Immortal Path Space

Chapter 404: The Harvest

At a time when the entire third defense line was running low on resources, a caravan had become the hope of the stationed cultivators scattered across various bases.

On a segment of the city wall of the third defense line, a cultivator was wrapped in several layers of white bandages, and faint traces of blood could be seen seeping through the fabric.

It wasn't that he was physically disabled or lacking in determination, but rather that the other cultivators around him were also carrying various degrees of injuries.

"Sigh! I just went to see Senior Disciple Jing moments ago, hoping to get some healing pills. I heard that it will be more than half a month before the next batch of supplies arrives from the Sect. I'm afraid I won't last until then," the bandaged cultivator said with a touch of despair.

"Due to the continuous large-scale battles, the Sect's supplies are dwindling rapidly. Even with our reserves, we can't sustain this prolonged consumption. They used to send supplies every five days, then every ten days, and now it's been a month since the last trickle of provisions," a pale-faced cultivator nearby added, clearly not in good shape either.

"Previously, we had a supply of Spirit Wine, but now it's hard to come by even a middle-grade Spirit Stone. Every time we deplete our Spiritual Power in battle, we can't replenish it. Fortunately, I had saved one middle-grade Spirit Stone from before, and I'm too afraid to use it unless it's a life-or-death situation," another cultivator chimed in.

"But I heard there's an East Zhou caravan making trades along the third defense line. If they could come our way, that would be a relief. I've accumulated quite a few Demonic Beast materials myself. I have three second-tier demon cores alone, which should fetch us a good amount of supplies," the bandaged cultivator continued.

"Yeah, I've heard of this caravan too. It's probably the only caravan along the entire defense line, and I bet everyone is eagerly awaiting their arrival," added another cultivator.

As the two conversed, a medium-sized Flying Boat approached from the distance, bearing the flag of the East Zhou caravan.

Many cultivators rushed out of their barracks, crowding around the just-landed Flying Boat.

Yin Ze disembarked from the Flying Boat, accustomed to being surrounded like this.

"Fellow Daoists, please remain calm! We will be staying here for a few days, and everyone will have a chance to trade. Please form a queue and do not push!" Yin Ze's words brought a momentary calm to the crowd.

Then, someone shouted from the back of the crowd, "Fellow Daoists, could you please let me through? My Junior Brother is critically injured, and he's relying on me to buy healing pills to save his life!"

Most people silently made way upon hearing such a request, as long as it didn't significantly affect them. They chose to show their compassionate side.

"Thank you! Thank you, Fellow Daoists!" the cultivator expressed his gratitude as he made his way through.

"Fellow Daoists, please show some understanding. My Dao Companion is also bleeding profusely. Can you let me through as well?" a young male cultivator from the rear said, seizing the opportunity.

The people surrounding the Flying Boat quietly shuffled around, ensuring that no one else could squeeze through.

After returning to the camp, Wang Hong sorted through his recent spoils.

First and foremost, he valued the essence blood of third-tier Demonic Beasts. He had collected over a dozen of them, intending to use these to help Little Peng enhance its bloodline, allowing it to reach a higher realm.

Additionally, he had single-handedly slain a third-tier Demonic Beast, and apart from its essence blood, he also acquired a Lifebound Magical Treasure refined from the beast's beak.

When Demonic Beasts reach the third tier, they use a unique nurturing method to transform a part of their body into something akin to a Human Clan's Lifebound Magical Treasure. They typically choose the strongest part of their body to nurture, resulting in a Lifebound Magical Treasure that retains its original functions and becomes even more potent.

The beak was originally the toughest and sharpest part of this Roc Bird's body. After nurturing it into a Lifebound Magical Treasure, its performance had increased several-fold. Wang Hong planned to refine it into a magic weapon in the future, which should work out nicely.

There was also a third-tier demon core, which contained the lifelong cultivation level of the Demonic Beast and held immense demonic power. However, it couldn't be directly absorbed by members of the Human Clan; it had to be refined into a pill before consumption.

In the East Zhou Cultivation Realm, alchemy primarily relied on spirit herbs and spirit fruit, and although demon core alchemy existed, it wasn't the mainstream practice.

On this journey of the East Zhou caravan, they had brought along an alchemist specifically for collecting demon cores and refining them into pills for sale.

Each type of Demonic Beast had different properties in their demon cores, and some even contained toxins. The caravan had the alchemists with them to refine these cores and gain experience.

Apart from the third-tier demon core, there were other materials from this third-tier Demonic Beast: a pair of claws, a set of wings, third-tier Demonic Beast blood, and a pair of eyeballs.

This particular Demonic Beast had been poisoned, and it was uncertain if its meat was safe to eat.

Additionally, Wang Hong had gathered over ten second-tier demon cores and materials from second-tier Demonic Beasts.

The bodies of the slain second-tier Demonic Beasts were also taken away because he dared not process them into Spirit Meals due to the poison. However, they could be fed to the demon-hunting tree.

The demon-hunting tree seemed to be immune to poisons. It had absorbed many poisonous Demonic Beast remains, and if necessary, there were also Devilish Vine and Red Powder Skull Flower that could digest Demonic Beast corpses.

Although the situation on the defense line was tense, their section, thanks to the strength of the East Zhou Trading Company, bore a significant portion of the pressure. Overall, their segment was relatively relaxed.

Luo Zhongjie took charge of matters on the defense line, while Wang Hong remained in the camp, concentrating on extracting the essence blood from over ten third-tier Demonic Beasts.

After extracting the bloodline power, he realized that the Roc Bird he had killed seemed to have inherited some powerful bloodline. The quantity of essence blood from this one was actually greater than the total from the other ten.

It appeared that the creature he had accidentally killed was a natural talent among the Demon Clan, and with its bloodline, it had a significant chance of evolving into a fourth-tier Demonic Beast.

Little did he know that he had unwittingly slain a future fourth-tier Demonic Beast.

After refining the essence blood from these ten or so creatures, Little Peng had been pacing outside his room for quite some time.

Wang Hong beckoned, and the door of the quiet room opened slowly. It was only partially open when Little Peng couldn't wait any longer and rushed inside.

"Back off! Don't smear your drool on me!"

Wang Hong pushed away Little Peng, who was eagerly trying to cuddle and please him, with saliva flowing.

After being pushed aside, Little Peng displayed a pitiful look, standing beside him with a foot-long strand of saliva hanging from its beak, refusing to leave.

Wang Hong tossed a jade vial toward Little Peng, which it caught in its beak and promptly swallowed, vial included.

"Look at you, so pathetic. Do you think I can transform into a Demonic Beast by eating it myself? Why did I end up with such a foolish bird? I hope you get smarter after swallowing all that."

After Little Peng ingested all the bloodline power, it didn't take long for it to stretch its wings and legs, then lay back on a stone, falling asleep under the open sky, looking like a lifeless bird.

"If Uncle Chu sees you, he'll probably pick you up and make a stew out of you," Wang Hong muttered to himself as he placed Little Peng into a Spirit Beast pouch.

[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]