Li Qingyun took out a hand-drawn map from his怀里, and said in a deep voice, "I don't know where we are exactly, but from the surrounding scenery, I think we should be on the outskirts of this forest. To the left is the mountain range with snow on its peaks, which is the habitat of the Ice Snow Leopard..."
Gan Cuicui looked at the map in Li Qingyun's hand with shock and exclaimed, "How do you have a map? Did Senior Brother Xian... uh... take care of you?"
She had wanted to ask if Chu Yang had given these geniuses special treatment, but felt it wasn't appropriate to say so.
Li Qingyun glanced at her and said calmly, "Senior Brother Xian won't give us special treatment. As for this map, in the promotional video, it started with a high-altitude tour of the entire [Demon Spirit Realm]. It's not difficult to draw a simple map based on the scene transitions in the video."
Gan Cuicui was stunned, her eyes sparkling.
It sounded simple, but how many people had thought of this?
Li Qingyun said to Gan Cuicui in an educational tone, "This is not a tourist attraction; it's a life-and-death trial. One can never be too careful. I can still handle second-tier demon beasts, but if I encounter a third-tier demon beast, it's not necessarily a death sentence, but at least it's a near-certain death!"
"By marking the locations where various demon beasts appear in the promotional video, I can selectively avoid encountering high-tier demon beasts, unless..."
"Unless what?"
Li Qingyun revealed an ambitious smile, "Unless my points are not enough for me to get first place!"
Li Qingyun's ambition was fully displayed, and Gan Cuicui gasped.
From her previous understanding of Li Qingyun, he should have been a person of very calm disposition. She didn't know what Senior Brother Xian had said to them in their meeting yesterday that made him so flamboyant.
However... the arrogant Meteor Brother was also very handsome!
After observing the surrounding environment, Li Qingyun drew a marker on the map and then put it away.
"Let's go. About five hundred meters that way, there's a second-tier demon beast. Keep up with me!"
Gan Cuicui's face was a little pale. She quickly followed, and as she walked, she curiously asked, "How do you know there's a demon beast five hundred meters away?"
Li Qingyun smiled mysteriously and said, "All the plants and trees in this forest are my companions!"
Gan Cuicui was once again shocked. Was this the genius who possessed the soul of the Enlightenment Tree and the Wood Spirit Body? Wouldn't he be able to walk unhindered in the forest?
A Wind Shadow Wolf sensed someone approaching and immediately turned, staring intently at the approaching Li Qingyun.
Second-tier demon beasts were equivalent to Foundation Establishment stage cultivators in strength.
"Roar—"
The moment it saw Li Qingyun and Gan Cuicui appear, the Wind Shadow Wolf attacked without hesitation, like an afterimage, stirring up a gust of wind.
Although Gan Cuicui was terrified, she didn't want to be a burden and quickly retreated to hide behind a tree.
Chu Yang was right; the first instinct of these demon beasts upon seeing humans was to devour them!
Li Qingyun took a step forward, his figure faster than the Wind Shadow Wolf.
Wherever he passed, lotuses bloomed with every step.
His hands surged with pure wood-attribute spiritual energy, and the surrounding trees emitted a faint green light, continuously flowing towards Li Qingyun.
The man and the wolf clashed a few times in an instant.
The wood-attribute spiritual energy continuously condensed into lotuses filled with Dao rhythm. When a certain amount was reached, they exploded.
By the time the Wind Shadow Wolf realized the danger, it was too late to escape. With a scream, it turned into a bloody, mangled corpse.
Li Qingyun, without even breaking a sweat, retrieved a demon core from its corpse, entwined with a trace of violent beastly nature.
And his battle was fully displayed to the audience in the plaza outside.
"Hiss—"
The entire audience collectively gasped, contributing their share to global warming.
"So strong! He easily dealt with a second-tier demon beast!"
"What is that step-by-step blooming lotus technique? It looks so cool!"
"As expected of him, is there any suspense for first place in this trial?"
"Wuwuwu, my husband is admired by everyone again, I feel so proud!"
"You asshole! Aren't you a man?"
"If love can last forever, what does gender matter?"
"......"
The scene of Zhang Xiaohu killing a tree snake with an axe earlier had already been quite shocking.
But without comparison, there was no harm. The gap between Zhang Xiaohu and Li Qingyun was too vast, neither in realm nor in combat power were they on the same level.
Chu Yang nodded silently. Li Qingyun's easy defeat of a demon beast of the same level was within his expectations.
With such powerful talent, coupled with an immortal-grade cultivation technique, wouldn't he be laughed at for a lifetime if he couldn't even defeat monsters of a higher level?
According to Chu Yang's estimation, if nothing went wrong, Li Qingyun should also be able to solo a early-stage third-tier demon beast.
"He should be fine. Let's see what others are doing..."
The scene then shifted to the second Foundation Establishment stage expert, the old Taoist Bai Nianchen, who possessed the Innate Dao Body.
The old Taoist was originally a very Buddhist-like figure, but today he had become very agitated.
He wore his Taoist robe and leaped about at the foot of the mountain.
Most people in the small groups were acting alone because if they killed a demon beast themselves, the demon core belonged to them alone, and they didn't have to share.
Since they were competing for first place, this was undoubtedly the most suitable method of combat.
Bai Nianchen fully demonstrated to the audience what it meant to be old and vigorous.
At the foot of the mountain, a group of monkeys covered in black flames were shouting and chasing Bai Nianchen.
Ghost-faced Fire Monkeys were the demon beasts gathered here; they were also gregarious demon beasts, capable of controlling black flames.
However, these were not easily provoked demon beasts. A monkey tribe had a third-tier king, and over twenty first and second-tier monkeys.
Bai Nianchen's cultivation technique was called the "Grand Dao Yin Yang Art." Although the name was simple, it was a genuine lower-grade immortal technique.
Furthermore, this cultivation technique did not require any specific spiritual root attributes, making it highly versatile.
At this moment, two second-tier Ghost-faced Fire Monkeys howled, their sharp claws carrying two balls of dark flames, attacking Bai Nianchen from both the left and right!
However, the old Taoist, who was originally fleeing, suddenly stopped. Lightning flickered in his palms!
"Thunder, the command of heaven!"
As his voice fell, he clasped his hands together, and a flash of lightning seemed to appear in his eyes!
"Rumble!"
Thunder roared, and two golden bolts of lightning descended from the sky!
Then, those two second-tier Ghost-faced Fire Monkeys screamed and turned into two charred corpses!