The Heavenly Eagle Elder did not know.
Ye Xuan was merely an ordinary outer disciple in the Azure Feather Dao Sect. His master was only at the Golden Core stage, and he had a senior brother in the Qi Refining Realm. If the Heavenly Eagle Elder really managed to kill him, no one would pursue him to the ends of the earth.
Once the Heavenly Eagle Elder attacked with all his strength, the pressure on Ye Xuan surged, leaving him scrambling to defend himself.
"Sure enough, the higher the realm, the harder it is to fight above your level."
If Ye Xuan had been at the mid Golden Core stage or the Golden Core late stage, he might have had a chance of winning against the Heavenly Eagle Elder.
But Ye Xuan had only just entered the Golden Core early stage and undergone his tribulation not long ago. His strength had yet to settle, and being able to hold out against the Heavenly Eagle Elder was already quite impressive.
Of course, the Heavenly Eagle Elder primarily intended to capture Ye Xuan. After all, he wanted to possess Ye Xuan's body. If he battered that body to pieces, would he not simply be making trouble for himself?
Thus, relying on Wind Thunder Step, Ye Xuan could still maneuver against the Heavenly Eagle Elder. However, the Heavenly Eagle Elder grew increasingly impatient, and his attacks gradually grew heavier.
After all, this place was not far from Tianyue City. If someone really came, the Heavenly Eagle Elder might end up drawing water with a bamboo basket-all his efforts for nothing.
"Damn brat!"
The Heavenly Eagle Elder flew into a rage and stopped holding back. The wounds on Ye Xuan's body gradually multiplied.
A close look would reveal that the blood flowing from Ye Xuan's wounds was rapidly evaporating.
"Ah!"
Ye Xuan roared. His Qi and Blood boiled, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, and the blood steaming over his wounds congealed directly over them.
At that moment, Ye Xuan's cultivation began rising rapidly, stopping only when it reached the peak mid Golden Core stage.
"A secret method!"
The Heavenly Eagle Elder cried out in surprise. He also possessed secret methods that consumed essence blood, but none could raise his cultivation as much as Ye Xuan's did.
Blood Eruption Technique!
This was a secret method Ye Xuan had obtained from a Demon Sect elder. It could consume essence blood and Qi and Blood to raise his cultivation for a short time.
However, this cultivation method had one flaw: it took too long to prepare. That was why Ye Xuan had wasted so many words on the Heavenly Eagle Elder earlier-to stall for time.
End this quickly!
Ye Xuan's strength had now surged, but it would not last long. He could only kill the Heavenly Eagle Elder before the Blood Eruption Technique ran out.
"Arrogant!"
The Heavenly Eagle Elder snorted coldly and brought every ability he had to bear as he battled Ye Xuan.
The shock waves from their battle sheared a full hundred zhang off the nearby mountains, leaving endless ravines across the ground.
Having cultivated the Chaos Dao Scripture, Ye Xuan had abundant Spiritual Qi in his Dantian. Tempering his body with heavenly lightning had made his Qi and Blood exceptionally robust, far stronger even than the Heavenly Eagle Elder's.
Gradually, under Ye Xuan's reckless, life-risking attacks, the Heavenly Eagle Elder's Spiritual Qi began to falter.
"If I still had the Wind Shadow Pearl, how could I let this little thief run so rampant!"
The Heavenly Eagle Elder seethed inwardly. Forcibly severing his bond with his Life-Bound Law Treasure had reduced his strength by at least thirty percent, and the injuries from doing so had yet to heal.
Moreover, when using the Heaven-Peeping Mirror earlier, the Heavenly Eagle Elder had expended a great deal of Spiritual Qi to cover the entire area surrounding Tianyue City. On top of that, he was injured and no longer had his Life-Bound Law Treasure.
His current strength was not even forty percent of what it had been.
He had thought that even in his weakened state, handling a Golden Core Realm cultivator would be as easy as reaching out and taking something. He had never expected to run into such a tough opponent.
Even before using his secret method, Ye Xuan had been able to remain undefeated against him. After using it, he could even suppress him.
This left the Heavenly Eagle Elder feeling utterly stifled.
"Fellow Daoist, why don't we call it quits? Continuing like this will do neither of us any good."
Ye Xuan turned a deaf ear to the Heavenly Eagle Elder's words and attacked even more fiercely. He could sense that the Heavenly Eagle Elder was already showing signs of exhaustion.
"Damn it!"
The Heavenly Eagle Elder cursed inwardly and began thinking of a way to retreat.
A cup of tea's worth of time later, the Heavenly Eagle Elder could no longer hold on. After exchanging a head-on blow with Ye Xuan, he used the force to flee into the distance.
"Ah!"
Ye Xuan roared, and the blood in his body boiled once more, forming a thin red mist around him.
With the second blood eruption, Ye Xuan's cultivation instantly broke through to the Golden Core late stage.
"He was still holding back!"
The Heavenly Eagle Elder was scared out of his wits. Seeing Ye Xuan about to catch up, he also began burning his Qi and Blood, increasing his speed by thirty percent.
Watching the Heavenly Eagle Elder's speed surge, Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, the killing intent in his heart growing stronger. A moment later, he made up his mind.
"Roar!"
With the Third-Degree Blood Burst, Ye Xuan looked like a man made of blood. His cultivation reached the peak Golden Core late stage, and his speed abruptly increased.
Vengeance would not wait overnight. Ye Xuan disliked dragging things out, and killing was no exception!
The Blood Eruption Technique Ye Xuan had obtained allowed only three blood eruptions in total, and three was also his limit.
Madness! Madness!
The Heavenly Eagle Elder screamed inwardly. Sensing the towering presence drawing ever closer, he kept throwing talismans and Law Artifacts behind him, hoping their self-detonation would slow Ye Xuan down.
"Five breaths!"
Feeling his body's limits, Ye Xuan stared at the Heavenly Eagle Elder, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.
The first breath!
Ye Xuan caught up to the Heavenly Eagle Elder and slashed down with his sword.
The Heavenly Eagle Elder resisted with all his might, but was cleaved out of the sky, the spirit sword in his hand snapping.
The second breath!
Ye Xuan instantly appeared behind the Heavenly Eagle Elder. With one sword strike, he shattered more than a dozen protective jade pendants and beheaded him!
A Nascent Soul shot out of the Heavenly Eagle Elder's body, moving even faster than before.
The third breath!
Ye Xuan caught up to the Heavenly Eagle Elder's Nascent Soul and slashed down.
The Heavenly Eagle Elder tried to detonate the Heaven-Peeping Mirror, but Ye Xuan interrupted him and knocked the mirror away.
The fourth breath!
The sword rose and fell, and the Heavenly Eagle Elder's Nascent Soul was annihilated.
"Whew!"
"Luckily, I didn't reach my limit, or I might not have been able to return to the sect."
In just those four breaths, he had consumed twice as much Qi and Blood as before. Had Ye Xuan's Qi and Blood not been sufficiently robust, he would have become a dried corpse the instant he triggered the third blood eruption.
Taking out and swallowing a supreme healing medicine, Ye Xuan swept up the Heavenly Eagle Elder's Qiankun Bag and the Heaven-Peeping Mirror, quickly concealed his tracks, and flew into the distance.
"Who was it!"
In a luxurious mansion in Tianyue City, an earth-shaking roar rang out, setting the people in the city speculating.
That mansion was precisely where the Heavenly Eagle Elder had been staying.
Hurrying as fast as he could, Ye Xuan finally reached Qingyu City when the flying shuttle returned.
Although his injuries had yet to heal, they were no longer a serious concern.
It was just that the Qi and Blood lost during these blood eruptions would have to be replenished little by little. Fortunately, Ye Xuan had asked Wu Gang to collect plenty of precious blood-replenishing medicinal herbs, which could be used to refine pills.
In a quiet chamber, Ye Xuan took stock of his gains.
"The Wind Shadow Pearl, a mid-grade Law Treasure. The Heaven-Peeping Mirror, a low-grade Law Treasure."
"Over a million low-grade Spirit Stones!"
"Various cultivation methods and materials."
"Heh, the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill. To think it ended up back in my hands after all. When I get the chance, I'll sell it in Tianyue City again. The city lord seems to need it quite badly."