliant sword strike, the osprey beast was cleaved in two, revealing a third-tier demon core within.

The demon core tried to escape, but Fang Qing casually tossed out a pitch-black jade bottle.

A layer of hazy light shimmered on the jade bottle, enveloping the third-tier demon core.

The essence of the osprey beast inside the demon core paused for a moment, and was sucked into the "Sea-Swallowing Bottle" without any resistance.

"Another Tier 3 Water Attribute Demon Core in hand..."

Fang Qing felt a surge of joy. He merged his body and sword into one, landed in the osprey's nest, and picked the "Transformation Peng Grass".

"Alright, with this safety net, even if a Nascent Soul stage monster suddenly appears, I can just run away..."

He walked leisurely up the cliff and raised his hand.

Stab it!

A bolt of lightning struck Fang Qing's jade-white palm, sending a tingling sensation through him.

"It's a pity... it's just natural lightning, similar to the lightning techniques of those lightning-attribute cultivators... it lacks the power of heaven and earth found in heavenly tribulations, so naturally it can't 'ask the questions of heaven'..." "Otherwise, it wouldn't be bad to cultivate in seclusion here for a while..."

Fang Qing sighed slightly, "This Thunderfall Cliff is still passable for body tempering..."

"A mere early-stage Core Formation sword cultivator is far too arrogant!"

At this moment, Shi Xin Sanren had already controlled the "Black Poison Bell" and completely trapped the Wang sisters. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but laugh in anger. With a wave of his hand, strands of "Black Spirit Silk" suddenly fell from the sky!