Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl

The hou beast exhaled red smoke from its mouth, enveloping Nan Li within it.

The hou beast's bite force was immense. If not for the Golden Feather Armor protecting Nan Li, half her wing might have been torn off. She could not break free for the moment, and the red smoke was scorching hot—even she, with Vermilion Bird bloodline, felt uncomfortable.

Nan Li was only a Soul Elder now, and her Third Soul Skill was rapidly draining her Soul Power.

Amid the swirling smoke, the Fire Hou's eyes resembled enormous lanterns as it looked mockingly at the overconfident little sparrow in its jaws.

Dan Hong steadied herself in the air and turned to see Nan Li trapped in the creature's mouth. She immediately unleashed her Soul Skill. "Fourth Soul Skill, Crimson Feather Slash!"

A Cross Light Blade bloomed from her wings, tearing through the air as it flew forward!

The hou beast raised its head, positioning Nan Li directly in the path of the light blade.

Five Cross Light Blades shot out in succession. Dan Hong formed a hand seal, and the blades changed direction before Nan Li, slashing at the Fire Hou's sides and chest in cunning arcs.

Clang, clang, clang! The light blades struck its scales, sending sparks flying.

But when Nan Li turned to look, Dan Hong's Fourth Soul Skill had only left shallow marks on the giant beast, barely ten centimeters long and less than a millimeter deep.

Jiang E Li anxiously paced in circles within the Sea of Consciousness. Suddenly recalling the battle between the Great Sage and the Golden-Haired Hou, she had an idea and called out, "Nan Li, try its lower jaw!"

Ignoring the risk of breaking her wings, Nan Li swung the Golden Feather in her hand and stabbed at the Fire Hou's lower jaw.

"Roar—" The giant beast cried out in pain and flung Nan Li into the air. It opened its bloody maw, intending to swallow the little sparrow whole!

Nan Li brought her hands together, and the two Golden Feathers instantly joined into one. Before she began to fall, she wedged it between the hou beast's upper and lower jaws. Then she beat her wings, flipped herself over, and swiftly retreated to Dan Hong's side.

The exchange had happened quickly, but only two or three minutes had actually passed. Since Dan Hong had said to wait, Nan Li did not hesitate. Just as she had treated her clan members before taking Humanoid Form: just tell me whether you want it; I'll handle everything else.

She raised her left hand, turned her palm over before her eyes, and slowly swept it across them. Her crimson eyes shone even brighter than the starlight overhead.

A violent stabbing pain instantly exploded in the Fire Hou's brain. It wildly shook its head, but the more it did so, the deeper the Golden Feather in its mouth pierced into its flesh.

Having completed the mental attack, Nan Li stepped on Dan Hong's wing and used the force to rush before the giant beast's head. She pulled out a dagger from her Soul Tool and stabbed it into the hou beast's lower jaw again!

It worked?

Feeling the dagger sink into flesh, Nan Li increased her strength.

With Nan Li stepping on her wing, Dan Hong was pushed back slightly. When she looked up, she saw flames on the hou beast's head snake down along its fur, setting the fur down its spine ablaze. Beneath the falling starlight, the scales on its body and limbs glimmered with a crimson sheen.

The hou beast glared furiously, a rumbling growl rising from its throat. Its blood and qi surged, and some inexplicable power brewed within its body.

Nan Li sensed that something was wrong. She abandoned the dagger and flipped away in retreat.

"Roar—"

The hou beast unleashed an earthshaking roar, spewing out scorching air currents and flames that surged toward Nan Li!

Dan Hong was blocked by the flying sand and stones. Her enormous flaming wings were blown backward in the fierce wind, leaving her unable to advance for the moment.

The Fire Hou raised its front half, then slammed both claws heavily onto the ground. Blood-red mist swirled around its massive body. The mist spread and deepened, and the power within the giant beast seemed ready to burst forth from the earth!

Nan Li wrapped her body in her wings. As she spun back in retreat, she heard a sharp clang. A metal-forged feather tore through the air and flashed past her eyes.

How could this be?!

"Watch out!" Nan Li's voice spread outward with her Soul Power, exploding beside Dan Hong's ears like thunder.

Dan Hong immediately increased her Soul Power output. Flames surged endlessly from her wings, and the speed boost from her Second Soul Skill allowed her to evade the attack.

Dan Hong glided through the air in a semicircular arc and caught Nan Li's Golden Feather in her hand.

Nan Li and Dan Hong retreated at high speed, opening a distance of nearly a hundred meters from the hou beast.

When they looked up again, the figure beneath the scarlet mist had expanded into several afterimages. Two lanterns seemed to hang within the fog as the hou beast stepped forward with enormous eagle-claw-like forepaws, making Dan Hong suck in a sharp breath.

The giant beast's body had expanded to more than twice its previous size!

"Nan Li, this is probably a Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl. Its cultivation is even higher than mine." Dan Hong had often walked by the river, but today she had gotten her shoes wet because of a Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum.

"Take the Immortal Grass and leave!" Nan Li reached out and shoved Dan Hong, urging her to store the Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum in her Soul Tool.

A low shout jolted Dan Hong awake, and she rushed toward the epiphyllum at full speed.

On the other side, the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl was shrouded in scarlet blood mist. In its perception, the two little sparrows before it were both great supplements no less valuable than that flower. Of the three, Nan Li was undoubtedly the most alluring to it!

Its powerful, tiger-like hind legs bent slightly as the hou beast assumed the stance of a starving tiger pouncing on prey.

Nan Li knew that greed did not apply only to humans; Soul Beasts were the same. There would likely be no peaceful resolution today. Beast blood still dripped from the Golden Feather in her right hand. She spun it several times, and her Companion Flame instantly clung to it.

The Golden Feather coated in flames was hurled out after Nan Li gathered her strength, splitting the air like a flying wheel!

Within the Sea of Consciousness, Jiang E Li desperately tried to recall memories from her previous life. Yet the more anxious she became, the less she could remember. Her Soul Body spun frantically in circles within the Sea of Consciousness, and Jiang E Li was nearly driven mad. She clearly remembered that the Golden-Haired Hou had a weakness!

"Nan Li, there must be something abnormal on its body that differs from its surroundings. That is its fatal weakness!"

"I know. 'No gold is entirely pure.' This giant beast cannot be so powerful that it has no flaws. Enlarging its body is merely a way to intimidate its enemies. It will still die when it should." While using Soul Power to control the Golden Feather flying wheel, Nan Li seized the opening when the hou beast swatted the Golden Feather aside. She swiftly closed in and grabbed the Fire Hou by its horn.

"If I want it dead, then it has no chance of surviving!" Nan Li cut open her arm and let her blood flow freely. Stimulated by her blood, Nan Li's Companion Flame grew increasingly close to pure white. Ignoring the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl's frantic running and struggles, she forcefully drove the Golden Feather into its flesh!

The Vermilion Bird's Companion Flame, that pure white fire, was naturally the Southern Bright Leaving Fire.

The Southern Bright Leaving Fire could be gentle or fierce, possessing the vast grandeur of merging with heaven and earth. Burned to its utmost limit, nothing could withstand it!

The hou beast's scaled armor ultimately could not withstand the scorching Southern Bright Leaving Fire. The Golden Feather tore through its flesh, and scalding blood splashed four or five feet into the air!

Nan Li's blood mixed with the hou beast's blood, becoming the finest fuel for the Southern Bright Leaving Fire.

The Great Sage Jiang E Li had thought of was Sun Wukong.