73: Chapter 73 Sixth-Order Monster

The vast sea of clouds surged endlessly as a giant flying boat broke through layers of mist, speeding toward the Royal Capital of Da Qi like a lonely boat drifting in a vast ocean.

In a secluded guest room on the top floor of the flying boat, Lin Qing's eyes were tightly shut. His aura was as steady as a mountain; more than ten days had passed since he began his secluded cultivation.

During these ten-plus days, he had cast aside all distractions and devoted his full strength to practicing the five Pulse Opening Methods. Now, his hard work had paid off. The five Pulse Opening Methods that once caused him excruciating pain had all been cultivated to Perfection.

With a thought, Lin Qing opened his status panel.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Spirit Sea Realm (Breakthrough Time: ∞)

Talent: Innate Mysterious Fetus

Fused Cultivation Techniques: Five Elements Pulse Opening Method, Solar Visualization Method (Expand)

Recorded Cultivation Techniques:

Body Control Rating: Earth Rank Advanced

Recorded Martial Arts: Sky-Splitting Heavenly Whip Art (0/100)

Spell Mastery Rating: Basic (Breath Concealment Technique)

Recorded Spells: Object Manipulation Spell (0/80), Sky Soaring Spell (0/80), Sound Transmission Technique (0/80), Trace Leaving Technique (0/80)

The Realm displayed on the panel was the Spirit Sea Realm, so the Breakthrough time remained ∞.

As for the five Pulse Opening Methods, after all reached Perfection, they actually merged and evolved on their own into a brand-new method — the "Five Elements Pulse Opening Method."

With the five pulses unified, generating and overcoming each other in a continuous cycle, his Meridians would henceforth improve continuously, just like his Physical Body.

Withdrawing his gaze, Lin Qing shifted his attention to Spells.

Like martial arts, Spells also had mastery ratings. According to his previous deductions, after he practiced a few Heaven-Grade Martial Arts, his Body Control Rating would undergo a change.

Presumably, the situation with Spells would be similar in the future.

In the world of cultivation, Spell Ranks were classified from low to high as Basic, Low-Order, Mid-Order, and High-Order. His current Spell cultivation had only just begun. He still had a long way to go before truly possessing the ability to face enemies with Spells.

Just as Lin Qing was checking his information, the entire flying boat suddenly gave a violent jolt!

Rumble—

An incredibly violent force struck from outside the flying boat. The entire vessel shook violently; tables, chairs, and tea sets overturned one after another, creating a chaotic clatter of collisions.

The sudden turn of events interrupted Lin Qing's seclusion. His brow furrowed slightly as he immediately ceased his cultivation and stood up, withdrawing the circulating Qi within him. A hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes.

Over the past ten-plus days, the flying boat's journey had been stable. Even when they occasionally encountered Fifth-Order Monster Beasts, the various Sect Elders easily dealt with them. There had never been such a violent vibration. Clearly, this was not as simple as a Fifth-Order Monster Beast.

Lin Qing straightened his clothes, pushed open the door, and walked toward the public hall on the top floor.

At this moment, the Disciples from both Luoxia Valley and Tiger Hall were gathered in the hall. Their faces were filled with panic and unease, and the entire hall was filled with the noisy sound of their whispers and discussions.

Neither of the Sect Masters was present. Only Elder Yuan Kun of Luoxia Valley stood in the center of the hall, gazing solemnly at the churning sea of clouds outside the window.

Seeing that the Disciples of both Sects had arrived, Elder Yuan Kun took a step forward. His Qi-infused voice rang through the hall, suppressing all the noise.

“Everyone quiet down! Stop talking!”

The Elder's authoritative voice silenced the panicked Disciples, and everyone's eyes focused on him.

“I have bad news for everyone. The flying boat we are on is currently under attack by a Sixth-Order Monster Beast!”

As his words landed, a clamor erupted. A chill swept through the hearts of all the Disciples. In the cultivation world, Monster Beast Ranks corresponded one-to-one with human cultivation Realms. A Sixth-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to a Spirit Sea Realm Cultivator!

On this flying boat, the strongest people were only at the Fifth-Order Peak. Even with superior numbers, battling a Sixth-Order Monster Beast was something only a peerless Prodigy could do. Clearly, those of the Sect Master and Elder generation did not fall into that category.

Elder Yuan Kun's expression remained heavy as he continued:

“The manager of the Heshun Chamber of Commerce has already sent a distress signal to the Royal Capital of Da Qi, but the capital is still some distance away. Reinforcements will take at least two hours to arrive.”

“The power of a Sixth-Order Monster Beast is immense. The Elders of each Sect have already gone outside to join forces to stall the beast and buy time. The flying boat is now preparing for an emergency landing. Once we hit the ground, all of you must immediately scatter and flee into the jungle to hide.”

“Stay hidden for two hours. Once the reinforcements from the capital arrive and the battle is over, return here on your own to regroup.”

After saying this, Elder Yuan Kun did not linger. He turned and hurried outside to provide support.

The vibrations of the flying boat grew more intense and the amplitude more terrifying, as if the Vicious Beast outside would tear it apart at any moment.

From outside the cabin came the roars of Cultivators, the booming of Qi collisions, and a sharp, ear-piercing screech from the monster that pierced the Divine Soul. Various sounds rose and fell, clearly reaching the hall through the thick cabin walls. The Disciples trembled in fear.

Bang!

Suddenly, the ceiling of the flying boat was smashed through by a figure. Wood chips flew everywhere as a blood-soaked body crashed onto the hall floor with a dull thud.

Everyone looked closely and found that the injured man's clothing belonged to neither Luoxia Valley nor Tiger Hall. He appeared to be an Elder from another Sect.

This Elder was in a wretched state. His clothes were shredded and blood-stained. His left forearm was gone, the wound clean and smooth as if severed by a sharp blade.

Grisly flesh bulged from the stump, and blood flowed steadily. The sight alone was enough to make one's skin crawl.

With a life on the line, the Disciples ignored their fear and rushed forward. They took out the healing medicines they carried and frantically worked to stop the bleeding and bandage the heavily injured Elder.

While everyone was busy treating the wounded man, the flying boat gave another violent lurch and then stopped vibrating entirely — the boat had successfully landed.

Not daring to linger, everyone carefully supported the one-armed Elder and followed the crowd quickly off the boat. As soon as they stepped off, two Disciples came to take the Elder away.

Everyone looked up toward the sky. Below the sea of clouds, a colossal creature was circling in the air.

It was a giant eagle-like Monster Beast, about seven or eight zhang long, with a massive body and wings that blotted out the sun. It was covered in pitch-black, hard feathers, with only a tuft of pure white down on its head.

Its hooked beak glinted with a cold light, and its vertical pupils were cold and heartless. Its massive talons reflected the piercing sunlight from high above. Just looking at it from afar was enough to strike a chill into one's heart.

Every time the black eagle flapped its wings, a green wind blade would condense out of thin air, slashing wildly like flying knives toward the Cultivators surrounding it.

On the surface, more than twenty Elders from various Sects had joined forces to surround the Sixth-Order black eagle.

In reality, countless sharp Sword Qi and scorching fireballs hit the black eagle's dark feathers one after another, but they only managed to knock off a few feathers. They could not cause any substantial damage.

In contrast, every wind blade launched by the black eagle contained terrifying destructive power, forcing the Elders to dodge in a panic and run for their lives. No one dared to take a hit head-on.

The massive gap in strength cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.

The Disciples dared not stay any longer and immediately scattered, fleeing toward the dense surrounding jungle.

Lin Qing also took Yun Nian and several others, picked a direction at random, and plunged into the vast forest.

The group ran headlong for more than half an hour before they all stopped, leaning over and panting heavily.

Yuan Chong leaned against a tree trunk, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. “How fortunate,” he said. “Luckily this area is close to the Royal Capital of Da Qi, so there are no high-order Vicious Beasts in the jungle. Otherwise, running blindly like this would have landed us in danger long ago.”

As his voice fell, several people looked at him with very strange expressions. Then they turned to look at the battle in the distant sky that still hadn't ceased. The forest fell into an eerie silence.

If this region normally had no high-order Monster Beasts, then where did that Sixth-Order black eagle in the sky come from?

This doubt weighed on everyone's hearts like a giant stone, and an inexplicable sense of unease quietly spread among them.

Just as this heavy and eerie atmosphere was brewing, Lin Qing's Divine Thought sent a warning.

His Divine Thought had already spread out, covering a large area of the surrounding jungle. He could now clearly sense a figure rapidly approaching them from deep within the forest.

In just a few breaths, that figure crossed the long distance and appeared directly in front of the five of them.

Lin Qing looked up.

The newcomer was a young man who looked to be about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. He wore a set of pure black martial attire. His face was quite handsome, but his skin was so pale it was almost bloodless, and he was surrounded by a cold, gloomy aura.

This black-clad man was an Outer Sect Disciple of the Xuanye Demon Court, which was one of the rival forces of the Chuyun Immortal Sect.

His purpose in infiltrating this remote area of the Great Qi Dynasty was to secretly intercept and kill the young Disciples of various Sects heading to the Heavenly Pride Competition, thereby sabotaging the Chuyun Immortal Sect's recruitment.

Although he was only an outer Disciple of the Demon Court, his cultivation had already reached the Fifth-Order Peak, just one step away from the Spirit Sea Realm.

Using him to hunt this group of Sect Disciples, whose cultivation was generally only at the Fourth-Order, was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep; the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

The black-clad man looked coldly at the five panicked people who were acting as if facing a great enemy. A mocking and playful sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

They were just a group of ants. No matter how they guarded themselves or struggled, their final end was already decided.

Without any unnecessary words, the black-clad man's eyes turned cold. With a wave of his hand, a green wind blade instantly formed. Carrying a sharp whistling sound, it shot toward Lin Qing, who was at the front of the group!

Sensing the freezing killing intent coming at him, a cold light flashed in Lin Qing's eyes. On the surface, however, he pretended to be panicked and shouted loudly in feigned terror:

“It's a Fifth-Order expert! Everyone, run in different directions immediately!”

As his words fell, the other four immediately understood and fled in different directions. Before a Fifth-Order, they had no power to fight back. Now, it was a matter of every man for himself.

After easily dodging the wind blade, Lin Qing subtly condensed his Divine Thought into an invisible and formless Divine Thought Spike, thrusting it toward the black-clad man before turning to flee.

He knew very well that with his current Basic mastery of Spells, this Divine Thought sneak attack couldn't possibly wound the opponent.

But his true goal was never to wound him; it was simply to attract his attention.

Sure enough, sensing a Divine Thought attack, the man's gloomy eyes turned toward the direction Lin Qing was fleeing.

“Interesting.”

With a low chuckle, the black-clad man's body blurred, turning into a dark afterimage as he chased after Lin Qing.