Xu Ziqing reacted immediately. He suddenly crouched down, launching a punch that formed a dragon’s head, striking fiercely at the abdomen of the approaching wind beast. However, the impact landed on nothing but empty air, as his punch missed.
No, it wasn’t truly a miss; at the moment his punch reached the target, the wind beast had already transformed into a swirl of five elemental winds, effectively dissipating the force of his strike. Thus, while it appeared he had struck, the power simply dispersed into the wind and quickly flowed away.
Xu Ziqing was taken aback; the wind beast he had encountered earlier did not change into wind this quickly! But he didn’t have time to think further. He withdrew his fist and refrained from attacking, instead unleashing a burst of green light from his brow, transforming into thousands of green needles that floated within a five-foot radius.
Whenever a strong wind arose, the Qingyun needles acted like flowing curtains, swarming towards the source of the wind. This prevented the wind beast from transforming into wind and attacking, as the surrounding space was completely locked down by the green needles.
For a moment, a stalemate ensued.
However, Xu Ziqing did not intend to remain in this standoff. Behind him, the Tai Chi symbol hovered high, with bloodthirsty demon vines branching out in dozens, spreading across the sky, surrounding the wind beast on top of the cluster of needles.
The overwhelming murderous aura was like a mass of blood light, continuously pressing toward the center.
Gradually, at the core of all the blood vines and green needles, a phantom beast shadow slowly materialized.
Xu Ziqing thought to himself, it was time!
In the next moment, the cluster of vines surged forward like countless steel spikes, piercing into the beast’s shadow!
Perhaps because the wind beast was caught between transforming into wind and solid form, the attacking vines perfectly penetrated its half-real, half-illusory body, embedding it in place.
The demon vines then extended continuously within, suddenly coming into contact with something hard. With a strong push—“Ping!”
The wind crystal shattered, and the wind beast perished.
Before Xu Ziqing could breathe a sigh of relief, the demon vines detected the sound of wind again and quickly moved to protect his sides.
It turned out another wind beast was approaching from the other side, forcing him to engage once more.
This was also due to the inherently peculiar nature of wind beasts.
Indeed, it was a type of demon beast; its ability to transform into wind was its innate divine ability, but its physical body was highly condensed, and its flesh was extremely delicious, making it drool-worthy. Perhaps this was the reason why, aside from the wind crystal, the wind beast’s meridians and blood were almost non-existent; even the bones were extremely light and transparent. Once a wind beast died, those bones would dissolve within the flesh.
One could say that the final remains of the wind beast amounted to nothing more than a mass of exquisite meat.
Such a strange beast could not be consumed by the demon vines; bloodthirsty as they were, how could they absorb without blood? Thus, during the kill, the demon vines could only act as tools, losing their overwhelming destructive power.
Xu Ziqing sighed inwardly but did not slow his movements.
The Wanlong Fist was not usable, yet he had other divine abilities. Moreover, this was not without its merits as a form of training; he only needed to do his best to glean insights and progress further.
Immediately, Xu Ziqing concentrated even more, forming a protective barrier with his divine sense. Anything that entered this area could not escape his detection. At the same time, the demon vines spread above like a giant net, resembling a waterfall hanging upside down, ready to strike at any moment! The Qingyun needles trembled slightly in this space, sensing any murderous intent from all directions, swaying gently…
Suddenly, the needles on the southwestern side leaped up, and immediately hundreds of needles shot forward, with the demon vines quickly ensnaring that area, instantly fixing the wind beast in place!
Xu Ziqing swiftly moved, expanding his six senses to their utmost. Indeed, amidst the endless roar of the wind, he detected subtle fluctuations… Without a doubt, this was the slight difference between the wind beast in its transformed state and the surrounding winds! He quickly committed this aura to memory and, with a thought, the demon vines once again pierced the wind crystal, allowing him to collect another wind beast corpse. Now, he had personally dealt with two, and no third beast approached.
Afterward, Xu Ziqing turned to observe the battle between his shixiongs and Tu Jin against the wind beasts.
Those cultivators were all experienced sword users. Even the youngest among them, Yun Lie, was over two hundred years old, making them far quicker than Xu Ziqing at discerning the wind beasts’ weaknesses and understanding that the fusion of the wind beast’s transformation and the surrounding winds was imperfect.
At the very least, wind beasts of this level were certainly flawed.
So it wasn’t long before they noticed the positions of the wind beasts nearby and swiftly moved, striking with sword intent!
When Xu Ziqing turned to look, he found that the others had successfully slain the wind beasts surrounding them. At their feet lay four or five wind beasts, piled together like a shimmering mountain of meat. These wind beasts were likely level four, distinguished by a tuft of golden fur on their foreheads and significantly larger in size.
Yun Lie sensed Xu Ziqing’s presence and turned around.
Xu Ziqing smiled and walked over, collecting the wind beasts that his shixiong had killed into his storage ring.
After Tu Jin and the others finished gathering their spoils, they looked toward the six wind spirals, probing with their divine senses to search carefully.
This time, they found nothing unusual, so they allowed Xu Ziqing to collect the chaotic wind flowers before they all entered the calm area at the center.
Tu Jin suggested, “Let’s rest here for the night!”
The others had no objections.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie sat together, taking out a piece of sheep blue wood. Xu Ziqing pointed at it, igniting it with an “Ignite”.
Then, he skinned one of the level four wind beasts and threaded the whole carcass onto a long stick, positioning it over the flame to roast.
The flesh of the wind beast naturally exuded a fragrant aroma, so there was no need for any seasoning; it was already incredibly delicious. The sheep blue wood, which Xu Ziqing had brought from his own space since childhood, had a delicate fragrance of its own that intertwined beautifully with the scent of the meat. Moreover, the sheep blue wood burned for a long time; typically, a single piece could burn for seven days and nights. Using it to roast meat was extraordinarily convenient.
Before long, a thin layer of oil gloss formed on the meat, and it took on a faint golden hue, enhancing the aroma further.
The three sword cultivators nearby caught a whiff and couldn’t help but lick their lips.
Xun Liang, usually composed but slightly more cheerful than the other two, smiled at Xu Ziqing and asked, “Daoist Xu, do you have more of this wood?”
Cultivators typically didn’t require food and shouldn’t feel hungry. Yet, in the presence of such deliciousness, they momentarily felt the urge to eat and wanted to roast a beast themselves for a hearty meal.
Xu Ziqing chuckled at this and explained that he originally planned to share the roasted wind beast with the others, but seeing that Xun Liang wanted to roast his own, he thought it was fine. He then took out three or five more pieces of sheep blue wood and pushed them over, saying, “I don’t have much else, but I have plenty of wood. If anyone needs it, don’t hesitate.”
Xun Liang laughed heartily and accepted the wood, handing two pieces each to Yin Xiu and Tu Jin.
Though the two of them still wore gloomy and proud expressions, they took the sheep blue wood and set up their own fires.
At that moment, everyone was jovially roasting the wind beast’s flesh together.
Despite the constant danger in this desolate area, with the need to remain cautious of wind beasts attacking, enjoying this delicious meat in such a moment of relative peace was a delight in life.
Later, Xun Liang took out several bottles of fine wine and distributed them among the group. Yin Xiu produced some spiritual fruits, while Tu Jin raised an eyebrow and surprisingly pulled out something resembling a pill. After crushing it, he sprinkled it over the roasted meat.
In an instant, a faint red glow rose from the surface of the many roasting pieces of meat, and the flames suddenly surged higher. In a brief moment, the meat was roasted to a crisp on the outside while remaining tender inside, the flavor becoming even richer.
Then came the fine wine and exquisite dishes, leading to an endless enjoyment.