"Impossible. Its wings couldn't possibly be intact." Liu Xia and Yu Tonghai were utterly stunned. They had witnessed firsthand the damage inflicted upon the Six-legged Saber Cicada when Shen Gongtu injured it previously. Yet now, there wasn't a single scratch on the Saber Cicada’s back, nor on its wings.
The scales on its chest were perfectly aligned, completely undamaged, let alone showing any wounds.
"Undying Grass. Even if someone has just died, as long as the spirit hasn't completely dissipated, it can instantly revive them. It is the supreme spiritual treasure in heaven and earth. Can such medicinal efficacy be treated lightly?" Teng Qingshan also felt a surge of excitement; this was the astonishing effect of the Undying Grass on its very first use.
"Saber Cicada, go!"
Teng Qingshan pointed the direction. The Six-legged Saber Cicada let out a triumphant screech, its two pairs of wings flapped violently, carving an almost perfect arc as it shot away into the distance.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Shen Gongtu, Yu Tonghai, and Liu Xia leaped onto the back of the Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon almost simultaneously. "Chase quickly!" Yu Tonghai urged urgently. Liu Xia also let out a low cry, and the Dragon Falcon immediately transformed into a dazzling streak of light, rapidly closing the distance to Teng Qingshan's group.
In the forest below, that Six-eared Earth-boring Rat was also fleeing rapidly.
"That’s fast." Teng Qingshan didn't need to look back to clearly sense the four Void Realm auras rapidly approaching from behind, closing in fast.
Hoo~~ The Six-legged Saber Cicada’s two pairs of wings flapped intensely. It executed a 'V'-shaped reversal within a radius of nearly thirty zhang. Such an abrupt change of direction at extreme speed demands incredibly precise control from a flying Void Realm demonic beast. The Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon's wings shuddered, and it managed an instantaneous, dramatic reversal of direction as well.
Although slightly slower than the Saber Cicada, it still showcased the prowess of the fastest flying Void Realm demonic beast on the Nine Provinces continent today.
"This is bad."
Teng Qingshan, on the back of the Six-legged Saber Cicada, saw his expression shift slightly. "This Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon is too fast; its straight-line speed is far superior to the Saber Cicada's. Even with a slight lead, the Saber Cicada will be caught quickly. Even if the Cicada attempts an instantaneous change in direction, the Dragon Falcon is also extremely quick at maneuvering, only slightly behind—it can close that gap in almost a single breath."
"And what's more—"
"Once the distance closes, Shen Gongtu, who is riding the Dragon Falcon, can unleash the 'Void-Shattering Arrow.'" Teng Qingshan understood the terrifying power of the Void-Shattering Arrow well. Although his understanding of the 'Way of Death' had significantly increased his strength, even if he managed to block it with the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe, he would still be sent flying!
If he were knocked away, the Saber Cicada, facing encirclement by several Void Realm experts, would be in dire straits.
"What should I do, what should I do?" Teng Qingshan felt intensely anxious.
Hoo~~ Hoo~~
The Six-legged Saber Cicada was also aware of the danger. It dared not fly straight, only executing an abrupt turn as soon as the distance narrowed to fifty or sixty zhang. It even attempted extreme, corkscrew-like changes in direction, or near-vertical instant shifts, relying on its agility to desperately maintain the gap.
"Not good." Teng Qingshan sensed that Shen Gongtu, standing on the back of the Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon, had already drawn his bow, and the arrow nocked was the most alarming 'Void-Shattering Arrow.'
"No matter how agile the Six-legged Saber Cicada is, it can only maintain a gap of fifty or sixty zhang," Teng Qingshan thought, his anxiety burning like fire. "And for Shen Gongtu, fifty or sixty zhang is the perfect range to unleash his terrifying archery. Alas... If the Saber Cicada could fly just a little longer, I could leave that Six-eared Earth-boring Rat thirty-four li behind."
The Six-legged Saber Cicada's escape method—burrowing underground!
But the prerequisite was shaking off the 'Six-eared Earth-boring Rat' by a significant distance. Unfortunately, the people from the Yu Huang Sect weren't fools; they wouldn't waste time with Teng Qingshan like this. Therefore, Shen Gongtu was about to loose another Void-Shattering Arrow.
"Jing Yi, you cannot escape!"
"It's best to surrender now and hand over the Undying Grass."
Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia transmitted their voices almost one after the other. Neither was slow-witted. Upon realizing the Six-legged Saber Cicada was suddenly unscathed, only one supreme spiritual treasure came to their minds—the 'Undying Grass'! While the Cloud Dream White Fruit also possessed such miraculous effects, the people of the Nine Provinces continent only knew of the Undying Grass for this specific miracle.
One stalk of Undying Grass could extend one's lifespan by two hundred years and instantly resurrect a person whose spirit had not yet completely vanished after death. Such a treasure... Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia were tempted. The Undying Grass had appeared too few times in the history of the Nine Provinces continent; only the legendary Undying Phoenix was said to possess it.
Even Pei San of the Heavenly God Palace had specifically sought out the Undying Phoenix just to obtain one stalk of Undying Grass.
One could imagine its priceless value.
"You think you can have the Undying Grass? Dream on!" Teng Qingshan stood on the back of the Six-legged Saber Cicada, holding the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe, turning to face the pursuing Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon. The Dragon Falcon abruptly dipped slightly, positioning itself significantly lower than the Saber Cicada.
In that very instant—
"Hmph!" Shen Gongtu's gaze turned cold, and he released his right hand.
Swoosh!
He felt a fleeting golden afterimage left in the mid-air.
"Insidious," Teng Qingshan clearly sensed in his domain the piercing worldly power representing the 'Void-Shattering Arrow' shooting directly towards the lower abdomen of the Six-legged Saber Cicada from below and to the side.
If the arrow had been shot from above, it would have been easy for Teng Qingshan to block.
Even though one arrow might be enough to send Teng Qingshan flying, he only carried six 'Void-Shattering Arrows' in total. Three had been used previously without killing the Saber Cicada. Now, Shen Gongtu dared not be careless; his sole objective was to severely wound or kill the Six-legged Saber Cicada.
"Roar~~" The Six-legged Saber Cicada shrieked, its six bladed arms swinging almost simultaneously.
"Clang!"
A heaven-shaking boom echoed. The entire body of the Six-legged Saber Cicada was jolted upwards, flying nearly a hundred zhang high. Teng Qingshan, on the Cicada's back, glanced down through its wings, thin as a cicada's shell. He saw that one of the Saber Cicada’s middle bladed arms had been pierced by the Void-Shattering Arrow, which itself was subtly fracturing.
Crack, crack, crack~~ The shattered fragments of the Void-Shattering Arrow fell downwards.
"The Cicada’s bladed arm is injured; this will certainly reduce its burrowing speed significantly," Teng Qingshan knew clearly that even if a wolf loses one leg, it still has three whole ones. It wasn't as if its speed would remain seven or eight tenths of its previous pace; rather, its speed would likely drop by less than half.
And the Six-legged Saber Cicada, with one bladed arm heavily wounded, meant the previously perfect piercing spikes for burrowing were missing a link. Without perfection, its speed would naturally plummet.
"Roar~~" Yet, the Six-legged Saber Cicada let out a triumphant cry.
...
"How can this demonic beast Cicada’s six limbs be so tough?" Shen Gongtu, who had loosed the arrow, was greatly startled. He had pierced the Six-legged Saber Cicada twice before, and both times, the Void-Shattering Arrow had passed right through its body... Unfortunately, he didn't know that the six bladed arms were the hardest parts of the entire Cicada!
Those six bladed arms were so tough they dared to clash head-on with Teng Qingshan’s Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe.
Firstly, Teng Qingshan's strength wasn't enough; the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe in his hands was equivalent only to a relatively sharp divine weapon.
Secondly, the Six-legged Saber Cicada’s arms were truly incredibly tough.
The Void-Shattering Arrow possessed immense power, yet it could barely pierce one bladed arm before its force was completely dissipated.
...
"The bladed arm injury affects burrowing, but not flight," Teng Qingshan instantly understood the reason for the Six-legged Saber Cicada’s joy. "Shen Gongtu still has two Void-Shattering Arrows left in his quiver; the rest are lesser divine arrows. Now, we just need to endure two more hits."
At this moment, he dared not be careless, holding the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe ready to assist and block at any moment.
If he could block one, it would consume one Void-Shattering Arrow from the opponent.
"Yeeeo~~"
The Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon suddenly let out an irritated cry. Instantly, dozens of invisible energy blades shot from the Falcon's sharp beak, instantly covering all of the Six-legged Saber Cicada’s possible escape routes. There was no way to dodge; they could only endure the impact!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
A series of sharp clangs erupted from the Six-legged Saber Cicada and Teng Qingshan's Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe. The Cicada’s speed and agility were immediately hampered.
"Wooooah~~" A deep roar, powerful enough to make the entire Great Yan Mountain forest tremble, emanated from beneath the earth. The Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon, which had been pursuing rapidly, immediately looked warily toward the ground nearby. Then, with a thunderous boom, the earth cracked open, and a blurry phantom flashed past.
It had been pouring rain relentlessly, but now, within a radius of nearly ten li, the downpour instantly ceased.
Within the dark clouds, a vast, hazy mass of clouds appeared. In the center of this cloud mass, a massive, serpentine body, seemingly soft and undulating, was slowly swimming. Within the clouds, at times one could glimpse black-purple dragon scales the size of a bushel, at other times terrifying dragon claws, and then the swaying dragon tail...
Suddenly, a colossal dragon head, adorned with two forked horns, emerged from the cloud mass. Crystalline white whiskers hung down, and those dark gold pupils stared down at the Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon suspended in the mid-air below.
The Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon looked up, fixing its gaze on this suddenly appearing draconian beast.
"Yeeeo~~" The Dragon Falcon shrieked instantly, its external downy feathers suddenly flattening against its scales, transforming from soft fluff to something incredibly hard. The space around the Falcon's green eyes subtly began to vibrate. Two terrifying demonic beasts, both having lived for over six thousand years, were now in a standoff.
"Roar~~" The demonic dragon, Zi Xi, had a trace of fury in its purple-gold pupils—the anger of violated authority.
Years ago, the Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon had followed Yu Huang to manage the world's waterways and had fought a battle against the demonic dragon Zi Xi. Although Zi Xi eventually yielded to Yu Huang, the dragon always held strong animosity towards the Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon, which was weaker than itself but had allied with Yu Huang to bully it.
However, the dragon had its dignity. After Yu Huang died, Zi Xi wouldn't break its promise and cause trouble for the Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon.
But today, the Dragon Falcon was swaggering directly above its lair—Zi Xi could no longer tolerate it!
"Roar~~" The demonic dragon Zi Xi suddenly swooped down from the high-altitude clouds. Its massive body, several times larger than the Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon’s, caused hearts to tremble.
Teng Qingshan, seeing this opportune moment in the distance, couldn't help but be overjoyed. He whispered softly, "Saber Cicada, let's go." Simultaneously, he pointed the direction.
Whoosh!
The Six-legged Saber Cicada wasn't foolish. Forgetting the spectacle, it immediately tried to flee far away.
"Yeeeo~~" The Gale-Rending Dragon Falcon, which had been constantly monitoring the Six-legged Saber Cicada, let out a high-pitched cry upon seeing this. It immediately carved an arc, surprisingly avoiding the demonic dragon Zi Xi, and chased after the distant Six-legged Saber Cicada.
The demonic dragon Zi Xi was instantly furious.
It took action personally, yet this damnable bird dared to ignore it to pursue another Void Realm demonic beast? This outright dismissal, without even engaging in combat, caused Zi Xi to roar in rage, its cry shaking the heavens. Then, transforming into a blurry phantom, carrying traces of misty clouds, it instantly pursued.