Eighth-Rank Sacred Beast

It was too powerful; its aura was more than ten times stronger than that of Thirteen, a four-star Spirit Emperor back in the day. Before this, Sanbao had thought the Colored Deer might not be an ordinary spirit beast, but he never imagined it was a rare Tier 7 Profound Beast.

Whether it is a Spirit Cultivator or a spirit beast, once they reach the Spirit Profound (Tier 7) realm, they enter an entirely different level of existence.

To give the simplest example, all powerhouses who have advanced to the Spirit Profound (Tier 7 spirit beast) level possess the ability to fly through the air. They are already capable of utilizing the laws of heaven and earth to a preliminary degree, far beyond what an ordinary Spirit Cultivator can contend with.

Adjusting his breathing and circulating his spirit power throughout his body, the intense pressure finally began to recede.

In an instant, Sanbao vaguely guessed what had happened that day.

That day, Sanbao was being hunted by Zhao Hong and then fainted beside the Colored Deer. Zhao Hong caught up, saw Sanbao unconscious on the ground, and slashed down with his sword without a second thought. The force and range of the attack clearly did not account for the Colored Deer beside Sanbao. With a single breath, the Colored Deer blew Zhao Hong, along with his sword, right off the mountaintop.

Xie Mei and the other woman, who had followed shortly after, happened to see this process, fled in terror, and later reported the situation to her father, Sect Leader Xie.

Not long after, Sect Leader Xie went up the mountain himself to investigate, and the result was naturally the same: he was severely injured by the Colored Deer.

This Colored Deer was simply too powerful—so powerful that it didn't need to care about the existence of others. Of course, if someone intentionally attacked it, they would definitely not have a good end; Zhao Hong and Sect Leader Xie were the best examples.

Thinking back to the strange, life-saving wind on the mountainside that day, it was likely the movement caused by this beast passing by. Added to the incident on the mountaintop, he never expected that he had been saved by this mysterious spirit beast twice by pure coincidence.

Sanbao secretly rejoiced that he hadn't had any thoughts of eating venison that day.

The ring of light continued, growing from few to many, and shifting from bright to dim.

After a full half-hour, the Colored Deer finally stopped exhaling rings. Soon, a blue bead the size of a walnut slowly rose from the Colored Deer's mouth, and a faint blue radiance covered the entire mountaintop.

The Colored Deer had actually spat out its own Life Core.

Sanbao had long since been rendered limp by its powerful aura; at this moment, he was sprawled on the ground like a pile of mud, unable to move.

Boom, boom.

Following that, Sanbao witnessed an even more unexpected scene: the Colored Deer was continuously striking its own antlers with its Life Core, producing bursts of booming sounds. The Colored Deer appeared to be in great pain.

What is it doing? Self-mutilation?

Watching this heart-stopping scene, Sanbao's breathing could not help but become rapid. Just at this moment, the Colored Deer let out a loud roar toward the sky.

Moo...

With a cry of pain, one of the antlers was broken off, and milky-white liquid dripped from the broken stump into the pool below. Instantly, the color of the pool became even more milky-white.

Sanbao had guessed correctly; this milky-white pool water was indeed there because of this Colored Deer. It must have been some liquid overflowing from its antlers.

Tier 7 Deer Antler—what a miraculous substance that was. Even just the residual liquid within it was enough to provide infinite benefits to low-level Spirit Cultivators like Wang Liang and Sanbao.

After one antler was broken, the Colored Deer appeared even more pained and weak, and even its eyes became hazy.

However, this was not the limit for this Colored Deer.

The booming sounds continued.

The blue Life Core was still relentlessly striking the remaining antler; it was truly bizarre.

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the remaining antler also appeared precarious, as if it were about to fall off. At the same time, the blue Life Core also slowed down, and the light upon it faded by more than half, with only a faint radiance flowing over it.

The Colored Deer kept its eyes tightly shut, and its entire body seemed to be trembling.

Clearly, the Colored Deer was in extreme pain at this moment, and even its Life Core began to wobble, becoming uncontrollable.

Just then, a yellow light suddenly emerged from somewhere on the mountaintop and shot rapidly toward the Colored Deer.

"Watch out!"

Sanbao shouted involuntarily.

The Colored Deer seemed unable to respond, barely managing to raise its Life Core to fly forward, where it collided fiercely with the yellow light.

Bang.

The yellow light recoiled, transforming into a man of about thirty years old. The man held a large yellow wheel and looked exceptionally sinister.

The Colored Deer also staggered, immediately kneeling halfway in the pool. The light of its Life Core dimmed significantly, nearly shattering, before it was retracted into its mouth.

"Go to hell!"

Having failed the first strike, the man was completely fearless. The large wheel in his hand transformed into a streak of yellow light once more and slashed fiercely down at the Colored Deer.

This time, the Colored Deer did not dare to use its Life Core, but it also did not move a single step; it simply stood blankly in place.

Perhaps it knew it was no match and intended to surrender.

Sanbao whispered to himself: It's over.

The moment the yellow light approached the Colored Deer, the deer tilted its head, and its only remaining antler happened to block the large yellow wheel.

With a puff.

The Colored Deer's other antler was severed by the wheel.

Afterward, as if suddenly released from some kind of restraint, the Colored Deer retreated rapidly. In almost an instant, two small, snow-white antlers emerged from the top of its head.

And as these two small antlers emerged, the Colored Deer's entire aura grew continuously stronger. Amidst the gasps of Sanbao and the middle-aged man, the Colored Deer suddenly transformed into a young woman with a graceful figure.

The woman's hair was also multicolored.

An eighth-rank Saint Beast? Not only was Sanbao stunned, but the man who had been attacking the Colored Deer was also dumbfounded. However, he snapped back to reality in the blink of an eye, his body turning sharply as he tried to flee the mountaintop.

"Do you think you can leave?" The woman's voice was soft and unpracticed, yet it carried a thick, chilling intent to kill.

With a single wave of her hand, a seven-colored radiance shot toward the middle-aged man. A scream rang out as the man was severed in two, his body split apart by a single strike.

"Come out, little one," the woman said, turning her attention to Sanbao with an air of indifference.

Sanbao's face turned beet red. Looking extremely reluctant, he shuffled out from behind the rock, acting bashful and awkward.

"S-Senior, please forgive this junior for his intrusion."

Sanbao didn't dare look the woman in the eye, keeping his head bowed low as he spoke clumsily.

The person before him looked incredibly young, yet her cultivation was heaven-defyingly powerful; she had actually reached the Spirit Saint realm and taken human form. Sanbao had no idea how to address her, so he simply blurted out "Senior" at random.

"What, you don't even dare to lift your head to look at me?" The woman seemed somewhat disappointed in Sanbao, speaking in a listless tone.

"N-no, it's not that. Senior is not wearing any clothes, and this junior... this junior truly doesn't dare..." Sanbao lowered his head even further.

As it turned out, after the Colored Deer transformed into a human, she was completely naked. Her figure was tall and statuesque, and as a young man, how could Sanbao dare to look directly at her? He was also terrified that if she were displeased, she might blow a breath and wipe him out of existence.

"What!"

This time, it was the woman's turn to feel unnatural. With a thought, a colorful dress manifested from spirit energy and draped over her body.

"Remember, you are not to mention anything you saw tonight to anyone. Given that you warned me earlier, I won't hold this against you. Consider these two deer antlers a gift."

Having just transformed into a human, the Colored Deer didn't fuss much over her accidental exposure; she only felt slightly uncomfortable. In the end, she even gifted the two antlers she had shed to Sanbao.

"Many thanks, Senior," Sanbao said, appearing fearful and trembling, his eyes filled with worship and envy.

"Come to think of it, you are a descendant of a Divine Beast. Cultivate well, and one day you too may attain the position of a Saint God!" After saying this, the woman drifted into the air, turning into a blue cloud and vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.

One could fly through the air upon reaching the Spirit Profound realm, let alone as an eighth-rank Saint Beast. Sanbao stared in the direction where the Colored Deer had disappeared, his heart churning with massive waves that refused to settle for a long time.

This was a true powerhouse—someone who could turn an opponent into dust with a casual laugh, and soar above the nine heavens in the blink of an eye.

After a good while, Sanbao finally regained his senses. He carefully approached the side of the slain man and began to examine him closely.

This man's cultivation was extremely high, likely having reached the Spirit Emperor realm. Unfortunately, his judgment and luck were truly poor. Although the Colored Deer's strength had plummeted while she was advancing, she was still a peak seventh-rank (Spirit Profound) Profound Beast, and most importantly, she had succeeded in her breakthrough. For an eighth-rank Saint Beast to kill an ordinary Spirit Emperor was as easy as crushing an ant.

A seventh-rank Spirit Beast was a treasure from head to toe. This man had clearly come for that reason, only to lose his own life in the process—truly pathetic.

However, given the man's high level of cultivation, he was likely no nobody. Sanbao wondered if he belonged to the Cloud Saint Sect; if so, he would at least be one of the sect leaders, though he didn't know which one. Sanbao had wanted to loot the dead man's belongings, but he abandoned the thought after a moment's reflection. He definitely could not afford to provoke the people behind such a big figure.

The Red Wheel in the man's hand was clearly an extraordinary Spirit Weapon. If it were anyone else, they would have long since pocketed it as their own. But Sanbao, having seen his fair share of the world, weighed the pros and cons and ultimately decided to let it go.

Looking at the two milk-white deer antlers in his hands, Sanbao gave a dry laugh. Life is unpredictable; one may plant flowers with intent and see them fail to bloom, while a willow branch planted without care grows into a tree. It had worked out in his favor after all.

A quarter of an hour later, in a thicket at the base of the lonely mountain, Sanbao carefully took a cloth pouch from an inner pocket of his clothes. Opening it, an orange-red ring was revealed.

As he continuously poured his spirit energy into it, an unknown space slowly drew closer to Sanbao's consciousness.

Half a quarter of an hour later, following Sanbao's whispered command of "Open,"

The storage space was opened by Sanbao for the second time. He quickly placed the two precious antlers into the space, and with a thought, the entire space vanished without a trace.

Although this Storage Spirit Ring was only a mid-grade Spirit Weapon, its value was far higher than that of an average high-grade Spirit Weapon.

With his current strength, Sanbao naturally dared not display such a treasure casually, especially since the True Spirit Feather of immeasurable value was still inside the ring.

After hiding the ring away again, Sanbao quickly returned to the Fire Cloud Hall. He did not mention a word of what he had seen or heard at the lonely mountain to anyone, instead burying himself in cultivation while waiting for something.