Feeling the Demon Power within him slowly growing, Di Shitian finally understood that his ability to absorb the essence of the sun and moon probably had nothing to do with his unorthodox breathing exercises; it was entirely due to the large boulder he was lying on. As clarity dawned, he vaguely sensed that this boulder was certainly no ordinary object. It might even be a treasure.
With a thought, he withdrew from the wondrous state where he could feel the essence of the sun and moon around him. Extending a tiger's paw, he pushed aside the fur beside him, revealing a golden Medicinal Pill. Wafts of a mysterious medicinal fragrance emanated from it.
"I'll first try to see what's so marvelous about the 'Spirit Gathering Pill.' Since that mysterious woman gave me the Medicinal Pill, it must be something I can take now."
Di Shitian's eyes were filled with determination. He was still ignorant about Cultivation, and he knew that his knowledge was severely lacking, so much so that he didn't even understand the divisions of Realms in Cultivation.
If nothing unexpected happened—
He could endure absorbing the essence of the sun and moon daily, and consuming blood to slowly strengthen his Demon Power, until one day, his Demon Power accumulated to a peak, allowing him to naturally form an Inner Core.
However, all of this required a vast amount of time to accumulate and mature.
Yet, what he most urgently needed at this moment was how to possess great strength in a short period. Time was precisely what he least wanted to wait for. After all, he had time, but White Tiger Mama and the others might not have the time to wait.
"Gulp!!"
Without much hesitation, he used his tongue to roll the 'Spirit Gathering Pill' into his mouth. The Medicinal Pill melted upon contact and entered his abdomen. In an instant, a fierce surge of heat violently rushed out, like an untamed Vicious Beast, crashing back and forth within his Physical Body. It rushed into his Meridians, which had always been unblocked, immediately causing waves of stinging pain.
The Meridians in Di Shitian's Physical Body at this moment were like narrow sheep trails, while this massive surge of heat was like a rapidly galloping carriage, crashing recklessly. Such ferocity was something his Meridians could not withstand, and intense pain assailed him repeatedly.
"Mm!!"
Di Shitian let out a muffled groan through his nose, gritting his teeth, and resolutely guarding his mind. With his firm will, he persevered again and again. At the same time, he constantly recalled the miraculous Realm he was in when he previously absorbed the essence of the sun and moon. He felt that as long as he entered that state, the pain in his Physical Body would greatly decrease.
But, unfortunately—
Under the stimulation of intense pain, he couldn't enter that state no matter what, only experiencing the torment of pain over and over again.
"No, I won't fail. I want to Cultivate into a demon. I still need to save White Tiger Mama. I can definitely endure this."
Di Shitian screamed wildly to himself in his heart, a look of frenzy erupting in his eyes. He lay on the boulder, enduring the pain with his resolute will.
"Swish!!"
Just then, the faint glow that was already shining from the boulder beneath him, for some unknown reason, suddenly intensified. The crystalline light abruptly became dazzling, but it only appeared for a moment before receding. This recession caused the radiance that the boulder originally reflected in the moonlight to completely disappear, and the boulder became ancient and unadorned.
But at this moment, Di Shitian felt that he seemed to have a subtle, mysterious connection with the boulder beneath him. From within the boulder, a cool, mysterious Power suddenly surged forth.
This Power entered his Physical Body, exceptionally gentle. Wherever it reached, it made him feel incredibly comfortable. The damage to his Meridians and Physical Body, which had been severely injured by the vigorous medicinal Power of the Spirit Gathering Pill, was rapidly repaired. Moreover, after healing, both his Physical Body and the Meridians within it were noticeably strengthened.
Di Shitian, however, did not know that the Spirit Gathering Pill was a top-grade Spirit Pill in the Cultivation World for increasing Cultivation at the Qi Refinement Stage. A single pill could allow someone at the fifth level of Qi Refining to directly enter the sixth level.
The Spiritual Qi contained within the Medicinal Pill was incredibly vast. Even Cultivators, before reaching a certain level of Cultivation, dared not take it lightly, fearing that the powerful medicinal Power would damage their Meridians, ruining their Cultivation Foundation. If that happened, even the best Spiritual Root would be rendered useless.
Di Shitian had only just obtained Demon Power, and his control over it was still somewhat clumsy. Rashly taking such a top-grade Medicinal Pill would have been disastrous if not for his excellent lineage. As the King of Beasts, the Tiger Clan's formidable Physical Body was much stronger and sturdier than that of humans. Moreover, he himself had persistently tempered his body daily by crashing into trees, making his Physical Body very solid.
This was why his Meridians weren't immediately torn apart by the immense medicinal Power.
Of course, even if he survived, the damage to his Meridians would at least require Di Shitian to recuperate for a long time to recover, which was indeed perilous.
"Good, today I will use Demon Power to devour the vast Spiritual Qi produced by the Spirit Gathering Pill, which will definitely greatly strengthen my Demon Power."
The mysterious Power suddenly emitted by the boulder beneath him was clearly beyond Di Shitian's expectation. However, now was not the time to delve into this matter. The crucial thing was that the Power from the boulder was helping him repair the injuries in his Physical Body, and that was enough.
He concentrated his mind and began to quickly drive his Demon Power towards the vast Spiritual Qi that was still darting around inside his Physical Body. Under the impact of the immense Spiritual Qi, his Meridians had already transformed from narrow sheep trails to much wider passages. The Demon Power moved very quickly, and in a flash, it plunged into the Spiritual Qi. Once inside, the Demon Power truly acted like a hungry ghost that hadn't eaten for days, greedily devouring the Spiritual Qi in large gulps. The Demon Power began to rapidly grow at a visible rate.
The Spiritual Qi generated by the Spirit Gathering Pill was, after all, an unconscious entity. Although vast in quantity, it only knew how to crash recklessly. The Demon Power, however, could continuously devour the Spiritual Qi and grow. For a time, they surged back and forth. The situation gradually began to reverse.
As the Spiritual Qi circulated in his Physical Body in circles, the Demon Power followed, also circulating countless times. With the mysterious Power of the boulder protecting him, the Demon Power finally began to gain the upper hand, excitedly chasing, absorbing, and refining the Spiritual Qi in large gulps.
Finally—
Who knows how much time had passed.
"Whoosh!!"
The medicinal Power of the Spirit Gathering Pill was completely absorbed by Di Shitian. After refining the Spirit Gathering Pill, his Demon Power had increased by an unknown amount. Just as Di Shitian was about to let out a sigh of relief, the mysterious Power emitted by the boulder, which had been protecting his Meridians, suddenly underwent an anomaly. It rapidly gathered into a mass, like a wild horse unbridled, and furiously rushed towards his mind.
"Bang!!"
This change occurred too suddenly, and it happened just as Di Shitian's mind had relaxed a little. The Power of the boulder was too fast, giving him no chance to resist whatsoever.
As the saying goes: the brain is the sea of marrow, the Upper Dantian; the heart is the crimson fire, the Middle Dantian; three inches below the navel is the Lower Dantian. The Lower Dantian is the abode of essence; the Middle Dantian is the abode of Qi; the Upper Dantian is the abode of the Soul. Ancient people called essence, Qi, and Soul the Three Treasures.
At this moment, this strange Power was actually trying to rush into his brain, intending to assault his abode of the Soul. If it truly caused havoc in his mind, Di Shitian would likely instantly become an idiot.
Di Shitian might not have known about other things, but he knew the importance of his head. Seeing the Power from the boulder directly attacking his mind, his heart was filled with terror, as if his liver and gallbladder were splitting. Yet, he was powerless to stop it. He only felt a tremendous roar in his brain, and his mind went blank. He let out a muffled groan and collapsed onto the boulder, unconscious.
However—
The change did not stop due to his unconsciousness.
The boulder once again emitted a layer of crystalline halo, which gathered together and rapidly surged into the Physical Body of the black tiger lying on the boulder.
For a moment, something miraculous happened. Drops of blood suddenly began to seep from the black tiger's entire body. These tiny blood beads emerged from countless pores. The strange thing was that this blood was not red, but a mysterious black. The black tiger's Physical Body began to grow larger little by little.
Its body, which had not yet reached adulthood, soon became as large as an adult tiger. Moreover, even after reaching the size of an adult tiger, it did not stop growing.
"Hoo hoo hoo!!"
Amidst a series of heavy breaths, the black tiger's body became even larger than an adult tiger, exuding a majestic tiger's might and a kingly Aura. The character 'King' formed by purple stripes on its forehead became even more captivating. A mere glance could shatter one's courage.
Undeniably, the black tiger now possessed the true Aura of the King of Beasts. A thick tiger's might continuously emanated from its body, spreading into the surrounding mountains and forests.
This was an invisible Aura, an innate quality of the King of Beasts. As it spread, the animals that had come out to hunt in the darkness all trembled, their legs giving way, collapsing to the ground. It was a fear and submission that stemmed from their very Souls. The entire jungle fell silent; even the night insects made no sound. This made the mountain forest appear somewhat eerie.
The changes did not subside merely with the increased size. A thick black light emanated from the black tiger's body. The moonlight in the sky seemed to meet the ocean like a river, surging and rolling into his Physical Body like a tide.
"Swish!!"
When the moonlight reached its peak intensity, a pure white beam of light suddenly descended from the moon. The light beam was composed of moonlight, an astonishingly dense essence of the sun and moon pouring down, infusing into Di Shitian's Physical Body. Even the boulder was enveloped in the light beam. Such a sight was truly terrifying.
The light beam formed by the moonlight was too obvious, connecting heaven and earth. It was very eye-catching. Countless creatures looked fearfully towards where the light beam descended.
The beasts that were already slumped on the ground now pressed their bodies even lower.
The Tiger Hill Mountain Range stretched for tens of thousands of miles. Near the mountain range was a country called Chu, which had vast borders. Perhaps it should be said that this world was vast, beyond human imagination. The Tiger Hill Mountain Range seemed large, but compared to the entire world, it was insignificant.
On the outskirts of the mountain range, many hunters lived, forming various mountain villages.
The sudden changes in the Tiger Hill Mountain Range naturally attracted the attention of many people.