8: Shifting the blame eastward

The Underground World, besides its dim lighting and lack of day or night, had a terrain and landscape not much different from the surface.

Three days later, Su Ling finally arrived at the location of the ink jade spirit mushroom.

Looking up at the towering cliff, several massive, bat-like flying Yao Beasts were either soaring or resting on protruding rocks.

With Su Ling's current eyesight, he could vaguely see two large ink jade spirit mushrooms embedded within the crevices of the cliff.

The cliff where the ink jade spirit mushrooms grew was a gathering place for Bloodfang Ghost Bats, first-rank Yao Beasts comparable to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

Or rather, the growth of the ink jade spirit mushroom actually benefited from the nourishment of the Bloodfang Ghost Bats' saliva and droppings.

In turn, the Bloodfang Ghost Bats would swallow the ink jade spirit mushrooms once they matured to increase their strength.

The two shared a symbiotic relationship.

On the bright side, Bloodfang Ghost Bats were not considered social Yao Beasts.

On this particular cliff, there were only four Bloodfang Ghost Bats in total.

One ink jade spirit mushroom for every two Bloodfang Ghost Bats—one male and one female.

"With my current Divine Soul strength, I can release six consecutive Ghost Soul Arrows..."

After advancing to the Seventh Level of Qi Refining, Su Ling's Divine Soul strength had increased further, and the power of his Ghost Soul Arrow had risen accordingly.

Yao Beasts' Divine Souls were naturally weaker than humans'; a Mountain Drilling Beast comparable to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining would die from two arrows.

However, Li Weifeng, at the Seventh Level of Qi Refining, also required two arrows.

Facing a Bloodfang Ghost Bat comparable to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining with his current strength, Su Ling estimated he would need at least three arrows to guarantee a kill.

Even if he took one out with a sneak attack, he would still have to face the combined assault of the remaining three Bloodfang Ghost Bats.

"This is a bit tricky..."

Su Ling rubbed his chin, carefully considering his plan of action... After spending half a day, Su Ling cautiously collected quite a few things at the foot of the cliff.

He smeared a significant amount of Shade Sunflower juice, a common product of the Underground World, onto his body.

"It's a pity the breath concealment talisman is gone, otherwise the effect would be even better."

Su Ling had originally intended to use that breath concealment talisman here.

However, after encountering Li Weifeng's trio, he had used it directly to ensure the first arrow would heavily wound Li Weifeng.

After running for over ten li through the woods, he reached a jungle filled with giant trees.

Su Ling's pace finally slowed down; after searching carefully for a while, he managed to find a massive tree hollow.

He waited quietly for several hours until the light from the fluorites on the ceiling gradually faded to its darkest point.

"Gu..."

A deep and slow cry rang out as a chubby, large bird stepped out of the tree hollow with clumsy strides.

It paused at the entrance for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before spreading its wings and shooting toward the distance with a speed completely unbefitting its physique.

The chirping and peeping of chicks could still be heard from inside the tree hollow.

A Giant-Faced Owl, a first-rank flying Yao Beast comparable to the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.

They preferred to move when the light was dimmest; they were massive and liked to prey on rodent and snake-type Yao Beasts.

Usually, a male and female would travel together.

But once they had offspring, the male owl would stay far away from the nest to find a new female mate.

Truly the scumbags of the Yao Beast world!

Su Ling crouched among the branches not far away, silently counting down the time.

Fifteen minutes later, Su Ling suddenly rose and shot into the man-sized tree hollow like a phantom.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

With a stranger suddenly intruding into their home, the four chicks, which looked like fat chickens, began to shriek frantically.

While their parents were comparable to the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining, at the chick stage, they were at most comparable to the Third Layer of Qi Refining.

The four chicks hopped around, pecking at Su Ling with their sharp beaks.

Swinging the blazing iron shield horizontally, Su Ling unceremoniously knocked three of them back, grabbed one by the neck, and tossed several pieces of collected fur into the nest.

He then carved several claw marks into the branches at the entrance and smeared some Bloodfang Ghost Bat droppings nearby.

Having finished all this, Su Ling quickly activated the Phantom Shadow Technique, supplemented by the Flowing Wind Technique, and dashed across the massive branches toward the cliff.

After a frantic four or five li sprint, a sharp screech echoed through the valley.

Su Ling took a moment to look back, and his pupils couldn't help but constrict.

In the blurry forest, a massive Giant-Faced Owl took flight, pursuing him without hesitation.

The Giant-Faced Owl that had gone out to hunt had actually returned early!

Su Ling had no time to complain; he decisively swallowed a Qi Recovery Pill and frantically circulated his spiritual energy, pushing the Phantom Shadow Technique to its limit.

Four li... three li... two li... a hundred yards!

When he was only a hundred yards from the cliff where the Bloodfang Ghost Bats resided, the adult Giant-Faced Owl had already closed to within one li behind him.

Fortunately, the opponent hadn't actually spotted Su Ling; it was merely following the scent of the Bloodfang Ghost Bat fur and droppings he had laid out beforehand.

Otherwise, with the Giant-Faced Owl's speed, it would have caught up to him long ago.

At a hundred yards distance, Su Ling didn't hesitate; he crouched in a thicket, drew his bow, and shot the chick tied to the arrow directly toward the cliff.

The chick, its beak held shut, let out a sharp cry mid-air.

This immediately drew the attention of the four Bloodfang Ghost Bats.

"Thud!"

The black iron arrow struck the cliff face with a muffled sound.

Faced with food delivered to their doorstep, the four Bloodfang Ghost Bats didn't care about anything else; they took flight, baring their blood-red fangs to bite into the chick.

"Hiss!!!"

Seeing this, the female owl let out a shrill screech filled with rage and warning.

Simultaneously, she flapped her wings, and feathers radiating a dark luster shot out like a torrential rain.

Confronted by such a powerful enemy, the four Bloodfang Ghost Bats could no longer afford to eat the chick delivered to their mouths.

They screeched in unison, sending out visible sound waves to crash against those feather arrows.

Taking advantage of the battle between the two sides, Su Ling hurried to escape far away.

By risking the shot with the chick just now, his position had been exposed; if he stayed put and the female owl found a moment to fire a volley at him, it would be disastrous.

After fleeing for two li, Su Ling finally poked his head out from behind a giant rock, observing the distant battle in the sky by the faint fluorite light.

Although the Giant-Faced Owl was a Yao Beast comparable to the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining, under normal circumstances, four Bloodfang Ghost Bats at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining might not necessarily be its match.

However, with the chick acting as a distraction, the female owl was somewhat hesitant, fighting with her hands tied.

After a fierce battle, the female owl finally endured the sound wave attacks and used her feather arrows to heavily wound two of the Bloodfang Ghost Bats.

Seizing the opportunity, she grabbed the chick and turned to fly away.

However, judging by the Giant-Faced Owl's flight posture as it left, those four sound wave attacks had also caused it significant injury.

The Bloodfang Ghost Bats' flight speed was inferior to the Giant-Faced Owl's; seeing the opponent retreat, they only pursued for a li before returning dejectedly.

"Opportunities need to be created."

Su Ling smiled slightly, took the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and quietly made his way to the top of the cliff.

Carefully observing the Bloodfang Ghost Bats licking their wounds below, he slowly drew the white bone bowstring.

An arrow radiating a faint, eerie light quickly condensed into shape.

Taking such a huge risk to lure the Giant-Faced Owl here—wasn't it all for this moment!

With the soul as the guide and Qi as the medium... there were quite a few Yao Beasts nearby that had died from having their blood drained by the Bloodfang Ghost Bats.

The residual power of the Wandering Souls made this strike of Su Ling's more powerful than ever before!

"Swish!"

The eerie light sliced through the Void Realm, and a relatively unharmed Bloodfang Ghost Bat fell in response.