Temporary Respite

At the very instant the Gale Falcon's body staggered and plummeted, Gold Thorn Technique!

Shen Changchuan forced himself to endure the throbbing pain in his head, desperately summoning the mana within his dantian. Two Gold Needles were launched one after the other, propelled by the Gold Thorn Technique.

The Gold Needles moved with the force of a thunderbolt, their speed reaching an extreme. To the onlookers, it felt as though a flash of golden light had vanished before their eyes.

In the blink of an eye, the needles arrived before the Gale Falcon. Carrying immense power, they tore through the air with such terrifying momentum that they could have pierced a wall cast from solid steel!

However, at that critical juncture, the Gale Falcon, having keenly sensed the threat, instinctively lashed out with its wings. A razor-sharp wind blade was unleashed, spinning rapidly as it sliced through the air, slamming fiercely into the Gold Needles.

Clang!

A crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out.

A powerful force expanded outward, causing the surrounding air currents to ripple away.

The Gold Needles, despite being imbued with great power, were knocked flying by that single strike.

But in that same instant, the terrifying force contained within the Gold Needles erupted. The Gale Falcon's wing, sharp as a blade, was deflected, and its body involuntarily staggered backward, leaving its defenses wide open.

At this moment, the second Gold Needle, following closely behind, seized the opportunity to strike.

It landed squarely on the Gale Falcon's leg.

Puff!

Blood sprayed, and steel-like feathers scattered in every direction.

The Gale Falcon let out a sharp, piercing cry.

Seeming to sense a grave danger, it endured the pain in its leg and instinctively flapped its wings, shooting toward the sky like a sharp arrow, vanishing beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

On the ground, nothing remained but a desolate, chaotic mess, with feathers and blood strewn all around.

All of this takes a long time to recount, but in reality, from the moment the Gale Falcon dove from the high sky to the moment it was ambushed by Shen Changchuan and finally fled in injury, only a dozen breaths of time had passed.

Not far away, Shen Changchuan's pale complexion began to recover slightly as he finally caught his breath.

"It escaped, then."

Shen Changchuan gazed into the distance, looking toward the direction where the Gale Falcon had disappeared. There was no joy on his face; instead, a trace of hidden worry flickered in his eyes.

In this battle, he could say he had exhausted almost every means at his disposal, and that was while having the advantage of an ambush, yet the final result

was merely wounding that Gale Falcon!

Fast!

The Gale Falcon's speed was simply too fast!

Whether it was its flight speed or the speed of its attacks, it far surpassed the average Qi-Refining mid-stage cultivator, even those in the late stage of Qi-Refining could not compare!

If not for the fact that the many spells Shen Changchuan had mastered had already reached perfection, allowing him to act as his thoughts dictated and trigger them almost instantaneously, he feared he wouldn't even have had the qualifications to stand before this Gale Falcon!

It was truly worthy of being a creature that even cultivators in the late stage of Qi-Refining found difficult to deal with.

As he pondered, Shen Changchuan glanced at the Soul-Absorbing Bell in his hand, a trace of helplessness flashing through his heart.

This magical artifact was powerful, certainly.

But when attacking an enemy, it also caused a certain degree of impact on the user's own divine sense.

Although this impact was only about one-tenth or two-tenths of what the enemy suffered, it existed nonetheless.

The process of combat inevitably takes a significant toll on one's own body.

Shen Changchuan did not understand the underlying principles, He could only attribute it to the fact that this was a specialized magical artifact designed to attack the soul, And thus, it naturally possessed its own peculiar traits.

Come to think of it, that made sense.

If such a formidable artifact had no drawbacks, it was likely that the entire world would be flooded with this type of weapon.

"It's just a pity."

A faint trace of regret flickered in the depths of Shen Changchuan's eyes.

The backlash caused by exerting his full strength to activate the Soul-Absorbing Bell was indeed difficult to endure.

So much so that during the recent skirmish, after Shen Changchuan had fully unleashed it to deal with the Gale Falcon, he himself had been left paralyzed for several breaths, allowing the creature to seize the opening and launch a counterattack.

Otherwise, the moment the Gale Falcon was incapacitated, he could have unleashed seven or eight Fireball Techniques in rapid succession, which would have been enough to blast it to death or at least leave it critically wounded!

Thereby finishing the creature off completely.

But unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in this world.

However, come to think of it, If he were to cultivate some method to strengthen his divine sense, or consume rare treasures that bolster the soul to expand his mental capacity, would he be able to suppress the backlash of the Soul-Absorbing Bell?

Shen Changchuan's heart stirred at the thought.

New ideas began to take root in his mind.

With the Progress Bar Panel, He could certainly pay more attention to these aspects in the future.

"Changchuan, we won! This is truly wonderful!"

"Now that the beast has been repelled, the remaining Spirit Grain can all be saved!"

Just as Shen Changchuan was secretly reflecting and reviewing the battle, Not far away, Han Qinhu picked up the Gold Needle that had been knocked away by the Gale Falcon and handed it back to Shen Changchuan, his face filled with unconcealable excitement.

He couldn't help but be overjoyed.

The terror of the Gale Falcon's first diving attack was still fresh in his memory.

That speed, which could be described as invincible, was so fast that even its shadow could not be caught. If it had targeted them, it would have likely taken their lives within a single breath—it would have been a slaughter with no chance of survival.

How could they have possibly dealt with that?

Han Qinhu had originally prepared himself for the beast to ravage the fields, resulting in the heavy loss of the twelve mu of Spirit Grain.

Yet, he never expected that his grandson would suddenly pull out some unknown artifact and abruptly strike the beast down.

Although the subsequent series of clashes had been perilous, The final outcome, Had ended with the creature wounded and fleeing in a sorry state!

Han Qinhu had been worried about how they would manage to pay the one thousand catties of Spirit Grain due to the Shen Clan after the fields were ravaged by the Gale Falcon.

But now, Aside from the nearly ten catties of Spirit Grain the Gale Falcon had swallowed at the very beginning, the rest had been preserved almost entirely intact!

It left him, a man nearing sixty, Feeling as though he had just experienced the dizzying highs and lows of a roller coaster!

"I would only say it has come to a temporary pause; we cannot call it a victory yet."

Shen Changchuan remained very calm, Shaking his head slightly, He took the Gold Needle handed over by Han Qinhu.

At this moment, the finger-thick Gold Needle was bent at a visible angle in the middle, and its entire body was dull and lusterless.

It was clear that it had been completely ruined.

Shen Changchuan sighed inwardly.

The two Gold Needles, Before this, had always been his most powerful trump cards, the ones he kept in reserve for lethal strikes.

They had rendered much meritorious service, But now, one was ruined, And the other was still embedded in the Gale Falcon, carried away by the beast.

This battle was truly unsatisfying.

"Failing to leave that fellow behind, I only managed to force it back."

"If it recovers from its injuries and returns for revenge, things will become even more troublesome."

Demonic beasts generally possessed higher intelligence than ordinary wild animals.

Furthermore, they were quite vengeful.

It was just like that Crocodile Demon in the river he had slain back then.

If that Gale Falcon recovered from its wounds and returned to retaliate, and he lacked the means to counter it, that would be a massive problem.

After all, that beast's speed was simply too fast, and it commanded the skies, holding the advantage of air superiority.

It could come and go as it pleased.

Moreover, having fallen into this ambush, the Gale Falcon would likely be on guard against the Soul-Absorbing Bell nine times out of ten.

The next time he used the Soul-Absorbing Bell, the effect would likely not be as potent as the first.

"Alright, Grandfather, have them harvest these Spirit Grain first."

Seeing Han Qinhu's expression shift, revealing a look of worry, Shen Changchuan waved his hand, signaling him to handle the matter at hand first.

In truth, there was no need to be overly concerned.

A strike from the Gold Thorn Technique combined with the Gold Needle was not something easily endured.

The opponent's injuries would take at least one to two months to recover.

Even if it sought revenge, it would not be able to do so for another month or two.

During this time, taking advantage of the gathering of merchant caravans at Wu Family Market, he could check if there were any magical artifacts or spells available to counter it.

Although he felt it was somewhat troublesome, Shen Changchuan was not panicked.

At the very least, this clash had allowed him to gauge the Gale Falcon's methods, providing him with more detailed intelligence for dealing with it in the future, right?

Facing difficulties one step at a time, there would always be a way.