The Kill

"Chirp~"

A piercing eagle cry rang out high in the sky. As if provoked, the golden giant eagle dropped the roasted hare from its talons, wheeled around, and dove straight at Ye Yun's flying sword. Ye Yun hadn't expected it to turn back, and had no time to change his sword technique. The flying sword, glowing pale blue, collided head-on with the golden giant eagle's metallic-looking talons.

"Clang!"

When the two collided, they made the sound of metal striking metal, and sparks burst from the point of impact.

After his first attack missed, Ye Yun swiftly changed his hand seals. The flying sword in the air began to weave nimbly, launching one attack after another at the golden eagle. The giant eagle was indeed the ruler of the skies. Though it couldn't match the sword's agility, it managed to block Ye Yun's attacks at every critical moment, sometimes with its talons, sometimes with its wings. A dense clanging rang through the sky, accompanied by a steady shower of sparks.

In just a few minutes, Ye Yun attacked more than a hundred times. To his astonishment, the giant eagle blocked every single strike, and barely even ruffled its feathers. He was only controlling the flying sword to attack; he wasn't using any powerful sword techniques. Even so, the fact that the eagle could hold out this long left Ye Yun impressed.

Though Ye Yun was amazed by the eagle's strength, there was no denying that it had stolen his roasted hare. What was more, if he hadn't dodged just now, he would have been decapitated. So the eagle had to die.

Seeing that he couldn't kill the eagle with his flying sword, Ye Yun called the long sword back. When he saw the tiny notches all along its blade, he was speechless. This was a treasured sword sharp enough to cut through iron, yet after only a brief clash with the eagle, it was covered in notches. All Ye Yun could say was that it really was a demon beast—its physical defenses were astonishing.

Ye Yun watched the golden giant eagle and thought to himself, That eagle's physical defenses are no joke. Its hide is tougher than cast iron. Ordinary attacks can't pierce it. In that case, let's see how you handle my One with the Sword Strike!

His thoughts racing, Ye Yun's spiritual power surged. His body slowly rose from the ground, and he lifted the long sword before his chest. He pressed the sword-finger of his left hand against its blade and gazed straight ahead. Brilliant blue light radiated from his entire body. When it grew so bright that it was impossible to look at directly, Ye Yun suddenly let out a long cry, merged with his sword, and shot toward the giant eagle like lightning.

As Ye Yun channeled his spiritual power to perform his sword technique, the golden giant eagle was not idle either. Its demonic power rapidly gathered in front of it, forming a golden feather. By the time Ye Yun unleashed his technique, the eagle had also readied its killing move. It gave a slight flap of its wings, and the golden feather shot out like lightning. Both sides were intent on killing with a single strike. Now it was a matter of which was stronger.

In the blink of an eye, the five or six hundred meters between them vanished, and they collided. But the image of spearpoint meeting spearpoint never came to pass. The moment Ye Yun's sword touched the golden feather, it was like a hammer crashing down on glass. The feather shattered into pieces without managing to slow him at all. Having broken through the golden giant eagle's attack, Ye Yun continued without pause and pierced straight through the eagle in his path.

"Chirp~"

The giant eagle cried out in grief. Blood poured from the gaping hole Ye Yun had torn through its body. Its enormous wings beat desperately twice, then fell limp. But just then, something that shocked Ye Yun happened: instead of crashing to the ground, the golden giant eagle abruptly cast off its sorrow and let out a proud cry. Its whole body shone with a dazzling, meteor-like light as it flew straight up into the sky, then dissolved into specks of golden light.

"What a proud creature of the skies! Even in death, it refuses to fall to earth. You may only be a demon beast, but you've earned my respect." Watching the golden eagle dissolve into light and return to the world, Ye Yun couldn't help but feel admiration for it, even though it had been his enemy.

After a brief moment of reflection, Ye Yun gathered his things and flew back to the cliff behind him. His roasted hare had fallen somewhere, and he was still hungry. As the saying went, food came first, so a brief sigh was enough.

Less than half an hour later, a rich fragrance rose once again from the foot of the cliff. This time, nothing came to interrupt his meal, and Ye Yun finally ate his fill.

After clearing away the fire, Ye Yun rested briefly, then formed the sword seal again and soared into the air. He didn't want to waste too much time searching for the Vermillion Fruit Tree. Although it was an excellent spiritual medicine for increasing one's spiritual power, it wasn't especially precious to him.

Figuring that he would take it if he found it and let it go if he didn't, Ye Yun stood on his flying sword and searched the cliffs carefully. Suddenly, a faint, delicate fragrance drifted down on the mountain breeze, making his spirits lift. It was the distinctive fragrance of spiritual medicine. Though faint, it lingered without dispersing, which meant the source had to be nearby. Ye Yun was instantly filled with excitement.

Now that he had caught the scent, he only needed to follow it. There was no need to search every inch of the cliff, and his search sped up considerably. After flying nearly five hundred meters toward the summit, he faintly heard a young eagle's cry. He looked up and saw a small tree, just over a meter tall and lushly green.

The tree had taken root in a crack in the steep rock face and stood just over a meter tall. Its leaves were only about the size of a thumb, emerald green and as translucent as jade in the sunlight. Between the leaves, several red fruits, a little smaller than a thumb, were just visible.

"The Vermillion Fruit Tree!" Ye Yun exclaimed. He hadn't expected to find one under these circumstances. But when he saw the cave beside the tree, he understood. The golden eagle from earlier had clearly been the tree's guardian—or, perhaps, its owner.

After carefully checking that there was no danger, Ye Yun took a small jade vial from the pouch at his waist and went over to the Vermillion Fruit Tree.

Once he reached the tree, Ye Yun wasn't in a hurry to pick the vermillion fruits. Instead, he examined the tree carefully, and spotted something worth noting.

All the vermillion fruits on the tree had ripened. There weren't six, but eight: Ye Yun could see two fresh stems where fruits had been picked. The golden eagle must have taken them. Ye Yun didn't know whether it had eaten the fruits itself or fed them to its chick, but he was very glad he hadn't arrived a day or two later. Otherwise, there might not have been any left for him.

Gently, he picked all six vermillion fruits from the tree and stored them in the jade vial. He then picked a few leaves and placed them inside to prevent the medicinal potency from dissipating, before sealing the vial.

Once everything was taken care of, Ye Yun turned his attention to the cave beside him.