Eagle Hound!
A wolf's body with an eagle's head, a pair of eagle wings growing from its back. The head, neck, and wings were all covered in black feathers, while the wolf body and limbs were made of grey wolf fur. The creature's body was covered in more dark Dao Marks than any other.
It was a rather peculiar type of fierce beast.
Ordinary desolate beasts and ancient desolate beasts, and so on, reproduced through the interaction of male and female. But the Eagle Hound did not work that way.
The Eagle Hound reproduced through infection.
Its venom could affect any kind of canine or avian fierce beast. Once the infection reached a sufficient level, the afflicted canine or avian beast would gradually transform into an Eagle Hound.
As a result, individual strength within the Eagle Hound species varied greatly.
Some Eagle Hounds had been transformed from desolate beasts, so they were desolate beast level. Others had been transformed from ancient desolate beasts, making them ancient Eagle Hounds. Primordial Eagle Hounds were extremely rare, even within the Black Heaven and White Heaven.
Everything made sense now.
When the first Eagle Hound appeared, Fang Yuan had already grasped the relationship between the Falling Star Dog and these Eagle Hounds.
This Falling Star Dog had been targeted by the Eagle Hound pack, shot down from the sky, and imprisoned within Ancient Hill, where they let it grow.
Once the Falling Star Dog matured and left its juvenile stage, it would become a true ancient desolate beast. At that point, the Eagle Hound pack would use their venom to transform it into an ancient Eagle Hound.
As for why the Falling Star Dog had ended up near the teleportation Gu formation—the answer was obvious. The influence of Heaven's Will!
"Two ancient desolate beasts, and the rest are desolate beast-level Eagle Hounds." Fang Yuan's gaze was filled with cold intent, focused on the two ancient desolate beasts.
He did not sense any Immortal Gu aura on these Eagle Hounds.
This gave him even greater confidence in the battle to come!
The presence or absence of wild Immortal Gu would lead Fang Yuan to adopt two entirely different tactics.
"Eagle—Eagle Hound… he killed it with a single strike…"
"No, it's not dead. It just fainted."
"What was that move just now?"
"It looked like a giant palm!"
The hairy man Gu Masters only now reacted, deeply shaken.
The one Fang Yuan had just knocked unconscious with his Grand Handprint was naturally a desolate beast-level Eagle Hound. The Force Grand Handprint possessed combat power at the Seventh Transformation level, so this result was not surprising. But if it had been an ancient Eagle Hound, the outcome would have been different.
Mao Shier had never seen Fang Yuan fight in earnest.
He had always assumed that when Fang Yuan guided him in combat, he was already displaying his full strength.
Mao Shier forced himself to calm down. He thought, "Even though Fang Yuan knocked out one Eagle Hound, there are still so many on the field! No matter how fierce he is, how can one man possibly handle them all? This battle is grim—we should retreat first! Ah—!"
At the very end of that thought, Mao Shier suddenly couldn't help himself and cried out in alarm.
After Fang Yuan's initial strike, the standoff with the Eagle Hound pack lasted only a brief moment. Almost the instant he knocked out the Eagle Hound beside him, he launched his assault.
Sword Escape Immortal Gu.
Whoosh!
Only an afterimage of Fang Yuan remained at his original position, his speed utterly terrifying.
In the blink of an eye, Fang Yuan had gone from the very edge of the battlefield straight into its center.
"What—what kind of speed is this?!" The hairy man Gu Masters were shaken to their core.
Even Mao Six's pupils constricted sharply. He gritted his teeth. He guessed that Fang Yuan was using the Sword Escape Immortal Gu—this was Bo Qing's Immortal Gu!
Fang Yuan hovered in midair, looking down at the colossal beast beneath him.
This was an ancient Eagle Hound. Just moments after appearing, it had knocked down the Drill Bear, sent the Gold-White Tiger flying, and blinded the Chestnut Yak.
The ancient Eagle Hound was currently trampling on the Drill Bear with its foot, preventing the Drill Bear from getting up. Behind it lay the juvenile Falling Star Dog, curled up on the ground, trembling.
They were extremely close!
The distance between Fang Yuan and the ancient Eagle Hound was less than a hundred paces.
The figures of each other were clearly reflected in both their eyes.
The ancient Eagle Hound was startled—Fang Yuan had suddenly appeared right before its eyes, making it instinctively take a step back.
But soon, its bestial nature surged. The ancient Eagle Hound opened its mouth and let out an angry, piercing shriek, flapping the wings on its back and lunging at Fang Yuan with its hind legs!
Fang Yuan let out a cold laugh and barked, "Beast, get down!"
Boom!
The Force Grand Handprint struck again, slamming downward from above like a massive pot lid, pressing down with devastating force.
The Grand Handprint and the ancient Eagle Hound collided. Despite the ferocity of its charge, the ancient Eagle Hound was no match for the Grand Handprint's power and was driven downward.
The Grand Handprint was also pushed back upward by the recoil.
But soon, under Fang Yuan's direction and replenishment, the Force Grand Handprint once more swept down like a tempest of wind and thunder, slamming down in a second palm strike.
The Grand Handprint struck the ancient Eagle Hound's head, immediately forcing it to lower its head. All four of its legs bent at grotesque angles, its wolf claws digging into the ground and punching four craters into the earth.
The Force Grand Handprint was once again repelled, rising upward a short distance. The thick, dense palm print grew thin and translucent.
But in the next instant, the Grand Handprint solidified back to its original form and hammered down yet again.
The ancient Eagle Hound was furious, trying to raise its head—but the very next moment, the Force Grand Handprint filled its entire field of vision like a sky-covering curtain.
Bang!
With a thunderous impact, the ancient Eagle Hound's entire head was smashed into the ground by the enormous force.
Its sharp, hard eagle beak was driven deep into the earth.
Eagle feathers scattered and danced in the air, and all four wolf claws were embedded in the ground.
The ancient Eagle Hound was consumed by extreme rage. It had never suffered such a humiliation. It wanted to push itself back up, and so it gathered strength in its limbs, its muscles bulging—in the next instant, it would rear its head!
Bang!