I Am Overlord c1-962
Page 22
“Another stalk of old medicine!” Xiang Shaoyun joyfully looked at this blood mushroom; it was about the same age as the previous one. Keeping the blood mushroom safely, Xiang Shaoyun continued his journey. Very quickly, he found numerous blood mushrooms growing together as well as a blood mushroom king more than 300 years old!
“Low-grade spirit medicine: blood mushroom king! The Earth Star Spring must be right ahead! Otherwise, why would there be so many blood mushrooms growing here?” Xiang Shaoyun grew increasingly crazed by the second. He quickly stuffed a blood mushroom down his throat, replenishing the vitality he had lost that day before doing anything else.
Xiang Shaoyun then left the area, not plucking any of the other blood mushrooms. After all, it would not be too late to pluck them on his way back. Right now, his topmost priority was to reach the Earth Star Springs.
The blood mushroom was worthy of its reputation as an old medicine specially for replenishing vitality. Right after Xiang Shaoyun had consumed the blood mushroom, he could feel his blood within him pulsing with much more vigour compared to before, slowly healing back to its optimal state, leaving him feeling extremely relaxed. As he was about to head deeper into the cave, he heard Little White meowing for him at the side. Heading to where Little White was, he found an extremely long bone lodged into the ground.
“Is—Is this snake bone?! No…why would a snake have footprints? Could this be…a snake transforming into a flood snake?” Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself as he carefully examined the scene.
Xiang Shaoyun finally understood why there were numerous blood mushrooms growing in the cave. A flood snake had probably died here in the past, letting its blood seep into the ground. blood mushrooms grew as a result of that.
Examining the bones more carefully, Xiang Shaoyun found that the flood snake was close to ten meters long, most certainly an existence that was at least a Great Demon. Luckily for him, the flood snake was already dead. Otherwise, he would be dead without a doubt.
As Xiang Shaoyun reached the end of the beast’s skeleton, he found a bead roughly the size of a toe lodged into the top of its skeleton.
“Demonic core!” Xiang Shaoyun lightly gasped.
As he was about to go and retrieve it personally, Little White leapt like an arrow at the skull, swallowing the core in one go.
“F*ck! You damned brat! Aren’t you afraid of the energy inside going wild?!” Xiang Shaoyun could not hold back a curse.
Demonic cores could only be produced by demonic beasts at the Demon King level. If a normal beast were to swallow the core, their innards would be ravaged by the sheer power inside the core, causing them to explode.
Only Great Demons and above would dare to swallow such a core to aid them in raising their strength as well as in forming their own beast core. With how young Little White was, swallowing the core would probably do him more harm than good!
Xiang Shaoyun rushed forward and prepared to lift Little White up, forcing him to spit out the beast core.
“Roar!”
Out of the blue, a ferocious roar came from the throat of Little White as his body enlarged all of a sudden.
Chapter 40: Reaching the Earth Star Spring, Breaking Through to the Astral Realm!
Little White’s roar echoed furiously throughout the cave, causing Xiang Shaoyun’s ears to ring. It took quite a while before it settled down once again. Once the ruckus was over, Xiang Shaoyun took another look at the grown up Little White. Little White was now the size of a regular small monstrous beast. On his forehead, he found the word “King” written extremely clearly. Furthermore, the pressure that he was now emitting was no weaker than that of a mature striped tiger.
One must note that Little White, as of now, was not considered an adult beast. However, even at such a young age, he was already exuding such a majestic aura, further reinforcing that his lineage was not a simple one.
“What if Little White is able to refine his own demonic core and significantly raise his cultivation?” Xiang Shaoyun could not help wondering, staring at this tiger who showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever.
Right now, Little White was exuding a thick beast qi, golden fur slowly covering his body. It seemed like he would take time to thoroughly refine the demonic core.
“Little White has abundant spirituality from birth; the effects of the demonic core were probably all within his calculations. I should let him slowly refine it then. Let’s go farther into the cave,” Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself. After confirming that there were no adverse side effects to Little White, he continued forging forward.
After walking for a while longer, Xiang Shaoyun found a golden blot of light ahead of him as Spiritual Energy slowly wafted to him, giving him a very pleasurable feeling. Walking closer to take a look, he found a golden flower lodged into a rock. It was actually a golden flood snake flower! One could see its body leaping around like a flood snake, spiritual qi floating around it as it swayed about, giving it a very mysterious aura.
“This…this is a 500-year-old golden flood snake flower! It has already grown five petals! This should be a spiritual herb that grew along with the transformation of the flood snake! This is a mid-grade spiritual medicine! Even Transformation Realm cultivators would go mad at the sight of this!” Xiang Shaoyun gleefully rubbed his hands in sheer joy.
The golden flood snake flower contained the essence of a flood snake. Martial cultivators who swallowed it would not only have their strength raised but would also be able to transform their qi into a flood snake form, significantly raising their combat power.
Xiang Shaoyun did not rush to pluck it. After all, he was currently a mere Basic Realm cultivator. Eating it at this stage would only waste its efficacy. The results would be much more pronounced if he waited until at least the Astral Realm before he decided to swallow it.
As the golden flood snake flower had absorbed a large portion of the spiritual qi in the air, there were no more spirit medicines around the area, although there were still quite a few old medicines lying around.
Furthermore, as Xiang Shaoyun continued walking, he noticed that the cave was slowly growing bigger and bigger. The moist scent in the air was also getting stronger by the minute, and the natural spiritual energy was growing thicker.
Drip Drip…
Xiang Shaoyun heard the dripping sound of water droplets. Although the sound wasn’t loud, inside the vast cave, it was amplified several times over, making it extremely noticeable.
Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes caught sight of a few water droplets falling from the edge of a cliff. Additionally, just below the cliff was a naturally formed basin filled with flowing spring water. Most eye-catching, the spring water seemed to be filled with tens of thousands of stars, lighting up the small area.
Seeing this small pool of water, Xiang Shaoyun immediately developed an urge to just dive in and swallow it whole.
“The Earth Star Spring! It’s actually the Earth Star Spring!” Xiang Shaoyun rejoiced.
No longer able to repress himself, Xiang Shaoyun rushed right in front of the small pool of water. Scooping out some of the water, he drank without hesitation. Every single drop of the spring was precious beyond compare. Even to an Astral Realm cultivator, this was a luxury hard to get hold of.
However, Xiang Shaoyun was gulping it down like a thirsty beast! If anybody else saw this, they would have fainted on the spot. This guy was too wasteful!
As the water of the Earth Star Spring not-so-slowly entered his stomach, Xiang Shaoyun’s natal chart began to resplendently glow, directly absorbing the water from the Earth Star Spring. His natal chart then began emitting strands of pure energy, which coursed through the meridians within his body. His 365 acupoints lit up, similarly absorbing this wondrous energy.
Adopting a cross-legged sitting position, Xiang Shaoyun began to madly revolve the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual, his strength rapidly climbing like a firework. Peak of eighth-stage Basic Realm, early ninth-stage Basic Realm, mid ninth-stage Ba
sic Realm, late ninth-stage Basic Realm. The surge of energy was even enough for him to directly break through into the first stage of the Astral Realm!
Only after reaching the middle phase of first-stage Astral Realm did Xiang Shaoyun manage to forcefully suppress it. Otherwise, the surge would have carried him all the way to peak first-stage Astral Realm. Even reaching the second stage would not have been a problem!
Earth Star Spring! This was indeed a spiritual spring that allowed one to awaken their natal charts! Even if an Astral Realm cultivator swallowed some of it, they would easily be able to climb two or three stages.
However, Xiang Shaoyun had long awoken his nine stars. Furthermore, the amount of energy he needed to absorb was several times that of a regular cultivator, up to 10 times! Even after drinking so much of the Earth Star Spring’s water, he had only reached the first stage of the Astral Realm.
Most importantly, Xiang Shaoyun had used the remaining energy to strengthen his foundations, not wasting a single drop of energy. Furthermore, all of his inner injuries had been thoroughly healed, not leaving a single old wound. The Earth Star Spring had also purified his meridians and acupoints, greatly increasing his already outstanding cultivation ability.
This was the miraculous aspect of the Earth Star Spring; it wasn’t something a regular spring could compare to. After having undergone the transformation from the Earth Star Spring, Xiang Shaoyun opened his eyes. The moment he lifted his eyelids, two rays of light as sharp as blades shot out from his eyes. If anybody was there to witness this, they would find it hard to stare straight into his eyes.
For a while, Xiang Shaoyun found that his sight had become incomparably clear. He was able to see clearly even in pitch-black areas.
“Could I have formed my Heavenly Eyes just like that?” Xiang Shaoyun asked himself, excited beyond belief. He examined things with his eyes, finding that nothing could escape his sight. He could even see a tiny ant from afar.
“I hear that the Heavenly Eyes can see through all. Let’s see if I can see through that rock!” Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes then fell on a piece of rock. However, he found that he could not see inside it. He was then assured that it was only his eyesight that had changed. Wanting to develop Heavenly Eyes was still a ways off for him.
Xiang Shaoyun was not too depressed about this matter. Generally, Heavenly Eyes were formed since birth. Those without innate Heavenly Eyes would find it extremely difficult to cultivate. Furthermore, he had never specifically trained his eyes before. Wishing for his eyes to become Heavenly Eyes all of a sudden was extreme, even for him. However, his eyes becoming as powerful as they were now certainly had something to do with his physique.
All of a sudden, Xiang Shaoyun felt the ground tremble as something drew closer to him.
Stomp Stomp!
A demonic beast seemed to be coming from ahead of where he was. It was so massive that the cave itself seemed to be shaking!
“Roar!”
An ear-splitting roar sounded through the cave, giving Xiang Shaoyun a massive headache.
“Shit! The area in front of this place should be the king kong giant ape’s territory! It must’ve been guarding the water from the Earth Star Spring!” Xiang Shaoyun came to a sudden realization, his expression turning grave.
Quickly, Xiang Shaoyun retrieved a few empty gourds and proceeded to store as much of the spring water as he could. He had prepared these empty gourds to store the water from the Earth Star Spring anyway. Now was the time to use them.
As Xiang Shaoyun felt the king kong giant ape draw closer and closer, he quickly stowed the filled gourds as he ran for his life back the way he had come. The way he had come from was extremely narrow. There was no way for a king kong giant ape to pursue him through there. As such, he managed to successfully pass this round of danger.
Chapter 41: I’ve Actually Run Into a Dead End!
Taking the long path out, Xiang Shaoyun conveniently picked the golden flood snake flower as he left, along with several other old medicines. When he finally returned to where Little White was, he found that Little White’s beast aura was already converging. Furthermore, Little White had a ferociousness that terrified people. Even Xiang Shaoyun found it hard to withstand.
“Little White, if you’re able to suppress the power of the demonic core, please do so! The king kong giant ape is coming! If it senses our presence, we’ll have to leave at once,” Xiang Shaoyun urgently pleaded Little White.
Little White understood what Xiang Shaoyun was saying. Almost at once, he retracted all his beast aura and shrunk in size, returning to his cute form.
“Let’s go!” Xiang Shaoyun waited for Little White to leap onto his shoulder before escaping without a second thought. As he swiftly made his escape, he picked all the blood mushrooms on the way, not leaving a single one in the cave. In the past, he would not have cared one bit for these low-grade goods. Now, however, every single one of them was a great harvest. He had learned how to treasure every single item he came across. After plucking all the mushrooms, he and Little White exited the cave from where they had entered.
After exiting the cave, they started descending the mountain. However, Xiang Shaoyun had not run far when he felt an immense pressure at his back.
“Roar! Roar!”
It was the roar of the king kong giant ape! It had actually caught up to him by circling the whole way around!
“This can’t be! It’s actually caught up to us already?!” Xiang Shaoyun cried out in despair.
A Great Demon beast was comparable to a human Transformation Realm expert, an existence Xiang Shaoyun could not hope to contend with. That giant ape had probably sent even all the members of the Mad Lion Hunting Group running, much less him, who had just entered the Astral Realm!
The king kong giant ape was surprisingly agile, closing the gap between the two of them with just a few leaps. Xiang Shaoyun’s heart was full of unwillingness. In that very moment, he thought to himself, I’m done for now! How can this young master die in the very prime of youth?
Just as Xiang Shaoyun was readying himself to meet his maker, several people leaped out of the bushes nearby and came rushing over to the king kong giant ape.
“King kong giant ape, go to hell!” The person leading the charge was none other than the leader of the group, Mad Lion himself.
It seemed that a victor had yet to be decided between the king kong giant ape and the Mad Lion Hunting Group, with neither side gaining a noticeable advantage. Aside from Mad Lion himself, several other vice-captains of the Mad Lion Hunting Group were also joining hands to take down the king kong giant ape.
To Transformation Realm experts such as them, the Earth Star Spring would not aid them in increasing their combat power. However, it did have the ability to cleanse their systems, which was why it was so highly sought after.
Most importantly, if they managed to get ahold of the Earth Star Spring, it would provide them a huge boost in training their successors. Aside from the Earth Star Spring, it was rumoured that a top-tier spirit medicine was growing in the king kong giant ape’s territory, a piece of news that left all of them reeling.
Since that was the case, they were all prepared to fight the king kong giant ape to the very end. Xiang Shaoyun took the opportunity to escape as fast as he possibly could.
“Stop that brat! He must’ve gotten ahold of the spirit medicine! Otherwise, why would the king kong giant ape chase him so furiously?” Mad Lion’s roar alerted his subordinates of Xiang Shaoyun.
“Damned old man!” Xiang Shaoyun cursed to himself.
Overlord’s Nine Nether Steps!
With the explosive growth of Xiang Shaoyun’s overall power, the Overlord’s Nine Nether Steps could now display a sliver of its full potential. Top-tier movement techniques such as this one would usually be unravelled more and more as its user’s strength correspondingly increased.
In the past, Xiang Shaoyun was a mere Basic Realm cultivator. Now that he had reached the Astral Realm, the
Astral Energy in his body flowed endlessly out of his natal chart, substantially strengthening his legs. Like a gale of wind, he dashed to a place no one was blocking.
“Chase after that brat!” Although Mad Lion had been heavily injured in his exchange with the king kong giant ape, he still had numerous people by his side.
All of them rushed straight for Xiang Shaoyun, each of them riding a demonic beast. Thankfully for Xiang Shaoyun, he had already opened up a considerable distance between himself and his pursuers. Otherwise, they would’ve captured him long ago.
Seeing Xiang Shaoyun get faster the more they chased him, one of the men could not help but leap off his mount and rush towards Xiang Shaoyun. This was a late Astral Realm expert; hence, chasing him by foot was actually faster than riding a mount.
“It’s the brat that killed Li Hui! Looks like I’ll have the chance to avenge him!” the late Astral Realm expert muttered to himself, a savage glint in his eye.
“Brat, you can’t escape!” This particular pursuer was indeed quick. After he yelled at Xiang Shaoyun, he drew a long spear and flung it straight at him.
Seeing all that was happening, Little White frantically yelped as he tried to warn Xiang Shaoyun. Xiang Shaoyun understood what Little White was trying to tell him and leaped to the right, dangerously avoiding the oncoming spear.
However, the dodge forced Xiang Shaoyun to tumble in an awkward direction, significantly affecting his speed. The Astral Realm expert behind him was now merely 50 meters from him!
“Dammit! I need more power! I’m still not strong enough!” Xiang Shaoyun bitterly smiled to himself.
Simultaneously, he began expending all the energy he possibly could, revolving the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual to its very limit. His nine stars began to glow as his speed increased once again. The moment his pursuer thought he had caught the brat, he found that Xiang Shaoyun’s speed had increased yet again!
This brat really is strange! He is only a first-stage Astral Realm cultivator, but his speed is comparable to that of a third-stage or even a fourth-stage cultivator! the Astral Realm expert pondered to himself.