After two soft "pu" sounds, a flash of light appeared roughly thirty-odd zhang from the stone pavilion. Two streaks of sword qi swept through, and the purple mist materialized once again.
But this time, the monster within the mist seemed thoroughly enraged.
With two furious roars, the mist suddenly dispersed, revealing a monstrous four-winged bird of prey with a lion's head and an eagle's body.
The creature's four wings spanned five to six zhang when spread wide. Its entire body was wreathed in purple light, and its appearance was utterly grotesque and savage.
"A Lion-Bird Beast!"
The moment the strange person made out the creature's form, he cried out involuntarily.
The scholar's expression changed as well. He flicked his sleeve, and a black-red flying blade shot forth, slashing viciously at the beast.
Strangely enough, the ferocious creature, which had seemed so imposing moments before, showed visible fear the instant it saw the blade. It wrenched open its gaping maw and spat out ring upon ring of purple light to meet the blade head-on.
After a rumbling series of explosions amid black and purple radiance, the flying blade sliced through more than ten rings of purple light with unstoppable momentum. Yet each slash further dimmed its dark glow, and as it drew within several zhang of the beast, it finally grew faint and lost all luster, firmly blocked by several remaining rings of purple light.
The beast was overjoyed. Just as it was about to unleash another ability to fully entrap the blade—
The scholar, some distance away, opened his mouth and sprayed out a blob of vital essence blood. He then rapidly formed hand seals, flicking several quick touches at the blood.
Instantly, the blood transformed into a series of blood-red runes and vanished into thin air.
The flying blade erupted with blinding bloody radiance once more, shattering all the nearby purple rings in a single burst. In a flash, it appeared before the beast and came down in a vicious slash.
The beast startled. All four wings beat at once as it shot backward, but in its haste, it could only raise one massive claw to block the blade.
Green blood sprayed everywhere. Though the blade was momentarily halted, its edge sheared off nearly half of the great claw in a single sweep.
The beast threw back its enormous head and unleashed an earth-shaking roar. The sound was like a thunderclap on a clear day, so devastating that both the scholar's and the strange person's ears rang and their bodies swayed involuntarily.
But an even more incredible scene followed.
With the roar, a wave of semi-transparent golden ripples surged from the lion's head, meeting the flying blade head-on.
The moment the black blade touched the ripples, it was sent tumbling backward as though struck by an enormous force.
And the several streaks of yellow sword light that "Seventh Uncle" had directed to assist the blade fared even worse. They scattered inch by inch the instant the ripples touched them, dissolving into nothingness in the blink of an eye.
After releasing the golden wave, the beast's spirit visibly sagged.
It glared viciously at the scholar, then beat all four wings simultaneously. Thunder cracked from the wings at once, its form blurred, and it vanished amid a burst of lightning arcs. The next instant, it reappeared over thirty zhang away — it, too, was proficient in lightning movement techniques.
However, the beast had no intention of lingering. It transformed into a streak of purple light and shot away into the distance. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared over the horizon without looking back.
Seeing this, the strange person finally let out a long breath of relief. But when he turned his gaze and noticed the scholar's somewhat pale complexion, he asked with alarm:
"Third Kid, are you all right? Operating the Black Blood Blade is already a massive drain on one's magical power — why did you also burn vital essence blood to forcibly boost its power?" There was unmistakable concern in the strange person's words.
"I'm fine. I've just lost a bit of vitality. The Lion-Bird Beast was already a notorious creature of great renown in ancient times — its abilities surpass even those of late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators by a fair margin. If we hadn't driven it off quickly, a drawn-out confrontation would have turned decidedly against us. Now that it's tasted some pain, it shouldn't come bothering us easily again." The scholar took a breath and shook his head.
"True enough. Such ancient beasts generally have bodies harder than refined iron. Without our Ye family's Black Blood Blade, it really wouldn't be easy for an ordinary spirit treasure to wound a Lion-Bird Beast." Hearing this, the strange person's expression finally relaxed.