But a Saint Beast was, after all, a Saint Beast. Even without battle skills or divine abilities, in this extremely perilous moment, it still operated on its innate instincts as a Saint Beast…

Its massive wings suddenly contracted, tightly enveloping and protecting its body. Ye Jingyu’s dazzling blade struck fiercely right against the Sky Eagle’s wing…

With a thunderous roar, the blade light slammed heavily into the Sky Eagle. The entire creature exploded outward. The tremendous energy fluctuation sent the Sky Eagle’s massive form flying, scattering white feathers into the air like a sudden blizzard. Yet, these were no ordinary feathers; facing such violent energy, they showed no sign of damage or fragility.

A colossal cry echoed from the void, seemingly filled with pain, yet also brimming with fury…

Ye Jingyu looked up and saw a long, deep gash carved into its wing by his strike. Golden blood flowed from the wound, and its huge body crashed not far away, utterly unable to soar freely anymore.

Though he had severely injured the Sky Eagle’s wing, a monstrous wave of shock surged through Ye Jingyu. While his martial cultivation had not yet reached the Saint level, the Jing Lei Dao Jue (Startling Thunder Blade Art) was unparalleled under heaven. It could condense the lightning power of the void, resulting in astonishing destructive force. Yet, it failed to sever even one of the Sky Eagle's wings, managing only a bloody laceration—how could this not astonish him?

Little did he know that this Sky Eagle had evolved into a Saint Beast over a hundred years ago. During this time, although it had been hidden by the Gongsun family and seldom fought, it had consumed countless spiritual elixirs, coupled with the Gongsun family's rigorous training. Its physical body had grown impossibly robust, even though its specialty was speed…

At this juncture, the Sky Eagle emitted continuous cries, its eyes flashing with cyan light. An incredibly fierce Wind Blade formed in the void, rapidly coalescing into a colossal cyan wind-saber. Within the saber, streaks of cyan lightning intertwined. If Liang Xiaoke were present, she would surely be astounded speechless, for this cyan lightning was none other than the Azure Wood Divine Thunder utilized by cultivators.

However, this divine thunder was an innate ability the Sky Eagle acquired upon evolving to the Saint rank.

With a sharp swish, the cyan blade light slashed downward. It pulled the very air towards it, an unimaginable oppressive force bearing down on Ye Jingyu. In that moment, Ye Jingyu felt as though he faced not a Saint Beast, but a Martial Saint whose power had reached its zenith…

Facing such a brilliant blade light, Ye Jingyu knew his martial path offered no true defense. Yet, he still raised the Tianzun Blade in his hand, meeting the attack with his full might, seemingly oblivious to the consequence of being struck by that cyan blade light…

A blade light of even greater, more brilliant violet erupted. The body of the Tianzun Blade shimmered, ceaselessly drawing in the power of lightning. In the blink of an eye, the lightning blade light in his hand stretched several zhang long and was over a zhang wide. It met the cyan blade light without yielding an inch.

Boom! A deafening sound resonated through the void once more. The cyan blade light and the lightning-composed blade light detonated simultaneously. Ye Jingyu’s body was flung backward. Countless sharp wind blades shot toward him, leaving unknown numbers of wounds. The most vicious of these sliced a long, bloody gash across his chest, bright red blood pouring out and soaking his already tattered garments…

As for the dazzling lightning blade light, it exploded into streaks of lightning that struck the Sky Eagle’s massive form, instantly causing every feather on its body to stand straight up—a sight that made it resemble a massive, spiky creature…

He flew back several hundred zhang before slowly coming to a halt. The Sky Eagle was about to press its attack when it suddenly sensed a tremor above its head. A massive seal, spanning several mu and crackling with countless bolts of lightning, plummeted down viciously.

It let out a mournful cry, intending to spread its wings and fly, but it was horrified to find that not only were its wings injured, but its body was also paralyzed by the electric current. It could no longer take flight.

Thud, thud, thud… The colossal Heaven Shaking Seal smashed heavily onto the Sky Eagle’s head. Even though the Sky Eagle was a Saint Beast that had lived for a century, even though its physical body was strong to an unimaginable degree, it could not withstand this strike launched by Ye Jingyu with his full power.

Instantly, its head exploded, spewing golden blood. The Heaven Shaking Seal continued its descent, crushing its massive body to dust…

The Sky Eagle’s soul had no time to retreat into its inner core before it was absorbed by the Heaven Shaking Seal…

When Ye Jingyu retracted the seal, the ground was littered with white feathers, splattered with golden blood, strewn with pale-gold chunks of flesh, alongside hard talons and golden bones… and a single golden bead.

Seeing that golden bead, Ye Jingyu’s heart soared. He knew perfectly well that this was the Sky Eagle’s inner core, containing immense power—an elixir far superior to any spiritual medicine.

Ignoring his injuries, he scrambled up and strode forward, arriving before the Sky Eagle’s corpse. He snatched up the golden pill. Of course, he wouldn't imitate Liang Xiaoke and swallow it whole; with his current strength and condition, he could not possibly digest the energy of such an inner core.

He glanced at the remains on the ground, knowing they were all rare medicinal ingredients. Without hesitation, he waved his Qiankun Bracelet, sweeping everything inside.

Checking his internal injuries, aside from the minor internal trauma from that last exchange, the rest was negligible. The deep, bone-visible wound on his chest was rapidly healing under his formidable recovery power, now nothing more than a shallow trace that would vanish soon.

Satisfied, he grasped the Tianzun Blade, preparing to press on toward the Heavenly Gang Mountain Range, when he felt the air tremble violently. Immediately afterward, a black figure materialized from the void—it was none other than Xu You! Beside him lingered several giant silhouettes; they were the other six Saint Beasts that had accompanied him.

A White-Forehead Fierce-Eyed Tiger, a Unicorn Rhinoceros, a Three-Horned Demonic Bear, a Blood-Tear Giant Python, a Six-Clawed Demonic Leopard, and a Vajra Divine Ape.

The centipede Ye Jingyu had encountered in the Medicine King Valley was not among them…

“Xuanyuan Jing, you claim to be the foremost master of the Xuanyuan family’s younger generation. Do you not dare step out for a one-on-one duel with me?” Facing such an imposing assembly, a sneer touched the corner of Ye Jingyu’s mouth…