Companion Domain, Southern Bright

Southern Bright Leaving Fire tore through the scales, and golden feathers plunged into flesh. The Hou Beast's back instantly became a spray of blood and mangled flesh!

Blood soaked the wisps of hair over Nan Li's forehead, reflecting a pair of cold, savage eyes.

The blood reddened the Fire Hou's eyes and cast a bloody veil over Nan Li's as well. Nan Li, who had just warned Dan Hong to prioritize survival, now wanted to finish this Fire Hou once and for all.

It was not that Nan Li had lost her head in recklessness. Rather, another bloodline within her, apart from that of the Vermilion Bird, was boiling. It was the bloodline inherited from her father, Chong Yang—the battle-hardened bloodline of the Chongming Bird.

Her golden wings carried tremendous force and ferocity as they smashed down. One of the Fire Hou's horns, together with the blood-red roots buried beneath its flesh, was snapped clean off!

Seeing one of its horns fall onto the rocks, the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl went berserk and slammed fiercely into the sandstone wall. Yet rather than hurting Nan Li, its charge knocked off its own horn.

With both horns gone, the Fire Hou no longer held back. It rolled on the spot, trying to crush Nan Li beneath its body!

The flesh around the Hou Beast's broken horn pressed against the rocks, allowing sand and gravel to seep into the wound. It was utterly self-destructive—a thousand points of damage to the enemy at the cost of eight hundred to itself!

Nan Li was still losing blood, and the brilliant golden sheen on the Golden Feather Armor's wings was mostly obscured by red. She flew out of the Hou Beast's attack range, but her body inevitably faltered for an instant.

"Roar—" The giant beast's front paw crashed down, slamming the Red Figure toward the ground.

The Golden Feather Armor scraped against the ground with a teeth-grinding metallic screech, carving a long trail across the rocky surface. Nan Li rolled away and swiftly got to her feet.

Though her palms were covered in blood, Nan Li's resolve was unwavering. So what if I can't find your weakness? I'll break your horns, rip off your scales, and burn away your fur. Let's see where you can hide your weakness then!

The Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl's wounds were embedded with shattered sandstone, and the pain made even its lowered claw tremble. The Hou Beast bared its fangs and let out a low rumble from its throat. Right now, it only wanted to tear apart and devour the sparrow that had injured it!

The two sides faced off when a rich, secluded fragrance suddenly wafted through the air. The Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum's medicinal effect had reached its peak!

Dan Hong moved deftly, quickly plucking the petals before uprooting the epiphyllum along with the surrounding rock and placing it in her Soul Tool. She called to Nan Li, "Nan Li, retreat!"

Retreat? A guardian Soul Beast with Vermilion Bird bloodline, one that had lived for nearly two hundred thousand years—was she supposed to flee from this grotesque creature?

Sensing the agitation in this body, Jiang E Li hurriedly warned, "Nan Li, don't act rashly. In my previous life, this was a Divine Beast!"

"Nan Li, the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl is a powerful exotic beast recorded in the Holy Land. Retreat first!" Dan Hong came to Nan Li's side, watching the Hou Beast's slightly raised back with vigilance.

Nan Li suppressed the battle lust rising from her bloodline, reassuringly patted Dan Hong's arm, and slowly backed away under the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl's watchful gaze.

But in the next instant, the Hou Beast's roar once again resounded through the skies.

"Roar—"

From nowhere, the Fire Hou seemed to draw new strength. Its back arched, its hind legs kicked off fiercely, and it pounced upon the two of them with the force of Mount Tai bearing down!

The Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl had guarded this place for a long time, waiting only for the flower to bloom. Now that someone else had beaten it to the epiphyllum, did these two little birds think they could leave unscathed? Dream on!

Dan Hong also realized that she had likely taken what the creature considered its "prized possession." Today's matter would probably not end peacefully. Since there was no way back, then she would fight! Did it really think she was afraid of it?

Dan Hong took several metal spheres from her Soul Tool. Filled with gunpowder, she hurled them all at the creature.

"Boom, boom, boom—" A chain of explosions blasted enormous craters into the rocky ground, sending countless stones flying.

The Fire Hou had already suffered Nan Li's mental assault, and now it was hit by gunpowder. The explosions left its mind ringing, and it nearly collapsed to the ground.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Dan Hong applied some hemostatic powder to Nan Li's wounds, then waved a hand and took out several kinds of pills.

"Anesthetic Powder, Hallucinogenic Pill, Fire Condensing Pill, Heart Calming Pill..." Dan Hong had previously done little research into poisons. After searching through her supplies, she found only a few that could be useful in battle.

Though people said medicine and poison came from the same source, most of what she studied was healing and treatment tailored to specific symptoms. Trying to directly bring down the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl with medicine now was truly no easy task.

Even if she had something suitable, the giant beast before them was so enormous that she had no idea how large a dose would be needed for it to work.

Dan Hong hesitated for a moment, and Nan Li took the few medicines from her hand.

The bleeding had stopped, but the pain from the wound remained. To keep her entire arm from going numb, Nan Li sprinkled only a small amount of Anesthetic Powder over the injury.

At that very moment, the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl raised its head and swallowed the crimson blood mist surrounding its body. It then spewed out a vast torrent of flames that rushed toward them like a cascading waterfall!

"What are you spacing out for!" Nan Li had no time to free up her hands, so she could only use her wings to sweep Dan Hong aside.

After missing with its strike, the Fire Hou immediately turned and pursued Nan Li. The grudge of its broken horns had to be repaid!

Nan Li knew that her Soul Power Level was indeed somewhat lower than Dan Hong's. It was only expected that the Hou Beast would choose to attack her.

"Heh, you think I'm afraid of you?" Expected or not, Nan Li sneered, and the killing intent around her could no longer be restrained. Since she had dared to take Humanoid Form, she had prepared herself to face the enemies of her past. Even a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would not frighten Nan Li. This mere Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was looking down on her far too much!

Do you think my Vermilion Bird bloodline came from nowhere? Do you really think I am merely a Soul Beast that took Humanoid Form?

Nan Li slit her fingertip and swiftly formed hand seals. A special force unlike Soul Power rapidly spread outward. The blood turned into pure white flames the moment it left her body, and as her fingers moved, the flames traced an ancient, majestic bird-shaped totem before her.

Nan Li felt the blood within her nearly boiling. Her crimson, violent Soul Power rose steadily, mixed with that strange force, and an overwhelming aura that looked down upon all things emerged from her body.

The enormous totem passed through her red-clad figure and condensed behind Nan Li. Her crimson hair flew wildly, as unrestrained and fearless as it had been in the past.

At that moment, Dan Hong seemed to see once more the Nan Li who had dared to face a Million Year Overlord Pangolin Tiger Shark alone—the guardian Soul Beast of the Flame Feather Clan, Nan Li!

The totem was complete, but Nan Li did not stop. Her fingertips continued to draw through the air, writing the character "Li" in flames and blood.

Sharp as iron strokes, dazzling as silver hooks—arrogant and unrestrained.

Vermilion Bird, Southern Land of Heaven; in the Bagua, Li.

My name is Nan Li!

Pure white flames surged a hundred zhang high and crashed down upon the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl with unstoppable force and irresistible might!

Blood still gushed from the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl's broken horn, but it could no longer spare any attention for it. From Nan Li, it sensed a familiar pressure—the pressure of the Vermilion Bird, the God of Creation!

Could it be... God, Lord God...

"Southern Bright Domain." Nan Li spoke softly, yet an immense and mighty pressure instantly enveloped this stretch of heaven and earth. The majesty of the ancient God of Creation forced the Cloud-Swallowing Fire Howl to crawl upon the ground!

The author had little experience writing battle scenes and could only polish them bit by bit, revising again and again. This was truly a case of being bad at it yet loving to write it.