Chapter 114: Blood Battle with the Demon Eagle (Requesting Votes)

The fierce battle cries echoing from the cliff shattered the morning tranquility of Spirit Island. Even the few martial artists left behind in the Immortal Village could hear the sounds clearly.

A few dozen of the weakest lower and middle-ranked martial artists were quietly eating meat soup and flatbreads. Upon hearing the noise from the cliff behind the village, many of them paused their actions.

Because of their low strength, they were not chosen to fight this time; instead, they were responsible for paving stones and building houses within the village.

“Do you think the City Lord can kill that terrifying demon eagle? If he can’t, our Immortal Village is doomed. That demon eagle alone could torment us to death,” said a short-statured lower-ranked martial artist, his eyes filled with fear.

Yesterday, he had witnessed the tragic demon eagle attack firsthand and had even injured his arm in panic. His arm was still bandaged, and the trauma weighed heavily on his mind.

“He definitely can. The City Lord is a powerful cultivator; slaying the demon eagle is nothing for him. If the demon eagle wasn’t always flying above and its nest wasn’t on the cliff, the City Lord might have already gone up there alone,” another said confidently. “It’s only because that beast can fly that it’s so troublesome. Nothing to be afraid of. With the City Lord here, he’ll surely avenge our fallen brothers.”

Beside him, another martial artist spoke passionately, his face filled with admiration when mentioning Ye Mo.

He was one of the six great martial artists from Jiuzhou who had been captured by Feng Xiongzhang. When imprisoned, it was Ye Mo who saved him. He had personally witnessed Ye Mo’s ruthless slaughter of Feng Xiongzhang’s pirate crew aboard the sea vessel.

In his eyes, Ye Mo’s strength was unimaginable.

“Yes, the City Lord brought so many immortal masters; he definitely can kill the demon eagle,” several others nodded in agreement.

Chang Fei also remained in the Immortal Village. As the only cultivator left behind, he observed everything with a satisfied expression.

It seemed the villagers still had strong confidence. The higher Ye Mo’s status among the martial artists, the more beneficial it was for the development of the Ye Clan Immortal Village.

After a moment of reflection, a trace of worry flickered in Chang Fei’s heart. Silently, he added, “I hope everything goes smoothly.”

Almost simultaneously, as the third-rank demon eagle dove, another second-rank demon eagle also moved, swooping down in a feint to distract those on the cliff.

“The demon eagle is coming down! Wang Hu, be careful!” a voice rang out.

“Other five heavy crossbows, aim at the second-rank demon eagle. No shooting without orders!” Ye Mo shouted sharply.

“Raise shields and form a formation!”

Five earth slave guards immediately leapt up, forming a circular defensive formation in front of Wang Hu’s heavy crossbow. The tallest stood at the forefront, holding a giant spirit wood shield.

These massive spirit wood shields, specially made from second-rank spirit wood, were the strongest defensive weapons the Ye Clan Immortal Village possessed.

The golden-feathered giant eagle, like a golden arrow, charged with fierce murderous intent toward Wang Hu’s heavy crossbow. To the eagle, this strange contraption was the root of the threat to its nest and had to be destroyed.

The five earth slave guards raised their spirit wood shields, eyes blazing with fury, bracing themselves with all their might.

“Bang!”

“Shred!”

The third-rank demon eagle’s sharp claws struck the spirit wood shield, scattering wood fragments. Despite its thickness of over a foot and a defensive strength of two thousand jin, the shield could not withstand the eagle’s strike and shattered instantly.

At the moment the shield broke, the five earth slave guards rolled away in different directions, dissipating most of the force and managing to endure the blow.

Though they survived, the brutal force left them in agonizing pain; blood surged wildly, and their internal organs suffered concussion injuries.

After all, a third-rank beast’s strength far surpassed that of these early-stage qi cultivators. Even with their natural strength, the five together barely managed to withstand the attack; more would have overwhelmed them.

“Form up! Kill!”

Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths, but the five earth slave guards drew their black iron spirit swords and swung fiercely at the demon eagle.

Their movements were swift.

However, the third-rank demon eagle’s agility was even more astonishing. At a critical moment, it flapped its wings violently, unleashing a fierce gale to sweep over the guards.

It relentlessly lunged again at Wang Hu’s heavy crossbow.

“Fifth guard, retreat!”

“Wang Hu, escape!” Ye Mo shouted fiercely. “First squad, spirit wood throwing spears, block and kill!”

The five earth slave guards reacted instantly; four sheathed their swords and took cover behind the shields of their comrades, retreating backward.

Wang Hu raised a small spirit wood shield, leapt from the heavy crossbow, and rolled a short distance away.

Almost simultaneously, twenty cultivators and martial artists hurled their spirit wood throwing spears.

Rows of spears gleamed with a faint light as they shot toward the golden-feathered giant eagle, crossing over a range of several dozen feet around the beast.

In the blink of an eye, they closed the distance of over twenty feet.

No matter how fast or agile, the demon eagle could not avoid all twenty spears.

With no way to evade, the third-rank demon eagle made a bold move. It folded its wings and spun rapidly, whipping up a fierce windstorm to deflect the incoming spears—an astonishing sight.

“Second squad, fire again!”

Before the first volley’s results were clear, the first squad retreated.

A second row of cultivators roared and hurled their spears with all their might, unleashing a second wave of attack.

Both volleys were saturation attacks.

The eagle dared not fully spread its massive, hard wings, for doing so would expose its vulnerable abdomen—a fatal weakness even for a third-rank demon eagle.

It had to keep its wings tightly closed, using its sharp claws as protection, to survive the chaotic rain of spirit wood spears and destroy the heavy crossbows.

The thick golden feathers on its wings provided substantial defense. Even if a spear struck its body, the feathers shielded it.

However, without the lift from its wings, it was forced to remain on the cliff’s surface.

“Boom!”

With a mighty strike of its claws, the demon eagle destroyed the heavy crossbow Wang Hu had just left. It immediately tried to spread its wings and soar.

“Whoosh!”

“Seal it from all sides!”

A cultivator leapt down from a nearby high point—Ye Mo himself—boldly launching a fierce assault on the demon eagle.

His timing was impeccable.

The demon eagle’s wings had yet to fully spread and exert power.

Infused with magic, a sharp golden sword light erupted from Ye Mo’s golden spirit sword, blasting several yards of golden sword energy, cutting through the air.

“Swoosh swoosh!”

At the same time, four other cultivators who had held back threw their powerful spirit wood spears in unison.

They coordinated with Ye Mo, restraining the third-rank demon eagle.

The last four spirit wood spears came from tricky angles, enclosing the eagle tightly in a narrow space. If it dared to spread its wings, at least one spear would strike it.

The spirit wood spears flew faster than Ye Mo.

As Ye Mo’s golden sword light ascended and descended, the spears were less than two yards from the demon eagle.

Sensing danger, the third-rank demon eagle let out a furious, piercing cry.

Its eyes turned blood-red, showing a hint of madness. It suddenly spread its wings and soared upward, claws swiping directly at the charging Ye Mo.

Though injured, it was determined to kill the cultivator who dared challenge it.

“Triple Gold Slash!”

At the moment of combat, Ye Mo’s arms trembled sharply.

The golden light exploding from his spirit sword suddenly split into three, then instantly merged into one, tripling its destructive power in an instant. He slashed at the eagle’s attacking claws.

“Clang!”

The explosive force of three thousand jin balanced against the eagle’s deadly strike. The eagle’s sharp claws were even harder than the golden spirit sword.

The demon eagle was shaken violently, tumbling backward uncontrollably.

“Pfft!”

Its vulnerable abdomen struck the tip of an incoming spirit wood spear, which pierced half a foot deep.

“Cry!”

The demon eagle let out a mournful screech, spread its wings wide, and in an instant soared one or two hundred feet high, escaping the threat of the cultivators’ spears below.

Ye Mo was also struck and thrown backward, tumbling several times in midair before falling beyond the cliff edge—below lay the surging, turbulent sea.

“Step on it!”

A spear suddenly flew up, accurately meeting Ye Mo’s falling point.

Gao Jian threw the spirit wood spear and shouted loudly.

Ye Mo’s toes pressed onto the spear, using the force to spring himself upward, flying back onto the cliff.

Ye Mo finally landed safely, just in time to see several golden feathers drifting down, stained with patches of blood.

“Did we hit it?”

Blood surged within Ye Mo, but his expression brightened.

“It pierced the left abdomen. Many feathers fell. Look, it’s poisoned and seems weakened,” Wang Hu said excitedly, looking down from the cliff.

The golden-feathered giant eagle circled furiously in the sky but soon wobbled, losing balance. Though flapping hard, it grew weak and faltered, darting up and down, left and right, almost crashing into the cliff several times.

“It’s trying to fly back to its nest but probably won’t make it,” Mo Ling said excitedly.

“Brother Lin’s poison is indeed potent. Even if it doesn’t die, it won’t be able to fly,” Wang Hu responded eagerly.

“This opportunity was won at great risk by Brother Ye,” Lin Zhi’s stern face softened with a slight smile. He felt a bit proud; poisoning a third-rank demon eagle to paralysis meant his toxic elixir was quite effective.

“Don’t let your guard down; there’s still a second-rank demon eagle that hasn’t descended,” Ye Mo said coldly, raising his gaze to the other demon eagle.

The second-rank eagle had been feinting dive attacks to distract the cultivators and martial artists, even holding back the five heavy crossbows.

Now, seeing the injured third-rank eagle, it circled around it, crying out incessantly.

Everyone’s expressions grew tense, preparing to battle the second-rank demon eagle.

The third-rank eagle flapped about for a while but couldn’t control its body precisely. Several failed attempts to return to its nest caused it to collide with the rock face repeatedly.

The second-rank eagle let out a sorrowful cry.

The poison inside the third-rank eagle finally took effect; its wings weakened, and it plummeted into the raging waves below with a great splash.

The second-rank eagle wailed loudly, circling the sea a few times before suddenly turning toward Ye Mo perched on the cliff, launching an attack.