A roar of fury erupted from the mouth of the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur, startling all the Heavenly Scholars who had just caught up from behind, rooting them to the spot in fear. Feiteng Literature*---1-0-1u.n-e-.*
Its massive, hook-like talons plunged down toward the Old Mother of Wushan with the force of a thousand mountains and the speed of cold lightning, a sight that immediately instilled a sense of utter defeat and mortal dread.
The Old Mother of Wushan’s face was etched with panic; she genuinely had not expected the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur to be so obedient to Ji Changkong, nor that Ji Changkong would actually dare to strike at her.
As soon as the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur's angry roar sounded, she knew something was terribly wrong and swiftly retreated backward.
As a Seven-Star Heavenly Scholar, the Old Mother of Wushan could harness the power of the stars to soar across the sky. As she pulled back, her aged, withered body moved with a lightness akin to a willow catkin, instantly drifting above the pool of water behind her.
A gale howled, slicing toward the Old Mother of Wushan like knives. Her speed suddenly faltered, seemingly affected by the fierce wind.
Just at that moment!
The Sky-Yuan Pterosaur’s hook-like talons seemed to traverse the spatial distance, descending from the heavens directly toward the crown of the Old Mother of Wushan's head.
The Old Mother of Wushan’s courage failed her.
Her body suddenly plummeted toward the pool. The vast illusion of the Sacred Beast Xuanwu, formed purely from the water of the pool, surged upward violently, meeting the assault of the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur’s sharp claws.
Bang!
The immense phantom of the Sacred Beast Xuanwu endured the brutal impact of the Pterosaur’s talons before it suddenly collapsed back into the pool.
The Old Mother of Wushan shrieked strangely by the water, moving faster than the quickest fish, rapidly fleeing into the distance, her wrinkled face looking distinctly pale.
Before she had broken through to the Seven-Star Heaven realm, the Old Mother of Wushan had primarily served the Sacred Beast Xuanwu, cultivating Water Power in the Five Elements Heaven realm. Only this deep connection allowed her to easily condense the Xuanwu illusion from the pool water and survive the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur’s fierce initial strike.
“Pursue!” Ji Changkong whispered softly, his eyes locked firmly on the Old Mother of Wushan.
...
“See that? They’re leaving you folks to fend for yourselves.” Yu Ziling smirked wickedly, as more beast bones flew from her hand, weaving into a spectral fiery net that descended toward Lu Yun, Wang Yuan, and their group.
The followers who had accompanied the Old Mother of Wushan were dumbfounded. They hadn't anticipated that she would be so easily overwhelmed by the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur’s attack, fleeing after the very first exchange.
Before they could react, the Nine-Headed Bird, Three-Eyed Dragon Python, and Emerald-Eyed Poison Scorpions swarmed them, immediately launching an attack on Lu Yun and the others.
Yu Ziling’s fiery net of beast bones descended, first blocking the escape route for three who couldn't evade in time. The Emerald-Eyed Poison Scorpions surged forward, engulfing the trio in a torrent.
Squeak, squeak, squeak! Squeak, squeak, squeak!
Horrifying sounds emanated from the scorpion swarm. Moments later, the scorpions retreated, their excitement palpable, leaving behind three stark white skeletons on the ground, utterly devoid of flesh.
“Go!” Lu Yun roared at Wang Yuan. The two desperately plunged into the water pool, seemingly aiming to use it to evade Yu Ziling’s fire net and the encirclement of the poison scorpions.
“Hmph! They’ve got good eyes after all!” Yu Ziling stood grumpily at the edge of the pool, choosing not to enter to continue the pursuit.
The Emerald-Eyed Poison Scorpions also gathered around the pool’s perimeter, staring intently at the water with their ferociously glowing green eyes, but none dared to enter to chase the fugitives.
The Heavenly Scholars from the Central Lands, the East Sea, the Western Regions, and the Northern Wilds watched from afar. Seeing three individuals gnawed down to bleached bones by the swarm of fierce beasts sent shivers down their spines, causing them to instinctively step back, terrified that the beast horde might suddenly turn its attention toward them.
The Heavenly Scholars from Qingyan City who recognized Ji Changkong had their faces drain of color. They silently resolved that if they ever saw Ji Changkong in Qingyan City again, they would give him a wide berth and certainly never dare to offend him.
If the beast hordes of the Yunmeng Marsh were ever unleashed upon their clans or sects, they would be stripped clean in no time. The mere thought chilled them to the bone.
Suddenly.
The Nine-Headed Serpent, Three-Eyed Dragon Python, Flying Blood Snake, and other ferocious beasts surrounded them from behind, one by one plunging into the water pool. They swam gleefully within the depths, instantly turning the once clear water turbid.
Bubbles gurgled up from the bottom of the muddied pool, suggesting violent disturbances below... Traces of crimson blood slowly seeped across two distinct areas.
After a while, the submerged beasts—the Three-Eyed Dragon Python and the Flying Blood Snake—resurfaced, crunching on severed limbs and limbs, before slowly lumbering off in the direction the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur had taken.
“Ha! I almost forgot, some of those beasts are even more terrifying in the water. Those two fools certainly brought their doom upon themselves!” Yu Ziling clapped her hands in delight.
Of the five individuals accompanying the Old Mother of Wushan, they were stripped down to the bare remnants by the beast swarm in mere heartbeats.
With the deaths of these five, the beast horde did not linger but continued its chase after the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur. Yu Ziling followed excitedly behind the Emerald-Eyed Poison Scorpions, shouting and revealing her savage nature.
...
Three bare white skeletons remained on the ground, the bottom of the pool continued to churn darkly, while pieces of torn flesh floated on the surface of the water.
The beast swarm howled past once more. Only then did the Heavenly Scholars, who had been observing from what they thought were hidden nooks, dare to emerge. They started discussing the events animatedly as they followed along.
“Damn it, that kid is truly trouble. He actually commanded the beasts to wipe out five people in one go!”
“The Sky-Yuan Pterosaur is truly terrifying. That old hag possessed the cultivation of a Seven-Star Heavenly Scholar, yet her Xuanwu True Body was shattered in a single blow, forcing her to abandon her disciples and flee. It seems that Sky-Yuan Pterosaur is worth an Eight Trigram Heavenly Scholar!”
“The Ji Family, Ji Changkong! All of you remember this: behave yourselves in Qingyan City from now on. Don’t be so cold and dismissive toward the Ji family members as you were before!” A master from a Qingyan City Heavenly Scholar sect chastised his junior disciples, who nodded back with looks of utter terror.
“The Ji Family, the Ji Family... Hmph, hmph. Some people probably won't be able to sit still now, will they? The Ji Family is becoming so ostentatious all of a sudden—is this fortune or disaster?” Those with knowledge of past affairs whispered conspiratorially.
“Indeed. Some definitely do not want to see the Ji Family rise. This young man clearly doesn't know the full story, which is why he dares to act so recklessly. What he’s done might bring monumental trouble upon the Ji Family!”
...
Upon emerging from the water pool, the Old Mother of Wushan shimmered with power, maintaining the utmost speed in her flight.
Behind her, the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur relentlessly pursued. With a familiarity of the Yunmeng Marsh far exceeding that of the Old Mother of Wushan, its speed was significantly greater.
In less than fifteen minutes, the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur caught up to the Old Mother of Wushan.
Roar! 1 Novel Mobile Site..C compiled A furious roar split the air, and a barrier of gale-force wind formed ahead. The Old Mother of Wushan slammed into it, her soaring momentum momentarily halted.
Its massive wings unfurled, and the razor-sharp edges of the fleshy wings slashed toward the Old Mother of Wushan like lightning.
The Old Mother of Wushan’s face contorted in ferocity. She thrust her Snake-Head Staff forward fiercely. The staff abruptly transformed into a viper, gleaming menacingly, which suddenly opened its cavernous jaws and lunged back, biting at the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur.
The serpent transformed from the Snake-Head Staff was clearly no match for the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur. Under the tearing of the Pterosaur’s two fleshy wings and the raking of its talons, the serpent was swiftly shredded into segments.
However, precisely because the serpent formed from the staff was not made of actual flesh and blood, it was able to cling to the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur even after being torn to pieces, buying the Old Mother of Wushan a crucial moment to escape.
When Yu Ziling and her beast horde arrived, they found the serpent had vanished instantly. The Snake-Head Staff lay broken into several pieces in the undergrowth, dull and lifeless.
“The Old Mother of Wushan escaped.” Ji Changkong sounded somewhat helpless; he hadn't expected the Snake-Head Staff she deployed to be capable of momentarily entangling the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur.
“Let her run. Her Life-Bound Divine Weapon is destroyed; she’s severely wounded this time. It will take her at least three to five years to recover, and she probably won't be able to stay in Wushan either. Don’t worry, she won’t dare cause you trouble until she recovers,” Yu Ziling said, smiling after glancing at the shattered staff fragments.
She took out a small bundle, retrieved a Flame Origin Bead from within, and then picked up the broken pieces of the Snake-Head Staff from the ground, handing both to Ji Changkong. “The Flame Origin Bead is for you. Keep these pieces of the staff; hee hee, even a broken Snake-Head Staff is far more precious than a Flame Origin Bead. Take good care of it.”
Ji Changkong accepted without ceremony. Dismounting the Sky-Yuan Pterosaur, he carefully placed both the Flame Origin Bead and the pieces of the Snake-Head Staff into his storage pouch.