Li Zhexian feared that lingering any longer would draw attention.
He quietly withdrew his gaze.
—
In the depths of the cliff, the murderous aura became even more intense.
The fierce aura in the air was bone-chilling, making Li Zhexian, who was lying on the ground, feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
And yet—
The horde of spirit beasts remained perfectly still.
Countless pairs of fierce, bloodthirsty eyes were locked dead-on to that mysterious little tree clinging to the cliff wall.
All of them… were waiting for it to bloom and bear fruit.
Time quietly passed amidst the Spirit Beasts' increasingly heavy breathing.
Finally—
A faint, almost imperceptible fragrance began to waft through the air.
At the crown of the tree, the single flower bud slowly opened—
Its crystalline petals gleaming with breathtaking brilliance.
The sacred tree was about to ripen!
At this moment, all the suppressed ferocity erupted!
ROAR—!
ROAR—!
Deafening roars shattered the silence.
The bottom of the cliff turned into a boiling tide of beasts.
One after another, they surged forward like a breached dam, racing toward the cliff wall in a mad frenzy.
The ground trembled, boulders rained down like a storm.
Li Zhexian's face changed dramatically.
Giant hooves, massive as millstones, came crashing down, bringing a stench of blood with them.
Dodging between narrow gaps, Li Zhexian barely escaped death by twisting and leaping through the chaos.
Luckily, all the Spirit Beasts had their eyes fixed on that little tree. They had no time to pay attention to a small human like him.
Li Zhexian held his breath and watched this slaughter, which was far more primal and bloody than any Spirit Master battle.
The Blood-Toothed Demonic Tiger surged forward, crimson killing aura rolling off its body.
Its massive jaws snapped shut around a silver-white centipede, shattering its shell and spraying silvery innards and broken carapace in all directions.
The Golden Python's massive coils whipped around several thousand-year spirit beasts, crushing them in a grotesque explosion of bone and blood mist.
Above, the once-noble Winged Unicorn now clashed with a massive golden-winged eagle. Its sacred glow was long gone—only blood and savagery remained.
In mere breaths—
Before any had even reached the cliff wall—
Over a dozen spirit beasts had already been torn to pieces, painting the ground in gore.
And the remaining ferocious beasts—
Were just about to reach the now-nearly ripened sacred tree.
—
High above them—
The Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon stood still.
Its dragon eyes swept over the bloody battlefield below, a flicker of cold, human-like mockery flashing in their depths.
It moved at last.
Swish—
Swish—
The twelve sword feathers hovering behind its head detached with a sharp whistle.
Twelve deadly beams of sword , each carrying a different elemental attribute, sliced through the air, encircling all the beasts who had reached the cliff.
Each sword feather resonated with the others, forming a closed killing formation—a fully formed sword formation!
It… was trying to wipe out every single spirit beast in one fell swoop!
The trapped beasts roared in fury, ramming against the twelve blinding blades of light.
BOOM—!
BOOM—!
The sword-light net trembled violently, nearly shattering.
Spreading its wings—
The Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon, with a wingspan of nearly ten meters, shot down like a bolt of lightning, tearing into the sword formation.
The moment it entered—
A strange change occurred.
Its body blurred, splitting into multiple afterimages—
Each phantom bearing a single sword feather projection behind its head, glowing with a different element.
Inside the sword formation—
Sword qi exploded in every direction!
Sword light of all attributes rained down in a dazzling yet deadly barrage!
The sheer speed created a web of overlapping beams, forming a luminous net of death!
Unrivaled sharpness filled the formation, slicing and shredding without mercy.
Only the wails of dying beasts could pierce the sound of slashing air.
Blood surged in streams along the perimeter of the formation.
—
Li Zhexian's handsome features were taut, his eyes filled with dread.
This Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon… was absurdly powerful.
No wonder—it was a Rare Beast tainted with the aura of a god.
Despite being a thousand-year-level beast, it was slaughtering high-tier spirit beasts with ease.
Watching those sword falcon phantoms flit through the formation, unleashing a flurry of elemental sword light—
A frown formed in Li Zhexian's eyes.
"The Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon…"
"Which god's aura did it get tainted with?"
"Why can it command so many elemental powers at once?"
"Dragon-head…"
He fixed his gaze, a theory forming in his mind.
CRACK—!
BOOM—!
At that moment—
The twelve sword feathers dimmed abruptly and flew back into the falcon's nape.
Its massive wings flapped once, gliding it down to the ground.
Its dragon eyes stared coldly at the blood mist slowly dispersing in the air.
Moments ago, the cliff base had been teeming with beasts.
Now, only a few ragged survivors remained.
The Blood-Toothed Demonic Tiger had half its body torn open.
The Golden Python's scales had peeled off, exposing pale bones.
Above, the Winged Unicorn fluttered with a broken wing, barely holding aloft.
Silence fell across the battlefield.
The stench of blood was so thick it choked the air.
Broken limbs and dismembered carcasses littered the ground.
Rivulets of blood pooled into a crimson lake.
Li Zhexian, having taken Spirit-Concealing Grass, lay deathly still in the blood pool—utterly unmoving.
Then—
A final struggle erupted.
The heavily wounded Blood-Toothed Demonic Tiger, Golden Python, and Winged Unicorn pounced in unison on the weakened Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon!
Its sword feathers had fully dimmed—it could no longer use them.
What followed was the most brutal, primal hand-to-hand combat.
Claws, fangs, wings, and scales flew in all directions.
Roars and the sound of splintering bones echoed like thunder.
The falcon bit clean through the unicorn's neck—
But the Bloodfang Demon Tiger, in a dying counterattack, ripped off its right wing and half its shoulder.
At the same time, the cold, coiling body of the Golden Python wrapped tightly around the falcon, strangling with wild force.
At last—
The tiger's heart was pierced.
The python's vital core—the seven-inch spot—was torn open.
And the Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon—
Was left barely clinging to life.
It struggled but could not even stand.
Its one remaining dragon eye stared at the mystical tree on the cliffside—
Filled with bottomless yearning.
Splash—
Splash—
Suddenly—
The sound of footsteps squelching through blood rang out.
The Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon's pupils suddenly constricted, and it twisted its head with great difficulty.
There—stood a young human man in blood-soaked white robes, step by step approaching.
"Screech—"
The falcon let out a weak, yet still majestic cry.
The one sword feather still floating behind its head… slowly raised, pointing straight at the young man.
Li Zhexian gripped the Qinglian Sword.
With a flick of his wrist, its deadly edge hissed—
The raised sword feather snapped cleanly in response.
"I see now…"
Li Zhexian looked at the dying Rare Beast, murmuring quietly:
"So that's why this Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon never appeared in the original timeline."
"All of these fierce beasts…
Along with that sacred tree on the cliff…
In the end, they all perished here in this unknown chasm."
He slowly raised the Qinglian Sword.
A purple Spirit Ring rose beneath his feet, winding around the blade.
A stream of cold starlight fell, condensing at the sword's tip.
"After gaining such a great opportunity, there's no point in being sentimental."
"Dragon-Headed Sword Falcon…"
Li Zhexian's wrist dropped, and the sword light fiercely slashed down.
"Let me send you off."
Squelch—
The dragon's head rolled to the side.
From the falcon's corpse, a strange Spirit Ring floated up—
Its surface bearing the markings of twelve sword feathers.
At the same time—
The twelve sword feathers also emerged from its remains, gleaming brilliantly as they hovered silently in midair.