'Should I act now?'

'Or should I store up more Celestial Gnomon Light and Nine Forces Shocking Dragon before I make my move?'

If he acted now, the amounts of Celestial Gnomon Light and Nine Forces Shocking Dragon wouldn't be at a level he was satisfied with.

Although the Unidentified Arrow was nearly at full charge, Yang An wasn't completely confident he could take down the old man.

Even if He Tou's current state was off, its strength had surely been affected.

But if he waited to cultivate for a while longer, even though he could store more Celestial Gnomon Light and Nine Forces Shocking Dragon, he would also be giving the old man time to recover.

After weighing his options, Yang An ultimately chose the former!

'I can't drag this out any longer!'

'Who knows what other tricks that old man has up his sleeve? I have to be decisive!'

He would act!

Yang An pulled the Bow Lady from his body, held it in his hands, and immediately nocked the Unidentified Arrow.

"Bow Lady! Help me lock onto that old man's aura!"

Although Yang An had already locked onto the Qi Seal, he had the Bow Lady lock onto the old man as well, just to be safe.

With a double lock, he could ensure that even if the old man reacted in time, he wouldn't necessarily be able to escape.

"Alright!"

The Bow Lady knew this was Yang An's most critical moment and responded at once.

He opened with the Unidentified Arrow, the most powerful weapon in Yang An's arsenal. He had no intention of giving the old man a chance to test the waters; he was going straight for the killing blow.

That way, even if the old man didn't die, his strength would surely be affected, giving Yang An a better chance in a subsequent direct confrontation.

He drew the bow to a full moon, the string pulled taut and groaning with a KRR-KRR sound.

In that instant, a splendid light poured into the Unidentified Arrow, along with the incandescent white Celestial Gnomon Light.

The Unidentified Arrow, which already shimmered with a silver glow, suddenly erupted with brilliance, transforming into a dazzling, splendid stream of light in Yang An's hands.

'Still not enough!'

"Bow Lady! Maximum amplification! Bite me again!"

Yang An yelled at once.

The next moment, a tail of flame nearly thirty feet long shot out from the arrow's nock, like a meteor about to break free.

At the same time, an utterly unbearable, sharp pain assaulted his soul!

Yang An instantly clenched his jaw, focused his consciousness, and forcibly endured the bone-deep agony.

His hand holding the arrow was trembling. The power emanating from the arrow astounded him; he felt as if he could barely contain it, that it might shoot forth at any moment.

By the time a large amount of his Mana and Celestial Gnomon Light had been consumed...

...he could finally no longer control the eruption of power. The force in his hand was like a surging tide, ready to burst forth.

SHOOOSH—

In just a single instant, all the light in Yang An's hands vanished.

The taut bow limbs and string snapped back, creating countless afterimages. Even the Bow Lady couldn't suppress an abnormal reaction, its voice sounding almost crazed in Yang An's ears.

Hearing the Bow Lady's voice, Yang An couldn't help but get goosebumps. Fortunately, the Bow Lady had already released its bite, and the pain in his soul subsided.

'So... just how powerful was that arrow?!'

Yang An immediately got up and flew swiftly toward Elder Life Crane's location.

「Meanwhile, on the other side.」

Elder Life Crane was hiding in a sealed cave. Countless masses of blood and flesh were mixed together, forming wheel-like rings that enveloped and continuously circled him.

On his shoulder, He Tou's mouth was wide open, its face a mask of greed and intoxication, as if it were savoring the rarest delicacy in the world.

As the wheels of flesh and blood spun, thread-like substances were extracted from them, as if peeling silk from a cocoon, and all of it drilled into He Tou's open beak.

At the same time, the flesh on He Tou's body was constantly trembling. The blackish-gray down on it began to grow frantically, only to fall out in large clumps.

Elder Life Crane, for his part, was concentrating intently on guiding the flesh and blood, not daring to let his focus waver for even a moment.

This was the flesh and blood of an entire town's population, more than enough to repair the Earth Spirit Stele.

If he just had three hours at most, he could repair the Magic Stele and restore his own condition.

At that point, he would no longer wait for Yang An's return. Instead, he would personally hunt him down and kill him as soon as possible!

Only then could he be at ease and more quickly uncover the secrets hidden within that rebellious disciple!

"Old thing! Faster! More! Give me more! Hahaha!"

He Tou laughed wantonly as it greedily devoured the flesh and blood, seemingly displeased that it was entering its mouth too slowly.

Elder Life Crane didn't speak. He knew full well that the reason the creature was so intoxicated was that countless souls were also mixed into the essence.

But just as he was preparing to speed up and send more flesh and blood into He Tou's mouth...

...his gaze suddenly froze.

A terrifying fluctuation had just emanated from the distance, and in the next instant, a horrifying power enveloped and consumed Elder Life Crane.

Expressions of astonishment appeared on the faces of both Elder Life Crane and He Tou just before they were engulfed by an explosive burst of splendid light.

"AHH!!"

He Tou's bloodcurdling scream echoed from within the light.

This pain wasn't just from the light rapidly dissolving its flesh and blood.

It was more from the backlash of being suddenly interrupted while repairing the Earth Spirit Stele. The agony of that backlash far surpassed the damage caused by the light.

It was enough to make it wish for death!

"It's him! It's him! I'll kill him!!!"

Both He Tou and Elder Life Crane realized in that first instant who had attacked!

This light! It could only be Yang An!