Hearing that familiar cry, Meng Yan finally confirmed it—this was the very same large crow that used to sunbathe daily on the attic!
He also understood the meaning behind the crow’s cry; it was the same as last time when Crow-Crow had said Meng Yan could seek its help if needed.
“Alright, let’s fight side by side once more!” Meng Yan laughed.
The moment he saw Crow-Crow, Meng Yan knew the scales of victory had tipped in his favor.
A second-stage Sunfire Crow that had awakened the Great Sun physique! And it was currently high noon!
Being quite knowledgeable, Meng Yan understood just how terrifying Crow-Crow’s combat power would be in this state!
With Crow-Crow joining the battle, not only would his own life-threatening crisis be resolved, but he could also take this chance to eliminate the two Foundation Establishment disciples from the hostile sect.
Immediately after, Meng Yan, gripping his great hammer, joined the fray between Crow-Crow and the two hostile Foundation Establishment cultivators.
While Meng Yan was thrilled, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators who had come to hunt him down were cursing internally.
They had finally managed to track Meng Yan’s trail this time, and he was even severely injured.
Successfully killing Meng Yan—who had repeatedly thwarted their sect’s plans—would have earned them a massive amount of merit.
For them, it would have been a very substantial gain.
But now, the prize that was practically in their hands was about to fly away right before their eyes.
Not only that, the ‘prize’ had now transformed into a man-eating beast!
As Foundation Establishment disciples of a major sect, they naturally recognized Crow-Crow’s identity—a second-stage Sunfire Crow that had awakened the Great Sun physique!
And the most infuriating part was that it was high noon!
If it were night, they wouldn’t be as afraid, but at this time, the Sunfire Crow’s combat power was skyrocketing. Their combined strike had been utterly shattered by Crow-Crow head-on!
In its current state, Crow-Crow enjoyed power amplification! Speed amplification! Spiritual energy amplification! Recovery amplification! Innate spiritual flame amplification!… and so on—essentially, an all-attributes boost. It was extremely difficult for opponents of the same level to contend against a Sunfire Crow that had awakened the Great Sun physique at this hour.
“Damn it!”
“How could a spirit beast like this appear out of nowhere?”
“There was no information about this beforehand!”
“We must find a way to deal with this Sunfire Crow! Otherwise, we’re both dead!”
After just a few exchanges with Crow-Crow, not only had they failed to inflict any significant damage on the crow, but they themselves had sustained serious injuries.
This instantly made them realize that if things continued this way, they were doomed!
Even their chances of escape were extremely slim because, under these circumstances, the likelihood of outrunning a Sunfire Crow was very low.
“That’s right! The master of this Sunfire Crow is that Qi Refinement Stage Ninth Layer guy. If we can kill the crow’s master or put him in danger, we might find an opportunity to escape, and then we can seek reinforcements…”
One of them, spotting Qi Ping’s figure, immediately conceived this plan.
Seizing an opportunity, he took a direct hit from Meng Yan’s attack, slapped his storage bag, and summoned three Highland Demon Wolves!
These demon wolves were his trained beast companions. However, due to limited resources, these wolves had only reached the late First Stage and the First Stage Perfection level, still far from breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
This was a common problem for many beast-taming cultivators: resources were insufficient to nurture both themselves and their beast companions. By the time they had enough for their own advancement, they lacked resources for their beasts…
But today, these wolves of his finally proved useful!
These three demon wolves possessed considerable strength and remarkable speed. Working together, dealing with a single Qi Refinement Ninth Layer beast-taming cultivator should have been more than enough.
After releasing the wolves, he hurriedly told his companion that they must hold off Crow-Crow at all costs—it was their only chance to escape.
However, Crow-Crow didn’t even glance at those demon wolves. Crow-Crow thought: Just these few mangy wolves want to deal with Boss?
Never mind that Qi Ping also had that terrifying swarm of bees with him; even if Qi Ping were alone, these three mangy wolves would be no match for him. Crow-Crow knew Qi Ping’s strength all too well—after all, the two of them often sparred during training.
Crow-Crow’s reaction made the cultivator who released the wolves sense grave danger.
Sure enough, after just a short while, a wolf’s agonized howl echoed, followed by an explosion as one of the demon wolves was blasted into critical condition by Qi Ping.
“The effects of the Hundred-Eyes Demonic Realm aren’t bad at all!”
Qi Ping had merely tested the waters, launching only a minor attack from the Hundred-Eyes Demonic Realm. As a result, one demon wolf was forcibly immobilized and then severely wounded by his Explosive Flame Ball technique.
Otherwise, given the strength of these wolves, Qi Ping would have had to expend considerable effort to deal with them.
But with Qi Ping’s powerful soul and the assistance of the Hundred-Eyes Demonic Realm skill, handling these wolves, which had no soul defense, became exceptionally easy.
They lacked the innate spiritual flames that creatures like Crow-Crow possessed to defend against soul attacks.
After critically injuring one wolf, Qi Ping quickly repeated the process, soon taking care of the remaining two wolves.
The benefits of Qi Ping’s formidable soul strength and his habitual high-intensity use of soul power were fully demonstrated at this moment. Opponents of the same level without soul defense capabilities simply had no means to fight back against Qi Ping. Coupled with the fact that Qi Ping’s greatest forte was defense, it became even more difficult for them to harm him.
In just a short while, all three demon wolves were slain!
After dealing with the wolves, Qi Ping turned his attention back to the battlefield where Crow-Crow and Meng Yan were. He saw that the fight there was also nearing its end.
These two Foundation Establishment disciples from major sects were indeed extraordinary. Although they hadn’t fully comprehended a law’s true intent, they were very close.
The power in each of their moves and techniques showcased the elegance of major sect spells. Among ordinary clan Foundation Establishment cultivators, they would be considered top-tier.
Unfortunately, they had encountered even more formidable opponents.
Whether it was Meng Yan, who had comprehended the Fire True Intent and reached the Dao Heart realm, or Crow-Crow, who had awakened the Great Sun physique and was further boosted by the midday sun—both were among the most powerful combatants within their respective levels.
Under normal circumstances, the two of them joining forces to deal with just one of these opponents would have been highly risky. The outcome of facing both simultaneously was thus predictable.
Therefore, the battle didn’t last long. The two Foundation Establishment cultivators besieged by Crow-Crow and Meng Yan were already in dire straits.
Roughly another dozen breaths later, accompanied by a terrifying explosive roar, one Foundation Establishment cultivator had half his body blasted apart by Crow-Crow, his heart completely shattered.
The remaining cultivator then had to face the combined assault of Crow-Crow and Meng Yan alone. In just two or three breaths’ time, Meng Yan swung his great hammer and smashed the cultivator’s head, killing him instantly!
Thus, the two core Foundation Establishment disciples from the Demonic Heaven Sect and the Heavenly Flame Pavilion both perished!
They had come to hunt Meng Yan, only to end up losing their own lives.
In the midst of war, life and death are fickle!
After slaying the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, without needing much explanation, Meng Yan swiftly searched the battlefield. Then, with tacit understanding, he and Qi Ping quickly departed from the area…
Not long after the deaths of these two Foundation Establishment cultivators, their respective sects promptly discovered the shattered soul tablets of the pair.
“How is this possible? What kind of dragon’s den or tiger’s lair is Qing Stone County? Why does every disciple we send there end up dead?”
