Chapter 246 Cloud Herons Loyalty Furious Blow Kills Instantly

Spirit beast bags were rare treasures.

Though valuable, they held little meaning in the eyes of two Nascent Soul experts. With their vision, they didn’t care for what spirit beast bags held.

However, for Yu Xian—a mere mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, who had just broken through to the late-stage—possessing something that even Core Formation cultivators would covet was rather unexpected.

Clearly, he must have obtained some kind of powerful legacy, which was how he came to own a spirit beast bag.

And it made sense—without great opportunities, how could someone so young cultivate his physical body to such a level?

After all, no matter how talented someone was, without fortuitous encounters, mere bitter cultivation would never lead to rapid advancement.

On the contrary, the more talented a person was, the more fortunate encounters they’d draw. They’d grow stronger and continue this cycle of opportunity and growth.

Fu Ning’an’s expression quickly returned to calm.

A mere spirit beast bag was nothing worth coveting for someone like him.

Elder Shi, however, frowned. He had recognized the Cloud Heron that Yu Xian released as a peak-tier third-rank beast, and a thought struck him.

A peak third-rank Cloud Heron, especially at its limit, could erupt with speed that far surpassed that of an average late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Still, the difference in distance between them was more than a few miles, and one was fleeing while the other gave chase. Even with faster speed, it wouldn’t be enough to catch up in time to stop the other from entering the Misty Pine Forest.

That was his reasoning.

But Yu Xian, on the other hand, would still do his utmost—he had to try, even if there was only a sliver of hope.

The Cloud Heron had been sealed in the spirit beast bag since it killed the demonic cultivators. More than three years had passed since then.

Over those years, it had grown immensely and reached its peak—its absolute limit!

If it ever broke through the bottleneck, it could evolve into a fourth-rank beast.

Right now, however, it had reached the summit of its current form, standing at its strongest, most vigorous, most mature state.

In this moment, the Cloud Heron’s explosive speed was nothing short of terrifying.

Yu Xian leapt onto its back in a single motion and immediately issued a command:

Catch that cultivator. At all costs. If we don’t, we die. Catch him!!

In that instant, the Cloud Heron sensed the murderous resolve in its master’s heart.

Although not highly intelligent, to the Cloud Heron, its master was everything.

Now that its master was in mortal danger, it would go to any lengths—even death—to help him!

It went mad with fury.

Screeeeech!!

It let out a crazed cry, all its feathers flaring up, blood mist spraying from its pores, eyes glowing blood-red!

It shot forward like a true arrow, ripping through the sky with an ear-piercing shriek as it rushed toward the fleeing cultivator.

“Hm?”

Fu Ning’an and Elder Shi both narrowed their eyes. Elder Shi frowned. “Why is a third-rank Cloud Heron that fast?”

Fu Ning’an calmly replied, “It’s burning its essence blood. Of course it’s fast. But at this pace, it can only hold out for half an incense stick of time. After that, it’ll be crippled.”

“Burning essence blood?”

Elder Shi muttered. “That’s the most extreme protect-the-master state. No spirit beast would do that unless they had true loyalty. Even under threat of death, most wouldn’t obey such a command.”

Fu Ning’an said nothing further.

On the Cloud Heron’s back, Yu Xian could see its reddening feathers and the fresh blood oozing from beneath them.

Its insane momentum alarmed Yu Xian—he sensed something was wrong.

He lightly patted the Cloud Heron’s neck and tried to soothe it through their mental connection, urging it not to go too far, to ease up.

But the Cloud Heron only cried out more violently, spraying more blood from its beak as its speed surged again.

It knew it wouldn’t be of much help in the future…

Its master would grow stronger, and it had already reached its limit. Even being a mount would eventually become a burden.

But now—its master still needed it.

Maybe this was its final service.

With its simple and naive consciousness, it had only one thought:

Help its master—this one last time—even if it died.

It must not fail!!

Screeeeeech!!

With a third blood-soaked cry, the Cloud Heron became a blood-red arrow with a blazing tail, closing the gap with the cultivator ahead!

That cultivator was running for the Misty Pine Forest with all his might—but the gap was shrinking quickly.

In less than half an incense’s time, he would be caught.

He screamed, “How do you have a mount!? How can you bring one in here!? Wait—you have a spirit beast bag!?”

Yu Xian had no time for words. He simply placed a calming hand on the Cloud Heron’s neck, trying to stop it from pushing too far and dying from overexertion.

But the Cloud Heron didn’t care—it flew faster and faster.

Simple as its mind was, it had purer, more loyal thoughts.

The Misty Pine Forest was now barely 100 li away.

But the cultivator would never make it.

300 zhang… 200 zhang!

The distance was enough!

Yu Xian’s eyes gleamed coldly as he raised a finger—Jade Spirit Bracelet whistled forth, while he quickly formed hand seals, gathering the power of five elements.

The Jade Spirit Bracelet expanded and flew toward the fleeing cultivator.

The cultivator panicked, hastily throwing out two powerful talismans infused with Core Formation stage energy before sprinting toward the forest.

He knew he couldn’t fight directly! If Yu Xian delayed him even slightly, he’d be dead!

Yu Xian’s eyes turned colder—he split the bracelet into dozens of copies, which weaved through the air.

Boom! Boom!

The talismans exploded violently, destroying half of the bracelet clones. The original artifact dimmed, clearly damaged, but Yu Xian wasn’t concerned—it could recover in a few days.

More than thirty remaining bracelets shot past the explosion and slammed into the cultivator’s limbs and neck!

“AH!?”

The cultivator screamed in disbelief—he hadn’t thought the bracelets would be that fast! Even two mid-Core talismans couldn’t stop them!

He struggled wildly, but the bracelets tightened.

The bindings would only last a second and a half.

But that was enough.

Yu Xian’s hands finished the seal. With spiritual power surging, he launched a massive five-element handprint forward.

Boom!!

The massive imprint, infused with fury, expanded to seven feet and fell like a mountain!

It matched the strength of Yu Xian’s pseudo-Core attack against An Wenyuan.

“No!!”

The cultivator was utterly terrified—but bound as he was, he couldn’t cast spells or even summon a defensive artifact!

CRASH!!

Though powerful, his physical body wasn’t tough. Without defenses, the massive hand shattered him like a clay doll—he exploded into dozens of pieces, blood and flesh scattering!

The Cloud Heron could feel its master’s concern—but more importantly, it sensed his will to kill.

So it had to help.

Whether it lived or died—it didn’t care.

Yu Xian clenched his brow. He wanted to stop the Cloud Heron—but it was already at its limit, its blood boiling. Restraining it now could rupture its heart and kill it instantly!

Its power, once unleashed, had to explode outward.

“Little Lu’er…”

He whispered gently, then looked at the rapidly approaching cultivator with icy coldness.

He had to end this quickly—if not, the Cloud Heron would die.

Even one more second of flight would drain too much.

Half an incense’s time was nearly up.

The Cloud Heron was shriveling, only its velocity keeping it going. It was one breath from collapse.

Yu Xian, seeing he was within 300 zhang, extended a hand and gently pressed on the Cloud Heron’s back, injecting spiritual power to suppress its energy.

“Enough, Little Lu’er. You’ve done enough. Thank you… Rest now. Be good.”

The Cloud Heron let out one last weak screech, its speed plummeting as its body trembled.

Yu Xian immediately caught it, sent it into the spirit beast bag, and transferred three fourth-rank healing pills inside.

But the damage was done.

Even with all three pills, the Cloud Heron was barely clinging to life, in a false-death state.

Inside the spirit beast bag, it lay motionless—skin and bones, feathers dried, barely breathing.

“You’ll be okay… I’ll definitely heal you. I swear it—I will.”

His spiritual sense lingered on the barely alive Cloud Heron before he took a deep breath and looked forward with icy resolve.

Outside, Yu Xian’s face was a frozen storm of rage as he burst forward with all his strength, charging the remaining 300 zhang to his target.