Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 166 - 164: The First Spirit Pet (Extra - 5/5 for book friend Polar Bear 2018, as a reward to the Alliance Leader)
Chapter 166: Chapter 164: The First Spirit Pet (Extra Chapter 5/5 for book friend Polar Bear 2018, as a reward to the Alliance Leader)
One, two, three... six!
Since the beast tide began its full-scale assault, Zhouyang had lost track of how many demon beasts he had killed; he only remembered the number of Tier Three demon beasts that fell by his hand.
This time, the number of Tier Three demon beasts attacking the city was overwhelming, and there were many Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the city walls.
Previously, there was only one Foundation Establishment Cultivator guarding every two to three hundred zhang of the city wall, but ever since the beast tide’s full-scale assault was confirmed, almost every cultivator capable of fighting was stationed on the walls, so that you would see figures like Zhouyang, erecting shields and controlling flying swords to kill beasts, every hundred zhang or so.
Zhouyang managed to kill six Tier Three demon beasts in just half an hour, a high efficiency indeed, but compared to the total number of thousands of Tier Three demon beasts, it was just a trivial matter.
Already, quite a few demon beasts had breached the walls and were wreaking havoc inside the city. Zhouyang also saw many cultivators’ protective spells being overwhelmed by the beasts, resulting in them being devoured on the spot.
And he seemed to be at his limit as well!
The limit was not due to a lack of magical power, but because he had exhausted all the divine techniques attached to his magical artifacts. Without the aid of those powerful divine techniques, he could hardly repeat his prior half-hour performance or even ensure his own survival amidst the heavy attacks.
"Why haven’t they activated the City Defense Array yet!"
Zhouyang looked up toward the city’s skyline, where Jia Yunzhen and other Purple Mansion Stage cultivators were battling Tier Four demon beasts. If they were to fight on the city walls, their battle’s aftermath could annihilate most of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Tier Three demon beasts.
By this point, the only ones who hadn’t taken action were presumably the Golden Core Stage cultivators and Tier Five demon beasts. These were the chess players; once they stepped into the fray, the battle between the cultivators and demon beasts would truly approach its climax.
Zhouyang hoped these entities would join the fight soon, as their entrance would also trigger the activation of the Zhenyue Immortal City’s defense array. With the array’s protection, those cultivators on the city walls could hide within its shield and focus on killing demon beasts.
"Brother Zhou, watch out!"
Suddenly, a loud shout echoed beside Zhouyang’s ear. Upon hearing it, he reflexively summoned the Profound Water Shield artifact in front of himself. An azure-red light beam instantly blasted onto the shield, sending him, along with the shield, flying a dozen or so feet backward, crashing into the sturdy battlements.
Pfft!
Zhouyang moved slightly, then spat out a mouthful of congealed blood and looked angrily at the demon beast that had attacked him, only to be momentarily stunned.
As it turned out, the demon beast that ambushed him was an "old acquaintance," the Eagle Lion Beast that he had severely injured and forced to flee during the previous beast tide attack on the city.
However, this time, the Eagle Lion Beast’s injuries appeared fully healed, and it seemed to have come specifically to seek vengeance against the human cultivator who had once injured it.
Looking over at Dong Jianping, who had warned him, Zhouyang saw that he too was smacked by the Eagle Lion Beast and flung against the wall, left without the strength to get back up.
As Zhouyang glanced at Dong Jianping, the Eagle Lion Beast let out a long howl and surged towards him with its wings spread wide.
Seeing this, he quickly forced himself to stand up from the ground. With a thought, he summoned the Soul Suppressing Bell, now several feet tall, and hurled it forcefully toward the beast.
Clang!
The Eagle Lion Beast, in its charge, smacked the incoming Ancient Bronze Bell away with a paw, continuing its relentless attack on Zhouyang with hardly any loss of speed.
But with the brief obstruction from the Soul Suppressing Bell, Zhouyang managed to get up in time, summoning the Taiyi Profound Light Sword to stab fiercely at the beast.
Facing the incoming flying sword, the Eagle Lion Beast habitually swatted at it with its paw, but this time it hit a snag, literally. Not only did one of its claws get precisely snapped, but the entire paw was also pierced by the sword.
The Eagle Lion Beast, even without counting its more than one-zhang long tail, was over seven zhang in length, and its legs were thicker than an elephant’s. The Taiyi Profound Light Sword pierced through its right front paw, yet failed to push all the way through, getting wedged in its tough paw bones.
This left not only the Beast writhing in pain and halting its attack to roar in fury, but also Zhouyang, as the sword’s owner, felt bitter at heart.
With the sword stuck, no matter how he tried to extract it with Divine Sense, it refused to budge, effectively losing him a powerful combat weapon.
Desperately, he resorted to taking out the retired Red Profound Golden Light Sword, controlling it to aim at the beast’s weakest rear.
The Red Profound Golden Light Sword, with its grade, struggled to cut through the tough hide of the Eagle Lion Beast, so Zhouyang aimed for unconventional spots to make a difference.
Yet the Eagle Lion Beast was no Flying Cloud Leopard with its stomach slit open by a single sword. As soon as Zhouyang’s sword circled around to strike from behind, it was instantly swatted away by the beast’s whipping tail, thwarting any chance of a sneak attack.
After unleashing a rage-filled roar, the clever Eagle Lion Beast clamped down on the sword’s hilt with its mouth, forcibly extracting it from its paw.
Thinking to snap the sword, it was taken aback; the sword was both sharp and resilient, getting neither snapped nor dulled but actually leaving scratches on its hard beak. Irritated, it spat the sword out, and with a furious cry, resumed its assault on Zhouyang. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
However, when it lowered its head to pull out the sword, Zhouyang had already regained his stance. Watching it charge, he opted for aerial maneuvers on the returning Red Profound Golden Light Sword to keep it at a distance.
With the Anti-Sky Array active within Zhenyue Immortal City, Zhouyang could fly, whereas the Eagle Lion Beast couldn’t. Injured in one paw and seething with new and old grudges against Zhouyang, it kept targeting him, ironically giving the heavily injured Dong Jianping a breather.
With great effort, Dong Jianping stood up from the ground, discreetly sound transmitting to Zhouyang, "Brother Zhou, perhaps lure this beast into the city and let the shopkeepers there deal with it!"
Hearing Dong Jianping’s suggestion, Zhouyang’s eyes lit up, immediately replying, "I understand, Brother Dong. Take care of yourself!"
Then he steered his flying sword and retreated to the city.
Facing the attack of a Tier Three High-Grade Eagle Lion Beast, his temporary withdrawal from the walls was understandable.
Only, the Eagle Lion Beast was quite wise. After leaping into the city in pursuit of Zhouyang for a while, it ceased chasing him, instead flashing murderous intent and pouncing toward the mortal residential area at the foot of the Immortal Mountain.
This realization dumbfounded Zhouyang!
Even though no one would blame him if the beast slaughtered the mortals residing there, fleeing from an unbeatable foe was a natural human instinct.
Yet how could he stand by and watch countless mortals die because of his actions?
His conscience would not allow him to let such a thing occur!
"Beast, taste the sword!"
Zhouyang turned his sword light and chased after the Eagle Lion Beast, thrusting the Taiyi Profound Light Sword toward it once more.
Having taken one loss, the Eagle Lion Beast was now wary of the silver sword. As the sword thrust again, it used its equally durable beast claws to swat from the side or intercepted with an azure wind blade, avoiding direct confrontation.
Moreover, although it couldn’t fly, it wielded wind and fire spells for long-range assaults.
Under its attacks, Zhouyang had to split his attention between maneuvering the Red Profound Golden Light Sword beneath his feet, defending with the Profound Water Shield, and wielding the Taiyi Profound Light Sword, leading to rapid exhaustion of Divine Sense and magical power, rendering prolonged combat infeasible.
Fortunately, as more and more cultivators like Zhouyang were forced into the city from the walls amid their loss, the City Lord of Zhenyue Immortal City could no longer watch passively.
Ren Tianxing raised his hand, a golden token appearing in it. Tossing it toward a certain part of the City Lord’s Mansion atop Zhenyue Peak, the entire peak trembled. Earth-yellow Spirit Light Barriers, towering thousands of zhang high, rose from the mountain’s walls on all sides, sealing off the entire Immortal Mountain like four heavenly doors closing in unison.
Meanwhile, Deputy City Lords on two other immortal mountains, emulated the gesture, each activating the city defense array with control tokens of their own.
In an instant, the cheers erupted from the surviving cultivators across the three Immortal Mountains.
In contrast, the demon beasts that had climbed onto the city walls and rushed inside the city let out panicked whimpers and mournful roars.
Though Tier Three Demon Beasts lacked high intelligence, they could sense the formidable power of the Spirit Light Barrier surrounding them. Some demon beasts attempted to flee back outside the city, only to smash their heads bloody against the barrier without exception.
Their attacks struck the Spirit Light Barrier as if they were mud oxen disappearing into the sea, unable even to cause a fluctuation.
Zhouyang was equally thrilled; the activation of the City Defense Array signified that the most dangerous moment of the "Beast Tide" siege had passed. From now on, given his strength, as long as he didn’t venture beyond the city walls, there would be no danger whatsoever.
With a spirit uplifted, he cast a glance at the towering barrier and promptly descended, landing his Flying Sword upon the ground. With a cold gaze focused on the panicked Eagle Lion Beast, he shouted fiercely, "Beast, your death has come!"
Before his shout had even faded, he glared and directly unleashed the "Godslaying Needle" Secret Technique.
Just as he had dealt with the Water Demon before, the "Godslaying Needle" Secret Technique had only half the effectiveness against the Eagle Lion Beast as it did against human cultivators, yet it still had some impact.
Zhouyang releasing the "Godslaying Needle" Secret Technique at this moment was merely to disorient the Eagle Lion Beast’s mind before deploying his true killing move.
After unleashing the "Godslaying Needle" Secret Technique, he immediately opened his mouth and spat out a Flaming Flying Sword, burning with pale gold flames, slashing towards the Eagle Lion Beast. Once again, he used the "Qianyang Celestial Sword" Divine Technique.
As it turned out, after Zhouyang’s cultivation advanced to the Fourth-Layer Foundation Establishment, his "Qianyang Celestial Sword" Divine Technique was strengthened, allowing him to nurture two Sword Qi at once: one of gold and one of fire.
Last time, he used the "Sharp Gold Sword" to injure the wings of the Eagle Lion Beast; this time, he intended to use the "True Flame Sword" to completely slaughter the demon beast.
Now he was in a relatively remote area, and most of the city cultivators’ attention was focused on the four rising Spirit Light Barriers. When he used the "True Flame Sword" now, even if someone accidentally saw the fleeting Flaming Flying Sword, they would find it hard to associate it with the "Qianyang True Flame."
At that time, Zhouyang’s "True Flame Sword" flashed out, and headed straight for the Eagle Lion Beast’s head. If this sword landed, it would surely decapitate the Eagle Lion Beast’s massive eagle head.
However, the Eagle Lion Beast which had forced Zhouyang to deploy all his ultimate moves naturally possessed immense strength.
Zhouyang’s "True Flame Sword" emerged, and due to the attacks by the "Godslaying Needle," the weakened beast suddenly let out a sharp cry, vigorously stood up straight, and opened its wings as a shield, making its rigid feathers as its protective shield.
The outcome was without any suspense!
Though the Eagle Lion Beast’s wing feathers were tough, they couldn’t withstand the Flaming Flying Sword enhanced by the "Qianyang True Flame."
The Sword Qi pierced through both of its wings, and the remaining force crashed onto its abdomen.
Boom!
Flames soared upwards, as the eagle’s wings were pierced by the Sword Qi and ignited by the accompanying "Qianyang True Flame," burning the down feathers under the wing feathers—and the fur on its lion body also caught fire.
Amidst the raging flames, were the desperate and pained wails of the Eagle Lion Beast as its huge body collapsed to the ground, constantly rolling to relieve the agony and suppress the flames in the most primitive way possible. Yet this action not only failed to alleviate the pain but also spread more pale gold flames across its body.
As Zhouyang saw the Eagle Lion Beast severely injured but not dead, he prepared to wield his Divine Sense to control the "Taiyi Profound Light Sword" and deal the final blow to the beast.
But at this moment, something unexpected happened.
The Eagle Lion Beast, previously rolling on the ground, seemed to sense his killing intent, and suddenly stopped rolling. Its brown-yellow eyes showed a human-like expression of pleading, looking at him, before struggling to rise and kneeling before him.
"Oh, you wish to submit to me?"
Zhouyang raised an eyebrow, filled with doubt and disbelief.
The Eagle Lion Beast was a Tier Three High-Grade Demon Beast, and if it were to submit to a human, it should submit to a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator, or at least to a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Why would it be willing to submit to him, a Fifth-Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivator?
However, the Eagle Lion Beast was not lacking in wisdom; upon seeing his expression, it urgently knelt and desperately pecked at the ground.
Perhaps this was its attempt to mimic the bowing motion with its eagle head, a method it devised as a substitute.
Seeing this scene, Zhouyang no longer had any doubts.
Regardless of his belief, the Eagle Lion Beast’s current behavior clearly showed it was pleading for mercy.
This left him momentarily unsure of what to do.
Taming a demon beast was not as simple as one might imagine. When a demon beast submits to a human cultivator, it submits to the power of the cultivator, and if the cultivator cannot constantly suppress the beast, it might revolt in the future even if it submits today.
Moreover, the gap between Zhouyang and the Eagle Lion Beast’s power was not enough to completely suppress the beast.
Especially, if they left the Zhenyue Immortal City, which was under the coverage of the Anti-Sky Array; with the Eagle Lion Beast’s strength, it could easily escape even without defeating him.
Yet, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
If Zhouyang could tame this Eagle Lion Beast, not only would he gain an excellent riding mount, but he would also have a gold-tier combat asset no weaker than himself.
Most importantly, with the strength and lifespan of such an Exotic Beast like the Eagle Lion Beast, it could easily be cultivated as a Clan Guardian Spirit Beast.
If the Zhou Family could have such a Clan Guardian Spirit Beast watching over them, they would never fear an invasion even without a Foundation Establishment Cultivator guarding the family.
For Zhouyang, as the leader of his clan, this was a temptation too great!
Thus, after hesitating for a while, he finally nodded and said, "Very well, I’ll spare you for now. Should you harbor any treacherous thoughts in the future, don’t blame Zhou for being ruthless with my sword!"
Having said that, he waved his hand to extinguish the "Qianyang True Flame" burning on the Eagle Lion Beast, then thought for a moment before retrieving two Tier Three Spirit Elixirs with healing effects from the Storage Bag and threw them before the beast, watching as it consumed them.
Eating the Spirit Elixir directly was a significant waste, but since he didn’t have suitable healing Elixirs on hand, he had to adapt to this urgent situation. Besides, for demon beasts, directly consuming the elixir could also yield decent results, so it wasn’t too wasteful.
After watching the Eagle Lion Beast eat the Spirit Elixirs and look at him with eyes filled with appeasement and gratitude, he took out the Spirit Beast Bag he bought from the Divine Weapon Workshop earlier and activated the magical artifact towards the beast.
This was also a test; for the Spirit Beast Bag to take in the demon beast, the beast must not resist—as long as the Eagle Lion Beast made any struggle, the Spirit Beast Bag would be unable to contain it.
If that happened, Zhouyang would abandon all hope and slay the beast.
Fortunately, what Zhouyang feared did not occur; after he activated the Spirit Beast Bag, the Eagle Lion Beast merely glanced at him in curiosity before obediently allowing itself to be captured.
Upon witnessing this, Zhouyang breathed a huge sigh of relief and couldn’t help but break into an excited and joyous smile.
Subduing an Eagle Lion Beast was far more challenging than killing one, and the benefits gained were vastly different.
If he hadn’t yet obtained the Spirit Pills needed for his father Zhou Xuanhao’s healing, this Eagle Lion Beast alone would have made his venture into the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm worthwhile. How could he not be thrilled?
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦
