Chapter 79: Blue Ice Qilin Lion

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Blue Ice Qilin Lion

In the Earth Star Forest, countless ancient trees, having weathered endless ages, blotted out the sun. The forest was as quiet as ever.

"AWOO!"

A piercing shriek shattered the silence. A Red Blood Tiger, struck by several sharp blasts of Sword Qi, was sent flying backward before crashing limply to the ground. A fatal gash on its head gushed fresh blood.

Yi Xiaoyao stepped out from behind a giant tree. Looking at the corpse of the Red Blood Tiger before him, a faint smile played on his lips.

’He remembered the first time he had encountered a Red Blood Tiger; it had taken a great deal of effort to hunt it down. Now, he could kill one with just a few casual blasts of Sword Qi.’

The Yi Xiaoyao of today was no longer the naive boy who had just walked out of the Tang Family Castle.

Moreover, Yi Xiaoyao was confident that by the time he left the Earth Star Forest, he would have grown even more powerful.

Yi Xiaoyao walked over to the Red Blood Tiger’s corpse and knelt. He first used the Soul-Devouring Forbidden Technique to devour the Demon Beast’s soul, then employed a Secret Technique from the Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring Technique to extract the tiger’s Essence Blood.

A ball of dark-red blood, about the size of an egg, materialized in his palm, enveloped in Spiritual Power. This was the entirety of the Red Blood Tiger’s Essence Blood.

Essence Blood was the very quintessence of a creature’s lifeblood. A Red Blood Tiger might contain a whole vat of regular blood, but only this small amount of Essence Blood.

After being refined by the Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring Technique, the egg-sized sphere of Essence Blood was reduced to a single drop, which Yi Xiaoyao absorbed into his palm.

"The effect still isn’t good enough..."

Yi Xiaoyao shook his head. He had already been in the Earth Star Forest for two days. He had hunted countless Tier-1 Demon Beasts along the way, only to find their Essence Blood provided a negligible boost to his Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring Technique.

Even the Essence Blood from this Tier-2 low-grade Demon Beast left him somewhat unsatisfied.

’Looks like I’ll have to go deeper into the forest and hunt Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beasts.’

Yi Xiaoyao stood and gazed into the depths of the forest. A Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beast was equivalent in strength to a human at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, but hunting a beast of that caliber wouldn’t be a problem for him.

With that thought, he set off, heading deeper into the forest once more.

「Three days later.」

Yi Xiaoyao was by a small river, washing the filth and blood of Demon Beasts off his body.

He still hadn’t encountered a single Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beast, though he had killed a fair number of the low-grade ones.

His Nine Heavens Dragon Soaring Technique had progressed from the Entry Level to the Minor Success stage. To reach the Great Success stage, however, he would need to hunt and refine the Essence Blood of many Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beasts.

Just then, Yi Xiaoyao felt the air temperature plummet as an icy aura began to permeate his surroundings.

"Hm?"

Yi Xiaoyao’s expression flickered, soon followed by a hint of pleasant surprise.

’This must be the aura of a Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beast!’

Speak of the devil. He was just about to go searching for a Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beast, and one had delivered itself right to his doorstep.

Just then, a voice called out from the other side of the river. "Hey, kid! Get out of here! This area is crawling with Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beasts!"

Yi Xiaoyao looked over and saw an ordinary-looking young man in a white robe, pointing and shouting at him.

Before Yi Xiaoyao could answer, the white-robed youth’s expression changed drastically. He stared behind Yi Xiaoyao and cried out in alarm.

"Oh no! It’s a Blue Ice Qilin Lion! That’s the toughest of all the Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beasts! Even a cultivator at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment would find it incredibly difficult to handle!"

The young man then leaped across the small river and rushed to Yi Xiaoyao’s side. "Kid, I’ll hold it off! You need to run! If you don’t go now, you won’t get another chance!"

Yi Xiaoyao turned around. Sure enough, there stood a ferocious, giant lion covered in blue Ice Scale Armor. No wonder he had felt such an icy aura earlier.

The Blue Ice Qilin Lion was now slowly closing in on the two of them.

Yi Xiaoyao didn’t react to the white-robed youth’s urging. ’I’ve been searching for a Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beast for so long. Why would I possibly leave now?’

Yi Xiaoyao turned to the white-robed young man shielding him. "Who are you?" he asked. "And what makes you so sure I can’t handle this Demon Beast?"

’If he’s genuinely trying to help, fine. But if he’s just making an excuse to steal my kill... then I don’t mind making him my prey instead.’

"My name is Han Shou, a disciple of the Jinhan Sect. A young kid like you must be a rookie from some sect, out getting experience. There’s no way you can defeat a Blue Ice Qilin Lion."

Han Shou spoke with an increasingly anxious expression. "Hurry up and go! The Blue Ice Qilin Lion is fast and its defense is strong. Even I can only stall it for a little while. I won’t be able to spare any attention to protect you!"

"The Jinhan Sect?"

Yi Xiaoyao recalled that his cousin, Tang Zhong, cultivated at the Jinhan Sect, so he had a decent impression of the sect.

Then he gave Han Shou a faint smile. "Thank you for your concern, but you don’t need to worry about me."

A flash of anger appeared on Han Shou’s face. He couldn’t believe his kind offer was being completely ignored.

"ROAR!"

With a deafening roar, billowing waves of frigid Qi spewed from the Blue Ice Qilin Lion’s gaping maw. It then charged toward the two humans it saw as prey.

Han Shou’s expression changed dramatically. "I told you to run, but you insisted on staying! Now the Blue Ice Qilin Lion is here, you can’t escape even if you want to. You’d better start praying I can kill this beast and save your pathetic life."

Yi Xiaoyao was just about to draw his sword, but he paused when he heard that. ’One can never be too careful,’ he thought. ’Let’s just see what this Han Shou is really up to.’

"Vile beast! Die!"

With a powerful cry, Han Shou produced a long spear, executing a flourish before lunging toward the giant Ice Qilin lion.

TING! TING! TING!

Each of Han Shou’s spear thrusts sent shards of ice flying from the giant Ice Qilin lion’s body, but he was unable to penetrate its defenses.

The Blue Ice Qilin Lion, for its part, grew angrier with every blow, its own attacks against Han Shou becoming increasingly ferocious.

As Yi Xiaoyao watched the man and beast fight, frigid Qi swirling wantonly around them, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Although Han Shou had the Cultivation of a fifth-level Foundation Establishment expert, he was clearly on the losing end. It was obvious this Blue Ice Qilin Lion was exceptionally powerful, even for a Tier-2 mid-grade Demon Beast.

At the same time, Yi Xiaoyao thought, ’He really does seem to be trying to help me out of kindness. I can’t just stand by and watch him get killed by this Demon Beast.’

With that, Yi Xiaoyao prepared to step in and help Han Shou.

But in the next instant, Han Shou suddenly put all his strength into a single blow, knocking the Blue Ice Qilin Lion back. Then, he turned and fled.

Having lost its target, the Blue Ice Qilin Lion immediately spewed another blast of frigid Qi and lunged ferociously at Yi Xiaoyao.

As Han Shou retreated, he thought, ’What an idiot. He has no strength, yet he dares to enter such a dangerous area and refuses to listen to my advice. If he wants to die so badly, then let him.’

However...

The bloodcurdling scream Han Shou expected to hear as the Blue Ice Qilin Lion tore Yi Xiaoyao apart never came. Instead, the shocking sound of shattering ice, followed by the low, mournful cry of a beast, reached his ears.

...