Chương 149: Level 8 Monster!

An endless alien sea, its waters an eternal inky blue, its sky a somber, leaden gray.

An inconspicuous pale blue flying boat, like an arrow released from a bow, traveled steadily and swiftly at a height of a hundred feet above the sea, cutting through the biting, salty sea wind and leaving a fleeting trail.

On the flying boat, Zhou Ding stood with his hands behind his back, his green robe fluttering slightly in the strong wind.

His eyes were slightly closed, and his expression was calm, but his invisible divine sense was like the most sophisticated radar wave, surging outwards from him in all directions, instantly covering the vast sea area within a radius of three hundred miles!

Beneath the sea, currents surge, fish and shrimp swim, and demonic beasts lurk; in the high sky, thin clouds drift, and distant birds appear as indistinct shadows; even the outline of an isolated island in the sea and the distribution of spiritual energy— Nothing, no matter how small, could escape his vast divine sense.

In this perilous alien sea, powerful divine sense is the best early warning and pathfinder.

Meanwhile, in his outstretched left palm, a tiny golden creature, shrunk to only a foot in length and resembling an exquisite dark gold sculpture, lay quietly.

Within its dark golden vertical pupils, a strange pale golden light flowed erratically, and an invisible, mysterious probing wave was spreading and scanning outwards from Xiao Jin's core, covering a range of three hundred miles.

It is indeed the "Heavenly Hearing Technique"!

The dual approach of using divine sense to perceive the environment and threats, and the "Heavenly Hearing Technique" to search for treasures and opportunities, complemented each other and formed a solid guarantee for Zhou Ding's safe travel in this dangerous sea area.

This expedition into the outer sea to explore the ruins of "Tianjing" has yielded far more fruitful results than expected.

Not only did he obtain the core inheritance of the Nascent Soul cultivator, Tianjing Sanren, along with several top-tier ancient treasures, but he also acquired over a dozen priceless thousand-year-old spiritual herbs.

It can be said that this adventure has been a complete success. Even if he turns back to Tianxing City now, it will be enough for him to digest the experience for a long time, and his strength will definitely reach a new level.

However, Zhou Ding did not choose to return immediately.

He stood at the bow of the ship, his gaze deep as he looked out at the seemingly endless horizon where the sea met the sky.

With a cultivation level at the mid-stage of Core Formation, he was already considered a master in the Chaotic Star Sea, but he was still far from being at the true top level.

The Nascent Soul stage is the threshold for gaining initial influence and some control over one's own destiny in this vast starry sea.

With his lifespan now soaring to 1, 500 years, coupled with abundant resources and top-tier cultivation techniques, achieving Nascent Soul stage is almost a certainty; it's just a matter of time.

However, forming a nascent soul is no easy task. Not only does it require cultivation to reach the peak of the late stage of Core Formation and a perfect state of mind, but it also requires the assistance of a key "nascent soul forming spiritual object" to greatly improve the success rate and quality of condensing a nascent soul.

Nascent Soul artifacts are all rare treasures of heaven and earth, extremely rare and hard to come by. Even in a prosperous place like Tianxing City, they are often priceless and unavailable. Once they appear, they will inevitably cause a frenzy of competition among Nascent Soul monsters.

The outer sea is teeming with monsters and rare treasures. Many precious creatures that have long since disappeared from the inner sea may be hidden in some corner of this wild sea.

Now that we're here and our strength has increased so much, why not take this opportunity to hone our skills while trying to find the crucial opportunity to form our Nascent Soul?

Even if you can't find the top-tier ones, finding some secondary spiritual items that can assist in forming a Nascent Soul or improve the quality of the Nascent Soul is still a huge gain.

Therefore, after leaving that deserted island, Zhou Ding did not rush back, but instead changed course and headed deeper into the outer space sea.

Continue exploring the seas where monsters are more concentrated and where there are rumored to be more opportunities.

He piloted the flying boat at a steady pace, his divine sense and "Heavenly Hearing Technique" fully activated, like a highly efficient scanning and treasure-hunting machine, carefully searching for any possible sparks of inspiration in this vast sea.

Time slipped away in the monotonous flight and exploration.

During this time, the "Heavenly Hearing Technique" discovered several materials and low-grade spiritual herbs emitting a blue or dark blue precious light. Zhou Ding casually collected them, thinking that something was better than nothing.

They also encountered several waves of monster attacks, mostly level five or six, which he and Xiao Jin easily dealt with, and they collected all the monster core materials.

On this day, as Zhou Ding was flying, the edge of his powerful divine sense, which covered three hundred miles, suddenly detected an unusually strong, yet undeniably weak and chaotic, demonic energy fluctuation!

The power of that demonic energy far surpassed that of any demonic beast he had encountered before, and the sense of oppression it gave him was even several times stronger than that of the level seven Thunderwing Sea Roc!

However, its fluctuations are extremely unstable, sometimes high and sometimes low, subtly revealing a sense of decay and pain, like a candle flickering in the wind, struggling to stay afloat.

"This is—the aura of an eighth-level demonic beast!" Zhou Ding's heart jolted, and he instantly judged the level of this demonic power!

An eighth-level demonic beast is a terrifying existence equivalent to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm in humans!

In the outer seas, he would definitely be considered a dominant force!

How did it end up in this relatively outer part of the sea?

Moreover, why is his breathing so weak and disordered?

He immediately brought the flying boat to a stop, hovering in the air, and focused his divine sense into a beam, carefully heading towards the source of the demonic energy fluctuation.

He carefully explored a medium-sized island located about 270 miles away, at the edge of his divine sense's perception.

The island is covered with lush vegetation, and there is a low mountain in the center.

That powerful yet fragile level eight demonic energy lingered deep within the mountain peak.

As Zhou Ding's divine sense deepened, he became increasingly certain that this level eight demon beast not only had an unstable aura and sluggish demonic power, but also had several extremely sharp and destructive alien energies constantly colliding and destroying within its body, hindering the recovery of its demonic power and the healing of its injuries.

Clearly, this level eight demon beast was severely injured, and it was a Dao foundation injury that would be difficult to heal in a short time!

"A heavily injured level eight demonic beast—" Zhou Ding's eyes flashed intensely, and his heart began to pound uncontrollably. A bold, even insane, thought uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.

The demon core of an eighth-level demon beast, containing the essence of demonic power and a fragment of the laws of heaven and earth, can barely be considered a spiritual object to assist in the formation of the Nascent Soul!

Although its effects may not be as good as some specialized natural treasures, its value is still immeasurable!

More importantly, the threat posed by a severely injured and greatly weakened level eight demonic beast has been greatly reduced.

"I have Little Gold, whose defense is comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, enough to directly restrain or even block its attacks. I also have the Six Armor Heavenly Soldiers Talisman for self-defense, plus my own strength, and the Soul Extinguishing Thorn, a divine sense killing move—" Zhou Ding quickly weighed the strength of himself and his enemy in his mind.

The opponent was an eighth-level demon beast. Even though it was severely injured, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Its innate supernatural powers, physical strength, and combat experience were still terrifying.

However, our side is equally formidable. Little Gold has unparalleled defense, and we possess numerous methods and even more powerful talismans as trump cards.

Most importantly, the opponent is severely injured and will certainly not dare to fight for long, nor will he be able to exert his full strength.

Given this shift in power, they may not be without the ability to fight!

If one can successfully hunt it down and obtain its demon core, that would be an incredible opportunity!

This is enough to increase his success rate in achieving Nascent Soul by at least 10%!

The risks are enormous, but the opportunities are equally astonishing.

The path of cultivation is inherently defying the heavens and defying destiny. If one seeks stability in everything and fears risks, how can one stand out and reach the pinnacle?

"Let's do it!" A moment later, a resolute glint flashed in Zhou Ding's eyes.

This heavily injured level eight demon beast is worth the risk!

Without further hesitation, he immediately concealed his aura, put away the flying boat, and minimized his presence. At the same time, he cast a spell to conceal his demonic energy on Xiao Jin.

Immediately, his figure transformed into a faint shadow barely perceptible to the naked eye, silently making his way towards the island two hundred and seventy miles away.

Instead of approaching directly, he took a long detour, slowly approaching from the side and rear of the island, taking advantage of the undulating waves and thin mist on the sea.

Soon, the outline of the island became clear in the field of vision.

The island is quite large, with lush forests. The central mountain peak is not steep, but it is shrouded in mist and clouds, and the spiritual energy is much richer than that of the surrounding sea, making it a good place for cultivation.

Zhou Ding stopped when he was still more than ten miles away from the island, hovering above the sea and not moving forward.

He first used his divine sense to carefully scan the entire island again, confirming that apart from the heavily injured level eight demonic beast, there were no other powerful demonic beasts or cultivators.

The aura of that level-eight demonic beast still lingered deep within the mountain peak, seemingly focused on healing its wounds, and its perception of the outside world had diminished.

"We can't just rush in; we need to lure it out and fight it in an open area to prevent it from taking advantage of the terrain or the cave's restrictions."

Zhou Ding quickly devised a tactic.

He communicated with the little gold in his palm through his thoughts.

With a flash, Xiao Jin disappeared from Zhou Ding's palm and appeared on the beach at the edge of the island the next moment. Its size had also returned to several zhang. Although it was still much smaller than its original size, the aura of a level six demon beast that it emitted was no longer concealed and burst out!

At the same time, it deliberately released a trace of pure, alluring flesh and blood aura, like a lighthouse in the night, provocatively spreading towards the central mountain peak of the island.

Meanwhile, in the center of the island, inside the mountain peak, there was a cave that had been opened up quite wide, filled with various exotic underwater decorations, yet it appeared messy and filled with a strong smell of blood and medicine.

A strangely shaped beast, about two zhang tall, was sitting cross-legged on a huge jade bed. Its body was surrounded by flickering demonic light, its face was pale, and its aura was fluctuating violently.

Its upper body resembles a human, covered with fine, bluish-black scales, and it has two arms with five hook-like fingers.

Its head, however, was a ferocious bird's head, with a curved beak and a pair of crimson bird eyes filled with violence and pain.

Its lower body was covered in feathers, resembling that of a bird, with feet like eagle claws. It was an eighth-level demonic beast, the "Azure-feathered Black Crow"!

A powerful avian monster possessing both water and wind attributes, it is infamous even in the outer space.

At this moment, the Azure-feathered Black Crow was in extremely poor condition.

It had a terrifying wound on its chest that almost pierced through it. Although it had barely healed, golden lightning and blazing white flames still surged within, burning its meridians and demon core.

It consumed a large amount of its treasured elixirs, and could only barely suppress the injuries. To completely expel the troublesome foreign energy from its body and restore its strength, it would take decades of hard work.

"Damn human cultivators—I will definitely extract your souls and refine your spirits—" Bi Ling Xuan Ya's heart was filled with endless resentment and anger.

Not long ago, it encountered a human Nascent Soul cultivator who was hunting demons deep in the outer sea. A fierce battle broke out, and it was hit by the opponent's secret technique, suffering severe injuries and almost perishing. It barely managed to escape back to this relatively secluded lair to heal its wounds.

Just as it was enduring the pain and exerting all its demonic power to try to refine a trace of the lightning fire within its body, the guard barrier outside the cave moved slightly. A blood aura belonging to a level six demon beast, yet exceptionally pure and alluring, accompanied by an undisguised intent to "intrude," entered its senses.

"A level six demonic beast? How dare you trespass on my island?" The Azure-feathered Black Crow's crimson eyes suddenly opened, flashing a trace of cold killing intent and—a hint of greed.

It is now severely injured and its vital essence is depleted. It needs to devour powerful demonic beasts or cultivators to replenish its energy and accelerate its healing.

This level-six demonic beast, oblivious to its own mortality, is practically a free supplement delivered to our doorstep!

It didn't even bother to investigate the other party's specific situation. In its view, a mere level six demon beast, even if it was somewhat special, was nothing more than a chicken or a dog under the pressure and supernatural power of its level eight demon beast. It was just right to devour it to make up for the loss!

"Hey——!"

A sharp, piercing, and menacing crow suddenly rang out from the mountain cave!

The next moment, the stone door of the cave exploded, and a dark blue figure, whipping up a whirlwind, rushed out of the cave in an instant, turning into a blur, and rushed towards the edge of the island, towards the direction from which the little gold aura came!

Its speed was so fast that even with injuries, it far surpassed the escape speed of ordinary Core Formation cultivators!

Almost the instant the Azure-feathered Black Crow rushed out of the cave, Zhou Ding, who was suspended on the sea surface more than ten miles away, suddenly narrowed his eyes!

"They're here!"

He could see clearly that although the Azure-feathered Black Crow was aggressive and its demonic power was astonishing, its demonic light was slightly scattered when it flew, and there was a faint golden and white light shining through its chest. Its aura fluctuated violently, indicating that it was indeed seriously injured and not yet healed.

On the island's beach, facing the overwhelming pressure of the level eight demonic beast rushing towards him, Xiao Jin raised his head and let out a roar full of fighting spirit. Instead of retreating, the dark golden demonic light around him surged, and his body instantly returned to its complete form of more than twenty feet!

The primordial ferocity was unleashed without reservation, colliding fiercely with the demonic power of the Azure Feather Black Crow!

"boom!"

Two terrifying pressures collided, creating an invisible shockwave above the beach, sending sand and stones flying!

"Huh?!" The Azure-feathered Black Crow's swooping figure suddenly stopped in mid-air, and for the first time, a look of surprise and uncertainty appeared in its crimson bird eyes.

The dark golden behemoth before it, though only at the sixth level of aura, exuded a primordial pressure and terrifyingly solidified demonic power that made it feel a slight tremor in its heart! In particular, the dark golden scales on its body gave it the illusion of being indestructible and impervious to all magic!

"What kind of monster is this?!" The Azure-feathered Black Crow's alarm bells rang loudly, but the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released.

It let out a fierce cry and stopped holding back. With a sudden flap of its wings, countless dark blue "Mysterious Yin Wind Blades" with shimmering edges rained down on Little Gold like a storm!

At the same time, it opened its sharp beak and emitted a silent yet soul-piercing "soul-shattering shriek"!

Faced with this combined attack that was enough to severely injure or even kill an ordinary level seven demon beast, Little Gold's crimson eyes flashed with ferocity. It neither dodged nor avoided, and dark golden light flowed around its body as it instantly activated the "Golden Armor Technique"!

Its massive body, like a golden mountain, charged forward fearlessly, facing the countless wind blades and the invisible attacks of divine souls!

At the same time, its powerful forelimbs swung out, accompanied by a deafening roar as they tore through the air, and slammed down hard on the Azure-feathered Black Crow!

"Sizzle! Clang! Clang!"

The dark blue-black Xuan Yin wind blades cut into Xiao Jin's dark gold-plated scales and the "Golden Armor Technique" light shield, creating a burst of sparks and a screeching sound, but they could not break through the defense, leaving only white marks at most.

The invisible "Soul-Splitting Scream" entered Xiao Jin's sea of consciousness, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea, only causing its movements to be imperceptibly slowed down for a half-second before returning to normal.

But Xiao Jin's powerful claw had already struck!

The Azure-feathered Crow was horrified and quickly dodged to the side, while simultaneously swinging its sharp claws covered in bluish-black scales to meet the attack.

"Bang!"

Claws clashed, producing a dull thud accompanied by the groaning of bones.

The Azure Crow felt an unimaginable, terrifying force surge through it, causing its blood and qi to churn and its demonic power to become disordered. The old wound in its chest was also torn apart by excruciating pain, and it almost spat out a mouthful of demonic blood!

Its body flew backward uncontrollably for dozens of feet before it barely managed to steady itself. The look in its eyes as it looked at Xiao Jin was filled with disbelief and horror!

How could a mere level six demon beast possess such formidable physical defense?

Is the power really that terrifying?

Even its soul attack was almost ineffective?

"Screech!" The Azure-feathered Crow was both shocked and furious, letting out a series of fierce cries as it unleashed a barrage of various innate divine abilities, including the Profound Yin Wind Blade, the Bone-Corroding Black Water, and the Bewitching Poison Mist, engulfing Little Gold's massive body.

However, Xiao Jin is like a rock standing firm in the storm, no matter how the wind and waves blow, I remain unmoved!

Its dark gold body weaved through the frenzied attacks, occasionally retaliating, which forced the Azure Feather Crow into a flustered and disheveled state.

The more Bi Ling Xuan Ya fought, the colder his heart became.

It discovered that its proud attacks were actually failing to inflict any effective damage on this strange, dark golden behemoth! And each of the opponent's boiling strikes was so powerful that its old wounds were showing signs of cracking open!

If this fight continues, let alone absorbing the opponent's energy to replenish my own, I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress my own injuries first!

"We can't fight for long! We have to leave!" The beast's instincts made it make the wisest choice in an instant.

It feinted, then used a mouthful of "Azure Phosphorous Poison Fire" containing its life essence to force Le Xiaojin to flap its wings, creating a whirlwind, and was about to flee towards the distant sea!

What nest, what face, none of it is as important as my life!

However, just as it turned to flee, its mind was completely focused on activating its escape technique and circulating its demonic power, creating a barely perceptible gap.

Zhou Ding, who had been hiding more than ten miles away like the most patient hunter, suddenly shone with a cold light in his eyes, like a will-o'-the-wisp burning on an icy plain!

It's now!

Within the ancestral aperture of the blind man's brow, the "Soul-Destroying Thorn," refined with the terrifying divine sense of the late-stage Nascent Soul and already poised to strike, shot out without warning, as if traversing space and distance, its target being the head of the Azure Feathered Black Crow, whose defenses were most vulnerable due to its panicked escape—the very core of its soul!

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