At noon, the disciples of the Second Division gathered once again at the camp's exit.
Xiao Chen noticed that about four or five junior brothers were missing compared to the morning. They must have chosen to withdraw from this trial.
This was only natural. It was inevitable to feel fear when faced with a life-threatening situation, even if the risk wasn't particularly high.
'Honestly, sometimes I really don't understand what the Sect's upper echelon is thinking.'
After a simple drawing of lots, the disciples of the Second Division took turns choosing different paths into the mountain range.
This was also done to stagger them and prevent too many people from crowding together.
Of course, the Sect hadn't strictly forbidden the disciples from forming teams.
But at this point, although there wasn't any intense competition among them, everyone was under pressure to earn points for the trial.
If several disciples traveled together, the Spirit Beasts weren't stupid; they would surely go into hiding.
As a result, this would lead to the disciples who had grouped up being unable to complete the trial's requirements.
So, although many disciples were worried, more than half chose to act alone, while the rest only formed pairs.
The Feihong Mountain Range was a completely natural mountain range. Before this trial began, there were no signs of human activity within it, and thus no ready-made paths.
This was because the mountain range was filled with a dense miasma that was also somewhat toxic.
For mortals, inhaling too much of these toxins would lead to illness or even death.
Fortunately, Cultivators could rely on their Magical Power to expel the toxins. It only slightly affected their vision, making it difficult to see things clearly beyond a hundred zhang.
Qi Refining Stage Cultivators couldn't yet project their Divine Sense, so they could only slow down to avoid potential dangers.
Under these circumstances, the disciples quickly grew far apart from one another.
Ye Fei, who had set out a step ahead of Xiao Chen, was also the first to discover the tracks of a Spirit Beast.
He followed the broken branches, decisively gave chase, and soon found a Profound Shell Turtle at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage.
After a fierce struggle, he successfully beheaded it with his sharp Flying Sword, earning five points.
Ye Fei couldn't help but sigh. "This trial really is difficult. A single Profound Shell Turtle took me a full thirty minutes, and I almost got injured in the process."
As he replayed the fight in his mind and looked at the stones shattered by the Profound Shell Turtle, he realized something else: these Spirit Beasts seemed to have taken some kind of drug that made them exceptionally ferocious.
In fact, he was right. Before being released into the mountain range, all the Spirit Beasts had been fed a special drug to stimulate their primal ferocity.
This served two purposes: to increase the trial's difficulty and to prevent the Spirit Beasts from fleeing mid-fight.
Otherwise, it would be awkward if a Spirit Beast realized it couldn't win and fled halfway through a fight.
However, this also meant that once a Spirit Beast was injured, it would fight to the death, which significantly increased the danger of the trial.
Xiao Chen even ran into an injured junior brother who was heading back the way he came.
"Junior Brother Zhang, how are you? Are you all right?"
"Oh, it's you, Xiao. *Sigh*. I encountered a Two-tailed Scorpion up ahead by the stream. I let my guard down for a moment and it stung me."
"How bad is the injury? I'm pretty good with the Water Therapy Skill. Do you need my help to heal it?"
Junior Brother Zhang waved his hand and sighed. "No need. I've already taken an Elixir. *Sigh*. It's just a shame it got my thigh, so I can't continue the trial."
He then added a warning, "Xiao, you have to be extremely careful. It's best to go around that area and find a new path."
"That scorpion's tails are incredibly powerful. One is strong enough to pierce right through the Golden Light Technique. The other is lightning-fast and can get past an Earth Shield to strike a Cultivator directly."
"If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have been hit. That beast almost killed me."
As he spoke, his face grew a shade paler, clearly still shaken by the memory.
Xiao Chen cupped his hands in thanks. "Thank you for the warning, Junior Brother Zhang. I'll keep it in mind."
After bidding farewell to Junior Brother Zhang, Xiao Chen formed the Hand Technique for the Golden Light Technique with his right hand, readying his Defense.
At the same time, he preemptively took a Light Body Talisman from his robes, holding it in his left hand, ready to activate it with Magical Power at a moment's notice.
Although he prided himself on his powerful Magic, he ultimately lacked real combat experience, so being cautious was the best approach.
A Light Body Talisman allowed a Cultivator to borrow a trace of wind power, lightening their body to enable rapid movement.
It was an excellent choice for both pursuit and escape.
After walking for thirty minutes, he saw the stream in the distance, along with some broken trees.
Guided by the principle of picking the easiest targets first, Xiao Chen decided to let the Two-tailed Scorpion be. He would press on and worry about hunting other Spirit Beasts for points later.
So he deliberately chose to detour through the patch of grass on the right.
SWOOSH!
Just as he neared the grass, the sound of something slicing through the air rang out.
Xiao Chen instinctively activated the Golden Light Technique. A stream of Magical Power surged from his Dantian to his fingertips, instantly covering his body in a thick layer of golden light.
CLANG! CLANG!
The sound of metal striking stone rang out twice in quick succession. A pair of scorpion tails had stabbed at Xiao Chen's temples from the left and right, only to slam against the golden light.
It turned out that the Two-tailed Scorpion, unable to give chase but unwilling to leave the area due to the drug's influence, had laid an ambush in the nearby grass.
The sneak attack was completely unexpected. If not for the unusual thickness of his Golden Light Technique, he would have suffered a devastating blow right then and there.
FWOOSH~
With a wisp of light smoke, the Talisman in his hand was activated by his Magical Power, instantly transforming into a gust of wind that pulled him backward.
As he rapidly retreated to create distance, Xiao Chen kept his eyes fixed on the pitch-black Two-tailed Scorpion and cast the Fireball Technique.
Although he hadn't practiced it much, his casting speed was surprisingly fast, perhaps because of how quickly his Magical Power circulated.
He successfully launched a fist-sized fireball before the Two-tailed Scorpion could charge forward.
THWUMP!
There was no great blaze, nor the expected shower of sparks.
The orange-red fireball slammed into the Two-tailed Scorpion's left side, tore out through its back-right, and continued straight on to hit a rock several zhang away, where it burst into a shower of sparks.
'Huh?'
Xiao Chen took three leaps back, covering a distance of two zhang, and only then did he see that the Two-tailed Scorpion had frozen in place, completely motionless.
'Hm?'
Another breeze drifted by, carrying with it the scorched smell of cooked meat.
'The Two-tailed Scorpion... is dead?'
'That's it?'
The Cultivation Chamber was, after all, just an inanimate training ground. Seeing the effect of his power in a real battle, Xiao Chen finally had a clear understanding of his own strength.
'So this is the effect of my Augment... It's this powerful?'
He could instantly kill a Two-tailed Scorpion at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage.
Under normal circumstances, piercing a Spirit Beast's carapace head-on was an extremely difficult task.
An ordinary fifth-level Qi Refining Cultivator would struggle to achieve a clean penetration, even with a Flying Sword.
But now, Xiao Chen was so powerful he even had to check if he had damaged the Points Jade Token inside the beast.
"Good, the Jade Token is fine."
He retrieved the Jade Token from the wound, casually washed it in the stream, and revealed the clear number five etched on its surface.
Even though he had known before coming that killing Spirit Beasts wouldn't be difficult for him, the hunting process had turned out to be even simpler than he had anticipated.
'Every point I get is worth three Spirit Stones.'
At this thought, a fervent glint appeared in Xiao Chen's eyes. 'This isn't a trial. This is like picking up free money!'