Suffocating Time Slot

Qing Zhengyue's hand tightened around the hilt of his blade, veins bulging.

A seventy-year-old veteran, he had seen storms and death, but he had never encountered a soul beast of this caliber.

A fifty-thousand-year level was already beyond the scope of his previous understanding.

Qing Mufeng hovered beneath the canopy, looking down from above, keeping his eyes on the Mystic Nether Eagle.

His perspective was clearer than anyone else's on the ground.

The Mystic Nether Eagle ate with great speed, tearing open the abdomen of the Wind Wood Dragon and swallowing its internal organs one by one.

It only consumed the organs, showing little interest in the muscles or bones.

A fifty-thousand-year Mystic Nether Eagle no longer needed to rely on massive food intake to maintain its energy.

What it consumed was soul power—the most essential part of the Wind Wood Dragon, concentrated within its internal organs.

After finishing the organs, the Mystic Nether Eagle raised its head, its ink-black pupils scanning the surrounding forest.

Those eyes swept over the tree where Qing Zhengyue was hiding, the rock behind which Liu Yunlan crouched, the canopy where Qing Hongyuan was stationed, and the thicket concealing Shen Wanqing.

Finally, it looked up at Qing Mufeng, who was hovering beneath the canopy.

Their eyes met.

Qing Mufeng felt his blood begin to freeze, not out of fear, but because of the killing intent released from the creature's eyes—it was so intense it felt almost tangible.

Yet, he did not look away, nor did he retreat. The dignity of the Azure Dragon would not allow him to bow his head before a bird.

The Mystic Nether Eagle stared at him for three breaths.

Then, it lowered its head, used its beak to preen the feathers on its wings, spread them wide, and with a gentle flap, its massive body ascended into the sky, vanishing into the twilight.

The carcass of the Wind Wood Dragon remained where it lay.

Qing Zhengyue stepped out from behind the tree, his long blade held horizontally before him, scanning the surroundings to confirm the Mystic Nether Eagle had truly departed before he spoke.

"Yunlan, check the carcass. Hongyuan, get up the tree and keep watch. Wanqing, assist. Mufeng, keep watch from high above."

The series of commands was clean and decisive.

The four of them responded in unison.

Liu Yunlan walked quickly to the side of the Wind Wood Dragon's carcass and crouched down.

The abdomen had been torn open and the organs devoured, but the muscles, bones, scales, and blood were largely intact.

"It's still usable," the old woman said, looking up. "Aside from the organs, everything else is here."

Qing Zhengyue nodded.

"Dismantle it. Take everything we can carry."

Qing Hongyuan leaped onto the canopy, his Azure Snake Dragon Wings half-spread, his gaze sweeping the surrounding sky. Qing Mufeng ascended to a high altitude, his Wind Perception covering a hundred-zhang radius, his Azure Dragon Pupil tracking every corner of the skyline.

The Mystic Nether Eagle had left, but there was no guarantee it would not return.

If a fifty-thousand-year Mystic Nether Eagle were determined to kill them, they would have no way to escape.

But the Mystic Nether Eagle had not done so—not out of kindness, but out of disdain.

From its perspective, these weak humans were not worth the effort.

It was interested in the Wind Wood Dragon's organs, not in humans.

This was the greatest stroke of luck for the five members of the Qing Clan today.

Liu Yunlan took jade bottles and oil paper from her storage ring, and Qing Zhengyue crouched down to begin dismantling the Wind Wood Dragon's carcass.

Scales were peeled off, blood was bottled, bones were extracted, and dragon tendons were pulled out.

Their movements were swift, so fast that there was almost no wasted motion.

In less than half an hour, the three of them had completely dismantled the thirty-five-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon.

There were over two hundred scales, the bones were intact, a dozen bottles of blood, four dragon tendons, and a quantity of muscle.

There was no soul bone, but these materials alone were worth a fortune.

"Move."

Qing Zhengyue stood up as the final word fell.

The five figures did not return the way they came, but instead moved rapidly in another direction.

The scent of the Wind Wood Dragon's blood would attract other soul beasts, and the lingering scent of the Mystic Nether Eagle would not hold them off for long.

They had to leave this area entirely before other predators arrived.

The five figures traveled rapidly through the dense forest until they were completely clear of the area, at which point Qing Zhengyue slowed his pace.

"Stop. Rest."

The four of them felt as if they had been granted a reprieve; some leaned against trees, others crouched down.

Liu Yunlan pulled a water skin from her cloth bag, handing it first to her grandson, then to her husband, before finally taking a drink herself.

Qing Hongyuan leaned against a large tree, his Azure Snake Dragon Wing completely retracted, his collar soaked through with sweat.

Shen Wanqing sat beside her husband, gasping for air; the forced march just now had been far too intense for her.

Qing Mufeng stood to the side, looking quite relaxed.

His Azure Dragon Wind Control kept him in a semi-floating state for most of the movement, his feet barely touching the ground as he glided silently, consuming far less energy than the others.

However, his mental exhaustion was not insignificant—the Azure Dragon Pupil and Wind Perception had been active the entire time, monitoring every slight movement in the surroundings, not daring to slacken for even a moment.

Qing Zhengyue leaned against a tree trunk with his eyes closed, sweeping his mental power through the area to confirm that no soul beasts were tracking them before finally opening his eyes.

"That Mystic Nether Eagle from just now, it was around fifty thousand years old."

The old man spoke, his voice low but every word carrying weight.

"We were lucky; it had no interest in humans."

Liu Yunlan nodded.

The old lady's eyes were still a bit red, but her hands had stopped trembling.

Qing Hongyuan took several deep breaths, suppressing his lingering fear.

A fifty-thousand-year Mystic Nether Eagle—that was an existence even a Soul Douluo would not dare to provoke lightly.

Because although this beast was only fifty thousand years old, its combat power reached the level of a Soul Douluo or even a Titled Douluo.

It was incredibly powerful, and with its aerial advantage, it was even more terrifying.

The five of them, with their highest level being a seventy-level quasi-saint, had actually hidden under the nose of such a creature for so long.

No one would believe it if they told them.

"That's not right."

Qing Mufeng suddenly spoke, and three pairs of eyes turned to him at once.

He said, "That Mystic Nether Eagle didn't spare us because it wasn't interested in humans. I saw its gaze very clearly. The way it looked at us... was different from how it looked at the Wind Wood Dragon. It looked at the Wind Wood Dragon as prey, but it looked at us as... its own kind."

Liu Yunlan was stunned, Qing Hongyuan frowned, and Qing Zhengyue looked at his grandson, silent for a moment with a complex expression in his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Qing Mufeng nodded. "My Azure Dragon Pupil saw it very clearly. There was killing intent in its pupils, but it wasn't the killing intent of a predator—it was the killing intent of a territory being encroached upon. It treated us as competitors."

Qing Zhengyue tapped his fingers lightly on his sword hilt, deep in thought.

"You mean it treated us as beings of the same level?" The old man's voice sounded a bit raspy.

Qing Mufeng thought for a moment and shook his head slightly. "Not the same level, but the same kind. In its perception, although our soul power levels are low, the status of our Martial Souls is not. Especially..."

He didn't continue, but everyone understood what he meant—especially him.

The status of the Azure Dragon Martial Soul was enough to make a fifty-thousand-year Mystic Nether Eagle wary.

Qing Zhengyue took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"Regardless of which it is, the result is good. It didn't attack, and we are still alive."

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the four of them.

Everyone was present, no one was injured, no one had fallen behind, and they had obtained all the materials they needed.

The complete corpse of the thirty-five-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon; aside from the internal organs being eaten, the remaining scales, bones, blood, dragon tendons, and muscles were all precious treasures.