Chapter 67: The Great Fiend

Demon Pine didn’t stand on ceremony. A branch grew from its Pine Cone, coiled around the black chili, and drained all its essence.

After draining it, Demon Pine savored the taste: “It has a Demonic Technique flavor, with a strong aftertaste that makes my body burn. To think you had such a good thing hidden away; I knew I hadn’t misjudged you.”

M

Only Lin Jing knew how wronged he was.

“Wait, you’re thinking of feeding this to that fish? At its Realm, if it eats one, I guess you’ll be wanting to drink Spicy Fish Soup tonight.”

“How could that be? I’m not that kind of person.” Lin Jing walked to the lakeside and said, “I know my limits. I’ll cut it into Chili Shreds for it to eat! Not the whole thing.”

“A demonic cultivator with a Buddha’s heart, not bad. It seems you’ve listened to me. Such an aftertaste that can sting even the Soul should be able to test the limits of its Physical Body.”

“Mosquitoes, come!” Lin Jing stretched out his arm, attracting another swarm of mosquitoes, then clapped them dead. He casually tore a few Chili Shreds, mixed them all into the blood vessel, and it became a spicy mixed Mosquito Essence.

“Full of color and aroma, spicy and delicious. It seems I also have the talent of an Immortal Chef among the Hundred Arts of Cultivation. Come and try it quickly.” Lin Jing called out to the Dragon Carp that had submerged itself. As it indeed smelled a fragrance, it slowly poked its head out.

“It might be a bit stimulating at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll love it more and more. Besides Squirrel Fish, my favorite dish is Spicy Hotpot.”

Hearing that it was also a favorite of its Beast Master, the Dragon Carp opened its mouth, waiting to be fed.

Lin Jing poured it all into its mouth.

Upon ingesting the food, the Dragon Carp paused, finding it indeed delicious.

But in an instant, it felt its entire body burning, as if the fire spiritual power within it was about to explode.

The Dragon Carp thrashed wildly in the lake water, its internal temperature rapidly rising.

“!” Its swimming speed became faster and faster, flowing like a streak of fire in the lake, its speed more than double what it was before.

As it swam, the chili’s aftertaste fully erupted, making the Dragon Carp’s mouth water from the spice. The burning spiciness that penetrated its Soul made it both pained and happy, exhibiting a completely different reaction from when the Little White Mouse ate it.

The extreme spiciness quickly became something that simple swimming couldn’t alleviate. It felt an inexhaustible amount of strength throughout its body that needed to be released to relieve the pain, so it forcefully slapped the water with its tail—

Bang!

In Lin Jing and Demon Pine’s view, it was like a Spirit Bean Bomb exploding in the lake. In an instant, giant waves several meters high surged outwards, threatening to engulf everything!

And the Dragon Carp, using that slap, leaped to a height of over ten meters, hovering in the air, its fish eyes red and fiery, looking exceptionally ferocious!

“What immense power.” Lin Jing took a deep breath at the sight, feeling it could already climb waterfalls.

The Dragon Carp’s single slap had more strength than he and Pine Leaf Squirrel combined.

“Exploding with such power indicates that its Bloodline potential is not weak, and its ancestors included Dragon Clan mighty figures.” Divine Pine said, “You’re lucky; every Pet Beast you’ve chosen has good Aptitude. Cultivate it well; it won’t disappoint you after it transforms into a Dragon!”

As Divine Pine finished speaking, the Dragon Carp, falling from the sky, underwent another change; black flames actually began to billow from its body!!!

Plop!

The Dragon Carp, covered in ghostly flames, plunged back into the water, its mouth swollen all around, like a ferocious demonic fish that had just devoured humans, descended upon the world.

“Bloodline, it’s truly important.” Lin Jing recalled the Little White Mouse that had also eaten the black chili.

The extreme pain only made it nearly faint, but for the Dragon Carp, it could stimulate powerful Physical Body potential.

Furthermore, as a Fire-Elemental Yao Beast, it seemed to perfectly absorb the power from the chili, temporarily transforming it into its own strength and controlling it better.

This gamble paid off; Elder Mo’s recommendation was excellent.

“Was it delicious?” Lin Jing asked.

The Dragon Carp nodded, hissing and puffing, indicating that while it hurt, it felt incredibly exhilarating.

That day, Lin Jing decided on the Dragon Carp’s cultivation strategy.

As Senior Demon Pine said, use pain to stimulate the Dragon Carp’s Physical Body potential, and first fully excavate all its Physical Body potential.

What it just ate was only mildly spicy; next, there would be medium spicy, extra spicy, and insanely spicy!

The stronger the Dragon Carp’s Physical Body, the higher the quality of the Beast Transformation Treasure it would become in the future.

As for Fire-Elemental Yao Beasts being able to control Ghost Fire more easily, it was an unexpected surprise that made sense. However, with a fish that spews Ghost Fire and a person who hides Gu, Pine Leaf Squirrel would be the only Righteous Path image in the entire team, which worried Lin Jing.

“Senior, to what extent do we need to Cultivate to go to Hidden Dragon Academy?”

After several days, Pine Leaf Squirrel reached Qi Condensation Layer 8, Lin Jing Qi Condensation Layer 5, and Dragon Carp Qi Condensation Layer 4. Everyone had made a Breakthrough, though… the entire team’s cultivation Realms still looked rather Motley.

“Indeed, a standard is needed.”

“Although you initially said not to worry about you, you are, after all, the hope of the Beast Taming Sect. As a Dao Protector, I must contribute something.” Divine Pine pondered for a moment, then said, “This is the threshold!”

With that, under its control, a crack opened in the ground, and a Wooden Figure, entirely made of wood with no facial features, slowly crawled out, standing over two meters tall, majestic and formidable.

“This Wooden Figure will maintain Foundation Establishment Initial Stage combat power to fight with you. It doesn’t use Spells, but its strength, defense, and speed are all astonishing, far exceeding Body Cultivator Geniuses of the same level, not ordinary Foundation Establishment Body Cultivators. It’s very suitable as your sparring partner.”

“When you can defeat it, that’s when you go to the Academy.”

“The students in the Academy are almost all Geniuses from major Sects and Families. You must be even more monstrous than them to contend for Dragon Luck and Cultivate the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique!”

“Good!” Lin Jing nodded, looking at the Wooden Figure, wanting to challenge it now to see the gap and determine his cultivation direction.

“Should we try it now?” He quickly called out Pine Leaf Squirrel. Pine Leaf Squirrel looked at the Wooden Figure, then at Lin Jing.

The man and the rat exchanged glances, understanding each other’s thoughts completely. Both pulled out their Mechanical Bamboo Guns, retreating while attacking the Wooden Figure!

Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!

A sky full of Water Arrows covered it!

!

But before the Water Arrows could approach or the spirit beans could explode, the Wooden Figure transformed into an afterimage and vanished from its spot.

By the time Lin Jing reacted, the Wooden Figure had already appeared in front of him, bringing a fierce gust of wind!

Accompanied by a violent explosion in the distance, the Wooden Figure clenched its fist, about to smash it towards Lin Jing. Fortunately, Lin Jing’s mind had been strengthened by the Buddha’s Light, and his reaction wasn’t slow. He quickly switched the mode of the Mechanical Bamboo Gun, spraying a powerful stream of water at close range.

The water stream hit, and Lin Jing used the recoil to leap back more than ten meters, creating distance from the Wooden Figure. However, the powerful water stream did not cause the slightest damage to the Wooden Figure. As it advanced against the water stream, Pine Leaf Squirrel manipulated several Flying Leaves to strike at the Wooden Figure.

However.

Click, click, click!

Neither the water stream nor the Flying Leaves had any effect on the Wooden Figure. The Flying Leaves only left a few indentations before completely shattering, not affecting the Wooden Figure’s movements in the slightest.

Hmph!

The Wooden Figure rushed out again, turning into an afterimage. Before Lin Jing and Pine Leaf Squirrel could react, they were both kicked into the lake, their butts aching terribly.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Seeing this, Divine Pine spoke, “Continue your arduous cultivation. It’s not that easy to defeat, but conversely, if you defeat it, you should be able to gain a firm foothold in the Academy.”

“The water is so hot, but it smells so good.” “Squeak!!!” Lin Jing and Pine Leaf Squirrel emerged from the lake, spitting out some soup, looking very disheveled.

The Dragon Carp watched Lin Jing and Pine Leaf Squirrel become Drenched, enjoying the show, but the next moment, the Wooden Figure stepped onto the lake surface, gave the Dragon Carp a kick, sending it flying far away. Not one of them was spared; they all got a beating.