Super God Golden Crow Record

Chapter 14 The First Appearance of Moonlight

It took Zhao Chen five whole days to fly back to the familiar mountains from that deep canyon.

When he saw the distant, rolling black mountains, he felt a strange sense of familiarity. Although it was just as desolate, at least he knew every blade of grass and every tree, where he could hide and where he could find prey.

"I'm finally back."

Zhao Chen landed on a familiar mountain peak and used his senses to scan his surroundings.

Since consuming the rare and precious materials in the canyon, his spiritual power had increased significantly, and his perception range could now cover five thousand feet. With this scan, he immediately discovered many changes.

Many new creatures have appeared in this mountain range.

Some of them he hadn't discovered when he left, while others must have migrated from other places. The strongest of them were already almost as strong as when he left.

"Perfect." Zhao Chen licked the bird's beak.

He is now thirteen zhang long and has a wingspan of over thirty zhang, making him an absolute overlord in this mountain range. The newcomers are just appetizers for him.

-

Zhao Chen first found a pack of giant wolves.

They were entrenched in a valley, numbering more than thirty, led by a silver-gray alpha wolf, which was larger than the other giant wolves and had the strongest aura.

Without saying a word, Zhao Chen swooped down.

By the time the giant wolves found him, it was too late. Zhao Chen grabbed one of the giant wolves with both claws, tore it in half, and then breathed out a burst of flames, scattering the wolves in all directions.

The silver-gray alpha wolf tried to fight back, lunging at him at lightning speed. Zhao Chen swatted it several meters away with a wing, then chased after it and killed it in a few bites.

Half an hour later, all thirty-odd giant wolves became his food.

After devouring the wolf pack, a violent and pure energy surged within his body, continuously flowing through his meridians and into his dantian.

His cultivation, which had been stuck at the seventh level of Qi Refining for a long time, began to stir violently under the nourishment of this boundless vitality.

Zhao Chen focused his mind and immediately remained in place, circulating the power he had absorbed into his body to actively break through the barrier of his realm.

A short while later, a barely perceptible muffled sound came from inside the body, and the invisible shackles shattered.

A surge of spiritual power, several times stronger than before, instantly swept through his limbs and bones.

The feathers began to glow slightly, the physical strength increased again, and power, speed, and perception all surged.

Eighth level of Qi Refining, breakthrough successful!

Zhao Chen flapped his wings slightly, and the surrounding airflow suddenly contracted and exploded, with a fierce aura far exceeding that of the past slowly spreading out.

He broke through a minor realm with just one hunt; the efficiency of this devouring and evolution far exceeded his expectations.

Over the next few days, he cleared out all the new creatures that could be hunted in the mountains.

There were giant bears hiding in caves, giant eagles circling in the sky, and giant crocodiles lurking in pools of water... Each one became his resources to become stronger.

His body grew to fourteen zhang in length, and his wingspan approached thirty-five zhang. His feathers became denser, and his claws and beak sharper. His Qi Refining cultivation also successfully broke through from the eighth level to the ninth level.

But these were not the biggest gains.

The greatest reward came from one night.

-

Ever since emerging from underground, Zhao Chen has sensed a cool, ethereal energy emanating from the moon, similar to the moonlight described in novels. He's been pondering how to absorb it.

He had also tried to sense the sun. That noon, he channeled his spirit into the blazing sun and was nearly burned to ashes by its violent energy. That three-day, three-night near-death experience remained etched in his memory. This was something he couldn't possibly touch now, not even a sliver of it.

And then there was that fleeting moment at dawn. He had once caught a wisp of purple light entering his body at sunrise; the energy was gentle yet domineering, nourishing both his body and spirit. Zhao Chen knew this must be innate purple energy, but such opportunities were extremely rare. The moment the sun leaped above the horizon was fleeting, and he had tried many times, succeeding only a handful of times.

Three energies, three different sensations.

The sun's essence is as violent as a blade, and its purple aura is mysterious and elusive. Only the moonlight, cool and gentle, seems to be the easiest to access. However, he still doesn't know how to truly draw upon this energy.

Zhao Chen began to try various methods.

He looked up at the moon, spread his wings, and tried to embrace the cool light with his body, but nothing happened.

He then tried to imitate the posture of a certain animal from his past life, howling at the moon like a wolf, but it had no effect other than making his throat hurt.

Another time, he tried to strike a strange pose on the rock, standing on one leg with the other paw raised high, and almost fell off.

Each failure made him more confused, but he never gave up.

It wasn't until he was resting in a canyon that a single, unintentional breath gave him a glimpse into the secret. He was feeling utterly exhausted, and to relieve his fatigue, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. In that single breath, he felt something within him stir slightly, as if it were resonating with the outside world.

Zhao Chen remembered that feeling.

-

One night, Zhao Chen rested on a giant rock as usual.

There were no clouds in the sky, and the bright moon, several times larger than the Earth, hung high, casting its cool light. Zhao Chen stared at the moon, and that faint feeling he had been experiencing began to resurface.

He took a deep breath, relaxed his mind, and then adjusted his breathing according to the unintentional feeling he remembered from that time—when he inhaled, his mind reached up to the bright moon, as if he wanted to draw that distant coolness into his body; when he exhaled, his mind sank down, letting that imagined energy sink into his body.

At the same time, he slowly stretched out his wings, allowing them to fully unfold in the moonlight, like two enormous fans. The feathers trembled slightly, as if dancing with the moonlight. He then tilted his head back slightly, letting the moonlight shine directly on his face, his eyes half-closed, leaving only a slit to gaze at the full moon.

This posture was something Zhao Chen had figured out from countless failures. It wasn't about deliberately imitating or arbitrarily manipulating the body; it was simply about keeping the body in the most relaxed and stretched state under the moonlight.

In an instant, Zhao Chen seemed to sense something.

It's not energy entering the body, but rather... an invisible connection.

It was as if a thread truly connected his spirit with the bright moon in the sky.

A sudden inspiration struck Zhao Chen. He mustered all his strength and focused his mind, pulling hard along that invisible thread—

A wisp of extremely faint, cool energy, like water, slowly descended from the direction of the bright moon, merging into his feathers, seeping into his flesh and blood, and finally flowing into his mind.

The cool sensation instantly cleared his mind.

But then, a violent wave of dizziness washed over him. He felt as if his mind had been completely drained, his vision went black, and he almost fainted. And his connection with the moon was instantly severed during this dizziness.

Zhao Chen gasped for breath, his heart filled with excitement. He had succeeded!

He didn't know why he could sense the moon; it was probably because he had evolved demonic blood. All he knew was that he had succeeded.

Lying on the rock, feeling utterly weak, Zhao Chen couldn't help but smile.

A full hour later, his energy slowly returned. Although still exhausted, he could feel that wisp of cool energy had entered his mind, slightly increasing his mental strength, though faint, it was real.

Compared to the essence of the sun, the essence of the moon is much gentler. That failed attempt still haunts him, and he probably won't consider using the sun again for a long time.

As for the purple aura at dawn, although it is most effective, the timing is too difficult to grasp. He hasn't been able to capture it successfully for several days.

In contrast, he receives moonlight every night, and as long as he has enough energy, he can continue to absorb it.

"This is it." Zhao Chen made up his mind.

From then on, Zhao Chen would try to absorb the moonlight every night.

He strictly followed the method he had figured out—relaxing his mind, facing the bright moon, spreading his wings, tilting his head slightly back, adjusting his breathing, and then pulling with all his might.

Each time he could only absorb a wisp of energy, his spirit would be exhausted, requiring a full hour of rest to recover. But over time, his spiritual power was indeed slowly increasing.

Half a month later, his perception range expanded again, reaching seven thousand zhang.

That day, as he was absorbing the moonlight, he suddenly sensed a familiar aura approaching.

That aura—it was like the blackish-purple worms we encountered in the canyon.

But there was only one, and its aura was very weak; it was much smaller than the three he had encountered before.

Zhao Chen stood up and flew in that direction.

-

The strange insect had obviously spotted him as well.

It hovered in the air, the surrounding space slightly distorted, and it moved at an extremely fast speed toward Zhao Chen.

Zhao Chen did not back down.

He also wanted to test just how strong this strange insect really was.

The distance between the two sides quickly closed.

Five hundred zhang, three hundred zhang, one hundred zhang...

The strange insect made the first move. Its sharp forelegs lashed out with incredible speed.

Zhao Chen dodged to the side, and at the same time, he grabbed at the strange insect's body with one claw.

"laugh--"

The claws pierced the flesh much more easily than he had imagined. The carapace of this strange insect was much softer than the three he had encountered before.

The strange insect, in pain, struggled frantically. Zhao Chen held on tightly, spewing out several mouthfuls of flame, and soon it was lifeless.

Zhao Chen landed on the ground and began to devour.

As the strange insect's flesh and blood entered his stomach, that peculiar energy surged into his body once more. His sense of space within his body became clearer—this vague perception of the surrounding space, though still very weak, was indeed present.

Zhao Chen seemed to be deep in thought.