After Shi Xuan took a breath, Taotie stopped inhaling and closed its mouth.
The light suddenly dimmed, and Shi Xuan slid into the Taotie's belly following this force.
Contrary to her expectations of the interior of a beast, the Taotie's belly contained no food scraps or gastric juices. It was more like she had entered a cave, with piles of things it had swallowed that had not yet been digested on the ground.
It has been in this secret realm for countless years. Ordinary things would probably have been digested by it long ago, but these few items on the ground have not disappeared after such a long time, which shows how powerful it was in the first place.
Shi Xuan immediately took out a luminous pearl and hung it on his person. He then examined the items on the ground: a pile of broken magical artifacts, several pieces of bones from an unknown species, and some materials that Shi Xuan did not recognize, including dark stones and silvery metals...
Since she had plenty of space in her storage bracelet, she simply collected all the junk from the gluttonous beast's belly.
After the items were stored in the spatial storage, the Taotie's belly became even emptier. In the end, only a few seeds remained, which Shi Xuan picked up.
Shi Xuan loved collecting spiritual plants. Upon receiving these seeds, she examined them closely, only recognizing one. It was a small, white seed, about the size of a palm, somewhat dulled by age. But it was indeed a seed from the Enlightenment Tree that Shi Xuan had been fortunate enough to see in her previous life!
The Enlightenment Tree is a place that all high-level cultivators in the cultivation world flock to. Aside from the vast amount of spiritual energy it contains, the greatest benefit of high-level cultivators using the leaves of the Enlightenment Tree to brew tea is that it helps to elevate their mental state.
When cultivation reaches the later stages, the biggest obstacle to improvement is no longer one's own aptitude, but rather the stagnation of one's mental state.
Enlightenment Tea is a sacred beverage that brings clarity and dispels illusions. Some people are stuck at a bottleneck for a hundred years, but drinking a cup of Enlightenment Tea might just break through their limitations. Its grade is no longer within the ninth rank of ordinary spiritual plants; it is considered a celestial spiritual plant. Obtaining even a single leaf from the Enlightenment Tree is an extraordinary feat!
Shi Xuan didn't know if these seeds could grow into trees, but they were indeed extremely precious.
The seemingly dead Zhao Cai, which had been motionless for a long time, suddenly came to life and jumped out of the crown, trying to snatch the Enlightenment Tree seed from Shi Xuan's hand.
Shi Xuan quickly collected the seeds, along with five others she didn't recognize. Since they had survived in the Taotie's belly for so long, just like the seeds of the Enlightenment Tree, they must be extraordinary.
The black bean-shaped creature, symbolizing good fortune, glared at Shi Xuan, accusing her of heartlessness. All it wanted was a seed; how could its master be so stingy!
Shi Xuan remained unmoved and instead offered a rosy promise: "If these seeds can grow into a tree, I'll pick five, no, ten leaves for you to eat. The leaves are much tastier than the seeds. The seeds have no flavor at all and are hard to chew! You agree, right?"
Looking into her sincere eyes, Zhao Cai felt that what she said made a lot of sense. One seed for ten leaves must be a huge profit.
So it stopped making a fuss, looked at Shi Xuan with its black bean eyes, gave her a look that said it was a done deal, and then went back to its "nest".
They're so easy to fool.
Suddenly, Shi Xuan felt the spiritual energy in the area begin to leak out. After she put away those items, there was nothing left. The Taotie began to absorb spiritual energy from her!
That won't do! She can only inhale, not exhale!
Shi Xuan refused to yield and, in a defiant manner, initiated the creation of all things. All things surged forth, drawing spiritual energy from Taotie's body, while Taotie also attempted to "digest" her.
It is conceivable that if she has no other choice, it will not be long before the gluttonous beast drains her spiritual power, causing her to wither and perish.
But now, the two forces are locked in a stalemate, neither willing to give way to the other, and for the time being, neither can gain the upper hand.
However, while Shi Xuan was exerting all his strength to generate all things, he took out the small jade sword that had attacked him earlier, took a few steps back to create enough space, and then launched a full-force attack.
The Taotie's belly doesn't have the same scales as its exterior, but it does digest some of the sword energy it emits.
Within its territory, it cannot unleash its full power, and it will even receive a slight boost.
The sword energy struck the inner wall of the cave, but instead of drawing blood like it would outside, it only left a mark. Shi Xuan felt that it was almost broken, but it wasn't.
She didn't immediately launch the next sword strike, but stopped to think for a moment.
Then, she took out the Soul-Suppressing Drum she had obtained from her body, swallowed two Giant Strength Pills, concentrated her spiritual power on the drumsticks, and struck it down with all her might.
"Buzz~" The drum only made a thumping sound, but the sound went straight into the skull and directly attacked the opponent's consciousness.
The Taotie was clearly affected, as the cave suddenly tilted and then swayed back and forth—it was tumbling.
Seeing that it was effective, Shi Xuan became even more enthusiastic.
She first took out the Concealed Edge Sword, sat on it and floated in mid-air, then swung the drumsticks and struck three times in quick succession!
The cave became even more bumpy. Taotie seemed to be caught off guard by this mental attack. Although there was no real damage, it was in great pain!
Now, taking advantage of its distraction, Shi Xuan once again drew his master's sword energy and attacked the spot where the sword had just passed, stacking attacks on the same spot.
If one sword doesn't break through, then two swords; if two swords don't work, then three swords! Shi Xuan struck five times in the same spot, finally tearing a hole in the cave. Blood rushed in, and Shi Xuan seized the opportunity to concentrate all his spiritual energy on the wound, quickly absorbing the spiritual power from the flowing blood.
If the two sides maintained a balance just now, the advantage is now gradually tilting towards Shixuan.
The spiritual energy in her blood became more concentrated, and all things gained the upper hand in the mutual absorption with Taotie. Taotie's spiritual energy flowed towards Shi Xuan at a faster speed, making her condition even better.
The Taotie has a strong self-healing ability. After the wound is formed, it slowly closes up at a speed visible to the naked eye. How could Shi Xuan let it have its way? Every time the wound is about to heal, she will strike the wound again with her sword to keep it fresh, just as she is practicing her newly learned puppet sword technique.
At the same time, she continued to beat the Soul-Suppressing Drum, causing the ferocious beast to bleed from its headache, lose spiritual power from its blood loss, and suffer a splitting headache from its loss of spiritual power, repeating this cycle endlessly.
The cave continued to tumble and turn, but after a long time, the speed of the tumbling gradually slowed down. Shi Xuan judged the Taotie's condition by the state of the cave; it seemed to be a little tired.
But even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and Shi Xuan dared not be negligent at this moment. Under the dual attack of physical and mental attacks, he threw many pills with negative effects into its wounds, making Taotie even more irritable, but he had no way to deal with it.
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