Cultivation Begins From The Desert

The evil wolf howls, and the ghosts scream.

What was once the clear, sunny sky over Rhino Horn Continent is now shrouded by the ghost curtain, obscuring everything from sight.

Xu Song, who was an Eighth-Layer Golden Core cultivator in life, cannot be evaluated like an ordinary First-Layer Golden Core ghost cultivator in terms of strength.

The Ghostly Path Demonic Technique he practiced, though unknown to Zhouyang, is understood to be no less than any high-level technique.

The "Senluo Ghost Curtain" that covers the sky for dozens of miles at this moment, is a Ghost Dao Divine Technique wielded by Xu Song.

Within this "Senluo Ghost Curtain," both humans and demon beasts will have their divine sense and five senses greatly suppressed, encountering multiple illusionary attacks.

As a ghost cultivator, Xu Song can move his ghost body freely within the ghost curtain as if using the teleportation technique, making it impossible for others to attack his true form.

The cyan-haired giant wolf, having never faced a ghost cultivator before, was unprepared for this move and got trapped within the ghost curtain, where it was surrounded and beaten by the bone clone and the giant python demon corpse.

Every time the cyan-haired giant wolf, not willing to be trapped, tries to break out of the ghost curtain, it is driven back inside by Jiang Yuyan and Zhouyang waiting outside.

This is the time to see the importance of Zhouyang arranging for others to block the two Tier Four demon wolves and many Tier Three demon wolves.

If those Tier Four and Tier Three demon wolves hadn't been blocked, with these underlings fighting desperately to save them, the cyan-haired giant wolf would have easily broken free.

However, the cyan-haired giant wolf is, after all, a Tier Five demon beast, and after multiple failed breakouts, it realized the danger.

Howl!

A wolf's howl resounded from within the ghost curtain, and the cyan-haired giant wolf opened its mouth wide and directly spat out its demon pill.

Boom!

Once out of the wolf's mouth, the cyan-red demon pill carried an unmatched momentum as it pressed towards the outside of the ghost curtain.

Where the demon pill passed, the black ghost curtain split open like a knife's cut, revealing a white line and exposing the brilliant sunlight outside.

The demon pill itself is one of the strongest attack methods of a demon beast. When a demon beast spits out its demon pill to attack, it means it has started to fight desperately.

Due to the suddenness of the event, by the time Zhouyang and Jiang Yuyan outside realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

Under the impact of the demon pill attack, both Jiang Yuyan's golden mace and golden sword, and Zhouyang's flying sword and Thousand Blade Disc Spiritual Artifact were blasted away at once.

Following right behind the demon pill, the cyan-haired giant wolf charged out.

"Get back here!"

Zhouyang shouted angrily, and with a thought, a streak of silver lightning flashed to block the path of the cyan-haired giant wolf, revealing a puppet giant ape made of silver-white metal, several feet high.

Once appearing before the cyan-haired giant wolf, the puppet giant ape roared, and the silver fist, flashing with thunderlight, swung fiercely towards the wolf's head.

This change also caught the cyan-haired giant wolf by surprise, but being a seasoned Tier Five demon beast, it quickly recovered and fiercely opened its mouth to bite at the puppet giant ape's fist.

It is a Tier Five demon beast, its wolf fangs can pierce through the defenses of Tier Five demon beasts like rhinoceroses and elephants; how could it not break through the arm of a Tier Four demon ape?

Yet this time, it miscalculated.

The puppet giant ape's fist moved so quickly that it surpassed the cyan-haired giant wolf's expectations; just as its mouth opened, it was like offering itself up for a punch, directly getting hit under the jaw by the puppet giant ape, nearly shattering its wolf fangs.

Moreover, under the burning silver-white thunder on the puppet giant ape's fist, the tender flesh and tongue inside the cyan-haired giant wolf's mouth were cooked, and black smoke with the aroma of roasted meat seeped from its mouth and nostrils, tempting the appetite.

Fortunately, the puppet giant ape is just a puppet, possessing no taste or smell, only coldly executing its master's commands.

Thus, unaffected by the aroma, it struck several more punches, sending the cyan-haired giant wolf's massive body flying backward.

But the cyan-haired giant wolf is indeed a Tier Five demon beast, its resistance to beatings is formidable.

Each of the puppet giant ape's attacks could kill or seriously injure a Tier Four Lower Grade demon beast, but on the cyan-haired giant wolf, only left black fist marks from burnt fur due to the electric current, not even a light injury.

If it weren't for the paralysis effect of the electric current slightly affecting its mobility, there might not be a second punch.

Yet even so, after being struck multiple times, the cyan-haired giant wolf slightly regained its senses and furiously counterattacked.

With a wave of its wolf claws, a blue claw light slashed a foot-deep wound on the puppet giant ape, then it spat out a fierce wind blade at the puppet giant ape.

Simultaneously, with a thought, the demon pill it had spit out to break out was summoned back to its mouth.

The demon pill is the power source for high-tier demon beasts; without the demon pill, their prowess significantly diminishes.

If the cyan-haired giant wolf had the demon pill within its body earlier, the puppet giant ape would never have had the chance for a second punch, as the cyan-haired giant wolf could resist the paralysis with the demon pill's power and tear it apart.

Faced with the wind blade attack of the cyan-haired giant wolf, the puppet giant ape once again displayed its ability to rapidly enter the battlefield, with a flash of lightning, it disappeared from its original spot and reappeared hundreds of feet away in mid-air.

Then it suddenly raised its fist and slammed it against its chest.

Boom!

A thunderous roar erupted as a bowl-thick silver-white lightning beam suddenly shot out from the silver heart-protecting mirror on the puppet giant ape's chest, striking directly onto the cyan-haired giant wolf.

The power of this strike was incomparable to the previous simple fist attack.

Even though the cyan-haired giant wolf was a Tier Five Demon Beast with thick skin and strong defense, it was blasted dozens of feet away by the lightning beam, leaving a barrel-sized charred wound on its body, where even the blackened wolf bones could vaguely be seen.

This severely pained the cyan-haired giant wolf and completely enraged it.

With a chilling gaze on the puppet giant ape, the innate divine technique "Blood Healing" of the "Heart-Devouring Demon Wolf" clan was activated, and the rotten flesh and corrupted bones in the wound created by the puppet giant ape fell off in chunks. The flesh and blood in the wound wriggled and rapidly healed to its original state.

Even as it healed, its retaliatory attack was launched.

It opened its mouth and sucked in, and a powerful wind pressure enveloped the puppet giant ape, rendering it immobile, forcing it to watch helplessly as the cyan light wolf pounced at it.

"Get back!"

Just as the cyan-haired giant wolf was about to strike down the puppet giant ape, a crimson giant sword descended from the sky, viciously slashing down on the wolf and interrupting its attack.

Then a shining golden mace and an extremely sharp golden sword swiftly followed, landing on its body and causing further heavy damage.

It was Zhouyang and Jiang Yuyan who, after the puppet giant ape delayed for a moment, finally recalled their magical artifacts that had been knocked away by the demon pill to join the siege.

Soon after, Xu Song's controlled bone clone also shot out of the ghost curtain like a white light and engaged in close combat with the cyan-haired giant wolf.

With the bone clone entangling it in close combat and multiple magical artifacts attacking from afar, the cyan-haired giant wolf's breakout attempt failed once again and was soon swept up into the ghost curtain controlled by Xu Song.

Only then did Zhouyang have a moment to call the puppet giant ape back to his side, replacing the top-grade spirit stone in its spirit stone slot.

This puppet giant ape was of the Upper Grade Tier Four, and a top-grade spirit stone could only support it in continuous combat for two periods of time.

But if it used big move attacks like the previous lightning pillar attack, then a top-grade spirit stone would only allow one use before it needed replacing, otherwise the remaining spiritual power could barely maintain it in small-scale combat for less than half a period, failing to wield its full power.

This was why earlier the puppet giant ape was effortlessly suppressed by the cyan-haired giant wolf's divine techniques, unable to move an inch.

Moreover, this puppet giant ape was a rare thunder-attribute puppet beast, and could only unleash its full potential with thunder-attribute top-grade spirit stones. Only with thunder-attribute top-grade spirit stones as energy could it unleash big moves like the previous lightning pillar.

Yet Zhouyang only had three pieces of such attribute top-grade spirit stones in total!

After replacing the puppet beast's spirit stone, Zhouyang turned his gaze to Jiang Yuyan and solemnly said, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, we've tested enough, it's time to truly go all out, or else once this puppet beast becomes useless, the battle will become even tougher!"

It turned out that in the previous battle, the two had not used their full power but rather tested the cyan-haired giant wolf's strength, understanding what divine techniques it had.

Now that they had discerned the cyan-haired giant wolf's core innate divine technique "Blood Healing," Zhouyang no longer intended to test further, preparing to solve the Tier Five Demon Beast in one move.

"Since Fellow Daoist Zhou says so, I can only risk my life and accompany you!"

Jiang Yuyan gave him a look, responding hoarsely in agreement.

Zhouyang, seeing her agreement, was invigorated and then waved his hand, taking out a shining red spirit talisman to her saying, "Zhou may not have enough magical power, so I'll entrust this spirit talisman to Fellow Daoist Jiang for safekeeping. If that beast can withstand our joint attack and still lives, Fellow Daoist can use this talisman to deliver the final blow!"

This Tier Five Lower-Grade Spirit Talisman "Celestial Fire Meteor Talisman" was obtained when he killed the Golden Core Stage Cultivator Zhong Chuming of the Beast Taming Sect, and it was currently his only Tier Five Attack Spirit Talisman, arguably his biggest life-saving trump card.

If Rhino Horn Continent wasn't so important to the Zhou Family, and letting the cyan-haired giant wolf escape could potentially bring great disaster to the Zhou Family, he would never be willing to bring out this item for use.

"A Tier Five Attack Spirit Talisman!"

"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Zhou to have such a good thing hidden!"

Jiang Yuyan, being knowledgeable, was surprised upon seeing the Tier Five Spirit Talisman, unable to hold back an exclamation.\\p>

Then she cast a complex glance at Zhouyang, raised her hand to put away the spirit talisman, and said with a serious expression, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Zhou, I will never use this item unless it is absolutely necessary."

A Tier Five Spirit Talisman that can only be used once of course doesn't compare in value to a Tier Five Magical Artifact that can be repeatedly used.

But for a force without a Golden Core Stage cultivator sitting in, this thing's value is even greater than a Tier Five Magical Artifact.

Originally, Jiang Yuyan also had a Tier Five Spirit Talisman handed down by the sect, but before coming out this time, she had already handed all those Tier Five Spirit Talismans to her dao companion Zhang Yunpeng for safekeeping.

Now, aside from those two Tier Five Magical Artifacts, she only had about a dozen middle-grade spirit stones to replenish magical power, practically penniless.

To her, having Zhouyang entrust her with such a Tier Five Spirit Talisman was, besides the reason of insufficient magical power to quickly activate it like she could, also a test of trust.

This is why she spoke seriously just now to express that she would never use this opportunity to deplete the foundation of the Zhou Family.