On the north-eastern edge of the Grave's cauldron of flame, Guan Heng was peeling apart a boar-like Magical Beast, peeling away hide and flesh with his fingers as if digging through a rotten fruit.

  Eventually finding what he was looking for, Guan Heng plucked the core of the beast from its chest. The core was scarred with growth rings, covering folds that flowed over the surface, almost like the pit of a peach.

  “Not bad…” Guan Heng was very familiar with Beast Cores, their properties, quality, and natures. It was a common skill in the Tiger-Slaying Sect, and Beast Cores were the premier item for trade among disciples, even above the Jianghu standard of Purple Jade.

  Although Beast Cores were considered dangerous to humans, some techniques capable of moderating the chaotic forces inherent to the cores did exist.

  The Tiger-Slaying Sect itself was built upon medicines and cultivation resources derived from Beast Cores, and almost every disciple in the Sect was capable of creating pastes, powders, or even medicinal baths using those cores as a central component, all to better refine their bodies.

  Of course, those medicines were not as delicate or flexible as the works that alchemists are capable of, and exceptional care and discipline must be exercised to prevent the energies involved from causing Qi Deviations after extended use.

  For Guan Heng, the Beast Cores in the Earth Dragon's Grave were of considerable interest. Each one seemed to bear both a strong elemental affinity and a great vital energy.

  Each Magical Beast he killed held the promise of an efficient day of Cultivation, promised in surity by the medicine his prey would eventually become.

  Swiping his hands through the air, the thick blood that coated his arms splattered onto the ground, leaving no trace of their presence on his grey skin.

  "Hmm?" Far in the distance, something caught Guan Heng's eye.

  The north biome of the Earth Dragon's Grave was very flat, with only two exceptions. The ridge at the edge of the northern edge of the biome, where the space of the Grave ended, and the 'cauldron' in the center of the biome, which dipped down like a steep bowl, filled with flowing flames.

  From the northern ridge, Guan Heng saw a humanoid figure moving at the edge of the cauldron, leaping to one of the many pillars that jutted out from the cauldron of fire.

  "That is…" When Guan Heng attempted to identify exactly who he was looking at, he froze. "...A grey robe?"

  … … … … … … …

  Landing on the first of many pillars, Jun Li immediately felt a rush of heat from the ruddy stone below. "...Oh?" Flowing upward like evaporating moisture, a thin stream of Qi passed over Jun Li's body, imparting warmth and heat as it did.

  "Some sort of Flame Qi?" Curious, Jun Li looked at the many other pillars that jutted out from the cauldron. Almost every single one had a beast of some kind, sitting upright and alert on its surface.

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  Wolves, apes, tigers, lizards, and birds all remained in position, solitary on their pillars.

  Further to the center of the cauldron, where the flames rose higher, and the pillars stood the thickest, Magical Beasts of far greater stature could be found.

  To Jun Li, this cauldron now seemed more like a kiln, where beasts came to refine themselves in the heat of the pillars. "If the flow of Qi is this strong here, I can't imagine what it's like in the center…"

  Ultimately, the phenomenon was useless to Jun Li herself, who refined a deeply disparate Cultivation Method. If she were to attempt to cultivate in these conditions, it could do terrible damage to her foundations, even if she didn't suffer a Qi Deviation.

  'I'll still have to fight some of these beasts if I want to…' When Jun Li imagined a path to the other end of the cauldron, she saw an abnormality in the pillars. Specifically, an abnormality in which pillars had a beast atop them.

  At the north-western edge of the cauldron, hanging down from far above, a claw of the skeletonized Earth Dragon was dug into the earth, its 'palm' forming a latticed canopy of bone above.

  Not a single beast could be found within a large radius of that claw, even on the larger pillars, bountiful with Flame Qi.

  'Is there some kind of deterrent? I heard the blood was supposed to have that sort of aspect, but what about the claw?'

  Jun Li glanced towards Little Yun, who had just managed to make an improvised leap to the first pillar. 'Let's see how you cope with it…'

  "Hop on." Jun Li crouched and extended her arm to the ground, allowing Little Yun to climb over and around her.

  Little Yun, at this point, was exceptionally large and, even without any intent to harm, significantly impaired Jun Li's mobility when carried like this.

  Even so, it was Jun Li's belief that Little Yun lacked the ability to clear the larger gaps between the cauldron's stone pillars, making this the most efficient course of action, even if she did look like she was wearing a ridiculously oversized scaled suit of some kind.

  Stretching her limbs slowly and giving Little Yun time to adjust their grip, Jun Li began a steady sprint to the edge of the first pillar, having already mapped out a route to the Earth Dragon's claw.

  Without reliance on any Movement Technique, Jun Li kicked off the smooth, half-melted edge of the pillar, soaring a dozen meters through the air, over a sea of flames. All while wrapped in five meters of arm-thick, pure white cordage.

  Landing heavily on the next pillar on her path, Jun Li immediately attracted the attention of a human-sized ungulate that had been resting in the center of the pillar.

  "Not interested in you." Jun Li looked directly at the beast, speaking a warning it shouldn't understand. "Fight and you'll die."

  Even without understanding the words, the smooth and dense Killing Intent that Jun Li gave off made her intent clear, and the beast lowered itself further to the ground, until even its horns touched the stone.

  "Good." Jun Li turned to the next pillar on her path. "Let's hope the next beast has some sense..."

  … … … … … …

  Having watched from afar for some time, Guan Heng was thoroughly amused. "A tamer of some kind…? Well… that's interesting." Until he saw the snake that seemed so attached to this 'disciple,' Guan Heng assumed it must have been one of the eleven others that had entered the Grave alongside him, just wearing a different robe.

  But now, with the appearance of a Magical Beast that was commanded as if it had been tamed long ago, Guan Heng thought differently.

  "A Rogue Cultivator, having invaded the Earth Dragon's Grave…?" A grin spread across his face. "That just sounds too fanciful. Now I just have to find out."

  Stepping down from his overlooking ridge, Guan Heng slid down the steep, stony slope that led back to the northern side of the cauldron. "Don't go disappearing anywhere now… not until I've figured you out…!"