Chapter 122: Chapter 121: Golden-Winged Thunder Roc

’Six days have passed. I wonder if the flow of time in the Secret Realm is different from the outside world, or if it just took too long to pass through that special space at the entrance.’

When Bai Zichen learned the exact date from the third transit station, he cursed inwardly.

He had arranged with Senior Brother Gu Xisheng to head to Monkey Mountain on his own after five days. Fortunately, the news that reached the third transit station yesterday said the great battle had not yet begun.

He took out his Sound Bamboo Sword, transformed into a brilliant streak of sword light, and flew off at top speed.

’According to the battle reports, Monkey Mountain is the last Tier Two Spirit Vein before Feiyue Lake. The planned sixth transit station is supposed to be built here.’

Bai Zichen recalled the contents of the reports he had read. The main reason the mountain had not yet been taken was a Tier Two Peak Jade-Eyed Golden-Eyed Ape that lived there.

It was just one step away from becoming a Tier Three Demon King.

Moreover, monkey-type Demon Beasts always possessed greater spiritual wisdom than other beasts of the same tier, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

This Jade-Eyed Golden-Eyed Ape was already equivalent to a human at Foundation Establishment Perfection. Wielding a crudely polished Fine Iron Rod, no one in the pioneering army was its match.

It took the combined effort of multiple people just to barely hold it at bay.

Coupled with the dozen or so Tier Two Demon Monkeys and the mountainside teeming with Tier One monkeys, they had fought several battles without achieving any significant results.

This was why more personnel were being dispatched from the Sect; even the Hall Masters of the Talisman Hall and the Transmission Hall had come in person.

’No matter how powerful that Jade-Eyed Golden-Eyed Ape is, it’s useless now. Five thousand Cultivators, nearly forty at the Foundation Establishment stage... they were just unwilling to pay too high a price before. When it’s truly necessary, they’ll push forward with the Battle Array, use a Talisman Treasure to pin it down, eliminate the other Tier Two demon monkeys first, and then besiege it.’

’As long as it’s not a Tier Three Demon King, there’s no way it can escape alive!’

As Bai Zichen was lost in thought about the battle at Monkey Mountain, he heard a clap of thunder behind him. A dark shadow was pursuing him.

’What is that...? It’s pretty fast.’

The dark shadow was much faster than his Colorful Cloud Robe, nearly half the speed of his Sound Bamboo Sword at full power.

Curious, Bai Zichen reined in his Sword Light slightly and got a clear view of the rapidly approaching shadow.

It had a pair of wings and was covered in golden feathers that shone like the blazing sun.

It had a protrusion on its head, and when it opened its mouth, its roar was like a clap of thunder. It was a majestic and fearsome great bird, with a wingspan of over two zhang when fully extended.

A Tier Two Low-Grade Flying Demon Beast, the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc.

’Don’t all Golden-Winged Thunder Rocs live at Celestial Thunder Cliff? What’s one doing all the way out here...?’

Bai Zichen certainly recognized this famous Flying Demon Beast. Celestial Thunder Cliff was just over three thousand li from the Qingfeng Sect’s Mountain Gate, practically on their doorstep.

But the terrain of Celestial Thunder Cliff was treacherous, impossible for anyone below the Foundation Establishment stage to climb.

When faced with a Flying Demon Beast like the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc, an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator was no match, easily put at a disadvantage in aerial combat.

Furthermore, the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc Demon King was already a Tier Three Top-Grade Demon Beast and had fought Master Ge Cang to a draw ten years ago.

Due to all these factors, the Qingfeng Sect had chosen to look further afield, not including Celestial Thunder Cliff in its pioneering targets.

Seeing the distance to its target shorten, this particular Golden-Winged Thunder Roc let out a sharp cry. Sparks of lightning flashed on its wings, and its speed increased by another twenty percent.

Even before it got close, it stirred up a fierce, acrid wind.

’Excellent timing!’

Bai Zichen had been searching in vain for a Tier Two Demon Beast to test his sword on, and now one had delivered itself to his doorstep.

Moreover, the entire body of a Golden-Winged Thunder Roc was a treasure trove, far more valuable than an ordinary Tier Two Demon Beast.

To Bai Zichen, who was flat broke and in debt, it was practically a walking pile of Spirit Stones. There was no way he would let it escape.

He summoned the All Living Beings Bell, and the great bronze bell descended over his head.

The Golden-Winged Thunder Roc unexpectedly swerved, avoiding a direct collision with the illusory bronze bell. Instead, it scraped past, its hard golden feathers raking across the bell and producing a grating metallic screech that set one’s teeth on edge.

Bai Zichen quickly understood why the Sect was so wary of the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc, and why there were so many records of Foundation Establishment Cultivators being defeated by this type of Flying Demon Beast.

Not only was the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc astonishingly fast, but despite its massive size, it remained incredibly agile. Several times, it braked and turned at impossible moments, flying away only to attack again from a bizarre angle.

Its sharp beak, talons, feathers, wings... the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc used every part of its body as a weapon.

From the fleshy crest on its head, it would periodically condense lightning, which shot out in an instantaneous flash that was impossible to react to.

Bai Zichen wanted to test the effects of the All Living Beings Bell, so he kept his Sound Bamboo Sword hidden and un-drawn. Using the technique he had recently comprehended, he propelled the Sword Light with just a small amount of Magical Power.

Every so often, however, the white Sword Light would strike at a vital point, forcing the roc to defend and leaving small spurts of blood on its body.

After testing it for a long time, he had a clear understanding of the All Living Beings Bell’s defensive capabilities.

Bai Zichen formed a seal with his hands. The bronze bell shot into the sky, its illusory form doubling in size and directly trapping the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc inside.

It then began to rapidly shrink, constricting the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc’s space to move.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Golden-Winged Thunder Roc shrieked, its fleshy crest turning blood-red as it unleashed several bolts of lightning in succession, while simultaneously flapping its wings rapidly to slam against the bell.

Bombarded by lightning and rapidly sliced by feathers as hard as refined steel, a large hole was actually torn in the illusory bronze bell, allowing the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc to burst out.

Bai Zichen recalled the All Living Beings Bell, his expression turning a little ugly.

’Its conventional defense is barely a notch better than the Red Cover Treasure Pearl Umbrella. But its trapping ability is terrible; it can’t even hold an opponent of the same tier... It’s supposed to be balanced for offense and defense, but its offense is useless and its defense is pathetic.’

The All Living Beings Bell seemed like a very capable Spiritual Artifact, but in Bai Zichen’s eyes, it was quite mediocre.

Mainly, with the power of his Flying Sword, the only offensive Spiritual Artifacts that could catch his eye were those with either overwhelming power or a special function.

His experiment complete, Bai Zichen had no more patience to entangle himself with the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc. A brilliant sword light tore through the air, striking with the speed of lightning and the force of a thousand thunderbolts.

A streak of sword light pierced through the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc’s head, but it continued to flap its wings and charge forward ferociously.

As one could only marvel at the tenacious life force of a Demon Beast, he had no choice but to follow up with two more slashes, piercing two holes in its heart and sending blood gushing out.

Finally, like a kite with its string cut, it plummeted straight to the ground.

Just before it hit the ground, Bai Zichen sent out a wave of Magical Power to catch the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc, allowing its corpse to land gently and ensuring it remained intact.

"Not bad. The sword wounds are even smaller now."

Bai Zichen examined the three sword wounds on the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc’s body. They were only as thick as his little finger. He smiled with satisfaction.

Before, although he could have still defeated the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc, his Sword Light would have most likely blasted the Demon Beast into several pieces.

While that might have looked impressive, it was actually a result of imperfect control, causing the Sword Light’s power to leak outwards.

Now, his Sword Light was contained. It seemed less destructive, but in reality, all its power was focused into a single point.

Outside the beam of light, there was no excess, uncontrolled energy. Within it, there was only pure, ultimate lethality.

He took out the Demon Suppression Peach Wood Sword, which was fast becoming his dedicated Flying Sword for harvesting Demon Beast Materials.

First were the golden feathers, which he plucked one by one without missing any.

These feathers were enough to refine three to five Top-Grade Magical Artifacts, or one Top-Grade Magical Artifact.

Then there were the sharp beak, talons, and the even more valuable fleshy crest. This crest was where the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc stored its Thunder Element Spiritual Power, and many Artifact Refiners would pay a high price for it.

’It’s a shame half the blood was lost, otherwise the Essence Blood of a Tier Two Demon Beast could also be sold for a lot of Spirit Stones...’

With a pained heart, Bai Zichen filled two Jade Bottles with the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc’s Essence Blood. This type of Essence Blood could be sold to Body Refining Cultivators or made into High-Level Talismanic Ink.

When Talisman Dao Cultivators used this High-Level Talismanic Ink mixed with Tier Two Demon Beast Essence Blood for Talisman Painting, it could significantly increase their success rate.

The flesh and blood of a Tier Two Demon Beast was several times more valuable than that of a Tier One Demon Beast, probably worth around seventy or eighty Spirit Stones.

With the mentality that every little bit counts, Bai Zichen took out another Low-Grade Storage Bag specifically for storing the Demon Beast’s flesh and blood.

’But at this rate, this storage bag will be full soon... I’d better find a Mid-Grade Storage Bag just for holding Demon Beast Materials.’

Now that Bai Zichen had personally joined the pioneering war, he would have plenty of opportunities to fight Tier Two Demon Beasts.

According to Sect rules, if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator killed a Demon Beast alone without the aid of a Battle Array, they could keep all the materials for themselves.

It would be a great pity to miss out on a large quantity of Demon Beast Materials simply due to a lack of storage space.

...

「Monkey Mountain.」

This place had neither famous scenic mountains nor a precipitous Celestial Chasm, yet it was here that the Jade-Eyed Golden-Eyed Ape had held back the pioneering army for a full month.

But with the arrival of Yingg Zhong, the Hall Master of the Transmission Hall, and Luoo Qiuzhen, the Talisman Hall Master, joining Liang Yu, the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, three Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators were now gathered here.

With the three of them working together, even if they couldn’t take down the Jade-Eyed Golden-Eyed Ape immediately, they could prevent it from escaping or helping the other monkeys.

"The newly arrived twelve hundred Loose Cultivators have been drilled and can now barely keep up with the Battle Array’s movements... In three days, we will launch an all-out assault according to the previous plan. We must take Monkey Mountain!"

In the temporarily constructed command camp, Liang Yu was assigning tasks to everyone.

Only the Qingfeng Sect Elders were present; other Foundation Establishment Cultivators were not permitted inside. They would be notified after a decision was reached.

Since Mo Qianyuan’s death, there were no longer any Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators among the Cultivation Families. The highest cultivation level in the remaining families was only Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.

In such a situation, strength was everything. Lacking strength, those Cultivation Families and Loose Cultivators naturally had no say in the matter.

Just as all matters had been discussed and they were preparing to dismiss, Luoo Qiuzhen suddenly asked the question.

"I heard from my subordinates that one of the Sect Elders has yet to arrive... Senior Brother Liang, is this true?"

"Senior Brother Liang, your Law Enforcement Hall is responsible for overseeing the Sect’s Cultivators; you cannot be negligent... Even if it’s a Sect Elder, if there’s a problem, it must be investigated."

"That’s right. The person in question is Bai Zichen. He did not arrive with the rest of us. He was supposed to arrive within five days, but a full day has passed since then. In my opinion, he’s afraid of the Demon Beasts and is avoiding the battle!"

Lan Hong said in a loud, cold voice.

"It’s him!"

"That can’t be right. Bai Zichen is hailed as the Sect’s greatest genius in a century, his cultivation progress is famously bold and swift... If he were the type to fear enemies and avoid battle, how could he possess the mindset to achieve breakthroughs so quickly?"

An elder with a different opinion spoke up to refute.

"It’s hard to say. Who would deny that Senior Sister Zhou Suqing is a cultivation genius? But she has absolutely no talent for Combat. She can only stay in the Transmission Hall teaching disciples and studying Magic."

"When I came out of seclusion, I heard the Sect had a new genius junior brother, a Sword Cultivator. I was even thinking of sparring with him to discuss the Sword Dao. Seeing this today, I now know he’s just a coward... With a mindset like that, no matter how fast his cultivation progresses, he’ll never achieve much in the Sword Dao!"

A middle-aged elder with a baleful aura, leaning against the wall and cradling a long golden sword, said with disdain.

This was Luo Guangwu, the only Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator in the Qingfeng Sect before Bai Zichen.