Volume 2 Chapter 35

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Volume 2 Chapter 35: The Battle Beast

When he realized that the beast’s roar was coming from where Ting’er was, Xu Qingfan’s face changed dramatically. Without any hesitation, he sprinted swiftly toward the sound.

Xu Qingfan was already as fast as those cultivators who practiced wind techniques, and in his anxious state, he moved with even more incredible speed. Only a faint afterimage remained in his previous spot, lingering for a while before slowly dissipating, while Xu Qingfan had already rushed a hundred yards ahead.

By fully unleashing his speed, Xu Qingfan returned to his previous landing spot within moments. He saw a gigantic demon beast standing nearby, roaring angrily toward Ting’er, who was perched on the "Three Meters Green Silk" in the sky, frequently spewing fire at her. However, the "Three Meters Green Silk" not only allowed flight but also had protective abilities, emitting a green glow to guard Ting’er whenever the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast shot fire at her.

Before leaving, Xu Qingfan had not anticipated the sudden appearance of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, so the Spirit Qi he had infused into the "Three Meters Green Silk" was limited, only enough to keep Ting’er hovering in the air. As a wood-element artifact, the "Three Meters Green Silk" was not highly resistant to the beast’s fire, so the initially bright green glow was slowly dimming, showing that it wouldn’t last much longer.

On the "Three Meters Green Silk," Ting’er appeared calm but her face was slightly pale, making the purple-blue flame pattern on her face even more striking.

In this situation, Xu Qingfan dared not pause for a moment. He pointed to the "Three Meters Green Silk" in the sky and commanded softly, "Return!"

At Xu Qingfan’s command, the color of the once-dimming "Three Meters Green Silk" suddenly became bright again, swiftly breaking free from the surrounding flames and quickly returning with Ting’er by Xu Qingfan’s side.

After returning to Xu Qingfan’s side, the "Three Meters Green Silk" completely lost its luster and fell to the ground, severely lacking in Spirit Qi. If Xu Qingfan doesn’t infuse it with Spirit Qi, it won’t be usable for a while. However, with the threat of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, Xu Qingfan had no time to infuse Spirit Qi into it. Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan held Ting’er in his arms.

Seeing Ting’er’s pale face, Xu Qingfan felt a twinge of guilt. He patted Ting’er’s head for comfort before turning to carefully examine the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast before him.

The demon beast before him had the body of a horse and the head of a lion, with a bull’s nose and fish-like lips, which revealed two ferocious fangs. It stood over ten feet tall and stretched over twenty feet long, covered in green scales. Its large blue eyes shone on its head, with a hint of gold in its pupils. Amidst its green hue, the four white hooves stood out and added to its majestic presence.

"Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, known for its fierce temperament and fondness for spiritual herbs. Adults stand thirty feet high, covered in scales impervious to blades and spears, and unfazed by water and fire. They can travel a thousand miles a day, see through spirits and the elements, breathe fire and ice, and their roars can shake the soul."

Seeing this majestic demon beast, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but recall the description of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast from "Strange Tales of Mountains and Seas—Strange Beast Chapter."

But what caught Xu Qingfan’s attention more was the small beast lying quietly beside the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast. It looked very similar to the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, except its scales were light yellow. It was so small even Ting’er could hold it easily.

"Could this little beast be the child of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast?" Xu Qingfan speculated quietly upon seeing the little beast.

Xu Qingfan guessed right; the little beast before him was indeed the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast’s child. The Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast hadn’t eaten the Xu Family Village’s spirit herb, not just because it wasn’t fully mature and its effects would be greatly reduced if consumed, but mainly because it wanted to save it for its child. The Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast is a very peculiar demon beast; their bodies don’t grow naturally, only transforming and growing after consuming a certain amount of spiritual herbs. The more herbs they eat, the larger they become and the stronger their abilities. This characteristic led many cultivators to believe they have the bloodline of the ancient Mythical Beast, Taotie.

For the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, after giving birth, the mother collects the first batch of spiritual herbs and feeds them to the little one. After the first growth, she drives the little one away to find its own herbs. The spirit herb in the Xu Family Village is what the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast intended to give its child. With this millennium-old herb, once the little one consumes it, it wouldn’t need to struggle to gather other herbs, which would be enough for one, or even two, growths.

Just as Xu Qingfan was observing the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast noticed Xu Qingfan as well.

Due to the recent upheaval in the Southern Wasteland, nearly all the beasts there were corrupted by Naxiu and turned into his demon soldiers. Under Naxiu’s influence, these beasts not only grew stronger but also often moved in groups of thousands. It became extremely difficult for the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast to capture any prey. Moreover, perhaps out of guilt toward the Xu family’s ancestors, those mutated beasts rarely wreaked havoc near Xu Family Village under Naxiu’s control. This meant the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast had to travel far to find prey, which is why it wasn’t present when Xu Qingfan arrived at Xu Family Village.

Because of this, the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast became particularly excited upon seeing Ting’er. When it saw Xu Qingfan put away the "Three Meters Green Silk," realizing Xu Qingfan had snatched its prey, it became furious and let out a thunderous roar towards him.

Earlier, when Xu Qingfan heard the roar of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, he didn’t think much of it because it was still at a distance and the beast wasn’t directly roaring at him. But now, as the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast directed its roar at him, he grasped the true meaning of the phrase from "Strange Tales of Mountains and Seas—Strange Beast Chapter", "The roar is capable of shaking one’s spirit."

Once the roar of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast echoed, Xu Qingfan felt a sharp pain in his ears, his organs churning, and his mind shaken as if severely struck. Ting’er, beside him, turned pale and almost fainted from the roar. This was despite her body being tougher than a Qi Refining Stage cultivator due to the magic pearl transformation. A Qi Refining Stage cultivator would have suffered severe internal injuries, potentially even perishing from the roar.

After unleashing its thunderous roar, the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast charged towards Xu Qingfan and Ting’er without hesitation.

As Xu Qingfan recovered from the shock, he realized the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast was less than ten measures away, and he was taken aback. Though not afraid of the beast, he feared battling it here might harm Ting’er, which he absolutely wanted to avoid.

Without delay, Xu Qingfan swiftly formed hundreds of hand signs in moments, then pressed his hand to the ground and commanded, "Move!"

Following Xu Qingfan’s command, hundreds of "Bloodsucking Vines" sprang from the ground beneath the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, tightly wrapping around its legs, immobilizing it for a short period. However, the beast’s body was covered in tough, blue scales, rendering the vines’ poisonous thorns ineffective, unable to harm or draw blood from the beast.

During the time when the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast was entangled, Xu Qingfan held Ting’er and retreated nearly a hundred yards. Just as Xu Qingfan was backing away with Ting’er, the beast’s fiery breath came rushing forward, leaving a deep black mark on the ground.

"Stay here, don’t move!" Xu Qingfan instructed Ting’er after placing her on the ground, then without hesitation, charged back at the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast. Xu Qingfan knew that with the beast’s strength, the "Bloodsucking Vine" wouldn’t hold it for long.

Indeed, Xu Qingfan had barely rushed out dozens of yards when the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast broke free from the "Bloodsucking Vine." Its immense power caused the vine to snap inch by inch, and with several earth-shattering roars, it charged at Xu Qingfan.

Fortunately, Xu Qingfan was well-prepared this time and wasn’t harmed by the roars, but his eardrums still ached intensely.

Xu Qingfan’s strongest attacks at the moment were the "Whomping Willow" and "Chomper," but he knew that despite their great power, they wouldn’t be very effective against the beast’s blue scales. Other plants like "Blade Grass" and the newly acquired "Sawgrass" were even less effective. The only thing that posed any threat to the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast was the "Liuling Flower." Xu Qingfan hoped the mist from the Liuling Flower would have an effect.

So, Xu Qingfan stopped abruptly midway and quickly flicked his fingers, releasing countless "Liuling Flowers" from his fingers towards the charging Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast.

At that moment, the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast was rushing rapidly toward Xu Qingfan. There was no time to dodge the incoming "Liuling Flowers," and confident in its scales, it didn’t attempt to evade.

Countless "Liuling Flowers" collided with the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast. As explosions sounded, a dense fog emerged around it. Initially, the beast didn’t pay attention to these blasts, as they posed no threat. But as it breathed in the surrounding mist, it gradually felt its head becoming dizzy and became furious, letting out consecutive roars and hastened its pace to escape the fog. Once out and breathing fresh air, its mind cleared considerably. Without delay, it rushed at Xu Qingfan even faster, hoping to bite off his head in one go.

Seeing the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast unaffected by the mist from the "Liuling Flower," Xu Qingfan’s heart sank, realizing he was in for a grueling battle with this demon beast.

Xu Qingfan didn’t know that the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast had been eating Spiritual Herbs since it was young. Many of these herbs contain a lot of Spirit Qi but also have toxins. A cultivator must refine these herbs before making elixirs, but the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast eats them raw, making its body highly resistant to poison over time. So, the mist released by the explosion of the "Liuling Flower" did not affect the Beast much.