Although each level of advancement consumed several times the resources of ordinary cultivators, Zhang Fan was not disheartened. Instead, he was quite satisfied.
This also indicated that the thickness of his magical power far surpassed that of cultivators at the same level. Zhang Fan estimated that by the time he cultivated to the peak of the Three Tribulations Nascent Soul, with his white immortal infant foundation, his magical power and purity would be comparable to a Five Tribulations Nascent Soul cultivator.
He retrieved three storage treasures from the Starry Space. These were left behind by Wang Jue Tian and the other two after their deaths. Zhang Fan took stock of them and had some unexpected gains.
The spirit crystals in the three storage treasures added up to over seventy million. The spiritual treasures and other valuables were worth only about fifty million.
Zhang Fan speculated that the three of them might have exchanged many treasures for spirit crystals in preparation for the auction of the withered wood of the Tribulation Crossing Tree. However, in the end, it all turned out to be preparation for Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan waved his hand and took out over seventy million spirit crystals, piling them up in front of him like a small mountain. He looked at the mountain of spirit crystals with excitement in his eyes. He could cultivate well again.
His Nascent Soul was a white immortal infant, which was a higher grade than a golden Nascent Soul. Therefore, each breakthrough in his cultivation consumed several times the resources of cultivators at the same level.
If he relied on absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth to cultivate, even with the aid of divine abilities like Dark Devour, Zhang Fan estimated that it would take him at least a year and a half to cultivate from the early stage of the Three Tribulations Nascent Soul to the middle stage.
He did not have that much time, so he could only extravagantly use spirit crystals to cultivate.
...
Three months later, a petite figure darted through the dense forest, with a pack of Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats in hot pursuit.
The Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats were completely dark in color. Their bodies were no different from ordinary wild cats, except that their heads were not cat heads but actual tiger heads.
Adult Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats could mostly form demon cores, and their strength was comparable to human Core Formation stage cultivators. This level of strength was not considered powerful among demonic beasts, and could even be considered quite weak.
However, they could survive in the beast tribes naturally due to their unique abilities.
Firstly, the Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats were numerous. In this nameless mountain range, a small tribe of Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats could consist of thousands of individuals, which was quite terrifying.
Secondly, the Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats were extremely effective predators. They were adept at moving in darkness and could easily blend in, making them difficult to detect even by some Golden Core stage demonic beasts.
At this moment, there were as many as a hundred Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats chasing Luo Xiao Xiao. They moved rapidly through the dense forest without making a sound, like specters flashing by. Luo Xiao Xiao could not determine the number of Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats behind her by sound.
Fortunately, she was born with the Dark Divine Body. Although she had not yet condensed a demon core, she had already grasped the True Meaning of Darkness.
With the aid of the True Meaning of Darkness, she was able to steal the Obsidian Yuan Crystals condensed by the Shadow Tiger-Headed Cat tribe from under their noses.
The Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats behind her were getting closer. Luo Xiao Xiao felt panicked. With her current strength, if she were caught by these seemingly cute but incredibly ferocious cat-like Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats, even with her innate Dark Divine Body, she might not be able to withstand them.
Suddenly, Luo Xiao Xiao saw a handsome young man leisurely sitting on a tree in the distance. She immediately became excited and shouted, "Master, I got it!"
Hearing Luo Xiao Xiao's shout, Zhang Fan did not make a move. Instead, he watched the scene with amusement.
"Meow!"
A cat's cry sounded behind Luo Xiao Xiao. Luo Xiao Xiao's hairs stood on end. She instinctively turned and struck out with a palm, colliding with a rapidly approaching cat's claw.
Her skin was as clear and flawless as ice and jade, seemingly fragile enough to be broken by a touch. However, the sharp claw of the Shadow Tiger-Headed Cat grazed her palm without breaking the skin, leaving only a faint white mark.
"Meow meow meow!"
More and more Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats rushed forward. Luo Xiao Xiao felt her vision overwhelmed, and the world turned dark. She could see nothing.
"Darkness should not be your restraint; it is your power!" As Luo Xiao Xiao's heart panicked, Zhang Fan's voice reached her ears, instantly clearing her mind.
"Shadow Clone!" Luo Xiao Xiao lightly stepped, using the Shadow Step to dodge. At the same time, a shadow clone separated from her body and retreated in another direction.
What Luo Xiao Xiao was using was a footwork technique, the Shadow Step, that Zhang Fan had taught the Dark Organization on Earth.
Upon executing the Shadow Step, Luo Xiao Xiao's speed increased by more than several times. Simultaneously, she conjured a shadow clone identical to her true form, causing the pack of Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats to be bewildered. Which one was the real body?
In that momentary hesitation, Luo Xiao Xiao, relying on the Shadow Step, unleashed unparalleled speed and arrived in front of Zhang Fan.
"Meow!"
"Meow meow!"
The pack of Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats saw Zhang Fan. Their dark cat eyes were filled with fear. They sized him up but dared not advance further.
Although the man before them seemed ordinary, the subtle aura he exuded made all the Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats feel a tremor of fear.
"Hmph!"
Zhang Fan let out a light hum, and an invisible disintegration domain spread out. The pack of Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats immediately felt as if they were sealed. They meowed in terror but were unable to move.
Only when Zhang Fan retracted his domain did the pack of Shadow Tiger-Headed Cats, as if granted amnesty, disappear from Luo Xiao Xiao's sight like a receding tide.
"Master, the Obsidian Yuan Crystal." Luo Xiao Xiao held out her small hands and presented a piece of pitch-black stone to Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan took it and weighed it in his hand, saying, "It's ten kilograms. You've passed."
Hearing Zhang Fan's words, Luo Xiao Xiao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This time, she had finally succeeded.
Luo Xiao Xiao had been cultivating in this dense forest for three months and had undergone four trials, but this one was the most intense.
In the previous trials, her Master had set challenging goals for her, requiring her to kill demonic beasts one level higher than her own and seize their demon cores.
This goal was as difficult as scaling the heavens for ordinary cultivators, but for cultivators with extraordinary talent and innate divine bodies, challenging opponents beyond one's level was a piece of cake.
However, Luo Xiao Xiao had been cultivating for too short a time. Even with her innate divine body, she severely lacked combat experience, and each trial mission had nearly cost her her life.
Fortunately, thanks to the large number of spirit pills prepared by her Master, she could recover quickly regardless of how severe her injuries were. After each life-and-death battle, she could feel her cultivation level rapidly improving.
In just three months of cultivation, she had already become a Heavenly Human stage cultivator, only one step away from condensing her demon core.
...