Second Time

Chapter 16 - Slaughter

Two months passed.

In that time, Mimi had advanced to the Qi Refinement Realm's Second Stage. Shao Yue had produced a bottle of grade two clarity pills that allowed Mimi to progress her circulation and cultivation techniques. Aided by the spirit fruits and cultivation pills, she advanced at a quick and steady pace.

Shao Yue finished refining ten of every grade two pill she could acquire the herbs for. Compared to grade one pills, each pill took two or three times as long to refine. There were also far more grade two pill types. Even with constant work, it had taken the entire two months to finish.

She also broke through to the Core Formation Realm's Third Stage. Even with half of her time dedicated to alchemy, she still progressed at a quick rate thanks to the thick world energy.

However, she started running into limits regarding her vital essence. As she read through grade three pill recipes, she realized that the required temperatures exceeded what she could produce with her body.

She would need to collect Beast Cores to improve her strength.

"Mimi."

"Hm?" Mimi looked up from the array book she had been reading.

"Do you know how to skin wild beasts?"

"Uh, no."

"Then, I'll teach you." Shao Yue waved her hand. "Follow me."

"I don't think I want to learn."

"Unfortunately, the token forces you to remain within five kilometers of me and I can't increase that distance," Shao Yue explained. "I'm going out to hunt, so you have to follow. You can keep some of the profit after we sell the monster parts."

"Why didn't you say money was involved?"

Mimi set aside her book and quickly followed Shao Yue.

A vast mountain range extended to the southeast of Jade Garden City. Uninhabited by humans, various monster beasts had made it their home. A few grade six monster beasts lived there, but the vast majority were grade five or below. Grade five monster beasts could hold their own against Nascent Soul cultivators, while grade six compared favourably with Spiritual Manifestation cultivators.

The pair stocked up on a week's worth of food before heading into the mountains.

Shao Yue first decided to establish a base of operations where Mimi could safely hide and process the monster beasts. Using her divine sense, she led Mimi along a winding path that avoided conflict until they reached a deep, spacious cave.

Mimi waited outside while Shao Yue dashed in and slaughtered several grade three Thunder Hide Wolves that had been occupying it. She retrieved the Beast Cores and drew out all the blood into vials using her water qi.

With the location secured, she brought Mimi inside and taught the girl how to remove the pelts. Mimi couldn't handle it at first and had to go outside to throw up on more than one occasion.

"It's good to get used to the sight of blood and guts," Shao Yue said.

Mimi sighed. "Good for what?"

"These are grade three pelts. Each one should sell for twenty gold at minimum. If you harvest them perfectly, it could be as much as fifty gold."

"I'll do it, I'll do it."

After the first three wolves, Mimi's stomach strengthened and she moved smoothly. Shao Yue felt comfortable leaving Mimi to it, so she left in search of stronger prey.