Cultivation starts from devouring the Dao fruits

Ten days later, deep into the night.

Zhou Tieniu suddenly felt an urge to urinate, drowsily climbed out of bed, and walked outside. Continue your story on empire

"What is that? Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruit?"

As soon as Zhou Tieniu arrived at the forest next to the camp, just as he was undoing his trousers, he saw a large red mansion deep in the forest surrounded by large trees each bearing Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruits.

"With the Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruit, I can sell them for a great amount of Spirit Stones, use the Spirit Stones to buy elixirs, and break through the Middle Stage of Qi Refining!!"

A glint of burning desire flashed through Zhou Tieniu's eyes, and without wondering why such a red mansion would appear in this forest, he headed straight towards the mansion.

When Zhou Tieniu arrived near the mansion, he did not pick the surrounding Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruit, but instead walked straight into the mansion with a vacant look in his eyes.

As soon as Zhou Tieniu entered the red mansion, the mansion's door shut instantly, started shaking for a while, then stopped, and a large amount of blood gushed out from it.

Within a few breaths, the gushing blood soared into the air and entered the walls of the mansion as if it were absorbed by the red mansion.

In a tent, dressed all in black and wearing a mask, the White Ghost Emperor abruptly stood up and woke Zhao Yu.

"An enemy? The patrols haven't sounded an alarm, could it be an Evil Spirit?"

Zhao Yu glanced at the White Ghost Emperor and strode outside.

Heading outside the tent, Zhao Yu saw three groups of cultivators patrolling along the perimeter of the camp.

"Greetings, Senior Zhao!"

As soon as the leader of the group, Tuoba Yun, saw Zhao Yu, he hurried over and saluted with cupped hands.

The group of cultivators all saluted in turn.

Zhao Yu nodded slightly and walked towards the outside of the camp.

Tuoba Yun took the initiative and said, "Senior Zhao, may I know if there is anything that I can assist you with?"

Zhao Yu said, "Take care of yourselves and stay away from this place!"

"Yes!"

Tuoba Yun's heart clenched slightly; he immediately led his people to retreat a hundred steps, curiously watching from afar, and took out a defensive magical instrument.

Following the White Ghost Emperor to the edge of the camp, Zhao Yu saw the red mansion as well as the Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruits surrounding it.

"Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruits! And there are ten of them!"

A flash of burning desire swept through Zhao Yu's eyes, but as his gaze fell on the red mansion, a foreboding feeling arose in his heart.

"That mansion must host some form of Evil Spirit! It's too dangerous to approach rashly! Even for the Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruits, it's not worth the risk! However, I could try something!"

Zhao Yu thought for a moment, then directly summoned a top-grade magical instrument level umbrella, which opened up instantly, emitting numerous Spirit Silks that flew towards the Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruits surrounding the red mansion.

As those Spirit Silks neared the red mansion, the seemingly ordinary mansion suddenly opened its door, and a surge of black qi flowed out, sweeping towards the Spirit Silks.

The countless Spirit Silks, caught by the black qi, dimmed, lost their spirituality, and fell to the ground.

After the black qi had eroded the Spirit Silks, it transformed into a black wind that rolled directly toward Zhao Yu.

"What a pity!"

Zhao Yu's eyes flickered with a trace of cold light as he directly summoned an Evil-Suppressing Talisman, which burst forth with waves of Evil-Dispelling Light and flew towards the large red mansion.

The black wind formed from the evil aura was instantly purified upon encountering the Evil-Dispelling Light. As the light touched the red mansion, a myriad of black smoke rose from it.

The red mansion trembled wildly within the Evil-Dispelling Light, then began to shrink, transforming into a gaping maw full of serrated edges, and finally turned into a monster four fathoms tall, covered with countless human and beastly faces, its entire body a reddish color with bulging muscles.

As the monster revealed its true form, the Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruits were sucked up by the human faces on its body and swallowed whole.

When the monster four fathoms high revealed its true form, Tuoba Yun and other Qi Refinement cultivators showed a hint of fear in their eyes, their bodies slightly trembling.

The Evil-Suppressing Talisman flew above the monster, showering it with beams of Evil-Dispelling Light that fell upon the monster's body. The monster let out screams of agony as black smoke billowed from its entirety, as if it were set aflame. It reached out towards the Evil-Suppressing Talisman.

"Go!"

Zhao Yu's eyes hardened, and he erupted with the terrifying aura of the Fourth Level of Foundation Establishment, directing a Low-Grade Spiritual Tool level Magic Sword imbued with Earth Attribute Spiritual Light to fly out and slash at the monster's neck.

In an instant, the Earth Attribute Magic Sword appeared at the monster's neck and chopped down.

A human face on the neck of the monster opened its mouth to bite the Magic Sword.

The sword light flashed, and one human face was split into two by the Magic Sword, while another face abruptly appeared and continued to bite.

The Magic Sword cut through one face after another but got stuck at the monster's neck, unable to move.

Several faces on the monster's body opened their mouths and sprayed a dense black aura onto the Magic Sword.

The Magic Sword instantly developed many black spots, losing much of its spirituality. If not painstakingly refined and repaired for decades, it could not regain its peak power.

Zhao Yu's eyebrows slightly furrowed. Clenching his teeth, he summoned two more Evil-Suppressing Talismans and sent them flying towards the monster.

As soon as the two Evil-Suppressing Talismans were released, they appeared above the monster in an instant, and beams of Evil-Dispelling Light rained down upon it.

The monster screamed in agony, emitting a large amount of black smoke, and the human faces on its body appeared equally tormented.

Zhao Yu once again launched a Low-Grade Spiritual Tool level Magic Sword, which appeared at the monster's neck in an instant, and cut down with one swift stroke.

The sword light flashed, and the monster's head immediately fell to the ground.

Black aura surged out from the monster's body, quickly condensing into a monstrous head under the illumination of the Evil-Dispelling Light.

Zhao Yu drove the Magic Sword to chop down, directly severing the monster's head.

After chopping ten times, the monster finally collapsed heavily to the ground, dissolving into countless black smokes that drifted away with the wind, leaving only a red piece of wood on the ground.

Tuoba Yun's heart surged with waves of emotion, "He absolutely cannot be an Early Stage Foundation Building Cultivator! His aura is much stronger than that of our ancestors. He must be at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment!!"

As cultivation progressed, it became increasingly difficult to advance through the stages. Among the remaining five Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the Market, only Xiahou Zhenyu was recognized as a strong Mid-Foundation Establishment Cultivator. People believed Zhao Yu had recently reached Foundation Establishment and thought he was an Early Stage Foundation Building Cultivator.

If they knew he was a Mid-Foundation Establishment Cultivator, likely more cultivating families would align with him.

"What a pity, the Spirit Flame Vermilion Fruit!"

Zhao Yu felt a twinge of regret as he picked up the red piece of wood, scrutinized it for a moment without discerning its origin, and let the White Ghost Emperor beside him swallow it whole, using the Dao Fruit to directly refine and enhance the White Ghost Emperor's cultivation level.

"White Ghost Emperor."

"Cultivation Level: Second-Order High-grade (2000/3000)."