Well, my plan was to hunt, but finding another Spirit Beast, or even a slightly stronger animal, was surprisingly hard.

I wandered the paradise for two whole weeks, yet hadn’t seen a trace of them. The strongest beast I had seen was at the Sixth Layer of Golden Core Realm, and it was some weird version of a jaguar, or maybe a tiger. I was certain it wasn’t a lion since it lacked a mane, and it was a deep green color with dark blue stripes and spots. I tried to catch it, but as soon as I let my power show, it bolted, leaving behind a weirdly disorientating cloud of mist and a reverberating sound that made it all but impossible to track.

I probably could have done it with some effort, but if the creature tried that hard to escape right at the start, it deserved to live another day.

So, yeah, I didn’t have much luck hunting. It wasn’t all bad, of course. I had found a few dozen interesting plant specimens while looking for Spirit Beasts and marked them all down for later. Some of the fruits there weren’t even ripe, so there was no point in taking them anyway. Surprisingly I had to replenish my stores of weak beast cores for my beacons as I used almost a hundred before even the first month was over.

The souls of the weak creatures obviously didn’t budge my Cultivation at all. It was like adding drops of water into a lake.

As another day was nearing its end, and darkness descended upon the misty valleys, I found a stone pillar and flew on top of it, basking in the last rays of the sun. I flicked my hand and the very top of the pillar was soundlessly sliced off, the stones crumbling into dust and then dispersing with the wind. I sat in the middle of the clearing and closed my eyes as I formed a small dome over the peak.

It was a weaker, smaller version of Sanctuary, and instead of using Spirit Stones, I used my own power to feed the barrier. Adding a few extra layers, I also isolated the sound and then lay down on my back, staring at the sky.

Bright oranges slowly dimmed, replaced by reds and browns, and finally, the final rays of sunshine disappeared, leaving the sky black. Soon, as true darkness came, the first stars began to shine, more and more of them every minute. Soon a galaxy was revealed before my eyes, millions upon millions of stars. It’s funny how empty the sky seemed when I was but a Mortal. With my near Spirit Realm Cultivation, the heavens were filled with countless shining stars, like a sea of diamonds.

The pictures of Earth’s most advanced telescopes did not do it justice. Seeing it in person was such a humbling experience. It made me feel so small in the infinite nothingness. A tiny speck, on a small planet, in a random solar system, at a far corner of just one galaxy among billions.

I felt a tinge of regret for not studying astronomy more back when I had the knowledge of an entire civilization at my fingertips. Maybe if I did, it could have helped me find out where I was. Or maybe not.

I just stared at the night sky for hours, until the sun rose again, and it was time to get up. I felt refreshed and my mind was calm. The meditation session, while unusual, served greatly to bring peace to my Soul.

I stood up and stretched. It was another beautiful day.

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While jumping from the top of one stone pillar to another, I noticed a larger, circular valley full of greenery in the distance. Its shape seemed unnatural, so considering I had yet to find something of interest, I decided to check it out.

Soundlessly floating closer, through the dense jungle, I saw a whole bunch of gray-furred monkeys gathering and feasting on all kinds of wild fruits. The weird thing though, was a raised stone platform in the middle of the circular clearing, with a statue of a massive stone monkey. It was at least ten meters tall and extremely lifelike and at first reminded me of Buddha sitting in a lotus position. It was kind of funny, actually.

As I came closer I noticed some of the little guys seemingly giving an offering to the statue, bringing various fruits and tubers and laying them on the stone platform, while some monkeys even climbed on top of it, apparently cleaning the stone giant’s rocky fur.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Vines rose all around, climbing on rocks, trees, and stone pillars, but the platform and the massive monkey statue were the only ones clear of it. It was really a weird sight. In fact, it was so unusual that I had to get a closer look.

I dropped down from the sky and landed on the ground in the middle of it all. The monkeys immediately began making a ruckus, yet none dared to approach. They just jumped up and down, shouted, screamed, and shook the branches they were standing on, some of them even pulling up grass and leaves and throwing them around. Overall it was a circus. Or maybe organized chaos would be more fitting.

I went up to the statue and examined it up close, yet unsurprisingly, it was nothing special. Its exterior was hard rock, with no magic running through it, though it was extremely lifelike. Every muscle and tendon were clear under what seemed to be a layer of rocky skin, and even the hairs looked so pristine and thin, despite being made out of stone. Whoever made it had to be a master carver.

I supposed the smaller monkeys considered it something like their protector or something. I took one of the offered fruits on the ground and examined it. Like many of the others I had seen, it contained a tiny amount of Essence. It wasn’t even worth the effort of consuming. One would have to eat hundreds, maybe even thousands of them at once for them to do something.

And whoever could eat so many at once would have to be a giant in the first place, almost like…

I slowly turned to look back at the statue just in time to see its giant stony fist slam down at me.

There was a loud boom as the fist collided with the stone platform below, right where I stood a split-second prior.

The giant stone monkey’s eyes snapped open, revealing the pink flesh around its deep orange orbs.

[Woah...]

I watched it as it slowly rose up, the smaller monkeys running away screaming, and slammed its foot on the stone beneath. It then threw its head back while beating its chest, and roared.

[Hah, well, I’ll be damned. A Spirit Beast.] I chuckled nervously. After searching for one for so long, I just stumbled upon one. And its technique was absolutely perfect too. It was right in the open, yet I could swear on my life it was but a statue. Even as I examined it up close I detected no sign of life from it.

Heck, while it meditated, because that’s clearly what it was doing, I couldn’t even detect its Soul, and I was a master in that area.

I excitedly licked my lips and raised my hands in a simple guard. If we were going to have a battle, I was more than ready for it.

The beast roared and I could see anger in its eyes as I stood my ground. It took that as a challenge, which it was. I almost let a grin escape me as I got ready for its first move.

The stone giant moved, its fist shifting back in what was a clear sign of a punch. But its feet didn’t move, and it was slow. Oh god, it was so damn slow! I just stood, looking at it. I didn’t even bother to dodge as it punched. Its fist came to the end of its path yet it was still at least ten meters away from me.

[Dude.] I shouted. [What are you doing? At least punch me for re- Aghfwo!]

Something heavy slammed into me like a ton of bricks just as I let my guard down. Trees broke and vegetation was torn apart as my body bounced and skipped across the jungle floor. I eventually skidded to a stop in a muddy puddle and slowly reoriented myself while spitting out boiling blood.

I felt something hard rattling on the inside of my mouth and spat it into my hand. It was a tooth. My tooth.

A low growl escaped my throat as my lips turned into an angry snarl. I pushed the tooth back into its socket and then my entire being flashed with fire. My broken skin mended and my internal wounds healed in the blink of an eye.

[Motherfucker…] I spat out and took off my Ring of Weightlessness. Immediately my feet sank into the soft soil, but before I could get any deeper, a golden light flashed beneath the simple leather boots I wore, and my body began to expand.

Clothes disappeared, replaced by hard, dark crimson scales and I grew to a height of five meters in a matter of seconds. Horns pushed out from my forehead, bending along the contour of my skull. Sharp spikes grew along my spine and my tail gained a few nasty-looking barbs.

I heard the distant monkey roar intertwined with victorious laughter as it beat its chest.

Making my way over, I slowly emerged from the jungle, and the creatures finally shut their mouth. I’ll be honest, their constant japing was getting on my nerves.

The giant stone monkey and I locked eyes, and though I was still drastically smaller, I knew it could feel my rage. And for the first time, I could feel its power as well. It was massive.

[Thank you…] I slowly said. [For allowing me to let loose.]

My claws grew and my snarl became even more pronounced, showing many sharp white teeth as I stared at it in challenge. The monkey showed its teeth as well and beat its chest as it rose on its hind legs, yet I remained unimpressed. That enraged it.

It moved its hand back for another punch, but I was prepared.

[Not this time.]

My energy stores were full and had grown a bit since the last time. I could afford to splurge a bit. I had no desire to taste its stupidly overpowered physical-law-breaking punch again. I anchored myself into the ground and let it face my open palm as I activated my techniques, and my Qi roared to life.

I focused, pushed forward, and roared.

[Arcane Blast!]

The jungle… exploded.