"Generally speaking, a monster of such enormous size should be brutish and slow, with absolutely no possibility of possessing such agility!"
The Giant Eagle Warrior climbed out of the deep pit, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him: "Wait — could it be that the attack just now was this monster's combat technique?"
He looked up at Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan had already transformed into a colossal bull-headed humanoid, his enormous shadow engulfing the Giant Eagle Warrior.
Yet within the Giant Eagle Warrior's heart, the courage to fight was slowly returning.
"You have a combat technique, and so do I! I've already seen yours, but you, you clumsy lout, certainly don't know about mine!"
"That's right — as long as I seize the right moment, victory is mine for the taking!"
With this thought, a gleam of hope blazed in the Giant Eagle Warrior's eyes.
"He's standing! He's standing!"
"Of course! How could the Giant Eagle Warrior possibly be taken down in a single hit?"
"Go, Giant Eagle Warrior! We believe in you!"
Seeing the Giant Eagle Warrior rise to his feet, the city — which had been deathly silent just a moment before — erupted into thunderous cheers.
A sharp eagle cry pierced the air.
The Giant Eagle Warrior spread the wings on his back and soared upward once more, ascending high into the sky.
"You have a combat technique, and so do I! Monster, feast your eyes on my combat technique — Silver-White Phantom!" the Giant Eagle Warrior roared.
In the next instant, his form shifted dramatically, splitting into six lifelike phantoms indistinguishable from the real thing. In moments, a swarm of real and illusory Giant Eagle Warriors circled above Fang Yuan, surrounding him completely.
The roar of the crowd surged to an entirely new height!
"Look! It's the Giant Eagle Warrior's Silver-White Phantom technique!"
"He's finally used it — look! That big monster seems stunned; it doesn't know which one to attack!"
"The chance for victory is right before us! Go, kill that monster!"
"Aaah... the Giant Eagle Warrior is just too cool!"
The Giant Eagle Warrior took in every cheer and word of encouragement deep in his heart, and it doubled his courage and fighting spirit.
Yet his mind remained calm: "I must treasure this opportunity. I have to land a decisive blow — even if I can't kill this monster, I must wound it gravely. After all, combat techniques consume tremendous stamina and simply cannot be used repeatedly in quick succession!"
"So even if this monster is powerful, it can't use its combat technique often. I'll use my phantoms to bait it into attacking continuously, draining its stamina until it collapses. Who knows — if it has no strength left, I might even capture it alive!"
The Giant Eagle Warrior actually intended to capture Fang Yuan alive. Although Fang Yuan had not yet discerned this thought, the warrior's strategy was plain for all to see.
One Giant Eagle Warrior after another circled around Fang Yuan, wheeling ceaselessly through the air, while occasionally one or two would suddenly dive down, extending sharp talons and beaks to strike at him.
Fang Yuan neither dodged nor retreated, standing his ground. These Giant Eagle Warriors were all phantoms — their attacks lacked any substance, and to his eyes, every one was exposed as a fake.
Fang Yuan remained perfectly at ease, secretly amused: "This cave heaven is rather interesting."
First, the mortals and Gu Immortals here were interesting.
Very harmonious.
It was completely different from the outside world of the Five Regions, where mortals were like ants beneath the feet of Gu Immortals who towered above them. Here, however, the Gu Immortals served as protectors of mortals, and what was most crucial was that they were genuinely passionate about shouldering this responsibility.
In this, Fang Yuan seemed to catch a glimpse of paradise.
But this was not strange.
Every cave heaven was a world unto itself. When interaction with the outside Five Regions was limited, a different social structure and worldview would gradually develop, each with its own unique character.
Second, the fighting and cultivation of Gu Masters and Gu Immortals here were also interesting.
For instance, Fang Yuan's current opponent had fused with the Primordial Desolate Beast, the Silver-White Giant Eagle, forming a human-beast hybrid combat form.
This was clearly a method of the Transformation Path, and its advantages were obvious.
Normal Gu Immortals had to expend immortal essence to power immortal Gu or immortal killer moves in battle. But the Gu Immortals here only needed to fuse with a desolate beast to gain a combat technique.
So-called combat techniques were innate abilities possessed by desolate beasts, Primordial Desolate Beasts, and the like — much like the Supreme Sky Eagle that Fang Yuan had once owned, which could pierce through immortal orifices and move freely in and out.
These innate abilities were called combat techniques here — they required no expenditure of immortal essence, but consumed enormous amounts of physical stamina, and could even demand other sacrifices, such as parts of the body or lifespan.
Whether it was combat techniques, immortal Gu, or immortal killer moves — when traced back to their origin, their essence was the same: the Dao.
Desolate beasts, Primordial Desolate Beasts, and the like possessed innate abilities — that is, combat techniques — because of the dense accumulation of Dao marks on their bodies and the specific distribution of those marks.
Immortal Gu themselves were fragments of the Great Dao, representing a particular point within the laws of heaven and earth.
Immortal killer moves went without saying — they typically employed a small number of immortal Gu combined with a large quantity of mortal Gu, a fusion of Dao marks and Great Dao fragments, which through certain intricate steps achieved a superior level of power and efficacy.
In fact, the earliest immortal killer moves had been developed by Gu Immortals who observed the Dao marks on desolate beasts, gradually imitating and experimenting before evolving them into something new.
"The Gu Immortals here fuse with desolate beasts or Primordial Desolate Beasts and can then manifest the beasts' innate abilities. That means they don't need to painstakingly refine immortal Gu, nor do they have to endure the myriad risks and costs of cultivating immortal killer moves."
This advantage was truly remarkable!
Immortal Gu were far too rare. Each immortal Gu was unique — every single one was one of a kind.
But desolate beasts and Primordial Desolate Beasts were plentiful. Even an Ancient Desolate Beast like the Supreme Sky Eagle could be found in flocks.