Chapter 1300: Beast Devours Spirit in Secret

"Before I died, I perished together with that bastard. These 100 Worry-Free Coins must be a reward for killing it." Sun Erlang was far from foolish; a brief recollection allowed him to deduce the origin of the Worry-Free Coins he possessed.

"Speaking of which, what exactly did we just experience?" Wang Xuanba shivered, instinctively touching his chest as if the penetrating wound still lingered.

"Was it a dream? But the sensation right before death was too real," Wang Xuanba murmured.

Sun Erlang stared at the lines of small text before him, attempting to find more useful information. Unfortunately, apart from the words themselves, there were no other explanations.

"It seems we'll have to figure things out ourselves," Sun Erlang said, his expression grim.

At that moment, Yue Zhenwei suggested, "Why don't we go back to the border where we encountered the dog-headed beast and check things out? The two beasts were actually similar in strength to us. As long as we're careful and not ambushed, we should be fine."

"Good! I want revenge too! Dying like that was too humiliating!" Wang Xuanba's eyes flashed with fierce light.

The three set off again towards the border of Qiuxi State. Along the way, Sun Erlang noticed that they encountered more cultivators than before. Instead of looking dispirited, they were gathered in groups of three to five, seemingly discussing something.

Attempting to eavesdrop, Sun Erlang and the others found that these people communicated not with voices or divine sense, but through a method they couldn't perceive.

"Perhaps we can ask them," Wang Xuanba said, his gaze flickering as he looked at five cultivators gathered nearby, seemingly only at the Foundation Establishment mid-stage.

Yue Zhenwei stopped him. "Xuanba, don't be impulsive! If I'm not mistaken, these people can resurrect just like us. You can't extract information from those who aren't afraid of death by brute force..."

"Let's go to the target location first!" Sun Erlang also low-growled.

Wang Xuanba nodded, finally looking away.

In this life, Sun and Wang had learned their skills at the Preaching Platform at a young age. Already brash and arrogant, the formations they encountered after leaving the Great Profound were easily broken with a flick of a finger. This fueled their pride even further. Only after being ambushed and outmaneuvered by the beasts did they become somewhat restrained.

Arriving at the location where they had previously "fallen," the sight surprised the three: "Why is the world on the other side different from what we saw last time?"

The scene of the colossal rocks by the sea in Shilin State was gone, replaced by a dense forest of swords emanating murderous aura. Tens of thousands of decaying swords pierced the earth, swaying in waves as the breeze swept through them.

*Buzz...*

Perhaps due to being too close, at the moment the decaying swords in the sword forest vibrated together, Sun Erlang seemed to hear a collective hum of swords in his ear. Sun Erlang's heart trembled, and he instinctively tilted his head to dodge. An invisible sword qi grazed his cheek, slicing off a piece of skin. Ignoring the pain on his face, Sun Erlang hastily retreated backward. He only stopped when the sense of danger subsided. Undoubtedly, if he had not dodged in time, much more than just a bit of flesh would have been severed.

"This world seems more dangerous than the three we encountered last time?" Yue Zhenwei speculated, frowning.

Next, the three roughly reconnoitered all the worlds bordering Qiuxi State. There was a sword forest, a deep valley, and a place that appeared to be a Demonic Sect stronghold, where no less than a thousand fierce cultivators were gathered. From a distance, one could see these demonic cultivators feeding on humans, finding pleasure in torturing people, and refining artifacts from human bones. The purgatorial scene made Wang Xuanba's blood boil; he wished he could rush over immediately and wipe out all the demonic cultivators.

However, Wang Xuanba was merely impulsive, not foolish. In the end, he didn't act rashly, simply spitting forcefully towards the other side.

The three met again to deliberate: "Should we first ask the local cultivators here about some common sense, or should we venture into other worlds again? The cultivators of the Worry-Free Paradise clearly know some rules that we don't. If we inquire rashly, we might expose our identities the moment we open our mouths. We might be worry-free in terms of life, but perhaps we'd be trapped here forever."

"Try soul-searching? The Grand Master taught about this. Although we haven't officially used it on cultivators, I think we can give it a try," Wang Xuanba said, eager to try.

"Don't forget, we might be in a dream right now. Soul-searching might not even work."

After a moment of silence, the three decided to try it anyway.

"Let's find a lone cultivator, one who's weaker."

"First, knock him out."

The three searched in Qiuxi State for most of the day before finally finding a suitable target. This person appeared to be only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, seemingly separated from his teammates for some unknown reason and anxiously searching for them.

"Attack!"

With a fierce roar, the trio's killing moves instantly landed on the Foundation Establishment cultivator: a black whirlwind, a gray great axe, and Yue Zhenwei's violet-qi longsword.

However, to their utter astonishment, their combined attack, unleashed with all their might and powerful enough to severely injure a Nascent Soul cultivator, caused no damage whatsoever to the Foundation Establishment cultivator before them! The Foundation Establishment cultivator flickered like a shadow, and all attacks missed. He looked at Sun Erlang and the others with disbelief, instinctively taking a step back.

At the same time, Sun Erlang noticed the lines of small text that were always displayed before him flickered. Nothing else changed. Only the number of Worry-Free Coins had become zero.

Sun Erlang's face twitched.

Wang Xuanba also instantly transmitted a wail: "How can Paradise Coins be negative? I was deducted 100!"

Yue Zhenwei's expression was also very grim: "Me too."

In the brief moment they were communicating, a white light suddenly surged from the attacked Foundation Establishment cultivator. The white light engulfed him, and after giving Sun Erlang and the others a look of utter idiocy, the cultivator vanished on the spot.

"..." The Great Profound Trio exchanged silent glances.

"It seems this must be some kind of natural restriction within the Paradise. We are of the same kind as these cultivators. And the monsters we encountered earlier, including those in the border worlds, are perhaps another kind. Cultivators cannot attack each other, and there's even a penalty for trying. However, killing monsters within the border worlds yields rewards, including Worry-Free Coins..." After a brief moment of dejection, Sun Erlang quickly perked up again, recalling and summarizing their experiences.

"We can't be sure what consequences arise if too many Worry-Free Coins are deducted. But it's best we don't try. Let's go to the border worlds first and earn back our negative Worry-Free Coins."

At this point, the three had abandoned the idea of soul-searching. They couldn't even hit him, so how could they soul-search!

Filled with frustration, they discussed their options and, guided by their intuition, finally chose the Demonic Sect world, which appeared to be the most dangerous of the three border worlds.

"Although that hellish place seems to have many enemies, how strong can cultivators be if they refine artifacts from ordinary human remains?"

"Their magic is also crude. It might scare ordinary people, but it's flashy and can't withstand one swing of my axe," Wang Xuanba declared confidently.

"Still, we need to be careful. After all, we've already died once. I have a hunch that the number of deaths might be even more important than Worry-Free Coins," Yue Zhenwei said gravely, looking at the constantly flickering characters before him.

After forming their plan, the three supported each other as they plunged into the Demonic Sect world. Within the Demonic Sect world, thousands of demonic cultivators were stunned by the trio descending from the sky. After a moment of shock, they shouted in a language Sun Erlang couldn't understand, then swarmed forward to attack.

Overwhelming blood qi and countless vengeful spirits filled the air. It was a truly terrifying sight.

"Die, you bastards!"

Unexpectedly, a giant gray axe easily tore apart all the bloody vengeful spirits unleashed by hundreds of demonic cultivators. The great axe's momentum remained undiminished, sweeping left and right. Each swing claimed the lives of dozens of demonic cultivators. Wang Xuanba's eyes turned bloodshot, and he was extremely excited.

"Erlang, these beasts are even weaker than we thought!"

Sun Erlang, who was also rapidly slaughtering the demonic cultivators, did not agree. Instead, a faint unease welled up in his heart. It was just like when he faced the dog-headed beast whose head had already been severed! Sun Erlang immediately looked around, eliminating enemies while searching for the true target.

"Look there!" Yue Zhenwei reminded Sun Erlang to observe a giant statue standing within the Demonic Sect. This statue had not appeared when they observed the world from outside earlier. Even after Sun Erlang descended into this world, it remained hidden. Only as the battle intensified did it imperceptibly reveal itself to the trio.

The statue seemed to be stitched together from countless human corpses, exuding a monstrous evil aura. The statue's face had no specific features. Instead, countless pale, outstretched arms constantly waved. Every time Sun Erlang and his companions killed a demonic cultivator, another pair of arms would extend from the statue's face. It was as if these deceased demonic cultivators were actually being devoured by the colossal statue.

Sun Erlang's slaughtering movements involuntarily paused slightly. But the frenzied demonic cultivators showed no intention of letting them go. They weren't afraid of their comrades' deaths; instead, they casually shoved scattered body parts and remains into their mouths, then howled and launched an even more maniacal assault.

"What should we do? Kill or not kill?"

Evidently, killing demonic cultivators somehow powered the giant statue. Seeing countless pale arms growing in segments like bamboo shoots after rain, Sun Erlang's heart trembled. Yet, he responded with resolute determination: "Kill!"

Violet qi roared, and a long dragon bowed its head. A single strike annihilated a thousand demonic cultivators, instantly emptying the tidal encirclement. However, the fearless demonic cultivators quickly filled the gap again. The only consolation was that these demonic cultivators were not inexhaustible. As the Great Profound Trio fought with combined strength, these human-like, non-human cultivators, who had swarmed from all directions, finally began to visibly decrease in number.

An unknown amount of time passed, and the nauseating smell of blood in the air almost solidified. Even when Sun Erlang and his companions sealed off their sense of smell, they still couldn't prevent the stench from permeating their souls. The vast Demonic Sect grounds were filled with debris from exploded cultivators. Blood flowed like rivers, seemingly consumed by the Demonic Sect land with every breath.

Sun Erlang gasped for breath, his hands trembling slightly. These demonic cultivators were indeed pitifully weak, no match for the Great Profound Trio in a single encounter. But their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Even if they just stood there letting themselves be killed, Sun Erlang's hands would ache from the slaughter.

"If I were at the Nascent Soul stage, why would I be in such a sorry state? With a Grotto-Heaven to replenish spiritual energy, I wouldn't fear this human-wave tactic at all." Sun Erlang couldn't help but think this to himself.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, he frowned slightly: "Just the right difficulty?"

At this moment, apart from the Great Profound Trio, only the giant statue remained standing in the Demonic Sect. It wasn't that Sun Erlang and his companions didn't want to eliminate the hidden danger beforehand; rather, an invisible barrier stood in their way. Unable to attack prematurely, they could only wait for the colossal statue to complete its final transformation.

*Boom, boom, boom...*

The entire Demonic Sect stronghold began to shake violently. The colossal statue, which had remained motionless in one posture, instantly came to life. It lowered its head, gazing at the Great Profound Trio below. A pair of arms fell from the statue's face. Then a second pair, a third pair... *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.* More and more arms fell, like a torrential downpour. Sun Erlang and the others deflected the falling arms, their expressions solemn as they watched the statue gradually reveal its true face.

It was clearly the face of a pig. The pig's head had a benevolent expression, its eyes filled with sorrow. It looked at Sun Erlang below with profound regret, as if they had committed some unforgivable sin!

Stared at by the colossal pig-headed statue, an inexplicable rage suddenly flared in Wang Xuanba's heart. Perceiving that the invisible barrier in front of them had vanished, he was the first to charge forward.

"Today, your grandpa's going to use your pig's head as a bar snack!" Wang Xuanba roared, his gray great axe already as large as the statue. He aimed directly at the pig's head and chopped down fiercely.

The pig-headed statue neither dodged nor avoided, its eyes still filled with benevolent sorrow. However, it opened its mouth, revealing fearsome sharp teeth within. It directly bit down on the great axe, then chewed. *Bang!* The gray great axe instantly shattered into countless fragments, and even these gray wisps were chewed and swallowed by the pig-headed statue.

Wang Xuanba violently spat out a mouthful of blood, but a hint of madness flashed in his eyes. "Explode!"

The myriad gray wisps in the pig-headed statue's mouth instantly writhed like a multitude of dancing dragons. The pig's cheeks puffed out slightly, as if they might burst. But to Wang Xuanba's astonishment, the pig-headed statue took a deep breath and actually swallowed all the gray wisps into its belly.

One must know that this gray great axe was no ordinary magic treasure; it was Wang Xuanba's unique Foundation Establishment artifact: the Piecemeal Light-of-Time Axe. It was a reward personally bestowed by the Grand Master, earned by being among the top three on the Preaching Platform. Wang Xuanba's method for achieving the Golden Core stage also relied on comprehending the laws hidden within this wondrous artifact. The gray mist of the stone axe contained the principle of the flow of time. It inflicted harm with the power of passing years. However, this pig-headed statue, after swallowing all the infinite gray wisps from the great axe, surprisingly suffered no side effects. In fact, the statue's body became even more condensed.

With his Foundation Establishment artifact devoured, Wang Xuanba's aura visibly plummeted. Wang Xuanba was gravely injured, barely clinging to life and incapable of fighting further. The change happened in the blink of an eye. Before Sun Erlang and Yue Zhenwei could even offer assistance, Wang Xuanba was already in dire straits.

While the pig-headed statue was absorbing the gray wisps, Sun Erlang transmitted a message: "Something is definitely wrong! These worlds within the Worry-Free Paradise should be some kind of test. With the strength this pig-headed statue is currently displaying, not even a Nascent Soul cultivator could contend with it. For us Golden Core cultivators, it's a dead end. If it's impossible to pass, then it's no longer a test..."

"Therefore, there must be some detail within this Demonic Sect stronghold that we've overlooked," Yue Zhenwei also realized, observing their surroundings once more.

Having devoured the gray mist of the Light-of-Time Axe, the pig-headed statue's aura became erratic. It seemed to be comprehending something, on the verge of breaking through and becoming even stronger at any moment.

"Damn it, we don't have much time left."

They had already meticulously searched the Demonic Sect stronghold more than once. Aside from the scattered bones of demonic cultivators, there was nothing else hidden.

"Where is the key to breaking this situation?"

At this critical juncture, Sun Erlang felt himself becoming surprisingly calm. From the scenes he saw before entering the Demonic Sect to everything he experienced during the battle, countless images slowed down, flashing by in succession.

"The Grand Master once said, 'When one reaches the end of their rope, changes occur.' For the Demonic Sect, we outsiders are variables. But we, these variables, can only slaughter the cultivators. Against this giant statue, however, we are powerless. Therefore..."

A gleam flashed in Sun Erlang's eyes: "We need to find more variables! This variable cannot be us, foreign cultivators. Instead, it must be..."

A sudden realization flooded Sun Erlang's mind, and he quickly transmitted a message to Yue Zhenwei: "Bypass the pig-headed statue! Attack the sky!"

A black whirlwind surged skyward. Sun Erlang merged with it, soaring straight up. This black malevolent wind was naturally Sun Erlang's unique Foundation Establishment artifact: the Annihilating Malice-Breaking Wind, personally bestowed by the Grand Master!

The pig's head, in the midst of absorbing and evolving, sensed Sun Erlang's movement. In its seemingly unchanging benevolent eyes, expressions of anger and fear suddenly emerged. It let out its first roar since the battle began. Just as it was about to act to stop Sun Erlang, a violet-qi longsword flew directly towards it. Violet qi surged, like the rising sun. It was precisely the Boundless Violet-Cloud Sword, Yue Zhenwei's unique Foundation Establishment artifact, personally passed down by the Grand Master! Within the violet qi, a faint dragon's roar could be heard.

Awed by the surging violet qi, the pig-headed statue's movement involuntarily paused for a moment. It was precisely this brief pause that allowed Sun Erlang, transformed into the black wind, to break through its defenses. He fiercely slammed into the sky. Cracks appeared across the sky. The ever-present great sun also showed inch-long fissures. The false sky shattered with a crash. As countless fragments rained down, the true reality beyond was revealed. It was nothing more than a vast, dark mountain cave.

The collapse of the false sky caused the pig-headed statue to let out an almost frantic roar. However, it no longer had any intention of dealing with Yue Zhenwei and Sun Erlang. As if something truly terrifying was about to descend, a streak of light flew out from within the pig-headed statue, attempting to escape.

"You beast!"

A sound like a clap of thunder suddenly came from beyond the sky. Immediately after, a purple thunderbolt appeared in mid-air, directly striking the fleeing streak of light! Amidst a tragic cry, the creature within was incinerated into dust. Sun Erlang vaguely discerned that it was clearly a pig demon that appeared to have just been born. The purple lightning descended without warning, easily annihilating the pig demon, and then never appeared again. Within this Demonic Sect stronghold, besides the Great Profound Trio, there were no other living beings.

Sun Erlang only felt a deep weariness in his spirit. Wang Xuanba and Yue Zhenwei, while immensely relieved, also felt a bit bewildered: "We won just like that? We didn't need to fight that terrifying pig-headed statue to the death at all? As long as we broke through this false sky above, the pig demon would be killed by divine lightning? What kind of situation is this! Didn't I just risk my life for nothing?!" Wang Xuanba coughed lightly, complaining.

The surrounding scene abruptly froze with his complaint. Then, like thousands of glass panes shattering simultaneously, countless identical world images flew into the trio's minds. Their brains were bombarded by rapid fragments, and after a dizzy spell... The three returned to their original location: the Elder Assembly, Qingxi State.

"Huh? I'm fine again." Wang Xuanba, whose cultivation had dropped to the Qi Refining stage and was on the verge of death during the Demonic Sect battle, had now recovered his normal perfected Golden Core cultivation. Not only that, there wasn't a single trace of injury on his body. It was as if the life-or-death battle they just experienced was nothing more than a phantom dream. However, it was clear that what they had experienced was far from being just an ordinary dream.

"The sky has returned to its normal bright color," Yue Zhenwei observed, looking around.

"And my Worry-Free Coins aren't negative anymore. I have two hundred now!" Wang Xuanba said gleefully after checking. Although they didn't know yet what use these Worry-Free Coins had.

Sun Erlang stared at the lines of small text before him:"Sun Erlang, Golden Core perfected, Death Count: 1.""Paradise Experience Level: 1.""Worry-Free Coins: 500."

After "Paradise Experience Level," a small progress bar appeared. Pink filled almost 30% of its length. Besides these changes in data, something else appeared in Sun Erlang's mind:

"Humans are the foremost of all spirits.""The human brain, if consumed, can increase wisdom.""The human liver, if consumed, can sharpen eyesight.""The human kidney..."

Voices continuously emerged in Sun Erlang's mind. There was no eerie or evil aura whatsoever, only pure reasoning and explanation. However, when the tastes and sensations of consuming various corresponding organs surged into his mind from memory, the incredibly real, as-if-personally-experienced feeling finally made Sun Erlang unable to hold back. He vomited on the spot.

Seeing Sun Erlang suddenly retch uncontrollably, Wang Xuanba and Yue Zhenwei were both somewhat confused. It wasn't until Sun Erlang slowly got up and recounted his experience that they understood. Their faces also turned somewhat pale.

"This... Erlang, you won't get addicted to eating human flesh, will you?" Wang Xuanba shrunk his head.

"This Essence-Eating Art, could it be the cultivation method of that pig demon? Is it possible to bring items encountered during the border world trials back to reality?" Yue Zhenwei pondered, as if realizing something. "Erlang, try to circulate this Essence-Eating Art," he suggested.

Wang Xuanba was startled, while Sun Erlang, after his complexion eased slightly, nodded faintly. Forcing down his nausea, he closed his eyes and sensed. A moment later, he looked at Yue Zhenwei: "I don't sense the presence of anyone else cultivating this art."

Yue Zhenwei stroked his chin: "The Worry-Free Paradise has existed for so many years, yet no one else cultivates this Essence-Eating Art..."

Wang Xuanba's expression turned serious: "I understand, there's something wrong with this cultivation method."

Sun Erlang shook his head slightly: "That's not the point. Although the Essence-Eating Art is the pig demon's method for devouring humans, the objects it can devour are by no means limited to humans. Any spirited creature can be devoured. So, even though it's not comparable to what the Grand Master personally teaches, this Essence-Eating Art is definitely an extraordinary cultivation method. There's no problem cultivating it all the way to the Nascent Soul stage. Even after Nascent Soul, one can continue cultivating it, strengthening oneself by continuously devouring spiritual entities."

Wang Xuanba also understood at this point: "Such a cultivation method, appearing in a world that newcomers like us experience, yet with no signs of others cultivating it..."

"There are two possibilities. First, this Worry-Free Paradise dream realm is not bound by the rule that prevents simultaneous cultivation of the same art. Second, dream realms are ever-changing. Different new dream realms are constantly being generated. The one we encountered just happened to be a recently formed dream world."