Chapter 391: 383 The Demon Bird's Lair_1
Qin Niu was well aware that the competition in this world was incredibly cruel, and some advanced cultivation resources were extremely precious. To him, that Demon Bird was also considered an advanced cultivation resource.
Just the Demon Feathers alone were already extremely valuable, and if he could kill it, obtaining its Demon Core, he would definitely be able to refine a batch of top-level elixirs.
Last time, by only killing a Pig Demon that hadn’t reached its potential, the acquired Demon Core was directly refined into a Boundary-breaking Elixir.
That Demon Bird was hundreds of times more formidable than the Pig Demon.
With its Demon Core, the elixir refined from it might even help Qin Niu advance directly to the Spirit Qi Realm.
If he could subdue it, that would be even more incredible.
He would then have a super powerful mount at his disposal, whether for guarding his cave dwelling or for traveling around, it would be a great ally.
How could he allow others to get their hands on such advanced resources?
Good things definitely need to be kept tightly under wraps, never giving outsiders a chance.
The best method was to prevent others from knowing that the Qifeng Mountain Range harbored a Demon Bird.
This was an easy task.
Now, the area around Jade Stream Town was essentially dominated by him.
Moreover, he had bought all the hills behind Shuangfeng Village, which had become his private territory.
As long as he released some poisonous insects in the mountains, after the villagers were stung and injured, they naturally wouldn’t dare to enter the mountains lightly anymore.
Gradually, the whole mountain would completely become his private territory.
At this moment, he was holding the fiery-red Demon Feather, studying it over and over again.
Trying various experiments.
That day at the market, he had personally heard the person selling Phoenix Feathers say that they could be used to practice Fire-based Magic.
To cast spells, one had to be at least at the Immortal Master level. Qin Niu hadn’t even reached the Spirit Qi Realm yet, so it was normal to not come up with anything from studying the Demon Feather.
He concluded that his cultivation was too shallow at present, which was why he could not fathom the uses of the Demon Feather.
…
In the following days, Qin Niu would take his wives and concubines up the mountain for cultivation every day. In the evenings, he would go alone to the foot of the highest peak to quietly observe the life habits of the Demon Bird.
After careful observation, he found that as long as the weather was clear, the Demon Bird would fly away from the main peak to cultivate somewhere behind the tall peaks.
Each time it left the main peak, there was no visible flame on its body, but when it returned from cultivation, it would be shrouded in flames.
Qin Niu was particularly curious, where did it go to cultivate each time?
What exactly was behind the main peak?
During this period, although many of the Termites he had sent into the main peak had died, some survivors had successfully entered the peak-top area.
The Termite that had discovered the Demon Feather especially stood out.
It seemed to have ascertained the location of the firebird’s nest.
The Termites helped Qin Niu to get a clear grasp of the situation on the peak-top.
There should be at least ten or more Demon Birds in the main peak.
This was an extremely terrifying number.
Usually, finding a single Demon Bird in the mountains was already very rare. To have at least ten Demon Birds living in a peak that wasn’t particularly tall was definitely what one would call a Demon Bird’s nest.
Qin Niu initially wanted to take the opportunity to sneak into the peak-top to explore while the firebird was absent from the main peak.
He now directly abandoned this idea.
The next day, a light and scattered drizzle started to fall from the sky.
From his experience, he knew that one should not cultivate under the Ancient Banyan Tree during gloomy rainy weather. As long as it was overcast and raining, even during the daytime, the boughs and leaves of the Ancient Banyan Tree would automatically sprinkle chilling energy.
If one stayed under the tree for a bit too long, it was very easy to be killed by it.
“Wan Yan, Cai Xian, both of you stay home for cultivation today! Practice your Step-Method Martial Skills and sword techniques well, I am going to cultivate insects in the mountains, and if I come back late, you don’t have to wait for me,” said Qin Niu to his wives and concubines, as he walked out the door with Green Ox.
The Golden Ox’s golden light was incredibly potent; with it by his side, he had an additional helper in times of danger.
Additionally, he now also had three new helpers: the Black Spider Gu, Green Demon Bee, and Gold Devouring Ant. The termite swarm had also expanded significantly. His strength was several times greater than before.
Regrettably, his proficiency in the Medicine King Sutra had been stuck at the peak of the Acquired Realm, unable to break through to the Innate Realm.
This Cultivation Technique was inherently difficult to advance.
Advancing in major realms was much more difficult than in minor ones.
Without consuming elixirs, progressing from the Acquired Realm to the Innate Realm could take one or two months of effort, which was considered quite normal.
And that was with the massive amount of medicinal qi from the Ancient Banyan Tree available for absorption.
Xiao Qing’s grandfather had, after all, never been able to ascend to the fifth level of the Mortal Realm before his death.
After Qin Niu set out into the mountains with the Green Ox, he headed straight for the main peak.
Today, he intended to bypass the main peak and see what lay beyond it.
Due to the rain, the leaves of the grass and trees in the mountain were all wet.
Fortunately, he was wearing the King Pig Leather Armor, which had a waterproof feature, or else he would have been drenched by now.
The Green Ox, on the other hand, feared neither the heavens nor the earth.
It didn’t care about the water droplets on the grass sticking to it. A few shakes were all it took to flick off the water beads.
The man and the ox reached the vicinity of the main peak but did not dare to ascend, instead finding a small path to circumvent it.
This main peak might only be over two thousand meters tall, but circumventing it required covering a mountain path of at least seventeen or eighteen li.
And that was a conservative estimate.
This peak likely belonged to the ‘stout’ type.
But even an ordinary two-thousand-meter peak would have an astonishingly large base circumference, or else it wouldn’t be able to stand towering into the clouds.
It took Qin Niu and the Green Ox nearly three hours to finally circumvent the high peak successfully.
He was now behind it.
A bit disappointed.
The other side was still mountain peaks and not short by any means, probably reaching fifteen to sixteen hundred meters.
It stretched like a dragon’s spine far into the distance.
Most mountain ranges were like that, one peak connected to another in an endless chain.
“Where would that fire bird be cultivating?”
Qin Niu gazed at the succession of peaks, but he didn’t notice anything unusual.
The fire bird was covered in flames and also breathed fire when attacking enemies, which indicated it likely cultivated fire-based magic.
Therefore, places with fire energy would surely appeal to it.
But where could one find fire in these mountains?
Qin Niu had read in books about a large mountain that burned perpetually, never extinguishing even after ten thousand years.
The region for a thousand li around that mountain was scorched earth.
And people referred to that mountain as Flaming Mountain.
There was another type of mountain that could spew hot magma, known as a volcano.
But a volcanic eruption often leaves traces.
The boiling magma spurts out and flows downward. Once cooled, it can potentially form distinctive volcanic rocks.
None of the peaks ahead showed signs of volcanic activity.
It was a rainy day, and according to the fire bird’s habits, it was unlikely to come out to cultivate.
Qin Niu decided to climb to the top of the mountain ahead to take a look.
A mountain fifteen to sixteen hundred meters high could easily be scaled to the peak in half an hour with his cultivation level.
He proceeded to climb up the mountain with the Green Ox at once.