Time flies, like a white steed passing through a crack.
Another ten-odd days passed in the blink of an eye.
After this period of diligent cultivation, Hao Ren finally absorbed one hundred strands of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, successfully breaking through to the "Qi Refining Third Layer" realm.
Once a cultivator enters the "Qi Refining Third Layer" realm, they are truly differentiated from mortals.
One hundred strands of spiritual energy from heaven and earth condensed in Hao Ren's dantian, opening up the dantian sea of qi.
After the dantian sea of qi took shape, the one hundred strands of spiritual energy from heaven and earth transformed into one hundred strands of true essence power.
True essence power is a cultivator's own strength, capable of activating magical artifacts, talismans, and so on.
Before this, Hao Ren could not use magical artifacts or talismans.
Previously, when Hao Ren used the "Wu Xiang Staff" to smash a large tree, it was not the power of a magical artifact, but rather the hardness of the "Wu Xiang Staff" and brute force that brought the tree down.
Now, when Hao Ren uses the "Wu Xiang Staff" again, he can activate a portion of its power.
*Whoosh!*
Hao Ren infused true essence into the "Wu Xiang Staff," instantly activating a "Wu Xiang Talisman" etched within. The talisman glowed, and a staff shadow shot out from the "Wu Xiang Staff," fiercely striking a large bluestone not far away.
*Rumble!*
A loud explosion.
Crushed stones flew, and dust billowed.
A hole the size of a bowl appeared on the surface of the large bluestone.
Hao Ren nodded with satisfaction.
The "Wu Xiang Staff" was quite powerful!
From today onwards, he could be considered to have the ability to protect himself.
Next, Hao Ren took out a "Spiritual Fire Talisman."
He wanted to test the power of the "Spiritual Fire Talisman."
However, after a moment's thought, Hao Ren gave up.
He couldn't bear to!
He had a total of five "Spiritual Fire Talismans," and each one used meant one less, so he should conserve them!
Then, Hao Ren took out the "True Demon Secret Record."
This cultivation technique was obtained from Wan Ying Fa and was considered a top-tier demonic cultivation technique, infinitely superior to the "Grand Righteousness Art."
Hao Ren decided to switch to cultivating this technique.
As for the "True Demon Secret Record" being a demonic cultivation technique, Hao Ren felt no psychological pressure. Cultivating the demonic path was the demonic path, it didn't matter! Good people don't live long, but calamities last for a thousand years, which means cultivating the demonic path allows one to live longer.
Hao Ren returned to the cave, swallowed a "Qi Gathering Pill," and began to meditate and cultivate.
After cultivating for half a day, Hao Ren suddenly opened his eyes, a look of extreme disappointment on his face.
What the heck?
Following the cultivation method of the "True Demon Secret Record," he couldn't absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
Could it be that this "True Demon Secret Record" was a pirated copy, a fake?
At this moment, the system prompt suddenly sounded.
[Ding! System friendly reminder, host's aptitude is "Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root," which does not meet the minimum cultivation standard for the "True Demon Secret Record," and cannot be cultivated!]
Holy cow!
(╬￣皿￣)
Hao Ren felt insulted.
So, people with his low aptitude were only fit to cultivate the "Grand Righteousness Art," huh?
This was too much!
Despite his anger, Hao Ren had no other options and could only continue cultivating the "Grand Righteousness Art."
After cultivating for a while, Hao Ren couldn't bear the pain and stood up irritably.
This was so annoying!
At this moment, he really wanted to find the monkey to "vent" his frustration.
Every time he bullied the monkey, Hao Ren felt refreshed, and he missed the monkey terribly right now.
Monkey, where on earth did you go? You didn't really die, did you!
"System, use the 'Search Nearby People' function!"
[Ding! Detected a monkey 987 meters in the southwest direction!]
[Ding! Detected a monkey 567 meters in the southwest direction!]
[Ding! Detected a monkey 86 meters in the southwest direction!]
Monkey?
The monkey reappeared!
From the information provided by the system, the monkey was rapidly approaching the cave.
Heh heh, the monkey was coming to find him!
Hao Ren revealed a "kind" smile, his stark white teeth flashing with a cold glint.
Monkey, you've finally arrived!
Hao Ren, carrying the "Wu Xiang Staff," walked outside the cave.
Soon, the monkey arrived.
This time, the monkey was a little different from before.
It seemed to have grown quite a bit, its golden fur shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight.
The monkey possessed a mysterious and powerful aura.
This aura was very similar to... a cultivator!
Has this monkey also started cultivating?
A question mark appeared in Hao Ren's mind.
At this moment, the monkey also saw Hao Ren.
*Jijiji!*
It let out a cry, its voice filled with provocation.
Human, this time, I'm going to beat the shit out of you!
The monkey leaped, its body stretching, and pounced down fiercely from the large tree.
This pounce, like a monkey king patrolling the mountains, actually carried a hint of dominance!
An ordinary human would surely not be able to withstand this attack from the monkey, and would certainly be overwhelmed and pinned to the ground.
On its face, the monkey showed a human-like excited smile.
It seemed to already see itself pinning Hao Ren to the ground and beating him severely.
Human, die!
The next second, the excited smile on the monkey's face froze, turning into extreme terror.
What did it see?
A massive staff!
A black staff, whistling through the air, carrying a sharp single-strike shadow, swept towards it.
The staff kept growing larger in the monkey's eyes, larger, and larger... finally, the staff occupied the entire world, and the monkey's world turned into darkness.
*Bang!*
The monkey was heavily struck by the "Wu Xiang Staff."
The power of the Wu Xiang staff shadow exploded!
The monkey's proud tough fur was no match for it; it was directly breached!
The monkey was slammed to the ground.
The monkey was stunned!
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
It had become so powerful, how could that damned human still defeat it?
After the monkey ate the "Qi Gathering Pill," a mysterious power hidden deep within its bloodline seemed to have been activated, and its body underwent an incredible evolution.
The monkey's physical fitness began to improve across the board. After more than half a month, it had transformed into an extremely powerful monkey. The former monkey king of the mountain forest was defeated by it, and the monkey became the new monkey king! After becoming the monkey king, as a celebration, the monkey excitedly ran over, preparing to beat up Hao Ren.
As for the result, reality delivered a harsh slap to the monkey.
It was pinned to the ground and severely beaten by Hao Ren!
To express his deep longing for the monkey after not seeing it for so many days, Hao Ren continuously rained blows down on the monkey with the "Wu Xiang Staff."
After eating the "Qi Gathering Pill," the monkey activated its ancient bloodline. Its skin was thick and tough, making it very resilient, and it didn't have to worry about being beaten to death.
After a period of violent assault, Hao Ren felt refreshed.
So satisfying!
It had been so long since he felt this exhilarating!
The monkey, with a look of hopelessness on its face, lay on its back, silently shedding tears.
Human, I hate you!
[Ding! Detected resentment from "Little Spirit Monkey King" towards you, Hatred Value +10]
[Ding! "Little Spirit Monkey King" automatically classified as "Enemy"]
[Ding! Host can open the "Enemy List" to view the detailed attributes of "Little Spirit Monkey King"]