The Savage Bull King

Ye Shanhua smiled. "At this point, Uncle-Master Li certainly wouldn't be following us. He might head to Fire Mulberry Country first, then secretly follow once you've picked up the person with the variant spiritual root."

Xu Changshou was puzzled. "Then why doesn't he go pick them up himself?"

Ye Shanhua said, "My guess is that Uncle-Master Li is afraid of exposing the person with the variant spiritual root. Going himself might actually cause trouble."

"Perhaps!"

Xu Changshou nodded slightly.

Privately, he disagreed with Ye Shanhua. He kept feeling that Li Dao Path had some other purpose in sending him to pick this person up.

Glancing at Ye Shanhua, Xu Changshou changed the subject. "Senior Sister Ye, do the Five Great Sects of the Eastern Expanse Immortal Forest steal disciples from one another?"

"They do!"

Ye Shanhua nodded. "They'll seize any resource they can, and that naturally includes talented disciples.

"You have to understand, the Five Great Immortal Sects exist because their strength is evenly matched. Once any sect weakens, it won't be far from annihilation.

"So, both openly and in secret, the struggles between the Five Great Immortal Sects are fierce. If one sect produces an extraordinary genius, the others will steal that genius if they can. Even if they can't, they'll find a way to destroy them.

"Otherwise, years later, a single person might overturn an entire sect."

"Mm!"

Xu Changshou nodded without speaking. This Cultivation World was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

Two or three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Riding their Red-Scaled Horses, the two had traveled three thousand li from the sect. An endless plain stretched before them.

The Red-Scaled Horses were swift, easily covering a thousand li a day. At this pace, they could reach the eastern coast in less than ten days.

Li Dao Path had not specified when he had to return to the sect, so Xu Changshou was in no hurry. The two enjoyed the scenery as they traveled at a leisurely pace.

Countless tiny black dots appeared in a dense mass where earth met sky.

The black dots grew clearer, and the ground began to shake violently.

The two hurriedly reined in their Red-Scaled Horses.

Ye Shanhua sounded somewhat alarmed. "Junior Brother Xu, what's happening?"

Xu Changshou channeled spiritual energy into his eyes, bringing the distant black dots into focus.

Those black dots turned out to be dark-skinned savage bulls.

Xu Changshou breathed a sigh of relief. "Senior Sister Ye, they're savage bulls. It looks like we've run into a migrating herd."

Hearing that they were savage bulls, Ye Shanhua also relaxed.

Savage bulls were merely wild beasts. Even tens of thousands could not hurt them.

Moo-

An enormous bellow pierced the heavens. Xu Changshou looked up and saw a golden savage bull charging rapidly toward them in the distance.

The golden savage bull was enormous, two or three times the size of an ordinary savage bull. Its golden hair gleamed like golden needles.

Behind it, thousands of savage bulls charged forward like a black torrent of steel.

"It's a Savage Bull King!"

Xu Changshou frowned.

Unlike ordinary savage bulls, a Savage Bull King had already attained some cultivation, making it equivalent to a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm.

Judging by its imposing presence, this golden savage bull was no weaker than a cultivator at mid Qi Refining, and might even be stronger.

"Junior Brother Xu, let's avoid its charge!"

Ye Shanhua brought out the White Jade Boat, preparing to take flight.

"No!"

Xu Changshou stopped her and said gravely, "We can't dodge them. We just passed a village. If we move aside, this herd will probably raze it to the ground."

"Then what should we do?"

Ye Shanhua grew anxious. Even as she spoke, the Savage Bull King was already drawing near.

She could even see its bloodthirsty eyes, fierce malice blazing within them.

"Don't be afraid, Senior Sister Ye. I'll take it on!"

Xu Changshou tugged the reins, and the Red-Scaled Horse beneath him shot forward.

Ye Shanhua cried out, "Be careful, Junior Brother Xu!"

Roar-

The Savage Bull King let out another tremendous roar and swiftly charged up to Xu Changshou.

Xu Changshou planted his feet on the horse's back and sprang into the air. Using the Wind-Riding Art, he soared more than a dozen meters forward to meet the Savage Bull King.

At the same time, he slapped his Storage Bag and brought out the Five-Cloud Sword.

"Wicked beast! You won't wreak havoc among mortals. Taste my sword!"

Xu Changshou swung his sword, trailing five colors of light. Multicolored radiance pulsed from its tip as it slashed toward the Savage Bull King's head.

The Savage Bull King did not simply await its death. It roared angrily, a look of disdain flashing through its eyes.

Its golden horns blazed with golden light, sending a golden beam more than a foot long against Xu Changshou's Five-Cloud Sword.

Squelch-

The sword descended, shattering the golden beam. The next instant, a bloodied golden bull's head fell to the ground.

Moo!

Moo!

Moo...

With the Savage Bull King dead, the savage bulls behind it grew frightened. One after another, they bellowed in terror, then turned and fled.

"You're amazing, Junior Brother Xu!"

Ye Shanhua ran over excitedly, her eyes full of astonishment as she looked at Xu Changshou.

To think that Xu Changshou, who followed her around calling her Senior Sister at every turn, possessed such terrifying combat strength.

After all, this Savage Bull King was certainly no weaker than a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Without using her trump cards, even she would have struggled to kill it.

Xu Changshou's cultivation was lower than hers, yet he had killed the Savage Bull King in a single strike. It was simply beyond belief.

"Junior Brother Xu, was that the Five Elements Sword you just used?"

"Yes."

"No wonder it was so powerful. You've mastered the Five Elements Sword."

Ye Shanhua smiled ruefully. What a pity. Only cultivators who possess all five attributes can master the Five Elements Sword.

She knew that Xu Changshou had a mixed five-element spiritual root. Although people with mixed five-element spiritual roots cultivated slowly, they excelled when it came to learning spells. The more attributes a person possessed, the more spells they could learn.

"This hide is good. I can't let it go to waste."

Xu Changshou wielded the Five-Cloud Sword and stripped off the entire hide, not sparing even the skin on the bull's head.

The moment he had first seen the Savage Bull King, Xu Changshou had recognized it as a metal-attribute demon beast.

Its hide could be used to make metal-attribute spiritual talismans.

If he used its hide to draw Sharp Gold Talismans, their attack power would be at least twice that of ordinary Sharp Gold Talismans.

Compared with his defense and escape capabilities, Xu Changshou happened to be lacking in offense. The savage bull hide would make up for that weakness.

After killing the Savage Bull King, the two continued on their journey.

They encountered no more demon beasts after that. Occasionally, one or two wild beasts picked a fight, only to be dispatched with a casual stroke of Xu Changshou's sword.

Ten days later.

The two reached the eastern coast.

It was early morning, and a golden sun leaped above the water, rising into the sky.

Golden ripples shimmered across the fairly calm sea.

Fire Mulberry Country still lay three thousand li away across the water. They put away their Red-Scaled Horses, since the creatures could not travel over water.

"Out!"

Ye Shanhua slapped her Storage Bag and brought out the White Jade Boat, setting it steadily upon the water.

Ye Shanhua jumped aboard the White Jade Boat and said with a radiant smile, "Junior Brother Xu, my White Jade Boat consumes one Fragmented Spirit Stone every hundred li. You'll have to cover that."

"No problem. I'll pay."

Xu Changshou chuckled as he jumped aboard the White Jade Boat.

Ye Shanhua activated the formation, and the White Jade Boat began moving slowly across the sea.

On the water, the White Jade Boat looked no different from an ordinary vessel and would not draw too much attention.