Chapter 178: then translation of chapter title

"Is this what it feels like to be a third-rank demon beast?"

Inside the cave dwelling on Huanhu Dao, Yunhe, lying on the ground, gained a deeper understanding of his current self.

Changes to his body and strength were as expected.

Within his qi sea and dantian, the three inner cores still existed, but as he poured his demon sense into the inner cores and condensed the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit into one, the inner cores underwent a change.

Originally round and smooth, the three inner cores now faintly displayed three different phantoms.

Black tortoise, dragon tortoise, and giant ao!

But before he could carefully sense his own changes, his demon sense detected the situation on Huanhu Dao.

He tensed, and his gaze turned cold.

But before he could act, Yunhe suddenly froze.

"Seems like."

His expression and gaze wavered in a daze.

He then felt his vision soar without limit, and his figure seemed to grow countless times larger.

Merely an unconscious action, the huge phantom of the black tortoise celestial phenomenon shrouding Huanhu Dao seemed to merge completely with him!

Innate divine ability—Ruyi!

Just as Yunhe had gained new insight and understanding of his innate divine ability 'Yun Lei' before.

At this moment, he also gained a completely new understanding of his other innate divine ability, 'Ruyi'.

"This seems like a dharma manifestation?"

His consciousness descended upon that vast black tortoise celestial phenomenon, not only giving Yunhe deeper insight into 'Ruyi,' but also granting him new understanding of many things, of many aspects of the demon beast world.

At this moment, he felt he was not merely himself, but a part of the demon beast world.

Although it was only a tiny, insignificant part, like a grain of sand in the vast sea, it also benefited him greatly.

Although he didn't know why, Yunhe guessed that it largely had to do with the concentration of his bloodline.

Just as true dragons and heavenly phoenixes, these true spirits that harmonize with the world can obtain great divine abilities, it thus also gained some ineffable benefits.

However.

That instant seemed both long and short.

After merely a moment of daze, he came to his senses.

He didn't have time to feel it fully; he slapped his storage bag, tensed, his figure flickered, and he vanished inside the cave dwelling.

"Actually, what surprised me most is that the commotion of this breakthrough was indeed a bit too big."

And the huge black tortoise celestial phenomenon that shrouded the entire Huanhu Dao also gradually faded away at this time.

The black heron that had been stared at by the black tortoise celestial phenomenon for a moment now had eyes full of fear, sweat beading all over its body, as if it had just plunged into the lake bottom and been soaked.

The next second.

It shuddered violently and came to its senses.

It then saw a large turtle clad in dark scales silently appear before it, chewing on something unknown, looking at it with a somewhat teasing and mocking gaze.

Huanhu Dao giant turtle!

Did it succeed in breaking through?!

The black heron reacted, its wings covered in black feathers giving a sudden shake, and it quickly retreated to open distance.

Although in its view, even if the Huanhu Dao giant turtle successfully broke through to third rank, for a demon beast like itself that had already reached third rank for a long time, it shouldn't pose much of a threat.

But the black tortoise celestial phenomenon earlier had left a sizable shadow in its heart, so it still retreated immediately.

Click-clack—

What Yunhe was eating in his mouth was naturally the 'nurturing pill' refined from a thousand-year-old dragon blood ginseng.

The infusion of heavenly and earthly spiritual energy not only let him successfully break through, greatly increasing his demonic power, but also allowed his three inner cores to solidify to the level of third-rank demon beast inner cores.

But he could clearly feel that the heavenly and earthly spiritual energy, and even the spiritual energy array he had prepared in advance with medium-grade spirit stones, seemed not to have filled his inner cores!

Fortunately, his preparations were fairly thorough.

The third-rank nurturing pill was part of it.

The large quantity of medium-grade spirit stones stuffed into his turtle back was also part of it.

The spiritual power contained within these medium-grade spirit stones was being absorbed at an extremely rapid speed, and a large amount of spiritual energy frantically replenished the 'thirst' of his three inner cores at the moment of this breakthrough.

Although this caused a large consumption of the spirit stones Yunhe had painstakingly gathered, missing this opportunity would make it difficult to absorb so recklessly in the future.

"King!!"

Seeing Yunhe appear, the demon beasts of Huanhu Dao all cheered at once.

And Yunhe looked at the swiftly retreating black heron, raising his eyebrows.

Is Huanhu Dao a place where one can come and go as they please?

Hum—

His figure flickered again.

Upon reappearing, he was actually above the black heron.

After breaking through to third rank, demon beasts also gained the ability to fly freely.

And at this moment, he was no longer synonymous with 'slow'.

Seeing this, the black heron showed a look of astonishment, seemingly not expecting why this turtle's speed could be so fast, yet it still immediately assumed a counterattack stance.

Just.

"Oh—!!"

Boom!!

A dull roar suddenly rang in its mind; already stimulated by the black tortoise celestial phenomenon, its spirit was now unstable, and Yunhe's powerful demon sense attack launched an even greater impact on the black heron, causing its expression to go blank and its movements to halt.

Move Mountain!!

Grabbing it, its spirit dazed, Yunhe unhesitatingly struck down with a fist.

The black egret was heavily smashed down from midair, heavily falling to the ground, shaking up a large area of dust, causing the ground to crack in layers.

This scene caused all the demonic beasts present to freeze in surprise.

Especially the third-stage demonic worm that originally regarded Yunhe as food, and the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile.

Moreover, the third-stage demonic worm that had already intended to flee earlier now didn't bother with anything else, twisting its body and burrowing into the ground.

Yet, Yunhe in the air clapped his claws again.

"Join!"

Boom—

The ground trembled, and that demonic worm actually felt at this moment that its familiar burrowing was so difficult!

Its sharp, fierce pincers scraped twice, merely opening a bit of soil layer?

Yunhe smiled.

Just kidding.

Do you really think he merely created a single piece of the Line: Mysterious Beast Technique when he earlier crafted his cultivation method, with no other gains?

Leaving other things aside, combining the method from the Carrying Mountain Art with earth-moving techniques, he can still do it.

Taking advantage of the demonic worm's momentary shock, he had already landed on the ground, and using earth-escape technique he rushed to the worm's face, facing its ferocious appearance, and threw out a punch without hesitation.

Move Mountain!

Bang—

The demonic worm was blown away by his heavy, powerful punch from below.

Suddenly, Yunhe's scales stood on end, sensing a hint of danger, and he abruptly shrank his head and limbs.

Boom!!

A bolt of lightning struck straight onto his back carapace, accompanied by some rising black smoke, flipping him over.

It was none other than the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile, its forehead horn blazing with arc light.

"I almost forgot you."

If one were to say.

The black egret and the demonic worm were both attracted by the celestial phenomena brought by Yunhe's breakthrough, looking for a chance to sneak in; thus the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile came solely for revenge, making it the only third-stage demonic beast that, after a brief moment of shock, did not flee but instead launched a fierce attack.

Struck by lightning, Yunhe's massive turtle body slowly sank into the ground.

"Roar!!"

The Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile roared, its thick tail continually slapping the ground, causing huge vibrations while trying to drive Yunhe out from underground.

This tactic indeed worked; Yunhe quickly moved a distance through the soil, then had to leave the earth layer and surface.

But Yunhe's action did not stop there; instead, he rushed straight toward the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile at great speed.

Seeing this, the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile's heart jumped, but it did not retreat; instead, it likewise charged at Yunhe, while the arc light on its forehead horn flared, evidently gathering power to deliver a fatal blow to Yunhe.

The next second.

One turtle and one crocodile were within arm's reach.

"Roar!!"

The Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile roared, its eyes filled with uncontainable resentment and hatred; the thunder horn on its head burst forth with terrifying momentum, and it slammed its head into Yunhe's, exploding with thunderous lightning.

This made the demonic beasts of Huanhu Dao watching Yunhe break into a sweat, after all this Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile is no ordinary demonic beast, and its thunderous power is something the demonic beasts fear.

But the next scene left all the demonic beasts dazed.

Only saw.

Yunhe lunged forward, his claws tightly gripping the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile's upper and lower jaws, which had tremendous bite force, and without hesitation he opened his mouth, swallowing in one gulp the terrifying lightning spewing from the horn!

This also left the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile somewhat dazed.

Although it knew Yunhe had the ability to swallow lightning, the lightning it released this time was different from before.

Last time it had not even regarded the second-stage Yunhe in its eyes, releasing weak lightning; but this time, after noticing Yunhe's breakthrough and rushing to Huanhu Dao, it began accumulating lightning power, nearly converting all the demonic energy it could mobilize at this moment into lightning—a power other third-stage demonic beasts could not withstand—and yet it was still swallowed in one gulp?

Evidently, it did not know this was Yunhe's innate divine ability, merely thinking Yunhe relied on his strong body to perform a reckless act.

Swallowed?!

The king swallowed that terrifying thunder in one gulp?!

But for the demonic beasts of Huanhu Dao who had not yet witnessed Yunhe's abilities, this was an extremely shocking scene.

The lightning power accumulated by the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile, even they merely standing afar felt a chilling fear, yet the king swallowed it all in one gulp?

If one were to say, this scene left the demonic beasts of Huanhu Dao feeling shocked; then next, it made the black egret and the demonic worm, who had struggled to rise, feel horrified and fearful.

One saw Yunhe with a solemn face, his claws like iron pincers firmly gripping the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile's upper and lower jaws and forcing them shut; then, amidst the crocodile's frantic struggling and seemingly expected disbelief, he bellowed loudly at its mouth.

"Oh!!!"

Surging golden lightning slurry spewed from Yunhe's mouth.

At an extremely close distance.

It was forcibly poured into the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile's massive jaws!

Boom!!!

For a moment.

The Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile's entire body burst forth with an eerie golden light from within outward, followed immediately by a thick black smoke accompanied by the scent of roasted meat.

Bang!!

Yunhe casually tossed the lifeless Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile aside.

It likely never figured out, even in death, that as one of the few capable of wielding lightning power, it ended up being literally killed by having lightning forced into it.

Afterwards, Yunhe turned around, expressionlessly looking at the black egret and demonic worm that had just risen, their faces mixed with shock and fear.

Immediately after, a roar sounded.

"Ohhh—!!"

The imposing aura, together with that just‑now scene, completely intimidated these two third‑rank demonic beasts.

Being third‑rank demonic beasts themselves, why is the Huanhu Dao Giant Tortoise that just broke through so strong?

This is obviously something they cannot comprehend or accept.

But now is not the time for them to ponder this question.

"Gu—!!"

The black egret let out a frightened long cry, rolling black mist spreading over its body to wrap itself; although it is also a third‑rank demonic beast, its bloodline and talent may not match those of the Thunderhorn Mystic Crystal Crocodile, yet it still possesses its own abilities.

This enveloping black mist not only grants it greater speed, but also freezes anything that comes into contact with the mist.

A chill permeated the air.

Around the black mist blossomed gorgeous ice‑crystal snowflakes.

Whoosh—

In the next instant, the black egret turned into a black light, preparing to flee far away.

But at the same moment, a surging demonic power welled up on Yunhe's body.

Immediately afterward, a huge and towering mysterious‑colored silhouette rose from the ground; although not as vast as the previous Mysterious Tortoise Celestial Phenomenon, it was already a colossal entity.

Seeing Yunhe raise his hand and grab, the gigantic lofty illusory apparition behind him also moved in tandem.

It actually seized the black egret that had flashed as a black light within its solid claws.

Layers of ice crystals instantly covered the claws, yet Yunhe seemed oblivious, gripping tightly and shaking off large sheets of ice crystals while accompanied by a crisp "crack‑crack" sound.

He then hurled it hard onto the ground, striking squarely on the demonic worm that was still trying to escape.

Bang!!

The two third‑rank demonic beasts collided into a tangled mass!

The gigantic Mysterious Tortoise illusion raised its head and let out a long cry.

"Ohhh!!"

The clouds rolled up, shaking out a vacuum zone.

The illusion then gradually dissipated into nothingness.

Yunhe, meanwhile, lifted his steps lightly and quickly arrived before the two demonic beasts still struggling.

His emotionless eyes made the black egret with broken wings and the demonic worm that had ceased digging tremble in their hearts.

Yunhe walked forward slowly.

The demonic worm trembled, first submitting, obediently lowering its head and allowing the descending claw to rest upon it.

Yunhe then looked at the black egret trembling from intense pain and fear.

Suddenly.

He revealed a smile.

"Do you want to be steamed or charcoal‑grilled?"

(End of chapter)