Beast Disaster Grotto-Heaven, Sacred Eagle City.
In terms of scale, Sacred Eagle City was far larger than Cliff City. Cliff City was merely a branch city, whereas Sacred Eagle City was one of the main cities.
In his previous life, when Fang Yuan had stormed the Beast Disaster Grotto-Heaven, manifesting as the Ox Demon, the first place he descended upon had been this very city.
In this life, by now, Sacred Eagle City's situation was equally dire.
The entire city had all but become a swamp. Countless yellow-mud crocodiles lurked and darted through the marshes, ceaselessly hunting down the citizens.
The Giant Eagle Warrior stationed here possessed considerable strength, but at this moment he was gravely wounded.
The one who had injured him was an Ancient Desolate Eagle, still circling high in the sky. Whenever any warrior appeared, it would immediately swoop down to kill.
"How did it come to this?!" The Giant Eagle Warrior was drenched in his own blood, crouching in the mud as he watched the citizens being slaughtered before his eyes, torn between fury and despair.
No one had anticipated that such a massive horde of beasts would suddenly assault Sacred Eagle City.
One moment it had been a gentle warm wind and peaceful serenity in the great city; the next it had become a blood-soaked slaughterhouse.
"I can't just stand by and watch. I have to stop this!" The Giant Eagle Warrior struggled to rise, but his injuries were too severe, and he collapsed once more.
Just as he was about to hit the ground, a young, powerful arm caught him.
"Uncle Giant Eagle, you can't keep fighting. If you do, you'll die," a youthful voice said.
The Giant Eagle Warrior turned to look at the young man supporting him and smiled bitterly. "Xiao Du… uncle thanks you for saving my life. But I am the lord of Sacred Eagle City. I absolutely cannot stand by and watch the beast disaster run rampant, much less sit idle while the citizens are fed to wild beasts!"
"Uncle Giant Eagle, let me handle this!" Xiao Du's eyes blazed with determination.
"You?" The Giant Eagle Warrior glanced at the wound on Xiao Du's chest and shook his head. "Xiao Du, you're not from Sacred Eagle City. I only came to invite you here as a tour as repayment for saving my life. You've already been hurt trying to protect me. You are no match for the beast horde. Run! Run now!"
"No. I won't leave. I'm going to fight alongside you, uncle, and drive these vile beasts away." Xiao Du shook his head.
The Giant Eagle Warrior was deeply moved. He patted Xiao Du's shoulder and said, with a mix of gratification and sorrow, "The Lord of Cliff City really took on a fine apprentice. Why couldn't I have a disciple like you? Xiao Du, you're still so young, and your future is far brighter than mine. You have a brilliant path ahead of you — you cannot throw your life away here. Uncle only asks one favor of you. Leave this place now, and when the Guild's reinforcements arrive, come back to collect my body. Remember — bury me in the garden."
"Uncle!" Xiao Du's eyes reddened, tears welling up, and he was so choked with emotion that he could not speak.
"Go!!" The Giant Eagle Warrior suddenly summoned every last ounce of his strength, tore free from Xiao Du's grasp, and shot into the sky.
He transformed once more into a scarred silver-white flying eagle and charged at the Ancient Desolate Eagle above.
"The Gu Immortals of this place really are different from the outside world. Willing to sacrifice themselves for the lives of mortals." Xiao Du sighed inwardly, genuinely moved.
"But it's useless. This Ancient Desolate Eagle was specially cultivated by the main body for the express purpose of countering you."
The Beast Disaster Grotto-Heaven was not the Hua Wen Grotto-Heaven — restrictions here were far fewer. After receiving the Giant Eagle Warrior's invitation letter, Xiao Du had informed his true body, and this whole scenario had been orchestrated as a result.
This was an opportunity.
Because the Beast Disaster True Inheritance had been split into several portions, each distributed among the main cities of the Beast Disaster Grotto-Heaven.
The Fang Yuan clone had not yet had any chance to gain legitimate access to these True Inheritances.
He had originally planned to create an opening, but the Giant Eagle Warrior had delivered one right into his hands of his own accord.
If the blood-soaked Giant Eagle Warrior knew the truth — that Sacred Eagle City's devastation had been caused by his own actions — one could only wonder what he would feel.
The Giant Eagle Warrior was no match for the Ancient Desolate Eagle and quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.
The Ancient Desolate Eagle struck with a devastating swoop, its beak about to pierce the Giant Eagle Warrior through. In that moment between life and death, Xiao Du, now in the form of an Arrow-Tail Eagle, swooped in once more to save him.
"Xiao Du, why haven't you left?!" The Giant Eagle Warrior was stunned, panic flooding his voice.
"Uncle, how could I watch you march to your death? How could I watch thousands upon thousands of citizens plunge into fire and water? Even if I must sacrifice my life and bleed out every last drop in my body, I will fight to the very end!" Xiao Du declared with unwavering resolve.
"Xiao Du…" The Giant Eagle Warrior was rendered speechless. He was utterly spent, having reverted to his human form, gently held in the clutches of Xiao Du's eagle talons.
Xiao Du's battle against the Ancient Desolate Eagle was, of course, no contest.
But the Ancient Desolate Eagle was itself a piece on the true body's board, so while Xiao Du's situation appeared perilous — teetering on the edge between life and death, perpetually wounded, steadily driven back — it was all carefully managed.
The Giant Eagle Warrior watched with his heart in his throat. He himself had always fought with reckless abandon, but seeing Xiao Du in combat, his concern overwhelmed him, and he could not stop himself from crying out warnings, beside himself with tension.
When he saw Xiao Du's body soaked in blood, wound after wound accumulating, his heart ached terribly.
Xiao Du had already saved his life once during the Twelve Zodiac Beast Formation. He was his savior. Now he had saved him two more times and was bleeding for Sacred Eagle City. This was too much for the Giant Eagle Warrior to bear — he was profoundly moved, and his admiration and approval of Xiao Du's character and integrity reached an all-time high.
Fang Yuan was ruthless to others, and even more ruthless to himself.
As his clone, Xiao Du naturally inherited this approach.
This was a genuine stratagem of self-inflicted injury, and it had completely won over the Giant Eagle Warrior's heart.
Xiao Du had only recently ascended to the rank of Gu Immortal and become a Beast Warrior. He was the youngest Beast Warrior in the entire Beast Combat Guild. Given that status, he naturally stood no chance against an Ancient Desolate Eagle.
After a prolonged struggle, he was slammed violently out of the sky by the eagle's strike and crashed down into the city lord's manor.
This, too, had been meticulously planned. Xiao Du hit the ground with tremendous force, smashing straight through the floor tiles and into the underground altar below.
The Giant Eagle Warrior lost consciousness on the spot. When he slowly came to, he saw Xiao Du crouching beside him.