Cultivation: From Poor Peasant to Celestial Lord

Chapter 74: Chapter 73: Slaying the Shadow Beast

By noon on the second day in the Cyan Prison Spirit Realm, this space, which was originally a trial ground, had completely devolved into a Purgatory spewing ashes of death.

Following Dean Su’s use of his Foundation Establishment Dao Foundation, Earth Smoke Fire, the landscape within the Spirit Realm underwent a horrific transformation.

Within a single hour, all the once-lush Spirit Plants withered and spontaneously combusted, no longer releasing fresh Wood Qi, but a viscous gray smoke laced with sulfur and corrosive Spiritual Power.

HISS—

A horrified student from Class One discovered that when his Magic Shield came into contact with the gray smoke, it sizzled as if corroded by a strong acid, making a sound that set his teeth on edge. The shield’s once-bright barrier dimmed and cracked at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But that wasn’t the most despairing part.

From within the dense gray fog, mutated Fireworks Demon Beasts slowly emerged one by one.

These Demon Beasts were a bizarre, deathly gray color, with dark red, eerie flames burning in their once-empty eye sockets.

Unlike the previous Demon Beast projections that only knew how to bite and claw in close combat, these monsters had absorbed the Evil Qi from the Earth Smoke Fire and mastered Magic Techniques that should not have been theirs.

A Fireworks Wolf opened its mouth and spat, unleashing a Magic Technique. Upon exploding, it not only created a powerful physical impact but also formed a lingering zone of fiery poison.

"No! Save me!"

Screams of agony rose and fell throughout the jungle.

For the students at the Qi Cultivation First Layer, this was no longer a trial. It was a massacre.

Their Magic Techniques were mostly nullified by the thick layer of smoke and fire on the Demon Beasts, while a single wave of fire casually unleashed by a beast could shatter their defenses.

Flashes of white light blinked one after another, signifying that large numbers of students on the brink of death were being forcibly teleported out by their Lingxi Marks.

In just half a day, more than half of the three hundred students who had entered had been eliminated, leaving less than a hundred survivors.

...

On the high platform of the Martial Arts Arena, the three Deans wore different expressions.

Dean Su sat firmly in the head seat. Watching the number of participants on the light screen plummet, he let out a cold snort, his tone laced with a ruthless disdain for the weak. "Cultivation is a struggle for one’s life.

If they can’t even withstand the aftermath of this Earth Smoke Fire, they would be nothing but fodder for the Demon Beasts on a real battlefield.

At this rate, I fear not even ten of these three hundred will be left by nightfall."

"I must disagree, Senior Brother Su," Dean Liu spoke up from the side, his gaze fixed on the images of Dong Feng and Lin Xuewei. "Although the environment is harsh, their foundations are ultimately different.

Look at Dong Feng. His Golden Scale Armor was forged by a master craftsman. As strong as the corrosive power of the Earth Smoke Fire is, it can’t break through his defense in a short time. As long as he has enough Supply Pills, he can hold out until the very end."

Dean Liu paused, then added, "As for that Chu Bai... his Cultivation has certainly improved quickly. But in this war of attrition, with his background, what does he have to compete against the Noble Family Descendants in the long run? I’m afraid he’ll be forced out from exhaustion soon enough."

Dean Chen sat to the side, maintaining a stoic silence. His gaze wasn’t on Dong Feng or Lin Xuewei, but was fixed on the back of the lonely, green-robed figure weaving through the smoke and fire.

"It remains to be seen," Dean Chen’s hoarse voice sounded again, tinged with a rare hint of anticipation.

Dean Su turned his head in surprise. "Senior Brother Chen, surely you don’t think this boy can last until dawn and witness your Spirit-Slaying Silk technique?"

Although they were all at the Foundation Establishment realm, there was naturally a hierarchy among them.

The Foundation Establishment Three Stages, and which Dao Foundation one attains, determines one’s innate quality and the upper limit of their future potential.

Thus, Dean Chen, having achieved a different order of Foundation Establishment, naturally held a status in the Daoist School that was implicitly higher than theirs.

In this assessment, a different person was to set the trial for each day. The second day’s was Earth Smoke Fire, and the next day’s would be Spirit-Slaying Silk.

Dean Chen didn’t answer, but a profound look entered his eyes.

Among the deans, he was naturally the one who understood Chu Bai best and knew he was extraordinary.

As for just how extraordinary he was, that would depend on his performance to come.

"I do have a suggestion..."

...

At that moment, in a low-lying area of the Spirit Realm tainted by lava, Chu Bai was facing his greatest challenge since entering.

A thirty-foot-tall Fireworks Shadow Beast had him locked in its sights.

This Shadow Beast had the Cultivation of the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, and its body was wreathed in thick, gray clouds of fire.

Every time it stomped the ground, a scorching pillar of Earth Fire would erupt without warning within a hundred-foot radius.

ROAR!

The Shadow Beast roared and charged, its four hooves thundering across the ground.

Chu Bai’s eyes were supremely calm. In his vision, the flow of Spiritual Power on the ground became clearly visible.

With a single misstep, his body moved like a ghost gliding on a knife’s edge, sidestepping through the gaps between three erupting pillars of fire.

’Dodging attacks of this intensity is meaningless. This projection isn’t a living creature, after all. It uses Demon Techniques without any regard for the cost.’

Chu Bai calculated silently.

The stalemate had lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Using the adhering power of his Formless Cloud Hand, Chu Bai repeatedly shifted the Shadow Beast’s center of gravity the moment it charged, causing it to crash into the hard rock walls.

At the same time, the Guardian Shield on his wrist continuously switched attributes to neutralize the poisonous smoke seeping through the air.

’Now!’

Chu Bai caught the momentary pause in the flow of Spiritual Power in the Shadow Beast’s throat after it had continuously released pillars of Earth Fire.

He leaped backward abruptly, clasped his hands together, and then pulled them sharply apart.

In that instant, the Guiyuan Magical Power in Chu Bai’s body surged out like a bursting tide. However, it did not form into a massive spell; instead, his precise Divine Sense forcibly split it into one hundred hair-thin streams of crystalline light.

HUMMM—!

A rapid, scalp-numbing hum vibrated through the air.

One hundred Spirit Water Needles, imbued with rapidly spiraling power, formed in the air. They did not attack separately. Instead, with three enhanced Water Needles as the tip, they stacked layer upon layer, converging into a single Water Needle nearly ten feet long.

This extreme compression and micromanagement of Magical Power was so incredible that even Instructor Jii Yu on the high platform couldn’t help but stand up, her beautiful eyes filled with utter astonishment.

BOOM!

The Hundred Needles United slammed into the hardest piece of Bone Armor on the Shadow Beast’s forehead like a drill.

Its Power madly wore down the Shadow Beast’s fiery smoke protection. The shattering of each Water Needle carried away a sliver of the mutated Spiritual Power.

In the span of a single breath, a bloody hole was forcibly chiseled through the indestructible fiery smoke defense.

The Shadow Beast let out a shrill, mournful cry. Its massive body shook violently, and the dark red, eerie flames in its eyes dimmed in an instant from the blow.

Immediately after, the dozens of Water Needles that followed poured through this opening like a torrential downpour, flooding into the Shadow Beast’s heart.

Unfortunately, as it was not a living creature, it did not die on the spot.

Chu Bai’s face was slightly pale, but his eyes grew even sharper. ’It’s been weakened considerably. One more round, and I can definitely kill it!’

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