Chapter Four: Refinement

Seeing that the toad was about to escape the range of the blood arrow, Li Yang instantly leapt forward, pouncing and seizing its two curled hind legs in a death grip. In that instant, the blood arrow transformed midair into a crimson rune, branding itself fiercely onto the toad’s brow.

Only when the struggling strength beneath his hands weakened did Li Yang, drenched in sweat, finally release his hold and sit cross-legged on the ground. A faint red glow began to emanate from his body. As the red light enveloped the toad, their breathing gradually synchronized. After a quarter of an hour, Li Yang opened his eyes, face pale, and looked upon the calf-sized toad before him, nodding in satisfaction.

This ancient method, passed down from the great shamans of old, of using essence blood to stimulate the bloodline of exotic beasts, was the core of Li Yang’s family’s legacy. Humans are born physically frail, able to refine only the gentle spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Exotic beasts, however, are vastly different; their formidable innate physiques allow them to absorb a broader range of energies. As a result, they are not so reliant on spiritual energy— even in its absence, they can still survive by harnessing other forces.

The Li family’s cultivation technique centered on nurturing exotic beasts and then seizing their power for personal use, thereby strengthening themselves. To successfully refine the essence of such creatures, a strong physique was indispensable. Thus, an ancestor of the Li family had a sudden inspiration: first strengthen oneself with the methods of immortals, then raise exotic beasts with shamanic arts, and finally absorb their power to endure the age of declining magic.

Alas, though the idea was sound, with the waning of spiritual energy, the gifted exotic beasts gradually vanished as well, leading directly to the family’s decline. Nevertheless, compared to those whose legacies had vanished entirely, the Li family fared somewhat better— at least they managed to endure, passing down the tradition from one generation to the next, however tenuously.

Climbing to his feet unsteadily, feeling weak from the loss of blood and energy, Li Yang’s eyes nonetheless shone with joy. After two lifetimes, he had finally taken the first step toward his heart’s desire— how could he not be overjoyed?

The hissing cadence of a shamanic incantation rose in the air once more. Li Yang wished to test the true power of his first life-bound exotic beast, even if forging it had nearly cost him his vitality— was it worth the price?

At the instant the incantation sounded, the calf-sized toad on the ground opened its maw wide, sucking in vast gulps of air with a roar that echoed through the forest. In seconds, its size swelled to that of a small carriage. Then its jaws gaped again, and a thumb-thick tongue lashed out, sweeping through the air and yanking up a shrub as thick as a grown man’s thigh from fifty meters away, uprooting it entirely and snapping it in two mid-air.

It then pierced the jagged shrub with the barbed tip of its tongue, drew it back, and swallowed it whole. Afterwards, as if deflating, its body shrank back to calf-size.

Li Yang burst into hearty laughter. “Excellent! My effort to use essence blood to awaken your lineage was not in vain!”

He was thoroughly satisfied with his first life-bound exotic beast. He knew this was no mere talent, but a true supernatural power— this toad absolutely bore the bloodline of an ancient beast.

After a moment of laughter, Li Yang forced himself to overcome his dizziness and staggered to the toad’s side, caressing its rough skin with a reluctant fondness. His family’s secret art was indeed boundless in power; as long as his life-bound beast was strong, his own potential was limitless.

Just then, the toad rolled its two bulging eyes at Li Yang. The rune on its brow flickered, faint red light seeping through. In that instant, an image erupted in Li Yang’s mind: a three-legged toad of such immensity that it blotted out the sky, its body covered in patterns resembling ancient coins, spanning the mountains. As the toad opened its mouth wide, the heavens and earth were plunged into darkness— sun and moon extinguished. When it closed its jaws, everything within ten thousand miles was left barren and desolate.

“Devour heaven and earth, absorb the universe.” Several pictographic characters shimmered in Li Yang’s mind, shifting and changing until they finally stabilized as two symbols: “Expand” and “Contract.”

Startled by this mental phenomenon, Li Yang was momentarily stunned. Even his family’s records had no mention of such an occurrence. Glancing at the yellow markings on the toad’s body, he suddenly understood. The bloodline of the ancient three-legged golden toad— he had truly stumbled upon a treasure. As he focused on the characters in his mind, the toad on the ground let out a “croak” and instantly shrank to the size of a fist, leaping into Li Yang’s palm.

“What a marvelous treasure!” Li Yang exulted, gazing at the fist-sized toad in his hand, and retraced his steps homeward, his face alight with joy.

...

By the time Li Yang returned to the ruined temple, afternoon had already descended. As soon as he entered, he saw the same group of ruffians who had killed his predecessor last time, now pinning Little Six to the ground, laughing and kicking him. They froze when they saw Li Yang enter.

“Brother Li, run!” Little Six’s face instantly filled with panic at Li Yang’s return.

“Shut your mouth!” barked one of the bullies, landing a few more punches on Little Six before turning to face Li Yang, grinning.

“Well, well! You’re tougher than we thought. Just as well, we were looking for you anyway.”

Li Yang faced the two approaching ruffians, who were cracking their knuckles in anticipation, and replied impassively, “What business do you have with me? As it happens, I was just looking for you.”

“Oh? And what would you want with us?” The bullies looked disappointed that Li Yang did not show the fear they’d expected.

“I need to borrow your lives for a while,” Li Yang said, absentmindedly stroking the toad in his hand. “My luck really is good. The finest blood offerings have delivered themselves to my door.”

“Are you looking to die?” To these thugs, Li Yang was nothing more than meat on their plate. For him to provoke them so recklessly enraged them at once.

“Go,” Li Yang commanded.

Unwilling to waste words on those about to die, he casually tossed the toad from his hand. It expanded in the wind, instantly becoming the size of a carriage, its tongue whipping out with a shrill howl.

In the blink of an eye, the two closest bullies were skewered and swallowed whole— as if roasted on a spit.

“Help! A monster!” The remaining ruffians were scared witless by the toad, now looming like a mountain of flesh. Screaming for their lives, they scattered in all directions, but the tongue pursued them relentlessly, plucking them up one by one and feeding them into the toad’s maw.

“Hey! Don’t eat them all— I still have questions for them,” Li Yang called out.

The toad glared at him with eyes the size of soup bowls, let out a dissatisfied croak, and spat out a few silver coins and a gold ingot to indicate it had already digested the rest.

“B-Brother Li...” Little Six, trembling, crawled up from the ground, his voice tinged with fear.

“There’s no need to be afraid. They got what they deserved. Your Brother Li has found his destiny and has now set foot on the path of cultivation.”

Seeing Little Six’s bewilderment and incomprehension, Li Yang could only sigh and continue reassuring him. “I’m the same Brother Li as before— only a bit more formidable now.”

“How are you? Are you badly hurt?”

At Li Yang’s concern, Little Six finally regained his composure and grinned. “I’m fine— tough as leather. Their fists can’t do me any harm.”

After a quick inspection to confirm Little Six’s injuries were only superficial, Li Yang put away the toad. Unbothered by the mess, he picked up the gold ingot and silver coins from the ground, handed them to Little Six, and said, “Go to Grandpa Lu and buy some medicinal herbs. Besides the ones for replenishing blood and energy, I’ll write you a prescription— just get the medicine as I say.”

Little Six, though full of questions, could only nod and take the money, casting a curious glance at the toad in Li Yang’s hand before dashing off toward town.