Chapter 73: Returning Empty-Handed, the Wonder of Refined Magic

Staring blankly at the scene before him, Rod was momentarily stunned as the black giant that had nearly killed him moments earlier turned into ashes and vanished, merging back into the world around him. He hadn’t expected such a powerful creature to die so easily.

At the same time, this scene confirmed his earlier assumptions—just like the Fire Devouring Beast, it was immune to magic, but only up to a certain threshold. Still, Rod could sense the immense power of this abnormally strong magical beast, known as the “Magician Slayer”! He had been lucky to kill it with the help of Fen Tian; on his own, he would never have been able to defeat such a terrifying creature. At least, not right now.

As for those mages? Only those at the late Saint level or even stronger might have a chance. The amount of magical power required to push this mutated Fire Devouring Beast to its critical point was terrifying—evident from Fen Tian’s weakened state beside him.

Fen Tian’s magical energy was completely depleted; he was even in a state of overdraw, extremely weak. Rod secretly sighed as he absorbed Fen Tian into his own body to let him recover. Although Fen Tian was only at the early Imperial level, as a dragon, especially a descendant of the divine dragons, his mastery of both magic and martial arts made him no less formidable than any mage. In terms of magical power alone, he could rival a late Saint-level mage. Combined with the purity and power of his magic, the overall destructive force he could unleash was comparable to that of a mid-Saint-level mage! Yet he was still in such a pitiful state, showing just how great the cost was to push the Fire Devouring Beast to its critical point.

It was all because Rod had covered for him, allowing him to cast a spell. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. At least, it would be nearly impossible for a late Saint-level mage to accomplish this on their own. With these thoughts, Rod felt an unprecedented sense of respect for the Fire Devouring Beast.

Looking around at the emptiness, he touched his nose and smiled bitterly inwardly. Nothing was left. Although it was a mutated Fire Devouring Beast, its magical core still existed. Even if it had the same nature as giant rats, its energy core would definitely be there. But now, there was nothing left. Otherwise, with that pure fire essence, it would surely be of great help to him. At the very least, it could be auctioned off for a substantial price. A being at the mid-stage of the Saint class—its core should be worth tens of thousands of gold coins! All of that was now gone. After fighting so hard through numerous dangers and suffering injuries, he ended up with nothing. This outcome left Rod both amused and frustrated.

“Well, it’s fine to cultivate here for a while!” After pondering for a moment, Rod murmured to himself.

Since entering the forest, he had encountered two battles. The rest of the time was spent either recovering or moving forward. Now, Rod finally decided to cultivate here for a while to fully experience the benefits of this blessed land, which might help him improve further.

Otherwise, in the outside world, it would be impossible for him to progress from the early stage of the Saint class to the mid-stage even if he were extremely talented—it would take at least five or six years. Here, he might be able to shorten that time significantly. He craved strength desperately!

The demon race, the dark races, the continent… these were all things he had to face. With his current strength, he wouldn’t be able to achieve anything even if he went outside. He had to become stronger. Only then could he achieve his goals with Skora and the others, and only then would he be qualified to take on such tasks.

Moreover, Rod had his own plans for staying here. On one hand, he wanted to fully adapt to the local gravity so he wouldn’t be hindered by it and unable to unleash his full strength. On the other hand, after observing the forest over time, he could tell that this place likely had distinct territories. The area ahead might belong to the giant rat clan, while the area behind might belong to the mutated Fire Devouring Beasts. Since one of them appeared, it was likely that there could be a second, even a third! Rod’s target was them—more precisely, their cores.

Fire-type essence cores, especially the advanced ones, play a crucial role for Rod. The powerful energy contained within them can assist in his cultivation! For instance, when his combat energy is insufficient, he can use the energy from these cores to restore it. Moreover, they are extremely useful when trying to break through a bottleneck—the energy within these cores provides significant support.

For a warrior to make a breakthrough, several conditions must be met: first, the physical condition must be adequate; second, the combat energy must be sufficient; third, one must understand the nature of the bottleneck; fourth, mental strength must be strong enough to push through. Another important factor is having robust energy support to facilitate the breakthrough.

Especially after entering the Saint level, before reaching it, the energy required for each breakthrough attempt is not much. Although the energy needed increases as strength grows, proper coordination between external elements and one’s own combat energy ensures no issues. Once reaching the Imperial level, even if one’s combat energy is well-controlled and external elements are abundant, the difficulty of breaking through remains high, and it’s hard to achieve optimal results, with a high chance of failure. If unsuccessful, one may either regress in rank or, at best, have to wait for another opportunity.

The reason he was able to progress so smoothly from the middle stage of the Imperial level to the later stages, and even to the quasi-Saint level and now the Saint level, is due to his location in this peculiar place, where the elements are exceptionally pure. Additionally, he had extraordinary luck in comprehending the mysteries of the universe and life, which allowed him to advance smoothly. But now, even with such pure elements, the chance of failure remains high.

It is precisely for this reason that advanced magical beast essence cores on the continent are so valuable. On the continent, the elements are not as pure as here, and though they are more abundant, reaching the later stages of the Imperial level or the Saint level makes it extremely difficult to break through bottlenecks. Even if one comprehends the fundamental principles and has sufficient mental strength with all other conditions met, the limitations imposed by the elements make progress extremely challenging and fraught with danger. As a result, many at this level are unable to advance further due to such constraints.

Even with advanced magical cores, ordinary people can’t afford them. And even if they could buy them, what would they do? These cores still contain impurities and are far from as pure as those obtained here. Using them still carries a high risk of failure in achieving breakthroughs! Unless one is blessed with exceptional talent and happens to encounter the right time and opportunity for luck to help them break through. But how many such people are there?

For all these reasons, Rod had to plan for his future in advance, seizing this opportunity bestowed by fate to gather some of the extremely pure magical cores here for future use.

He conceived this idea after sensing the pure energy in the core of the giant beast that day. Now, under the influence of the mutated fire-devouring beast, he has truly begun to implement this plan.

Finding a secluded place, Rod sat cross-legged and began to train and recover. Furnace in his body was already in a dormant state—this battle had really drained it. Even with his own help, it would take at least three to five days before it could recover.

As soon as Rod started training, he frowned inwardly. The gravity had increased significantly. Under the effect of 800 times normal gravity here, the speed of his combat energy circulation slowed down. Although there had been an impact before, it wasn’t this obvious. Now, however, it was particularly noticeable. It was clear that 800 times gravity was already the threshold for him; the impact would become more severe as time went on, affecting his combat energy more noticeably and imposing greater restrictions on his strength. The only solution was to adapt as quickly as possible. Otherwise, in this hostile environment, he might one day end up dead in the wilderness, becoming prey for beasts.

…

Days passed by. In the blink of an eye, Rod had been in this forest for quite a long time—after careful counting, it was likely no less than 35 days! Aside from the first two days when he killed the black giant rat and the mutated fire-devouring beast, Rod spent the rest of the time in this area with 800 times gravity, training and adapting.

During that time, he encountered three magical beasts, but unfortunately, none of them were mutated fire-devouring beasts. There were giant rats, tigers, and birds. Each of these three beasts had its own characteristics—the rats and tigers belonged to the dark element, while the bird belonged to the lightning element. Thus, Rod regretfully failed to collect any fire-type magical cores.

Out of the three battles, aside from the relatively easy fight against the giant rats, the other two were extremely tough for Rod. Especially when facing the flying creatures, it was his first encounter with such powerful flying magical beasts, and he almost lost in that situation. Although they only possessed the strength of late imperial level, they were still several times more difficult to deal with than a tiger at the early sacred level. Without the help of Furnishing Heaven, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Through several battles, Rod’s combat experience in this strange environment improved significantly, giving him an extra edge for survival. The over thirty days didn’t go to waste either; during this time, he gradually adapted to the strong gravity here. At present, being able to exert over 95% of his strength under this gravity could barely be considered passing. On the other hand, although his strength hadn’t improved substantially, Rod could clearly feel that his combat energy had become purer again, surely having risen further since he first reached the sacred level. Looking at the gloomy surroundings, Rod was confident that if he encountered giant rats again, he could kill them alone without the help of Furnishing Heaven! The effects of his cultivation were quite noticeable.