“The more miraculous a secret is, the more an immortal sets him or her apart from the rest.”

Qai had been fighting using his Guandao skills imbued with Intent on top of his physical strength, speed, stamina and regenerative ability.

That was because, as a knight, they were the known method to fight.

And in the words of Old Bu, his forged body was similar to body refinement techniques that some immortals cultivate.

But one’s body had its limits.

And Qai’s enemies were Spirit Beasts. They were enemies who had already transcended physical limitations and were able to manipulate spiritual Qi energy to fight.

In addition, not all Spirit Beasts were the same. They have varying abilities depending on the element they wield. And most can fight from a certain distance as most can cast bizarre attacks.

In truth, the reason why Qai can fight against level 1 and level 2 Spirit Beasts was because he can outlast and outsmart them and not necessarily because he had superior power. And that reality may no longer apply against much higher Spirit Beasts.

While fleeing, Qai recalled the words of Old Bu as they lingered in his thoughts.

‘Body refining methods can be terrifying, but don't get ahead of yourself. Because the most important thing about cultivating the Immortal Dao is not the physical body, but one's spiritual power. After completing the Qi Condensation stage, battle power is measured by one's spiritual power.’

What Qai actually failed to consider was the fact that, while level 1 and level 2 Spirit Beasts were comparable to early and mid Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, he had never faced a true Foundation Establishment stage cultivator before nor had he seen any one fight.

In short, winning against level 1 and level 2 Spirit Beasts should not guarantee winning against immortals of the same level.

As Old Bu said, even Qi Condensation stage cultivators have trump cards to fight an enemy much stronger than them.

‘The proper way to fight Spirit Beasts that wield spiritual Qi energy must be to use skills out of spiritual Qi energy as well.’

As Qai thought this, his arm bled from deep wounds.

When he slowed down on his way back in order to nurse his injury, he suddenly saw two streaks of light in the sky followed by a piercing cry.

Apparently, they came from the area near the core ring and seemed to be heading his way.

And when he tried to focus on them, he instantly figured out that they were Spirit Beasts. And even if Qai had no way to know, his intuition could tell that they were existences even beyond level 3 Spirit Beasts.

As they come closer, one appeared to be a winged Lion while, the other, a huge Eagle. And from the looks of it, they were chasing one another.

A sensation of crisis instantly welled up in him as he reacted according to instinct.

‘Run!’

And so run he did.

He ran without regard to direction. All he knew was that if he got caught in such a massive fight, he will surely die.

Baam. Baam.

Sounds of abilities reverberated in the air. And unknowingly, the battle began to devastate the large trees from where he left.

Qai had no idea but the Spirit Beasts were both in the sixth level—truly magnificent creatures.

Apparently, the huge Eagle was on the offensive.

It relentlessly unleashed rare lightning attacks when it caught up with the winged Lion but the latter somehow repelled the barrage albeit with extreme difficulty.

The initial exchange was already mind-blowing to the extent that its aftermath could only be devastating.

However, as to which one would come out on top, Qai was not interested. Obviously, his poor little life was of utmost importance.

He never dared to look back as he ran.

Filled with the deathly crisis, he unleashed the limits of his Master rank physique. He even tried to crazily start reciting the ‘Transcending Autumn Arts’ incantation and attempted to absorb spiritual Qi energy when he felt that he would not be able to escape.

His mind, obviously, could not work properly as he sprinted his way through. He thought that simultaneously cultivating while running would help him speed up.

Unknowingly, he was heading the opposite direction from home—deeper into the mountains.

But he continued to run anyway since he could still feel the disturbance of the surroundings wrought about by the ongoing fight.

Soon he felt he had already made quite a distance but he still ran nonetheless.

And while making a big step, a pitch-black metal like orb half-buried on the ground suddenly appeared that tripped him over.

He stumbled on the ground as he lost his balance.

His incantation interrupted.

His heart pumped even faster at the thought that he might still be near the battle. But when he calmed himself and looked around he realized that the area was somewhat safe.

As he stood up, he restarted his ‘savior’ incantation and soon noticed the culprit of his sudden fall. But since it was buried, he could not make any of it. He speculated it was a kind of rare metal.

He knew it was a stupid idea to still perform the cultivation in the midst of unknown danger, but felt it worked wonders for him when he escaped so continued to do it.

Qai, however, thought that the metal-looking thing would be a precious crafting material so he tried to get near it and started to dig it barehandedly with his bleeding arm.

But when a drop of his blood reached the surface of the pitch-black metallic thing, something unexpected happened.

For a moment, Qai didn’t know what struck him.

Then, all of a sudden, golden images of ancient characters suddenly gushed forth from the metallic thing. They then circled around him before they finally went straight into his glabella.

Qai sprayed a mouthful of blood as some kind of information forcefully entered his brain. And it was from that moment that he became suddenly aware of what really occurred.

At the same time, the metal looking thing turned into a mist and streaked like a black cloud right under him as if it became his shadow.

But what was most incredible was that Qai finally got to absorb a strand of spiritual Qi energy. His instant injuries got healed as his body pores released loads of impurities.

He didn't know how it happened—perhaps his act of madly cultivating while in imminent danger was the cause. But he knew that he unexpectedly experienced a fortuitous encounter.

Qai was beyond overjoyed as these things simultaneously and miraculously transpired.

He fixed himself and stood properly. Deep inside him, he was screaming happily.

‘A cultivator finally.’

Qai literally cried.

He then took a glance at the shadow under his legs and looked at it with deep gratitude and respect.

One might not notice it, but his shadow became something filled with spiritual Qi energy.

He did not know how to properly react, but the golden images explained to him that he just performed a blood contract with a Spirit Beast—an agreement for a lifetime.

It meant that the Spirit Beast would become his companion who would fight beside him.

Apparently, the ancient-looking characters somehow explained Qai that prior to their meeting, the Spirit Beast was on the brink of death.

But when it felt a human blood dropped onto it, it found a way to survive and immediately gave in to that method—and that method was, in fact, to enter into a blood contract with the unknown individual.

In the cultivation world, there were plenty of unexplainable things.

And for some reason, a blood contract gave the two parties an extra life force that connects the two. And this was exactly why the Spirit Beast—forced by dire circumstance—willingly submitted to the contract.

On the other hand, Qai had not known that he unintentionally performed the essential requirement to satisfy a blood contract.

In effect, it gave him an extra life force from the Spirit Beast that somehow aided his absorption of spiritual Qi energy.

The incident evidently led Qai to a fortune after fortune.

But whether it was a good thing or not, Qai actually bonded with, strangely, a Dark Queen Ant.

‘An ant!?’