Chapter 71: Three-Stage Serpent Star Beast

On the afternoon of July 10, Xu Jin continued searching outward from Jin Ying Peak, unknowingly crossing beyond the safety boundary marked on the Dao Academy’s map.

But only just beyond.

Yet the harvest was excellent.

It was as if silver lay scattered everywhere—if not for the occasional burst of ferocious beasts, it would’ve been like picking up coins.

And the ferocious beasts that emerged were themselves delivering silver to Xu Jin.

After slaying them, many parts of their bodies could be exchanged for silver.

Xu Jin roughly estimated that since entering yesterday, his total harvest had already exceeded fifteen hundred taels, nearly one-third of his set goal.

The only problem was that the one-meter-tall backpack on his back was already half full; combined with other items, his load exceeded fifty jin, slightly hindering his mobility.

Xu Jin estimated he’d need to find the fixed supply point where the instructors were stationed tomorrow.

Suddenly, a blood-red glow flickered across the distant sky.

Xu Jin turned and saw red alert signals shooting skyward beyond several peaks.

A disciple must have encountered danger and issued a warning.

Instructors would surely rush over—it was too far away for Xu Jin to help.

Almost simultaneously, Xu Jin spotted a streak of blue-green light surging from between the mountains, racing toward the source of the alert.

Likely an instructor or head trainer going to rescue.

It looked close, but crossing mountains and valleys, unless one reached the Mountain Lord’s level of flight, it would take at least two to three hundred breaths to arrive.

I hope they’re safe.

About two hundred breaths later, Chief Instructor Ning Yuchan appeared at the alert’s origin, her expression grim.

It was a dense forest.

Soon, Ning Yuchan found a corpse within the woods.

After one glance, her beautiful face turned icy as she gritted out three words: “Blood God Sect!”

The deceased was a disciple of Mealcloud Sixth Layer. Ning Yuchan’s judgment was simple.

The Blood God Sect sought the blood and internal star cores of cultivators.

All victims killed by the Blood God Sect resembled dried corpses, their bodies drained of nearly all blood.

If a ferocious beast or star beast had done it, blood would be splattered everywhere.

Then Ning Yuchan pulled out her Star-Picking Token and sent a starlight message directly to Deputy Mountain Lord Feng Shu: “Detected traces of the Blood God Sect. One Mealcloud Sixth Layer disciple slain. Based on scene evidence, at least two Blood God Sect members were present.”

“Should we recall disciples early and drastically shrink the mountain-sweeping zone? Please advise, Deputy Mountain Lord.”

Her Star-Picking Token was of high rank, still functional here.

A few breaths later, she received a reply from Deputy Mountain Lord Feng Shu: “Every mountain sweep brings Blood God Sect infiltrators—should we halt operations because of one death? I’ve already alerted all trainers and instructors to issue alerts, warn all disciples to raise vigilance, and intensify searches. If any Blood God Sect members are found, kill them all.”

This reply was exactly what Ning Yuchan expected.

The Blood God Sect always acted during mountain sweeps—not just at Jinshan Dao Academy, but also at Tianyang and Cangming Branch Academies during their sea-exploration sweeps.

Casualties were sometimes unavoidable.

But most times, for every Dao Academy disciple killed, at least two Blood God Sect members were eliminated.

How could these blood-sucking opportunists compare to disciplined soldiers?

A few breaths later, deep-blue alert lights began rising across the mountains, lasting a full hundred breaths.

Any disciple not hiding in a cave could see them.

Xu Jin, searching along a ridge, saw the sky filled with deep-blue alerts and his expression changed.

According to the handbook, this was a warning to all participating disciples: extreme danger, casualties had occurred, vigilance must be raised. Disciples could decide whether to move toward fixed supply points based on their condition.

Fixed supply points always had instructors stationed; rescue would be faster if danger arose.

Xu Jin glanced around, heightened his alertness, and continued exploring.

Suddenly, Xu Jin’s gaze sharpened: in the shaded depression on the opposite ridge grew a patch of silver-and-white mushrooms, their silver specks scattered like starlight.

Starfragment Mushrooms!

Ranked eleventh among rare herbs occasionally found in Daqing Mountain: one ordinary specimen worth twenty taels, one-star worth one hundred taels, two-star worth three hundred taels—extremely valuable and exceedingly rare.

The depression held twenty to thirty specimens.

Their location made them hard to spot; likely many were one-star.

The central mushroom was fist-sized, its silver specks densely packed—Xu Jin suspected it was a two-star specimen.

If so, this single haul could net nearly a thousand taels—and if properly cultivated, even more.

Xu Jin, thrilled, did not rush forward.

The academy’s handbook warned: the rarer the herb or artifact, the more likely powerful ferocious beasts or even star beasts lurked nearby.

Be bold, but be meticulous.

He activated his Starshield, gripped his Starblade longknife, and kept his Star-Arrow spell ready in his left hand, cautiously approaching the depression while scanning every direction.

Searching for possible threats.

But after sweeping his gaze repeatedly, Xu Jin detected no danger nearby.

He approached, plucked one Starfragment Mushroom after another, and soon harvested the largest one, placing it in a special pouch—its star-force aura was intensely thick; likely a two-star herb.

In that instant, a streak of green lightning erupted from the grass ten meters away, lunging at Xu Jin.

Xu Jin, ever vigilant, sensed the disturbance, didn’t turn—he instantly activated Flying Star Step, lunging forward while instinctively summoning a Starshield behind him.

CRASH! CRASH!

Both his Starshield and Starshield Barrier shattered; he was slammed hard, crashing into the mountain wall and tumbling down.

If this had been the old Xu Jin, he might have panicked—but Xu Jin, having endured dozens of life-and-death battles in the Martial Training Realm, knew: the more desperate the moment, the less you could afford to panic.

You had to stay calm. As his body lost control, he instantly activated Star Ring.

The Star Ring rippled outward, momentarily halting a green serpent’s head.

The attacker, a ferocious beast, chased after him relentlessly.

Shocked, Xu Jin didn’t care that he was still rolling—he kept unleashing Star Rings.

Feeling the Star Rings repeatedly strike and impede the green giant snake, Xu Jin regained partial stability, then exploded into Flying Star Step again, leaping onto a massive tree and landing steady.

Only when his Starshield enveloped him did he finally see the green giant snake that had attacked him.

It was a deep green serpent, over ten meters long, armored in scales that shimmered with starlight. As it coiled and fixed its gaze on Xu Jin, a faint star-like shadow flickered at its head.

Star Beast!

A star beast that had forged a star core.

At least equivalent to a human cultivator who had forged a Star Core.

Without hesitation, Xu Jin clutched a Spin-Blade Seal in his hand, ready to activate it.

Judging from its earlier speed, this star beast was lightning-fast—he had to time his move perfectly, or the Spin-Blade Seal would be wasted.

The human and beast faced off for only three seconds—then the star beast lunged again, a flash of green, jaws wide, aiming to swallow Xu Jin whole.

In the blink of an eye—

As the green serpent’s maw surged toward him, Xu Jin’s hands unleashed a rapid chain of Star Arrows.

In less than a single breath, he fired at least eight Star Arrows.

All eight struck precisely inside the serpent’s gaping mouth.

Each exploded into gouts of crimson blood.

As the seventh Star Arrow detonated, the serpent’s head—larger than a bull’s—collapsed lifelessly before Xu Jin.

Xu Jin gasped for air, his back drenched in cold sweat.

Having a survival trump card was one thing; actually facing such beasts was another.

It was like theoretically ten strong men could overwhelm a tiger—but in reality, they’d all become prey.

After catching his breath, Xu Jin swallowed a Star-Replenishing Pill to restore his depleted star-force, then carefully scanned his surroundings.

The star beast serpent had emerged from that deep patch of grass—he’d missed it entirely.

Now he was wiser: he picked up stones and hurled them into the grass.

Stir the grass to flush out the snake.

Nothing stirred.

Only then did Xu Jin begin processing the giant serpent’s corpse.

Theoretically, every part of a star beast was valuable.

Even its meat was a potent tonic, especially for those below Mealcloud Sixth Layer.

But this star beast serpent likely weighed six or seven hundred jin—he couldn’t carry it.

Yet its star beast hide was extremely valuable, ideal for crafting inner armor, worth over a thousand taels.

Even with his Starblade longknife, Xu Jin had to pour full star-force into it to painfully slice and peel off the hide.

After refinement, its defensive power would be formidable.

An hour later, Xu Jin finally stripped the entire hide, then collected the pair of venomous fangs, the pair of serpent pearls, the gallbladder, and finally, at the spot where the serpent’s star core had risen, dug out a deep green, fingernail-sized star core.

Human cultivators, after forging a star core, also developed a similar core within their bodies.

This star core was also extremely valuable.

Value varied by type, but even the lowest-grade star core fetched over a thousand taels.

Xu Jin hadn’t expected his greatest harvest to be this star beast serpent—he’d thought the Starfragment Mushrooms were the prize.

Conservative estimate: over two thousand five hundred taels.

At this point, he had already completed eighty percent of his minimum mountain-sweeping goal.

Pulling the Green Snake Star Core from his flesh, the moment Xu Jin grasped it, the starlight on his Can Dou Platform stirred again.

Xu Jin was stunned.

Could this thing also be nurtured by the Can Dou Platform?

Or?

With a thought, his spirit sank into the Can Dou Platform, where he saw an extra line of text on the jade tablet.

【Second-Rank Can Dou Platform】

【Master: Xu Jin】

【Blessed by the Star, one bow per day grants two strands of starlight】

【Star Lamp One: Solidified Star Art — Basic Star Arrow】

【Star Lamp Two: Solidified Star Art — Basic Starlight Shield】

【Nurturable Items: Bu Xing Pill, Ti Shen Pill, Dawn Emblem, Conceal Emblem, Spiral Blade Emblem, Shattered Star Mushroom】

【Star Arts: Basic Star Shield, Basic Star Ray, Basic Star Ring, Basic Star Arrow, Basic Starlight Shield, Flying Star Step】

【Offerable: Third-Rank Snake Spirit】

(End of Chapter)