The thirdyer of Thousand Beasts Mountain was still a square, where each cultivator and his spiritual beast were encircled by a transparent barrier.
"Awakening Pill!"
Yu Qingtan looked at the small jade bottle floating in front of her, lost in thought.
As the name implies, the Awakening Pill was used to stimte the awakening of a spirit animal''s bloodline abilities, but it was neither guaranteed to seed nor without danger.
She took the jade bottle, opened it, and extended her divine sense into it.
Indeed, it was just an ordinary Second Stage inferior Awakening Pill.
The chances of awakening an average spiritual beast were only ten percent, with a fifty percent chance of severe difort and a formidable forty percent risk of bursting open.
"Bang–"
Not far away, a male cultivator''s leopard-shaped spiritual beast inted like an overfilled balloon and then exploded into fragments with a loud bang.
The dazed male cultivator, sttered with blood, was then whisked away by a sh of white light, teleported out of the Myriad Beasts Secret Realm.
Yu Qingtan exined the situation to Xiao Tao.
"Xiao Tao, do you want to take the Awakening Pill?"
Xiao Tao fell into contemtion, but soon his gaze grew firm.
"Princess, please give me the Awakening Pill!"
He needed to grow stronger so he could protect her, rather than remain a mere pet.
Yu Qingtan rubbed Xiao Tao''s head with her hand and said, "I disagree with you taking it."
At that moment, another spiritual beast''s agonizing cry echoed throughout the square, clearly indicating an awakening failure, though it hadn''t died.
"Three more Awakening Pills for me, I still have three spirit animals."
The master of the screaming beast, a burly cultivator, shouted loudly.
"Everyone gets only one pill."
The crisp voice of a young girl rang out, and the burly man was teleported away with a reluctant look on his face.
"Hiss–"
A high-pitched neigh sounded across the square; Yu Qingtan looked over to see Fang Ling''s horse-shaped spiritual beast radiating red light, growing a sharp horn on its head, rearing on its hind legs, and letting out a long cry to the sky.
"Heh heh heh, little Ling, with the intervention of Ancestor Blood Xi, this originally extraordinary Blood Qiongsu could hardly fail to awaken. With its aid, even an ordinary Golden Core cultivator won''t be able to catch up with you."
The sleazy voice of Ancestor Blood Xi echoed in Fang Ling''s mind again.
"Thank you!"
Fang Ling said inwardly.
A sh of white light, and both Fang Ling and the Blood Qiongsu disappeared, presumably entering the fourthyer.
Yu Qingtan didn''t recognize this type of spiritual beast; its handsome appearance and the aura that seemed quite impressive made her a bit envious.
Considering the possibility that her journey in the Myriad Beasts Secret Realm might end here, Yu Qingtan wasn''t disheartened and quietly observed her surroundings.
Fu Nian, Li Daoyi, Yan Xi, Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Gao Shen, Chen Shi, and others were all absent, unclear if they had not arrived yet, gone to a higher level, or left the secret realm altogether.
Periodically, cultivators'' spiritual beasts that had ingested the Awakening Pill would either die miserably or suffer greatly, with the asional lucky one sessfully awakening.
However, very few cultivators, like Yu Qingtan, chose not to let their spirit animals consume the Awakening Pill. Discover exclusive content at empire
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold, especially when the risk isn''t theirs to bear.
After an incense stick''s worth of time, a sect gate cultivator''s spiritual beast looked about to explode; the man pulled out a token and shouted, "I have a Myriad Beasts Token that can let me pass directly through oneyer."
"Bang–"
His spiritual beast burst open, but he had prepared defenses early, so he wasn''t teleported away immediately.
"Oh, it really is a Myriad Beasts Token!"
The female voice rang out in the space once more, and the Myriad Beasts Token in the cultivator''s hand flew up into the air.
"You may proceed to the fourthyer."
As the voice faded, the cultivator disappeared from the spot.
Yu Qingtan was ecstatic inside; that Myriad Beasts Token was identical to the three Uninscribed Tokens in her System Space.
Three uninscribed tokens, acquired from the Misty Rain Tower assassin Poison Needle, Suichuan Immortal City ck market stall owner Tian Changfeng, and the Extreme Path Demon Sect''s Ru Yao.
I didn''t expect them to be Myriad Beasts Tokens.
"You say your fine Myriad Beasts Token, but you didn''t think to draw some beast pattern or even write the word ''beast'' on it? How would I recognize it?"
Yu Qingtan grumbled inwardly and took out a Myriad Beasts Token, shouting, "I also have a Myriad Beasts Token, I want to go up a level."
"Oh, another token, not bad, not bad. Since your spiritual beast hasn''t taken an Awakening Pill yet, here''s another top-grade Awakening Pill for you."
As the Myriad Beasts Tokens were drawn into the sky, a new jade bottle appeared in front of Yu Qingtan.
"Thank you!"
Yu Qingtan was overjoyed; she took the jade bottle, opened it, and insidey a transparent elixir, unlike the previous greyish-brown ones.
A second-stage top-grade Awakening Pill, the odds of stimting a spiritual beast''s awakening were close to one hundred percent.
Yu Qingtan poured out the elixir, and Xiao Tao, smelling the fragrance, came over and couldn''t wait to lick the top-grade Awakening Pill from Yu Qingtan''s palm with a flick of his tongue.
Soon, Xiao Tao began to tremble, his body emitting cold air, and then he started shedding fur.
Watching worriedly, Yu Qingtan was reassured by the calm look in Xiao Tao''s eyes.
Soon, Xiao Tao''s original fur fell out, and new blue fur grew in. The coldness on his body intensified, and ice started forming on his surface, transforming him into a sculpture of ice in just a few breaths.
"Crack~ Crack~"
The ice shattered, and Xiao Tao, now a blue-furred wolf, opened his mouth and released a breath of piercing cold.
"Hahaha, Princess, I''ve awakened my bloodline talent spell, Ice-cold Breath, and have even broken through my bottleneck to reach the mid-stage of the second stage."
"You''re very awesome!"
Yu Qingtan responded yfully upon hearing Xiao Tao''s happy howls.
At that moment, a sh of white light shone, and amidst the envious stares of other cultivators, Yu Qingtan and Xiao Tao disappeared from their spot.
When they reappeared, they were already on the fourth level of the Thousand Beasts Mountain.
"Congrattions on reaching the fourth level of the Thousand Beasts Mountain. Please try to survive for an hour; those who can''t endure can call out to give up."
Here, the surroundings were once again empty of people, reced by thousands of ck rats with crimson eyes staring at Yu Qingtan and Xiao Tao, who had suddenly appeared.
Red-eyed ck Rats.
Among them, ten were at the mid-stage of the second stage, fifty at the early stage of the second stage, and the rest were at the first stage.
"Why is it always my least favorite type? And them swarming like that, I have a fear of clusters!"
Yu Qingtan''s body was covered in goosebumps.
Luckily, she wasn''t restrained this time, and there were no other cultivators around.
"Squeak~ Squeak~"
The Red-eyed ck Rats swarmed towards Yu Qingtan and Xiao Tao in the center.
Yu Qingtan''s spiritual power flowed within her, protecting herself and Xiao Tao with a Water Curtain Technique.
Then, above her head appeared thousands of densely packed Water des.
Yu Qingtan''s least fear was mass attacks. Just two rounds of Water de Technique sweeping, and the Red-eyed Rat horde was already annihted.
Xiao Tao, who had just awakened his talent spell, didn''t even get a chance to show off before the battle was over.
"Go collect the bodies."
Throwing a few empty Storage Bags to Xiao Tao, shemanded.
Disgusting as it was, the materials from these Red-eyed ck Rats were still worth quite a few Spirit Stones.
No waste allowed.
Xiao Tao didn''t seem to mind and dutifully went to carry out the task.
Deep within the Thousand Beasts Mountain, a woman in a white dress, upon seeing the returned image, was utterly astonished.
"Such a Water de Technique, the Water Spirit Root must be of top quality, very good, indeed!"
The woman in the white dress murmured to herself.