stonecrandall 536. Completely exposed
536. Completely exposed
The eighth-tier magical beast already possessed the strength of a Dou Zun. Sensing the subtle bloody aura emanating from Xiao Yan, and knowing that its offspring had perished at Xiao Yan's hands, the Crimson-Eyed Demon Ape King was filled with rage.
Its eyes flashed with a fierce, blood-red light, and the pressure of an eighth-tier magical beast made the entire Misty Mountain tremble violently. Its giant paw slammed into the ground, and the mountain rocks crumbled and spread like a spider web. The Dou Zun-level Dou Qi, which was not suppressed by the mist, carried the broken rocks and formed a hurricane that rushed straight towards Xiao Yan's face.
"Well done!" Xiao Yan lightly touched the ground with his toes and slid sideways like a ghost to avoid the impact. However, his dodge was not perfect, and some pebbles leaked over and enveloped his figure.
An invisible spiritual power surged from between Xiao Yan's brows, knocking away all the earth and rocks. It then quickly condensed into a line, fiercely piercing towards the Crimson-Eyed Demon Ape King.
Xiao Yan's attacks were extremely cunning, targeting only the exposed parts of the Crimson-Eyed Demonic Ape King's body. Most demonic beasts possess very weak soul power, and Xiao Yan's movements were so swift that his attacks almost never missed. The giant beast roared deafeningly, the intense pain in its soul causing it to falter, its eyes losing some of their bloodlust. The instincts deeply ingrained in its bloodline made it sense the extreme danger posed by this human, who was barely larger than its forearm.
"I'm sorry," Xiao Yan said. "I don't usually torture magical beasts, but I need your blood essence."
Xiao Yan disregarded whether the beast understood or not, and the power released from his brow suddenly intensified. A vast, powerful soul force, like a spiderweb, spread from his brow, transforming into countless invisible threads that bound the Crimson-Eyed Demon Ape King's limbs and joints. Although the giant beast sensed Xiao Yan's threat, it was absolutely unwilling to sit idly by and await its death. Veins bulged all over its body, and its powerful Dou Zun-level Dou Qi erupted with a deafening roar. The rocks on the mountaintop shattered inch by inch under its struggle, and the gray-white mist was stirred into a violent vortex.
However, the soul threads were like a persistent leech, making it impossible for the creature to break free by brute force. The light gray Shadow Needle silently slashed out from between Xiao Yan's eyebrows, striking the Crimson-Eyed Demon Ape King's forehead. The Crimson-Eyed Demon Ape King felt a piercing pain in its soul, as if its head was about to explode from the impact of the soul threads, and the ferocious light in its blood-red eyes gradually dissipated.
Taking advantage of the giant beast's struggle and roar in pain, Xiao Yan's figure flashed like lightning to its chest. His soul power condensed, its sharpness no less than that of an ordinary weapon, precisely piercing the intersection of the dark red markings on the Demon Ape King's chest. The tearing sound of its chest being ripped open and the beast's agonizing scream rang out simultaneously. Dark golden blood slowly seeped out, and Xiao Yan divided and controlled his soul power, ultimately condensing the blood flowing from the Crimson-Eyed Demon Ape King's chest into seven blood beads the size of pigeon eggs in mid-air. Xiao Yan's left hand clenched in mid-air, and the jade bottle he had prepared beforehand emitted a suction force, gathering all the surging, violently energetic blood.
As the Demon Ape King lay dying, it suddenly shook its head, its powerful life force keeping it from immediately succumbing. However, the hatred in its eyes for Xiao Yan was palpable. Its iron fist, accompanied by a stench of blood, aimed straight for Xiao Yan's left shoulder. Xiao Yan's soul power stirred again between his brows, piercing its arm and head in succession. This demon beast, whose strength rivaled that of a Dou Zun expert, died at Xiao Yan's hands.
Finally, with a crisp sound as the jade bottle was sealed, the blood essence seal was complete. Xiao Yan watched as the golden-red blood beads inside the jade bottle in his hand continued to violently collide, causing spiderweb-like energy ripples to spread across the bottle's walls.
"This essence blood is enough for my use."
The essence of the demonic beast is related to the subsequent improvement of Xiao Yan's self-created pill formula in the fourth trial of the Heavenly Talent Ranking. This is why Xiao Yan was willing to use the Hidden Shadow Needle he had condensed again in order to quickly kill the Crimson-Eyed Demon Ape King.
A magical beast comparable to a Dou Zun powerhouse, and since I can't use my Dou Qi, dealing with it is still quite troublesome. At the same time, in order to preserve my soul power to the greatest extent possible, I need to retrieve the herbs from the restriction as quickly as possible.
The herbs guarded at the summit of Misty Mountain were basically the same. Xiao Yan didn't consume too much energy and quickly took them one by one...
When the strongest member of the climbing team, the old man in the yellow robe, reached the summit, he only saw a pool of scattered blood and a messy ground, telling him that a fierce battle had taken place there.
On the other side, of the ten most important runes guarding the mountaintop, only a single large, sand-red flower remained. As he tentatively probed his peak mortal realm soul into it, clinging to a sliver of hope, the oppressive force made him feel as if his soul was being torn apart. An invisible, immense force crushed his mind, as if thousands of iron needles were piercing it.
Looking at everything before him, the old man finally understood: Xiao Yan had arrived at the mountaintop first. He quickly killed the guardian demonic beasts and took all the herbs protected by the ten runes. This last one was probably at his limit, which is why he left it for himself.
The old man in the yellow robe shook his head helplessly. He was a renowned alchemy master. For many years, he had considered attending the Alchemy Gathering, but he always hoped to improve his skills to a certain level before trying.
So many years have passed, and he still believes he's only one step away from the eighth rank, and even if he doesn't win the championship, he can still compete for a top ten spot. If his luck is good, perhaps he really will have a chance to obtain the Three Thousand Burning Flames?
He hadn't expected the Pill Gathering to be so grand; even his participation as a seventh-grade advanced alchemist had garnered only a tiny, negligible amount of attention. Those young people, still in their prime, possessed strengths that were increasingly outrageous. His years of quiet preparation seemed like a joke in their presence. He now felt a pang of regret; if he had come at his most youthful and confident age to compete with the geniuses of Central Continent, would his achievements today be different?
……
Hua Qingyu complied with Ling Zhuo's request and came to the outside of the misty mountain that he had requested.
She was also a little anxious at this moment, because fifteen days ago, as Ling Zhuo had requested, she had gone to a misty mountain to collect medicinal herbs. The location information Ling Zhuo provided was incredibly accurate, without the slightest error.
From that moment on, Hua Qingyu had already begun to worry. The existence of Wushan was originally part of the Pill Tower's strategy against Ling Zhuo. Since he was able to obtain the location information in advance, it not only meant that the strategy was ineffective, but also that Ling Zhuo was basically in an invincible position.
Although staying by Ling Zhuo's side was quite dangerous, she still resolutely decided to come, for a simple reason: to take this opportunity to find out Ling Zhuo's trump card, which was the key to thwarting the Ling Clan's plan.
The moment she found Ling Zhuo, Ling Zhuo, Yi Xu, Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and two unfamiliar faces surrounded her, leaving no gaps.
Ling Zhuo looked at her with a smile on his face, and a teasing voice rang out.
"I know you have a way to contact Xiao Yan. Did you call him here on your own initiative, or did I find him myself from your storage ring, Yao Qingyu?"