Dual Cultivation Chapter 48 Nine Astral Steps

Right outside the Thunder Valley before entering the trees that filled the horizon, dozens of people camped outside. Most had injuries on their body, some even with lost limbs. There were disciples from random sects and the rest being mercenaries.
Everybody there had one goal, which was to hunt Lightning Cats for their monster core, valuable and profound resources cultivators use to cultivate themselves.
Monster cores are what beasts use to cultivate and store their cultivation base. If a beast with a solid cultivation base died, they would have a chance of leaving behind a monster core with their remaining cultivation base inside that cultivators could use to cultivate themselves.
Monster cores could also be used to create powerful weapons that greatly boosts the strength of its wielder, hence its high demand and value.
Su Yang casually walked towards the entrance of the Thunder Valley with the sound of lightning strikes constantly roaring in the background.
When he reached the camps, the people there started at him with odd gazes.
"He's going in there alone? Does he have a death wish?"
"He must be really confident."
"I will give him two hours before he returns with tears in his eyes…"
"I bet you that he won't return… ever."
A few individuals there laughed at Su Yang, who was walking into the Thunder Valley without any alert on his face. They have seen too many overconfident individuals enter with similar faces like Su Yang only to return with grave injuries after being here for many days.
Inside the Thunder Valley, Su Yang was surrounded by mountains, tall grass, and trees. And besides the random thundering in the background, it was relatively quiet in the area.
He walked straight towards the depths for half an hour without stop, yet he has not managed to encounter a single Lightning Cat.
However, Su Yang was already well aware that there were no Lightning Cats in the outer area of the place before stepping into the Thunder Valley, so he wasn't surprised by their absence.
"They sure have perfectly cleaned out the outer perimeter, taking even the corpses with them." He wondered as he reached deeper into the valley.
As Su Yang got closer to the center, the thundering in the background grew louder and fiercer, like the sound of roaring dragons. Listening to the background, Su Yang couldn't help but recall the time he had spent in the Dragon God Valley, where he would often hear similar sounds in the background.
"Dragon God Valley…" The light in his eyes suddenly flashed a mysterious light; it was one filled with melancholy.
Suddenly, the sound of many shrieking resounded in Su Yang's ears. Although it came from somewhere afar, he was able to locate the exact location of where the scream was coming from in an instant.
His figure turned into a blur, quickly followed by a sudden gust of wind.
Using a foot technique from his previous life that significantly boosted his speed, he arrived at the location within seconds, traveling nearly a mile in that short time.
The moment he arrived, he noticed a group of young adults all wearing the same green-colored robes – half of them being on the floor and covered in blood, and surrounding them was five Lightning Cats.
These people were mostly disciples from some sect.
The Lightning Cats had black fur and blue eyes, and they are about as big as an adult walking on their four limbs. Their black fur also constantly flickered with electricity, looking as though they were all covered in an armor made of lightning.
When Su Yang suddenly showed up, the Lightning Cats and the disciples there looked at him. The disciples looked at him with desperation in their gaze, hoping that he could help them escape this situation.
As the for the Lightning Cats, they stared at him with wariness and alert. Although they couldn't see his cultivation base, their beastly instincts warned them that Su Yang's presence was definitely the strongest there and that he wasn't someone to be taken lightly.
When the trembling disciples there noticed the Lightning Cats became defensive upon Su Yang's arrival, their eyes glimmered with hope.
Su Yang retrieved the mission scroll he had received from the sect and confirmed that it did not mention how many he needed to kill before completing the mission.
"Although they are only at the Elementary Spirit Realm, their monster cores should fetch some decent wealth if I sold them to some rich families…" Su Yang unsheathed the sword by his side as he pondered about his need for money in this world.
Although his knowledge and experience were as vast as the sea, his pockets were pitifully empty. And other than the ten gold coins he had traded with his Premium Points, he really has nothing noteworthy in his possession.
"I am extremely poor in this life, to the point where I would not be able to afford anything that could help me at my current level of cultivation…"
In the midst of Su Yang's thoughts, the five Lightning Cats suddenly pounced at him simultaneously with the lightning element on their body glowing brightly, causing dozens of tiny snake-like white lines to fly at him like a lightning storm.
Su Yang's eyes flickered with a profound light, and his legs suddenly blurred, turning nearly invisible.
"Nine Astral Steps!"
Su Yang used one of the best movement techniques he had learned in his previous life. And although he could only utilize a very tiny portion of the technique's full potential due to his insufficient cultivation base, his speed had become so fast that neither the disciples or the Lightning Cats could react to.
He suddenly disappeared from where he stood, and with speed quicker than anyone there could blink, he appeared behind the Lightning Cats like a ghost.
In that instant when he appeared, his arm that held the steel sword danced elegantly and sharply, executing five consecutive casual strikes without any technique.
Blood sprayed and heads flew.
The five Lightning Cats dropped to the ground without any of their heads attached; they had been killed by Su Yang before the dazed disciples could even realize what had happened.
After killing the five Lightning Cats in the blink of an eye and ignoring the baffled disciples there, Su Yang used his sword to cut open the forehead of the two Lightning Cats' head to retrieve the monster core hidden inside.
"Two monster cores already…" Su Yang nodded to himself with satisfaction and threw the monster cores into his pockets.
And just as he was able to turn and leave, one of the disciples there called out to him.
"Excuse me, savior! Although it may be too much to ask after you saved our lives, would you like to group up with us?"
Su Yang turned to look at the pretty girl who had called for him, who was also giving him a seductive look. After a glance at her low cultivation base that was merely at the 4th level at the Elementary Spirit Realm, he replied in a nonchalant voice: "Hunting beasts at the peak of Elementary Spirit Realm while you are not even qualified to step inside this Thunder Valley… What did you expect to achieve here with your cultivation base? I do not have the time to play with you or your stupid games…"
Su Yang turned around and left after refusing to carry dead weights, his silhouette quickly disappearing from their eyes, and the pretty lady stared at the direction where he disappeared with a dumbfounded expression, her face red from embarrassment after listening to his harsh words.