Chapter 190: The Game in the Refining Realm

Ye Feng didn’t know how much time it took to make the new energy flow path operate smoothly. What surprised him was that every new energy flow path provided by the “Wu Dian” always incorporated the previous ones. To be precise, each new path was an expansion of the old ones, only more complex and powerful.

After some intricate energies began to flow automatically along the new paths in his body, Ye Feng finally stopped guiding them actively and withdrew his mental energy. To his surprise, he had inadvertently reached the later stage of the Outward Departure phase. The new energy flow paths introduced new ways of absorbing energy, and with the help of the Spirit Gathering Array, his Yuan Ying grew to look like a child of twelve or thirteen—something that only occurs in the later stage of this phase.

Ye Feng checked the time and realized he had already been in the seclusion room for 63 days. It took him only 14 days to reach the middle stage of the Outward Departure phase after taking a third-grade Spirit Ascension Pill. This meant it took him 49 days to get familiar with the new energy flow paths.

Of course, the benefit was that he not only solidified his cultivation at the middle stage of the Outward Departure phase but also advanced to its later stage—though at the cost of much more time.

Ye Feng had thought that taking just two pills couldn’t possibly take a hundred days. When he booked the room, he had paid ten mid-grade spirit crystals, which covered 100 days. “I originally thought the extra cost would be refunded when I left. It seems I might have to pay more this time!”

Helplessly spreading his hands, he said, “Well, let’s move on to attempting the Divided Attention phase!”

He sent his mental energy back into the void realm.

“A fourth-grade Spirit Ascension Pill! Requires 10,000,000 points of second-tier domain value. After taking it, a cultivator in the Outward Departure phase can directly advance to the Divided Attention phase in a short time.”

“Confirm purchase!”

“Purchase successful. 10,000,000 points of second-tier domain value deducted.”

Ye Feng held the golden pill, still the size of a quail egg, and examined it carefully. He couldn’t see any significant difference from the third-grade Spirit Ascension Pill—in fact, they looked exactly the same in appearance.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Feng put the fourth-grade Spirit Ascension Pill in his mouth as well…

…

While Ye Feng was deeply immersed in his cultivation, two little creatures in the Refining Realm were teaming up to provoke a larger creature in the early stage of the Tribulation Crossing phase.

Long before starting his meditation, Ye Feng had adjusted the Training Realm to intelligent mode. The realm would automatically adjust the training environment based on the progress of the two little creatures—such as the overall strength of the magical beasts, the strength of the strongest ones, and their density. Intelligent mode was actually a cruel system, as the realm knew exactly what level the practitioners had reached. It would create various situations to force them to constantly face tough opponents, rather than keeping weaker creatures as food as Ye Feng had originally done to prevent the two little ones from going hungry. Fortunately, the two little creatures quickly noticed this change, and their animal instincts helped them adapt swiftly. That day, Bernard had just defeated a bear in the early stage of fusion and was bathing in a clear lake. Xiao Yu, on the other hand, had just killed a spotted magic python in the middle stage of fusion and was perched on a tree branch not far from Bernard, preening his feathers. Suddenly, the environment around the two little creatures changed drastically—the usual chirping of birds and insects vanished, and everything around became eerily silent. This sign indicated that something powerful was approaching. Xiao Yu cautiously turned his head to look around, while Bernard stopped swimming and slowly made his way toward the shore, listening carefully. Suddenly, a howl that shook the entire mountain range came from the lake, and both Xiao Yu and Bernard felt the ground tremble. Bernard quickly fled to the shore, with Xiao Yu landing on his shoulder. By now, Bernard was already about two meters tall, while Xiao Yu remained small, the size of a palm, though his feathers were even more vibrant. Instead of fleeing, they looked expectantly toward the lake. Nearly two centuries of training had given them exceptional combat awareness and skills. Magical beasts in the fusion stage were no longer a challenge to them; they could easily hunt them for food. From that terrifying howl, they knew this beast must be the current ruler of the area.

From time to time, the monsters here evolve as they grow stronger. With each victory over the local king, their strength increases overall, and a more powerful king emerges. For these two beasts, it’s like a game that keeps getting more intense.

The two beasts stared coldly at the lake, their eyes filled not only with tension but also a hint of excitement and eagerness.

“Xiaoyu, it seems we need to work together this time. The opponent is truly formidable!” Bernard’s mouth emitted a youthful voice, sounding like that of a boy in his teens.

Xiaoyu turned her head to look at him, then chirped at him twice, “Chirp… chirp…”

“Alright, as you say. I’ll use various spells from a distance to hold them back while you attack!” Bernard nodded reluctantly, then scratched his head. “You were born before me, so why did I enter my growth phase over a decade ago while you’re still in your juvenile stage?”

Just then, the water began to stir. Bernard slowly flew into the air to avoid being dragged into the lake and forced to fight on their opponent’s territory.

Although he also inherited water-related traits from his mother, it would be irrational to face a stronger water-type opponent in their own environment and get dragged into their domain.

Above the lake, Bernard and Xiaoyu finally saw what was happening—a huge black shadow was rising from the bottom of the lake.

Though they couldn’t see the opponent’s face clearly, they could tell that the shadow’s head was about the size of a football field.

As it neared the surface, it suddenly dived downward, its massive black tail sweeping up a colossal wave aimed straight at Bernard and Xiaoyu.