Chapter 507: Though the Guardian Bird is Old, It Still Has Fighting Strength

Calmly skimming the text at hand, Du En paid no mind to the bewilderment revealed by Wurei.

He only said slowly: "Speculative association is certainly possible, but without premise elements or concrete evidence, it is better to treat it as false for now, lest one become biased. Relatively speaking, I am more inclined to believe they are simply people possessed of talent."

The cream of the crop.

The stature of a genius.

The pride of heaven.

The supreme peak.

These various perceptions are the premise elements, sufficient to categorize them; even if wrong, it wouldn't be by much, because any talent can be described this way.

The latter two are existences capable of easily breaking conventions, and it wouldn't be strange for them to do anything, while the former two also possess aptitudes or achievements that transcend the ordinary.

Generally speaking, the guardian warrior encountered earlier in the Divine Tree Sect hall should be between the 'cream of the crop' and a 'genius'; although there was still considerable hidden talent, they were ultimately bogged down by a mental knot, unable to fully unfold and express it.

But looking at it now, it seems there are other types...

At this moment, Du En thought of that nameless youth, and even Chang Lingfeng encountered in the Queguang Star Realm; they must possess some other shining points, to the extent that they attracted the extra attention of the Buddha? Thinking this while looking at the other document.

It was an excerpt of a notice from the Qing Kingdom imperial court.

"Based on the continuous suggestions of Lord Qinglan, His Majesty has finally decided to build an underground prison next to the Shura Secret Land, used to imprison Grudge Demons with a shallower degree of corruption, and to attempt to find additional purification methods from them."

"... The Grudge Demon prison is being urgently relocated to the side of the capital; all locations related to it are hereby notified: from now on, no one is permitted to step into that area at will; violators will be beheaded!"

The two scraps of paper found, when pieced together, only contained these two segments of the notice, but upon careful deliberation, the amount of information was actually quite substantial.

For example, the first paragraph: the shaman priest Qinglan must have long noticed that relying solely on themselves and the Divine Tree could not solve the Grudge Demon problem, so they were attempting to explore some new solution on the edge of the ancient heritage.

And the second paragraph reveals a change; if one ponders it further, there faintly seems to be a hint of insects fighting for power and profit, with ulterior motives?

Otherwise, the village chief of the post-village would not have specifically painted over the first part of the second paragraph after copying it.

Regrettably, because it had been dampened by the Grudge Demon gloomy rain, even using divine fire to attempt a rescue could not return it to its initial state, so he could not use magic to peel away the smearing and reveal the original excerpted text underneath.

Naturally, Du En would not mention such speculation, which still lacked any practical basis, to Wurei.

Suppressing these thoughts and putting down the papers, he prepared to take action again with swift and decisive style.

"How is your recovery?"

"No problem!"

"Then let's go see that old warrior who once went to the Border Great Wall."

As Du En spoke, he transformed into a ball of light and began to accumulate power.

Hopefully, it won't be some kind of 'strong genius' existence; of course, judging from their personal resume and reputation, the name of a 'strong genius' might be well-deserved.

As he is now, encountering such an opponent is truly extremely thorny.

Wurei seemed to be able to taste the slightly heightened gravity here, and could not help but tense her small face, already attempting to transform into something new while running.

It was what she obtained after purifying the village chief Grudge Demon—her ability after corruption.

How to put it?

After trying it once, she didn't really want to use it again.

Because colorful feathers sprouted all over her body, and they were fluffy too; she looked like a fat chicken that had fallen into various paints, which was quite bothersome.

"A decent method."

Du En saw the use of this move at a glance: it was to improve one's defensive ability. One could use the clusters of bird feathers to divert and unload various attacks; if one stood in front as a meat shield to lure the enemy, that would be excellent!

"Ugh..."

She seemed unhappy, shaking her current full body of feathers without choosing to retract them, only saying sullenly: "It seems that if the village chief had continued to corrupt, he would have become a similar complete form. At that time, these 'alien feathers' that refuse—no, that grew out to welcome punishment—would truly be very thorny."

"That's right. It's fortunate he was foolishly staying in his house earlier, or rather, thanks to his former 'alien heart' being a bit heavy, he built the study so strictly and solidly that he trapped himself inside."

It not only delayed the speed of corruption but also prevented him from quickly coming into direct contact with the gloomy rain and other Grudge Demons.

Of course, it was also because Du En and the others did not delay; otherwise, a moment slower and he would have corrupted into a complete form. At that time, it might have been even thornier than the guardian warrior of the sect hall, and they would have had to painstakingly pluck all those alien feathers before they could subdue the opponent.

Saying no more, they continued forward.

Soon, they arrived inside the village, at the old warrior's residence.

With a 'whoosh', Du En had already manifested his human form, his eyes shifting slightly; Wurei also stopped right behind him, looking around somewhat helplessly.

Weapons were shattered, scattered everywhere.

Flag remnants fluttered in the wind.

Crackle!

In the gloomy rain, there was still fire burning in the erected brazier, but looking closely, it seemed to be nothing more than some pitch-black thing; the light it emitted did not illuminate anything else, but instead seemed to be devouring the only light available.

There was a figure as burly as a mountain, squatting silently in the very center surrounded by such braziers; light was being extracted, yet one could still see the heaviness of that armor and a certain momentum radiating from it.

In a trance, it made one feel as if it were something lurking in the darkness, possessing curled-up wings and cold eyes, silently waiting and watching the intruder.

No, that was not it—it was everything!

Not lurking in the darkness, but the darkness itself!

Dark and deep as an abyss, the aged Guardian Bird still remains! The two immediately raised their greatest vigilance. Wurei was quite nervous, while Du En still had the presence of mind to pay attention to other things.

Shifting his gaze just a tiny bit away from the target with the most presence, he glanced at the surroundings in the same instant, and then his attitude became even more serious.

Because this was actually a martial arts arena?

Looking from the outside, one could not see such a scene at all; there were only ordinary, even poverty-stricken little huts, and it was completely impossible for there to be such an empty space.

Therefore, there wasn't actually any martial arts arena; this was just a special field similar to a Dharma Domain. Although it was still far from a true Nascent Soul Dharma Domain, it could already be called a prototype! Even though it only had the foundation for existence because of the irrigation of the Grudge Demon gloomy rain, it also proved that the old warrior before them was truly not an easy character! The two sides first stared at each other, and only because Du En stopped at the edge in time, stepping on the boundary, did he not immediately provoke the other's attack.

At the same time, it was also because this old warrior seemed to have other obsessions, which was why he showed such restraint.

The same situation as Da Huang... clearly impossible.

With the formal meeting of the two sides, under the pouring gloomy rain, the rapid tilting of obsession and persistence became a foregone conclusion.

The aged warrior, whom people said had fought fiercely at the Border Great Wall for decades, ultimately did not avoid the fate of becoming a Grudge Demon. He slowly stood up, just like a pitch-black mysterious bird spreading its wings and revealing its claws and beak. In an instant, Wurei felt as if everything before her eyes had gone black, as if all light had been swallowed.

Fortunately, the next moment, the invisible protection of the forehead chain's pure fire became obvious, bringing light and blocking the influence.

She saw the surroundings clearly once more, saw the specks of light scattering, saw the feathers drifting, saw that Du En was already launching an attack... She was flying backward, because the moment the old warrior moved, he had already made his move! The weapon was terrifying; it was a long spear, its shaft covered in patterns like bird-toe scales, and the striking part was full of ferocious, sharp protrusions, like a mace, or perhaps it should be called a bird-beak mace.

In any case, amidst the roaring, sudden sweeping strike, she was sent flying directly away, like a piece of paper or drifting catkin; it was truly impossible to take lightly, as if even her protection was about to be shattered.

However, at this very moment, she had only one thought.

As expected, the moment I have sufficient defense, he completely changes his demeanor! She muttered with a little bit of resentment.

Because it was obvious that Du En had actually reacted just now; after all, his realm and insight far exceeded those of the old warrior, so whether it was the momentum of the Profound Bird Martial Might, the swiftness of moving like thunder, or even the expansion and engulfing of the embryonic form of his Domain, all were within the scope of what he had already noticed.

Although, given his current actual state, his movements might not be able to keep up with this level of insight, reaction, and state of mind, it did not prevent him from calmly weighing a conclusion.

After Wu Rui gained the ability to manifest new mana, even if she were hit head-on by the old warrior a few times, she would not suffer any obvious injuries, so he calmly allowed her to be knocked away while he himself lunged toward the old warrior.

Whoosh! The flames seemed to tremble.

The old warrior's scarlet eyes were like lanterns, suddenly turning to stare at the fiercely attacking Du En; the long spear in his hand was gripped tightly, the sharpness of metal and horses bursting forth, with faint, shrill, mournful bird cries.

Bang! The charged long spear swung out, shattering the air and tearing through space, directly striking Du En's figure until it shattered as well.

The old warrior seemed not to have expected it to be so easy and paused for a moment; his battle-hardened instincts allowed him to react quickly, but just as he dodged away, a sword came whistling from behind.

It was none other than the Azure Sky Burning Sword!

It grazed past the old warrior, and as it flew across his field of vision, it seemed to stir ripples in those scarlet eyes, because a trace of azure sky color remained on the sword body, and the brilliant divine fire made it appear even more sacred.

However, the ripples in his will did not have any influence on his actions, for his tempered body and combat techniques were even more terrifying after his corruption, practically more instinctive than instinct itself, fully capable of performing various actions on their own.

Thus, a large hand suddenly reached out, wanting to grab and crush this sword.

Although he did not know what Du En was doing, actually throwing the sword so carelessly, no matter what, he just needed to intercept his actions or increase the cost of his actions.

Use the small to defeat the big, make the opponent pay as high a price as possible, and slowly accumulate one's own advantages! That's right, although on paper this side was stronger right now, his instinct clearly knew that the opponent was actually even more terrifying, a monster he had never encountered before; beneath that calm face and figure lay a horror far exceeding all the Grudge Demons he had ever seen! A troublesome opponent.

Du En thought this silently, having already fully discerned the opponent's battle strategy.

Thus, he had an idea in an instant.

He gave Wu Rui a look.

Sigh~ She sighed inwardly with some helplessness.

However, while still flying backward, she brought out her useful slingshot and fired a pellet toward the old warrior's grasping hand.

Logically speaking, this should not have made him stop, after all, there was a significant gap in reaction and speed between the two, even if Wu Rui was currently in a strengthened state from circulating her mana, rather than her normal young girl self.

Yet, the result achieved the effect.

Because in the instinctual judgment of this side, Wu Rui was a situation difficult to define; facing such an unknown opponent, and synthesizing the abilities and combat processes of many previously encountered Grudge Demons, it naturally chose to play it safe and avoid the hand.

In fact, it was only after this side had finished dodging that Wu Rui fired the pellet.

So, quite naturally, the old warrior brushed past the pellet.

This side had just landed, but was already halfway through a charge! Pick the soft persimmon to squeeze, when facing a group of enemies, cut off one finger first! He was charging toward Wu Rui, aggressive and fierce, carrying power sufficient to shatter space, already capable of performing some actions of the Nascent Soul stage; it was terrifying, and even with her protection and strange feathers, she probably couldn't take two such attacks! However, Du En clearly would not just watch; the meticulous calculations before and after entering the village were not meaningless actions.

The Dao was becoming active again, and the cooling was gradually melting away.

Utilizing the panel to truly achieve one-proof-eternal-proof, even if it were a profound sacrifice, even if it were self-immolation to purify the world, as long as there was a residual port, he could quickly scoop it back from the boundless sea of Dao.

Sand-Raising Technique! A handful of fine yellow sand suddenly appeared, hitting the old warrior's face, intending to steal his vision.

Earth Armor Technique! From the gaps in the armor, layers of mud and soil appeared, beginning to seep in, attempting to affect his movements.

These were all low-grade spells; because of insufficient mana, although the purity was high, the strength and density were worrying, so in reality, they did not cause any effective hindrance to the old warrior, only making his actions appear slightly hesitant.

Du En could not possibly not know this, so, what was he trying to do? In the midst of her hurried jumping and dodging, Wu Rui's eyes remained fixed, with a gaze of curiosity, insight, learning, and pondering flickering within.

The answer soon emerged: it was fire, it was explosion, it was a blast! The Azure Sky Burning Sword, which was falling and about to pierce the ground, suddenly shook, and the flames were shaken off, transforming into individual fine, small swords, suddenly covering the old warrior.

He stood still abruptly; the ground should have been directly crushed, but now it was a place similar to a Domain, so naturally, it would not be like that, only allowing him to gain sufficient support to erupt with his full power, and with the long spear swung in a circle, he was about to shatter the surprise attack.

It was not just that; a sudden palpitation also made him perform what he considered the most appropriate action.

Thick Grudge Qi and demonic energy covered the long spear like black feathers, and as he swung it in a circle, it suddenly bloomed and shot out, immediately sweeping in all directions, encompassing everything; everything was its target! (End of chapter)