"Roc Precious Technique!"
Shi Yi shouted coldly, and runes erupted around him as dazzling golden light poured from his body. Countless ancient, mysterious runes intertwined and flickered behind him like a golden divine halo. With a piercing roc cry that rang through the clouds, his figure instantly turned ethereal, transforming into a Golden-Winged Roc that blotted out the sky and sun!
His golden wings spread more than a hundred feet wide, razor-sharp runes flowing across every feather. As the roc beat his wings, the void trembled, and he reached the Primordial Bull Python in an instant. Talons seemingly forged from divine gold tore through the sky, screeching shrilly as they struck straight for the bull python's eyes!
"Roar-!"
The Primordial Bull Python let out a sky-shaking roar of fury, sweeping its thick python tail across with crushing force. The instant they collided, the swamp exploded, sending mud surging skyward like a colossal wave. Dozens of seemingly bottomless furrows were plowed through the ground within a thousand-foot radius!
The Golden-Winged Roc's talons scraped showers of sparks from the pitch-black scales, yet left only a few shallow marks. Shi Yi's heart tightened slightly-the Primordial Bull Python's defenses were astonishing! Seizing the opening, the Primordial Bull Python jerked its head, its two sharp horns gleaming with eerie green poison as they slashed down like heavenly blades, forcing the roc to beat his wings and retreat swiftly.
The python bull suddenly reared upright and stamped its forehooves down heavily. Countless streams of dark green poisonous mist gushed from the gaps between its scales, turning the entire swamp into a domain of deadly poison in the blink of an eye. Wherever the putrid miasma passed, even rocks sizzled as they corroded!
Golden light surged around the Golden-Winged Roc, and his wings whipped up a hurricane that drove the poisonous mist back for the moment. The Double Pupils in Shi Yi's eyes spun rapidly. Suddenly, he folded his wings into blades-
"Roc Feather Blades!"
With a clear, ringing roc cry, countless golden feathers detached from his wings, transforming in midair into dazzling swords of light three feet long. Ancient runes were inscribed on every feather sword, and space faintly twisted around their edges!
"Paltry tricks!" The Primordial Python Bull reared upright with a vicious laugh, and an altar formed from blood-colored runes suddenly appeared behind it. As the altar rotated, the phantom of a gigantic bull python formed entirely from runes raised its head and hissed, charging toward the skyful of feather swords with enough force to destroy heaven and earth!
Boom, boom, boom-!
The golden sword rain collided with the blood-colored python in midair. The resulting energy storm instantly vaporized all the mud in the swamp. Amid the blinding light, the figures of the golden roc and python bull could vaguely be seen crossing once more, their talons and horns clashing with deafening metallic clangs!
"Human, are your attacks meant to scratch an itch for me? So feeble and weak!" The Primordial Python Bull raised its hideous head, eerie green poisonous mist gushing from its nostrils. The faint claw marks on its pitch-black scales remained clearly visible.
The golden light around Shi Yi's Golden-Winged Roc form suddenly drew inward, and all the feathers filling the sky returned to his body. With a beast's roar that shook the nine heavens, dazzling purple light shot skyward, staining half the firmament a regal purple!
"Roar-!"
A qilin whose entire body resembled purple crystal stepped out into the air. Blazing white lightning and fire wound around his four feet, and Dao patterns were inscribed on every scale. The instant he appeared, the air throughout the swamp froze, and an invisible pressure forced every ancient tree within ten li to bow low!
"Qilin Precious Technique?!" The Primordial Python Bull's scarlet pupils abruptly contracted, its voice trembling with extreme excitement. "You actually possess such a supreme treasure! Hand it over, and perhaps I'll show you great mercy and leave your corpse intact!"
The purple qilin raised his head and howled, then spoke in a human voice. "You want my precious technique? That's not so difficult-" He swept a foreclaw through the void, conjuring a flowing vision of a river of stars. "Trade your Primitive Treasure Bone for it!"
"You're courting death!" The Primordial Python Bull flew into an utter rage, the blood-colored runes behind it spinning wildly. Its pythonlike body suddenly coiled into a formation, and blinding bloody light burst from its two horns. "Myriad Poisons Slay the Gods!"
The poisonous mist filling the sky instantly condensed into millions of venomous flood dragons as thin as hairs, each shimmering with an uncanny seven-colored light. This was an ancient, extraordinary poison that would force even Venerable Realm experts to retreat three leagues, yet now it poured down like a torrential storm!
Rather than retreat, the purple qilin advanced, suddenly taking his first step forward.
Thud-!
As that step landed, the entire swamp abruptly sank three feet! Visible purple ripples spread from beneath his hoof, blasting the first venomous flood dragons to arrive into dust.
When he took his second step, phantoms of ancient battlefields appeared around the qilin, offering indistinct glimpses of countless gods and demons at war.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
When the fourth step landed, the Primordial Python Bull discovered in horror that its precious technique was collapsing. Spiderweb cracks spread across the altar formed from blood-colored runes, as though it were enduring unimaginable pressure.
"Is this... Qilin Steps?!" It finally recalled a terrifying legend from its inherited memories.
As the fifth step fell, the purple qilin was already above the python bull's head. At that moment, the chanting of three thousand gods and demons suddenly rang through the void, as though all heaven and earth were resonating with him!
"No-!"
The Primordial Python Bull frantically burned its blood essence, trying to break free of the suppressive force. But the instant the sixth step landed, the scales it took such pride in began peeling away one by one, exposing the writhing flesh beneath.
Just as he was about to take the seventh step, the purple qilin suddenly uttered a sound of the Dao. "Perish."
The Primordial Python Bull's mountainlike body slammed heavily into the swamp, splashing mud dozens of feet high. Just as it twitched on the verge of death, a streak of dark light suddenly tore through the sky!
Shhk-!
A black Void War Halberd pierced through the air, eerie black runes dancing along its blade. It moved so quickly that even space rippled. The instant the halberd precisely pierced the python bull's heart, the ancient incantations engraved on its shaft abruptly lit up, and a terrifying vibrational force shredded the millstone-sized heart into bloody mist!
Shi Yi frowned slightly. Runes flowed within his Double Pupils as he scanned the Primordial Bull Python's entire body.
"What a pity..." He lowered his gaze to the python bull's cooling corpse and discovered that the Primitive Treasure Bone between its brows was already covered in cracks-at the very last moment, this Fierce Beast had used a secret art to destroy its own inheritance. "It looks like I'll have to strike faster next time."
A sharp golden gleam condensed at his fingertip. He deftly cut open the python bull's hard skull, then took out a jade bottle and began extracting its precious blood.
Gurgle... gurgle...
Precious blood as thick as mercury welled from the wound, every drop containing astonishing vitality. Inside the jade bottle, the blood constantly changed shape, sometimes becoming miniature python bulls that raised their heads and roared at the sky, sometimes condensing into ancient runes that bobbed restlessly.
Suddenly, beast roars rose one after another in the distance. Shi Yi's expression sharpened, and his Double Pupils pierced the mist, revealing several terrifying auras approaching from dozens of li away. Most chilling of all was a pillar of light as red as blood-that was unquestionably a Divine Fire Realm being!
"Time to go." He quickly sealed
the jade bottle, then turned into a streak of light and swept toward the horizon. Less than three breaths after he left, blood-colored flames suddenly engulfed the entire swamp. An enormous figure shrouded in fire descended from the sky, its six scarlet eyes surveying the battlefield...