Chapter Forty-Four: The Beginning of Ascetic Practices

  The inner circle of the Magic Beast Mountain Range was expanded again due to Hei Jiao's invasion and the previous destruction by Ling Feng and others. The originally clear lake water had completely disappeared, leaving only a muddy swamp that emitted a faintly bloody smell of aquatic plants.

  The body of the black python was too huge, coiled in the center of the green stone on the lake. Even if Jiang Huan's physical strength was not what it used to be, he couldn't move the python's corpse. He had no choice but to dig up all the mud around the green stone and then push it into the depths of the swamp bit by bit. Although the green stone was also huge, the muddy bottom of the lake seemed very deep. After several hours of effort, the black python finally sank into this swampy land.

  After filling up all the dug-up mud, Jiang Hao had been busy for a whole afternoon, while Shi Tian was quietly watching Jiang Hao on the side, and a smile finally appeared on his small face covered with mud.

  "Hei Jiao senior, I will avenge you." Jiang Huan squatted down, his hand touching the mud, and said softly.

  Then, Jiang Huan stood up, his battle energy bursting out, and the mud on his body was shaken off. He let out a long whistle, picked up the dragon egg in front of him, and turned around, disappearing into the dense forest, leaving behind only a trail of destruction to show that an earth-shaking battle had taken place here.

  Wow!

  The wind had passed and the people were gone. Jiang Hao turned around, put the egg behind his back, and set off in a hurry, using the Wind Chasing Step to break through the wind and head towards the inner enclosure.

  At this time, Jiang Hao was still in the central area of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Initially, it was because Hei Jiao had the bloodline of the Dragon Clan, which exerted a powerful pressure, and coupled with the strong aura of that sixth-stage being, all the magic beasts in the central area were frightened and hid. Now that Hei Jiao is dead, those magic beasts will definitely come out to investigate when they can't sense his aura. Although they may not be as powerful as Hei Jiao, the lowest level of magic beasts in this mountain range is at least third-stage, and it's possible that there are even fifth-stage beings present.

  Jiang Hao asked himself, if he were to encounter a third-tier magical beast now, although it's not necessarily a match for him, escaping would be absolutely no problem. In fact, some of the weaker third-tier magical beasts Jiang Hao could even contend with on an equal footing. But who knows what kind of magical beast he'll run into? If by chance he were to encounter a fourth-tier magical beast, without Tianyi's help, he wouldn't stand a chance.

  So Jiang Hao had to leave here quickly and head to the inner ring. Before the Dragon Blood Refining Body, Jiang Hao felt very strenuous holding the dragon egg with both hands, but now, Jiang Hao carried the dragon egg on his back, displaying the Wind Chasing Step, still effortlessly, without any signs of exhaustion. The surging battle energy inside his dantian spread throughout his body, making him feel that his whole body was filled with strength, and that feeling was quite wonderful.

  His speed was twice as fast as before, and after half a time, Jiang Heng had already arrived at the edge of the cliff. A thousand feet away was the inner circle of the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Without stopping, Jiang Heng's legs shook lightly, and a thread of war energy shot out like a gust of wind. With a slight movement of his toes, he had already traversed hundreds of meters. As if following a set pattern, threads of war energy continued to appear under Jiang Heng's feet, and with each slight movement of his toes, he traversed hundreds of meters again. In just half the time it took to burn an incense stick, Jiang Heng's feet had already stepped onto the other side of the cliff.

  "Hao'er, being able to reach this realm by chasing the wind is already a great accomplishment, hehe." The Xie Tian floated out of the necklace and hung quietly in mid-air, looking at Jiang Hao with a relieved expression.

  "Teacher, does this mean I can practice the Thunder Step now?" Jiang Hao asked hastily. The Wind Step was already so powerful, how could the Thunder Step not be even more formidable?

  Tianyi shook his head and said, "Hehe, don't rush, even if your current martial aura far surpasses those of the same level, it's still not enough. Wait until you break through to Martial Master before starting to cultivate."

  "Huh?" He felt the surging battle energy within his body, which hadn't decreased significantly despite continuously using Pursuing Wind Step. Yet, surprisingly, Jiang Heng said that even with his own cultivation of Pursuing Thunder Step, his battle energy was still slightly insufficient. Jiang Hao was shocked - this Pursuing Thunder Step was too abnormal!

  "Haha, don't think too much about it, what's most important right now is to improve your cultivation. After all, you're still just an eight-star warrior." Arcane Sky said with a smile.

  "Teacher, you seem to have forgotten that I'm only eight years old." Jiang Hao made a sour face as he looked at Xie Tian who was laughing loudly.

  "Ah, without realizing it, you've grown another year older. However, this isn't a reason, haha, how can my disciple be compared to ordinary people?"

  "Teacher, what's next?" Jiang Hao glanced at the laughing Tianyi, feeling quite helpless. This teacher had been smiling a lot lately, and it was really strange since he used to look so fierce at first.

  "Alright, starting from here, I want you to defeat one second-tier magical beast every day. Remember, it's defeat, not kill. Also, you're not allowed to use daggers or any other weapons. Got it?" Arcane smiled and said with a serious face after glancing at the cliff behind him.

  "Ah! I'm going to... Teacher, you're too much!" Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Heng saw Yi Tian's ferocious expression and hastily covered his mouth.

  "You little rabbit, if you curse at the teacher again, I'll slap you against the wall so hard that even a scratch can't get you down." After finishing speaking, the soul power of the tyrant transformed into a big foot and kicked Jiang Huan flying out.

  "Ah!" A shrill cry echoed through the forest as Jiang Huan was kicked hundreds of meters away by Tian's foot.

  "Rabbit, stop pretending, you're now a little cockroach that can't be killed, come here quickly." Hearing the miserable scream like killing a pig, Di Tian Bai Yan flipped his eyes, and his own kick didn't use much force, this kid is really a treasure.

  ······

  Behind a giant tree that seemed to touch the sky, Jiang Huan held his breath and stuck close, his eyes fixed tightly on a clump of grass in front of him that was about one person high. On the empty ground before that clump of grass lay a large piece of roasted pork leg that had been charred black.

  "Teacher, is this move useful?" Jiang Hao had already waited for half a time and still had no results, and couldn't help but doubt the method of killing the sky.

  "Stop arguing, can't you feel anything?" Yi Tian said irritably.

  As soon as the words fell, Jiang Hao clearly felt that the ground had shaken slightly, and then the shaking became more and more obvious, with a larger amplitude.

  Whoa!

  A man-high clump of grass suddenly split open, and a demon with the head of a horse and the body of an ox emerged. Its head was covered in black hard armor, and in the middle stood a half-finger high yellow flesh horn. Its four limbs were exceptionally short and stout, yet fearsome, tightly packed under its not-so-large belly, looking rather comical. A pair of small eyes rolled around, staring at the large thigh in front of it that emitted a strong meaty aroma.

  "Golden Horned Beast, a second-tier strength-type magical beast. Its attack power is not high but its charging force is astonishing. However, it's very timid and won't initiate an attack." A piece of information floated into Jiang Hao's mind.

  The golden horned beast turned its big head left and right, looking at the meat on the empty ground, a pair of small eyes showing vigilant gaze, four limbs slightly curved, ready to escape at any time.

  This continued for half a time, and the golden horned beast did not move at all. Just when Jiang Hao could no longer bear it, it seemed that he had not felt any danger, plus the temptation of the meat fragrance, the golden horned beast finally moved.

  It only saw its hind legs suddenly kick out, and the next moment its fat body had already jumped out, with a big mouth open to hold the meat in its mouth, and then it turned around and drilled into the grass behind.

  This series of actions was completed in an extremely short period of time. When Jiang Hao came to his senses, the Golden Horned Beast's large head had already burrowed into the thicket.

  "Want to run? It's not that easy! Grandpa has been waiting for so long!"

  With a light drink, the next moment Jiang Hao's figure had appeared above the Golden Horned Beast, his hands clenched into fists, and he fiercely smashed them towards the Golden Horned Beast. This punch Jiang Hao did not use battle energy.

  Jiang Hao's sudden appearance startled the Golden Horned Beast, which slightly swung its right legs and charged forward with its body tilted, barely dodging Jiang Hao's fist.

  "Hmph, you're quite fast." Jiang Heng's legs moved slightly as he chased after the wind, and in an instant, he was already standing in front of the Golden Horned Beast.

  The Golden Horned Beast let out a loud roar, its charging body finally came to a stop, and it glared at Jiang Heng with a ferocious expression, its large mouth still tightly clenched on the meat, white air puffing out of its nostrils.

  "Haha, come on little pig, Grandpa doesn't need to hold back!" Jiang Huan took off his top and beckoned the Golden Horned Beast with one hand, his eyes burning with battle intent.

  The little eyes of the Golden Horned Beast stared tightly at Jiang Hao, and although the human in front of him was not tall, he somehow gave himself a sense of oppression, running would be no use, so he could only fight.