Xue Jiang, carrying several bags, stood outside the Demon Gathering Forest, and let out a sigh. Hopefully I prepared enough. He thinks before walking into the forest. Luckily, he still had several life-saving measures that he had prepared for the Dragon Blood Cult inheritance.

Xue Jiang sniffs the air, hoping to catch a scent; recently, in his preparation to go out and hunt some demonic beasts for his practice in both the path of alchemy and the path of cooking, he had started cultivating a few tracking techniques, in addition to some beginner level divination techniques.

Xue Jiang shakes his head. Nothing yet. He thinks, before he takes out a wooden bowl and several oddly shaped stones. Each stone was shaped in such a way that one of three sides could be somewhat facing upwards if it was settled on the ground. One stone was marked with the symbol for high, the symbol for low, and the symbol for neutral. The next stone was marked with the symbol for light, the symbol for heavy, and the symbol for neutral. The last stone was marked with the symbols for yin, yang, and neutral.

Xue Jiang placed the stones into the wooden bowl and gave it a good shake before examining how the stones landed. High, heavy, and yang. The way the stones are arranged… Xue Jiang thinks, processing the arrangement of the stones and the symbols, for his divination. Hmm. It must be North, but… Xue Jiang thinks, his brows furrowing. He was just a beginner in the art of divination, but if he wasn’t wrong, this arrangement could also speak to something that was quite dangerous for him.

Xue Jiang shakes his head. “North, then.” He says, deciding his path. Xue Jiang immediately felt an energy resonance with his surroundings, and a good chunk of his spiritual flows out of his body and into the world. Xue Jiang felt something he hasn’t quite felt before as his spiritual body was pushed out of his body. When it was done, Xue Jiang couldn’t help but wipe the sweat off his brow.

Xue Jiang takes a moment to process what happened. Recalling what he knew of the art of divination, this resonance and the price of spiritual energy taken from him; this phenomena occurred when there was a noticeable change in his fate.

Xue Jiang takes a deep breath. I really hope I don’t die. He thinks, his brows furrowed, before continuing Northwards anyways.

…

…

Xue Jiang was traveling quickly through the woods; by now, he had picked up the scent, and was following as fast as he could to not let go of the chance.

As for the smell; it was quite strong. It was a heavy yang energy, with a tinge of sweetness; in addition, Xue Jiang also smelled a strong pride in this creature. Whatever it was, considering its confidence, it could become a bitter struggle for Xue Jiang.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Nonetheless, Xue Jiang continues to track the beast. The energy resonance from earlier could speak to a negative effect on his fate, and maybe even death; but there was also a chance it could become a big benefit for Xue Jiang. Considering the possibility, Xue Jiang was determined to find the creature.

Xue Jiang sniffs the air. The scent was getting stronger, and Xue Jiang was getting closer.

Suddenly, Xue Jiang’s ears picked up the sound of rustling leaves and broken branches. Xue Jiang slows down and crouches his body, approaching the area using a beginner stealth technique.

Slowly, step by step, Xue Jiang approached the area, and eventually he could see it; a three meter tall beast. It was a huge rooster, with a large wingspan, a tall and red rooster comb, in addition to a fierce beak, that looked as sharp as a blade. One prominent difference between a rooster, was this creature’s body was covered in scales, and peaking out from behind it, seemed to be a snake that the rooster was using as a tail.

Xue Jiang’s eyes widen. Damn! A cockatrice! He exclaims, pondering whether this luck was good or bad.

If Xue Jiang could get his hands on this demonic beasts blood, he may be able to make a health philter that was useful for even Core Formation experts.

Fortunately, this demonic beast was only at the Core Formation level. From what Xue Jiang knew about this demonic beast, this creature must be quite young; if not, it would have long surpassed a level that Xue Jiang could struggle against.

Suddenly, the snake’s head begins to perk up, sensing something strange in the air. When it focused, it quickly found Xue Jiang hidden in the woods. Immediately, the snake lets out a loud hiss, bringing Xue Jiang to the rooster’s attention.

The rooster looks and spreads its wings, ready for a fight. It lets out a loud crow and Immediately rushes forward to face Xue Jiang.

“Damn.” Xue Jiang says, losing the initiative. He immediately draws his sword, and prepares for a fight.

With Xue Jiang’s recent trip to the Dragon Blood Cult’s inheritance, he had learned a few useful tricks. Using the power of eternity from the river of time, Xue Jiang connects to his energy from various timelines, and gathers their power in his body, before rushing out to meet the cockatrice.

The snake strikes first, its head striking out with a flash of green light.

Xue Jiang prepares his stance, holding his sword out before him. “The Still Fisherman!” He exclaims, his body hardening as he takes the strike of snake’s head.

Xue Jiang has been practicing the Fisherman’s Sword for a long time. In its essence, the sword style of this technique was filled with feints and acted with a certain foresight. To be a fisherman was to predict success and tempt your catch to latch on to its doom; it was to be a patient trapper, and it was to have the strength for a struggle. With Xue Jiang’s experience as a fisherman, he had long formed his own understanding of this sword technique, and his progress was increasing each day. He somewhat expected that he could formulate the next level of this technique, if he continued to refine it.

Like expert dancer, Xue Jiang’s form quickly changed.

The rooster saw the sword approaching and instinctively struck out with his beak, wanting to rip the sword from Xue Jiang’s hand. But suddenly, the form of the sword it saw disappeared, only to appear to the side.

Xue Jiang had no hesitation and pierces his sword into the cockatrice’s neck, before drawing back to a defensive stance to block another attack from the snake.

With Xue Jiang’s understanding, the rooster and the snake should be two completely different entities with separate minds. Thus, Xue Jiang didn’t hesitate to use the same trick.

The snake tries to dodge the sword shadow before finding itself swinging towards the real sword.

The sound of a blade biting into flesh is heard, and the snake’s head immediately falls to the ground.

The cockatrice lets out a loud crow, sensing danger for the first time in its life.

Xue Jiang immediately takes advantage and thrusts his sword into the cockatrice’s mouth, his blade entering its brain.

The cockatrice’s shrill call eventually fades, and its body falls to the ground.

Xue Jiang wipes the sweat from his brow. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought. I wonder why a juvenile cockatrice is out here by itself. Where are its parents?” He asks himself.

As if bad luck was triggered by his words, a loud crow is suddenly heard in the distance; its power reverberating through the forest.

Xue Jiang’s eyes widen. “Shit!” He exclaims.