txolops Chapter 394 Liu Yu's Guess
Chapter 394 Liu Yu's Guess
A moment after the blazing sun and the four banner bearers left.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several streaks of light of different colors landed somewhat hastily on the now ruined and scorched Wangdong Peak. These were Han Yunzhi and several other Core Formation cultivators from the vicinity who had sensed the intense commotion and rushed over.
"Junior Sister Liu!"
Han Yunzhi immediately spotted Liu Yu lying unconscious on the edge of the charred pit. Her expression changed drastically, and she cried out in alarm. In a flash, she was beside Liu Yu. She knelt down, extended her slender fingers, and quickly placed them on Liu Yu's wrist pulse, while simultaneously using her divine sense to carefully examine her internal condition.
After a moment, her furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but the worry in her eyes did not completely disappear.
Without hesitation, she took out a warm jade bottle from her bosom and poured out a pill the size of a longan, pure white, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance and a refreshing chill. As soon as the pill appeared, the surrounding scorching air seemed to cool down a bit.
"Frosty Jade Heart-Protecting Pill!" A Core Formation cultivator nearby exclaimed in surprise. This was a high-grade pill made from several thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, known for its remarkable effects on stabilizing the mind and treating internal burns; it was extremely valuable.
Ignoring the gazes of others, Han Yunzhi carefully fed the pill into Liu Yu's slightly open mouth and used her magic to help it dissolve.
The elixir was indeed miraculously effective. In just about ten breaths, Liu Yu's originally deathly pale face regained some color at a speed visible to the naked eye. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she slowly opened her eyes, her gaze initially somewhat confused and unfocused.
"Han...Senior Sister Han? What are you doing here?" Liu Yu's voice was weak and hoarse from just waking up. She struggled to sit up, but Han Yunzhi gently pressed her down.
"Junior sister, don't move, take good care of your breathing," Han Yunzhi said gently, but then a hint of tension and probing appeared on her face. "Do you... remember what just happened? Do you feel any discomfort? For example... any memory loss?"
She worried that Liu Yu had suffered a spiritual attack or was so frightened that her memory had been damaged.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yu blinked blankly for a moment, and then the terrifying scene before she lost consciousness—the giant crimson-gold fiery claw, the shattered Vajra talisman, the suffocating heat and despair—rushed into her mind like a tidal wave! Her face turned pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
"The Fiery Sun Bird...it's out of control!" Liu Yu exclaimed in a low voice. Then, as if remembering something, she struggled to sit up abruptly. Ignoring Han Yunzhi's attempts to stop her, she frantically scanned her surroundings with her divine sense, while urgently asking, "Senior Sister Han! When you came over, did you see Junior Nephew Li Feiyu? He...he should have been nearby, not far from me!"
"Li Feiyu? That new disciple of Insect Peak who joined three years ago?" Han Yunzhi was taken aback when she heard this, then shook her head, her tone carrying a hint of regret and indifference, "When we came here, apart from you, Junior Sister, there was no other Foundation Establishment cultivator's aura here."
Presumably... she was caught in the crossfire of that transformed demonic bird's casual attack, and her chances of survival are slim. The other two Foundation Establishment disciples who were stationed near my junior sister have also disappeared; they're probably... gone too.
She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.
"Eaten by a monster...?" Liu Yu frowned deeply, her face showing a complex expression of disbelief and deep confusion.
She clearly remembered hearing a very soft sigh in the instant before she lost consciousness, a voice... somewhat similar to Li Feiyu's! Moreover, she vaguely felt as if she were being protected by someone, bumping into something solid...
Was it a hallucination? A near-death experience? Or...did someone really save me?
If it was Li Feiyu, how could a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stages survive such an attack and even save me? If it wasn't him, then who was it? Why did he save me and then leave quietly without leaving a trace?
Countless questions swirled in Liu Yu's mind, leaving her in a state of utter confusion.
Just then, the mid-stage Core Formation cultivator who had first noticed the huge claw mark at the bottom of the pit and had been frowning as he carefully observed it finally couldn't help but speak, looking at Liu Yu with surprise and suspicion:
"Junior Sister Liu, forgive my bluntness. Judging from the claw marks and the extent of the damage left in that pit, the power of that attack was far beyond what an ordinary Core Formation cultivator could withstand. Junior Sister, you... actually survived such an attack, and it seems... you haven't suffered any fatal injuries? This skill truly... makes us look at you with new respect!"
Upon hearing this, the other Core Formation cultivators who had arrived all turned their gazes to Liu Yu, their eyes filled with the same doubt.
They reasoned that if they were in Liu Yu's position, facing a wrathful attack from a transformed demon beast, even a casual blow would result in a heavy price, with serious injury being the least of their worries.
However, Liu Yu appeared weak and pale, but her life force was stable. She had only suffered some shock and internal injuries and would recover after a period of recuperation. This was simply illogical!
Book lovers are hotly debating: What exactly happened? Join the discussion!
Feeling the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, Liu Yu's heart skipped a beat, but her face quickly regained its composure, even revealing a hint of lingering fear and relief. She raised her hand to lightly touch her chest and said with a wry smile:
"Senior Brother Chen, you flatter me. Junior Sister, I was lucky to escape with my life. Firstly, the incident happened suddenly, and in my haste, I activated a 'High-Level Vajra Talisman' that I had purchased at a high price years ago. This talisman has decent defensive power and helped me withstand the initial and strongest impact."
Secondly… my junior sister had cultivated a flawed secret technique in her early years, which allowed her to condense a substitute using a portion of her essence and mana at crucial moments to absorb some of the damage. Just now, she barely managed to withstand it thanks to the double effect of the talisman and the substitute technique, suffering considerable backlash and internal injuries herself. It's a miracle she can even stand and speak now.”
Her explanation was reasonable. While high-level defensive talismans were precious, it wasn't surprising that Liu Yu, a Core Formation cultivator, possessed them. "Substitute Techniques," unorthodox life-saving techniques, occasionally circulated in the cultivation world. Although their cultivation conditions were demanding and often damaged one's foundation, their ability to save one's life in critical moments was plausible.
Upon hearing this, the doubts on the faces of the Core Formation cultivators lessened slightly, and they slowly nodded, accepting the explanation. After all, who doesn't have some trump card for self-preservation?
Only Han Yunzhi, who was extremely familiar with Liu Yu, keenly noticed the fleeting, unnatural look in Liu Yu's eyes and the overly fluent tone of her voice as if she had already prepared a script.
However, she did not point it out on the spot. She just gave Liu Yu a deep look before looking away and gazing at the eastern horizon.
At this moment, in the distant sky, the booming sounds of clashing divine powers and fluctuations of spiritual energy could still be heard from afar. However, compared to the earth-shattering commotion when the Fiery Sun Bird first went out of control, it had weakened considerably and seemed intermittent. It was as if the two sides in the pursuit had moved far away, or... reached some kind of tacit understanding.
"It seems that Uncle-Master Lieyang and the others have gone too far. Those few in the sky..." Han Yunzhi looked at the sky above the core area of the Yuling Sect, where the faint fluctuations of the Nascent Soul level were still emanating, and a trace of worry flashed in her beautiful eyes.
"It seems the deadly battle has temporarily ceased, with both sides restraining and observing each other. Whether they can capture that transformed demon beast now... depends entirely on the abilities of Uncle-Master Lieyang and the four banner bearers."
Her implication was that the turmoil caused by the transformation of the Fiery Sun Bird had ultimately evolved from a chaotic battle at the sect level into a small-scale chase and capture.
……
As a top-tier bird spirit beast naturally adept at flying, even though it had just undergone a transformation tribulation and was severely injured, with its qi, blood, and demonic power greatly depleted, the speed it displayed when flying at full speed was still somewhat stronger than that of ordinary cultivators of the same level.
With each flap of its broad, crimson-gold wings, it stirred up a violent vortex of hot wind and spiritual energy, propelling its massive body like a crimson-gold meteor streaking across the sky, hurtling eastward.
Gradually, the relentlessly pursuing Venerable Lieyang, relying solely on his divine sense to scan the distance, found it increasingly difficult to clearly pinpoint the blurry, crimson-gold streak ahead. The distance between them was slowly widening.
He could only rely on the faint connection between the deepest soul restriction of the Fiery Sun Bird's soul and himself to vaguely determine the general direction of the other party's escape.
Although the restriction was shielded and even largely dissolved, it was difficult to completely sever this connection.
Master Lieyang's face was gloomy as he glanced back at what was behind him.
The four "banner bearers" at the late stage of Core Formation were working together to control the four "Thousand Demon Banners". Rolling black energy surged out from the banners, intertwining and condensing under their feet, actually forming a pair of lifelike "black wings" with a wingspan of more than ten feet, made entirely of dense black energy and demon soul power!
These "wings" flapped rapidly, stirring up gusts of cold wind, carrying the four people closely behind him. Their speed barely reached the level of the early Nascent Soul stage, and they were not completely left behind.
This "Shape-Mimicking Escape Technique" is clearly a secret technique passed down by the Spirit Control Sect, specifically designed to be used in conjunction with magical treasures like the Thousand Demon Banner to pursue enemies.
"You four, try your best to keep up from behind and don't fall behind!" Master Lieyang frowned and gave the four orders in a deep voice, his tone carrying an unquestionable determination.
"I will go ahead and try to intercept that beast! If it manages to create a significant distance and escape into deeper, more dangerous territory, capturing it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven!"
He knew perfectly well that at his current speed, the chances of catching up with the fleeing Sunbird were slim. The longer the delay, the more variables there would be. Not only might the Sunbird regain more strength, but it might also attract other ill-intentioned beings, or allow the beast to find a special terrain to hide.
Before he could finish speaking, Master Lieyang suddenly patted the storage pouch at his waist. In a flash of light, a jade bottle about the size of a palm, pure white in color, with a vermilion sealing talisman affixed to its surface, appeared in his hand.
Without hesitation, he flicked his finger and unveiled the vermilion talisman.
"cracking--!"
The moment the talisman was unveiled, a bird's cry filled with resentment, hatred, and sharp ferocity suddenly burst forth from the jade bottle!
The world depicted by Mo Yu Jing Feng can be found in "A Mortal's Beginning at the Spirit Beast Mountain".