243: Chapter 243 The Fisherman Reaps the Benefit! Another Level 8 Demon Slayer!

Chapter 241: The Fisherman Reaps the Rewards! Beheading Another Grade Eight Great Yao!

As early as the moment Daoist Nangong turned around without hesitation and the golden light of his escape flash appeared, Lu Qiu, who was lurking more than ten miles away, felt a chill in his heart. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately made the most correct choice.

Retreat!

"Even a Nascent Soul Cultivator is fleeing so decisively; the strength of that lurking Yao Beast must be absolutely terrifying, at least an existence that poses a fatal threat to Nangong." Lu Qiu's thoughts raced as his figure glided out of his hiding place like a phantom, without causing the slightest ripple of spiritual power.

He did not head in the direction Daoist Nangong had fled.

Even thinking with his toes, he knew that the primary target of that stronger Black Water Poison Python Yao would definitely be the Nascent Soul Cultivator Nangong, who was of higher value and a greater threat.

Running in that direction would be no different from walking into a trap, and he might even be caught in the aftershocks of the fierce battle between the two sides.

He chose another direction at an angle of about sixty degrees from Daoist Nangong's escape light—neither due east nor due north, but leaning toward the northeast.

This direction both deviated from the main battlefield and the pursuit route, and allowed him to leave this dangerous area at the fastest speed.

He restrained all his spiritual light and chose not to fly at high altitude. Instead, he hugged the undulating ground, jagged rocks, and low shrubs, like a silently gliding giant python. Pushing the Myriad Transformations Hidden Origin Art to its limit, his figure nearly blended into the colors of the environment; his speed was fast as lightning, yet he remained silent.

However, the arrangements of fate are sometimes just that wonderful, or rather, this desert island, which was not too large, had gathered too many fugitives at a specific moment, greatly increasing the probability of an accidental encounter.

Lu Qiu had just sped dozens of miles along the ground when, at a narrow mountain valley pass ahead, two figures rushed out in panic like birds startled by a bowstring, nearly colliding with him head-on!

It was precisely two of the three remaining Core Formation Cultivators: Lin Kun and that sinister-faced Middle Core Formation Stage Cultivator!

The two of them were currently in a wretched state, covered in blood with their Daoist robes in tatters. Their auras were weak and chaotic, and their faces were filled with lingering fear, terror, and despair.

They had clearly barely escaped with their lives from the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon's pursuit just now, but both had suffered significant injuries. At this moment, they were fleeing in a panic, desperately running in Lu Qiu's direction.

Lu Qiu reacted extremely quickly. The moment the pair rushed out of the pass, his figure drifted behind a giant rock to the side like a falling leaf, his aura restrained to near non-existence.

Lin Kun and the other man were clearly at the brink of collapse, focused only on fleeing for their lives. Their Divine Senses were in disarray, and they actually failed to immediately discover Lu Qiu, who was close at hand and completely devoid of aura.

They staggered past the rock where Lu Qiu was hiding, bringing with them a scent of blood and panic.

"Quick! That beast..." Lin Kun panted heavily. Before he could finish his sentence, his face suddenly changed drastically, and he looked behind him in horror.

"Roar—! Ants, where do you think you're running!"

An angry roar full of violence and killing intent rolled in from behind the valley like thunder!

Immediately after, a dark shadow carrying dense Demonic Qi and the smell of blood tore through the air at an incredible speed, following closely behind!

It was indeed that Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao!

At this moment, he was even more disheveled and miserable than he had been in the center of the battlefield earlier.

His black clothes were in tatters, revealing a body covered in fine black scales but crisscrossed with wounds. Many wounds were deep enough to show bone, and pitch-black flood dragon blood continuously seeped and dripped out.

The light from the single horn on his forehead had also dimmed significantly, but in those blood-red vertical pupils, the light of bloodlust and cruelty burned even more fiercely.

He had clearly consumed a massive amount of energy during the previous encirclement and subsequent pursuit, with injuries piling upon injuries. His aura was even more unstable than before, fluctuating violently, but the ferocious might and killing intent belonging to a Grade Eight Great Yao still made one's heart turn cold with fear.

"Not good!" Lin Kun and the sinister Cultivator were scared out of their wits. Seeing that they were being overtaken and had no way to escape, a flash of desperate madness appeared on both their faces simultaneously.

"Let's fight!"

The two looked at each other and roared. They stopped running and suddenly turned around, frantically injecting all the remaining magical power in their bodies into their respective Magic Treasures!

Lin Kun's red Flying Sword ignited with flames once again, though the light was far less dazzling than before.

The sinister Cultivator sacrificed a tattered small black shield to block in front of him. This was their final struggle.

"A mantis trying to stop a carriage—die for me!"

The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao gave a cruel smile, his eyes full of disdain.

He didn't even deign to close in. The dim single horn on his forehead lit up again; although the light wasn't strong, it was more than enough to deal with these two Core Formation Cultivators who were at the end of their ropes.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Two black light pillars, only as thick as an arm but exceptionally condensed, shot out instantly like a venomous snake's tongue, aiming straight for the two of them!

Boom! Thud!

The red Flying Sword collapsed immediately upon contact with the black light pillar. It gave a mournful cry as its spiritual light was completely extinguished, and the blade, covered in cracks, fell to the ground.

The small black shield was directly pierced by the light pillar, and along with it, a blood hole the size of a bowl exploded in the chest of the sinister Cultivator behind it!

The sinister Cultivator didn't even have time to scream before his body was carried backward by the remaining impact of the light pillar, slamming heavily into the mountain wall and sliding down limply, devoid of life.

With his Flying Sword destroyed and his mind linked to it, Lin Kun violently spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning ashen.

He staggered back, his eyes filled with nothing but endless fear and despair.

The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao didn't even look at the dead sinister Cultivator. His blood-red gaze locked onto the swaying Lin Kun as he approached step by step, the corners of his tooth-filled mouth curling into a cruel arc: "Run, why aren't you running anymore? This seat happens to need some blood food to recover some Origin Qi..."

However, just as he was preparing to raise his hand to finish off Lin Kun and enjoy this "supplement," a sudden change occurred!

Buzz—!

A strange buzzing sound rang out without warning in the space several yards around the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao!

Immediately after, a faint, nearly transparent light shield that carried a sense of spatial solidification instantly enveloped him along with Lin Kun, who was not far away, like an inverted bowl!

The space locking mirror!

Lu Qiu had finally made his move!

Seizing the perfect moment when the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao was at his most relaxed, with his attention entirely on Lin Kun and his own state at its worst, Lu Qiu quietly sacrificed this High Grade ancient treasure, obtained from Immortal Tianjing, which specialized in imprisoning space!

"Who is it?!" The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's scales instantly stood on end as a massive sense of crisis enveloped his entire body!

He spun around abruptly, his blood-red vertical pupils staring fixedly at a certain spot in the Void Realm outside the light shield, and let out an angry roar!

There, the Void Realm rippled slightly, and a figure wearing a silver-white mask and dressed in green robes slowly emerged, as if stepping out of an ink wash painting.

It was Lu Qiu, who had removed his concealment and revealed his Early Nascent Soul Stage Spiritual Pressure!

"A Nascent Soul Cultivator!? You... you've been lurking here all along?!" Seeing Lu Qiu's cultivation and feeling the undisguised killing intent and majestic Spiritual Pressure from him, the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's heart shook with terror!

He never would have imagined that besides the fleeing Old Daoist Nangong, another human Nascent Soul Cultivator was hidden here!

Moreover, seeing the other's steady aura, he was clearly in perfect condition and definitely not injured.

In his current state of being heavily injured, on the verge of death, and with his demonic power nearly exhausted, let alone dealing with a Nascent Soul Cultivator at their peak, he might even fail against another Late Core Formation Stage Cultivator!

Escape! He had to escape immediately!

The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao made an instant decision. He didn't even care to kill Lin Kun, who was close at hand and already a lamb to the slaughter. With a wild roar, the remaining demonic power in his body erupted, desperately striking the pale gold light shield around him. At the same time, the horn on his forehead lit up again, attempting to concentrate on a single point to break through this damned spatial Seal.

However, since Lu Qiu had made his move, how could he give him a chance to struggle?

"Suppress!"

Lu Qiu barked a low command, raising his hand to strike a hand Seal into the space locking mirror.

The pale gold light shield suddenly solidified, and the spatial pressure inside surged. The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao felt as if his entire body had fallen into a mire; his movements slowed several times over, and even the circulation of his demonic power became sluggish!

At the same time, Lu Qiu opened his mouth and spat—

Roar!

The chixiao thunder fire pearl transformed into a streak of red and purple light, carrying terrifyingly high temperatures capable of boiling the sea and devastating lightning power. It slammed fiercely into the space locking mirror's shield, aiming straight for the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's head!

Lu Qiu's first move was a killing blow, showing no mercy!

"Roar! Open for me!"

At the moment of life and death, the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao unleashed his final ferocity. Ignoring his injuries, he forcibly activated his natal demonic power. The horn on his forehead radiated intense black light, and a pitch-black beam of light, several times more condensed than before but as thin as a needle, shot out to meet the chixiao thunder fire pearl!

This was a strike that condensed his Origin demonic power; its power was extraordinary, but the price was that his injuries would worsen further.

Boom-crack—!!!

The red-purple thunder-fire and the pitch-black light beam collided violently in mid-air!

Amidst the thunderous roar, the thunder-fire exploded and the black light was annihilated.

The chixiao thunder fire pearl paused slightly, its light dimming a little, but its momentum remained unchecked. It continued to smash toward the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao with the remaining power of the thunder-fire!

In his haste, the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao raised his scale-covered arms to block, while the remaining Demonic Qi shield on his body lit up once again.

Bang! Sizzle—!

The chixiao thunder fire pearl slammed squarely into his crossed arms, and the terrifying thunder-fire power erupted instantly!

The Demonic Qi shield shattered like a bubble. The sound of bones cracking came from his scale-covered arms, and the smell of char and cooked meat filled the air.

The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao screamed in agony. His arms were charred and bent, and his massive body was thrown backward by the impact, slamming hard into the inner wall of the space locking mirror's shield before bouncing back. He spat out blood frantically, mixed with fragments of internal organs.

"No! You cannot kill me! I am..." The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao roared in terror and despair, still trying to struggle.

But Lu Qiu gave him no chance at all. Strike while he's down!

With a thought, a palm-sized golden circular wheel with an incredibly sharp edge flew out from his ancient treasure pouch. It spun rapidly, transforming into a golden flash of light that quietly sliced through the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's neck—it was precisely another sharp and incomparable offensive ancient treasure, the "Gilded Wheel"!

The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's entire mind was focused on resisting the remaining power and pain from the chixiao thunder fire pearl; he had no time to react to this exceptionally fast and tricky golden flash.

Puchi!

A soft sound as the blade entered flesh.

The Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's roar of terror and resentment stopped abruptly. A hideous head covered in black scales with a single horn on its forehead flew high into the air!

At the severed neck, pitch-black flood dragon blood erupted like a fountain several yards high!

The headless, stalwart body stood stiff for a moment before crashing to the ground like a collapsing mountain, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Whoosh—!

Almost at the instant the head flew off, a pitch-black phantom about an inch long, shaped like a miniature flood dragon and emitting pure Demonic Qi and waves of terror, frantically flew out from the neck stump of the headless corpse. Its speed was incredibly fast; it was precisely the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's Grade Eight Essence Soul!

As soon as it appeared, it instinctively dove toward the ground, wanting to use earth escape to flee for its life.

"I've been waiting for you!"

Lu Qiu snorted coldly, having anticipated this. His left hand had been loosely clenched; now he suddenly opened it, his five fingers forming a claw, and made a grabbing motion toward the fleeing Essence Soul from a distance!

A semi-transparent green hand condensed from pure magical power appeared out of thin air. It arrived later but struck first, firmly grasping the panicked black miniature flood dragon Essence Soul in its palm!

No matter how it struggled or crashed, the green hand remained motionless, instead slowly tightening and emitting a binding force.

Lu Qiu's other hand had already prepared a cold jade bottle with several sealing Talismans attached, the mouth of the bottle aimed at the green hand.

"Collect!"

With his low shout, the green hand loosened, and the black miniature flood dragon Essence Soul was uncontrollably pulled into the cold jade bottle by a force of suction.

Lu Qiu was quick-eyed and deft, quickly capping the bottle and applying several sealing hand Seals to ensure nothing could go wrong.

Done in one smooth motion!

From the sneak attack with the space locking mirror to the main assault with the chixiao thunder fire pearl, the killing blow with the Gilded Armor-Piercing Wheel, and finally the use of the Dragon Capturing Hand to seize the Essence Soul, the entire process was as smooth as flowing water, taking only two or three breaths of time!

A Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon, which was a Grade Eight Transformed Great Yao despite being heavily injured and on the verge of death, had been cleanly and decisively killed and its Essence Soul captured by Lu Qiu using thunderous methods!

Only then did Lu Qiu let out a soft sigh of relief. Hovering in mid-air, he looked at the headless flood dragon corpse still twitching slightly beneath him, and at Lin Kun, who was paralyzed on the ground nearby, face pale and not daring to breathe. A surge of heroic pride uncontrollably rose in his heart!

A transformed Yao Beast, a true Grade Eight Great Yao, had just died so easily at his hands!

Admittedly, this Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao had only just transformed and was in its weakest stage, and it had been heavily injured under the encirclement of nine Cultivators including Daoist Nangong, with less than ten percent of its strength remaining. He had essentially picked up a huge bargain.

But regardless, the achievement of killing a Transformed Great Yao was enough to make any Early Nascent Soul Cultivator proud!

This represented that he, Lu Qiu, already possessed the formidable strength to establish himself in the Nascent Soul Stage and even challenge those above his level!

He did not immerse himself in excitement for long; time was of the essence!

That Black Water Poison Python had gone to chase Daoist Nangong, and there was no telling when it would return. This place was definitely not somewhere to stay for long.

He quickly descended to the headless corpse of the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao and began the dissection with practiced movements.

A Nascent Soul Cultivator's Divine Sense was powerful and their control was meticulous; they were extremely efficient at such tasks.

First was the Yao Core.

He used his fingers like a blade to precisely cut open the belly of the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao. His magical power reached in, and he soon touched a round inner core the size of a fist, pitch-black as ink with faint golden patterns flowing on its surface, emitting majestic and pure demonic power along with a faint flood dragon's might.

He carefully took it out. Feeling the amazing energy contained within, the joy in Lu Qiu's eyes grew even stronger. He quickly took out a jade box covered in Talismans, placed it inside, and sealed it.

This was an excellent primary material for refining Medicinal Pills that increased Nascent Soul cultivation, and its value was immeasurable.

Next was that single horn.

This item was the hardest part of the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's body and contained the essence of its innate toxicity. It was a top-tier material for refining poison-type or armor-piercing Magic Treasures. Lu Qiu carefully removed it from the severed head; it felt cold and heavy in his hand, and he stored it away properly.

Then came the Essence Blood. He took out several jade bottles and, guided by his magical power, collected the most pure heart Essence Blood and some ordinary flood dragon blood that had not yet solidified from the corpse.

Flood dragon Essence Blood was a rare item, whether used for drawing high-level Talismans, tempering the Physical Body, or feeding a Spirit Pet.

Scales, bones, tendons, and even some important organs... Lu Qiu adhered to the principle of never wasting anything. At the fastest speed, he dissected and removed all valuable parts from the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao's corpse, categorizing and storing them into different Storage Pouches or jade boxes.

In less than half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, only a pile of remains and scraps of meat that had been almost completely skinned and deboned, losing all value, remained at the spot, along with a thick, lingering scent of blood.

"Time to go!"

Lu Qiu straightened up, not even glancing at Lin Kun, who was limp as mud nearby, seemingly frightened out of his wits.

This person had witnessed the entire process of him killing the Poison-Scaled Flood Dragon Yao. Keeping him was useless and might even leak information.

However, he did not move to silence him. It wasn't out of the kindness of his heart, but rather because he couldn't be bothered to waste time on such a small matter. Furthermore, the man's aura was faint; whether he could leave this outer sea alive was already a question.

He identified a direction, and his figure once again transformed into an inconspicuous green shadow, quickly leaving the area.