229: Chapter 229 Crimson Feather Thunder Eagle

"Watch out!"

Ye Tian reacted extremely quickly. His body, almost instinctively, slid half a step to the side and back, while at the same time, he brought his right fingers together and pointed out a wisp of pale golden finger-wind!

"Bang!"

The finger-wind and the lightning collided in mid-air, emitting a dull thud, and both were annihilated. Stray arcs of lightning struck the nearby tree trunk, leaving charred marks.

"Chirp!"

A sharp, ear-piercing cry filled with anger rang out from the tree canopy!

Immediately after, a huge figure shot out!

It was a giant hawk covered in dark blue feathers!

Its wingspan was over three zhang wide. Its sharp hooked beak and claws glinted with a cold light. Most peculiarly, there was a tuft of silver feathers shaped like lightning on the top of its head, and tiny arcs of electricity faintly jumped and flowed around its body!

A fierce and violent aura rushed towards them; it had clearly reached the Late Stage of the Third Rank, equivalent to the seventh or eighth level of the human True Martial Realm!

"It's the 'Crimson Feather Thunder Hawk'!"

Hou Xiaojie screamed in fright and hurriedly hid behind Ye Tian, his face turning pale.

This type of Yao Beast excelled in speed and could control the power of lightning, making it extremely difficult to deal with!

Ye Tian's eyes narrowed. His injuries had not yet healed, yet he had encountered a Late Stage Third Rank Yao Beast at this very moment.

He felt his luck was truly terrible.

However, he didn't have much fear; although this Vicious Beast was strong, it was far from reaching a level that would make him despair.

Moreover, this kind of Vicious Beast had already produced an inner core, and if he were lucky, perhaps…

"Roar!"

The Mini Dragon Ape seemed to be enraged by the Thunder Hawk's aura. It stood up on its hind legs on Ye Tian's shoulder, baring its fangs and letting out a threatening low growl, but its current size and aura had no deterrent effect at all.

The Crimson Feather Thunder Hawk was clearly angered by Ye Tian's finger attack just now. It circled in mid-air, its sharp hawk eyes locked firmly onto Ye Tian. With a flap of its wings, dozens of silver lightning snakes, each as thick as a finger, poured down like a rainstorm!

It covered a range of several zhang around Ye Tian!

Ye Tian frowned as he watched these dense attacks.

Under normal circumstances, he would rely on his formidable Physical Body and deep True Qi to raise his Protective Aura to defend.

But now, his True Qi had not yet recovered, and he was injured, so it was not suitable to take them head-on.

He saw his figure sway slightly, his toes lightly tapping on the fallen leaves, and he floated out a zhang like a willow catkin, just enough to dodge the Thunder Hawk's fierce pounce. His movement technique was light and graceful, without a single wasted motion.

At the same time, his left palm curled into a claw, and True Qi pulsed in his palm, unexpectedly generating an invisible suction force.

A withered branch on the ground "whooshed" into his hand.

With the withered branch in hand, he flicked his wrist lightly. The branch made a "chi" sound, its tip trembling and conjuring three or five illusory images that were both real and fake, pointing directly at the gap in the Thunder Hawk's chest and abdomen.

It was the opening move of the Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword Art, "Taiyi Light-Splitting"!

This move, performed with a withered branch, lacked the sharpness of a steel sword, but infused with his pure True Qi, it faintly produced the sound of Sword Qi breaking through the air.

As the branch shadows crisscrossed, they secretly aligned with the changes of the Two Yi and Four Symbols; it was truly exquisite.

The spectating Hou Xiaojie was dazzled and couldn't help but clap and exclaim: "Senior Brother is so amazing! This skill of using a branch instead of a sword is probably three parts sharper than a real sword!"

The Crimson Feather Thunder Hawk was originally a hegemon of the mountains and forests; how could it have ever seen such mysterious swordplay?

Seeing the withered branch poking over, it felt it was even more dangerous than a refined steel longsword and hurriedly flapped its wings to rise.

As its wings flapped, it brought up bursts of thunder, and lightning flickered on its pair of sharp claws as it grabbed towards the branch shadows.

With a "crack," the withered branch was, after all, ordinary wood, and shattered the moment it touched the lightning-entwined hawk claws.

But what Ye Tian wanted was precisely this fleeting gap!

At the very moment the branch shattered, his right fist, like a dragon emerging from the abyss, struck out violently.

This punch looked simple and unadorned, but it had actually concentrated all his power into one point.

Where the fist wind passed, the air seemed to be torn apart, and faint phantoms of a dragon and elephant followed; this was the sign of pushing the "Power Realm" will to its Peak.

The fist's momentum arrived after being launched later, yet it hit first, striking squarely in the middle of the Thunder Hawk's chest and abdomen, which had dipped slightly due to its pounce!

With a dull "bang."

The Crimson Feather Thunder Hawk let out a shrill, mournful cry. Its huge body was sent tumbling away by this punch, blue feathers mixed with blood droplets showering down into the air like a miserable, beautiful rain.

Its breastbone was clearly sunken; it had obviously suffered extremely heavy internal injuries.

"Great punch technique!" Hou Xiaojie watched with fascination and couldn't help but wave his fist in agreement.

Ye Tian did not let up after gaining the advantage. Under his feet, he executed the Taixu Star-Shift Steps, his figure flickering, and in an instant, he caught up to the flying-backward Thunder Hawk.

This footwork secretly aligned with the wonders of the movement of the stars in the heavens, and every step landed in the position where the Thunder Hawk found it most difficult to exert force.

The Thunder Hawk was alarmed and enraged. Its sharp hooked beak opened suddenly, and a highly compressed lightning ball condensed in its mouth, with a destructive aura rushing towards them.

It looked like this thunderous strike was about to erupt!

At the most critical moment, the Mini Dragon Ape, which had been crouching on Ye Tian's shoulder, suddenly opened its small mouth and spat out a small wisp of pale white flame.

This flame looked weak, but it contained a heart-palpitating aura; it was the life-fire inherited by the Dragon Ape lineage.

As soon as the flame touched the lightning ball, with a "puchi" sound, the terrifyingly powerful lightning ball instantly dissipated into nothingness.

The Thunder Hawk clearly had not expected such a change, and its movements involuntarily stalled.

This stall lasted only a split second, but for an expert like Ye Tian, it was already enough.

The light in his eyes flared, and he brought his fingers together like a sword, concentrating his life's cultivation entirely onto his fingertips.

This finger attack looked simple and unadorned, but it had actually reached the state of returning to simplicity. The finger-wind was peerlessly sharp, striking directly at the center of the Thunder Hawk's forehead—the core vital point where its beast soul resided!

Where the finger-wind passed, a "chi" sound was heard, and it was like a sharp blade splitting bamboo, easily piercing through the Thunder Hawk's skull, which was harder than refined steel.

The finger power penetrated, and the beast soul shattered instantly!

The Crimson Feather Thunder Hawk let out a short, mournful cry, the fierce light in its eyes gradually fading, and its huge body crashed to the ground with a "boom," sending fallen leaves flying everywhere.

This Vicious Beast, which had dominated the mountains and forests for many years, had ultimately met its end, with its Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, under this one finger.

Hou Xiaojie stared blankly at this scene, and only after a long while did he say: "Senior Brother, this finger technique… could it be the legendary 'Taiyi Truth-Breaking Finger'?"

Ye Tian stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves fluttering lightly in the wind, but he did not answer, only staring off at the distant mountains in a daze.

Although the battle just now was short, only he knew the dangers within.

From the moment the Thunder Hawk launched its fierce attack until it was killed, no more than a dozen breaths of time had passed.

During that time, the rapid changes and perilous situations were dizzying.

Relying on his precise control of force through his "Power Realm" will, his years of combat experience, and the help of the strange true fire spat out by the young Dragon Ape, Ye Tian had managed to complete a feat of defeating a stronger opponent with a weaker one in this split second!

"Senior Brother is too amazing! This Late Stage Third Rank Crimson Feather Thunder Hawk, with its infamous reputation, was actually killed by you so cleanly and neatly under your finger!"

Hou Xiaojie cheered and jumped for joy, running over to the scene, looking at the giant hawk's corpse on the ground with eyes full of amazement.

Ye Tian adjusted his breathing slightly, his complexion appearing slightly pale.

That last finger attack had almost exhausted the small amount of True Qi he had managed to recover, and it had also aggravated his old internal injuries; at this moment, his chest felt turbulent with Qi and blood, with a hidden, stinging pain.

He waved his hand slightly and walked slowly to the side of the Thunder Hawk's corpse.

The Mini Dragon Ape also jumped down from his shoulder, stretched out its small claws, and curiously poked at the Thunder Hawk's scattered feathers, making "ooh ooh" sounds in its throat, as if it were quite proud of the contribution of the mouthful of true fire it had spat earlier.

Ye Tian's technique was skillful; he brought his fingers together like a knife, channeled his internal energy, and gently sliced open the Thunder Hawk's hard skull.

Before long, he took out a round core the size of a pigeon's egg, which shone with a silver-blue luster all over.

On the surface of the inner core, tiny arcs of electricity jumped unceasingly, and pure, surging thunder-attribute spiritual energy rushed towards them.

The inner core of a Late Stage Third Rank Yao Beast was already rare, let alone such a rare thunder-attribute item.

"Senior Brother, the spiritual energy in this inner core is so vast! If we take it to the marketplace, we will definitely be able to exchange it for quite a few High-Grade Spirit Stones, right?"

Hou Xiaojie rubbed his hands, his eyes shining.