The third ingredient was the most dangerous: the core of a Profound Beast. And not just any beast — the beast had to die within the last hour, or its core's energy would dissipate.
Yun Che found his target at dawn. A Storm-Winged Eagle, True Profound Realm, Level Five. It was easily twice his height, with a wingspan that could blot out the sun and talons that could punch through plate armor. Its nest sat at the top of a withered pine tree, and in the nest were three eggs the size of watermelons.
He wasn't strong enough to fight a True Profound beast. But he didn't need to fight it. He just needed it dead.
Yun Che had spent years studying beast behavior during his time as crown prince. Storm-Winged Eagles were fiercely territorial, but they were also the favorite prey of the much larger Thunder Roc — a beast that the eagle could never defeat one-on-one. The eagles survived by tricking the Thunder Rocs into crashing into the forest canopy.
He found a patch of dried lightning-struck trees and gathered their charred bark. When burned, it produced a smoke that smelled identical to a Thunder Roc's feathers — a scent that all Storm-Winged Eagles instinctively feared.
He lit the bark beneath the eagle's nest, positioning himself upwind. The smoke rose in thick black columns, and within seconds, the eagle's head swiveled toward him. Its eyes, bright yellow and filled with predatory intelligence, scanned the treeline for the expected Thunder Roc.
When it found only a lone human, it screamed in fury and dove.
Yun Che was ready. He had positioned himself directly in front of a granite cliff face — the one thing that would not yield to an eagle's dive. At the last possible moment, he threw himself sideways. The eagle's momentum carried it headfirst into solid granite.
The crack was louder than thunder.
He took the core from the eagle's shattered skull as the first rays of true dawn broke over the horizon. It pulsed with a warm amber light — the raw spiritual energy of a predator who had lived and died by tooth and claw.
Three ingredients. One chance. He built a fire, prepared his cauldron, and began brewing the Body Refining Elixir.