Chapter 166: It Has a Brain, It's Not Stupid!

"Reward issued: one Lizard King Inner Core!"

As the voice faded, the Lizard King's massive body in the distance immediately shrank rapidly, as if being smelted, continuously emitting a sizzling sound; not long after, a glittering golden Inner Core landed in Lin Potian's hand!

"There's more reward??"

Lin Potian held the Inner Core, stunned for a moment; wasn't he suffering and paying off debts for his master, Xiao Buwen??

How did it turn into a trial, with rewards and all??

If this is suffering, then he could truly... use a bit more!

Subsequently, that ethereal, sorrowless and joyless voice rang out once more:

"You may rest for up to one hundred years in the First Stage to absorb the Inner Core, and the time flow in the First Stage is one moment in the outside world, one hundred years here!"

Once these words were spoken, Lin Potian was ecstatic and muttered in quiet delight: "This is no suffering; such suffering... don't stop!"

Gulp~

Lin Potian did not hesitate in the slightest, swallowed the Lizard King Inner Core in one bite, sat cross-legged, and began to absorb it, racing against time!

Instantly, a majestic force rose from Lin Potian's dantian, merging with the Lizard King Inner Core. The Inner Core transformed into a small vortex within his body, and the golden energy flow, like a trickling stream, surged into his limbs and bones; his skin glowed with a faint golden radiance, and every circulation carried a booming sound!

"Hiss...! It stings a bit!"

Lin Potian gasped, gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging, and endured the swelling pain.

As time passed, the swelling pain gradually turned into comfort, and the golden energy flow slowly merged perfectly with his flesh and bones.

"I didn't expect this Inner Core to contain Yellow Sand Power; perhaps I can use this Yellow Sand Power to comprehend the Yellow Sand Great Dao!"

Lin Potian discovered with surprise that the Lizard King's Inner Core also contained Yellow Sand Power, so he immediately acted on it, beginning to use this Yellow Sand Power to comprehend the Yellow Sand Great Dao!

And the Yellow Sand Great Dao was also an extremely formidable Great Dao law!

Aided by the Yellow Sand Power, Lin Potian's mind seemed to be in an endless desert, surrounded by rolling yellow sand; he felt waves of warm yellow sand surging out, resonating with the depths of his soul, and gathering into flowing scrolls, displaying the mysteries of the Yellow Sand Great Dao—sand moves with the wind, changing in a myriad of ways!

It can gently cover all things, and it can also violently devour everything!

Lin Potian seemed to transform into sand, dancing with the wind, feeling the rhythm of the yellow sand, but the comprehension was not going smoothly; suddenly!

The sand scrolls surging in his sea of consciousness suddenly became blurry and chaotic, as if disturbed by an invisible force; Lin Potian frowned, and sharp pains came from the depths of his soul, enduring the sensation of being bitten by countless tiny sand grains simultaneously!

"Hold on, keep your heart centered, heaven and earth are infinite..."

Lin Potian steadied his mind, and then, an inexplicable realization welled up in his heart, establishing a subtle connection with this yellow sand; the blurry and chaotic sand scrolls in his sea of consciousness gradually became clear, and every grain of sand possessed life, dancing gracefully in the scrolls, interpreting the various mysteries of the Yellow Sand Great Dao!

Even, Lin Potian heard the subtle friction between the sand grains, and heard the rhythm of them moving with the wind...

"Done!"

The next second, Lin Potian opened his eyes abruptly, golden sand light flashing in his pupils; he stood up, surrounded by faint golden sand mist, every wisp of which contained the charm of the Yellow Sand Great Dao, swaying gently with the wind; he waved his hand, and the void in front of him twisted, countless hands of yellow sand reaching out, with terrifying power!

Successfully comprehended the Yellow Sand Great Dao!

"This inner energy is truly majestic; let's charge toward the Venerable Mid-Stage!"

Feeling the remaining majestic power of the Inner Core, Lin Potian immediately decided to use the power of the Inner Core to charge at the realm barrier and scour his meridians and bones!

Boom, boom, boom!

Faint yet clear booming sounds issued continuously from within his body. Lin Potian's eyes trembled occasionally, as if enduring great pain, yet he was also seeking the opportunity for a breakthrough within that pain. Sweat slid down his forehead, dripped to the ground, and instantly evaporated into wisps of white mist; his cultivation was rising slowly, and the realm barrier was becoming thinner and thinner...

The golden energy flow within his body gathered into a sea, magnificent and vast, every surge driving the leap of his cultivation. As his cultivation rose, Lin Potian's aura became increasingly thick, and an indescribable majesty permeated the golden glow around him!

To break through to the mid-stage, one's spiritual power must first reach the level, and the improvement of spiritual power is an extremely slow matter; time passed like a white horse crossing a crevice, and in the blink of an eye, eighty years had passed here...

"Open for me!"

Lin Potian's eyes suddenly opened from their closed state, and he shouted loudly!

In an instant, two golden rays of light sprayed from his eyes, piercing the void like sharp swords; his spiritual power surged by a large margin compared to before, successfully reaching the Venerable Mid-Stage!

Subsequently, within Lin Potian's body, the golden inner energy of the Inner Core surged violently, and an unprecedented power condensed within him!

"Break!"

Lin Potian gave a light shout, his body shook slightly, and a shattering sound came from within; immediately following, a thicker aura permeated, and seven-colored light actually exploded around him, forming a brilliant screen of light!

And this seven-colored light screen lasted for a full twenty years.

When Lin Potian walked out again, the hundred-year period had arrived, and his cultivation...

Successfully broke through to the Venerable Mid-Stage!

An entrance appeared above the void at this moment, and it erupted with suction; Lin Potian did not resist, letting the suction draw him in.

After a bout of dizziness, Lin Potian was teleported to another world; all he saw was primeval forest, and at the same time, that sorrowless and joyless voice came out: "You may only use your yellow sand to face the enemy, and you must pass the Second Stage within one year. If the time is up and you have not passed, or if you violate the rules and use other means, you will be erased!"

"Note, there is no need to care about the passage of time in the outside world; this place is a self-contained space, and time has almost come to a standstill, so it can be disregarded."

"What, erased?!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Potian's eyelids jumped abruptly, and he gasped in horror; sure enough, there is no such thing as a free lunch in the world. That Lizard King Inner Core was not so easy to take; the difficulty of this Second Stage began to rise sharply, even other divine abilities could not be used, only the Yellow Sand Power, and there was a one-year time limit to pass. Failure or violating the rules to use other divine abilities would result in erasure!

"Mistress, can we discuss this?" Lin Potian said with a bitter smile; he had already heard that although this sorrowless and joyless voice had changed its tone slightly, it could vaguely be identified as coming from this Mistress Mu Qingxin, whom he didn't know how to describe...

Because if one said she was miserable, it was indeed a bit true, but she was taking all her anger out on him!

For a moment, Lin Potian didn't know who was actually the miserable one...

"Heh, you recognized it?"

"Discuss what, adding difficulty for you?"

After being exposed by Lin Potian, Mu Qingxin simply stopped pretending, and her voice came out cold and playful.

Hearing the words fall, Lin Potian immediately kept his mouth shut, his scalp tingling; he had a premonition that if he continued to speak, it might really become even more difficult to handle!

"Second Stage, begin!"

Following Mu Qingxin's declaration of the start, the earth in the distance began to emit earth-shattering vibrations, as if thousands of giant beasts were running together!

Lin Potian narrowed his eyes and looked over...

"Damn it, big rhinoceros, big tiger, big lion, big bear..."

Countless ferocious beasts lunged toward Lin Potian, and they all shared a common trait: they were incomparably huge, none smaller than that previous Lizard King!

Moreover, their cultivation was not the least bit inferior to that Lizard King, all reaching the Early Stage of Venerable. Although not as high as Lin Potian's, the sheer number was overwhelming!

There were fully ten thousand of them!

The most critical part was that he could only use the Yellow Sand Power; this was asking too much of him!

The Yellow Sand Great Dao excels in control, but its lethality is insufficient.

"Where did Mistress find so many powerful exotic beasts? Could it be... she is a Beast Tamer?"

Lin Potian speculated to himself. Seeing these exotic beasts getting closer, he immediately shouted, "Line up, one by one!"

As the words fell, these exotic beasts did not stop at all. Leading them was a Rhino King, whose strength was also the greatest among these exotic beasts, likewise reaching the Venerable Mid-Stage. It said disdainfully, "Stupid human, are you an idiot or am I? With so many brothers of mine, why would I fight you one-on-one instead of ganging up on you?"

"Is your brain broken?"

"Uh..."

Lin Potian was instantly rendered speechless, calling out in his heart that it was bad—he had encountered a smart elite monster!

It had a brain; it wasn't stupid!

Boom, boom, boom!

The Rhino King roared and charged over first, kicking up rolling dust. Its massive body was like a moving mountain, its muscles knotted all over, exuding a terrifying aura. With a war stomp, it slammed toward Lin Potian; the ground cracked instantly, and dust flew!

Lin Potian felt a mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force strike him. He immediately unleashed the Yellow Sand Power and shouted, "Sand Cage!"

Immediately, yellow light flickered around Lin Potian. Sand grains seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, swirling and converging crazily. In the blink of an eye, a cage made of yellow sand rose from the ground, firmly trapping the Rhino King's massive body!

"Moo, crack for me!"

The Rhino King struggled angrily, its giant hooves stomping wildly, but it only caused the Sand Cage to tremble slightly; it could not shake it in the slightest!

But it was only restraining it; the lethality of the Yellow Sand Great Dao was insufficient to form a strangulation immediately.

Immediately, Lin Potian wanted to summon the Nether Soul-Severing Sickle to finish off the Rhino King in one stroke, but he stopped the summoning posture at once, feeling distressed and muttering aloud:

"Since I cannot use other divine abilities, I can only use physical attacks. I didn't expect to use such primitive methods."

Step...!

Lin Potian stepped out, fists clenched, fist wind like a dragon, his figure ethereal. Closing the distance, he punched toward the Rhino King!

The fist slowly magnified in the Rhino King's huge pupils until it filled them. The latter slowly became terrified; this punch... was simply too fast!

"It's time to say goodbye, big rhino!"

Lin Potian shouted. He was about to land this punch. If it connected, he was confident that even if this big rhino didn't die, it would completely lose its combat effectiveness and pose no further threat!

However, in the next second, the situation changed abruptly!

Just as Lin Potian's fist was about to touch the Rhino King's hard shell, a colorful Tiger King with fur as smooth as silk suddenly darted out from the side. Although its figure was of normal size, it contained astonishing explosive power. Its eyes were like torches, flickering with cunning and ferocity!

With a sudden leap, its massive body drew a graceful arc in the air. Sharp tiger claws, carrying a whistling wind, accurately and unerringly swiped Lin Potian's entire body sideways!

Afterward, this Tiger King shook its body and returned to its previous mountain-like size.

Because he hadn't expected its speed to be so fast, and because Lin Potian's intention was to finish off this Rhino King first, he was careless for a moment and was directly hit!

"Missing this chance for a one-hit kill is a pity."

Lin Potian wasn't injured. This Tiger King had speed to spare but lacked power. However, because he was swiped sideways by that tiny bit, the Yellow Sand Power lost its traction, and he could only watch helplessly as the Rhino King broke free; it was truly a pity!

"Tiger King, well done!"

The Rhino King roared loudly, excited, almost standing up to applaud.

"Hehe, just luck." The Tiger King was actually a bit shy, which didn't match its reputation at all.

Step, step...

Just at this moment, heavy footsteps echoed like war drums across this battlefield covered in yellow sand. Lin Potian looked up and saw a group of exotic beasts surging over like a tide, a black mass blocking the sky and sun, leaving only a gloomy shadow!

The Rhino King and the Tiger King stood before the group of exotic beasts. Both were burly, and behind them were exotic beasts of various forms—some covered in scales, some with wings covering the sky, and others possessing strange horns and tails!

Step, step...

Among the group of exotic beasts, a lion covered in fiery red scales was particularly conspicuous. It walked forward, standing side-by-side with the Rhino King and the Tiger King, spitting scorching flames from its mouth, its eyes also like burning fireballs, staring fixedly at Lin Potian.

It was named Lion King.

After a lion's roar, it lunged directly toward Lin Potian, spitting flames straight from its mouth!

Lin Potian flashed, yellow light swirling. He quickly waved his arms, and the Yellow Sand Power surged, turning into a sky-filling sandstorm that swept toward the surroundings. The sand grains were like arrows, sharp and incomparable, striking the Lion King, but they only emitted a metallic clanging sound!

"Another tough nut!"

Lin Potian frowned slightly, retreating as he fought. His footwork was agile, each turn carrying afterimages, cleverly dodging attacks from all directions. All the exotic beasts had surrounded him by now!

A wild boar-like exotic beast leaped into the air, its giant mouth wide open, revealing sharp tusks as it stabbed over!

"Get lost!"

Lin Potian shifted his body to the side and swung his backhand. A wall of yellow sand rose from the ground, slamming the wild boar away, but new exotic beasts immediately surrounded him. It was truly exceptionally difficult and intensely scorching...

"The damage of the Yellow Sand Power is really not enough!"

Lin Potian had already started to break into a hot sweat. The attack power of the Yellow Sand Power was insufficient; every time he hit an exotic beast, it only made them stagger for a moment, and then they would roar and lunge again!

At the same time, the Rhino King, clad in black armor, regrouped and charged violently again, bringing a foul wind!

"Thousand Transformations!"

Lin Potian grabbed with his backhand, and the yellow sand condensed into a huge sand sword, slashing fiercely at the Rhino King, but it only left a shallow mark on its black armor before it turned and lunged again.

Lin Potian retreated violently, feeling anxious in his heart...