Chương 150: Nascent Soul Cultivator!

"laugh--!"

A faint yet soul-piercing sound exploded deep within the Azure Feather Crow's consciousness!

The "Soul-Destroying Thorn," which Zhou Ding had been preparing for a long time with his terrifying divine sense at the late Nascent Soul stage, precisely seized the perfect moment when Bi Ling Xuan Ya turned to flee, panicked, and his soul defense had a momentary opening, piercing into the core of his soul without any hindrance!

"Eh-!!!"

The Azure-feathered Black Crow let out a piercing, agonizing cry that seemed to tear its very soul apart!

The massive body suddenly froze in mid-air, as if gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand. All movements, all demonic power, and all consciousness were completely frozen and chaotic at this moment!

Those crimson bird eyes instantly lost all their luster, filled with boundless pain and emptiness, and even showed signs of dissipating!

Zhou Ding's spiritual attack, which far exceeded his current level, was a fatal blow to Bi Ling Xuan Ya, who was already severely injured and whose soul defense was greatly reduced!

Even if it failed to directly annihilate his soul, it still severely damaged it, causing him to completely lose control of his body and perception of the outside world.

This brief moment of stiffness and blankness was enough for Xiao Jin, who had been waiting for an opportunity!

"roar--!"

Amidst a roar filled with murderous intent, Xiao Jin's massive, dark gold figure approached like a ghost, its right forelimb, which had been hidden all along, suddenly thrust out!

The claw tip shone with a brilliant dark light, cold and sharp, carrying an aura of destruction that could break through anything and destroy everything. It was its innate killing move - "Dark Light Claw"!

"Sizzle—!!"

A flash of dark light, like cutting through cloth.

The protective demonic light on the Azure-feathered Black Crow's body, which had already been greatly weakened due to its severe injuries, along with its tough bluish-black feathers and scales, was easily torn apart like paper in front of the "Black Light Claw"!

The dark light pierced straight in, precisely penetrating the chest of the Azure Feather Crow, fiercely striking its vital heart, and then erupting violently inside!

The domineering power of the dark light instantly shredded the still faintly beating heart.

"Pfft!"

Large gushes of dark purple demon blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs, gushed out like a fountain from the terrifying wound on the chest of the Azure-feathered Black Crow, spraying into the sky!

Its stiff body trembled violently, and the last glimmer of life in its unfocused pupils was extinguished as quickly as a candle flickering in the wind.

The immense demonic power, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly lost control and began to leak and dissipate wildly.

"Boom—" The Azure-feathered Black Crow, its body devoid of all life, could no longer maintain flight. Like a kite with a broken string, it crashed heavily onto the rocky beach at the edge of the island below from hundreds of feet in the air, accompanied by a rain of blood. The crash produced a dull thud and stirred up clouds of dust and rubble.

A level-eight demon beast, infamous in the outer seas and dominating its territory, perished, dying a humiliating and swift death.

"call" Several miles away, Zhou Ding slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, finally feeling much relieved.

Although he was confident in his calculations and Xiao Jin's strength, actually killing an eighth-level demon beast, even if the beast was seriously injured, still made him feel a little excited and fearful.

The process may seem smooth, but it is actually fraught with danger at every step. A mistake at any stage could lead to a completely different outcome.

"Well done!"

At the same time, Zhou Ding's figure blurred, and he sped towards the place where the Azure Feather Black Crow had fallen.

Xiao Jin quickly shrank in size and followed closely behind.

Landing on the rocky beach, Zhou Ding looked at the enormous and ferocious corpse of the bird-headed, human-bodied monster before him, his eyes filled with undisguised joy.

Level 8 Demon Core!

This is the most precious item he has obtained so far, and it is enough to serve as an important auxiliary spiritual object for Nascent Soul formation!

Its value is immeasurable by spirit stones.

Without any delay, he immediately took action.

First, using a specially made jade knife, they carefully cut open the chest of the Azure-feathered Black Crow, avoiding the area that had been wrecked by the "Black Light Claw," and found the deep blue demon core located slightly above the heart, which still exuded a powerful demonic energy and the pure aura of water and wind attributes.

The demon core was the size of a fist, with mysterious natural patterns on its surface, and inside it seemed to contain miniature storms and shadows.

Zhou Ding carefully took out the precious level-eight demon core, placed it into a top-grade cold jade box covered with spirit-sealing talismans, and solemnly put it away.

Next, he took out several jade bottles and began collecting the not-yet-completely-condensed essence blood from the body of the Azure-feathered Black Crow.

The essence blood of an eighth-level demon beast is priceless, whether used for body tempering or for refining certain special high-level pills and talismans.

Although most of the essence blood had been lost or contaminated in the battle, this collected bottle was still priceless.

He then removed the relatively intact and valuable materials from the body one by one.

Those claws covered in fine, dark blue scales, hard and sharp; the longest and toughest life feathers on those wings with their edges shimmering with a ghostly light, light yet resilient in texture; that beak containing part of its divine soul attack talent; and some special bones and tendons—these are all top-quality materials for refining top-level magic treasures of wind and water attributes, or for cultivating corresponding supernatural abilities and secret techniques, which Zhou Ding would naturally not let go of.

Just as he put away the last life feather and prepared to deal with the massive remains of the corpse, the joy on his face suddenly vanished, his brows furrowed sharply, and he abruptly looked up, his gaze like lightning, shooting towards the horizon where the sea met the sky in the southeast!

Just now, his powerful divine sense, which had been on high alert and covered three hundred miles, suddenly and without warning detected an aura!

A powerful, condensed, and vast aura, filled with undeniable majesty and oppression, was hurtling toward the island where he was at an astonishing speed!

Its speed far surpasses that of a Core Formation cultivator, and is even slightly faster than Little Gold flying at full speed!

Moreover, the intensity of this aura—it has reached the Nascent Soul stage!

"A Nascent Soul cultivator!" Zhou Ding's heart sank, and his expression instantly became extremely solemn.

Moreover, what alarmed him was that this person definitely possessed an extremely sophisticated treasure or technique that could conceal his aura and divine sense!

Otherwise, with his terrifying divine sense, which now covers three hundred miles and is comparable to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, it would have been impossible for him to let the other party get within a few dozen miles before suddenly sensing them!

The other party was clearly prepared and had a clear objective!

Was it just a coincidence that I happened to be passing by?

Or—was it aimed at me?

Could it be that the commotion from the battle with the Azure Feather Crow just now attracted the Nascent Soul stage monsters from the nearby sea?

For whatever reason, encountering a Nascent Soul cultivator of unknown origin who is clearly adept at concealment here is by no means a good thing.

It is still unknown whether the other party is friend or foe, but I have just killed an eighth-level demon beast, possess a great treasure, and have also revealed a strange beast like Little Gold. It is really not advisable to come face to face with such an existence.

"Go!" Zhou Ding made a decisive decision without any hesitation, not even caring about the remaining massive corpse of the Azure Feather Black Crow.

He urged Xiao Jin on with his thoughts, and at the same time, his body transformed into a light blue streak of light, and without hesitation, he flew towards the northwest sea area, which was opposite to the direction from which the Nascent Soul cultivator was attacking!

Their speed instantly increased to the maximum, even at the cost of expending magical power, all in an effort to get away from this place as quickly as possible.

Xiao Jin understood and instantly reverted to its massive form, carrying Zhou Ding. Its dark golden demonic light surged, like a golden lightning bolt tearing through the sky. Following closely behind Zhou Ding's escape light, it burst forth with a speed far exceeding its previous speed, fleeing for its life!

However, as Fei Xuan fled, Zhou Ding's heart sank to the bottom of the valley little by little.

Because he clearly sensed that the Nascent Soul aura behind him seemed to pause slightly the moment he began to flee, and then—it instantly changed direction, also increasing its speed to the extreme, like a leech, clinging tightly to his back!

Moreover, the other party seemed to have mastered some kind of extremely sophisticated tracking and locking technique. No matter how he changed direction, or even tried to use the undercurrents and complex terrain, he could not shake off the other party!

The distance between the two sides was slowly but steadily closing!

"It's no coincidence! He's coming for me! And he has special means to pinpoint my location!" Zhou Ding instantly understood the situation.

The other party's target is themselves!

As for the reason—it is very likely related to the Azure Feathered Black Crow that was just killed!

Could this blue-feathered black raven already have an owner?

Or is there some mark on its body that it has not noticed?

"This is a huge problem—" Zhou Ding's eyes were icy as he quickly racked his brains for a way to escape.

A direct confrontation?

The opponent is a Nascent Soul cultivator, even if he is only at the early stage of Nascent Soul, he is definitely not someone he can confront head-on in his current state.

Unless they play all their cards and cooperate with Xiao Jin, they might be able to maneuver a little, but the chances of winning are slim and the risk is extremely high.

escape?

The opponent is faster and has a lock-on technique, making it seem difficult to escape.

Just as his mind raced, the Nascent Soul aura behind him had already closed to within twenty miles!

It was even possible to vaguely "see" with one's divine sense that it was the figure of a slightly hunched old man enveloped in a pale blue escape light!

"Young friend ahead, please wait."

An aged, peaceful, yet undeniably authoritative voice, as if whispering in his ear, clearly entered Zhou Ding's consciousness. It was a divine sense transmission! The other party had already locked onto his soul fluctuations.

Zhou Ding kept moving, but his vigilance was at its highest.

He knew there was no escaping it; he had no choice but to face it.

He signaled Xiao Jin to slow down, and he himself slowly stopped his escape light, turned around, and hovered a hundred feet above the sea, calmly looking at the fast-moving pale blue escape light.

A few breaths later, the pale blue light stopped a hundred feet in front of him, the light receded, revealing the figure within.

He was an old man wearing a faded, plain gray robe, with a withered face, a thin build, and a slightly hunched back.

The old man had white hair and beard, and his face was wrinkled like cracked tree bark. Only his eyes were unusually bright and deep, with a glint of light flashing between them, as if they could see right through people's hearts.

He didn't exude any imposing spiritual pressure, but the invisible aura that seemed to resonate with heaven and earth, as if every gesture could unleash a vast spiritual force, clearly indicated his identity as a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The old man's gaze first swept over Zhou Ding, lingering briefly on his mid-stage Core Formation cultivation, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Immediately, his own light fell on the little golden body beside Zhou Ding, which had shrunk to a few feet but still exuded a primordial ferocity. Its dark golden scales shone brightly in the leaden skylight. His surprise deepened, and even a hint of inquiry and—interest appeared in his eyes.

"Hehe, you're quite capable, young friend."

The old man spoke first, his voice still calm, yet carrying a condescending scrutiny: "To be able to kill that heavily wounded Azure-feathered Crow with only a mid-stage Core Formation cultivation level cultivation level is truly unexpected. What surprises me even more is that you, young friend, have tamed such a—strange spirit beast. Truly formidable, truly formidable!"

He changed the subject, his gaze returning to Zhou Ding's face. His tone remained calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority: "That Azure-feathered Black Crow was severely injured by my Three Elements True Fire Thunder, leaving a hidden tracking mark within its body. I tracked it all the way here, intending to take it when its injuries flared up and it was powerless to resist, but unexpectedly, my young friend beat me to it."

Young friend, the demon core of that Azure-feathered Black Crow is of great use to me. I wonder if you would be willing to part with it?

"As long as you hand over the demon core, young friend, not only will I not pursue your unauthorized act, but on the contrary—" He paused, a seemingly amiable smile appearing on his face: "Seeing your extraordinary talent and profound good fortune, young friend, to have tamed such a strange beast, I have taken a liking to you. If you are willing, I can accept you as a disciple, take you back to the mountain, and impart to you the supreme Dao. Wouldn't that be far better than risking your life in this alien sea?"

Apprentice?

Zhou Ding sneered inwardly.

This kind of nonsense is only good enough to fool a three-year-old.

The other party first pointed out that he had injured Bi Ling Xuan Ya and that there was a tracking mark left by him in her body, thus occupying the high ground of "reason". Then he pointed out that he could track accurately, demonstrating his strength to intimidate. Finally, he threw out the bait of "taking on disciples", which was nothing more than wanting to obtain the demon core without bloodshed, and he might even want to take advantage of Xiao Jin.

If I hand over the demon core or show submission, I'm afraid what awaits me next is ruthless measures: killing and robbing, forcibly taking away spirit beasts!

How could he not know what the Nascent Soul Old Monster was thinking?

"Junior Zhou Ding greets Senior."

Zhou Ding bowed respectfully, his face displaying just the right amount of "surprise" and "regret": "So it turns out that the level eight demonic beast was injured by you, senior. I was unaware of this and acted rashly. Please forgive me, senior. But—" He abruptly changed the subject, his face showing difficulty: "To be honest, I am not a self-taught cultivator. My master—" He was also a senior expert in the Nascent Soul stage, but he never liked to show off and preferred to live in seclusion.

He had strictly forbidden his juniors from revealing his name at will.

I took this demon core from the Azure-feathered Black Crow to present to my master and help him refine a batch of pills.

If we were to hand it over to our seniors now, I'm afraid—it would be difficult to explain to our master.

"Why don't you tell me your title and the location of your cave, senior? I'll report back to my master and then make a decision. What do you say?"

Zhou Ding's words were partly true and partly false.

Pointing out that he also has a Nascent Soul master behind him is a warning to the other party not to act rashly, that he is not a rogue cultivator without any background, and that killing him might bring trouble.

At the same time, he used the excuses that "Master does not like to make a fuss" and "it needs to be reported back for a decision" to shirk the matter of handing over the demon core, trying to delay and find an opportunity to escape.

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