I Can Accumulate Proficiency, Starting from Alchemy

An obscure spot on the outskirts of the Evil Mountain Range.

He Fengdi led six people and stopped here.

“The deeper you go into the Evil Mountain Range, the more Evil beasts you’ll encounter. The ones on the periphery don’t have a concept of territory and are highly mobile. The closer you get to the center, the higher the intelligence of the Evil beasts, the stronger the awareness of territorial occupation,”

Our plan is also simple: we’ll just fight our way through it.

II

As Han Fengdi spoke, the murderous intent in his eyes surged, and the three Qi Cultivation Peak experts next to him involuntarily stepped back half a step.

Han Yi also stepped back with the others.

Inside, he agreed with He Fengdi’s simple, brutish plan.

When dealing with Evil beasts, it’s better to just keep pushing forward, rather than plotting and laying traps. This way, we might be able to accomplish our objectives in a short amount of time and return to the Immortal Warship Base.”

“Evil beasts have powerful bodies, so avoid close combat and focus on long-range attacks.”

“If we encounter Seventh-order or lower Evil beasts, kill them directly and collect their corpses. Afterward, we’ll distribute the proceeds according to our contributions.”

“If we encounter an Evil beast of Seventh-order or higher, after killing it together, we’ll distribute its core to everyone so that they can complete their tasks at the sect.”

“If we encounter a Ninth-stage Evil beast, except for me and Liu Ke, others should focus on defense and hindrance. Be cautious and don’t get too close.”

“In case we have terrible luck and run into a mutant Ninth-stage Evil beast with innate supernatural powers or a Demon Cultivator, scatter and flee immediately. Do not stick together. Whether you can escape or not, it depends on your luck. Even I am no exception.”

“Alright, did everyone understand?”

Seeing that no one had any objections, He Fengdi led from the front, and the other disciples followed behind, forming a cone-shaped formation and quickly approaching the Evil Mountain Range.

Han Yi stayed at the back, and his spirits were on high alert. In case he encountered a Demon Cultivator, he was ready to turn around and flee without a second thought. Although the probability of this happening was extremely low, he couldn’t let his guard down.

Within the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the group encountered their first Evil beast.

It was a giant red spider towering more than a meter tall.

II

Scarlet Spider — based on its aura, it should be a Third-stage Evil beast. I’ll handle it.”

A youth named Shen Ru, who was at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Level, said so with golden light in his eyes.

Han Yi, who was following behind the group, felt a slight ripple in his heart.

When he had joined this team, everyone had introduced themselves and their abilities and Magic Skills. He was getting a general idea of what these White Tiger Peak disciples specialized in.

This Fellow Shen Ru practiced Qi Observation Skill that was capable of discerning the aura of the object being observed, including cultivators, demonic creatures, and natural treasures. As long as there was a vital sign, it could be discerned.

Of course, if someone practiced Concealment Skill and their Concealment Skill was more profound than his Qi Observation Skill, then he wouldn’t be able to see through it.

“It seems that these auxiliary skills are also quite useful.” Han Yi filed away these thoughts. Now was not the time to think about these things, even if he wanted to practice auxiliary skills, he would have to return to the Xuandan Sect and make plans.

At a distance of more than ten meters away, Shen Ru had already released a medium-grade magic weapon. It was a golden, needle-like artifact shimmering brilliantly. This needle was thirty centimeters long and one centimeter thick, and sharp at both ends, exuding a cold light.

Whoosh!

The golden needle shot through the air, easily piercing the giant red spider. Then, it shuttled back and forth until it pierced the Third-stage Evil beast’s flat head into a honeycomb shape before retrieving it.

“This cautious attitude is not unlike my own.”

“No, if it were me, I would have directly punctured the spider’s abdomen, as well as its sharp legs, dismembered it, and taken it apart piece by piece without leaving any blind spots.”

Han Yi couldn’t help but think to himself.

Fortunately, no accidents occurred, and Shen Ru approached and gently waved his hand to collect the spider’s corpse.

He said with a smile, “Every part of an Evil beast is a treasure. This Third-stage Evil beast should be worth a hundred or so Spirit Stones.”

He Fengdi reminded, “Don’t be careless. This is just a Third-stage Evil beast on the very outskirts. Generally speaking, the abilities of Evil beasts are stronger than those of cultivators of the same rank. If Junior Brother Shen encounters a Seventh-level Evil beast, he must give it his all.”

Shen Ru’s expression turned serious: “Senior Brother He is right in his advice.”

“Alright, let’s keep moving forward.” He Fengdi turned and continued onwards.

From then on,

Everything went surprisingly smoothly.

As they progressively delved deeper, Third-order, Fourth-order, and Fifth-order Evil beasts appeared one after another.

After sunset, the group found a concealed cave, and another Eighth-level Fellow named Li Yi took out a set of array disks and set up a Concealment Spirit Array.

This Fellow was an Array Master.

Like alchemy and talisman making, formation was one of the hundred arts of cultivation.

Pills are divided into: ordinary, standard, flawless, perfect, Pill Rune, Immortal Pill; six levels in total.

Spiritual Talismans are divided into six levels, making it even simpler.

As for formations, they can be divided into offensive formations, concealment formations, and defensive formations based on their function. They can also be divided into six ranks, with each rank further divided into four levels: lower, middle, upper, and top-grade.

The Concealment Spirit Array that Li Yi took out was a top-grade first-stage concealment formation.

Han Yi sat cross-legged in the cave and glanced at the others who were also sitting cross-legged and resting, deep in thought.

Excluding himself, these six individuals were all quite skilled, complementing and enhancing each other to create an effect where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

Yet he couldn’t fathom why they would let someone like him join their group.

He looked at Chu Jinmo, who was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed.

Had his former senior sister’s status really risen so high now?

Han Yi was curious but did not ask rashly.

The stronger the team, the happier he would be, meaning he could just sit back and reap the benefits along the way.

As for Chu Jinmo’s status and identity, even if he knew, he wouldn’t really abandon his pride to cling to her coattails; that wasn’t his personality.

He had good teeth but couldn’t stomach soft rice.

Seven days later.

In a tree hole somewhere in the Evil Mountain Range, a bonfire was lit, and seven figures sat around it.

“That was close today. That tree demon was so terrifying,” Liu Ke’s face showed lingering fear as he spoke.

Today, their team encountered a ninth-stage evil beast – a tree demon. The tree demon’s main body wasn’t very thick, but when He Fengdi and Liu Ke attacked it, they discovered that it was far from ordinary.

Its visible trunk was just a disguise; its actual body was hidden underground.

When its true form emerged from the ground, countless roots as thick as arms wriggled like a chaotic dance at an astonishing speed. It was difficult to cut them down, leaving everyone aghast.

Liu Ke was directly hit, and if it weren’t for his magic tool blocking the attack, he figured he would’ve been slapped to death. Even though the magic tool protected him, the terrifying power still transferred to his body, causing intense pain that lingered for a long time.

After the tree demon revealed its true form, He Fengdi didn’t hesitate to lead everyone to flee.

“There are countless types of evil beasts, as numerous as the clouds, and some are so special that they fear neither multiple Qi Cultivation Peak cultivators nor ninth-stage beasts.”

“This tree demon seems to be one of those special evil beasts.”

“Fortunately, its mobility is incredibly slow, which allowed us to escape.

Otherwise, we would have had to scatter and flee individually.”

He Fengdi was also shaken by the close call.

Next, he looked at Han Yi and praised him:

“And Han junior brother’s spiritual talisman proved very effective today, what an unexpected pleasant surprise.”

Han Yi merely smiled and said, “I was just doing what I was supposed to; it’s not worth mentioning.”

When the tree demon’s main body burst from the ground, Han Yi threw out three Explosion Symbols, briefly holding off the creature and allowing everyone to retreat intact.

These three Explosion Symbols were bought years ago and had been stored in his storage bag. At the time, he bought four, one of which had been used to destroy a corpse and erase evidence in Tianqing City.

Tree demons were wood-type evil beasts, and they were particularly susceptible to fire-type spiritual talismans like Explosion Symbols.

Most of the disciples from White Tiger Peak had metal-type Spiritual Roots and primarily practiced metal-type magic skills. In the face of the crisis, they could only think about fleeing and didn’t consider any other tactics.

Only Han Yi had the presence of mind to use the Explosion Symbols to buy some time against the tree demon.

This ability to adapt on the fly impressed He Fengdi.

In reality, the others also had various types of spiritual talismans, including Explosion Symbols, in their storage bags. They just lacked the adaptability Han Yi had displayed.

“It seems that inviting junior brother Han to join us was a good choice,” Chu Jinmo said with a smile, her ethereal voice echoing through the tree hole.

However, Han Yi noticed that there was more admiration and even reverence in the eyes of the others when they looked at Chu Jinmo.

It was intriguing.

Suddenly.

Boom!

A violent tremor came from outside the tree hole, causing dry tree bark to fall from the ceiling.

“Not good, an evil beast is attacking the Concealment Spirit Array!” Li Yi, holding the Array Plate, turned pale.

Everyone jumped up to their feet..