Chapter 686

Chapter 686: Wild Island Mountain Beast

"You think a top-quality Immortal artifact makes you invincible? Even with that, the five of us can drain your true qi through sheer numbers!" The lead Nascent Soul stage cultivator sneered at Jin An. The group’s expressions shifted—some trembled in fear while others burned with greed. Though Jin An could kill a Third Level Nascent Soul cultivator alone using the artifact, facing five meant inevitable exhaustion.

Golden Ling’er tightened her grip on the golden bell as a colossal shadow loomed behind her. A ten-zhang-long Water Spirit Python rose, its jade-green eyes locking onto three attackers like prey.

"Damn! She tamed a Water Spirit Python?!" The blue-scaled beast’s aura dwarfed their courage. Against this Sixth Level Nascent Soul-tier spirit beast, resistance meant suicide. Escape became their only rational thought.

"Little Water, devour them!" Golden Ling’er commanded. The five froze in terror, torn between futile flight or fight.

As panic gripped them, Ye Yun’s cold voice cut through: "Ling’er, restrain your pet. I have questions."

Reluctantly, Golden Ling’er mentally halted the python. The serpent hissed, coiling around her while glaring at the trembling cultivators.

"Answer well, and you live. Fail, and you die." Ye Yun stared down at the cowering group, hands clasped behind his back.

"Die first, brat!" A lust-driven Nascent Soul cultivator lunged, black handprint aimed at Ye Yun’s skull.

"Interrupting me forfeits your life." Ye Yun raised a finger, shattering the attack with a flicker of fire. The man’s body exploded into crimson mist before his fist could connect.

"Any other objections?" Ye Yun surveyed the remaining four, now drenched in their comrade’s blood.

"N-none, Senior! Kui Yujiang deserved death for his folly!" they babbled, secretly grateful the hotheaded fool had drawn Ye Yun’s wrath instead of them.

"Why linger here instead of plundering the island’s treasure?" Blood droplets pattered around them as Ye Yun pressed.

"W-we couldn’t pass the first trial!" one stammered. "The vault’s center holds riches, but our strength… it’s hopeless!"

"Lead me there."

"Straight ahead, Senior! The island’s heart!" they chorused, desperate to please.

Ye Yun nodded, then addressed the python: "Feed. Consider this compensation for delayed meals."

The Water Spirit Python struck like blue lightning. Four screams echoed briefly before being swallowed whole.

"Shall we investigate the vault, Senior?" Jin An asked, approval in his gaze as the python licked its fangs.

"Indeed. The second layer’s treasures might prove… interesting." Ye Yun’s lips quirked as Golden Ling’er scolded her blood-stained pet.

A summoned wave cleansed the python, which shrank into a docile bracelet around her wrist. Though Golden Ling’er’s grip couldn’t harm its scales, the serpent feigned meekness—fresh kills daily beat scavenging sea scraps.

As they trekked inland, Jin An plucked a crimson fruit, only to have it knocked from his hand by a streak of Sword Energy.

"Eat that," Ye Yun said mildly, "and your cultivation ends today."

"Gulp!"

After hearing Ye Yun’s words, Jin An’s throat bobbed as he stared in horror at the crimson fruit on the ground. He’d nearly lost decades of cultivation in an instant. "Ahaha! Senior Brother’s so silly! Ling’er would never eat random things!" Golden Ling’er giggled, cheeks bulging with green fruits the Water Spirit Python had fetched.

"Your spirit beast’s too stingy! Why didn’t it bring me any?" Jin An eyed the fruits piled in her arms, considering snatching a few.

"Hmph! Little Water, block his path!" Golden Ling’er commanded. Years of experience told her the Water Spirit Python could handle Jin An’s antics.

The girl patted her shrinking python affectionately. Unlike ordinary beasts requiring force or life-death bonds to tame, this clever creature had willingly chosen her. As the python washed fruit remnants away with seawater, Ye Yun observed them thoughtfully. He’d embedded sword intent within the python as insurance against betrayal, but their bond seemed genuine.

"Forget it. Their business is theirs." Approaching the cave entrance, Ye Yun summoned Fire Spirit Qi into his palm. The Purple Shadow Divine Sword trembled at his waist. "Ancestor of the Sword Path, shield the others."

Before them loomed a mountain-sized beast devouring deep-sea prey. "A primordial mountain beast!" The Ancestor’s soul power rippled in surprise. "Its body holds the Essence of the Thick Earth – the condensed spirit of ten thousand years!"

Yet the creature’s dull eyes revealed only animal hunger. Ye Yun extinguished his flames, turning to Jin An. "Take Ling’er back. I’ll handle this."

Though Jin An lacked Ye Yun’s instincts, he recognized the murderous intent in his friend’s eyes. Leading the trembling girl away, he glanced back at the python shivering in her arms. "What’s wrong, Little Water?" Golden Ling’er poked its snout. "Too many fruits?"

The python hissed weakly, finally sensing the primordial aura it had foolishly challenged earlier.

*

Ye Yun stood between split land and sea, Fire Dragon Whip coiling in his left hand. "Born as a Sword!" Thirty-meter flames erupted from the whip as the Purple Shadow Divine Sword blazed in his right. He unleashed the Sea of Heavenly Fire.

Lava rain scorched the beast’s stony hide. A sword arc sliced through its leg, painting the ground crimson. The wounded creature charged blindly.

"Should’ve used full power earlier," Ye Yun muttered, dodging. Blood dripped from his bitten tongue as he channeled essence blood into the supreme Immortal artifact. The Ancestor of the Sword Path shouted warnings, but Ye Yun’s hundred-zhang flame dragon was already airborne.

The island split asunder beneath the collision. Amidst settling debris, Ye Yun landed unscathed. "Why would I brawl directly with a mountain?"

"Brat! You nearly stopped my non-existent heart!" the Ancestor grumbled. "Your prize’s in its chest – the Essence you wasted all that Fire Spirit Qi for."

Ye Yun smirked at the merging landmass. "External forces count as skill."

"Keep boasting. You’d have reached Nascent Soul stage already if you weren’t hunting mountain essence!"

As waves swallowed the beast’s corpse, Ye Yun approached the glowing core in its chest. Some risks were worth taking.