Chapter 7: Blue-Green Water Snail (Please Collect!)

Inside the cultivation chamber.

Around the side of Yunhe sitting cross‑legged, thin strands of light‑blue water swirled.

If you look closely, you can see that the water contains threads of golden light, though they are not obvious.

After a wave of spiritual power, the phenomena all retracted inward.

Yunhe slowly opened his eyes after finishing his practice, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

"Not bad, the demon beast's power is feeding back more steadily; this cultivation speed can rival a medium‑grade spiritual root, no, perhaps it can match a high‑grade one."

Of course, this is when the demon beast's cultivation base leads and can feed back to the cultivator body.

If the cultivator body and demon beast body's cultivation bases become equal, this mutual feedback effect will greatly diminish.

"With a cultivation speed comparable to a high‑grade spiritual root, breaking through to the third layer of Qi Refining might be faster than I expected."

"It should also be related to the demon beast constantly using the Source Refining Method to digest golden carp meat, steadily increasing its demonic power."

No matter what, an increase in cultivation base is more solid than any external help or benefit.

Heavens, it's been over half a year since he came to this world, yet he's still at the second layer of Qi Refining, with little improvement.

Without the demon beast's feedback, breaking through to the third layer of Qi Refining might still take another year or two.

He lightly sealed his hand with a hand sign.

A three‑lined Red Pattern Spirit Bee flew to and landed on his palm.

Looking at the honest three‑lined Red Pattern Spirit Bee, he briefly sensed its changes.

"That Mountain Dragon Larva's demonic power is weaker than an ordinary black‑ringed wasp, and it was even eaten by three Red Pattern Spirit Bees, so the boost it gave is pitifully small."

This is even with the aid of the Source Refining Method.

If it were merely like ordinary beasts or demon beasts devouring each other, the transformation and gain would be even more pitifully small.

"Surely the black‑ringed wasp gives the better effect, or perhaps wasps in general are best."

He released the Red Pattern Spirit Bee to fly back to the hive.

After tomorrow, when two more spirit bees have digested the black‑ringed wasps, he will have two additional Red Pattern Spirit Bees.

By then, five Red Pattern Spirit Bees working together, plus him, will easily handle two black‑ringed wasps.

Even by surprise, it could make an early‑stage Qi Refining cultivator suffer a big loss.

"It's beginning to take shape."

After sighing quietly, Yunhe tidied his mat and fell asleep.

"Gurgle—"

From the mud hole dug open by his claws, a few bubbles rose, and a turtle's head slowly emerged.

He happened to see a fish over half a meter long chasing a smaller fish.

The fish's speed was great; it flicked its tail and caught up to the weak fish, its slender snout biting down hard, the prey unable to escape the fish's fine sharp teeth, and soon fell still.

To the fish, this was routine; having grown this large, it was already a seasoned hunter.

But just as the fish was about to feast, it suddenly froze.

He saw a giant turtle with a dark brown shell mottled with moss, its body about the size of a grinding wheel, crawling forward with its claws, swimming slowly to face the fish, its eyes fixed on it, full of spirit.

What are you doing?

The fish, lacking demonic power and spiritual awareness, instantly thought it was coming to steal its food and bared its teeth.

Seeing this, the turtle's eyes twitched slightly, revealing a hint of human‑like teasing.

"After a few days of digestion and absorption, the demonic power has finally calmed down."

This turtle is naturally Yunhe, who just crawled out of the mud hole; seeing the fish not flee but act aggressively let him confirm that his demonic power had fully retracted inward.

When he had just drunk the golden carp's blood and his demonic power surged, he could not yet fully control it.

At that time, any fish that saw him scattered immediately, and even a loach with demonic power dared not raise its head upon seeing him.

Recklessly displaying demonic power and cultivation base is the instinct of demon beasts.

This can intimidate opponents, show off one's mighty fists and claws, and seize territory.

But Yunhe felt this was too ostentatious.

Who knows, he might someday run into a far stronger demon beast that would treat him as mere fodder.

Here even second‑tier demon beasts could appear, so it's better not to be too flashy.

Keep a low profile, keep a low profile.

Fortunately, after a few days, he could now fully control his demonic power.

Moreover, after completely digesting that golden carp, his demonic power increased again.

Although it hasn't directly reached the middle of the first stage, it now allows him to barely touch the peak of early first stage.

In other words, it's equivalent to a cultivator being just a hair's breadth away from perfecting the third layer of Qi Refining.

As long as he cultivates to the peak of early first stage, it means he has the qualification to assault the bottleneck of middle first stage!

"The demon beast body completely overwhelms the cultivator body."

"Pop‑pop."

While he was thinking, the fish opposite him spat out two bubbles.

As a show of force.

Yunhe gave it a sideways glance, only finding it boring.

Holding a grudge against a fish?

Or just an ordinary fish without demonic power.

Ridiculous!

Yunhe swung his claws twice, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, he snapped his head around!

At a speed the carp could not possibly react to, he bit it in one gulp.

Ordinary animals, when facing a demon beast, have no chance to struggle, whether in body or ability.

"Being angry? Not at all. I just haven't eaten this kind of fish before, so I'm a bit curious about its taste. Hmm, curious."

A gentle breeze brushed past, and ripples rose across the lake surface.

"The carp meat is really not good. It looks big, but the flesh is coarse—can't compare to golden carp meat, and not even to other small fish."

Yunhe paddled while complaining.

After arriving near the water surface, he first secretly observed the conditions on the water, making sure there were no living beings or dangers around, then he stepped onto the water.

Air rich in spiritual energy flowed into his lungs through his nostrils, refreshing his spirit.

"I feel the spiritual energy here is much richer than in the market town."

Gentle sunlight shone on the water, specks of shimmering light making the mood relax.

After staying on the water for a while and confirming it was truly safe, he then paddled his claws toward the shore again.

He had long figured out the situation within dozens of li around here.

What he was in was an extremely vast lake.

Exactly how big it is isn't clear, because he doesn't dare go that far, and whether it's safe is unknown.

What he was swimming toward at this moment was an island in the lake surrounded by water on three sides and connected to a forest on one side.

The island is covered with sparse vegetation, exposing many rocks.

Originally, if he hadn't discovered that 'Blood-tracing Lotus' buried in the silt at the bottom of the water, he would probably have spent most of his time sunbathing on this lake island, occasionally diving in to hunt.

After all, turtles are reptiles and cannot stay underwater for long.

"Whoosh——"

Climbing onto that familiar sunbathing platform, Yunhe lazily exhaled a breath.

Gentle sunlight bathed his back as he stretched lazily.

The surrounding spiritual energy entered his body bit by bit with his breathing and every movement.

This is the state of cultivation for most demon beasts.

Demon beast cultivation, especially for first-stage beasts like them that have just a little demon power and haven't opened much spiritual intellect, involves hardly any techniques to speak of.

Mostly it's natural practice, letting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth enter the body.

How much can be absorbed depends entirely on one's aptitude and the type of demon beast.

It is said that some demon beasts are born at second stage or higher, with their clan providing cultivation techniques, resources, and heavenly treasures and earthly gems.

Ordinary demon beasts, unless they strike luck and happen to eat some precious spiritual roots or materials, if they can cultivate to late first stage and open a little spiritual intellect, that's already remarkable.

Gazing at the calm lake surface and listening to the faint rustle of leaves behind him, Yunhe's heart felt especially tranquil.

"Could it be that the cultivator body and the demon beast body exist in two different worlds?"

"Otherwise, how could night fall on the cultivator body's side while the sun has just risen on the demon beast body's side?"

"It's also possible they're in the same world; if this world is round like Earth, then it's actually not much different from two worlds."

"How come everyone else who transmigrates ends up as a big shot in two or even several worlds, earning a fortune and piling up cultivation with countless resources, while here I only have two bodies switching back and forth, one of which is still a turtle?"

He shook his head, gathering his scattered thoughts back.

He had pondered such questions countless times since he first arrived in this dangerous cultivation world.

Just thinking about it, he could not obtain an answer.

Rather than pondering these, it's better to think about how to survive better and improve his cultivation base.

"I feel I need to first make a cave dwelling."

This place is not like the market town where the cultivator body resides.

In the market town, protected by its rules and formations, as long as one doesn't encounter murderous cultivators or reckless rogue cultivators, staying inside is safe.

But here, demon beasts run rampant; at any moment a huge demon he cannot handle could appear, like that second-stage phoenix crane from last time.

Therefore, building a cave dwelling that can be concealed at any time and used for peaceful cultivation is very important.

After basking in the sun for a while and feeling his body warm, Yunhe propped himself up on his claws and stood, preparing to go into the water to find a suitable spot for a cave dwelling.

Ideally, it would be near the shore's shallow beach, so he can surface for air anytime.

"Pop-pop——"

Ripples spread across the water surface.

A dark, slick loach's head poked out.

"Huh?"

Seeing it, Yunhe blinked in surprise.

Isn't this the early-stage first-stage loach he scared away a few days ago?

Coming to cause trouble?

But he felt no hostility from the loach, and even felt a hint of.

"Closeness?"

After a brief ponder, Yunhe slowly entered the water.

The cool lake water didn't submerge his shell; the water's flow enveloping him made his whole body feel comfortable.

He twitched his nose, catching a faint scent of blood.

Only when he approached the loach hovering nearby did he notice two clear rows of tooth marks on its belly.

"Injured?"

But the loach seemed unfazed; instead, after Yunhe approached, its affection grew stronger.

It blew bubbles, conveying the meaning of following it.

Watching a Ni Qiu dive into the water and swim toward the lake bottom overgrown with aquatic plants, Yunhe pondered briefly, then followed.

However, he remained vigilant at all times, and if anything seemed off, he would immediately turn and flee, or shrink into his turtle shell.

The facts proved he had overthought it.

How could a low‑rank demon beast like a Ni Qiu that had just acquired initial first‑stage demonic power possibly think up tactics such as feigning weakness, setting ambushes, and luring to kill?

Among demon beasts, the most direct approach prevails.

When two demon beasts meet, they either fight, one submits, or one becomes the other's food.

Following behind the Ni Qiu, Yunhe pushed aside the water weeds swaying with the current and saw it swimming near a dug‑out mud pit, looking especially excited.

Yunhe also gazed into the mud pit.

He saw several snails about the size of a half‑fist, entirely dark green, round, with three spiral ridges.

"A nest of Azure Water Snails?"

"Pop‑pop, pop‑pop."

The Ni Qiu kept wriggling its body, blowing bubbles.

As if seeking credit, or trying to curry favor.

The Azure Water Snail is a kind of spirit snail that innately contains demonic power but has extremely low spiritual intelligence and is inept at cultivation; it is one of the favorite foods of many aquatic creatures, especially underwater demon beasts.

Yunhe had once been fortunate enough to eat one; not only was its taste exceptionally delicious, but more importantly, it could increase demonic cultivation base!

Although the increase is small, for any demon beast, anything that can boost demonic power is a top‑grade food.

I never expected that this Ni Qiu would actually find such a nest.

Roughly counted, there are at least a handful.

Looking at the Ni Qiu offering treasure, Yunhe's gaze grew increasingly strange.

"How come I feel like I've inexplicably gained a little follower?"

He had originally thought that after scaring the Ni Qiu away that day, it would move to another habitat.

Who knew it wouldn't leave at all, but instead found this nest of Azure Water Snails for himself.

After all, he simply doesn't understand demon beasts well enough.

Especially this kind of low‑level demon beast whose spiritual intelligence has just awakened.

Demon beasts revere strength, value brute force, the strong are honored, the weak are food.

The last time it encountered Yunhe, it wasn't beaten or eaten; in its view, that meant it had submitted to Yunhe.

Having submitted and become a follower, it naturally ought to do what a follower should do.

"Waa—waa—"

Suddenly, a wailing sound drifted from afar; the Ni Qiu's body tensed sharply, revealing a nervous, wary expression.

Following its gaze.

Yunhe saw a giant salamander darting swiftly toward them, glaring ferociously at the Ni Qiu, baring teeth and claws.

"So that's how its wounds came about. Then this nest of Azure Water Snails was also taken by force?"

(End of chapter)