Besides, the Dao of Yin-Yang he cultivated also required him to comprehend Precious Technique runes of the utmost yang and hardness, such as lightning.
Seeing Shi Qingyun fall silent, the War Goddess said no more on the subject.
She sliced a chunk of meat from the roast over the fire and began taking hearty bites.
Seeing Shi Qingyun fall silent without saying a word, Little White thought he was truly in a bad mood.
Holding a piece of meat taken from the War Goddess in its paws, it staggered over to Shi Qingyun.
It waved the meat in front of his eyes.
The sight of Little White abruptly interrupted his thoughts. He stroked its head with a helpless smile, gesturing for it to eat the meat itself.
Divine power flashed over his hand, and he took a large chunk of beast meat from above the fire.
Seeing Shi Qingyun start eating, Little White tossed up the meat in its paws and swallowed it in one gulp.
Then it scampered merrily back to the Azure Bird.
The Azure Bird, which was eating meat, seemed to remember something. After swallowing a large piece of roast meat, it went over to the War Goddess and chirped several times beside her ear.
It seemed to be reporting something to her.
After listening to Little Green, the War Goddess's beautiful eyes lit up.
"So you went looking for treasure?"
Little Green nodded, admitting it.
Their strange conversation between human and beast immediately caught Shi Qingyun's attention. He cast them a curious look while eating his meat.
Little White jumped right between them, scratching its ears and cheeks as though asking what they were talking about.
Noticing Shi Qingyun's inquisitive gaze, the War Goddess hid nothing and told him directly.
"Little Green found a Treasure Medicine not far from here that's about to mature."
"But a Ferocious Beast is guarding it, so it didn't dare take it."
Shi Qingyun looked at the War Goddess, then at Little Green. Why did both this human and this beast seem so unreliable?
He had wondered why he had not seen Little Green anywhere near the battlefield. It turned out its scouting had taken it straight into someone else's territory.
Shi Qingyun could not help grumbling inwardly.
"I think you're pretty strong. Why don't we join forces and take a look?"
After learning where Shi Qingyun came from, she had let down her guard against him.
Besides, after spending this time with him, she felt he was no great villain, so she invited him outright.
Moreover, she had now recovered. Even if Shi Qingyun were a villain, she had nothing to fear; she was confident she could handle him.
Shi Qingyun looked up at the War Goddess in bewilderment, pointing at himself questioningly.
The bright moon hung overhead, its watery radiance pouring down to adorn beautiful dreams.
Shi Qingyun and the War Goddess stood on Little Green's back, looking down at a small mountain with some confusion.
Snores rose intermittently from that small mountain, shaking the surrounding forests, accompanied by a medicinal fragrance that refreshed the heart and soul.
As the fragrance reached Little White's nose, its eyes immediately lit up. It stood on Little Green's back and waved its paws excitedly; even Little Green beneath them was trembling.
That medicinal fragrance held an irresistible allure for them.
Shi Qingyun, however, was not nearly as excited as Little White. The Ferocious Beast, which stood as tall as the surrounding hills even while lying down, gave him pause.
"Is this the place? Could you have gotten it wrong?"
He surveyed their surroundings and swallowed, then turned to the War Goddess beside him and asked incredulously.
Judging by its imposing aura, this Ferocious Beast was already in the late Spirit Transformation Realm. Wouldn't charging in so rashly be courting death?
The War Goddess seemed entirely unconcerned and patted his shoulder.
"Relax. It's only a Spirit Transformation Realm Ferocious Beast. It's not like I haven't killed one before. Don't worry."
That was true. The War Goddess was also in the Spirit Transformation Realm. If they worked well together, snatching the Treasure Medicine and running should not be a problem.
He channeled divine power into his eyes. His pitch-black pupils instantly took on a golden hue, and a Dao Imprint could faintly be seen emerging within them.
He looked toward the small mountain.
He discovered a pool before it that gave off waves of cold air, with dense worldly essence permeating its surroundings.
It draped the pool in a mysterious veil, the swirling mist making it resemble an immortal's treasure land.
The Dao Imprints in Shi Qingyun's eyes rotated slightly. His gaze pierced the shrouding mist, revealing a Five-Petal Golden Lotus gleaming beneath the nourishment of worldly essence.
A faint halo hovered over the golden lotus, and a shining golden vein ran along each of its petals.
The fragrance that refreshed the heart and soul came from that golden lotus, and a new petal was faintly taking shape in the air.
That illusory petal was absorbing the surrounding worldly essence.
He knew this was the best moment to strike. Once that illusory petal solidified, it would no longer be something they could covet.
The medicinal fragrance had already begun to spread. There was no telling when another Ferocious Beast might arrive.
He steeled himself and clenched his fists. This Ferocious Beast would be just the thing to test his methods on.
He leaned toward the War Goddess and whispered a few words into her ear, making her eyes light up.
"All right, that's what we'll do."
"Leave it to me. I'll get that Treasure Medicine as quickly as possible."
The War Goddess spoke excitedly, thoroughly intrigued by what they were about to do.
Shi Qingyun nodded to her, then leaped from Little Green's back into the fierce wind.
As he jumped, the War Goddess also sprang into action. A pair of red wings grew from her back, and with a single beat, she vanished from Little Green's back.
Shi Qingyun's hair whipped wildly in the wind.
Divine power surged within him, and densely packed runes appeared across his body as he reached out with his right hand and grasped at empty space.
The runes swiftly gathered in his right hand, forming a pitch-black spear.
As he poured divine power into it, the spear steadily grew. In a mere instant, its tip had become as large as a human head.
Layers of cloud and mist were sliced in two beneath the black spearhead's cold gleam.
Divine power surged around Shi Qingyun as he hurled the spear supported by the power in his right hand.
The spear instantly shot toward the small mountain like an arrow released from a bow, with him following close behind.
The spear swelled once more in midair, and a thunderous rumble echoed beneath the heavens.
A massive explosion erupted amid the dense forest, its fierce light washing over every creature in the area.
Boom!
The explosion sounded like heaven collapsing and earth splitting, shattering the clouds ten thousand meters overhead.
The gale it raised swept through everything around the "small mountain," tearing away the thick mist shrouding the golden lotus as well.
The rich medicinal fragrance drifted into the distance on the wind.
Then a furious, heaven-shaking roar rang out.
"I need to hurry."
The smoke gradually dispersed, revealing a massive, pitch-black spear gleaming coldly as it stood embedded in the back of an enormous Ferocious Beast.
Blood gushed out in streams.
The Ferocious Beast slowly rose, the ground sinking beneath each step it took.
Shi Qingyun landed below the Ferocious Beast. His body shuddered, and four cave heavens appeared in unison behind him.
He stamped hard against the ground. The earth beneath his feet instantly cracked like a spiderweb and rapidly sank, golden rays spilling from within.
A faint golden hue appeared at the corners of Shi Qingyun's eyes.
"Foot Treading Yin-Yang, reverse the eight directions! Ultimate!"
His figure swiftly vanished from where he stood, and four chains appeared behind him in unison.
With every step he took, runes instantly melded into the earth beneath his feet.
The chains behind him also struck several parts of the Ferocious Beast in quick succession, leaving runes wherever they touched.
Spotting Shi Qingyun, the enormous beast hurriedly swung its sky-supporting paw down at him.
By then, however, Shi Qingyun had already made a full circuit around it.
He paid no attention to the enormous paw about to crash down behind him. His figure flickered and vanished.
"Explode!"
Only his quiet voice lingered where he had stood.
The next instant, every rune around the enormous beast lit up in unison. Dao patterns sprouted from them, interlinking with one another.
A massive pentagram formation enveloped the enormous beast, and spears appeared one after another in the air.
Chains burrowed out of the ground and wound around the enormous beast.
Golden spears rained down as the enormous beast's furious roars echoed.
By then, however, Shi Qingyun had long since vanished.
Chapter 77: Shi Yi, the Double-Pupiled One
Shi Qingyun darted through the dense forest. Listening to the roars behind him, he was thoroughly satisfied with the power the formation had displayed.
The four cave heavens behind him frantically absorbed worldly essence, causing his speed to surge once more.
A few steps across the treetops carried him far from the battlefield. Within his perception, several auras no weaker than that earlier Ferocious Beast had appeared.
They were rushing toward the place he had come from.
"They came fast. Unfortunately, it'll all be for nothing."
After crossing a rushing river, he saw the War Goddess and the others standing atop a mountain.
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