NOVEL NEXT Chapter 983: Birds (2/3)
With each passing day, Zhou Heng grew stronger.
He could form a new Milky Way every day!
However, unlike the Stellar Realm where a giant star governs and attracts surrounding stars, the forty-seven Milky Ways inside Zhou Heng's body were all of the same size. Thus, it was impossible to say any one surrounded the others; they appeared scattered within his Dantian Space.
After all, he couldn't seize every advantage.
Although everyone was more eager for Spiritual Medicine, in reality, finding anything not belonging to ice and snow in this snowfield was like searching for a needle in a haystack! Encountering that white bear was already extremely "lucky" for them, though it was bad luck.
Another ten days passed, yet in front of them were still endless winds and snow, with no difference in the scenery around them.
If they weren't high-tier Martial Artists with a strong sense of direction, they would've long been lost here.
Since that "accident," Zhou Heng hadn't encountered any other unforeseen events.
Perhaps it was truly an accident, or perhaps it wasn't. It might be that the assailant thought it ineffective, and the same trick wouldn't fool an expert twice, thus deciding to bide their time for a better opportunity.
This snowfield had six months of day and another six months of night each year. Zhou Heng and his group had arrived during the perpetual daylight. Both the sky and ground were so white that it was impossible to distinguish between them.
Besides the white bear, there were other Demon Beasts called "Primitive Geese," which were Low-Tier Demon Beasts, reaching at most the Milky Way Realm, with most only at the Creation Realm. Yet, they lived in this environment like fish in water.
It was a capability bestowed by heaven and earth; otherwise, even a Star Emperor would soon turn into an ice stick here!
The Primitive Geese were the main food source for the white bears and now also served to fill Zhou Heng and his group's stomachs.
—After becoming an Immortal, a Martial Artist indeed could do without eating or drinking, but that didn't mean they wouldn't feel hungry or thirsty; it could be entirely blocked by Divine Sense, without affecting battle power in the slightest.
Zhou Heng and his group hadn't given up on this most basic joy. In fact, unless in prolonged isolation, no Martial Artist would truly abstain from food; life would be too meaningless otherwise.
The taste of the roasted Primitive Geese was exceptionally delicious due to their unique growth environment.
Zhou Heng even discovered a few undigested fish in the stomachs of the Primitive Geese, indicating these Demon Beasts could dive into the sea to fish!
The world was truly marvelous—having life on this frigid ice field was already incredible, and in an even colder sea, there were fish living, which was unimaginable.
"Perhaps there are Heavenly and Earthly Treasures under the sea!" the Black Donkey mused.
Hearing this, everyone rolled their eyes. Even if there were heavenly treasures at the seabed, they wouldn't be within their reach. Not to mention them, even a Comet Realm expert wouldn't dare dive deep, only manage a few minutes!
Only the Black Cave King would be qualified to treasure seek at the sea bottom!
But for the Black Cave King, only true Holy Medicine would prompt them to such action. They wouldn't degrade themselves for high-tier Immortal Elixirs or Minor Holy Medicines!
"Zhou, why don't you go have a look!" The greedy donkey couldn't hold back the desire for treasure, urging Zhou Heng.
"Why don't you go yourself?" Zhou Heng retorted irritably.
"If I could go, why would I ask you?" the Black Donkey replied smugly.
"You're really shameless!"
"What's a face? Can it be eaten?" the Black Donkey nonchalantly remarked, "Zhou, have you decided to dive?"
"...I'll kick you down instead!"
While consuming Primitive Geese, surprisingly abundant in number despite the rarity of white bears, Zhou Heng and his group encountered another one after half a month. But the bear was busy hunting Primitive Geese at the time and couldn't spare them any attention, allowing Zhou Heng's group to sidestep it.
Halfway through their journey, another kind of Demon Beast appeared on the ice field—a type of bird, entirely snow-white with a sharp, long beak, as small as sparrows, but their beak was just as long.
These birds were mostly at the Stellar Realm, with a few at the Milky Way Realm, yet they were numerous and aggressive. Once they appeared, there were at least several thousand.
In their first encounter with these birds, Zhou Heng and his group nearly suffered a great loss!
The birds' beaks were their most formidable weapon, comparable to weapons meticulously crafted from Milky Way level materials, and combined with their high speed, they could penetrate even the bodies of high-tier Milky Way Emperors like Zhou Heng and his group!
With only a single clash, everyone was injured, with more than a dozen bloody holes on each of them at the least!
Even Zhou Heng wasn't exempt; despite his defense with Five Elements Runes, he still had four more bloody holes! After all, he had yet to reach the Milky Way Sovereign level; his lack of power was his greatest weakness.
Only Little Fire remained unscathed!
It was a true Heaven-Earth Divine Beast, its physique so formidable, it was appalling. Even though it had just advanced to the Milky Way Realm, it already possessed the ultimate level of physique! Such defense definitely could not be penetrated by the weapons of the Milky Way Realm.
"Awooo—" Little Fire roared in anger as it charged towards those birds in pursuit. Although it wasn't injured, the pain was still unbearable!
Unbeknownst to it, several of the attacking birds had broken their beaks upon collision and were even more innocent in some way!
These birds moved like an army, launching an assault before flapping their wings in unison to ascend. The winds in the sky and the extreme cold bore no impact on them. However, Zhou Heng and his companions found their wounds freezing, cold air emanating from them!
Although this stopped the bleeding, which appeared beneficial, it was far from it in reality. The cold air invaded their bodies, slowing their blood flow, and naturally, the circulation of their Spiritual Power also slowed!
In battle, this was simply fatal!
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Everyone unleashed the aura of an Overlord of Martial Arts, their strongest support, easily overawing Low-Tier entities without a fight! But here in this bizarre place, as soon as their aura was released, it was frozen by the extreme cold, unable to manifest!
The effect was there, but it fell far short of its original might!
Whoosh!
The flock of birds arranged themselves, shooting down in unison to launch a second wave of attacks.
"Everyone, gather together!" In the face of such a massive crisis, they had no choice but to unite, lest they be picked off individually and all become corpses, their flesh torn off piece by piece by these birds!
The seven humans and one donkey formed a circle, presenting their backs to one another. Meanwhile, Little Fire continued pursuing the birds alone, unable to unleash its fiery skill due to the extreme cold; any fire it spewed would instantly freeze.
"Donkey, use the Inhibitory Runes!" Zhou Heng commanded seriously.
"Got it!" The Black Donkey nodded.
Swoosh, a massive flock of birds surged over the sky!
"Stay put by my command!" The Black Donkey stood on its hind legs, green light swirling around its fore-hooves, forming an incomplete rune. The birds had caught them off guard initially, but now prepared, the situation was vastly different.
Buzz!
The green rune immediately expanded, covering a vast area and momentarily freezing everything in place!
Zhou Heng wielded his Black Sword, charging forth, his black Sword Qi slicing through, leaving vast swathes of death. Liu Shishi and the others also went on the offensive, having suffered such losses, they showed no mercy.
Despite having the upper hand in the initial assault, these birds had their advantage primarily in speed; now, shackled by the Black Donkey, they lost their biggest asset and could not compete, falling in large numbers upon the first encounter.
However, restraining so many Demon Beasts at once was taxing for the Black Donkey; after just two seconds, it could no longer maintain the Restriction and had to release it. Flapping back into the sky, a third of the birds' numbers were missing.
They circled in the air, no longer attacking, clearly realizing that the people below weren't easy targets after the sizable losses sustained earlier!
After a minute or two, the birds launched a third wave of attacks, only to be restrained again by the Black Donkey. After leaving half of their corpses behind, the surviving birds finally flew away, leaving behind sorrowful cries.
"Brother Zhou, it's a good thing we had your Beast Pet!" Liu Shishi remarked, looking at the Black Donkey with eyes full of curiosity.
A Demon Beast of the Milky Way Realm was capable of using runes!
Although there were Mortal and Immortal runes, could those from the Mortal Realm or Immortal Realm restrain Stellar and Milky Way Realm Demon Beasts? Obviously not! Yet the issue was, only by reaching the Comet Realm could one cultivate the Bright Realm runes, so what anomaly was this Black Donkey then?
"Pah, I'm no mere Beast Pet! I am an Auspicious Omen of Heaven and Earth. Shouldn't you all kneel and thank me for my great benevolence and virtue?" The Black Donkey arrogantly declared.
How could an Auspicious Omen of Heaven and Earth be so undignified and unethical!
Everyone promptly ignored the four words 'Auspicious Omen of Heaven and Earth,' regarding the Black Donkey as merely a rogue in donkey's skin.
The team temporarily rested, each having suffered varying degrees of injury; the crucial issue was the powerful cold in their wounds, which needed to be expelled promptly to avoid future complications.
An entire day passed before they managed to dispel the cold from their bodies. It wasn't that the cold was so formidable, but the environment was so harsh, they constantly had to circulate Spiritual Power as defense, unable to focus solely on expelling the cold.
Only Zhou Heng remained unfazed, the Fire Divine Furnace releasing heat that instantly melted the cold within, like snow in boiling soup.
They moved on, but after encountering the first flock of birds, attacks from these Demon Beasts never ceased. Wave after wave, they continually besieged Zhou Heng and his companions.
In merely a dozen days, everyone was covered in scars, but hovering between life and death also profoundly transformed their demeanor. Each was now full of militant vigor, no longer mere hothouse flowers from the Academy who only knew endless cultivation. (To be continued. If you appreciate this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)