Chapter 147: The First Mystic Beast Palace

Chapter 147: The First Mystic Beast Palace

Furnace Mountain, located at the edge of Ghost Dream Wilderness, was also the site of Three Masters Martial Academy. It was an active volcano with immense energy, where streams of magma could be seen flowing down the summit at any moment—crimson-red and billowing thick smoke, melting the soil with a sizzling sound.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of dazzling rainbow light darted swiftly above the flowing magma.

Ning Xiaochuan's feet skimmed the surface of the molten rock before he soared upward again, swift as a fleeting reflection on a lake. Transforming into a radiant rainbow, his body flickered three times in succession before landing atop a massive boulder weighing 5,000 kilograms.

He stood firmly.

He was practicing "Rainbow Teleportation" atop the magma. A single misstep, and his body would plunge into the molten rock, his flesh and blood reduced to ashes by the intense heat.

After half a month of rigorous training, Ning Xiaochuan had mastered the "Rainbow Three-Movement Body" level of Rainbow Teleportation.

The so-called "Rainbow Three-Movement Body" meant that Ning Xiaochuan could now change his position three times in an instant, achieving an unfathomable and peerless movement technique.

The Great Perfection of Rainbow Teleportation, however, was the "Rainbow Seven-Movement Body," where one could shift positions seven times in an instant. No matter how high one's cultivation, predicting his next movement would be nearly impossible.

Once unleashed, Rainbow Teleportation could kill in the blink of an eye.

"Half a month, and I’ve only reached the Rainbow Three-Movement Body. My progress is still far too slow." A sense of urgency weighed on Ning Xiaochuan’s mind. He had already received news that Ming Yang, after three days of cultivation in the Heavenly Palace, had reached the Eighth Level of the Divine Body Realm.

Three days in the Heavenly Palace was equivalent to three years of cultivation in the outside world.

Ning Xiaochuan planned to hunt mystic beasts, using their Blood Qi to enhance his cultivation. The densest concentration of mystic beasts naturally lay deep within Ghost Dream Wilderness.

Having already embarked on the Annihilation Path, Ning Xiaochuan no longer hesitated to wield the power of the Demonic Sword.

After informing Ning Xin'er at Three Masters Martial Academy, Ning Xiaochuan set off alone to train in Ghost Dream Wilderness.

"Xin'er, what did your brother just tell you? Where is he going?" Yu Qianqian held a bronze tome in her hands, studying methods to break through to the Advanced Heart Nurturer realm. Seeing Ning Xiaochuan packing his belongings and leaving, she hurried over to ask.

Ning Xin'er still held some goodwill toward Yu Qianqian, knowing the princess genuinely cared for her brother. She replied, "Brother said he’s going into Ghost Dream Wilderness to train and push his martial arts to a higher level."

"Did he say how long he’d be gone?"

Yu Qianqian was annoyed. How could he leave without even telling her about something so important?

Ning Xin'er answered, "At least three months."

"Ghost Dream Wilderness is the most primal forest in the Emperor's Ruins—vast and boundless, filled with treacherous mountains, deep valleys, mystic beasts, and venomous creatures. Its dangers surpass even those of the Fire Demon Mountain Range. If Ning Xiaochuan didn’t bring a map and accidentally wanders into a forbidden zone, what then? No, I have to go after him!"

Yu Qianqian set down the bronze tome and rushed to pack her things, preparing to chase after him into Ghost Dream Wilderness.

"Is Ghost Dream Wilderness really that dangerous? Then I’ll go with you!" Ning Xin'er blinked, her long, curved lashes fluttering.

"No, Ghost Dream Wilderness is too dangerous. If something happens to you, I won’t be able to explain it to your brother," Yu Qianqian said. She was two years older than Ning Xin'er and half a head taller, with long legs, making her look like Ning Xin'er's elder sister.

"My cultivation level is no lower than yours. Why can you go, but I can't?" Ning Xin'er retorted.

"Xin'er, listen to me. Ghost Dream Wilderness isn’t as simple as you think. There are rumors of mystic beasts beyond the seventh grade, ones that can even take human form. I have the Sword Pellet to protect myself, but you don’t."

Yu Qianqian packed her belongings into the Heaven and Earth Bag, then activated her movement technique, transforming into a streak of white light. In just a few leaps, she vanished from the Three Masters Martial Academy.

Ning Xiaochuan had already been walking through Ghost Dream Wilderness for three days, venturing 100 kilometers deep into the forest, where powerful mystic beasts lurked at every turn. In just three days, he had slain over twenty of them.

He was now sitting by a small stream, washing the blood from his hands—blood that had splattered on him after killing a third-grade Golden Wolf Mystic Beast.

Suddenly, Ning Xiaochuan sensed danger rapidly approaching. Lightning gathered in his palm as he fixed his gaze across the stream.

"Roar!"

From the forest on the other side, leaves scattered as a six-meter-tall double-headed beast charged out, standing at the edge of the stream and roaring at him.

Ning Xiaochuan let out a soft exclamation.

The towering double-headed beast resembled a cross between a lion and a tiger, with two heads and four eyes.

The key detail was that its entire body was composed of stacked stones, exuding a chilling aura of cold.

A Stone Beast.

Stone Beasts were also a type of mystic beast.

Legends said that every Stone Beast had cultivated for at least five hundred years, making them far more formidable than ordinary mystic beasts—nearly indestructible.

"Ghost Dream Wilderness actually breeds Stone Beasts? This wilderness is more dangerous than I anticipated."

Sensing the perilous aura radiating from the double-headed Stone Beast, Ning Xiaochuan considered retreating quietly. But the beast had no intention of letting him go. It crossed the stream in a single leap, lunging at him.

Though its body was made of stone, as a mystic beast, it possessed high intelligence and could even emit piercing howls.

"Boom!"

Ning Xiaochuan struck the Stone Beast’s claw with his palm, feeling a surge of thick, icy energy transmit through it—as if the beast’s body had turned into a glacier.

This double-headed Stone Beast was at least a fourth-grade mystic beast.

A fourth-grade mystic beast possessed the strength to shatter a small mountain. If a freshman from the Emperor’s Martial Academy encountered one, they wouldn’t even have a chance to escape.

But Ning Xiaochuan was no ordinary freshman.

He unleashed eight consecutive palm strikes, forcing the double-headed Stone Beast back with agonized howls until it tumbled into the stream, sending water splashing everywhere.

"Condense Sword!"

The water vapor from the stream coalesced into a hundred Ice Swords, merging into a single massive blade over eight meters long. It slashed down at the double-headed Stone Beast.

"Boom!"

Large chunks of stone broke off the beast’s body, its back caving in as it was nearly shattered.

Standing by the stream, Ning Xiaochuan prepared to extract the Mystic Stones from the Stone Beast’s body.

"Whoosh—"

The stones that had fallen to the ground flew back and reattached themselves to the Double-headed Stone Beast's body.

The Double-headed Stone Beast was completely unharmed. It let out a long roar and lunged at Ning Xiaochuan once more.

"What a tough one—truly an indestructible body! Annihilation Sword Wave!"

A dazzling light condensed at Ning Xiaochuan's fingertip. With a single thrust, he pierced through the Double-headed Stone Beast's forehead, shattering its head into a pile of rubble.

From the broken stones, blood splattered, staining Ning Xiaochuan's clothes crimson.

Though the Double-headed Stone Beast's body was made of stone, years of cultivation had allowed it to develop refined blood within its form, known as "Mystic Beast Stone Blood."

Because Stone Beasts were rare, Mystic Beast Stone Blood was exceptionally precious—a treasured material for refining Intermediate Elixirs.

Ning Xiaochuan took out a jade vial, intending to collect some of the Mystic Beast Stone Blood. But just as he approached the Double-headed Stone Beast, its body dissolved into specks of light that flew into his embrace.

"Huh?"

Ning Xiaochuan quickly retrieved a glowing bone from his chest—the very object the light particles had entered.

The bone was fan-shaped, as hard as Mystic Iron, and engraved with three ancient characters: "Mystic Beast Manual."

This was something Ning Xiaochuan had taken from the Seven Stars Treasure Cave in the Jian Pavilion Marquis House. Sensing its extraordinary nature, he had kept it close, carrying it in his robes.

Earlier, when the Double-headed Stone Beast had its head shattered by Ning Xiaochuan's Annihilation Sword Wave and collapsed into the stream, he had expected it to revive again. Instead, it had transformed into light and flown into this Bone Leaf.

"The Mystic Beast Manual… Could it be that this Bone Leaf is actually an incredible Mystic Artifact capable of subduing mystic beasts? As long as a mystic beast's blood touches it, the beast will be drawn inside?"

Ning Xiaochuan noticed that the Bone Leaf had undergone a change. Channeling a strand of Martial Arts Profound Qi into it, he focused his mind to sense its interior. To his astonishment, he discovered a wondrous Space within.

The Space was filled entirely with white light, and a stone tablet hovered in its center, inscribed with five ancient characters: "First Mystic Beast Palace."

Could there be a Second Mystic Beast Palace, a Third Mystic Beast Palace…?

The Double-headed Stone Beast lay within the First Mystic Beast Palace, now no larger than a palm, devoid of any ferocity—docile as a small pet.

"Double-headed Stone Beast greets its Master!"

The beast uttered a series of strange sounds incomprehensible to outsiders, yet Ning Xiaochuan could somehow understand its words.

"Alright, then I'll call you Little Shuang from now on." Ning Xiaochuan was ecstatic—this was an enormous windfall.

If the Mystic Beast Manual could truly subdue mystic beasts and turn them into obedient servants, then this Bone Leaf was nothing short of priceless. Even a Ninth-grade Mystic Artifact would pale in comparison to its value.

Just imagine—if he could obtain a drop of blood from a seventh-rank mystic beast, he could subdue it as a loyal servant. With such a powerful Battle Pet, how many times would his combat strength increase?

If Ning Xiaochuan could tame a sufficient number of powerful mystic beasts, he might single-handedly challenge the entire Cloud Alliance. Releasing all those mystic beasts at once would surely reduce the Cloud Alliance to rubble, wouldn't it?

Ning Xiaochuan carefully observed the double-headed Stone Beast within the First Mystic Beast Palace and noticed it was absorbing the white light radiating within the palace. After taking in the white light, the Stone Beast's cultivation slowly improved, and the rocks composing its body began to change, expelling impurities and undergoing a physical transformation.

This was the power of the Mystic Beast Manual—altering the physique of mystic beasts and aiding their cultivation. In other words, if the double-headed Stone Beast remained within the manual for an extended period, not only would its cultivation grow stronger, but it might even evolve into a fifth-rank mystic beast or even a sixth-rank mystic beast.

After discovering this phenomenon, Ning Xiaochuan was even more astonished. Just what level of treasure was the Mystic Beast Manual? It could actually elevate the rank of mystic beasts and assist in their cultivation!