Having just taken down three peak 2-star monster beasts, the valley had quieted—leaving only Tian Shen standing alone in the eerie silence.
His gaze quickly shifted to the altar before him.
『Ding! Treasure detected. Consume 1000 Spiritual Qi to capture?』
"Treasure? And capturing it costs Spiritual Qi?"
Tian Shen blinked in surprise. "So Spiritual Energy isn't just for using techniques—it can capture treasures too?"
Without hesitation, he responded, "Capture!"
A wave of emptiness instantly hit him like a gut punch. Tian Shen quickly pulled up his attribute panel and saw 100 points of Spiritual Energy vanish in the blink of an eye.
He noticed it was a permanent reduction rather than temporary reduction due to using martial techniques.
Meanwhile, the golden orb hovering over the altar began drifting toward him.
"No!"
A panicked voice suddenly echoed.
Tian Shen turned, recognizing the unmistakable shout. "That's Elder Mo… why is he here?!"
A familiar figure was sprinting toward him, but it was too late.
『Ding! Capture successful!』
『Treasure: Incomplete Soul Demon (Upgradeable)』
『Description: The soul of a fallen Core Formation Realm cultivator, corrupted into a Soul Demon by the power of a seal.』
『Note: The host has successfully subdued the Soul Demon. It now resides within the body and passively increases Spiritual Attribute by 100 daily. Upgradable.』
Tian Shen's jaw dropped. "Oh heck yes!"
He'd been worried about his Spiritual Attribute growth, and boom—daily gains just landed in his lap.
100 points per day. That's 1000 in ten days.
In other words…
In just three months, even if every other attribute remained unchanged, his spiritual stats alone would break through the Core Formation Realm!
The Core Formation Realm!
In the entire Beast Taming Sect, not a single person had broken into that stage.
Three months.
And he'd become one.
If the upper ranks of the Beast Taming Sect—or heck, any cultivator in the Northern Territory—heard this, they'd probably cough blood in jealousy.
While Tian Shen was busy daydreaming about flexing on everyone, Elder Mo finally reached him, red-faced and furious:
"You little brat! What kind of guts do you have? Dare to venture deep inside the forbidden zone?!"
Despite his harsh words, Elder Mo's real concern showed through. He didn't care this much even about the core disciples!
Tian Shen snapped out of his euphoric daze.
He remembered the system's warning—this was no ordinary treasure.
A sealed Soul Demon… inside the Beast Taming Sect's back mountain.
Something definitely smelled fishy.
Elder Mo, still fuming, began scanning him head to toe.
"Wait a minute... Your cultivation—did it go up AGAIN?!"
He squinted hard, like he was trying to see through Tian Shen's soul.
"What realm are you at, why can't I see through you?!"
Elder Mo's eyebrow twitched.
Tian Shen gave a sheepish chuckle.
"Elder Mo has sharp eyes. Disciple gained an great opportunity."
"Hmph! Let's set it aside for now. We're leaving. I don't care how strong you are—this place isn't for juniors like you!"
He grabbed Tian Shen's wrist, ready to drag him back.
Tian Shen hesitated.
"Uh… Elder Mo. When I entered the Beast Taming Mountain, I noticed something weird. There were no monsters on the path. Then when I reached the valley, I saw dozens of monsters killing each other. And well… by the time you arrived, most of them were already dead."
Elder Mo's eyes widened as he recalled the valley full of corpses.
"Wait... Are you saying your Basic Poison Finger—at peak level—took out that mid-level 2-star monster because it was already injured?"
"Exactly."
Tian Shen nodded, keeping a straight face. He gestured toward the remains of two other 2-star peak monsters.
"Even those two—I only managed to kill them because they were already wounded."
"Boy, your luck is heaven-defying!"
Elder Mo grinned. He walked over to examine the monster corpses.
"Tsk, These 2-star peak beasts are worth a fortune. Easily selling for thousands of spirit stones… and I almost missed them."
"There are more 2-star mid-tier monster bodies back at the entrance too."
Tian Shen added helpfully.
"Right, right! That's another haul! That's at least 20,000 spirit stones total!"
For a moment, Elder Mo looked like he'd found the meaning of life.
"Twenty thousand! Even with my status in the Beast Taming Sect, I'd have to meditate for three years without spending a dime to earn that! You—you hit the jackpot!"
Tian Shen blinked.
"M-me?"
Apparently, Elder Mo had already claimed the monster corpses for him.
Well, not that he cared about that. He didn't follow the path of conventional cultivation afterall.
"Elder Mo, are these monster beast corpses really mine?"
Tian Shen couldn't help but voice the doubt in his heart, his tone full of surprise.
"Of course they're yours. What, you think they're mine?"
Elder Mo replied with a casual shrug.
"I didn't lift a finger—you're the one who wiped them out, didn't you?"
Hearing his matter-of-fact tone, Tian Shen couldn't help but break into a grin.
"Right, right! Come to think of it, back then, you hunted down a Black Shadow Wolf, remember? Mid-stage 1-star. That thing's carcass fetched about two hundred spirit stones. One of the core disciples from the sect spotted it later and dragged it out. Now that you're sitting on a two hundred thousand spirit stone windfall, you won't get petty over two hundred, will you? Might as well let him have it, yeah?"
Elder Mo gave him a knowing look, clearly hinting at Qi Lianghui's involvement.
"Ah, makes sense! Sure, let's give it to that senior brother then. Might as well ask him to help drag these out while he's at it."
Tian Shen nodded without hesitation, already moving on in his mind.
"Perfect. I'll pass the word along. Let's start gathering the goods. You don't have a storage ring yet, do you?"
Elder Mo glanced around at the scattered monster beast corpses.
"Just pile everything together. I'll store them for now and haul them back to the sect. Once we report to the sect master, I'll help you apply for a storage ring."
He gestured broadly at the battlefield of blood and bodies around them.
"Thank you, Elder Mo!"
Tian Shen was genuinely delighted. The two hundred thousand spirit stones were nice and all—but the promise of getting his own storage ring?
That had him grinning from ear to ear.