Proud Sword Soaring Clouds-Chapter 39 - 38: Tier 5 Magical Beast

At that moment, Ling Xiao suddenly regretted not having studied the Magical Beasts of the Canglan Continent more thoroughly. The pain from his wound had made him lower his guard, and he never expected this feathered bastard to be so intelligent. ’This kind of attack, trapping them before unleashing its assault, is utterly shameless,’ he thought.

He instantly drew his Fine Willow Sword. His mind focused, his Spirit Platform becoming a silent void as his entire world fell into a profound state. At this life-or-death juncture, Ling Xiao had directly entered the realm of Sword Intent!

The narrow cave made it difficult to even turn around, let alone dodge the overwhelming barrage of wind blades. Ye Wen Ni, who had closed her eyes and prepared for death, waited for a long time without feeling any pain. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see Ling Xiao standing there, a curtain of light shimmering before him!

Ye Wen Ni could feel the power of those wind blades from the destruction they wrought upon the massive stone walls. The hard rock, when struck by the blades, crumbled like tofu and rained down to the ground. In just a moment, a large pile of stone debris had accumulated on the floor!

The shock in Ye Wen Ni’s eyes gradually turned to fascination. Women are often sentimental creatures. When faced with a life-or-death crisis, and a man stands before you without a second thought to protect you, who wouldn’t be moved?

But only Ling Xiao knew the bitter state he was in. He once again cursed his blocked meridians. Without the support of Inner Strength, his entire body was now sore and weak, held up only by his sheer willpower.

After blocking the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon’s wave of attacks, Ling Xiao’s forehead was beaded with sweat. He could no longer feel the pain in his leg, and a sweet, coppery taste rose in his throat as his vision began to blur. A bitter smile touched his lips as he watched the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon outside, its neck feathers bristling with rage. ’I blocked its first wave of attacks,’ Ling Xiao knew, ’but I won’t be able to stop the second. And I’ve definitely managed to piss this thing off.’

The Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon was indeed enraged. It hadn’t expected these two humans to actually block its attack. It let out a sharp, ear-piercing shriek as elemental power rapidly gathered around it. But just then, the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon suddenly raised its head and stared at the peak above. After letting out an indignant cry, it flapped its wings and flew away without hesitation.

Ling Xiao let out a long sigh of relief. Behind him, Ye Wen Ni cheered, but then she saw Ling Xiao swaying on his feet. She rushed forward to support him from behind, helping him sit down slowly. Only then did she notice how deathly pale his face was, his lips pressed tightly together. She knew he had overexerted himself, so she didn’t say a word, simply staring at him with a pitiful look, like a little kitten relying on its master.

After a long while, Ling Xiao managed to forcefully suppress the churning within him, swallowing the mouthful of blood he was about to spit up. Doing so was actually very damaging to his body, but if he had spat it out, he would have lost all combat ability for at least the next several hours. For Ling Xiao, that was absolutely unacceptable.

’It was obvious,’ he thought, ’that the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon hadn’t given up on killing me and Ye Wen Ni out of the goodness of its heart! A Magical Beast like that clearly possesses high intelligence, and judging by its power, it’s definitely not a Tier Three Magical Beast! The only possibility is that something else has happened at the peak where the Vantia Holy Fruit grows, forcing it to abandon killing us.’

Recalling the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon’s purple eyes, Ling Xiao cursed resentfully, "That bastard has already eaten so many. Can’t it spare just one?"

"Ah... Are you saying that this Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon became so powerful because it ate a Vantia Holy Fruit?" Ye Wen Ni asked in surprise. Ling Xiao had only told her he was looking for the Vantia Holy Fruit, but not what its effects were. Being exceptionally quick-witted, she immediately understood what he implied, which was why she was so shocked. ’Could it be... that this thing can actually increase a person’s power?’

Ling Xiao smiled but didn’t answer. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Ye Wen Ni, but as the saying goes, "humans die for wealth as birds die for food." A heaven-defying treasure like this was different from the sword techniques that were worthless in Ling Xiao’s eyes. This was something that could truly drive people mad.

Deep down, Ling Xiao didn’t want this item to cause a rift between them.

"You stay here. Wait for me to come back," Ling Xiao said, getting up unsteadily and starting to walk out.

Ye Wen Ni grabbed the front of his clothes. In her urgency, she forgot to ask about the Vantia Holy Fruit’s true effects and said angrily, "Ling Xiao, are you crazy! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out there? Mmph—"

Ling Xiao looked at Ye Wen Ni’s deeply concerned face and smiled. He suddenly reached out, lifted her veil, and gently caressed her flawless, delicate cheek. Ye Wen Ni seemed stunned, suddenly at a loss for words as a blush bloomed across her cheeks.

"Be good and stay here. I promise I’ll be back." After speaking, Ling Xiao turned and left the crevice between the rocks. He glanced back at Ye Wen Ni. "And don’t you dare sneak away!"

Ye Wen Ni knew that if she followed him, she would only be a burden. Throughout their journey, she had become convinced that Ling Xiao was a remarkable person. Although he didn’t seem to be as high a level as her, his strength... even ten of her wouldn’t be his match. She sniffled, forcing back the words "I’ll wait for you" that were on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she said petulantly, "You still haven’t given me the sword technique. Of course I’m not going to run off!"

"Good!" After saying that, Ling Xiao pulled a clump of tender herbs from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth. It was a medicinal herb for restoring stamina that he had found along the way, and it was quite effective.

The higher he climbed, the steeper the mountain became, with many sections being nearly vertical. Ling Xiao’s body was pressed almost flat against the rock face as strong winds howled past him. From a distance, he looked like he was glued to the cliff, slowly climbing upward like a gecko.

Ye Wen Ni stood in the crevice, looking up at Ling Xiao’s figure and praying endlessly in her heart. ’You have to come back. Please don’t let me down! Ling Xiao... I admit it. I think I’m starting to like you.’

Meanwhile, the summit of the Holy Mountain was a scene of great turmoil, with sand and stones flying through the air. A White Jade Red-eyed Python, dozens of meters long and as thick as a water bucket, its entire body glistening like jade, had its head reared high. Its pair of scarlet eyes stared at the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon circling endlessly in the sky above, its long tongue flicking in and out with a HISS.

The Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon, for its part, was letting out continuous, sharp cries of warning. Although it was the natural enemy of snakes, it was still wary of this Tier Five White Jade Red-eyed Python, a beast of the same tier. The giant python had been coveting the Vantia Holy Fruit for many years. Though the falcon had managed to drive it back every time, neither of them had ever been able to defeat the other.

In recent years, the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon had been consistently eating the Vantia Holy Fruits, and its power had risen from the original Tier Three to Tier Five. This terrifying rate of advancement made the White Jade Red-eyed Python shudder. It knew that if it still couldn’t defeat its enemy this time, it would have to leave this pristine mountain peak for good.

Because once the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon finished absorbing the energy from the last Vantia Holy Fruit, if it ate another one, it would become an unbeatable foe—even if it didn’t advance to the next tier.

The Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon felt a growing anxiety. Normally, it could relax and engage in a protracted battle with this giant python. But not today. ’That damned human actually managed to block my attack! What are they here for...’ The Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon was intelligent enough to understand.

Staring at the damned White Jade Red-eyed Python below, the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon let out a piercing shriek, gave a vicious flap of its wings, and dove straight toward it!