While the group's divine sense swept across the area, the wild boar-like demon beast clearly sensed it too. In an instant, it spun around, fixing its pair of crimson-red eyes on the crowd.
Then it charged forward on its four hooves, its massive body stirring up a fierce gale as it barreled toward them, murderous intent radiating in every direction.
"Xia Sheng, this Red-Eyed Evil Pig is yours to handle," Gao Xueting said calmly.
"Then... I'm heading in!" Xia Sheng's expression turned serious upon hearing this. He tapped his foot and charged straight at the Red-Eyed Evil Pig.
He understood clearly that Gao Xueting wanted him to fight the demon beast so she could explain things in greater detail, so he didn't decline.
In the blink of an eye, the man and the beast had closed to within about ten zhang of each other.
Xia Sheng halted, lowered his center of gravity, and stood his ground in a wide, imposing stance. One hand was held flat before his chest while the other slowly pushed forward as he bellowed, "Grand Chaos Palm!"
Not knowing whether the demon beasts in this world had the same combat strength as those outside, Xia Sheng held nothing back from the start, unleashing a secret technique without any disdain for the Red-Eyed Evil Pig just because it was only at the peak of the 10th rank.
"Mm, since we've entered this world as spiritual soul forms, most of the secret techniques and cultivation methods we've trained in won't work here!" Gao Xueting's voice rang in everyone's ears.
The others nodded thoughtfully.
But on Xia Sheng's end, his expression shifted slightly. His secret technique had produced absolutely nothing—merely an empty pose.
After hearing Gao Xueting's words, he instantly realized he had made a grave error. In that brief moment, the Red-Eyed Evil Pig had already charged to within three zhang of him.
To his credit, he remained composed under pressure. He reached toward empty space, apparently trying to summon some kind of artifact. With a thunderous roar he bellowed, "Despicable beast—don't get cocky! Give me your life!"
Gao Xueting spoke again: "Artifacts can't be used either, since activating most of them requires the coordination of Source Power and a physical body."
The moment her words fell, Xia Sheng let out a cry: "Oh mother..."
Even as he shouted, he turned and bolted toward Gao Xueting, screaming in panic, "Elder Gao, save me!"
Gao Xueting regarded him coldly and sneered, "You're overdoing it. I know you're trying to help them better understand this world's peculiarities, but... are you insulting your own intelligence or your junior brothers' and sisters' intelligence? Take it out already!"
"Right away!" The instant Xia Sheng heard this, he spun around, waved his hand, and a long saber-shaped artifact materialized. Unusual ripples of power emanated from it—clearly a soul-type artifact!
Xia Sheng channeled his divine sense into it and swung it straight down at the Red-Eyed Evil Pig.
No flashy techniques. No elegant footwork. Just power channeled into a single, direct strike.
The blade flashed. A wretched howl erupted.
Violent energy surged outward in all directions.
The Red-Eyed Evil Pig was cleaved cleanly in two by the strike. Momentum carried its massive halves forward for a considerable distance before they finally crashed to the ground.
Xia Sheng sheathed his saber and stood tall, a look of cold composure on his face.
There was no blood, no stench of viscera. Once the Red-Eyed Evil Pig was slain, it simply lay still on the ground. Before everyone's eyes, its body gradually faded, as if dissolving into energy and dispersing into this world.
And where one half of the carcass had vanished, a small wisp of yellowish light the size of a mung bean remained.
Everyone's eyes were drawn to it in curiosity. When they scanned it with their divine sense, even Yang Kai and the others couldn't help but look surprised.
They discovered that this tiny, mung-bean-sized wisp of yellowish light contained incredibly pure soul energy. It seemed completely free of impurities—pure beyond imagination.
"That is the Soul Origin," Gao Xueting explained. "In this world, every living creature possesses its own Soul Origin. Once killed, the Soul Origin is left behind, and we can absorb it to easily and effortlessly strengthen our souls."
While she was speaking, Xia Sheng had already trotted eagerly over to the wisp of Soul Origin and reached out to grab it.
Strangely enough, the moment his hand closed around it, the Soul Origin merged directly into his palm, absorbed into his body.
Xia Sheng immediately closed his eyes, an expression of indescribable bliss spreading across his face. It was a good while before he opened his eyes again and let out a loud shout: "That feels great!"