Chapter 177: Xuanwu Celestial Phenomenon!

Just as a cultivator breaking through to Golden Core must pass the three gates of "essence, energy, spirit", breaking through to third tier in Demon Beast Body is the same.

However, unlike the thorough preparations he made when his Cultivator Body broke through, his preparations for breaking through to third tier in his Demon Beast Body were actually minimal.

Because he knew that, for Demon Beast Body, reaching third tier is not considered a difficult barrier.

Just as Qing Yao once said, although Yunhe is not yet a true spirit, he is no longer an ordinary turtle-type demon beast; the Demon-Washing Pool endowed him with a purer bloodline concentration and also gave him a stronger physique.

With Yunhe's current physical strength, even if he were to clash head-on with a third-tier demon beast, he might not be at a disadvantage; such bodily strength is undoubtedly a great aid in breaking through.

And his demon power needs no further mention.

He who possesses three internal elixirs now has demon power that most second-tier demon beasts cannot even imagine.

A second-tier demon beast that possesses an internal elixir already has far greater demon power than an ordinary second-tier demon beast, after all, one side has liquid demon power while the other has solidified part of it, so the storage capacity naturally differs greatly.

Not to mention Yunhe, who possesses three internal elixirs.

For a second-tier demon beast preparing to attempt a breakthrough to third tier, the biggest trouble is actually demon sense!

Demon beasts are inherently lacking in spiritual intelligence, so the strength of their demon sense is undoubtedly much weaker compared to cultivators of the same rank.

Even though a demon beast's primary focus when breaking through to third tier is the body, followed by demon power, and lastly demon sense, even so, demon sense remains the greatest obstacle many demon beasts must face during breakthrough.

But this gate,

For Yunhe, however, it is the easiest.

Because his Cultivator Body has already completed the breakthrough, the divine sense of his Cultivator Body can almost perfectly fuse onto his Demon Beast Body.

The divine sense possessed by his Cultivator Body cannot be said to overwhelm late Golden Core cultivators, but at least it should be able to match them to some extent.

But his Demon Beast Body is different.

He can be certain that, at this moment, his demon sense can almost overwhelm the vast majority of late third-tier demon beasts.

With such demon sense, for him, is the demon sense gate still a trouble?

For this reason, he doesn't even need the Spirit Fox Clan's secret technique "Spirit Infusion" that the little fox had promised to help him break through to third tier.

So.

For Demon Beast Body, the three gates of essence, energy, spirit are not considered difficult, so naturally there's no need to prepare any treasures required for the breakthrough.

Actually, Yunhe himself isn't entirely clear on what a demon beast needs to prepare for a third-tier breakthrough.

Besides that.

A demon beast that successfully condensed an internal elixir during the Second Stage will find breaking through to third tier much easier and simpler.

After all, they have already solidified part of their demon power.

The only thing that makes Yunhe uncertain is.

Perhaps it is the three internal elixirs he possesses, wondering whether they will cause him some effect or hindrance during the breakthrough.

But by this point, he can only adapt on the fly.

Fortunately.

He is not completely unprepared; he still has some backup plans.

Outside Huanhu Dao, on an open patch of ground.

"Wuu—"

The bored little fox lying on the ground watched as the two demon beasts in front of it engaged in a flesh-to-flesh clash.

That was an early second-tier boar and an early second-tier badger.

These were two of the new additions to the demon beasts of Huanhu Dao after its territory expanded.

At this moment, they were fighting over a low-grade second-tier Feeding Elixir.

Although Huanhu Dao has abundant resources, after all it cannot provide for every demon beast, so aside from the few demon beasts that first followed him, the others must compete if they wish to obtain resources such as elixirs, ensuring the demon beasts' inherent competitiveness.

"Pfft—"

Finally.

As the badger exhaled a mouthful of deep brown mist carrying toxin, the boar gradually felt its strength wane and collapsed in defeat.

"This is yours."

The little fox tossed the Feeding Elixir toward the badger.

"Aoo—!!"

The badger leapt up, gulped down the Feeding Elixir in one bite, overjoyed, ignoring the boar's spines embedded in its body.

"Hurry up and find a place to refine it; this is a gift from the King." The little fox couldn't help but glance toward Huanhu Dao, muttering.

"The King has been in seclusion for quite a while."

The badger nodded repeatedly; for these newly joined demon beasts, the existence of the Feeding Elixir was as if they had discovered a new continent.

Meanwhile, the boar was obviously more dejected.

Suddenly!

Huanhu Dao suddenly shuddered, as if a earth dragon turned over; the injured boar barely managed to stand, then staggered and fell again, while the other demon beasts also became somewhat unsteady.

The little fox, White Ape King, Green Shadow Swallow, and the other demon beasts stared at each other, wondering how such a commotion could arise on Huanhu Dao.

Suddenly, the White Ape King seemed to sense something, raising its head toward the center of Huanhu Dao, its face showing an expression of disbelief.

"That is."

Only saw.

Above the tranquil Huanhu Dao, a colossal black giant turtle silhouette unexpectedly appeared.

This giant turtle had dragon-like claws and head, a back like a giant turtle, its body covered in black scales, and a primordial aura spread forth.

Xuanwu Celestial Phenomenon!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sensing that aura, most of the demon beasts present instantly dropped to their knees.

Buzz!

Heaven and earth spiritual energy visible to the naked eye gathered toward the giant turtle phantom, even forming a visible spiritual energy tide!

The spiritual energy within a radius of dozens of li was almost instantly drained, giving the beasts in this area an inexplicable feeling of 'suffocation'.

Ang——!!

A tremendous taotao roar rang out, as if proclaiming something, leaving the beasts in a dazed state.

Gazing at the sight of wind and clouds shifting over dozens of li, the White Ape King's face showed a mix of shock and great joy: 'It's the King! The King is breaking through!'

Whoosh——

As it opened its mouth, the little fox flicked its tail, turning into a white light that shot out.

It also gazed at that phantom, biting its lip, feeling joy mixed with a hint of strange anger.

"Didn't we agree that I would help you break through to the Third Stage!"

And after the little fox left, the White Ape King was the first to react, his expression instantly turning grim as he roared:

All beasts, be on guard!

The King's breakthrough is causing such a commotion that other beasts might rush in to take advantage of the chaos; as a beast of Huanhu Dao, it absolutely will not allow any beast to interfere with the King's breakthrough!

Roar!!

Cry!!

Wail!!

For a moment.

All the beasts of Huanhu Dao sprang into action, highly vigilant around the island's perimeter to prevent any blind beast from approaching.

At this moment, Huanhu Dao was filled with the sound of wind and cranes' cries.

What Yunhe valued most about the White Ape King was its superior spiritual intelligence compared to other beasts, and its judgment at this moment was quite correct.

Because.

Indeed, some beasts, sensing the changes in Huanhu Dao, silently approached this place.

Moreover, it wasn't just one or two, but a large group.

For most beasts, when another beast breaks through, it is their best chance to strike, since that is also when beasts are weakest and most vulnerable to a sneak attack.

Especially when it is a breakthrough of such a great realm.

For some late Second Stage beasts, if they could subdue and devour a beast about to break through to the Third Stage, they would very likely gain an opportunity to breakthrough themselves.

As for Third Stage beasts, killing a beast that has not yet succeeded in breaking through to the Third Stage not only yields extremely high-quality food, but also reduces a rival competing for territory and resources.

The might of the Huanhu Dao giant turtle has sunk deep into the hearts of many nearby beasts, so even if some late Second Stage beasts are eager to act, they dare only to prowl outside Huanhu Dao's territory, hoping the giant turtle's breakthrough fails so they might get a share.

But for some Third Stage beasts, they have no such taboo.

In fact.

There are not many Third Stage beasts around Huanhu Dao, because Yunhe also similarly controls the beasts of this place; once a late Second Stage beast shows signs of breakthrough, he will also intervene.

But this time, the commotion caused by Yunhe's breakthrough is too great.

The enormous mysterious turtle phantom hovering above Huanhu Dao and the abnormally surging heaven-and-earth spiritual energy cannot be resisted by the formations he set up.

For Third Stage beasts with especially keen spiritual perception, it is hard not to feel it.

The first to feel it was the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile from Deep Ravine.

When Yunhe first tangled with it, causing it to lose the 'Heavenly Thunder Gold Essence,' the Thunder Horn Mystic Crystal Crocodile bears a deep grudge.

Originally it couldn't find Yunhe hiding in Huanhu Dao, but now it has noticed the celestial signs of Yunhe's breakthrough to the Third Stage, so it naturally rushed over at once.

Next is a monster worm that has long slumbered underground; it rarely appears and doesn't care much about territory, but sensing the celestial signs of a Third Stage breakthrough, it, long dormant, has decided to come out for a good meal.

Last to arrive is a black heron, its body wholly black and somewhat mystical.

Its habitat is not far from here, but as a flying beast, it often comes to the lake to hunt; fish, turtles, and shellfish beasts are among its favorite foods.

This time, the faint aura emanating from Yunhe's breakthrough happened to be smelled by it as it prepared to eat; turtles are already its favorite food, and moreover it can clearly sense that this turtle undergoing breakthrough is extraordinary.

If it could eat this giant turtle, the black heron's instinct tells it that it would gain great benefits!

For a moment.

Three Third Stage beasts gathered outside Huanhu Dao, making the beasts on the island feel as if facing a great enemy.

Even some beasts that had recently joined Huanhu Dao and were weaker have now gone limp on the ground, losing any will to resist, while the stronger ones have begun to think of fleeing.

Once beasts have chosen to follow, they generally do not betray, but the appearance of these three Third Stage beasts now makes them feel that even if the King were present, they could not withstand it.

Of course, this does not include those beasts that have lived on Huanhu Dao for a long time and have witnessed Yunhe's strength.

Roar!!

Although the White Ape King is merely an early Second Stage beast, faint purple light flows across its body as it roars at the three Third Stage beasts, madly and forcefully pounding its chest, making a 'thump-thump-thump' sound.

Yet it does not retreat at all!

Chirp!!

Hiss!!

Roar!!

For a moment, the cries of the demon beasts on Huanhu Dao rose and fell one after another.

However, to these three third‑rank demon beasts, their roars and growls seemed rather insignificant.

The reason they did not attack immediately was actually due to mutual wariness among the three demon beasts.

After all, there was nothing for them to cooperate on.

But they were becoming increasingly unable to restrain themselves, for they could also sense that the breakthrough was about to end.

Screech——!!

Suddenly.

A long cry.

This cry caused the three third-rank demon beasts to pause in their movements.

Looking towards the sound.

Then they saw an Azure Phoenix clad in flowing iridescent light, vigorously flapping its wings, carrying misty radiance as it flew from the island.

Its aloof expression and splendid radiance made them involuntarily glance sideways.

Most importantly.

The faint aura it emitted caused the three demon beasts' breaths to stagnate slightly.

Azure Phoenix?!

The demon beasts' sensitivity to bloodline is far greater than that of cultivators; often, bloodline suppression represents suppression of cultivation base and strength.

What's more, this is such a blatant Azure Phoenix?

This made the three demon beasts show a strong sense of wariness, and even that demon worm already had thoughts of retreat.

On Huanhu Dao, besides that giant turtle, there is actually also an Azure Phoenix?!

Then they saw that divine azure bird again spread its wings and move, its shimmering tail feathers leaving several halos in the air, flying towards them unhurriedly.

The three demon beasts dared not act rashly for a moment.

The situation seemed to have stalled.

After a while.

The black egret first noticed something was off.

How come this Azure Phoenix has been flying for half a day and still hasn't landed?

Moreover, although this aura indeed has a bit of Azure Phoenix's bearing, it seems somewhat weak?

"Goo—"

The black egret tentatively called out, its black wings suddenly shook, kicking up a gust.

In a daze.

It seemed to see the Azure Phoenix's form, somewhat illusory?

Gradually.

The black egret gradually reacted, its eyes slowly widening, with a hint of surprise and also strong anger.

They've been tricked!

"Goo-goo!!"

The black egret let out a long cry, shook its wings and took off; instantly a great wind rose, and the splendid, flowing colors in the air instantly dissipated in the raging wind, revealing a tiny azure bird the size of a palm—where was the earlier Azure Phoenix's appearance?

"Chirp-chirp!"

With the illusion shattered, the little azure bird suddenly shuddered, hastily flapping its wings and flying downward.

Then they saw the little fox with three tails also showing panic, but for the sake of the little azure bird, it leapt up, catching the little guy while facing the swiftly approaching black egret.

Its snowy fur fluttering in the wind, it gritted its teeth tightly, shielding the little azure bird behind it.

Suddenly.

The black egret, burning with rage, had its movement suddenly stall as a voice exploded beside its ear.

"Get lost!!"

Just the sound alone made the black egret feel its head buzzing.

It, with a hint of shock, gazed toward the center of Huanhu Dao.

Then they saw the giant black tortoise celestial phenomenon that previously had no movement, illusory like a dead object, now actually turned its body, a pair of emotionless eyes

Fixed its gaze on it!

(End of chapter)