Chapter 105: Hoodwinked

This divine ability, originating from the Earth-Eating Demon, could actually track down rare treasures!

Although it lacked the precision for exact coordinates, for Qingxi, simply being able to roughly sense the presence of a treasure in a certain area was more than enough. Once he reached the general vicinity, he could use the system’s scanning function to pinpoint the exact location.

Compared to the ultimate technique "Heaven and Earth Boundless, Ten Thousand Mile Tracking," this divine ability was far more flexible. The former required catching a scent first; if one had never encountered a specific treasure before, there would be no scent to track, which imposed certain limitations. However, "Ten Thousand Mile Tracking" had its own advantages—it could be used to search for anything. As for the newly acquired "Dog Nose" ability, while it was restricted to rare treasures, it could be used in tandem with the tracking technique.

After sorting out the ingenious uses of these two methods, Qingxi felt a sudden rush of happiness so intense that his entire body trembled. He covered his face with his hands, feigning the appearance of someone moved to tears. Yet, the Little Vajra Ape, peering through the gaps between his fingers, saw no tears, only eyes filled with jubilation. The Little Vajra Ape wore a strange expression, secretly thinking that his master had become as silly as the Dragon Horse.

Watching the last traces of Fire Spirit Soil, the Little Vajra Ape showed great interest. He pinched the remaining soil with his small hands and popped it into his mouth. A scalding sensation surged throughout his body. The Little Vajra Ape shivered a few times, finding it incredibly delicious, and looked at Qingxi with large, adorable, expectant eyes.

Noticing the creature’s behavior, Qingxi was reminded of his "cheap" disciple. The Little Vajra Ape came from the Ancient Luo Land and was surely related to the Earth Demon Beasts. Fearing he might provoke the legendary, terrifying powerhouse said to be capable of crushing a Vajra Realm expert with a single palm, Qingxi had never dared to form a master-servant contract with the ape. Now, seeing the Little Vajra Ape’s intense interest in the Fire Spirit Soil, he began to reconsider.

The Little Vajra Ape had become his disciple to learn the power of space and defeat the Vajra Ape, Da Huang, but Qingxi knew that was impossible. The path of the Space Body was arduous and ill-suited for the Little Vajra Ape. Therefore, he had to find another way to improve the creature’s strength.

"Pipi Zhu, can a Demon Heart Core improve the Little Vajra Ape’s cultivation?"

"No."

"Then in the system space, what can enhance its strength? Can the Fire Spirit Soil?" Qingxi was deeply impressed by the ape's earth-eating behavior and made the connection.

System Assistant replied: "Yes. According to analysis, the Little Vajra Ape can integrate all the power within the Fire Spirit Soil. While it won't grant a Fire Spirit Body, there is a chance it will trigger a mutation."

Qingxi asked, "How much Fire Spirit Soil is needed?" The Little Vajra Ape was cute and loyal; he certainly couldn't treat him poorly.

The Assistant replied, "To elevate its cultivation to the Profound Grade, thirty-five cubic meters of Fire Spirit Soil would be perfect. However, if you want to trigger a mutation, a larger quantity is required."

"In that case, give it all to him." Qingxi did not hesitate. With the "Dog Nose" ability and the "Ten Thousand Mile Tracking" ultimate technique, he could find even more treasures. He took out a handful of Fire Spirit Soil and handed it to the Little Vajra Ape. "Here, eat up."

"Iya!"

The Little Vajra Ape danced with joy, shoveling the soil into his mouth by the handful, his small face filled with satisfaction. Qingxi watched from the side, a smile of a doting father appearing on his face. The Little Vajra Ape had a massive appetite; after consuming a full cubic meter, his belly remained flat, as if he were a bottomless pit. Qingxi decided to leave only a tiny bit of the soil as a reserve and piled the rest around the ape, letting him eat to his heart's content.

Afterward, Qingxi took out a mass of blood-essence energy the size of a water vat and began to absorb it at top speed. It contained the condensed power of dozens of Innate Realm demons, vast and imposing. Even with Qingxi’s speed, it took him an entire day to finish refining it. Feeling the turbulent power coursing through his body, he felt he could punch a herd of oxen to death.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for breaking through eighty thousand pounds of strength. Your physical durability is now comparable to a Profound Grade spirit weapon. You have taken a giant step on the path to dominating the Profound Grade," the Assistant chimed.

Qingxi said in disbelief, "My strength only increased by that much?" A single Innate Peak-level demon had been enough to increase his strength by over ten thousand pounds, but now, after absorbing the essence of dozens, he had only reached eighty thousand pounds. He had expected to easily break the one-hundred-thousand-pound threshold.

The Assistant said in a helpless tone, "This is already excellent. You have increased not just your strength, but also your physical durability, speed, and more. You are now capable of contending with Profound Grade peak-level beasts that lack powerful bloodlines."

"I’m already that strong?" Qingxi found it incredible. A Profound Grade peak-level beast was equivalent to an Innate Peak cultivation. This meant that even without using ultimate techniques, he could go toe-to-toe with top experts like the Flame Demon.

"That’s right, you are already very strong—extremely strong!" The Assistant could not stop the flattery. Although it knew that in the grand scheme of the cultivation world, Qingxi was no match for the true titans, the necessary flattery was essential. Only in this way could it indirectly showcase the power of the system.

However, to the Assistant’s speechlessness, Qingxi remained unsatisfied: "No, I am still too weak. With my current strength, I would have no power to resist a Spirit-Gong Realm expert. I must continue to seclude myself and break through again!"

Assistant: "..."

After a moment of silence, it said, "You have already been in seclusion for a whole day. If you continue, the war against the demons might be over by the time you come out. Besides, your blood-essence energy is completely refined; what will you use to break through?"

"Don't I still have the Five Elements Origin? I recall that fifty strands of origin energy can be exchanged for one point of cultivation power." Qingxi quickly opened the system panel.

[Current stored Five Elements Origin: Gold (50,254,100,000) strands, Wood (49,235,100,000) strands, Water (50,183,100,000) strands, Fire (56,129,100,000) strands, Earth (47,667,100,000) strands.]

This was the result of converting dozens of Innate Realm demons. If not for the fact that some important materials had to be saved, the total amount would be even higher.

"Ding! Detected that the host is currently at the Innate Mid-stage. It requires four thousand points of cultivation power to break through to the Innate Late-stage. The current stored origin energy meets the criteria for promotion. Shall you proceed?"

"Promote!"

As Qingxi spoke, forty thousand strands of each origin type were extracted, synthesized into cultivation power, and poured into his body. His aura steadily increased, and within three minutes, he broke through the bottleneck; his sea of energy doubled in capacity. His cultivation surged into the Innate Late-stage.

Qingxi opened his eyes abruptly and said with a serious face, "I should now be the strongest among the younger generation in the Eastern Territory." In the Yunchuan Prefecture, those under thirty were considered the younger generation. Previously, the ones with the highest cultivation had been Qiu Yingying and Wang Shuiling. But now, having leapt into the Innate Late-stage, Qingxi felt he could claim the top spot.

"Alas, it is lonely at the top!" He stood up, looking melancholic.

"Pah! Shameless! Others reach their heights through bitter cultivation, while you just keep using cheats. Can those even be compared? However... the system has plenty more of these cheats, welcome to use them again, Host!" The Assistant enjoyed the jab and immediately began promoting its services.