Zhang Ergou held the jade slip with affection, looking at it, touching it repeatedly.
He then found a secluded spot, and after confirming he was unobserved, Zhang Ergou crushed the jade slip with a pinch.
Immediately, a flash of light merged into Zhang Ergou's brow, and a string of text appeared in his mind.
The golden characters flickered back and forth in his consciousness, then transformed into figures, as if someone were demonstrating skills.
Roar!
A dragon's roar echoed in Zhang Ergou's mind. In his consciousness, a massive dragon head was clearly depicted.
Then, a golden dragon coiled upwards, its enraged roar unlike any other.
At this moment, Zhang Ergou's eyes were tightly shut, sensing the profound mystery within. Incantations naturally flowed into his mind.
From the information obtained, Zhang Ergou discovered this was an exceptionally rare sonic attack skill, specifically targeting the spiritual consciousness of cultivators.
This was an immense stroke of luck for Zhang Ergou.
His soul strength, he believed, was significantly higher than that of his peers, even surpassing that of ordinary Core Formation early stage cultivators.
This was because one of the prerequisites for becoming an alchemist was possessing extraordinary soul strength.
With a powerful spiritual consciousness, the control and mastery of fire during alchemy became more precise.
Upon realizing that Chi Yu had bestowed such a precious gift upon him, Zhang Ergou felt that the beating he had taken was entirely worth it.
He even felt that it wouldn't be out of the question for Chi Yu to beat him again.
Cultivating sonic spells was extremely difficult, and reaching mastery was even more arduous. However, precisely because of its difficulty, its power far exceeded that of ordinary spells and skills.
Soul power was a very mystical thing, so much so that many Foundation Establishment cultivators could not even perceive its existence.
But as an alchemist, Zhang Ergou understood its importance.
And the sonic spell skill Chi Yu had given him—the Roaring Dragon's Cry—was precisely targeted at cultivators' soul power.
Once he mastered this skill, it would undoubtedly yield unexpected results in battles.
Suppressing his inner delight, Zhang Ergou centered himself, his mind becoming tranquil and empty.
Gradually, the surroundings grew quiet, and Zhang Ergou entered a state of profound immersion.
The back mountain was not as it usually was; no disciples were collecting herbs in the vicinity, and no one disturbed Zhang Ergou's cultivation.
Seated in a hidden cave, Zhang Ergou's entire focus was devoted to studying the sonic spell skill, the Roaring Dragon's Cry.
Time flowed by, and before he knew it, the sky began to darken.
After tonight, tomorrow would be the Inner Sect Beast Forest trial.
At this moment, Zhang Ergou was still lost in his cultivation, oblivious to the outside world.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Zhang Ergou, with his eyes still closed, uttered strange, low growls. Intermittently, the sounds grew louder, yet he still did not open his eyes.
Roar!
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from Zhang Ergou's mouth. He abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.
The back mountain, which had previously been silent, was thrown into chaos in an instant. Frightened beasts and birds fled their roosts, scattering in all directions.
The powerful sonic waves continued to reverberate through the valley, causing echoes to ripple.
Ah!
Before he could celebrate, Zhang Ergou felt a sharp pain in his head, and his body went limp. He collapsed onto the ground.
"So overbearing!" Zhang Ergou exclaimed in shock. He had not expected this sonic spell skill to consume so much of his soul power just from a single demonstration.
It was more exhausting than refining pills for an entire day and night.
"As expected, it's not something ordinary people can cultivate," Zhang Ergou muttered to himself, hastily pulling out a Spirit Replenishing Pill and swallowing it.
Once his body had mostly recovered, Zhang Ergou stood up. The sky was already beginning to brighten, and less than two hours remained until the Beast Forest trial commenced.
Without delay, Zhang Ergou got up and left.
With the secretly learned transformation spell and this sonic skill at his disposal, Zhang Ergou suddenly felt a sense of anticipation for the Beast Forest journey.
Hmph! Jiang Tian, Zuo Tian, Zhuge Wen, and the like—weren't they boasting they'd cripple me?
A cold smile played on his lips. Who was tricking whom was yet to be determined. When it came to manipulation, Zhang Ergou was their ancestor.
The sky was now fully bright, and the outer sect of the Misty Sect was bustling with activity in the early morning.
Today was the day the disciples who won the Outer Sect Grand Competition would participate in the Beast Forest trial. Only by passing this trial would they officially become inner sect disciples.
If they were eliminated during this trial, they would have to wait another three years.
Therefore, all the victorious disciples were putting on a brave face and adjusting their physical and mental states to their peak.
The Beast Forest trial was both simple and difficult.
Simply put, the challenge was to survive the time spent within the forest without being injured or crippled by the array formations, puppets, and traps within.
More importantly, they had to evade the pursuit of fifty inner sect disciples dispatched by the sect.
Counter-pursuit? This was laughable. Since the Misty Sect's inception, there had never been a single outer sect disciple who had managed to kill an inner sect disciple.
Zhang Ergou, carrying his iconic black spear on his back, slowly approached the assembly point, where a considerable number of disciples had already gathered.
Although the number of disciples who had won the Outer Sect Grand Competition was not large, many other disciples had come to watch.
As Zhang Ergou approached, murmurs rippled through the crowd. Su Dan Novel Net.
"In just half a year, this fellow has surged from the Qi Condensation stage to the late Foundation Establishment stage. This cultivation speed is simply terrifying."
"I didn't realize until you said it that this kid is a newcomer who only joined the sect half a year ago."
"It's too frightening. With such terrifying cultivation talent, he's also an alchemist. How are we ordinary-talented people supposed to live?"
"Even more astonishing, I heard this kid is also a body refiner. Isn't that terrifying?"
"No way," waves of astonishment arose from the crowd.
The difficulty of body refining was well understood by cultivators, hence few ventured into such an energy-consuming path of cultivation.
Hearing that Zhang Ergou was not only an alchemist but also a body refiner, the gazes of the surrounding disciples towards him changed.
Listening to the surrounding discussions, Zhang Ergou walked calmly and collectedly, heading straight for the assembly point, completely ignoring the strange looks from those around him.
"Zhang Ergou, you actually dare to show up? Hmph! Someone is already waiting for you in the Beast Forest."
From across them, three figures suddenly appeared. They were none other than Jiang Hao, Lu Yan, and Song Zhinan, the three who had been defeated by Zhang Ergou. The three glared at Zhang Ergou as if they wanted to devour him.
"Oh, who is it? It turns out to be three defeated opponents. What, have your injuries healed, and you've come to admire my magnificence?"
Seeing the three limping, Zhang Ergou retorted sarcastically.