At the very instant the Gale Falcon staggered and fell,
Gold Thorn Technique!
Shen Changchuan gritted his teeth against the pain in his head and forcibly gathered the magical power in his dantian. He launched two Gold Needles one after the other with the Gold Thorn Technique,
The Gold Needles shot forth like thunder, moving so fast that everyone saw only a flash of golden light,
In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of the Gale Falcon. Carrying immense force, they pierced through the air with such terrifying momentum that they could have gone straight through a wall cast from solid steel!
However,
At this critical moment,
The Gale Falcon sensed the danger with its keen instincts and instinctively slashed its wings through the air. A razor-sharp wind blade spun rapidly, cutting through the air before crashing into the Gold Needle,
Clang!
A clear, metallic ring rang out,
The immense force burst outward, sending the currents of air surging in all directions,
The Gold Needle, carrying tremendous force, was knocked flying with a single strike.
But in that same instant,
The terrifying force in the Gold Needle erupted, knocking aside the Gale Falcon's wing, sharp as a blade. It staggered backward against its will, leaving its guard wide open,
And just then,
The second Gold Needle, following close behind, seized the opening and struck,
Hitting the Gale Falcon in the leg,
Pfft!
Blood burst into the air, and feathers as hard as steel scattered,
The Gale Falcon let out a piercing shriek.
It seemed to sense that a grave danger was upon it,
Ignoring the pain in its leg, it instinctively beat its wings and shot skyward like an arrow. In the blink of an eye, it had vanished beyond the heavens.
All that remained,
Was an empty, wrecked patch of ground, with feathers and blood scattered all around.
It might have sounded like a long sequence of events,
But in reality, from the Gale Falcon's swift dive from high above to its ambush by Shen Changchuan and its eventual flight after being wounded, it had all taken no more than a dozen breaths.
Not far away,
The pallor had begun to fade from Shen Changchuan's face. At last, he had caught his breath.
"Did it get away?"
Shen Changchuan gazed at the horizon, toward the direction in which the Gale Falcon had disappeared. There was no joy on his face; instead, a trace of worry crossed it.
In that battle,
He had used nearly every trick he had,
And he had even had the advantage of striking from ambush,
Yet in the end,
All he had managed was to wound the Gale Falcon!
It was too fast!
The Gale Falcon was simply too fast!
Its flight speed and the speed of its attacks both far exceeded those of ordinary mid-stage Qi Induction cultivators,
Even late-stage Qi Induction cultivators couldn't match it!
If Shen Changchuan hadn't mastered his many Spell Techniques to the point where he could cast them almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind,
He might not even have been able to stand before the Gale Falcon!
It truly lived up to its reputation as a creature that even late-stage Qi Induction cultivators struggled to handle.
As he pondered,
Shen Changchuan glanced at the Soul-Absorbing Bell in his hand,
A trace of helplessness crossing his mind.
This magical artifact was powerful, to be sure.
But when it attacked an enemy, it also inflicted a certain degree of spiritual impact on its user.
Although this impact was only about one-tenth or one-twentieth as strong as the attack inflicted on the enemy,
It still existed,
And could interfere with the user considerably in battle.
Shen Changchuan didn't understand how it worked,
So he could only chalk it up to this being a special magical artifact that attacked a person's soul,
And naturally having its own peculiarities.
It made sense,
If an artifact this powerful had no drawbacks, the whole world would be full of them.
"It's just a shame."
A faint trace of regret flashed in Shen Changchuan's eyes.
The backlash from activating the Soul-Absorbing Bell with all his strength had been no joke.
During the fight, after he had fully activated it against the Gale Falcon, he himself had been left motionless for several breaths, giving the creature an opening to counterattack.
Otherwise, the instant the Gale Falcon was controlled, he could have unleashed seven or eight Fireball Techniques in succession, blasting it until it was either dead or gravely wounded!
That would have finished it off for good.
But there were no what-ifs in this world.
Still, come to think of it,
If he cultivated some method to strengthen his spiritual sense, or took a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure that could nourish his soul and bolster his spiritual sense, would that let him suppress the Soul-Absorbing Bell's backlash?
Shen Changchuan's thoughts stirred.
A few new ideas came to mind.
With the Progress Bar Panel,
He could pay more attention to these things from now on.
"Changchuan, we won! That's wonderful!"
"Now that the beast has been driven off, we can save all the Spirit Grain that's left!"
While Shen Changchuan was quietly reflecting on the battle,
Not far away,
Han Qinhu picked up the Gold Needle that the Gale Falcon had knocked away and handed it back to Shen Changchuan. His face was alight with excitement he could barely contain.
He had every reason to be happy,
The sheer terror of the Gale Falcon's first dive was still fresh in his mind,
Its speed had been so overwhelming that they couldn't even catch sight of its shadow. If it had attacked them, it could have taken their lives in the space of a breath. It would have been nothing short of a massacre,
How could they have fought back?
Han Qinhu had already resigned himself to letting the beast rampage and destroy the twelve mu of Spirit Fields.
He had never expected his grandson to suddenly pull out some unknown magical artifact and knock the beast out of the sky in an instant.
The ensuing exchanges had been perilous,
But in the end,
The creature had been wounded and forced to flee in a sorry state!
Han Qinhu had been worried about how they would pay the Shen Clan the thousand jin of Spirit Grain they owed after the Gale Falcon ravaged the fields.
But now,
Apart from the nearly ten jin the Gale Falcon had swallowed at the start, almost all the rest had been saved, completely unharmed!
For a man nearing sixty,
It was an emotional roller coaster.
"We can only say it's over for now. We can't call it a victory yet."
Shen Changchuan remained calm,
And shook his head slightly,
He took the Gold Needle Han Qinhu held out.
The finger-thick Gold Needle was bent at the midpoint, visibly crooked, and its entire surface had lost its luster,
It was clear that it was completely ruined.
Shen Changchuan sighed inwardly.
Before this, the two Gold Needles had been the deadliest weapons he had in reserve,
They had served him well in many fights,
But now, one was ruined,
And the other had been carried off by the Gale Falcon.
This battle,
Had hardly been a satisfying one.
"We couldn't keep the creature here. For now, we've only driven it away."
"If it comes back for revenge after its wounds heal, we'll be in even greater trouble."
Demon Beasts,
Were generally more intelligent than ordinary wild animals.
And they held grudges.
Just like the Crocodile Demon in the river that they had killed before.
If the Gale Falcon returned for revenge once its injuries healed, and he still had no way to deal with it,
They would be in serious trouble.
After all,
That beast was simply too fast, and it flew in the sky with the advantage of height,
Coming and going as it pleased.
Besides,
After being ambushed this time,
The Gale Falcon would almost certainly be wary of the Soul-Absorbing Bell,
So it likely wouldn't work nearly as well if he used it again.
"All right, Grandfather. Have them harvest the Spirit Grain first. We can talk after that."
Seeing Han Qinhu's expression change and concern emerge on his face,
Shen Changchuan waved a hand, signaling him to take care of the matter at hand first.
There was no need to worry too much.
The strike from the Gold Thorn Technique, combined with the Gold Needle, had been no small thing to withstand.
The creature's injuries,
Would take at least one or two months to heal.
Even if it wanted revenge,
It would have to wait one or two months.
In the meantime,
While the Wu Family Market caravan was gathering, he could look for magical artifacts or Spell Techniques that might counter it.
Although he found it troublesome,
Shen Changchuan wasn't panicking.
At least this exchange,
Had let him learn the Gale Falcon's abilities. Now he had much more detailed information to help him deal with it later, didn't he?
Take difficulties one step at a time,
And there would always be a way.
Before you continue