Cultivation Through Artifacts

While others tried to figure out how was Khal able to use such a powerful Secret Art, Khal himself was running toward the section that was currently the closest to him as he already killed all the Beasts in the ruins.

He even sent Rubie into the sky so maybe she will be able to find one or two hidden Beasts before he reached the next area, but unfortunately, there remained none.

"What kind of region is this?" running for one hour straight at a steady pace, Khal finally reached the border of the ruins only to see a completely new and breathtaking scenery before him.

It was an area filled with average-sized trees and bushes with the sole exception that instead of leaves, what one could glimpse on them were crystals, each differing in size and color.

There were emeralds, rubies, diamonds, obsidian, gold, and silver-colored crystals, each of them illuminating the entirety of the area with a beautiful colorful hue.

"Where did I see this before?" pondered Khal out loud but soon his eyes brightened and said, "Mirage Grove! Yeah, now I can remember! It was only a few rows of text, but I can remember reading about it."

Mirage Grove was an extraordinary and rare location that only a few could find in their entire life. Every crystal that grew in Mirage Grove was actually real crystals, hence it could be said one became rich for the rest of their lives the very moment they discovered the forest.

They needed to fear no more that they will have no money in the future as they could literally swim in money if they sold the crystals alone!

"Screech!" suddenly Rubie cried out aloud, causing Khal to snap his head to the side.

"Crystal Snake!" exclaimed Khal happily, as he watched a Beast akin to a snake slithering among the grass slowly in the distance.

Its body was crystal-like with a shade of emerald green which made it almost completely invisible among the green grass! If it weren't for Rubie's warning he wouldn't have noticed it at all!

"Good job!" said Khal and waved his weapon toward the Beast.

Swish!

In a flash, the Crystal Snake's body was hit with numerous Essence Projectile akin to wind blades, but except for a few white scratch marks on its skin, it was perfectly fine!

"!"

Khal seemed to be surprised by this as his Devil Fang was a weapon that was able to cut even his Diamond Skin relatively easily, yet it was unable to injure this Beast.

"What Stage is it on?" Khal narrowed his eyes and began to concentrate on the Beast that stared right back at him after his previous attempt.

Though, the very next second Khal's face turned from indifference into shock, and didn't hesitate to run away.

"Fifth Cultivation Stage! And what's more, it's on the Peak Phase, half step into the Cultivator Stage!" thought Khal and began to run like crazy.

He was currently on the Fourth Cultivation Stage and thanks to his Devil Fangs that grew stronger together with him, he could kill anything all the way to the Fifth Cultivation Stage quite easily.

However, this didn't mean he was invincible. If he met with a Beast that not only was higher in Cultivation Base than him but also had stronger defense than his Diamond Skin, well he could do nothing but run.

Obviously, such occasions were quite rare and he met with no Beasts that could defend against his attacks so far such as this one.

"At least I have ways to run," said Khal, and activated his First Form, causing his body to burst into the distance in a flash.

Bam!

Leaving deep pits in the ground, Khal's body flashed among the crystal woods while Rubie followed him from above.

"This should be enough," said Khal as he stopped running and glanced behind. And just as he believed, the Crystal Snake truly couldn't keep up with his pace.

Turning back around, Khal was about to continue his exploration in this new environment when suddenly his abdomen turned numb and cold sweat began to cover his back.

"Wh-" began to say Khal as he turned around and raised his fan, but before he could have finished his sentence a powerful force descended upon his raised weapon.

Swish!

Clang!

The tip of a long and sharp sword materialized above his skull, barely stopped from killing him; if it weren't for his slight hunch, reaction speed, and his Devil Fang then he would have been lying on the ground in two halves!

"That was close." thought Khal, his face indifferent as he stared at the guy that tried to assault him.

"Tsk... It seems I have failed this time." said the guy and with a strong thrust against Khal's weapon jumped a few meters back.

"This time? Wait, where is Rubie?" the realization as Rubie didn't warn him suddenly appeared in Khal's mind, but strangely he was unable to see her.

She vanished without a trace!

"Oh? You are looking for your little pet?" asked the guy with a sly grin and waved his hand.

In an instant, Rubie's figure appeared before the guy out of nowhere, her whole body covered with a strange material akin to glue.

The substance was black and akin to a living being twisted and moved around Rubie's body.

"Let her go," said Khal with terrifying calmness as he watched Rubie struggling to get free but only in vain; her entirety was covered by the black material and it was even a question if she could breathe or not.

However, the guy just simply grinned and threw Rubie onto a tree on the side that got stuck on it right away.

"The only way you can free your pet is to kill me. Even if you try to unsummon it, my Abyss Web will remain on its body and suffocate it until it dies!"

Khal stared at the guy calmly, his face as calm as a still pond. The guy before him was the same height as him, with the only exception that his upper body was naked showing his fit body to all to see, while his legs were covered with black clothing.

"Hm? Oh, haha! Scared already?" laughed the guy merrily as he noticed that Khal didn't move even after what he said, "Don't worry though. You will follow that ugly shit straight into hell too!"

Immediately as his voice fell, the guys' body flashed and appeared right before Khal, his sword raised high above his head.

"You can only thank yourself for dying! Now die!" chuckled the guy loudly and swung his sword toward Khal's head once again.

Khal watched the sword descending upon him like silver thunder, but instead of avoiding or defending, he simply stood still and waited.

"Haha! Scared shitless!" laughed the guy even louder, but the next scene made his grin froze on his face right away.

CLANG!

Akin to smashing an iron rod against a steel shield, the moment his sword fell on Khal's head a deafening and sharp metallic sound echoed throughout the surroundings, even creating a slight gust of wind that shook the crystal leaves around.

"Huh? A Beast Core? Only at the Third Cultivation Stage and already consumed a Beast Core?" asked the guy, his eyes flashing with greed right away.