Liu Yanping wasn't after any reward; she simply relished the sense of accomplishment.
"Just wait until I flaunt this in front of Grandpa. Let him underestimate me, let him forbid me from entering the Demon Realm. He'll see his granddaughter's achievements!!!"
After retrieving the demon core, Meng Fan approached the corpse of the bull demon, placed his hand on it, and activated the Supreme Dominance Body.
Elder Lin had mentioned that demons in the Demon Realm, having absorbed the unique essence within, would contain a type of "Spiritual Essence" in their bodies after death.
This Spiritual Essence could be used to enhance one's physical cultivation techniques.
It was precisely for this reason that Meng Fan had readily agreed to enter the Demon Realm.
Elder Lin hadn't deceived him; as he activated the Supreme Dominance Body, he indeed absorbed a special power from the bull demon's corpse.
However, the amount of Spiritual Essence was minuscule, and in just an instant, Meng Fan had absorbed it all.
"Meng Fan, what are you doing?" Liu Yanping asked, somewhat puzzled.
Li Xuerou also watched Meng Fan curiously.
Meng Fan explained, "I'm practicing a physical cultivation technique. The Spiritual Essence within these demon beasts can enhance my technique."
"There's such a thing?" Liu Yanping exclaimed in surprise. "It's a pity I haven't practiced any physical techniques."
Li Xuerou nodded in agreement.
Disciples of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect rarely practiced physical cultivation techniques.
Firstly, it was a matter of mindset; secondly, the effort and gains from physical techniques were not proportional.
With the same time and energy, it was better to practice sword techniques or improve one's cultivation level!
Another important reason was that the Shu Mountain Sword Sect simply didn't possess any powerful physical cultivation techniques.
Even Elder Lin, one of the strongest in the sect, had collected the "Supreme Dominance Body," which wasn't considered a particularly strong technique.
And for others, it was even less worth mentioning.
Meng Fan and the two women continued deeper into the forest. Along the way, they encountered another bull demon, or rather, its corpse.
Clearly, it had been slain by Shu Mountain Sword Sect disciples ahead of them.
Meng Fan placed his hand on the bull demon's corpse and activated the Supreme Dominance Body.
The next second, his brow furrowed.
No reaction!
He reluctantly removed his hand and shrugged at Li Xuerou and Liu Yanping.
"What's wrong?" Liu Yanping inquired.
"This bull demon has been dead too long; the Spiritual Essence within has dissipated. Only freshly slain demons can aid in enhancing my physical technique," Meng Fan explained.
His idea of scavenging was dashed.
He had thought that with four or five hundred demons here, he could surely elevate his physical technique to an extremely high realm.
Now it seemed he had been overly optimistic.
In fact, the bull demon in front of Meng Fan had clearly not been dead for long, but even so, its Spiritual Essence had already vanished.
Only the Spiritual Essence from freshly slain demons was available for absorption.
The chance of stumbling upon someone else's fresh kill was slim, unless luck was on his side and he happened upon a freshly slain demon.
But with the forest so vast, the odds were incredibly low.
It seemed he would have to slay demons himself.
Meng Fan, who had been going with the flow, was suddenly filled with determination.
"It looks like we need to pick up the pace," he said to the two women.
Both women were eager to try.
Liu Yanping had just gotten a taste for battle, and Li Xuerou, who had yet to make her move, was even more impatient.
The trio quickened their pace as they ventured deeper into the forest, well aware that the deeper they went, the more demons they would encounter.
***
Shortly after, they came across another bull demon.
"This time it's my turn!" Li Xuerou, fearing Meng Fan might not let her act, quickly volunteered.
"Go ahead!" Meng Fan said, not one to stop her.
Liu Yanping felt a twinge of disappointment; she hadn't had her fill of battle yet.
But of course, she wouldn't argue with Li Xuerou.
Li Xuerou drew her sword and in a flash, she was in front of the bull demon, swiftly beheading it with a single stroke.
Effortlessly, she sliced open the bull demon's belly and plucked out a demon core.
"Brother Meng Fan, here, take this," she offered, handing the demon core to Meng Fan.
Meng Fan smiled, shook his head, and said, "I have no use for that. Keep it for yourself. As for the Spiritual Essence within the demon, if you don't need it, I won't be polite."
With that, he placed his hand on the bull demon's body and activated the Supreme Dominance Body.
In just a matter of seconds, he absorbed the Spiritual Essence within.
The Supreme Dominance Body was getting closer to the third level.
Seeing Meng Fan decline the demon core, Li Xuerou pocketed it.
"Sister Xuerou, the sword you had before wasn't this one. Where did this Spiritual Sword come from?" Meng Fan asked curiously, noticing the sword in Li Xuerou's hand.
Previously, Li Xuerou hadn't used a Spiritual Sword, and she hadn't been to the Sword Pavilion to exchange swords during this time, so Meng Fan was curious about the origin of her new Spiritual Sword.
Li Xuerou glanced at the Spiritual Sword in her hand and said, "Elder Yang, knowing I was coming to the Demon Realm, gave me her Qingyue Sword for protection."
This Elder Yang, named Yang Ling, was very fond of Li Xuerou, treating her as if she were her own disciple.
However, when Li Xuerou had wanted to formally become her disciple, Elder Yang had refused, leaving Li Xuerou puzzled by her intentions.
"With your strength, you can definitely choose a sword from the Sword Pavilion. After we return, I'll help you pick a suitable Spiritual Sword," Meng Fan offered.
Li Xuerou looked at Meng Fan in surprise. Choosing a Spiritual Sword was not a trivial matter.
A careless choice could lead to being backfired by the Spiritual Sword.
She had always felt unprepared for such a choice.
Liu Yanping eagerly interjected, "Sister Li, Meng Fan really has a knack for selecting Spiritual Swords. The one I'm using was chosen by him."
After saying this, she looked at Meng Fan with some confusion, "When I took the Spiritual Sword back, it even shocked my grandfather. He said with my ability, it was impossible to tame a Spiritual Sword. How did you do it?"
Meng Fan casually replied, "After all, I'm from the Sword Pavilion. I deal with these Spiritual Swords every day. What's so difficult about that?"
Liu Yanping thought about it and agreed.
No matter what Meng Fan did, nothing seemed strange to her anymore.
He was a true monstrosity!
Hearing Liu Yanping's words, Li Xuerou felt tempted.
She thought to herself, if Liu Yanping could tame a Spiritual Sword, why couldn't she succeed?
Perhaps she had previously overestimated the dangers of a Spiritual Sword…
This thought wasn't meant to belittle Liu Yanping, as she was indeed much weaker than Li Xuerou.
While the three were conversing, a young girl in green clothes suddenly ran towards them in a panic.
"Save me, save me! A demon is chasing me, please help!" The girl cried out for help, tears streaming down her face, looking utterly pitiable.
Li Xuerou and Liu Yanping immediately looked behind the girl and saw a bull demon in pursuit.
"Save her!"
Both women drew their swords and charged at the bull demon.
Meng Fan also drew his sword without a word and struck out with a slash.
A burst of Sword Qi shot forth, cutting the girl in two.
Li Xuerou and Liu Yanping stopped in their tracks, staring at Meng Fan, dumbfounded.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
Recheck: Lotas