Chapter 58: A Slight Panic

After clearing away the traces of battle, Zhang Shen carefully stored away several hundred pieces of the Enchantress Bone Demon’s bones and the demon’s core.

These items would be crucial for his rapid advancement in the time to come.

Upon returning to the Shanshui Residence, he didn’t act rashly. He couldn’t fathom how the Enchantress Bone Demon had managed to escape. The group of human True Core cultivators who had attacked the Bone Demons might well notice something amiss once they recover.

To be safe, it would be best to wait a year or so and observe any developments.

Such a duration was but a minor inconvenience to him. During this time, Zhang Shen wasn’t idle. While the Bone Demons were gone, the group of spiritual beasts it had summoned still remained.

“That’s a juicy target,” he mused.

“With the current strength of the Ancient Covenant, there’s little hope they can subdue it. But I can intervene, restricting these beasts and preventing their escape. Releasing them bit by bit would not only sharpen the skills of the Ancient Covenant but also allow them to assimilate the beasts in stages.”

The most special parts, naturally, were reserved for Zhang Shen. The late-stage Innate spiritual beasts were of great use to him, granting significant experience points that he wouldn’t waste.

With resolve, Zhang Shen employed his divine technique to seal and detain the group of spiritual beasts. He instructed Zhang Yu and Li Zhi to periodically lead teams to hunt and train against these beasts.

Those who hunted the beasts were entitled to half of the bounty. The remaining half went to the internal resources of the Ancient Covenant.

This applied even to the Innate beasts. Only the late-stage innate spiritual beasts were claimed exclusively by Zhang Shen.

“Given the pace of the Ancient Covenant, this group of beasts could last a decade or two,” Zhang Shen estimated.

When the time came, whether to abandon this hunting ground or capture new beasts would depend on the circumstances.

A year later, Li Zhi reached the pinnacle of the Acquired stage, with an exceptionally solid foundation. Without relying on any elixirs, she effortlessly broke through to the Innate Stage.

Zhang Shen was highly satisfied and imparted to Li Zhi the complete techniques of the Mountain of a Thousand Layers for the Innate stage.

He also provided her with a portion of the cultivation resources.

The Mountain of a Thousand Layers legacy that Zhang Shen obtained from the token was remarkably comprehensive, including associated movement techniques, hand-to-hand combat skills, weaponry, and martial arts. All were included.

This technique alone was sufficient for Li Zhi’s cultivation.

Zhang Shen was a unique case. His need for techniques and martial skills was insatiable.

Over the past year, Zhang Shen did sense several powerful beings venturing around, but no one sought him out.

This greatly put him at ease.

After rewarding Li Zhi, he began his secluded meditation.

He could directly consume the demon’s bones and its core, but to prevent the residual will of the demon from contaminating his own soul, he had to refine them.

His physical body was capable of devouring and digesting souls and wills, a fact Zhang Shen had tested. However, before strong souls and wills could be digested by his body, they might assault his own soul, tainting its purity.

For now, if he could avoid confronting True Core souls and wills, he would.

Zhang Shen was clueless when it came to alchemy and artifact crafting. 

However, the methods he used to refine the Soul-Seizing Arrow and the True Core Flaming Blade could also be employed to purify the impurities within the demon’s corpse and core.

Hundreds of bone pieces floated around the demon core, enveloped and incinerated by the fire of the True Core and the blood flame.

Soft, mournful cries echoed through the void. They were the remnants of the Enchantress Bone Demon’s will.

Three months later, the bones turned to liquid, and the demon core had shrunk slightly.

Consuming them at this point posed no risks.

Zhang Shen took out a jade vial and a wooden box. With a flick of his finger, the bone liquid flowed into the jade vial, leaving just a single droplet floating in the air. The demon core, radiating a faint glow, settled into the wooden box.

After storing them, he tossed the remaining droplet of bone liquid into his mouth, swallowing it down.

Zhang Shen chose not to activate his technique to refine the bone liquid to enhance his martial cultivation.

The remains of the Enchantress Bone Demon weren’t compatible with the Mountain of a Thousand Layers technique and could only be utilized as a regular treasured resource. If refined, it would indeed elevate his martial prowess by a significant margin.

But that was the extent of it.

In the past, Zhang Shen would have chosen to use it to enhance his martial cultivation. This way, he could gain some experience points from the boost in martial arts, although it wasn’t as much as what he would get from physical exertion. But the combined benefits were worth considering.

However, recently, while browsing the Mainframe, he came across something that made him wary.

He was too young.

Looking at the renowned True Core masters on the Mainframe Network, over eighty percent of them only advanced to the True Core stage when they were between 150 and 160 years old. There were those who achieved True Core status in their few decades of life, but every single one of them had the support of powerful entities or legendary figures standing behind them.

There were only one or two exceptions that slipped through the net without such backing. And among these exceptions, only one or two in the entire history of the human race ever became significant figures.

How the other exceptions met their end wasn’t detailed on the Mainframe Network, only brief speculations were mentioned.

Zhang Shen was deeply alarmed by this. For he was now one of those exceptions.

Reading those seemingly ordinary records with a heart filled with anxiety and suspicion, every line and word Zhang Shen saw screamed danger. 

Immense danger.

Thankfully, he had cultivated his composure well over the years and did not fall into panic.

Once he calmed down, he meticulously analyzed the potential sources of this crisis. Achieving True Core in mere decades without a strong background meant one had an extraordinary talent, right? 

Nonsense.

Which independent cultivator that stood out from the crowd wasn’t a genius of their generation? The only ones who could surpass them were those geniuses meticulously nurtured by major forces, having access to techniques, martial skills, resources, and guidance without any lack.

All were geniuses, so how much of a gap could there be in talent? For an independent cultivator like him, to catch up to these prodigies of major forces, one would need to stumble upon immense fortunes, compensating for the lack of techniques, martial skills, resources, and guidance.

Such opportunities were not non-existent, on the contrary, there were many.

An opportunity that allowed for a rapid breakthrough to True Core would certainly draw some covetous eyes, but it would end at that.

However, for an independent cultivator, advancing to True Core and then continuing to make great strides. It wouldn’t just attract the envy of some who were powerless.

It would invite the formidable Law Manifestation experts and prodigies of great forces to covet and seize what he had. 

Zhang Shen certainly didn’t want to confront these individuals now. He couldn’t hope for them to suddenly become collectively foolish.

Such a strategy of taking them on one by one, from the weakest to the strongest, was not something a wise person would choose.

This was a major crisis.

When two families clash and neither yields, how does one gain the upper hand? Kill the genius of the opposing side, and slay their future pillars.

Having the backing of great forces or significant figures offered some protection during one’s growth. But what did an independent cultivator have? Only the cold northwest wind. Also, the human race had other enemies besides the demon clans.

Even the human and demon clans weren’t considered dominant groups in the vast wilderness realm.

This was a major crisis too.

Zhang Shen didn’t wish to find out how many of these potential crises were real threats. Because of this, he decided to slow down his cultivation speed after reaching the True Core stage. He didn’t regret achieving True Core so early. There were many things that required the cultivation level of True Core to accomplish.

This also granted him access to the world of high-level martial artists, but he would need to take things slower from here on.

However, this didn’t mean he intended to slow the rate of his power’s growth. With the slowing of his martial cultivation, he could focus on enhancing his physical strength.

The power of the physical body had an advantage over martial cultivation. As long as he didn’t reveal it, others would find it hard to gauge just how powerful his physical body truly was.