Chapter 533: Song Song Yuanhao

Mount Mount Funiu, in a bamboo forest behind the mountain.

Song Song Yuanhao, dressed in yellow robes and carrying a large cloth bag, quietly passed through the bamboo forest and quickly arrived beside a cave on the edge of the mountain peak.

After carefully scanning the area around the cave and seeing no abnormalities, Song Song Yuanhao opened the bag in his hand, took out a thigh of a low-tier "Iron-Beaked Pig," and placed it at the entrance of the cave.

A moment later, a sound like a thunderclap suddenly erupted from the cave, followed by a gust of wind. A large gray bird, standing over a zhang tall, flew out of the cave, accompanied by a whirlwind of wind and rocks.

This large bird was the "Heavenly Fire Roc," the guardian spirit beast that the Song family had raised for many years. Since being hatched and nurtured by Song Song Qingming over a hundred years ago, the "Heavenly Fire Roc's" cultivation base had now reached the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage, and it was only one opportunity away from breaking through the bottleneck of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Although the "Heavenly Fire Roc's" cultivation speed was far inferior to that of the Song family's many Foundation Establishment cultivators, the lifespan of a spirit beast is generally about three times that of a human cultivator. For the "Heavenly Fire Roc" to have reached this level in just over a hundred years, its cultivation speed was already far beyond that of ordinary spirit beasts of the same tier.

Song Song Yuanhao, on the back of the "Heavenly Fire Roc," felt the spirit beast beneath him suddenly become spirited and excited, and his own face was filled with anticipation.

After rushing into the bamboo forest below, before Song Song Yuanhao could clearly see the prey the "Heavenly Fire Roc" had found, a massive head the size of a water vat suddenly poked out from the bamboo, spitting a large mouthful of green venom directly at the two of them.

Seeing that the "Heavenly Fire Roc" had been lured out by the item he had specifically brought, Song Song Yuanhao's face showed a hint of joy. He quickly stepped forward to its side and took a few low-tier spirit fruits, which the "Heavenly Fire Roc" loved most, out of his storage bag and placed them before it.

Just as this glob of venom reached a point not far in front of Song Song Yuanhao and the Roc, the "Heavenly Fire Roc," already prepared, flapped its massive wings with force, directly whipping up a gust of wind that changed the venom's trajectory, causing it to veer off onto the rocks to the side.

"The fight isn't over yet, who gave you permission to leave!" Seeing these spirit beasts wanting to return to help, Song Song Yuanhao gathered thunder light in his hand, ignoring his own injuries, and took the initiative to rush forward, entangling several of the "Green Bamboo Pythons" with the highest cultivation bases.

Becoming familiar with the "Heavenly Fire Roc" had given Song Song Yuanhao an opportunity to sneak down the mountain. This was not the first time he had tempted the "Heavenly Fire Roc" to take him down the mountain to hunt spirit beasts.

Over the past two years, because the thunder-attribute cultivation art Song Song Yuanhao practiced was relatively similar to the innate attributes of the family's guardian spirit beast, the "Heavenly Fire Roc," and with the consent of the family's Foundation Establishment Elder Song Song Yuanfang, Song Song Yuanhao had practiced beast-taming techniques, gaining the opportunity to get close to the "Heavenly Fire Roc" and learn to control thunder techniques.

Because he possessed a thunder spirit root, Song Song Xintang, an elder of the family, kept a relatively strict watch over Song Song Yuanhao; usually, without a Foundation Establishment elder accompanying him, he was simply not allowed to go down the mountain at will.

Seeing that the first strike had failed, the large head in the bamboo forest quickly retracted. Before long, a loud "clattering" sound erupted from the bamboo, and a massive green python, about a dozen zhang long, slithered out of the bamboo forest, appearing before Song Song Yuanhao and the "Heavenly Fire Roc," flicking its long tongue at them with its blood-red maw agape.

Cultivators with variant spirit roots were inherently more formidable in combat than those with other spirit roots. Coupled with the "Heavenly Fire Thunder Art" that Song Song Yuanhao practiced—a powerful thunder-attribute art that Song Song Qingming had specifically exchanged for him from the Xiaoyao Sect—the battle was resolved in a few short moves by Song Song Yuanhao's powerful thunder light, even before he had to use any magic tools.

Before long, the pile of rocks in front of them turned from gray to green, and after a burst of black smoke rose up, a chilling "sizzling" sound could be heard.

Just as these spirit beasts wanted to press their advantage and continue attacking Song Song Yuanhao, the second-tier giant python battling the "Heavenly Fire Roc" could no longer hold on and let out several shrill roars. Hearing this, the low-tier spirit beasts immediately ignored Song Song Yuanhao and turned around, preparing to rush back to provide reinforcements.

On Song Song Yuanhao's side, facing three mid-stage Qi Condensation "Green Bamboo Pythons" alone, he was relatively relaxed. Holding a sword in one hand and gathering the powerful "Thunder Light Technique" in the other, he managed to slay one of the spirit beasts with his flying sword not long after the battle began.

Suddenly, five or six more spirit beasts arrived, two of which had already reached the late stage of Qi Condensation. Song Song Yuanhao immediately felt immense pressure, and before long, he took a hit, being forced back to the side by the spirit beasts.

"Old companion, how about accompanying me to Mount Mount Qingzhu to practice today?"

However, this time, the "Heavenly Fire Roc" did not heed Song Song Yuanhao's desire to retreat. Facing the provocation of the second-tier "Green Bamboo Python," it immediately responded with several mighty cries.

Seeing this scene, Song Song Yuanhao, still sitting on the "Heavenly Fire Roc," broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly jumped off, taking out one of his top-grade magic tools.

Previously, that second-tier giant python, along with a dozen low-tier spirit beasts, could only barely fight the "Heavenly Fire Roc" to a draw. Now, with so many spirit beasts no longer helping to contain it, it soon could not hold on.

By the time about the time it takes to burn an incense stick had passed and Song Song Yuanhao had finished off the remaining two spirit beasts and arrived at the battlefield, the "Heavenly Fire Roc" was still struggling fiercely against the second-tier giant python. Both sides were fighting desperately, and both had already sustained quite a few injuries.

Seeing that the "Heavenly Fire Roc" had already begun to fight the opponent, Song Song Yuanhao was somewhat worried. Just as he wanted to go over to see if he could help, more than a dozen low-tier "Green Bamboo Pythons" suddenly rushed out of the bamboo forest. When a few of them spotted Song Song Yuanhao, they turned and lunged toward him.

Seeing this, Song Song Yuanhao leaped onto its back. With a gust of wind whipped up, the "Heavenly Fire Roc" carried Song Song Yuanhao high into the sky, directly passing through the protective formation of Mount Mount Funiu and heading east.

Watching the "Heavenly Fire Roc" gulping down the flesh of the Green Bamboo Python to the side, Song Song Yuanhao, still feeling unfulfilled, stood in place and pondered for a moment before deciding to head toward Mount Mount Yunwu to find some more formidable spirit beasts to practice with.

After reaching the late stage of Qi Condensation, Song Song Yuanhao, possessing great skill but having nowhere to use it, had heard his peers in the family talk about the exciting and stimulating events down the mountain every day for the past two years. His heart could no longer be restrained, and he often yearned for the colorful world down the mountain.

After the "Heavenly Fire Roc" flew out of the cave, it glanced at Song Song Yuanhao not far away, then directly scooped up the food on the ground and tossed it into its mouth.

Carrying Song Song Yuanhao, the "Heavenly Fire Roc" left Mount Mount Funiu and headed northeast, not slowing down until it reached the sky above a sea of green bamboo, where it slowly came to a stop.

Seeing Song Song Yuanhao arrive, the many low-tier spirit beasts that had been helping to besiege the "Heavenly Fire Roc" had already suffered heavy casualties in the battle between the two second-tier spirit beasts. Seeing Song Song Yuanhao arrive, the remainder turned their direction and lunged toward him.

Unlike the differences in spirit roots among human cultivators, the advancement of spirit beasts depends primarily on their racial bloodline. For a spirit beast with a relatively powerful bloodline like the "Heavenly Fire Roc," as long as there is an abundant supply of cultivation resources, its probability of advancing to the Golden Core stage in the future is far greater than that of ordinary spirit beasts. Even the Song family's several Foundation Establishment elders might not necessarily have higher hopes for Core Formation than the "Heavenly Fire Roc."

"Oh no, we've encountered a second-tier spirit beast. Old companion, I can't handle this one, let's retreat quickly!" Seeing this massive "Green Bamboo Python," Song Song Yuanhao quickly recognized that this fellow must be a second-tier spirit beast or higher, and his heart grew somewhat anxious.

Knowing he could not defeat the opponent, Song Song Yuanhao did not fight hard, taking the initiative to fight while retreating, just wanting to contain these opponents as much as possible and not let them return to help so easily.

Song Song Yuanhao saw this and wanted to persuade it otherwise, but to his surprise, the "Heavenly Fire Roc" had already flapped its wings and taken the initiative to fly over, launching an attack on the second-tier giant python before them. The "Green Bamboo Python" also did not choose to retreat, coiling its massive body and sweeping its tail toward the "Heavenly Fire Roc" in mid-air.

Since the Song family had grown powerful over these years, spirit beasts were rarely seen within a hundred li of Mount Mount Funiu. Song Song Yuanhao had searched Mount Mount Qingzhu with the "Heavenly Fire Roc" but only found a few mid-stage Qi Condensation Green Bamboo Pythons.

"Hehe! Old companion, what prey did you find to be so happy?"

The second-tier giant python battling the "Heavenly Fire Roc" also only had a cultivation base at the early Foundation Establishment stage. Facing the "Heavenly Fire Roc," whose innate bloodline somewhat suppressed its own, this second-tier "Green Bamboo Python" was still at a disadvantage in the fight. Fortunately, it had a dozen low-tier spirit beasts helping it, so it did not fall into a losing position for the time being.

Since returning to his roots all those years ago, Song Song Yuanhao had been cultivating on Mount Mount Funiu for over a dozen years. Now, not only had he grown into the appearance of a young cultivator in both height and features, but his cultivation base had also successfully broken through to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation.

Seeing this, Song Song Yuanhao could only temporarily abandon the idea of going over to help and focus on dealing with the trouble before him.

Looking at the spirit fruit in Song Song Yuanhao's hand, the "Heavenly Fire Roc" flapped its massive wings slightly, chirped softly a few times, and immediately agreed.

Mount Mount Qingzhu was merely a branch of Mount Mount Yunwu. More than a hundred li to the east, one began to penetrate deep into Mount Mount Yunwu. Song Song Yuanhao took the "Heavenly Fire Roc" east, and after flying another few dozen li, the "Heavenly Fire Roc" in the high sky suddenly stopped and dove headfirst into a bamboo forest.

After letting out a few unwilling roars, the giant python spat out a large mouthful of venom to force back the "Heavenly Fire Roc," then immediately turned around and ran toward Song Song Yuanhao's direction, wanting to pass through the bamboo forest from here and drill back into its cave.

Just as it reached the edge of the bamboo forest, a flying sword carrying thunder light suddenly flew over from the side, precisely piercing one of the giant python's eyes, causing it to let out a shrill scream immediately.

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(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 534 =====