Chapter 5: 'Entry Name': The God of Qi Refinement.

The Wolf King that was about to charge toward them had demon energy so condensed on its body that it almost materialized, its momentum extremely fierce.

A normal modern person, facing a Wolf King charging head-on, would consider themselves heroic if they could keep their legs from shaking uncontrollably, at least Chen Qiu's breathing started to become hurried.

His body trembled slightly.

A kind of indescribable fear surged in his heart, his mind began to become extremely hazy, feeling as if everything around him was slowing down.

Just then—

"Roar!!!"

Accompanied by a roar, the Wolf King charged straight at Chen Qiu from the forest with astonishing momentum, perhaps targeting Chen Qiu directly since he had killed too many Wolf Demons.

"Freeze!"

Fat Long pulled a talisman from his bosom, and as spiritual energy poured into it, the talisman instantly ignited and shot into the Wolf King's body, visibly slowing its movements.

"Slash!"

Fat Long drew another talisman, which burned up instantly, and a blade of light formed from spiritual energy materialized and slashed directly at the Wolf King, accompanied by splashing blood, a terrifying, bone-deep wound erupted on the Wolf King's back, blood gushing profusely.

Immediately not giving the Wolf King much time to react, Fat Long roared to encourage himself and charged forward with his long sword thrust deep into the wound, intense pain making the Wolf King struggle and howl continuously.

Fortunately... it was only a Qi Refinement Realm Sixth Level demon beast.

Apart from having greater physical strength than the two of them.

It didn't know any spells.

Its fighting style was still like that of a wild beast, relying on physical strength to fight.

Chen Qiu wasn't idle either; he immediately flanked to the other side, he and Fat Long splitting into two directions to surround the Wolf King and initiate a guerrilla siege. The heavily injured Wolf King already had the intention to retreat, but it was too late!

The two of them also did not attack with full force.

Preserving their strength this way, no matter whom the Wolf King attacked, the chosen one would immediately pull away, not giving the Wolf King a chance to touch him, and the other would take the opportunity to close in, harassing the Wolf King.

A few breaths later.

"Sizzle!"

As the Wolf King, increasingly slowed by excessive blood loss, Fat Long stepped back, signaling Chen Qiu to move forward; Chen Qiu didn't waste any time, stepping large beside the Wolf King, he struck with full force, a chopping blade plunging straight into the Wolf King's neck.

Even after receiving such a deadly blow.

The Wolf King still didn't die on the spot but instead struggled even more vigorously, as if revitalized.

The blade was stuck in its neck and couldn't be pulled out for a while, so Chen Qiu simply pressed his entire weight onto the Wolf King, focusing all his strength on the handle of the blade, stubbornly driving the blade deeper into its neck.

Finally...

The body of the Wolf King gradually stiffened, coming to a complete halt in its struggle, no longer breathing.

A Qi Refinement Realm Sixth Level demon beast had perished just like that!

"Damn..."

The battle over, Fat Long, who had still been brimming with energy, suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion emanating from the depths of his heart, and his legs went soft, causing him to sit down on the ground, gazing at the blood that covered his clothes, some expressions of bewilderment directed toward the body of the Wolf King in front of him.

The silvery white fur on the Wolf King's body had already been completely stained red.

The demon energy on its body was also slowly dispersing.

Even its pupils were beginning to dilate, every sign indicating that this once formidable Wolf King had truly died, killed by them.

"Am I really that powerful?"

Fat Long looked down at his hands in a daze, never having imagined that he could himself kill a Qi Refinement Realm Sixth Level demon beast. Demons of the same Cultivation Realm were usually stronger than Cultivators, especially since he had neither Cultivation Techniques nor Magic Treasures, his power was supposed to be somewhat inferior.

But now it seemed...

He might need to reassess his own strength.

A Qi Refinement Realm Sixth Level demon beast was nothing much after all!

...

At that moment, Chen Qiu, equally out of breath, was sitting on the grass. The axe he had been using to chop wood for over thirty days was still embedded in the Wolf King's neck; he hadn't pulled it out. He checked his body: there were numerous injuries, but nothing serious.

The majority were abrasions.

Only on his abdomen was there a claw mark from the wolf, from which blood was still seeping; it stung a bit.

After stepping into the second level of the Qi Refinement Realm, among the three random entries he had to choose from, he selected the green entry "Delay Foundation Establishment." The first two entries were of little use to him, and he had never considered Alchemy, so he didn't need that entry.

Although he quite liked the entry "Take the initiative," as it meant that in future entries into the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm, he could act ahead of others, be it setting traps or grabbing rewards first, which would be extremely beneficial.

However, he felt that "Delay Foundation Establishment" suited him a bit more, effectively providing him with two additional entries and also enhancing his Foundation Establishment success rate, which was great.

Just then—

From the body of the Wolf King, a faint light floated into the air and merged into Chen Qiu's body, making him feel suddenly warm, and even the pain somewhat subsided. When he performed introspection again, sure enough—

A panel of text enveloped by clouds and mist appeared inside his body once more.

"Cultivation greatly increased, officially entering the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm."

"Due to the entry 'Step by Step,' this Cultivation breakthrough grants another entry."

"Please choose from the following three random entries within ten breaths."

1:

"Entry Name": God of Qi Refinement.

"Entry Level": Grey.

"Entry Effect": You will permanently be unable to achieve Foundation Establishment, but your lifespan will be extended by 500 years.

2:

"Entry Name": Yama's Personal Decree.

"Entry Level": Grey.

"Entry Effect": You will definitely die one year later, but you are guaranteed to not die within this year.

3:

"Entry Name": Resentful Spirit Summoning.

"Entry Level": Green.

"Entry Effect": Creatures killed by you will turn into resentful spirits attached to your body, which you can summon at any time to fight for you with the strength they had at their peak, but once summoned, they can only exist for one hour, after which they dissipate into the universe.

-

"..."

Chen Qiu looked at the three random entries in front of him, pondered for a moment, and chose the third entry, "Resentful Spirit Summoning." It seemed like there wasn't much need to consider it since the first two had rather significant drawbacks.

The third entry was precisely the combat ability he urgently needed.

And it was a skill-type entry.

So far, aside from this entry, the other entries he had randomly obtained were mostly support or passive types; this one was an entry that could be actively triggered.

"Fat Long."

After resting for a moment on the ground, Chen Qiu turned his head to look at Fat Long beside him and softly said, "Thanks."

Honestly, that serving of pig's head meat had been worth it. Not only had Fat Long helped him kill the creature, but he had also let him land the final blow on the Wolf King and had used up his only two talismans. Honestly, he felt somewhat embarrassed; if it hadn't been for Fat Long, he wouldn't have been able to advance to the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm so quickly.

"It's nothing."

Fat Long thought about the two talismans he had painstakingly saved. Although it pained him, he still managed to feign generosity and shook his head: "At least our cooperation turned out to be surprisingly well-synchronized, which is great. In this dangerous and unfamiliar world, having a teammate like you is really good."

What he didn't tell Chen Qiu was that, before meeting him, he had also found a few other compatriots who had come through. Those compatriots had all risen to high positions. When he approached them trying to bond, he was met with cold shoulders and ridicule.

It was humiliating.

It was better to stay with someone of lower cultivation than himself; at least then, he wouldn't be ridiculed.