A moment later, at the same river valley, Wang Wu and the others returned.

Xiong Shiliu still appeared inscrutable and said nothing. From some unknown place, he took out a beast hide banner, handed it to Yuan Bupu, and then turned to leave.

Upon seeing the beast hide banner, Wang Wu immediately recognized it as the hide of a Barbaric Giant Bear, evenly divided into several pieces, with its Spirit Essence enhanced to Level 10.

At this moment, Yuan Bupu explained:

"Younger Brother Xiong, Ancestor Shi Liu, and the previous generation of the Ancient Bear King, are somewhat distantly related by blood lineage. One of his forebears, in following the last generation of the Demon Emperor, was unfortunately killed by Human Race cultivators, ultimately retrieving only his body. This Spirit Essence Banner is made from its bear hide."

"This item can absorb Spirit Essence on a large scale without worrying about being tracked by the Celestial Observation Compass. For many years, teams like ours, which cannot appear in public, have relied on this for cultivation."

"Now that we are partners in the same boat, weathering the storm together, you may freely draw as much Spirit Essence as you want from this Spirit Essence Banner; there's no need to be polite."

"Additionally, every month, I will trouble Younger Brother Xiong to assist, as Bu'er and I still need to enhance the adaptability of related toxins. Each time, I will compensate you with a Ninth-Grade Ginseng Vitality Pill."

"Furthermore, every month I will distribute five hundred jin of Profound Iron and a Ninth-Grade Ginseng Vitality Pill to you all, hoping you all cultivate diligently. Younger Brother Xiong, I hope you can consolidate an Acupoint Opening Demon Pill before winter and at least cultivate one Mortal Eighth-Grade Lifebound Demon Soldier."

"Niu Xiaocao, you are already a Seventh-Grade Bull Demon, but you lack Companion Spiritual Objects, and your Bloodline Talent isn't outstanding, mastering only one demon technique. I will respect your decision; if you wish to stay, you may remain in the Forbidden Land until you breakthrough to Sixth Grade, after which you can leave on your own. If you wish to go to the Black Forest, ensure your Lifebound Demon Soldier is cultivated to Mortal Sixth Grade at least."

"Niu Huanxi, though you have advanced to Seventh Grade, your Acupoint Opening Demon Pill is still not strong enough. You must cultivate well in the coming half year to perfect it. I will personally instruct you on this matter, granting you a demon technique. Also, strive to cultivate your Lifebound Demon Soldier to Mortal Eighth Grade. Shi Liu will find a way to help you advance a tier in the Companion Spirit Vine aspect."

"Lastly, for you, the pig, staying in this Forbidden Land would be your best option for a lifetime, as it's an untroubled retirement haven. However, if you wish to change your fate, you must work harder and make more effort, instead of seeking shortcuts."

"In short, it's best if you also cultivate an Acupoint Opening Demon Pill before winter, even if it's not perfect, because it is the foundation of cultivating demon techniques. Otherwise, either be content to see Xiong Wu and Niu Huanxi fall behind and be killed in the more dangerous Black Forest, or accept your fate and stay here to retire peacefully. In this way, years later, the three of you might meet again."

"Do you understand my meaning?"

Yuan Bupu spoke patiently at length, evidently on behalf of Wang Wu and Old Niu; otherwise, such an ordinary Little Demon like the Little Wild Boar from the Ancient Blood Demon Race would have been slapped to death without further ado.

The Little Wild Boar shivered as it nodded, feeling oppressively under the weight of Yuan Bupu, like a towering mountain.

"Alright, that will be all. Rest assured, the Forbidden Land is absolutely safe; the entrance and exit are guarded alternatively by Shi Liu, Bu'er, and me."

With that said, Yuan Bupu decisively planted the Spirit Essence Banner in a rather broad area by the riverbank and then nimbly leaped away.

Wolf Bu'er did the same, choosing a large tree for himself to cultivate.

Wang Wu, Niu Xiaocao, Old Niu, and the Little Wild Boar exchanged glances, wishing to say something but finding nothing to say. This ordeal had not seen them contribute much in reality, but it had indeed opened their eyes and greatly shocked them, revealing how truly powerful Xiong Shiliu could be.

In comparison, they found themselves exceedingly weak.

Especially Old Niu, whose confidence took a hit; though he had a Companion Spirit Vine, it paled in comparison to Wang Wu's Companion Demon Vine.

So he turned, gobbling down grass, because as a Cow Demon, eating grass was a form of cultivation.

"Third Brother, you were right before; from now on, I will give up on illusions."

The Little Wild Boar snorted as it walked away, feeling somewhat dejected, but mostly engaged in calm self-reflection.

In cultivation, there are no shortcuts.

Finally, it was Niu Xiaocao who looked at Wang Wu with newfound seriousness, "Thank you. To keep up, I must also work hard. Only now do I realize that I'm the one who hasn't seen the world."

None of the three absorbed Spirit Essence, maybe because they currently didn't lack Spiritual Qi.

Wang Wu contemplated a moment, then lightly touched the Spirit Essence Banner, feeling as though touching another Barbaric Ancient Bear.

As his paw gently brushed it, a series of golden Spirit Essence streaked like meteors and then fell silent once more.

"Does Xiong Shiliu also possess part of the Barbaric Ancient Bear's bloodline? Maybe."

"But one cannot fully trust him."

"This guy is a true hero, with ample ambition and ability. Perhaps he might truly become the new Demon Emperor of the West Wilderness."

"As for me, I only want to survive."

Wang Wu sighed softly in his heart, wiping away all thoughts, turning as he plunged into the dense forests.

The Forbidden Land's space is quite large, the dense forests stretching for hundreds of miles, offering a real sense of freedom.

After sprinting for fifty to sixty miles, Wang Wu finally slowed down, further walking a distance before gradually entering Passive Concealment.

Even as a partner, he was still not accustomed to cultivating while being watched; he had his own method.

And the first step was eating.

Not only did Wang Wu eat, but he had to let the Companion Demon Vine eat a bit as well.

Of course, he would not allow the Companion Demon Vine to make too much commotion.

Each activation would permit it to grow only a slender tendril, lightly absorbing a little from the trees it passed, small in amount, but accumulating over time.

The Companion Demon Vine seemed quite dissatisfied, and to that Wang Wu would lock it up until satisfied.

In fact, just one scare is enough to work.

The companion demon vine absorbs the vitality of the plants, then it refines the Cyan Wood Spiritual Qi itself, offers it to Wang Wu, and is further absorbed by the Hundred-Change Ruyi Demon Leaf.

A perfect closed loop.

Wang Wu doesn't even need to manage it. As long as the companion demon vine is obedient, it's quite well-behaved.

As for the Hundred-Change Ruyi Demon Leaf, there's no need to manage it either. As long as there's Cyan Wood Spiritual Qi, it'll automatically absorb it, and it's expected that once it reaches a certain threshold, it can be strengthened and upgraded again.

Wang Wu is looking forward to this, as the Hundred-Change Ruyi Demon Leaf might turn into a secret trump card for him in the future.

In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.

Wang Wu's footprints have covered almost the entire forbidden land. Well, no matter how well Yuan Bupu described it, he needed to go through it himself, and he confirmed that there really is only one entrance and exit to this forbidden land.

Over these fifteen days, he has also randomly hunted Ninth-Grade indigenous Little Demons, roasted them with Red Flame Spirit Fire, and then consumed them. This not only significantly increased the quality but also helped conceal his tracks.

That's right, it wasn't deliberate, but it seems Wolf Bu'er has taken a liking to challenging Wang Wu.

Over the past few days, several times during Wang Wu's hunts, he almost got discovered by Wolf Bu'er's Wolf Gaze Secret Technique.

This young lady has quite a competitive spirit.

However, Wang Wu plans to stop. Playing hide and seek with Wolf Bu'er is quite childish.

His vitality has already been replenished to 11,000 points, but he consumed 3,000 points of spiritual energy to convert into Red Flame Spiritual Qi, and lost nearly 10,000 points of indirect spiritual energy, because even the indigenous Little Demons in the forbidden land contain quite a bit of spiritual energy.

This doesn't mean the quality of vitality is higher than that of spiritual energy but that vitality is more suitable for Wang Wu to absorb and widely use compared to spiritual energy.

So his current status is quite exuberant. He even thinks he could undergo another session of being full of energy.

Or continuously strengthen the three vitality clouds to condense one, or three Acupoint Opening Demon Pills.

But after careful consideration, he chose to cultivate his lifebound demon soldiers.

Without Profound Iron, it doesn't matter, as he has the broken sword in his backpack.

That's enough for refining.

Finding a suitable spot, Wang Wu took out a piece of the broken sword. Months later, this broken sword had lost its former luster, covered in rust, with no cutting edge left, unable to even slice a blade of grass with a casual swing.

If you don't look closely, you might mistake this thing for a piece of dried wood.

Even as firewood, it's despicable.

But precisely because of this, Wang Wu could determine that this thing must be exceptional.

After all, even a piece of Mortal Iron wouldn't rust to this extent in six months, even when well preserved, right?

Truly hiding three hundred taels of silver here without hiding it at all!

With a silent chuckle, Wang Wu employed the Inner Breathing Technique, activated his Qi and blood circulation, and instantly entered a state where the right front bear claw that needed refining even shone with a golden light.

When he placed the bear claw on the rusty, seemingly mortal iron of the broken sword, the broken sword trembled slightly, flashing with spiritual light as all the rust fell off. The essence of gold qi rebounded, paralyzing Wang Wu's bear claw, and even produced a half-foot-long sword aura, cutting a few centimeters deep wound on his body.

What a spirited fighter!

Wang Wu was confident, so activating you with the essence of gold qi is the way, huh?

Old Bear is here!

Wang Wu, full of fighting spirit, went all out, pressing his bear claw firmly onto the broken sword, constantly rubbing, rubbing!

Using a small amount of essence of gold qi from his bear claw to lure out the essence of gold qi within the broken sword, though most of it would retract, as long as a small portion could be lured away, it would be a victory.

Of course, the cost of doing this is the severe, very severe consumption of vitality.

Because the essence of gold qi rebounding from the broken sword is really not easy to deal with, constantly forming chaotic sword aura, in just half a day, it inflicted hundreds of cuts on Wang Wu's body.

Too sharp.

Wang Wu had to maintain the refining while using Level 12 Self-Healing to heal the wounds.

In total, in less than three days, the 11,000 points of vitality he had stored up over fifteen days of hard work were exhausted.

The upside was, after only three thousand rubs, he had gained 85 points of essence of gold qi, bringing his current total to 97!

From a celestial-grade perspective, this is merely 97/1000, a long way to go.

But from a mortal-grade perspective, he now equates to possessing a Mortal Eighth Grade lifebound demon soldier, just 3 points of essence of gold qi short of reaching Mortal Seventh Grade.

It's like being the top of the ordinary class.

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