In the face of danger, Meng Hao's face paled. He did not know if the copper mirror would work on demonic beasts, but there was no time to think. Almost at the exact instant the beast lunged at him, Meng Hao dodged out of the way with great difficulty, hurriedly pulled out the copper mirror, and shone it at the beast.
A miserable shriek instantly echoed through the area. Mid-air, blood sprayed from the beast's backside. Its face contorted, and the ferocity in its eyes vanished, replaced by utter bewilderment. In all its life of fighting, it had never experienced this kind of injury... But it did not retreat. Immediately afterward, it let out a howl as its backside exploded with a bang, spraying fresh blood everywhere.
At this moment, its bewilderment turned into unprecedented terror. The mirror in the hands of the youth before it was unimaginably terrifying. It spun around, clutching its backside with one hand, and fled without hesitation. But before it could even run a few zhang, its backside exploded again—this time, five consecutive times. Screams of agony rang out. By the time it had run over ten zhang, Meng Hao could clearly feel the copper mirror in his hand trembling as if in excitement. A powerful force shot out, aiming straight for the beast's backside, entering it in a flash.
An incredibly wretched shriek echoed across the desolate mountain. The lower half of the beast's body exploded directly, sending flesh and blood flying. In its dying moments, its face was still filled with sheer horror as it breathed its last and died.
This scene had unfolded too quickly. Even after it was over, Meng Hao stood there dazed. Only after a long while did he take a deep breath, his breathing rapid as he stared at the copper mirror in his hand.
"Even a demonic beast couldn't escape, dying from an exploded backside... This mirror... must be a peerless magic treasure."
Amidst his excitement, Meng Hao also felt a sense of awe toward the mirror. Glancing at the beast's corpse, a thought suddenly struck him.
"The Qi Condensation manual mentioned that demonic beasts have a demonic core inside their bodies, which contains the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and can be consumed directly."
He took a few steps toward the beast's corpse and fumbled around inside its belly, retrieving a tiny, translucent demonic core about the size of a finger. Despite the bloody stench, the demonic core emitted a refreshing fragrance that made his entire body feel relaxed and comfortable.
Putting the demonic core away, Meng Hao hurried back. Unfortunately, demonic beasts were rare on this mountain, so by the time he returned to his cave dwelling, he had not encountered a second one, leaving him feeling a bit regretful.
By the time he returned to his cave dwelling, it was already late at night. Meng Hao sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes shining as he looked at the demonic core and the copper mirror in his hands.
"This demonic core can be consumed, but I still have the Spirit Condensation Pill distributed by the sect. I'll take the Spirit Condensation Pill first, and then consume this demonic core."
Having made his decision, Meng Hao placed the demonic core and the copper mirror beside him, then took out his half-piece of spirit stone and set it down as well. Having this spirit stone nearby would allow him to absorb a bit more spiritual energy.
With everything prepared, Meng Hao took out the Spirit Condensation Pill and swallowed it. The pill dissolved upon entering his body, turning into wisps of spiritual energy that slowly diffused. Meng Hao circulated his cultivation base, quickly digesting the pill's medicinal power.
After an hour, Meng Hao opened his eyes, a bright gleam flashing within them. He thought to himself that the medicinal power of this pill was indeed much faster than meditating and cultivating. Unfortunately, Spirit Condensation Pills were too scarce, and he had no way of obtaining more. Meng Hao stopped dwelling on it. He reached out, grabbed the demonic core, and popped it into his mouth without hesitation.
As the demonic core entered his body, a vast amount of spiritual energy, far exceeding that of a Spirit Condensation Pill, immediately dispersed, causing Meng Hao's entire body to shudder as if his physical frame could barely withstand it. He hastily circulated his cultivation base, continuously merging with the energy. His body gradually trembled, and impurities even began to seep out from his pores. It was not until eight to ten hours later that a roaring sound echoed in Meng Hao's mind. He felt his body grow incredibly light, and the spiritual energy within him was no longer just isolated strands, but had woven together like a small stream.
"Spiritual energy like a stream, the body cleansed of mortal dregs... could this... could this be the second level of Qi Condensation?"
Meng Hao opened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief. He looked down at his body, carefully sensing it for a long time before confirming that he had indeed broken through the first level of Qi Condensation and entered the second level.
"To think this demonic core would have such a massive effect!"
Meng Hao's eyes shone brightly. He stood up and paced around his cave dwelling, feeling the spiritual energy flowing like a stream within his body, his heart overflowing with joy.
"Now, I too am an immortal of the second level of Qi Condensation!"
"It's a pity that demonic beasts are so rare. Otherwise, I would have found a way to cultivate much faster. All of this is thanks to this treasure mirror."
Meng Hao looked toward the copper mirror, but this glance shook him to the core. He instinctively rubbed his eyes and looked closer, his face instantly filling with utter disbelief.
The copper mirror was still lying in the same spot, except the half-piece of spirit stone had vanished. However, resting on the surface of the mirror was a demonic core!
"This... this..."
Meng Hao's mind was in such a state of chaos that he seemed to lose the ability to think. He stared blankly at the demonic core on the copper mirror, even hesitating at this moment. He remembered clearly that there should have been one demonic core and half a spirit stone placed there, but he had already consumed the demonic core just now. At this moment, he suddenly became confused as to whether he had eaten the demonic core or the spirit stone earlier.
"There's no way I ate a spirit stone..."
Meng Hao stood dazed for a long time. With utter disbelief, he picked up the demonic core, hesitantly bringing it to his nose to take a sniff. He confirmed that this scent was definitely identical to the core he had just consumed.
"What... what is going on? There is still a whole core left. Did I remember incorrectly? Could that demonic beast have had two demonic cores?"
Meng Hao felt even more bewildered. He shook his head vigorously, trying to calm his racing emotions. He stared intently at the demonic core in his hand. Gradually, his body began to tremble, and his eyes shone with an unprecedented, intense light, as if he had just laid eyes on countless piles of gold and silver. He could barely even hold onto the demonic core in his hand.
"Could it be... that this mirror absorbed the spirit stone and duplicated the demonic core?!"
Meng Hao's voice trembled slightly. He had originally thought that the mirror's greatest utility was making wild beasts' buttocks explode to death, never expecting it to possess such a mystical property.
Only after a long time did Meng Hao recover his composure. Although he was seventy to eighty percent certain, he had no more spirit stones left to test it with. Now, his heart was filled with both anticipation and anxiety, fretting over gains and losses, wishing he could obtain a spirit stone immediately to test his theory.
"Spirit stones, I need spirit stones!"
Meng Hao's eyes gleamed like those of a wild beast. At this moment, spirit stones held the absolute highest place in his heart, far surpassing gold and silver, and even eclipsing his former desire to become a government official.
For cultivators, spirit stones were an indispensable necessity. Especially for Meng Hao, who was currently anxious and restless, his yearning for spirit stones had become more intense than ever before.
However, the Kaoshan Sect was merely a minor sect. For ordinary disciples, aside from the monthly distribution of pills, obtaining spirit stones was practically impossible, unless they resorted to robbery.
“The next pill distribution is still about a month away.”
Meng Hao looked at the bronze mirror, a ruthless expression gradually surfacing on his face, though he quickly concealed it. He knew that with his current cultivation at only the second level of Qi Condensation, even if he wanted to fight and rob others, he would be no match for anyone.
“Back when I was in Yunjie County, I was always so short of money. Why is it that even after becoming an immortal, I'm still broke?”
Filled with helplessness, Meng Hao kept racking his brain for a way to obtain spirit stones.