Chapter 42: Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast

"I never imagined Yulong Zhenren would come in person to offer birthday congratulations; Zhao Rui has been given a massive amount of face!"

"Indeed, a Danyuan Realm Elder does not easily descend the mountain, let alone come to a mortal kingdom to offer birthday wishes."

"Perhaps it has to do with the Pingxi King colluding with the Ziyang Sect to rebel."

"It must be so. In order to rebel, the Pingxi King actually handed over dozens of Ancient Immortal Treasures from the Xianren Gumu to the Ming Kingdom's Immortal Sect. How could the Yuqing Hall ignore such a major event?"

"Wow, what a huge bird!"

A group of cultivators gathered together, discussing heatedly, many with faces flushed with excitement. Xu Chen, however, looked up at the giant seven-colored bird in the sky, his face full of shock and jealousy.

"This is the Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow of the Yuqing Hall; its strength is comparable to a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator. Junior Brother, do not underestimate it," Zhao Xuan whispered a warning.

Xu Chen drooled and said, "I can't underestimate it. It's so big. This is my first time seeing a Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast; it must be very nourishing to eat."

"Screech—"

Whether it heard Xu Chen's disrespectful words or not, the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow, which had been hovering at a height of a hundred zhang, let out a long cry and lunged toward Jiesiantai, and its target seemed to be Xu Chen and the others.

"Help, run!"

Below, not to mention the group of mortals, even all the cultivators were scared out of their wits, instantly scattering like a disturbed nest. Many, in order to run faster, directly released their Magic Treasures to take to the air, but were immediately swept down by a terrifying aura, falling to the ground with a thud like dumplings.

Yulong Zhenren was just preparing to follow Zhao Rui into the hall, but he was still nearly knocked head-first into the massive door pillar by this terrifying aura. He turned his head abruptly and discovered that his mount, the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow, was lunging at a group of cultivators as if it had gone mad.

"Oh no!"

Yulong Zhenren was instantly pale with fright. Not daring to delay for even half a moment, his body flickered as he blocked the path above the cultivators. At the same time, he raised his hand and waved, and the light and shadow of an Eight-Trigram Array Disk expanded to a size of a hundred zhang with a boom.

"Boom—"

The sharp giant claws of the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow slammed heavily into the light and shadow of the array disk. Immediately, a blinding radiance exploded. Amidst the shaking of heaven and earth, all the cultivators felt a thunderclap explode in the sky, their entire bodies buzzing. Those with higher cultivation could barely stand firm, while those with weaker cultivation fell headlong to the ground. A large number of Forbidden Army servants, as well as the State Envoy Group and Prince and Noble watching from afar, all toppled over like cut wheat, and many were killed on the spot as their souls were shattered by the shock.

Yulong Zhenren was knocked to the ground, staggering back more than ten zhang. His clothes were shattered by the shock, and a wisp of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The giant claws of the Spirit Sparrow directly smashed half of the Jiesiantai, which was built of wood and stone. Driven by the violent Spirit Qi, the giant timber and rubble splashed in all directions like hail. Most of the Yingbin Square was riddled with holes by this rain of wood and stone debris. A large number of mortals were unable to withstand this impact and were wiped out on the spot.

However, the group of cultivators fared better because they happened to be protected by Yulong Zhenren's array disk overhead, so the impact they received was actually less than that of the State Envoy Group and Prince and Noble in the distance.

Yulong Zhenren, however, did not care about his own disheveled state at this moment. Instead, he took to the air again, and the light and shadow of the array disk appeared once more, covering the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow within it.

The restless Spirit Sparrow charged and flapped about within the light and shadow of the array. The light and shadow of the Eight-Trigram Array Disk trembled violently. Yulong Zhenren's Yuan Qi poured out in waves, continuously injecting into the array disk, yet he still felt he was losing control.

"Beast, what are you trying to do?"

In his desperation, Yulong Zhenren roared at the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow.

The Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow's emotions were completely out of control, and it suddenly opened its beak to spew out a cloud of cyan light mist.

"Boom—"

The light and shadow of the array disk shattered, and the violent aura swept across the entire square like a tidal wave. Jiesiantai was blown away directly. The group of cultivators who had just managed to stand firm were all swept up in the broken wood and mud, rolling away while screaming. The State Envoy Group, Prince and Noble, and Forbidden Army servants who had toppled over were swept away like sand for dozens or hundreds of zhang; before they could even scream, their bodies collapsed and turned into flesh and blood that scattered.

Yulong Zhenren bore the brunt of the impact and was knocked flying for dozens of zhang. Before he could stand firm after rolling to the ground, he retreated another seven or eight zhang before finally stopping his momentum. His clothes were riddled with holes, and blood sprayed from his mouth and nose; his face was filled with shock beyond measure.

With this single strike, he was not lightly injured.

The array disk had also been destroyed.

After breaking free, the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow did not continue its rampage. Instead, it flapped its wings and landed on the ground. Its nearly two-zhang-tall body looked down over the entire chaotic square, while its pair of large red eyes searched for a target among the terrified cultivators on the ground.

Xu Chen lay on the ground, dizzy and disoriented, his face twisted in terror.

Just now, he had only casually used his Divine Sense to examine this Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast, never expecting to provoke it.

He was certain that the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow was targeting him.

If Yulong Zhenren had not blocked it, he feared he would have already been swallowed into the bird's belly, turning into a rare piece of Spirit Beast dung by tomorrow morning.

He did not know that ever since that Blue Jade Bead merged into his Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Sense had undergone a mutation; not only had it become extremely powerful, but it also carried a unique aura.

This aura could not be felt by ordinary cultivators, but for Demon Beast and Spirit Beast that relied on instinct and bloodline to advance, it was very easy to sense the difference.

In fact, many cultivators at the scene were using their Divine Sense to observe the Spirit Sparrow, but ordinary Divine Sense had no effect on the Spirit Sparrow, unable to even penetrate its own protective Spirit Qi.

But Xu Chen's Divine Sense was different. With the help of the strange blue light of the Jade Bead, it landed directly on the Spirit Sparrow, making it feel a fear born of instinct, while simultaneously carrying an incomparable temptation.

If it could swallow the main body of this Divine Sense, it estimated it could advance again before long.

The entire square was as chaotic as a battlefield. Emperor Zhao Rui's face was pale with terror, his mind a complete blank.

The three young cultivators from Yuqing Hall—two men and one woman—were still standing on the steps in front of Yingbin Hall, but they were frozen in a daze as if struck by a binding spell.

From the moment the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow launched its attack to the current apparent settling of dust, no more than seven or eight breaths of time had passed.

If Yulong Zhenren had not reacted quickly, the Imperial Palace square would likely have become a giant crater by now, and all the cultivators and mortals would have perished.

"Beast, retreat now, if not when!"

Yulong Zhenren was fierce in appearance but weak in reality, his whole body trembling violently, yet he dared not summon his own Magic Treasure Flying Sword to continue provoking the Spirit Sparrow.

The Spirit Sparrow raised its head and glanced at Yulong Zhenren indifferently, shook its feathers, and took a step forward. Among the cultivators lying on the ground screaming and wailing, it stared at a young cultivator lying on the ground. Its terrifying Divine Sense locked onto him, and like a comb, it moved back and forth, searching inside his body.

Xu Chen instantly felt as if he had been stripped naked; even his soul had nowhere to hide, and his bones, muscles, and flesh felt as if they were about to be ground into dust.

Under the stimulation of the Spirit Sparrow's terrifying Divine Sense, the Blue Jade Bead in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly trembled, releasing a blinding blue light that swept across, clearing away the aura that was enough to annihilate Xu Chen.

"Screech—"

The Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow's feathers instantly stood on end, and it let out a startled cry, retreating rapidly like a ruffled rooster.

The terrifying pressure of the Divine Sense vanished instantly. Xu Chen sat up abruptly, looking at the retreating Spirit Sparrow with a pale face.

One person and one bird, one standing and one sitting, stared at each other in a standoff, their eyes filled with shock and fear.

The entire square was silent.

Yulong Zhenren was even more bewildered.

A moment later, Xu Chen slowly climbed up from the ground. This movement alone made the Spirit Sparrow retreat another two steps, now five zhang away from Xu Chen.

A Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast is equivalent to a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator.

This level of strength is no longer something that a Danyuan Realm cultivator can fully control, let alone a group of trash cultivators who are only in the Kaiyuan Realm.

If this were a wild Fourth-Tier Demon Beast, it is estimated that the entire Jingshi would have been destroyed if it went mad. Fortunately, this Spirit Sparrow had been raised by the Yuqing Hall since it was young, was relatively close to humans, and even possessed high intelligence, allowing it to control its emotions.

However, at this moment, it felt the terrifying aura emanating from Xu Chen—a power that seemed completely impossible to resist, making its bloodline tremble in terror.

At this moment, Xu Chen dared not trigger the Jade Bead to probe or confront the Spirit Sparrow again; he could only hold his breath, staring fixedly at the Spirit Sparrow with a pale face, not daring to move.

"Wuya~~"

In the extreme silence, a faint cry suddenly came from Xu Chen's embrace, and then a snow-white Xiao Huli poked its head out, but after taking only one look at the terrifying giant bird, it let out a terrified shriek and shrank back in.

The appearance of Xiao Huli seemed to break the standoff; the Spirit Sparrow's bristling feathers slowly smoothed down, and in the end, it actually lowered its body, gently tapped its massive head against the ground, then flapped its wings to take flight, let out a long cry, and spread its wings to fly toward the outside of the city, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

"Hoo~"

Xu Chen plopped onto the ground, opening his mouth wide to gasp for air desperately, while his hands clutched tightly at his heart, which was thumping so hard it felt like it might jump out of his chest.

A Fourth-Tier Spirit Beast and a Third-Tier Demon Wolf are as different as heaven and earth.

From this Spirit Sparrow, he had instantly felt an aura of death that he was completely unable to resist.

If not for the Blue Jade Bead vibrating in resistance, he might have already died just now.

Seeing the Spirit Sparrow fly away, the cultivators all over the ground also let out a long sigh almost simultaneously; slowly, people began to crawl out from the rubble and broken wood, while others with broken legs and arms let out painful groans, and those who were still conscious began to save others, while some began rummaging through the ground to find their lost Magic Treasure.

Yulong Zhenren felt as if all the vital energy in his body had been drained away; his body swayed violently a few times, then he took a deep breath, flipped his hand to take out a Spirit Pill, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"What happened?"

Jiu Shixiong crawled out from the pile of people in a disheveled state, clutching his head in terror and looking around everywhere.

The scene was in complete chaos, and everyone was in a sorry state.

Zhao Rui also came back to his senses at this time, his face pale and his voice trembling as he issued orders, commanding the Forbidden Army to arrange for people to enter the scene to rescue the casualties and clean up the aftermath.

The mortal casualties were heavy, with at least several hundred dead and countless injured; the State Envoy Group and the Prince and Noble who had come to offer birthday congratulations had almost suffered a catastrophic disaster, with not a single one left unscathed.

However, the group of cultivators was relatively much better off.

The Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow's two attacks had been almost entirely blocked by Yulong Zhenren with all his might, and the cultivators' own physiques were far superior to mortals; coupled with the protection of their vital energy, although everyone was injured due to the powerful Spirit Qi shockwave from the Spirit Sparrow, none had lost their lives, with most only suffering broken hands or feet and the loss of some Magic Treasure, looking rather disheveled.

The entire Imperial Palace square was a mess, with dead and wounded everywhere, and the sounds of wailing and painful cries were endless; corpse after corpse was carried out by the Forbidden Army, laid out in dense rows, many of which were already torn apart and no longer recognizable as human.

And the group of cultivators also had tattered clothes and disheveled hair, each one wanting to cry but having no tears, looking just like a group of beggars.

The most disheveled among them was undoubtedly Yulong Zhenren.

A cup of tea ago, he was still as elegant as a True Immortal descended to the world, but in the blink of an eye, he was covered in dirt and grime like an angel who had crashed face-first after breaking its wings; his Daoist robe was torn to shreds, his body was covered in mud, and blood flowed from his mouth and nose—it could no longer be described as merely disheveled, and he looked more miserable than any other cultivator.

What he found most unbelievable was that the object of the Fourth-Tier Spirit Sparrow's attention was actually a small cultivator who was not even at the mid-stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, the lowest cultivation level present.

And the reason that seemed to have caused the Spirit Sparrow's agitation was actually a small white fox on the small cultivator's person.