Chapter 321: Stone Beast

Chapter 321: Stone Beast

If it were a true Spiritual Medicine, it would have long fled and would never have waited to be discovered by Ning Xiaochiao. This was merely a Semi-Miraculous Medicine, only five hundred years old, its medicinal properties far inferior to those of a genuine Spiritual Medicine.

Ning Xiaochiao couldn’t afford to spend five hundred years nurturing it into a true Spiritual Medicine. Right now, he needed the Life Pearl to refine his body.

Could the Three-Leaved Life Grass truly achieve resurrection? Ning Xiaochiao didn’t know. But he did know that the Life Pearl could refine a Martial Artist’s body, enhancing their physique and talent. This was precisely why he desired the Three-Leaved Life Grass so much.

Just as Ning Xiaochiao was about to gather the herb, the ground suddenly trembled.

"Boom—"

Beneath his feet, the black rocks split apart, forming a fissure five meters wide and over 100 meters long.

"Roar—!"

A fierce roar erupted from the underground world.

A massive Black Stone Beast emerged from the fissure, widening the gap further. Stones weighing 500 kilograms were flung into the air before crashing to the ground.

The Black Stone Beast stood 10 meters tall, its body resembling a wild ox with sharp horns and four stone hooves. Massive stones from the ground flew toward it, merging with its body and causing it to expand further. Now standing 12 meters tall and 18 meters long, it was a true behemoth.

Ning Xiaochiao stood before it, dwarfed even by a single stone on its hooves.

Once again, Ning Xiaochiao was astonished. "There are actually Stone Beasts here?"

It seemed this world wasn’t as lifeless as it appeared on the surface. Perhaps he would encounter even more extraordinary things.

Though this Stone Beast was powerful and possessed terrifying destructive capabilities, it couldn’t intimidate Ning Xiaochiao.

Ning Xiaochiao was even more savage. He grabbed one of the Stone Beast’s hooves and hurled it hundreds of meters away, smashing it into a pile of rubble.

"Roar—!"

The Stone Beast, possessing an Undying Body, reassembled itself and charged at Ning Xiaochiao once more.

Frowning slightly, Ning Xiaochiao suddenly had an idea. He immediately summoned the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron, directly sealing the Stone Beast inside and refining it with the Yin-Yang Bright Flame.

At the same time, he summoned the Double-headed Stone Beast from the Mystic Beast Manual and cast it into the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron as well.

Ning Xiaochiao intended to use the Yin-Yang Bright Flame to fuse the two Stone Beasts together.

As the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron hovered in the air, the rocks composing the two Stone Beasts melted into molten lava, merging into one.

While the cauldron refined the Stone Beasts, Ning Xiaochiao plucked the Three-Leaved Life Grass. After extracting the white Life Pearl, he stored the herb itself in a Frost Jade Box.

Though the primary essence of the Three-Leaved Life Grass lay within the Life Pearl, the herb itself still held medicinal value and could be used to concoct Advanced Pills.

"Boom—!"

The Heart Nurturing True Cauldron opened, and a crimson Double-headed Stone Beast emerged. Now standing 14 meters tall, it had grown even larger, its body dripping with molten lava like a blazing divine beast. Where it stood, the earth sizzled and burned beneath its scorching heat.

The Small Red Dragon, utterly excited and unfazed by the searing lava, flapped its tiny wings and landed on the Double-headed Stone Beast’s back. Letting out eager cries, it seemed intent on riding the beast into a gallop.

The Double-headed Stone Beast was originally under Ning Xiaochiao's control, but after the Small Red Dragon roared at it for a long time, it actually began to charge forward.

Only then did Ning Xiaochiao notice that the Small Red Dragon was holding a fan-shaped bone in its claws—the "Mystic Beast Manual."

It had actually swiped the "Mystic Beast Manual"!

After careful consideration, Ning Xiaochiao ultimately chose to trust Small Red, believing it wouldn’t cause too much trouble. With that, he confidently began refining the Life Pearl using the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron.

If other Martial Artists obtained the Life Pearl, they would have no choice but to consume it directly. In that case, even if it were a Semi-Miraculous Medicine, they would only absorb one-tenth of its medicinal properties.

But Ning Xiaochiao was different.

As a Heart Nurturer, he could refine the Life Pearl into a "Life Pill," allowing him to fully utilize its medicinal power.

Consuming one Life Pill was equivalent to other Martial Artists consuming ten Life Pearls.

At his current level, Ning Xiaochiao quickly refined the Life Pearl into a Life Pill, adding only Nine-Colored Profound Water and Heart Nurturing Grass. Thus, the Life Pill remained pure, its radiance growing even brighter.

He immediately swallowed the Life Pill, which dissolved instantly, transforming into wisps of Pill Qi that seeped into his bloodstream.

The medicinal properties flowed through his Bloodline, spreading to every part of his body, merging with his bones, flesh, and internal organs, strengthening his physique.

Ning Xiaochiao’s Blood Qi gradually increased, his blood boiling so intensely that it seeped out of his pores, taking the form of Divine Tigers.

Now, a single drop of his blood could manifest four Divine Tigers—his Blood Qi was exceptionally dense. After refining the Life Pill, he directly reached the level of "One Blood, Five Tigers."

Of course, this wasn’t solely the Life Pill’s merit. Even before refining it, Ning Xiaochiao’s Blood Qi had already been incredibly potent, with a single drop of blood nearly manifesting four and a half Divine Tigers.

The Life Pill had helped him break through more than halfway.

His Blood Qi had ascended to another level.

The Three-Leaved Life Grass growing here was no coincidence.

Since this was the location of the Heavenly Emperor's Divine Palace, there must be other Three-Leaved Life Grass nearby.

"If I can obtain enough Life Pearls, I might be able to break through to the 'Blood Qi Like a Dragon' realm in one go. At that point, my talent might even reach the level of being 'Once-in-Ten-Millennia.'"

Ning Xiaochiao clearly felt his physical strength had grown stronger. With a single palm strike against the ground, he shattered the earth within a radius of over 10 meters, creating countless spiderweb-like cracks.

"Boom—"

The earth trembled, and Ning Xiaochiao struggled to keep his balance as an earth-shaking roar filled his ears.

"What’s happening? My power is suppressed—it shouldn’t be this strong..."

He turned to look behind him and saw a rolling black cloud approaching on the horizon.

The Small Red Dragon sat atop the Double-headed Stone Beast, staring at Ning Xiaochiao ahead while letting out excited cries.

Behind them, dozens of massive stone beasts followed. The smallest among them stood 16 meters tall, while the largest reached a staggering 60 meters.

The larger the stone beast, the greater its strength.

A full-force charge from a 60-meter-tall stone beast could rival the full-powered strike of a Martial Artist in the Earthly Venerable Realm.

"Good heavens, what kind of heinous crime did this guy commit? How did he provoke so many stone beasts?" Ning Xiaochiao decided he could never trust it again—this idiot dragon was nothing but a troublemaker.

He flew onto the back of the Double-headed Stone Beast, swiftly grabbed Small Red Dragon, and snatched the Mystic Beast Manual from its claw.

At the same time, Ning Xiaochiao found a white Life Pearl in its tiny claw.

This Life Pearl was already 800 years old, and the medicinal energy contained within was twice as potent as the previous 500-year-old Life Pearl.

"Good grief. I’ll hold onto this Life Pearl for you first." Ning Xiaochiao pocketed the Life Pearl.

Small Red Dragon immediately panicked, lunging forward to snatch it back.

Ning Xiaochiao took out a spherical orb with a diameter of a full meter and handed it to Small Red Dragon, saying, "This Dragon Eye is at least ten thousand times bigger than the Life Pearl. If you refine it, your cultivation will definitely improve. I’ll take the loss and trade it for the Life Pearl."

Small Red Dragon’s eyes instantly lit up. It took the Dragon Eye—many times larger than its own body—and swallowed it whole, instantly bloating into a giant ball.

Ning Xiaochiao smirked inwardly. Though Dragon Eyes were precious, they weren’t hard to find. But Life Pearls were different—they had been extinct for over ten thousand years, classified as Semi-Miraculous Medicine, something one could only stumble upon by sheer luck.

Trading a Dragon Eye for a Life Pearl was more than worth it.

Besides, the eighteen Dragon Eyes had been stolen from the Crown Prince, and Ning Xiaochiao still had seventeen left. He didn’t feel the slightest regret.

"Roar!"

A 25-meter-tall stone beast lunged forward, swinging a massive claw down at him.

Ning Xiaochiao immediately stored the Life Pearl, steadied himself on the Double-headed Stone Beast’s back, and summoned a colossal Lightning claw in his palm, shattering the stone beast’s claw into fragments.

"Boom!"

The stone beasts behind him chased frantically.

Their forms varied—some resembled wild oxen, others divine lions, elephants, or even tyrannical dragons, while some had enormous Dual Wings like strange, giant birds.

"Screech!"

A piercing cry rang out as a stone bird swooped down.

This stone bird had wings spanning 30 meters, resembling a peacock, except its entire body was pieced together from stone, with Flames burning in its eyes.

It extended a sharp claw, aiming straight for Ning Xiaochiao.

"Whoosh!"

Ning Xiaochiao summoned the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron, directly sealing the bird-like stone beast inside.

The bird thrashed violently within the cauldron, trying to break free.

Its strength was immense, rocking the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron wildly, as if it might blast the lid off.

"Yin-Yang Bright Flame!"

Ning Xiaochiao channeled the Yin-Yang Bright Flame to refine the bird while also drawing the Double-headed Stone Beast into the cauldron, intending to fuse the stone bird into its body to further enhance its power.

"Swish!"

A pair of enormous wings unfurled from Ning Xiaochiao’s back as he soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of white light, leaving the stone beasts far behind.

The land of this world was covered in black rock, while the sky was shrouded in thick, dark clouds.

The higher Ning Xiaochiao flew, the greater the oppressive force he felt. By the time he reached an altitude of 500 meters, it had already become quite strenuous, making it impossible for him to ascend further.

Ning Xiaochiao had originally intended to fly beyond the clouds to see what kind of world lay behind them. However, this world possessed an unknown force that suppressed the flight of Martial Artists. No matter how high one's cultivation, it was impossible to fly beyond the cloud layer.

Thus, Ning Xiaochiao descended to an altitude of 300 meters and continued flying.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

From behind, massive stones came flying toward him, each weighing over 5,000 kg, some even wreathed in flames.

These were stones hurled by the Stone Beasts.

They possessed the ability to control earth and stone, carving out canyons and moving mountains with ease. Throwing massive stones to attack Ning Xiaochiao as he flew through the sky was an effortless task for them.