So fast!
Shen Changchuan's expression changed slightly.
The Gale Falcon was so fast that a distance of a hundred zhang had practically vanished in a flash,
that even Shen Changchuan, with the perfected Spirit Eye Technique upon him, could barely catch its shadow!
"Fire!"
Shen Changchuan shouted an order,
and in the instant they heard it,
the enormous ballistae hidden amid the grass and trees around the Spirit Field suddenly fired. Great nets shot into the sky like arrows.
At the same time,
Shen Changchuan cast the Light Body Technique almost instantly.
His figure drifted like a ghost as he sped toward the Spirit Field where the Gale Falcon was descending.
However,
the Gale Falcon was not only far faster than Shen Changchuan, but also faster than the nets launched skyward in the shape of bolts!
Before Shen Changchuan even arrived,
before the great nets in the sky had time to spread open,
the Gale Falcon had already crossed layer upon layer of space, descending from the Nine Heavens Above with a sharp blast of force!
At lightning speed, the Gale Falcon beat its wings. Demon energy erupted, and the airflow it raised swept over the golden Spirit Grain below as though it had substance.
In an instant,
the pale-gold stalks hanging with clusters of Spirit Grain were severed and shattered by the razor-sharp currents. Countless grains were swept into the air, converging like a golden stream before the Gale Falcon swallowed them in one gulp!
Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
At that moment,
the nets above, shaped like ballista bolts, finally sprang open after being launched into the air, triggered by their small mechanisms.
Great nets spread out one after another, dense and countless,
covering nearly half the sky and sealing every corner through which it might flee.
The Gale Falcon seemed to have nowhere left to escape!
However,
a trace of disdain seemed to flash through the Gale Falcon's eyes.
It spun through the air at tremendous speed.
At once,
razor-sharp wind blades shot upward one after another,
and those wind blades were unbelievably fast.
In the blink of an eye,
the great nets, capable of trapping even Martial Artists of the Innate realm for a while, were torn apart in midair!
The Gale Falcon became a streak of gray lightning,
swiftly passing through the gap overhead
and soaring into the high skies.
It began circling overhead.
"Damn it!"
Shen Changchuan had no choice but to stop.
Standing atop a field ridge, he looked up at the Gale Falcon circling in the sky, his brows tightly furrowed.
Fast!
It was truly far too fast!
Before he could reach it, that beast had already finished its plunder and withdrawn.
No wonder this type of Demon Beast had been listed among the most troublesome. Even immortal cultivators at the Qi Gathering Late-stage could do little against it!
Before reaching the Out of Body Stage realm and gaining the ability to fly through the air, this thing could practically be said to stand in an invincible position!
Shen Changchuan felt a headache coming on.
At this time,
the nets from the other directions in the sky finally arrived late, drifting down onto the ground one after another.
They caught nothing but a field full of air.
"Changchuan, why not forget it? Let the villagers go in and harvest directly. Save whatever we can!"
Han Qinhu, only at Qi Gathering First Level, arrived late as well, having just caught up.
He glanced at the Gale Falcon overhead, now like a black speck circling high in the sky,
his face full of worry as he tried to persuade Shen Changchuan again.
Too fast!
It was so fast that he could not even catch the Gale Falcon's shadow, much less make a move to stop it.
If that beast attacked him, he would likely have no power to resist at all!
There was simply no way to contend with it!
As he spoke,
Han Qinhu also looked toward the Spirit Field that the Gale Falcon had ravaged.
What had once been a smooth, golden expanse now had a great sunken patch in it.
It looked as though a dog had gnawed it.
At least ten jin of Spirit Grain had been lost!
Han Qinhu could not help feeling a pang of heartache.
And judging by the way the Gale Falcon continued to circle high above, it had no intention of leaving.
Clearly, ten jin of Spirit Grain was nowhere near enough to satisfy it.
"No. We'll try once more. If it still doesn't work this time, then we'll talk."
Shen Changchuan closed his eyes and thought for a moment, but ultimately shook his head and refused.
Although Han Qinhu remained worried, he could only withdraw.
He retreated to the rear and called for the ambushing villagers to quickly string the ballistae, preparing for the next attack.
The surrounding villagers looked toward Shen Changchuan in the middle of the field, their gazes likewise filled with concern.
If they could not drive away that Demon Beast,
there would be enormous trouble ahead.
Yet even though they worried, they could do nothing when they could not even see the Gale Falcon's shadow.
They could only grip their weapons tightly, draw their bows taut,
and do their utmost to contribute their own insignificant share of strength.
A quarter of an hour later,
after circling in the sky and investigating for some time, the Gale Falcon seemed to discover that the two-legged beasts below posed little threat.
So it dove down once again,
swooping down like lightning.
Within a breath, it glided to the air above the Spirit Grain, streams of airflow and wind blades sweeping forth.
It was about to repeat its old trick and sweep away that patch of Spirit Grain.
But,
at that very instant,
Shen Changchuan made his move!
At some unknown point,
a bell had appeared in his hand.
Ding! Ding! Ding!!!
Three crisp chimes suddenly rang out, resounding above the Spirit Field in an instant!
Shen Changchuan poured all his strength into activating the Soul-Snatching Bell. Nearly all the mana around his body flooded into it, causing its light to flare as he pushed its power to the utmost!
As the bell rang,
an invisible force surged outward, abruptly enveloping the entire area.
In an instant,
the Gale Falcon's body stiffened. It was as if a huge iron hammer had smashed down upon its head, turning its consciousness into a blur of chaos.
Its body was controlled in that instant as well. The demon energy within it ran wild, and the airflow wind blades it had been sending forth collapsed one after another, whipping up a fierce gale all around.
Its body,
having completely lost control,
fell directly to the ground.
Its tremendous speed sent it rolling across the earth, carving a long trail behind it as soil and dust were flung backward into the sky.
"This is our chance! Move!"
At the sight,
the worry on Han Qinhu's face vanished completely, replaced by immense excitement as he shouted.
At once,
Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
Ballista bolts shot out densely from every direction,
while great nets sprang open in midair and descended toward the Gale Falcon!
Not far away, several villagers charged forward with iron forks, long spears, and other weapons!
Han Qinhu was stunned by the sight for a moment, then his expression changed drastically as he roared:
"You lot, who told you to rush up there?! Get back, now!"
But before Han Qinhu's voice had even faded,
an accident occurred!
The Gale Falcon was, after all, a Demon Beast.
In matters of Spiritual Sense and the soul, Demon Beasts had always been weak. Their survival had never depended on such things.
They relied on instinct!
The instant its body crashed down, the Gale Falcon instinctively sensed tremendous danger.
"Screech!"
A sharp, drawn-out bird cry rang out from within the smoke and dust.
Immediately afterward,
Boom!!!
A violent tornado suddenly swept up from level ground!
Whether the incoming ballista bolts or the great nets that had sprung open and shot toward it,
all were caught by the tornado and torn apart within a breath!
"Aah!!!"
The several villagers who had charged forward screamed as they were swept high into the air by the tornado.
Under the slicing gale winds, tangible as blades, they were instantly ripped into pieces. Their blood dyed the surrounding currents and wind blades red!
But it was not over yet!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!
The Gale Falcon instinctively beat its wings and spun.
Gray wind blades immediately swept out like spinning sickles, slashing toward Shen Changchuan with the terrifying force of a violent storm!
It instinctively sought to snuff out the greatest source of danger.
And all these changes came far too quickly.
The Gale Falcon's instinctive counterattack was equally swift. The wind blades flashed like lightning.
Shen Changchuan had only just activated the Soul-Snatching Bell,
when gray wind blades had already torn through the air, carrying incomparably sharp edges as they chopped straight down at his head!
"What?!"
Shen Changchuan's expression changed drastically.
There was no time to dodge.
Golden Bell Technique · Fifth Layer!
Hummm! Hummm! Hummm!!!
Crisp bell chimes suddenly rippled outward. Golden phantom bells appeared around Shen Changchuan, one layer enclosing another, five consecutive layers covering and protecting him!
After Shen Changchuan entered the Qi Gathering Fifth Level, his mana had become more abundant and his control over its circulation more adept. As a result, he cast spells faster, to the point that his Mastery Level Spells could now practically be called truly instantaneous!
This defensive spell had originally been used by Old Four of the Four Fiends of Heshan to block Shen Changchuan's wind blade attacks. Now Shen Changchuan unleashed it himself,
and even crazily stacked it five layers deep.
The stacking of five Golden Bell Techniques made Shen Changchuan shine with dazzling golden light, giving off an indestructible aura!
At that very instant,
the moment the five layers of Golden Bell Technique finished stacking,
the gray wind blades fell directly upon him!
Clang! Clang! Clang.
Crisp sounds of metal striking metal rang out. The collision of immense forces sent shockwaves rippling in every direction, twisting even the air!
The ground beneath Shen Changchuan's feet shattered under the tremendous force. Spiderweb cracks spread outward, while dust rose and drifted away with the currents!
Under the Gale Falcon's powerful wind blade assault,
four layers of golden bells shattered in succession,
But in the end, there was still a layer of golden bell protecting Shen Changchuan!
This strike—
Shen Changchuan ultimately took it head-on.
Yet his face turned pale as well.
His opponent was, after all, comparable to a Peak Qi Gathering Sixth Level cultivator. Though he had withstood the attack with a fifth-level defensive spell, the tremendous rebounding force still inflicted a degree of backlash on him, drawing a muffled groan from his throat.
Meanwhile,
the Gale Falcon swiftly recovered from its dazed state. Its previously staggering body barely regained its footing, and it spread its wings, preparing to take to the skies once more.
If it was allowed to fly again and rapidly regain its balance, it would surely become a massive problem!
At this critical moment,
Shen Changchuan could no longer worry about anything else. He forcibly gathered the spiritual power within him and slapped a palm onto the ground.
Earth Shaking Technique!
Rumble—!!!
The entire ground violently shook in an instant.
The Gale Falcon had been bending its legs and spreading its wings, ready to borrow force from the ground to soar back into the sky, but because of the trembling earth—
its footing slipped for a moment. Its body skidded, and it staggered before half its body flapped down onto the ground once again!
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