Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 637 - 622: Subduing the "Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast" [Requesting Subscription]

The battle had ended before it even began.

Ruan Xiong never imagined, until his death, that despite both being at the Eighth-Layer Golden Core, he couldn’t withstand even three moves against Zhouyang.

Zhouyang’s Minor Achievement level "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light" was nearly unbeatable against Golden Core Stage cultivators who hadn’t prepared specific countermeasures.

Even a powerful Eighth-Layer Golden Core cultivator like Ruan Xiong, after being hit, couldn’t showcase any skills before Zhouyang easily decapitated him with his flying sword.

However, what Zhouyang did not expect was that after Ruan Xiong’s death, the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast, which had initially lunged at him, suddenly turned around with a look of rapture, pouncing towards Ruan Xiong’s corpse.

Something’s wrong!

Zhouyang’s expression changed, and the flying sword that had decapitated Ruan Xiong was immediately directed back to slash at the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast.

He himself let out a shout and summoned the Heaven-Suppressing Azure Dragon Cauldron, sealing the void within a radius of several miles.

The void was sealed, and the massive body of the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast instantly crashed hard onto the ground, causing the earth to tremble violently.

Roar!

An enraged roar erupted from the mouth of the fallen Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast. While swatting away the flying sword that slashed at it with its claws, it propelled itself madly towards Ruan Xiong’s headless corpse.

Though it ran incredibly fast, it could never be faster than the unrestrained Zhouyang.

By the time it finally reached its destination, Ruan Xiong’s corpse had already been retrieved into the Qianyang Golden Tower by Zhouyang.

"What? Are you looking for this?"

In the air, meeting the furious gaze of the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast, Zhouyang raised his hand to reveal a blood-colored token he found on Ruan Xiong.

This blood-colored token was merely half a foot long, emanating a faint blood-hued light. Through this light, one could faintly make out the silhouette of a small blue beast attached to the token.

If examined closely, it would be discovered that the silhouette of the blue beast looked exactly like the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast.

Roar!

The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast stared intently at the blood-colored token in Zhouyang’s hand, letting out a suppressed low growl from its throat.

Among its eyes, Zhouyang saw a mix of longing, fear, anger, and various other emotions.

Seeing this, Zhouyang’s heart grew firmer in his speculation, and he couldn’t help but chuckle and say, "If I am not mistaken, this object is the reason you follow Ruan Xiong’s orders. The beast shadow in the token should be a part of your demon soul, right?"

What he didn’t expect was that upon hearing this, the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast hesitated for a moment before suddenly speaking in human tongue, "Human, tell me, what will it take for you to return my Lifebound Soul Token to me?"

"You can speak human language!"

Zhouyang looked at the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast in surprise, then seemed to recall something, looking suddenly enlightened, he said: "Indeed, with Ruan Xiong’s strength alone, how could he possibly subdue such a powerful Tier Five High-Grade Demon Beast like you, let alone strip your demon soul to refine this Lifebound Soul Token!"

"If you return the Lifebound Soul Token to me, I’ll tell you a great secret and give you the treasures I’ve accumulated over my lifetime. What do you say?"

The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast, seeing that Zhouyang didn’t respond, proactively stated its terms.

"Ha ha ha, you’re quite the comedian!"

Zhouyang laughed, his face full of teasing as he looked at the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast and said, "With your Lifebound Soul Token in my hand, your life and death are in my control. What qualifications do you have to negotiate with me? As for the treasures you’ve accumulated over your lifetime, if I’m not mistaken, Ruan Xiong has likely already taken them, and now they’re in my possession as well!"

"You..."

The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast glared at Zhouyang, its tail flicking angrily.

"Enough, if you don’t want to suffer, be obedient to me; otherwise, I don’t mind killing you and using your claws, teeth, and scales for artifact refining!"

Zhouyang’s expression darkened, and he suddenly channeled magical power into the blood-colored token in his hand, forming a nail that harshly pierced the blue beast on the token.

Roar~!

The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast let out a miserable cry, collapsing to the ground involuntarily, wailing in agony.

After a while, it finally got up again, looking at Zhouyang with a gaze filled with hatred and fear, not daring to mention giving back the Lifebound Soul Token again.

"That’s better, behave well with me from now on, and you won’t be short of benefits!"

Zhouyang nodded satisfied, then opened his mouth and directly swallowed the Lifebound Soul Token, refining it as a magical artifact.

This [Lifebound Soul Token] is originally a special magical artifact. Once refined, a mere thought can activate the restriction within to punish the controlled demon beast, making it extremely useful.

After he refined this magical artifact, as long as the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] doesn’t advance to the Tier Six Demon King realm, it won’t be able to resist him.

The [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] clearly understood this as well. Hence, upon seeing Zhouyang refine the [Lifebound Soul Token], it completely gave up on regaining its freedom, not even daring to look at Zhouyang with hatred, fearing that it might incur Zhouyang’s retaliatory punishment.

As for the benefits Zhouyang mentioned earlier, it only listened indifferently, not taking them seriously at all.

These stingy and selfish human cultivators won’t even let its hard-won treasure go unclaimed, so how could they possibly give it any benefits?

However, in the next moment, Zhouyang’s actions left it stunned.

Zhouyang waved his hand, and two pieces of [Blood Dragon Rice], resembling dragon teeth, a foot long and about two inches wide, were thrown directly in front of it.

"Are these two [Blood Dragon Rice] enough for you to heal your wounds?"

Zhouyang looked at the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast], whose eyes were fixed on the two pieces of [Blood Dragon Rice] on the ground, and felt a surge of pride.

He knew the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] was skilled at treasure hunting and might not care for ordinary treasures, but for a spiritual object like [Blood Dragon Rice] with exceptionally high cultivation conditions, it was definitely not something such a demon beast could easily find.

Moreover, the effect of [Blood Dragon Rice] on demon beasts is even greater than on humans. If those demon beasts with Flood Dragon bloodlines could consume it regularly, they might transform into real Flood Dragons.

Even demon beasts without the Flood Dragon bloodline could refine their cultivation, strengthen their bodies, and heal their injuries by consuming this spiritual object.

"Are... are these [Blood Dragon Rice] really for me?"

The [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] struggled to shift its gaze from the two pieces of [Blood Dragon Rice] on the ground, looking at Zhouyang with disbelief, still doubting if it had misheard before.

When did the stingy and selfish human cultivators become so kind-hearted?

Could it be that the sun has risen from the west?

"It’s just two mere pieces of [Blood Dragon Rice], look how excited you are!"

Zhouyang looked calmly at the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] and said enticingly, "I, Zhou, said that as long as you obediently follow me, you will definitely gain many benefits. Don’t just mention [Blood Dragon Rice]; I also have [Dragon Blood Treasure Pills] and Tier Six Flood Dragon Spiritual Flesh in my possession!"

Upon hearing this, the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast]’s eyes flickered, and it snorted, "Hmph, don’t try to fool me with that. I’m not one of those low-intelligence low-tier demon beasts that can be fooled by your empty words!"

Then, it opened its mouth and inhaled, swallowing the two pieces of blood-red spiritual rice, seemingly crafted from fine jade, in one gulp.

How arrogant!

Zhouyang watched as the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] closed its eyes to refine the medicinal power of the [Blood Dragon Rice] and couldn’t help but find it amusing.

The nature of these Tier Five demon beasts seems quite childlike.

The [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] is like this, as is the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle he stationed in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, and the Seven-Colored Peacock brought by Jiang Fengxian.

Fortunately, he already had enough experience in educating these "kids."

This [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] will eventually be tamed and trained if it stays by his side long enough.

And while the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] was digesting the [Blood Dragon Rice], Zhouyang couldn’t help but turn his gaze back toward the black cavern.

Although he had already confirmed the deaths of Wei Tao, Huang Yunxing, Qian Bingyun, and Liu Xingping in conversation with Ruan Xiong, he couldn’t shake off an instinctive feeling that something was off about this matter.

After all, those four were Golden Core Stage cultivators, and Wei Tao, in particular, had lived for over nine hundred years as a Seventh-Layer Golden Core cultivator. How could they have lacked trump cards?

Moreover, from the time Ruan Xiong was the first to enter, to the couple Qian Bingyun and Liu Xingping being the last ones down, it was less than half an hour.

In such a short time, even if the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] had worked with him to launch a surprise attack, it shouldn’t have been so easy to deal with those four people.

Of course, this wasn’t the key point. The crucial matter is that after searching Ruan Xiong’s body, Zhouyang hadn’t found the other four people’s storage rings or the magical artifacts used in their previous battle.

Analyzing these doubts, Zhouyang guessed that there might be other people inside the cavern, possibly the great secret the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] previously mentioned.

He thought of this and couldn’t help but look back at the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] still digesting the [Blood Dragon Rice], growing more curious about the "big secret" it had mentioned.

But he didn’t rush to interrupt the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast]. Instead, he found a place nearby to sit cross-legged, meditating to restore his magical power, and patiently waited.

After two or three hours passed and darkness fell, the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast] finally finished digesting the medicinal power of the [Blood Dragon Rice], healing the wounds from the previous skirmish.

"So, what do you think? Are you satisfied with the effect of my [Blood Dragon Rice]?"

Zhouyang opened his eyes and looked at the [Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast], which appeared still somewhat unsatisfied, and asked with a smile.

The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast swept a glance over Zhouyang with its golden eyes and then retracted its gaze, licking its lips with a lingering taste, "Not bad, just too few. I didn’t even get to savor the flavor properly!"

Zhouyang was amused by the creature’s words, and couldn’t help but jokingly scold, "Savor the flavor? Do you think you are Pigsy eating Ginseng Fruit?"

"What kind of Spirit Fruit is a Ginseng Fruit? It sounds delicious!"

The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast’s eyes lit up, watching Zhouyang with a look full of curiosity.

Zhouyang didn’t have the mind to explain what Ginseng Fruit was and waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, let’s not talk about that. Do you have a name? If not, I can help you pick one."

"Pick a name? We Demon Beasts don’t need a name, just a title is enough."

The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast shook its head, seemingly uninterested in Zhouyang naming it.

Hearing this, Zhouyang couldn’t help but ask, "Then do you have a title now?"

"When I advance to become a Tier Six Demon King, I’ll naturally have a title." The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast shook its head again.

"In that case, before you become a Tier Six Demon King, let’s call you Bi’Er!"

Zhouyang announced flat-out his decision to name the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast.

The voice of the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast when speaking was that of a crisp female, and coupled with its proud and girlish demeanor, using a feminine name like "Bi’Er" was apt for its identity.

As the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast wasn’t particularly attached to having a name, it did not object to Zhouyang’s determined words, nodding in agreement immediately.

Zhouyang, seeing it agree, continued, "Also, unless I permit it, you are not allowed to reveal to outsiders that you can speak without my consent. When addressing me, if you don’t like calling me Master, you may call me Lord or Sir."

"Yes, Sir."

The Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast, now to be called Bi’Er, promptly responded compliantly to Zhouyang.

Seeing this, Zhouyang nodded in satisfaction and then, with a serious expression, pointed at the underground cavern and asked Bi’Er, "Alright, Bi’Er, can you tell me now, what else is hidden in this underground cavern? How did the four who went down with Ruan Xiong die?"

"Lord can see clearly; what is hidden in the underground cavern is not human, but a..."

As Bi’Er explained, Zhouyang’s expression changed again and again. By the time Bi’Er finished speaking, his face was as somber as if it could drip water.

At this point, he felt an immense sense of relief, grateful that he was cautious enough not to recklessly follow them down into the cavern.

Otherwise, he might not be standing here safely right now.

It turned out, indeed, a powerful entity was hidden in that underground cavern. However, it was not the Cultivator he had initially suspected, but a Corpse Demon possessing Nascent Soul-stage strength!

The Corpse Demon was similar to the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" Zhouyang had encountered in the Land of the Far West, a "Spiritual Zombie" formed by Cultivators in special conditions upon their death.

The difference lies in the fact that a Corpse Demon is far more difficult to form than an ordinary "Spiritual Zombie" and much harder to deal with.

Nobody knows exactly how a Corpse Demon is formed, only that it typically forms from Cultivators with at least Nascent Soul-stage cultivation after they die.

Moreover, the Cultivator forming into a Corpse Demon must not have exhausted their lifespan and passed away, must not have practiced lightning or fire attribute yang techniques, must not have possessed someone else’s body, and must have died with a grudge.

These stringent conditions make it almost impossible for a Corpse Demon to form in the deliberate manner that "Celestial Killer Corpse Kings" do as Spiritual Zombies through prearranged plans before their death.

But once a Corpse Demon forms, it is similarly far more powerful than a regular "Spiritual Zombie."

This kind of creature is a half-corpse, half-ghost; they possess most of their pre-death memories, understand cultivation techniques and divine powers, know how to refine magical artifacts and spirit pills, and have no lifespan limits, seemingly being able to exist indefinitely.

Just this last trait alone can be considered an alternative form of eternal life!

Thus, if it weren’t for the Corpse Demon’s inability to form in the pre-planned way that regular "Spiritual Zombies" do, there would likely be many Nascent Soul-stage Cultivators nearing the end of their lifespan in the Cultivation Realm willing to arrange ways to transform themselves into Corpse Demons, to live forever.

Of course, the Corpse Demon is not flawless; it also has weaknesses. Firstly, its most fatal flaw is that although it can practice cultivation techniques and divine techniques, its cultivation realm can never be improved. Whatever its realm was at formation is what it remains.

Furthermore, as a corpse ghost demon creature, like all other demonic beings, it is restrained by Supreme Yang True Flame and thunder-and-lightning divine techniques.

Finally, and perhaps most intolerable to a normal Cultivator, is that once one becomes a Corpse Demon, regardless of whether they were Cultivator or Demon Cultivator in life, their personality changes drastically, becoming murderously inclined, finding pleasure in tormenting all living beings.

At that moment, an entity with Nascent Soul-stage power was being detained and suppressed in the cavern, and the Lifebound Soul Token Zhouyang held, able to control the Water-Resistant Golden-Eyed Beast’s life and death, was also refined by extracting its Demon Soul personally.

Ruan Xiong was under the control of the Corpse Demon and was instructed by it to lure Golden Core Stage Cultivators to the cavern to die.

As for the Corpse Demon’s ultimate goal in all this, it was to use nine Golden Core Stage individuals as blood sacrifice offerings to aid its release.

Now, counting the previous entrants, including Wei Tao, Huang Yunxing, and four others, the Corpse Demon had already gathered eight.

It can be imagined that if Zhou Yang had followed along at that time, he might have become the ninth person!

Knowing such insider information, how could Zhou Yang not be terrified!

"According to what you said, is the [Corpse Demon] still sealed and suppressed, unable to extend its evil claws out of the cave?"

He gently pursed his lips, eyes heavy as he looked at Bi’Er and asked gravely.

"Of course, otherwise, wouldn’t it have reacted when you killed Ruan Xiong and took my [Lifebound Soul Token]?"

Bi’Er nodded lightly, stole a glance at that underground cave, and spoke with eyes full of fear and hatred.

The reason why it lost its freedom is because of that [Corpse Demon], how could it not hate this culprit?

Zhou Yang nodded slightly upon hearing Bi’Er’s words, seemingly acknowledging what it said.

However, just when it thought everything should end here, and Zhou Yang, understanding the situation, would take it away from this dangerous place immediately.

Zhou Yang suddenly looked at it and asked, "The treasure suppressing the [Corpse Demon], as you said, is truly a Tier Six Spiritual Artifact? The spiritual energy at the bottom of the cave has truly reached the level of a Tier Six Spiritual Vein?"

"Master, why are you asking this? Could it be that you..."

Bi’Er’s eyes widened, filled with shock as it looked at Zhou Yang, frightened by what Zhou Yang was saying.

Seeing its reaction, Zhou Yang frowned, suddenly scolded, "Just answer my questions, do not inquire about things that don’t concern you!"

Bi’Er, startled by his reprimand, quickly nodded and replied, "Yes, Master, you are right. That monster once swore to Ruan Xiong that if he helped it escape, it would give him that Tier Six Spiritual Artifact and take him to a place called [Donglai Immortal Island] to seek opportunities for Nascent Soul Formation!"

"[Donglai Immortal Island]? How come I have never heard of such a place in the overseas cultivation realm? Do you know what place that is?"

Zhou Yang squinted his eyes, seemingly discovering something extraordinary.

Bi’Er shook its head this time and said, "I don’t know. Ruan Xiong asked the monster about it back then, but it replied that it is a secret only Nascent Soul Stage cultivators are eligible to know, and would only tell him after truly escaping."

"Only Nascent Soul Stage cultivators are eligible to know?"

Zhou Yang nodded thoughtfully, vaguely guessing some things.

Then he glanced at Bi’Er, who was nervously looking at him, and smiled gently, "Don’t worry, I have not lived enough and won’t go to my death lightly in front of that monster!"

Better if you die!

Bi’Er said in its heart but dared not show it, even saying, "Then I’m relieved. I don’t want to see that monster again. I’d rather follow Master than be enslaved by it!"

You’re not wanting to follow me; you’re just craving the [Blood Dragon Rice] in my storage ring!

Zhou Yang glanced at this spirit beast whose eyes were drifting, fully aware of its little thoughts, yet he didn’t expose them.

What he said earlier was not to fool Bi’Er, but it was indeed what he thought.

However, Bi’Er didn’t notice that he only said he wouldn’t "lightly" go to his death in front of that [Corpse Demon], but never said he wouldn’t after sufficient preparation, confront and eliminate that [Corpse Demon].

According to Bi’Er’s account, Zhou Yang judged that the strength of the [Corpse Demon] should be equivalent to an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, at least that’s the extent of the power it can exert before escaping.

In that case, Zhou Yang, who possesses the [Qianyang True Fire], in a well-prepared situation, actually doesn’t need to be overly afraid of the other side.

And he is very interested in and wants to possess the Tier Six Spiritual Artifact that suppresses the [Corpse Demon], the dense spiritual energy comparable to a Tier Six Spiritual Vein in the underground cave, and the [Donglai Immortal Island] mentioned by the [Corpse Demon].

If, if he could eliminate that [Corpse Demon], then he could obtain a Tier Six Magical Artifact and a place for refining pills and forming nascent souls, which would be killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, if he could get information about [Donglai Immortal Island] from the [Corpse Demon], that would be even better.

If Zhou Yang didn’t guess wrong, that so-called [Donglai Immortal Island] is likely similar to the [Dome Heaven Immortal Realm], a place that can assist Nascent Soul Stage cultivators to advance to the Tribulation Crossing Stage.

In such a place, there must be many extremely rare spiritual objects; otherwise, the [Corpse Demon] would not have said it would take Ruan Xiong there to seek opportunities for nascent soul formation.

Of course, it’s also possible that the [Corpse Demon] was deceiving Ruan Xiong, maybe there’s no such [Donglai Immortal Island] at all, or it never intended to take Ruan Xiong there.

But for Zhou Yang, the benefits of the first two points are enough to tempt him.

"No rush, since that [Corpse Demon] is still one Golden Core Stage cultivator short to meet the escape condition, it means it certainly cannot escape now. I’ll find Jiang Fengxian first, and then with her and Bi’Er supporting from outside, even if things change, I can escape in time and not really fall here!"

He restrained his greed, looked toward the vast sea outside the island, and had already made a decision in his heart.