Chapter 445 A Pyrrhic Victory! Both Beasts Injured, Yet They Must Continue?!

“Roar!!!”

The boost from Dragons Wrath exploded within Little Fire’s body like a volcanic eruption.

Upon its already massive dragon form,

every golden scale burst forth with a blinding radiance at this moment.

Golden Dragon Flame surged wildly from the gaps between its scales,

wrapping its entire body in a layer of raging golden flames.

The sea of fire and the deep blue waters within the Water-Fire Dragon Domain boiled simultaneously; the Domain's boundaries expanded frantically outward, stretching the original sphere of fifty or sixty meters in diameter to over a hundred meters in an instant.

At the center of the Domain, Little Fire stood like a True Dragon deity stepping out of ancient mythology.

Its draconic body coiled slowly, entwined by both golden flames and water vapor.

Those majestic golden dragon eyes looked down upon the Shadow Hunter phantom below.

At this moment, Little Fire was a completely different beast compared to just a moment ago.

With the all-attribute boost of Dragons Wrath combined with the Dominator bonus of the Water-Fire Dragon Domain,

the aura it erupted with had already far exceeded the scope of what a Peak Gold Rank 9 should possess.

It even faintly touched a level above the Amethyst Rank threshold.

Sensing the explosive surge in its opponent's aura, the Shadow Hunter phantom opposite it

suddenly constricted its grayish-white vertical pupils.

Without any hesitation,

it took the initiative to attack.

Oblivion Strike!

A pitch-black energy sphere compressed frantically within its mouth.

The destructive power of the dark attribute was like a continuously shrinking black hole,

emitting heart-palpitating fluctuations.

In the next second,

the energy sphere blasted out.

It wasn't a targeted attack,

but rather exploded directly within the Domain space above Little Fire.

Boom!!!

The dark shockwave swept in all directions like ripples of death.

Everywhere it passed, even the flames within the Water-Fire Dragon Domain were suppressed, flickering lower.

This was area-of-effect destruction; it didn't need to aim at all.

But this time, Little Fire did not dodge.

Its draconic body remained motionless.

The dark shockwave sweeping across the sky was reflected in its dragon eyes,

yet there wasn't a trace of fear in those golden pupils.

Just as the shockwave was about to slam into its body,

Buzz!

A golden protective barrier suddenly lit up on the surface of its body.

Countless fine golden scale patterns flowed across the barrier,

each pattern emitting an indestructible, heavy aura.

Golden Scale Protection!

“Bang!!!”

The dark shockwave of the Oblivion Strike smashed heavily against the Golden Scale Protection like a massive hammer.

A deafening roar erupted.

The golden barrier vibrated violently.

The scale patterns on the surface were torn away layer by layer by the shockwave.

Cracks spread frantically from the point of impact like a spiderweb.

But Golden Scale Protection was Golden Scale Protection after all.

This absolute defense skill, rated as epic by the data entries,

reached a new level of defensive power under the boost of Dragons Wrath.

Though the barrier was covered in cracks,

it managed to block all the damage from the Oblivion Strike!

And Little Fire had been waiting for this exact moment.

Oblivion Strike was the Shadow Hunter's strongest ultimate move.

Its power was terrifying, but its consumption was equally massive.

After unleashing this strike,

a brief vacuum period would occur in its dark attribute energy.

That was when it was at its most vulnerable.

Little Fire's dragon maw suddenly snapped open.

A Dragon Flame Burst Kill under the full effect of Dragons Wrath.

This time, it was no longer a probe.

Golden flames and water vapor converged frantically in its mouth.

Two forces that should have repelled each other were compressed to the extreme under the command of the True Dragon Bloodline,

forming a purple-gold energy sphere.

That energy sphere was only the size of a fist,

but the destructive power contained within caused the entire Water-Fire Dragon Domain to tremble violently.

That was not simple Dragon Flame,

but a True Dragon Breath that fused the dual attributes of golden flame and water vapor!

“Roar!!!”

The purple-gold beam of Dragon Breath was like a spear of judgment.

Carrying the terrifying power to burn the heavens and boil the seas,

it pierced through space,

blasting straight toward the Shadow Hunter!

The Shadow Hunter had just finished releasing its Oblivion Strike,

and the dark attribute energy in its body was in a brief vacuum period.

It hurriedly activated its Shadow Canopy,

but that dark defensive barrier had barely lit up before it was hit head-on by the Dragon Breath.

Bang!

The Shadow Canopy was like paper before the Dragon Flame Burst Kill boosted by Dragons Wrath.

It couldn't even hold out for a single breath before being torn to shreds.

The purple-gold Dragon Breath continued unabated,

slamming directly into the Shadow Hunter's main body.

“Rumble!!!”

The dual powers of fire and water vapor exploded frantically within the phantom's body.

The Shadow Hunter's body was pierced through by the Dragon Breath,

a massive hole blowing open from its chest to its back.

Dark grey energy surged wildly from the wound like blood.

Its entire body was sent flying by the force of the Dragon Breath,

crashing heavily against the energy barrier of the Trial Space

with a dull, heavy thud.

Before the mystic light mirror,

Liu Qingyun and Elder Liu Lan both widened their eyes.

“This power...”

Elder Liu Lan murmured, losing her composure.

Her beautiful eyes stared intently at the burning aftermath of the purple-gold Dragon Breath in the mirror,

her red lips slightly parted in shock.

“What terrifying power! How can a Peak Gold Rank 9 beast burst forth with an attack of this level? The power of this strike is probably enough to rival a blow from a Purple Crystal Ninth Rank Peak! To cross nearly an entire major Realm—how is this possible!”

Liu Qingyun's expression also changed drastically.

He stared fixedly at the True Dragon covered in raging golden flames within the mystic light mirror,

his lips twitching several times

before he finally squeezed a sentence out of his throat.

“This level of power... Could it be... Could he really kill this Amethyst Eighth Tier Vicious Beast phantom in one go?! That’s an opponent nine small tiers higher!”

His fingers unconsciously gripped his sleeves tight.

However,

as the aftermath of the Dragon Breath slowly dissipated

and the scene within the Trial Space became clear again,

the expressions of both people froze simultaneously.

The Shadow Hunter phantom had not been killed.

Half of its body had been blown to pieces by the Dragon Flame Burst Kill.

Its left front limb and half its shoulder were nowhere to be found.

Dark grey energy continuously leaked from the wound,

and its entire body was teetering.

But it did not dissipate.

On the verge of collapse,

those grayish-white vertical pupils instead shone even more terrifyingly,

as if it had condensed all its remaining life force into this one final strike.

In the next second,

it moved.

There was no charging up, no warning.

The Shadow Hunter's broken body launched off the energy barrier like an arrow from a bow.

Its only remaining right front claw was entwined with Dark Erosion power so dense it was palpable.

The tips of the claws tore through the air, letting out a piercing whistle.

Dark Erosion Fang!

The speed of this claw was at the absolute limit,

so fast that even Little Fire couldn't react in time!

Jiang Yun's pupils suddenly constricted.

“Little Fire! Watch out!!”

But it was already too late.

The Dark Erosion Fang was like a poisoned dagger,

stabbing ruthlessly toward the side of Little Fire's dragon body.

The passive defense of Golden Scale Protection was triggered once more at this moment.

Buzz!

The golden protective barrier lit up at the critical moment.

However, Little Fire had already used Golden Scale Protection twice to block the Oblivion Strike.

Though this third trigger was just as timely,

the thickness and strength of the barrier were clearly not as good as the previous times.

Furthermore, Little Fire's spiritual energy had been mostly depleted after that full-power Dragon Flame Burst Kill just now.

Its current state simply could not support a third perfect defense.

Even more critically,

the Golden Scale Protection skill,

at Little Fire's current Realm,

could only be perfectly triggered twice in a single day.

This third trigger

had completely exceeded its load limit.

“Bang!!!”

The Dark Erosion Fang slammed into the Golden Scale Protection.

This time, the golden barrier was not as indestructible as before.

The barrier vibrated violently under the corrosion of the Dark Erosion power.

Cracks spread frantically from the point of impact,

and finally, with a piercing sound of shattering,

Crack!

The barrier exploded into a sky full of golden light particles.

Most of the Dark Erosion Fang's power was neutralized by the Golden Scale Protection,

but a small portion of the remaining force passed through the shattered barrier and slammed into Little Fire's dragon body.

“Roar!!!”

Little Fire let out a low growl of pain.

Its dragon body was torn open with several deep wounds by this claw.

Golden dragon blood poured from the wounds,

splattering into hot blossoms of blood on the bluestone battle stage.

Even more terrifying was the corrosive effect of the Dark Erosion power.

The dark energy entwined around the wounds continued to eat away at its flesh,

emitting a sizzling burning sound.

Little Fire's massive dragon body fell from mid-air,

crashing heavily onto the bluestone battle stage

with a dull, heavy thud.

The golden flames around its body were almost completely extinguished,

with only a few faint sparks remaining between the gaps of its scales.

The light in its dragon eyes had also dimmed significantly.

The Dragons Wrath state had completely faded.

The Water-Fire Dragon Domain also began to slowly collapse after losing its spiritual energy support.

Flames and water vapor dissipated into the air of the Trial Space.

“Little Fire!!”

Jiang Yun rushed forward in a single stride.

He crouched beside Little Fire's dragon head,

pressing his hand against its scalding scales,

transferring his own Beast Taming Power into its body without reservation.

Little Fire's injuries were heavier than he had imagined.

The claw wound on its side was deep enough to see the bone.

The Dark Erosion power was still continuously corroding the wound.

Multiple scales on its body were shattered,

and its entire body was trembling slightly.

“It's my fault for being too arrogant.”

Jiang Yun gritted his teeth, his eyes full of heartache and self-reproach.

“I thought a full-power strike could finish it off. I didn't expect this Amethyst Eighth Tier phantom to be more resilient than I thought, being able to counterattack even after such heavy injuries.”

Little Fire slowly opened its much-dimmed golden dragon eyes.

A weak but still steady Divine Thought entered Jiang Yun's Sea of Consciousness.

“Master, do not worry... I am fine. Golden Scale Protection blocked most of the damage; this claw did not harm my Origin. It's just that my spiritual energy is over-exhausted, and I temporarily have no combat power.”

It struggled to lift its dragon head,

looking at the similarly teetering Vicious Beast phantom opposite it.

“However, its situation isn't much better. My Dragon Flame Burst Kill destroyed at least half of its body, and its energy core is exposed. Master, hurry... let Little Cloud Sparrow come out. It only has one breath left; just one more strike will completely defeat it.”

Hearing this,

Jiang Yun's heart tightened.

Should he recall Little Fire to the Beast Taming Space to recover first?

No.

Once Little Fire was recalled,

the Ten Thousand Beast Battle Formation would no longer sense the presence of the beast,

and the Vicious Beast phantom's Realm would reset to zero.

By the time he summoned Little Cloud Sparrow,

who knew if this phantom would have restored itself to its original state?

He didn't dare take that risk.

Right now, although Little Fire was heavily injured and exhausted, as long as it remained in the Trial Space, the Vicious Beast phantom's Realm would not reset.

And Little Skylark's Realm was Peak Gold Rank 8, one small tier lower than Little Fire.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't trigger the Realm synchronization mechanism.

The only choice right now.

Is to let Little Skylark come out to deliver the final blow.

He raised his head.

Looking at the equally miserable Vicious Beast phantom opposite him.

Half of the Shadow Hunter's body had been blown away.

Dark grey energy constantly dissipated from the wound.

It couldn't even stand steadily.

Although its greyish-white vertical pupils were still lit.

The light flickered, clearly on the verge of collapse.

Just at that moment.

Little Fire's voice rang out again.

More urgent this time.

"Master, quick... Little Cloud Sparrow!"

Jiang Yun took a deep breath.

He stood up abruptly, a blue light flashing in his eyes.

The light gate of the Beast Taming Space bloomed once more within the Trial Space.

"Little Cloud Sparrow!"

From within the silver-grey light gate, the sound of wind and thunder suddenly exploded.

Little Cloud Sparrow flapped its wings and flew out.

Its pale golden eyes swept across the battlefield immediately.

The heavily injured Little Fire lying on the ground, the Vicious Beast phantom with only half its body left, and the Dragon Flame and water vapor that had yet to dissipate in the air.

It took in the whole scene in an instant.

It let out a sharp and angry cry and, without the slightest hesitation, spread its wings.

"Divine Roc True Form! Open!"

Little Skylark immediately unleashed its ultimate move.

The phantom of the Ancient Wind-Thunder Divine Peng rose up behind it.

A purple and green pillar of wind and thunder shot straight towards the ceiling.

The three purple feathers on its head stood tall.

Wind-Thunder power gathered frantically.

A blue-purple ball of thunderous light rapidly formed at the tips of the feathers.

Thunder Strike!

This was currently its strongest single-target killing move.

The Shadow Hunter phantom opposite sensed a new threat.

It let out a low and weak roar.

Its broken body barely managed to activate Shadow Canopy.

But that dark defensive barrier was already so thin it was almost transparent.

Even the light was flickering unstable.

"Boom!!!"

The blue-purple pillar of thunder descended from the sky.

Like a spear of heavenly punishment, it slammed hard into the Shadow Canopy.

This time, the Shadow Canopy didn't even last for a breath before being blown to pieces.

The thunder's momentum didn't slow, directly piercing through the Shadow Hunter's broken body.

But at the final moment before the Vicious Beast phantom dissipated.

A final trace of madness flashed in its greyish-white vertical eyes.

Its body suddenly expanded.

Countless dark energy spikes shot out from within its body.

Those were Shadow Spikes detonated with its last shred of energy.

Like the final struggle of a dying Vicious Beast.

Little Skylark was in the middle of its diving attack trajectory.

It couldn't dodge completely in time.

Its left wing was grazed by several spikes.

Several deep cracks appeared on its silver-grey divine feathers.

Its figure wobbled in mid-air.

Fortunately, these spikes were only the aftershocks of the phantom's death struggle.

Their power was far inferior to its Peak, and they didn't hit any vital spots.

But it still let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of its mouth.

And that Vicious Beast phantom.

Finally, under the baptism of thunder, it completely exploded into a sky full of dark grey light spots, dissipating into the air of the Trial Space.

The entire Trial Space fell into a brief silence.

Then.

The Formation began to slowly collapse.

Jiang Yun didn't wait for the space to completely dissipate.

He rushed straight to Little Skylark's side.

The cracks on Little Skylark's left wing were still bleeding slightly.

Although its injuries were much lighter than Little Fire's.

It was still a genuine depletion.

He reached out and gently stroked Little Skylark's feathers.

His voice was full of heartache.

"You've worked hard; you both did well enough."

Little Skylark let out a low cry.

Its pale golden eyes looked down at the equally heavily injured Little Fire.

A hint of worry flashed in its eyes.

Jiang Yun did not hesitate.

With a thought, he recalled both Little Fire and Little Skylark to the Beast Taming Space.

His Beast Taming Space possessed an extremely Heaven-Defying Rapid Recovery characteristic.

Even fatal wounds that damaged the Origin could be recovered.

Ordinary injuries and spiritual energy consumption only required a few minutes inside to fully recover.

Jiang Yun felt the auras of the two beasts in the Beast Taming Space stabilizing at a visible rate.

The worry in his heart slowly eased.

This time, he had underestimated the power of an Amethyst Eighth Tier Peak Vicious Beast.

It was clearly not that easy to deal with.

This time was a close call, but fortunately, nothing major happened to Little Fire and Little Skylark.

This also made Jiang Yun secretly resolve in his heart.

No matter what happened in the future.

He must never be overconfident and let Little Fire and the others take risks.

However.

He also realized a problem right now.

These two Little Fellows both needed to rest now.

Although the recovery speed was extremely fast.

It would still take at least a few minutes to return to their Peak state.

And for this Star Pavilion sixth floor challenge.

He had only just secured one item.

There were still challenges for other treasures ahead.

The difficulty likely wouldn't be much lower than this dark-attribute origin law crystal.

Since his three beasts all had varying degrees of depletion now.

He might as well take this brief interval to go around outside.

To see if there were any treasures with slightly lower difficulty or special mechanisms that could be exploited.

Anyway, he knew that as long as the same beast remained in the Trial Space, the phantom's state wouldn't reset.

It wouldn't be too late to take them down one by one after Little Fire and Little Skylark returned to their Peak state.

Besides.

There was still one fellow who hadn't contributed a single bit of effort yet.

"Nether Abyss."

Jiang Yun spoke within his Sea of Consciousness.

From the Beast Taming Space came a calm but somewhat expectant ripple of Divine Thought.

"Master?"

The corner of Jiang Yun's mouth curled slightly.

"You saw the battle just now. Now Little Fire and Little Skylark need to rest. I've already figured out the rules of this Ten Thousand Beast Battle Formation. As long as the beast's Realm doesn't increase, the Vicious Beast phantom's strength and state won't change. In the upcoming challenges, maybe you'll get a chance to perform. Your concealment methods aren't as good as Little Fire and Little Skylark's for a frontal assault, but under special mechanisms, they might yield miraculous results."

Nether Abyss was silent for a breath.

Then that Divine Thought rang out again.

This time, it carried a hint of eagerness.

"Rest assured, Master. Nether Abyss has seen the whole battle. If there's a suitable opponent, Nether Abyss will definitely not disappoint Master. And that dark-attribute origin law crystal..."

"It's already in hand."

Jiang Yun said.

As he spoke, he sent that washbasin-sized dark attribute Law Crystal directly into the Beast Taming Space through their contract link.

A long silence came from the Beast Taming Space.

Then.

"Master...!!!"

Nether Abyss's voice exploded in Jiang Yun's Sea of Consciousness.

The excitement and gratitude contained in its tone almost overflowed from every word of the Divine Thought.

"This... this is an Origin Law Crystal! Such rich dark attribute Law power! Master! Nether Abyss... Nether Abyss has no way to repay this! In the future, as long as Master gives an order, Nether Abyss will never refuse, even if it means death! I will go through fire and water without batting an eye! Nether Abyss will remember Master's kindness in my heart and never forget it for all eternity."

"Alright, alright."

Jiang Yun interrupted it, caught between laughter and tears.

"You've got quite a vocabulary. I've given you the item; just don't slack off during the challenges later."

"Nether Abyss will surely do its utmost!"

Nether Abyss's voice was resolute.

Jiang Yun shook his head, but a smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

Nether Abyss had taken the Origin Law Crystal.

Even if the challenges in the later stages were difficult.

This fellow would no longer hold back.

Maybe it could even be forced to reveal some of its trump cards that it usually wouldn't use easily.

He withdrew his thoughts, watching the Trial Space completely collapse.

His figure returned to the main hall of the Star Pavilion's sixth floor.

Meanwhile, in front of the mystic light mirror.

Liu Qingyun watched Jiang Yun pocket the Law Crystal in the mirror.

His expression didn't fluctuate much.

Instead, when he saw Jiang Yun recall the two beasts.

Both beasts were carrying significant injuries.

Especially that True Dragon; the claw marks torn into its dragon body were shocking, and it couldn't even stand steadily.

Instead, a smile of relief appeared on his face.

"As expected, it's still too difficult."

Liu Qingyun shook his head.

His tone carried a hint of regret, but beneath that regret was clearly an irrepressible sense of ease.

"To secure this one Sun-Level treasure, two beasts with Ancient Divine Beast Bloodlines were both injured. That True Dragon is particularly heavily injured; I'm afraid it won't recover for at least a month or so."

He turned around and smiled at Elder Liu Lan:

"Xiao Lan, look, the higher the challenge, the harder it gets. Just the first treasure of the sixth floor has pushed him to this point. There are several more Sun-Level treasures ahead; what will he use to challenge them? Both of his main beasts are heavily injured and won't have any combat power in the short term. In my opinion, this Grand Tutor Dongxuan should know when to quit."

He paused, his smile deepening, and his tone even took on a slight lecturing quality.

"To be honest, being able to take away one Sun-Level treasure is already a huge stroke of luck. It's a pity; I gave him five chances, but he was too greedy and insisted on choosing the highest level. If he hadn't been so greedy and had just picked a few items from the Eclipsing Moon Rank treasure area on the fifth floor, with his strength, he could have easily taken three High Grade or even top-tier Meteor items. Why did he have to come to this sixth floor and provoke this level of challenge?"

"After this trip, out of five opportunities, he only took two, and both were remnants and raw Materials. Although that Law Crystal is indeed precious, the price of two main beasts being heavily injured is not small. Why bother?"

As he spoke, he straightened his lapels.

With a face full of smiles, he took a step out of the courtyard.

"Let's go, Xiao Lan. I expect this Grand Tutor Dongxuan should be giving up now. Let's go to the entrance to greet him. Although this trip didn't send him home fully loaded, we haven't mistreated him."

However, he had just taken a step.

When Elder Liu Lan's voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"Wait! Patriarch..."

Liu Qingyun's steps paused, and he looked back.

He saw Elder Liu Lan staring intently at the mystic light mirror.

Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with unbelievable shock.

"Look!"

Her finger pointed to the figure under the silver mask in the mystic light mirror.

Her voice was even trembling slightly.

"Grand Tutor Dongxuan... he seems to be continuing to choose?!!"