3: Chapter 3 Vulture Demon

The next day.

The sky was gray, and the chill of late autumn permeated Desolate Ridge.

Wu Li perched on a withered branch, neck tucked in, using his beak to preen the feathers on his chest.

The medicinal power of the Vermilion Fruit had completely integrated into his body, and his cultivation at the Early Stage of the First Rank was as steady as a rock. After his Mysterious Crow Bloodline Awakening, his feathers were a shade darker than yesterday, shimmering with a cold, metallic luster.

Suddenly, he raised his head.

A chaotic chorus of crow caws drifted from the distance, sharp and panicked, as if something terrifying was approaching.

Wu Li's pupils constricted slightly.

He spread his wings, flew to the top of the tallest withered tree on Desolate Ridge, and looked toward the east.

A massive black shadow was swooping down from the eastern sky.

It was a vulture.

Its body was three times the size of an ordinary vulture, with a wingspan reaching two zhang. Its grayish-brown feathers were rough and filthy, as if coated in a layer of dried blood scabs.

Its head and neck were bare, the skin dark red and stacked with wrinkles, while its small eyes glinted with a cruel, cold light.

Late Stage of the First Rank.

Wu Li's pupils shrank violently.

Vulture Demon.

A notorious predator in the nearby area, it specialized in feeding on weak Yao Beasts, leaving nothing alive wherever it passed.

"Caw~~ Caw-caw~"

The crows on Desolate Ridge were in an uproar.

Dozens of crows fled in terror in all directions; the scene was pure chaos.

But the Vulture Demon's speed was too fast.

It swooped down, its massive claws grabbing a crow that could not escape in time, and squeezed hard.

"Snap."

Before the crow could even let out a scream, it was crushed into a pulp of flesh.

The Vulture Demon opened its beak, shoved the bloody crow carcass into its mouth, chewed a couple of times with a crunching sound, and swallowed.

Dark red blood dripped from the edge of its beak onto the withered yellow leaves.

"Caw~ Caw-caw~~"

The flock of crows was even more terrified, scattering in flight.

But the Vulture Demon did not stop.

As if toying with its prey, it struck with its left claw, then its right; with every strike, a crow perished.

Scattered feathers flew, and fresh blood splattered onto the withered branches, a shocking sight.

Deep within Desolate Ridge, Wu Li crouched on the treetop, his gaze sharpening.

A flash of blood-red light appeared deep within his pupils.

A Late Stage First Rank Vulture was slaughtering wantonly on the territory of the old crow who had just achieved a Breakthrough.

Given his personality in his past life, if such a creature dared to act so presumptuously in front of him, it would have long been skinned and gutted.

But...

The blood-red light in Wu Li's eyes faded.

He was at the Early Stage, while the vulture was at the Late Stage.

In terms of the Human Race's Qi Refining Realm, that was the difference between the third and ninth levels.

Furthermore, the vulture was a predator among flying Yao Beasts, a natural fighting machine, while he had only just achieved a Breakthrough and had not even fully grasped the first layer of the Blood Eye Pagoda Sutra.

He had not Cultivated any of the techniques within it, so his combat power was pitifully weak.

He had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.

He could not fight.

At least, not now.

Wu Li took a deep breath, his eyes returning to calm.

He spread his wings, glided down from the treetop, and flew toward the Vulture Demon.

"Caw!"

"Great King, why are you doing this!"

Wu Li spoke in the language of Yao Beasts, his hoarse voice squeezing out from the crow's throat.

On Desolate Ridge, the crows still fleeing saw Wu Li approaching and one after another cleared a path.

Wu Li landed on a withered branch three zhang away from the Vulture Demon.

The Vulture Demon stopped its slaughter upon hearing this.

It tilted its bare head, staring at Wu Li with its small eyes, sizing him up. A hoarse voice came from its beak, filled with utter coldness:

"I thought I would have to kill all the crows here to see you."

Wu Li lowered his head, not daring to look it in the eye.

The Vulture Demon took a step forward, its massive frame causing the withered branch to tremble. Looking down at Wu Li from its superior position, it continued:

"You really... have a lot of nerve."

Before the words had even faded.

The Vulture Demon suddenly spread its wings, its massive form shooting out like an arrow, and pressed a claw onto Wu Li's head.

The speed was astonishing; Wu Li could not even dodge, or rather, he did not dodge at all.

"Bang!"

Wu Li was pressed down from the withered branch by the immense force and slammed heavily onto the ground. The Vulture Demon's claw held his head down firmly, and its Demon Power surged out like a tide, suppressing him until he could not move.

The Demon Power of a Late Stage First Rank beast was as heavy as a mountain.

Wu Li felt as if his skull was about to crack. The Vulture Demon's sharp claws pierced through the feathers on his head and into his skin, and fresh blood flowed down his forehead.

It hurt.

It fucking hurt.

But Wu Li did not struggle.

He lay on the ground, his body trembling slightly, like prey pinned beneath the foot of a beast.

The Vulture Demon leaned down, its ugly, bare face inching close to Wu Li, its foul, fishy breath blowing onto his feathers.

"Do you know that thing was offered to me by that old fox?"

"And you actually... dared to steal it?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Li cursed inwardly, 'Idiot.'

He had stolen that thing himself; the old fox only said that because it could not get it back.

Wu Li's mind raced, but his expression became even more servile.

He lay on the ground and said with a trembling voice, "Great King, spare my life... I did not know that the Vermilion Fruit belonged to you..."

"You did not know?"

The Vulture Demon's claw pressed down with a bit more force, and Wu Li felt his skull creaking.

"That old fox told me everything; you took advantage of its distraction to steal its Vermilion Fruit, and you stole two of them."

"Do you know what happens to those in Wanhui Mountain who dare to touch my things?"

In Wu Li's pupils, a crimson light flashed once more.

He gritted his teeth and said, word by word:

"Great King... I am willing to make amends..."

"Make amends?"

The Vulture Demon sneered and released its claw.

Wu Li lay on the ground without moving.

The Vulture Demon stepped back two paces, looking down at him from above, its hoarse voice carrying a hint of amusement:

"With what will you make amends?"

Wu Li slowly raised his head, his forehead dripping with blood, but in those black eyes, besides fear, there was a trace of imperceptible... calculation.

"Great King..."

Wu Li's voice was hoarse and servile.

"I know... nearby, there is another precious plant that can compensate for your loss... I only beg the Great King to spare my life..."

The Vulture Demon heard this and loosened its claw.

It stepped back two paces, tilted its bare head, and a flicker of interest flashed in its small eyes.

"A precious plant?"

Wu Li lay on the ground and did not get up.

His forehead was still oozing blood, his feathers disheveled, his posture servile to the extreme, but his voice was surprisingly steady: "That's right."

"That thing... is ten times more precious than the Vermilion Fruit."

The Vulture Demon's eyes brightened.

"Then why don't you go take it yourself?"

The Vulture Demon's voice carried suspicion.

Wu Li lowered his head, his voice even more servile, but his eyes were filled with calculation.

"Great King, please understand, that thing has not yet matured; it will take about seven or eight days. When the time comes, I am willing to retrieve it myself and present it to the Great King; I only beg for the Great King to spare my life."

The Vulture Demon stared at Wu Li for a long time, its mind turning.

In its perception, a little crow like Wu Li, even if it had become a Yao Beast, was absolutely suppressed by it in terms of species. Plus, since the other party's cultivation was far inferior to its own, it certainly would not dare to deceive it.

Such a creature would not dare, even if given a hundred times the courage.

As for the Vermilion Fruit being stolen that the old fox mentioned...

The Vulture Demon thought about it and felt it was not a big deal; it was just two Vermilion Fruits, which could not compare to a century-old precious plant.