Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 114: Spirit Core

As a qualified cultivator, he would not forget the battle before him because of momentary joy. Even though the Blood Fiend Frost Toad's injuries had not yet healed, it was still a genuine first-tier high-grade demon beast.

Moreover, it once nearly brought about the annihilation of a senior Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator, who is still suffering from the pain and has not yet recovered.

Faced with such a troublesome and difficult monster, he naturally needed to pay enough attention to it and end the battle in the shortest possible time, eliminating all potential risks in their infancy.

"Strike while the iron is hot"—this was the golden rule he learned from his many battles with demonic beasts.

The water-controlling fork transformed into a streak of light, increasing its forward speed by 30% from its original level, while also slightly shifting its target.

With lightning speed, the fork tip tore open a wound that had already cracked under the lightning talisman, reopening it from its original state.

Using its own gravity and with the support of ample magical power, the crystal gourd, not to be outdone, transformed into a stream of light and smashed fiercely towards the Blood Fiend Toad.

"Gugua"

Having suffered repeated heavy blows, the Blood Fiend Toad was enraged. The few remaining intact venomous nodules on its body burst open, and streams of foul-smelling venom rushed out.

Moreover, these venoms did not shoot out in a chaotic manner all at once. Some of them formed water arrows first, while the remaining small amount of venom turned into star-like specks, attempting to surround the cultivator in absolute numbers.

"Hey, good timing!"

Although Tong Bingfeng had already achieved corresponding results in the battle, his vigilance never diminished in the slightest, as he defended against the methods that had once severely injured a senior Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivator.

While these sprayed venoms pose a certain threat, their destructive power is limited. As they shift and maneuver, most of them are dodged, and the few that do land on the body have limited negative effects.

"Instead of waiting passively, it's better to act quickly. The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for the cultivators."

As time passed, the number of wounds on the Blood Fiend Toad's body gradually increased, its movements became slower and slower, and it became powerless to fight back.

Tong Bingfeng leaped forward, deliberately shortening the distance between himself and the Blood Fiend Toad. He shook the ice needles in the crystal gourd, which had not yet recovered, and a ruthless look appeared on his face.

"Crystal Origin, Crystal Ice Needle, Imperial Decree"

Left with no other choice, they extracted the essence from the crystal gourd once more, this time extracting twice the amount of the previous extraction. The crystal ice needles appeared even more ferocious, and there were even fewer of them.

Nearly a hundred crystal ice needles transformed into streaks of light and shot out, easily bridging the short distance between the cultivator and the toad as if it had never existed.

"Pfft"

One by one, the crystal ice needles were inserted into the Blood Fiend Toad's body. At this point, the toad seemed to have lost all power to resist, and with the insertion of the crystal ice needles, it could only twitch occasionally.

"The battle back then should have resulted in mutual destruction, and the Blood Fiend Toad's strength today is less than one-tenth of what it used to be. This can be considered a genuine bargain."

"I wonder what kind of spiritual object it was that attracted a seasoned Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator to risk their life here?"

Tong Bingfeng murmured to himself, taking quick steps forward, ready to investigate and swiftly claim his spoils to prevent any unforeseen complications.

Because it involved future foundation building, even he, who had always been resolute, couldn't help but feel a little unsettled and headed straight for the Blood Fiend Toad's lair.

Following the winding passage beneath the ice, the gaze finally settled on a spherical spiritual object, about half the size of a fist, with meandering patterns growing naturally on it. Because of the great distance, the details could not be clearly seen, and its identity could not be confirmed for the time being.

"A spirit core? Could it be a spirit core?"

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, like a giant axe cleaving through chaos. Tong Bingfeng's breathing became heavy, his hands clenched tightly, and a slight tremor ran through them, clearly indicating that it was a priceless treasure.

"puff"

Just then, a voice entered my ears, and at the same time, an unprecedented stench assaulted me. As my breath, which I hadn't managed to stop in time, entered my stomach, I felt dizzy and lightheaded.

He looked back and saw that the Blood Fiend Toad, which had been dead and had lost all signs of life, had somehow appeared not far from him.

This foul stench emanated from the Blood Fiend Frost Toad's rear end, and could be called a "fart attack." This was the most concealed offensive tactic of some special demonic beasts in the cultivation world, and the stinky fart contained a deadly poison.

"When did this Blood Fiend Toad acquire such a deadly attack as its fart? Deadly poison is hidden within its stench; one wrong move and you're poisoned?"

Tong Bingfeng suppressed the nausea churning in his stomach and the dizziness rising in his mind, and quickly escaped the area enveloped by the stench of the Blood Fiend Frost Toad.

When the dizziness reached its peak and he was about to lose his last bit of consciousness, he took out an antidote pill and a miasma-dispelling pill from his storage bag and swallowed them at the same time. The spiritual liquid went down his throat, and a cool sensation spread through his body, dispelling the drowsy state.

After recovering slightly, Tong Bingfeng quickly and with difficulty moved his body, manipulating the water-controlling fork to pierce the Blood Fiend Frost Toad's head and firmly pin it to the ice layer to prevent any other accidents.

"The toxicity contained in this Blood Fiend Frost Toad is not high, and its destructive power to cultivators is limited. It is not fatal, and it should have exhausted its resources in the last battle and has not yet recovered."

"Who could have predicted that the Blood Fiend Toad also possessed the ultimate technique of farting attacks? The method was secretive, and the lethality was outstanding. If one was not careful, one would lose their life. Nine out of ten of the elders of the Niu brothers' family also suffered from the effects of this move, which led to the invasion of comprehensive toxins and a long-term coma."

Besides feeling fortunate, Tong Bingfeng also harbored lingering fear. If today's battle had been fought against another Blood Fiend Toad in its prime, it would have at least resulted in a painful situation where both sides suffered heavy losses.

"Now that things have come to this, we must remember this from now on: never underestimate any demonic beast, even if it has already suffered heavy losses."

Tong Bingfeng muttered to himself, but his gaze had already shifted back to the spirit core stored in the Blood Fiend Frost Toad's lair.

Spirit cores are also produced from spirit stone veins, and the spiritual energy they contain is very pure. A small spirit stone vein will produce no more than a thousand of them.

Spirit cores were originally reserved for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Most of them were refined at crucial moments to extract the pure spiritual energy contained within, making them highly coveted spiritual items among Foundation Establishment cultivators. Occasionally, even some Golden Core cultivators would consume some. In short, in the already barren cultivation world of the Northern Ice Region, spirit cores were always in short supply.

For cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining, the pure spiritual power contained within the spirit core helps to improve the quality of the qi and mana within the dantian, solidify the foundation of cultivation, and effectively enhance the grade of the Dao foundation. The importance of this spirit core is self-evident; it can be described as something that is hard to come by.