Sword Sovereign of the Celestial Emperor

"The black cat demon is an extremely rare magical beast. It has a blood pearl inside its body that is a treasure for body refining martial artists. The pearl can be used to temper the blood and flesh within. Based on the number of its tails, it can be categorized from one tail to nine tails. In the Ancient Era, there were many black cat demons, but later, as martial arts flourished, they were hunted to extinction by martial artists. Look at its tail; it has three small forks. Thus, this should be a three-tailed black cat demon."

As soon as the Ancient Sword Emperor finished speaking, Chu Ming focused his gaze on the tail of the black cat demon and indeed noticed three small forks. Each fork was only as long as a finger and would be nearly impossible to detect unless scrutinized carefully.

In their brief clash earlier, Chu Ming had already realized that the three-tailed black cat demon before him possessed strength comparable to a martial artist at the Seventh Heaven of the True Dao. However, its fur was incredibly tough. The Star Trace Sword's slash only left a shallow white mark.

Swoosh!

As Chu Ming and the Ancient Sword Emperor conversed, the three-tailed black cat demon pounced again, appearing ferocious and imposing. A pitch-black claw mark aimed directly for Chu Ming's chest.

Boom!

Chu Ming raised his left fist and wielded his sword with his right hand. His left fist glowed with red light like a dragon crashing forward, shattering the claw mark with a cracking sound. Simultaneously, his right-hand sword descended, and a sharp sword light cut off the three tails of the three-tailed black cat demon.

Earlier, the Ancient Sword Emperor had already informed him that the tail was the black cat demon's weak point.

Thud, thud, thud...

With one swift stroke, Chu Ming severed all three tails. The three-tailed black cat demon let out a mournful cry and turned to flee in a panic.

However, Chu Ming wouldn't let such a golden opportunity slip by. Instantly, he raised the Star Trace Sword above his head, and an indistinct, somewhat ethereal sword light erupted.

Crack!

This time, under Chu Ming's sword light, the skin of the three-tailed black cat demon was incredibly fragile. Almost instantly, the sword tore through it like paper, splitting it in half.

Swoosh!

Chu Ming's body moved lightly and landed beside the corpse of the three-tailed black cat demon. He searched its body with his right hand and then drew out a pea-sized pearl.

The pearl was transparent and blood-red. When Chu Ming shook it gently, it seemed as if there was liquid flowing within. Holding it in his hand, Chu Ming could feel the warmth it radiated entering his body.

"This is merely the blood pearl of a three-tailed black cat demon. It won't have a significant tempering effect on your blood and flesh. With your current body strength, you would at least need the blood pearl of a five-tailed black cat demon to be effective."

In his dantian, the Ancient Sword Emperor spoke calmly.

"However, since there is a three-tailed black cat demon here, it's not impossible that a five-tailed black cat demon could exist."

The Ancient Sword Emperor added.

Placing the blood pearl into his storage ring, Chu Ming continued deeper into the Mist Mountain Range. To be precise, the three-tailed black cat demon was the first living creature he encountered along the way.

As it turned out, the Ancient Sword Emperor's guess was correct. As he continued forward, Chu Ming did not encounter a five-tailed black cat demon, but he did come across a four-tailed black cat demon, which he also cut down with his sword.

As the sun set, the twilight scattered across the sky, turning the Mist Mountain Range into a golden ocean. The entire mountain range seemed like a giant beast with a gaping mouth, hungrily swallowing it up.

"I need to find a quiet place to rest before it gets dark!"

Chu Ming thought to himself.

In truth, with his cultivation level, not resting wouldn't cause any issues for his body.

However, in the dark, his vision and spiritual sense were further restricted, making it extremely dangerous to continue deeper into the Mist Mountain Range.

Crack, crack!

Finding a flat stone wall, Chu Ming raised his sword and, with just a few strikes, carved out a small cave.

Clearing away the debris, Chu Ming entered the cave and let out a sigh of relief.

Then, a flash of light in his hand revealed seven rolling blood pearls, appearing quite adorable.

Among the seven blood pearls, three were the size of soybeans—these came from the three-tailed black cat demons. The other four were the size of thumbs—these were from the four-tailed black cat demons.

As soon as the seven blood pearls appeared, a strand of blood qi began to spread around. Holding the blood pearls in his hand, Chu Ming closed his eyes and silently recited the incantation for the Fourth Layer of the "Primordial Body Refining Technique."

In an instant, a numbing sensation grew on his body surface, as if thousands of worms were crawling all over, and new flesh began to grow.

The strength of Chu Ming's flesh slowly increased. Though the process was gradual, it was surely happening.

Exhale!

An hour later, Chu Ming slowly opened his eyes and looked at the blood pearls in his hand, discovering that all seven had turned transparent and their blood glow had completely disappeared.

With a frown, it was indeed as the Ancient Sword Emperor had said: the blood pearls of the four-tailed and three-tailed black cat demons had a negligible effect on him. With these seven blood pearls, he only felt a step closer to reaching the Fifth Layer of the "Primordial Body Refining Technique."

To break through to the Fifth Layer, the blood pearl of a five-tailed black cat demon was essential.

Discarding the depleted blood pearls, Chu Ming took out two middle-grade spirit stones from his storage ring and entered a deep cultivation state.

...

The next morning, after eating some dried food from his storage ring, Chu Ming set off again, heading towards the center of the Mist Mountain Range.

Along the way, Chu Ming noticed a strange phenomenon: it was too quiet around him, eerily quiet.

In fact, Chu Ming had noticed this yesterday, but today it was conspicuously apparent.

Apart from the black cat demons, Chu Ming hadn't found any other traces of demon beasts in the Mist Mountain Range.

Thud!

After slaying a four-tailed black cat demon with one strike, Chu Ming's ears twitched, and he turned to look at the dense forest to his left.

Despite his vision and spiritual sense being limited, as a martial artist at the Ninth Heaven of the True Dao, his hearing remained sharp.

Step! Step! Step!

He didn't hide his presence. The approaching footsteps were light and revealed a figure of limited strength.

Rustle!

A rather petite figure emerged from the dense forest. As the mist cleared, Chu Ming could make out the newcomer's appearance, and he was visibly moved.

The person was only about one and a half meters tall, with messy hair, wearing gray clothes, and barefoot. However, through the gaps in the hair, Chu Ming could vaguely see a delicate face.

"Are you an outsider?"

The girl was around fourteen or fifteen years old. She looked at Chu Ming with eyes full of curiosity and remarkable brightness.

"Outsider? I'm just lost in the mountains. What's your name?"

Chu Ming sheathed his Star Trace Sword and searched the corpse of the black cat demon, retrieving a thumb-sized blood pearl.

Upon seeing the blood pearl, Chu Ming could clearly sense the girl's eyes filled with longing and fervor.