chsdbacks Chapter 23 Second-Tier Silver Feathered Eagle
Chapter 23 Second-Tier Silver Feathered Eagle
His divine sense, like a thread, probed into the crack. Extending five or six zhang inward, it suddenly opened up, touching a vast space. Within this space, a powerful surge of spiritual energy abruptly backfired, causing his divine sense to crumble upon contact!
"Second tier!" Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly withdrew his divine sense and lowered his body.
It is by no means a peak first-order beast, but a genuine second-order demon beast! The level of its spiritual energy condensation is worlds apart from that of a Qi Refining stage cultivator.
In the lingering perception of his divine sense, it was a demonic bird. The movement of its wings folding and opening was slow yet powerful, its sharp claws gripping the rock wall with a faint "crackling" sound, and its breathing was long, taking seven or eight breaths to complete a single rise and fall.
Chen Fan lay prone on the cliff top, motionless for the entire time it takes for an incense stick to burn. The gap between a second-tier demonic beast and a Qi Refining stage cultivator is almost as vast as the chasm between a Qi Refining stage cultivator and a mortal. In a head-on confrontation, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to fill the void.
He removed the armor from his shoulder and placed it on the ground, sending a command through his divine sense: "Stay here, do not move." The armor's back armor was still freshly scarred, its tender shell turned inside out; if it were to be grazed by a second-tier demonic beast, it would undoubtedly shatter. It could not participate in this battle. The armor's whiskers swayed slightly, and its six legs moved back two steps, crouching behind a boulder, its aura concealed.
He took out all the talismans and laid them out in front of him: eleven fireball talismans, six ice cone talismans, three wooden vine talismans, five earthen wall talismans, two golden bell talismans, five lightning strike talismans, a fire python talisman, and weapon talismans.
Finally, he gripped the weapon and talisman tightly in his hand. This life-saving trump card, usable only twice, was meant for desperate situations. But a second-tier demonic beast was far beyond the reach of these low-level talismans; a fireball talisman would barely scratch it. Without this treasure, there was no chance of obtaining the Profound Soul Grass. If he lost the Profound Soul Grass, what would happen to True Person Chiyun… he dared not imagine the consequences.
"This is the only way," Chen Fan murmured, tucking the talisman into his robes and holding the remaining talismans in two stacks in his left and right hands. He took a deep breath of the air, which smelled of blood and dust, and squeezed into the narrow crevice.
The first part of the crack was extremely narrow, the rough rock walls rubbing against my shoulders and back, and the loose pebbles under my feet were painfully sharp. Moving sideways for five zhang (approximately 10 meters) took almost the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. At the end, the space opened up abruptly—a natural cave, about seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters) square and over two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) high. Deep within the cave, a pale, faint light shone down from the crack above.
It was chillingly cold!
A layer of grayish-white mist settled at the bottom of the cave, flowing slowly along the ground and reaching past the ankles. A chill, like a venomous snake, seeped into the bone marrow. The source of the mist was a small patch of spiritual soil deep within the cave—already stained grayish-black by dense yin energy. In the center of this spiritual soil, a solitary spiritual herb grew.
It is entirely black, with leaves twisted into grotesque, ghostly faces, their edges curled up, and veins protruding like tendons. There are seven leaves, each about the size of an adult's palm.
"Mystic Soul Grass! Seven leaves, over three hundred years old!" Chen Fan's pupils contracted slightly, his heart trembling violently.
However, about ten feet above the Xuanhun Grass, perched a giant bird on the rock face! Its size far exceeded that of ordinary demonic birds, nearly three feet long from head to tail. Its feathers were dark silver, with edges gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen. Its beak was like a black hook, its tip sharp as a needle. Its claws were deeply embedded in the rock wall, carving five deep furrows. At this moment, its eyes were closed, and its wings were folded.
"Silver Feathered Eagle! A second-tier demonic beast! Metal attribute!" Chen Fan instantly recognized the beast. His back pressed tightly against the cold rock wall, his heart sinking to the bottom. The distance was too close! The Silver Feathered Eagle could easily reach the Mystic Soul Grass with a mere flap of its wings. No matter what method he used to harvest it, he would inevitably alert this beast, and its thunderous strike would be impossible to dodge!
He had no confidence in withstanding the full force of a second-tier demonic beast's attack, with his Silver Armor, Golden Mirror, and Black Scale Soft Armor stacked upon each other.
"A talisman!" Chen Fan exclaimed without hesitation, pulling out the knife-shaped talisman from his robes. It was the size of a copper coin, made of spirit jade, with a miniature knife pattern engraved on its surface. The crack along the edge seemed wider than when he bought it, and the hazy mist on the jade surface was thicker. At most twice.
A torrent of magical power poured in!
The knife pattern on the surface of the spirit jade suddenly burst forth with dazzling light! A surge of powerful and pure spiritual energy erupted from the talisman, condensing in the palm of the hand—a pale golden, illusory blade about an inch long! The spiritual energy flowing through the blade was far purer than any magical artifact!
"Hey——!"
Almost the instant the talisman was activated, the Silver Feathered Eagle's dark golden vertical pupils snapped open! They locked onto the deadly pale golden blade shadow in Chen Fan's palm! A low, threatening growl escaped its throat, and its wings snapped open with a "whoosh," its iron-hook-like claws tearing through the rock wall, sending rubble tumbling down!
"Go!" Chen Fan held the talisman-treasure sword shadow in his right hand, and with his left hand, he threw out five lightning strike talismans like a celestial maiden scattering flowers!
"Boom! Crack—!"
Five blinding arcs of electricity intertwined to form a raging electric net, descending upon the Silver Feathered Eagle! The Silver Feathered Eagle flapped its wings violently, actually charging through the electric net! The arcs crackled and popped as they coiled around its dark silver feathers, yet its diving momentum hardly diminished—such was the ruthless resistance of a second-tier demon beast to low-level spells!
Chen Fan's pupils contracted sharply. He slammed his right foot against the rock wall, his body sliding sideways like a fish! "Swoosh!" The silver-feathered eagle's sharp claws grazed his left shoulder, tearing half of his sleeve, and instantly leaving three deep, bone-revealing bloodstains on his shoulder! Before the blood could even gushed out, the second strike arrived!
The silver-feathered eagle spun sharply in the air, this time flying even lower, its sharp claws almost skimming the ground as it swept across, aiming to tear Chen Fan in half!
"Slash!" A fierce glint flashed in Chen Fan's eyes, and he suddenly raised his right hand!
A pale gold blade flashed out of his hand!
"Buzz—!"
The moment the blade left the hand, the entire cave was bathed in a pale gold light! The blade swelled in the wind, transforming from an inch into a three-foot-long, dazzling blade of light! An incomparably sharp blade intent filled the space! For the first time, horror appeared in the dark golden pupils of the silver-feathered eagle. It frantically flapped its wings, trying to rise and dodge, but it was too late!
The blade flashed like it was cutting through rotten wood, slashing fiercely into the base of the left wing!
"Clang—!" The dark silver feathers were sliced open with a piercing metallic clang! The blade's edge was unstoppable, piercing through feathers, flesh, and bones, emerging from the wingtip before dissipating! The Silver Feathered Eagle's left wing was severed at the root, with only a layer of skin connecting it! It let out an extremely mournful cry, its body twisting and rolling as it slammed violently against the rock wall!
After the talismanic blade struck, its light dimmed by nearly half, becoming illusory and uncertain.
Only one strike remaining!
Chen Fan staggered to his feet, the three blood grooves on his left shoulder burning with pain, blood streaming down his arm, his left hand numb. He endured the excruciating pain and once again activated the talisman with all his might in his right hand! The remaining pale golden blade shadow struggled to coalesce, its light dimmer than the first time, its edges beginning to blur and dissipate.
"Screech—!" The silver-feathered eagle was thrown from the rock wall, crashing heavily to the ground. Its left wing was completely destroyed, but it was not dead! Its two thick, iron-pillar-like legs suddenly pushed its body up, blood gushing from the broken wing like a fountain, dripping dark red blood onto the gray-black spirit soil with a hissing, corrosive sound. Its dark golden vertical pupils were fixed on Chen Fan, filled with resentment and madness. Its hooked black beak was opened to its limit, aimed at Chen Fan's throat, and its two iron legs slammed into the ground. Its entire body, like a boulder thrown by a catapult, crashed down with a stench!
Unable to fly, the physical strength of a second-tier demon beast, relying solely on its two legs to push off the ground and pounce, is still breathtakingly fast!
Chen Fan, supporting the increasingly illusory blade shadow, stared intently at the charging silver-feathered eagle with eyes as cold as iron. Three zhang… two zhang… one zhang! Just as the hooked black beak was about to touch its throat—
"Die!" he roared, his right hand flashing like lightning as he slammed the last blade of light into the silver-feathered eagle's gaping beak!
The blade pierced through the beak, instantly penetrating the hard skull and emerging from the back of the head!
"puff!"
At the same time, the silver-feathered eagle's sharp claws, propelled forward by inertia, also slammed into Chen Fan's right chest!
"Snap! Pfft!"
The defensive shield of the Golden Mirror shattered like paper! The scales on the right chest of the Black Scale Armor instantly cracked and scattered! The lining was torn open! The light of the Silver Armor shone and then vanished in an instant! Chen Fan was struck as if by a heavy hammer, his whole body was sent flying backward, his back slammed heavily against the rock wall, and then bounced to the ground, lying on the cold, gray-black spiritual soil, his mouth filled with a sweet and metallic taste.
"Boom!" The Silver Feathered Eagle's massive body lurched forward two feet due to inertia before crashing to the side. The brilliance in its dark golden pupils slowly faded like a candle flickering in the wind.
In his palm, the talisman turned into a puff of pale golden dust and vanished completely. The knife pattern on the surface of the spirit jade faded completely, and cracks along the edges ran through the entire talisman. With a soft "snap," it shattered in two. Utterly ruined.