On the precipitous cliff, where Wu Tao had stood, a pair of giant claws suddenly appeared.
With a single clench, the giant claws produced sounds of metal striking metal, mixed with the hiss of air explosions. The hard ground was instantly gouged with several narrow, deep furrows several meters long.
"Hiss, such terrifying claw strength. If it had caught my flesh, even my body, honed through years of practice, would likely have been reduced to a bloody pulp." Wu Tao, having narrowly dodged this attack, took a deep breath where he stood, a look of solemnity on his face.
The owner of the giant claws paused, its two massive wings fluttering slightly, hovering in the air precisely where Wu Tao had been.
The Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle's eyes scanned left and right, emitting a soul-piercing, icy glare.
Its hooked beak, sharp talons like knives, and pure white feathers like snow, coupled with its broad, graceful wings, made it seem like a king of the skies, an eagle born to soar, possessing a fearsome aura.
Wu Tao's eyebrows furrowed slightly, a strong sense of crisis surging in his heart. Empowered by the 'Wind-Riding Azure Bird Boots,' he transformed into a blur, disappearing from his spot in an instant.
...
After creating a significant distance, Wu Tao drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot.
Wu Tao actually did not wish to engage in prolonged combat with a flying beast, but this was not a situation where he sought to provoke it.
The reason was that this Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle had become the guardian beast of these 'Blood Sun Spirit Flowers.'
If this Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle were not dealt with first, attempting to harvest the precious Blood Sun Spirit Flowers on the cliff face would be pure fantasy!
Drawing the Golden Python Bow, Wu Tao unleashed his full strength, firing dozens of golden arrows in rapid succession.
Each golden arrow, carrying a sharp and piercing spiritual energy, bore down on the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle.
Upon seeing this, the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle let out a piercing cry. Its wings, spanning over six zhang, unfurled to their full extent. Its entire body's spiritual energy circulated at high speed, and a torrent of incredibly powerful wind swept downwards.
Amidst the sound of piercing air, the tearing of the wind intensified.
From its wingbeats to the sweeping attack, the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle took merely one second.
This seemingly ordinary strike already hinted at the dominance of the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle as the king of the skies.
A terrifying gale swept downwards.
Under the force of the wind, the golden arrows could not hold on for more than two or three seconds before dissipating into nothingness.
High in the sky, the wind howled.
The Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle plummeted, casting vast shadows over the forest.
Its body shimmered with cloud-like luminescence, resembling a falling star, utterly ferocious and awe-inspiring.
Seeing this, Wu Tao used his incredibly robust body, channeling the power of 'Overlord Lifting the Tripod.' His legs stood firm as a pine, his muscles bulged as he pushed upwards with his arms.
The Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle was above, Wu Tao below. In mid-air, this man and beast began a brutal contest of brute strength.
After a period of struggle, the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle suddenly ascended once more, then immediately plunged down again.
This time, the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle swept its wings back, its iron claws, accompanied by a gale, slashing down towards Wu Tao's head.
Sensing danger, Wu Tao, in his panic, formed a hand seal. The magnetic yuan qi of his entire body transformed into a magnetic yuan qi true dragon, which lunged forward.
The magnetic yuan qi true dragon and the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle became entangled in mid-air, locked in combat. Dragon roars and eagle screeches filled the air as they grappled, neither gaining the upper hand.
The magnetic yuan qi true dragon's teeth gnawed at the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle's wings, while the eagle's sharp talons, two to three meters long, tore at the dragon's body.
After a while, the eagle's beak sank into the dragon's neck, while the dragon's powerful limbs pierced the eagle's wings.
Seeing the stalemate, a glint flashed in Wu Tao's eyes. He patted his storage bag, and the high-grade magic artifact, the Shimmering Gold Rope, shot out.
Immediately, Wu Tao pointed his left hand at the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle in mid-air and commanded, "Go."
The Shimmering Gold Rope transformed into a golden thread, vanishing from its original position.
It reappeared above the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle's head.
Then, the Shimmering Gold Rope suddenly descended, transforming into numerous golden ropes that hovered around the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle, encircling it from a distance.
The intelligent mind of the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle sensed a flicker of unease and attempted to flee, but it was trapped in place by the Shimmering Gold Rope.
Although the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle could forcefully move, with its spirit energy severely depleted, escaping into the sky with ease was out of the question.
...
The primary means of movement for avian beasts like the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle was flight.
Bound by the coiling golden ropes, the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle's only method of rapid movement was sealed by Wu Tao.
Despite the enemy being within reach, it could not advance.
The Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle struggled desperately, but no matter how it thrashed, it could not escape the Shimmering Gold Rope's inescapable grip.
...
"Strike while the iron is hot," a cold glint flashed in Wu Tao's eyes. He commanded the materialized magnetic yuan qi true dragon to crash fiercely into the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle.
Under Wu Tao's control, the magnetic yuan qi true dragon, upon reaching the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle's body, suddenly exploded.
The powerful repulsive force spread in all directions. Struck by this blow, the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle let out a mournful cry, its massive body sent flying far away.
A bloody, mangled remnant of its corpse smashed into a large rock three hundred meters away.
Eagle blood splattered, dyeing the rock red like the setting sun.
Only a small section of its black tail dangled in the air, swaying unconsciously in the gentle breeze.
Wu Tao used a small knife to cut open the Cloud-Winged Giant Eagle's body, extracting its inner core, and then collected its most valuable parts, such as its feathers and talons.
Afterward, Wu Tao casually reached out, and over a dozen Blood Sun Spirit Flowers detached from the soil, landing in his hand.
...
With only three days remaining.
On a small island in a lake, abundant with spiritual herbs, Wu Tao and the demonic woman Lin Yue'er, whose fame rivaled that of the sorceress Zhang Wan'er, formed a temporary alliance due to external circumstances and mutual interests.
A colossal figure emerged from the center of the vast lake.
Wherever this figure passed, giant trees and rocks collapsed, and the earth rumbled as if a minor earthquake had occurred.
This was a flood dragon, fifty zhang long, with a single horn on its head. Its scales were greenish-yellow, each as large as a washbasin. A casual sweep of its tail caused the ground to crack, sending debris flying.
The flood dragon's gaping maw exhaled a foul stench, and water-attribute spiritual energy surged, forming an endless stream of dark cloud-like currents that enveloped its entire body.
Boom!
The place where the One-Horned Flood Dragon walked was instantly flattened, leaving no trace of the mountains, rocks, trees, or flowers that had once stood there.
Roar roar roar roar roar roar roar...
The One-Horned Flood Dragon's roar was earth-shattering and awe-inspiring.
*Pfft!*
The One-Horned Flood Dragon's enormous eyes fixed on Wu Tao and Lin Yue'er. Then, it opened its great mouth, and an infinite amount of demonic energy gathered at its throat. Following this, a beam of dark light erupted.
This black beam of light directly pierced a deep pit several tens of meters wide in the island's ground.
As if dissatisfied with not hitting Wu Tao and Lin Yue'er, the One-Horned Flood Dragon unleashed more than a dozen consecutive dark beams from its mouth, piercing through a nearby mountain peak.
A massive amount of rock collapsed from the summit, utterly devastating the surrounding environment.
The One-Horned Flood Dragon raised its upper body, becoming as tall as a mountain peak, like a pillar reaching for the heavens.
When it opened its maw again and spat out another dark beam, countless plants and trees were destroyed.
"One-Horned Cold Water Flood Dragon!"
Flood dragons, due to a trace of true dragon blood flowing within them, were far more powerful than ordinary demonic beasts, and were like tigers with wings when in water.
...
In the center of the island grew twenty to thirty rare spiritual medicines and herbs, along with several precious spiritual materials.
Because of the benefits involved, Wu Tao and Lin Yue'er, who had only formed a temporary alliance, each harbored reservations.
Both Wu Tao and Lin Yue'er were wary of the other using them as a stepping stone and playing a trick on them, so their attacks were restrained, unwilling to reveal their true strength.
...
As time wore on, Wu Tao and Lin Yue'er, whose tempers were already bad, began to curse each other.
"Hey, Wu Tao, are you even a man, making me, a woman, take the front line!"
Lin Yue'er was still quite unhappy.
Wu Tao glanced at Lin Yue'er upon hearing this, then paid her no mind.
Enraged, Lin Yue'er stopped pretending altogether.
She tricked Wu Tao into taking a direct blow from the One-Horned Cold Water Flood Dragon.
Disgusted, Wu Tao finally displayed some manly valor to earn Lin Yue'er's trust.
Amidst surging spiritual energy fluctuations, Wu Tao, with the Soul Chasing Bell atop his head and the Golden Python Bow in hand, unleashed the bell's resonant chime. Golden arrows were shot continuously towards the One-Horned Cold Water Flood Dragon.
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