The two of them arrived in the vicinity on their flying swords, but the forest surrounding the demon territory was so dense that the ground was invisible from above.
"I’m telling you, if these Calamity Beasts really set fires, we should be able to see a bald patch in the forest from up here. Look at the lush greenery below; the beasts probably haven't even shown up yet!"
"By the time that happens, it’ll be too late," Shen Yan sighed. "I’ve never seen a Calamity Beast either. We can only search based on intuition."
Shen Yan stopped in mid-air, looking around, momentarily unsure which way to go. Xuan Yang glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and quietly drifted closer. Shen Yan exuded a cool, refreshing aura; getting close seemed to make the sweat on Xuan Yang's body less bothersome.
There was also a unique fragrance. Xuan Yang sniffed. It was difficult for human senses to detect each other's scents, but to him, it was crystal clear. Nie Shiyun and Zhai Bairong both had their own distinct scents that Xuan Yang could distinguish even with his eyes closed. Now, Shen Yan’s scent was also deeply etched into his mind.
"What is it?" Shen Yan snapped back to reality and was surprised to find Xuan Yang almost pressed against him.
"Because it’s cool! D-don't read too much into it," Xuan Yang clarified immediately, still trying to maintain his pride.
Read too much into it? Seeing Xuan Yang’s guilty expression, Shen Yan instinctively glanced at the various storage bags and accessories on his person. *Has this kid finally gained some ambition and decided to try and pickpocket me?*
Seeing Xuan Yang pull away and look like he didn't know where to put his hands, Shen Yan became even more convinced. Two months ago, Xuan Yang had frequently clamored for revenge for being swindled out of his money, though he had gradually stopped. Shen Yan had assumed the boy was just forgetful like a child and had put it behind him after traveling together for a while. It turned out he still remembered.
Mistakenly believing Xuan Yang intended to use dishonest means to steal money, Shen Yan—who had grown up in a dog-eat-dog world of schemes—wasn't angry. Instead, he felt somewhat gratified.
"Because the Path of Soul Governance I cultivate involves driving yin spirits, my yin energy is very heavy," Shen Yan explained, following Xuan Yang's lead. He then patted the other’s head and added, "Your technique for changing the subject is a bit lacking."
Feeling the icy palm touch the crown of his head, Xuan Yang stammered several times with his mouth half-open, unable to find words.
Clearly, the physical contact should have made him feel cooler, but the spot where he was touched began to burn. He hastily retreated several feet, turned his flying sword around, and bolted, shouting indignantly as he ran, "I wasn't changing the subject! Stop talking nonsense!"
Shen Yan’s hand remained suspended in the air. Watching Xuan Yang vanish in a flash, he muttered in astonishment, "...Was that really necessary?"
*Maybe I hurt his pride,* Shen Yan sighed irritably. *Children really are hard to teach. Nie Shiyun should pay me more.*
On the other side, Xuan Yang, whose sore spot had been poked by Shen Yan, flew several miles in one breath. He looked back for a long time but saw no sign of Shen Yan. Shen Yan’s cultivation was not as high as Xuan Yang’s, so he naturally couldn't catch up easily.
"So slow..." Xuan Yang murmured, a hint of unease rising in his heart.
Thinking back, Xuan Yang felt his reaction had indeed been a bit excessive, but he couldn't bring himself to lose face by turning back.
After waiting a moment, just as Xuan Yang was about to nudge himself back inconspicuously, he suddenly heard faint screams and the roars of wild beasts.
"At a time like this?"
Pricking up his ears to locate the source, Xuan Yang confirmed the direction. He hesitated for a split second between deviating from the path to find the once-in-a-century Calamity Beast or waiting to regroup with Shen Yan. But then, a chaotic mix of cries and wailing reached his ears. Xuan Yang couldn't wait any longer and charged toward the sound at top speed.
"Quick, take the cubs and go!"
"You're no match for them! Run!"
"Ugh, our house..."
"Wait..."
Xuan Yang had thought the place where the Calamity Beasts appeared was close, but when he actually went to find it, he realized it was only because his hearing was exceptionally sharp. He spent quite a bit of time on the road, and during that time, the tragic cries of men and women, sometimes near and sometimes far, forced their way into his ears, making him extremely agitated.
*Faster! I have to be faster!*
Gradually, only the frenzied roars of wild beasts remained; the human voices had faded away.
Xuan Yang arrived at the source of the sound, swallowed two Spirit Recovery Pills to sweep away the fatigue from his frantic journey, and leaped down from the sky. Just as the rumors said, the Calamity Beasts had horns on their heads and sharp teeth. It was hard to tell exactly what animal they resembled; they looked like a hybrid of various ferocious beasts. At a glance, there were three such massive beasts, each at the Golden Core stage. With a slight perception, Xuan Yang sensed there might be more, some hiding underground or in the nearby woods.
"He... help..."
Xuan Yang saw a half-severed arm dangling from the mouth of one beast, which was instinctively gnawing on it. The other two were charging through what had likely been a village—now, one could only tell it was a village from the wreckage. The houses had long been trampled into pieces by massive claws; thatch and bricks were reduced to powder, and wooden planks fallen from who-knows-where were burning, scattered across the ground.
Xuan Yang’s gaze fell on the figure calling out. He rushed forward and saw the silhouette of a demon cultivator. However, the body was already charred black, with half of it missing, yet it was still instinctively calling for help.
"Hey, are you—"
Before Xuan Yang could take out a pill bottle, the demon on the ground rapidly transformed from a human form into an incomplete beast form. Judging by the remains of the feathers, it was also an avian demon. Then, it became motionless—its demon core had shattered.
There was no room to daze. Seeing a fresh life enter their range of perception, the Calamity Beasts attacked Xuan Yang violently. Although he was only one step away from the Nascent Soul stage, being besieged by three Golden Core demon beasts at once meant Xuan Yang couldn't achieve an instant kill. He had to force himself to forget the moment the demon cultivator turned to ash before him and turned to face the enemy.
It was obvious the Calamity Beasts had only recently emerged. The area they affected was mostly a gathering place for Qi Condensation or a few Foundation Establishment demon cultivators. They committed evil by instinct and had not yet encountered an opponent of equal strength. Though they lacked sapience, being held at bay three-to-one by a seemingly small youth caused restless expressions to appear on their hideous faces, and they let out long, teeth-gritting howls.
"Go!" Xuan Yang summoned the Ziyun Jingyu Sword, a spiritual tool forged by Nie Shiyun, and sent it straight for a Calamity Beast’s vital point.
Nie Shiyun himself believed that as long as a tool was useful, it was fine, but knowing Xuan Yang had been vain since childhood, he had chosen exquisite raw materials to forge this weapon for him.
The sword was intercepted mid-air by another Calamity Beast leaping out. Except for their faces, the Calamity Beasts had thick hides and tough flesh; such a sword wound didn't seem to cause any substantial damage.
Having to dodge the attacks of several beasts while controlling the Ziyun Jingyu Sword made Xuan Yang quite irritable. He released his divine sense to sweep the area and sensed no other cultivators watching—even if there were surviving demons on the scene, they were likely unconscious. Thus, he flipped over and transformed into his original form, freely spreading his wings, nimbly dodging while attacking.
No matter how ferocious the Calamity Beasts were, their flames were ultimately just ordinary fire. They were suppressed at the source by the Phoenix Essence Fire, which was of the same attribute but a higher grade. Several Calamity Beasts were swept by the gale and heatwaves, and all of them felt an instinctive awe and a desire to retreat before this large, black-feathered bird, though they didn't realize why.
If these beasts had sapience, they would have consciously helped each other flee in panic. In the world of demon beasts, Divine Beasts naturally possessed a racial suppression. Yet, these Calamity Beasts only became more frenzied, as if they could use brute force to bite the semi-divine beast before them to death.
Though it took more time to maneuver, finally, under the full-force offensive of Xuan Yang in his true form, one Calamity Beast howled under the searing Phoenix Essence Fire. Its movements slowed due to the pain, and it was eventually pierced through the forehead by the sword.
One fell, and realizing things were going south, the remaining beasts instinctively called out to their companions. Several other Calamity Beasts that had been setting fire to the mountains and ravaging villages nearby also rushed toward this ruined village.
"Six more? Hmph, saves me the trouble of looking for you one by one!" Xuan Yang counted the numbers. He was in top form, and having been stimulated by the tragic sight of the corpses scattered in the village, he commanded the Ziyun Jingyu Sword to attack with increasing ferocity.
After Xuan Yang ran off, Shen Yan wasn't worried about losing him.
After promising Nie Shiyun to look after Xuan Yang, he had kept an extremely weak yin spirit following the boy. A spiritually sensitive person might have noticed, but Xuan Yang’s yang energy was too heavy, so he hadn't detected it at all.
Following the connection, Shen Yan only realized something was wrong much later because his speed was significantly slower than Xuan Yang’s and his hearing wasn't as sharp. By the time he noticed, several gathered demon beasts had already finished destroying the village and were instinctively trampling and burning the trees on the adjacent mountain. Just as the rumors said, they had no sapience; they didn't even derive pleasure from the destruction, simply following instinct. There were no longer even cries in the village ruins; it was deathly silent.
Shen Yan was startled, wondering if Xuan Yang had already seen this sight.
The Calamity Beasts were right before him, but Shen Yan didn't rush to act. Four demon beasts, all at the Golden Core stage—the number was too high. Shen Yan was self-aware and wouldn't risk his life in such a place. If other cultivators arrived later to help, he could take on one of them.
However, after observing for only a short while, the beasts seemed to sense something. They raised their heads from the trees and turned to run in one direction. Shen Yan realized with a shock that it was exactly where Xuan Yang was. Not knowing what had happened, he hurriedly chased after them on his flying sword.
The Calamity Beasts were massive, yet their running speed wasn't slow at all. Shen Yan struggled to keep up, not daring to get too close for fear of being detected. But his worry was unnecessary now; the beasts had sensed their companions' angry roars and were only focused on their instinctive urge to congregate.
He saw an open area appear amidst the lush forest in the distance. From afar, it already looked like the village he had just seen—a desolate ruin, moreover, immersed in a sea of fire...
No, it didn't seem to be the fire of the Calamity Beasts.
Shen Yan could sense the difference in the pressure.
The four beasts had already charged into the fray. Just as Shen Yan was about to approach, he saw a glowing bird leap into the air from the center of the village—lustrous black wings, a long crest, and a trailing tail that drew an arc in the sky as it soared. For a moment, it was hard to tell if those feathers were absorbing the sunlight or reflecting the surrounding firelight.
"..."
Shen Yan was momentarily speechless.
Anyone in the cultivation world seeing this for the first time would likely have the same expression. The last time Shen Yan had seen Xuan Yang’s beast form was over twenty years ago. In the Southern Archipelago, Xuan Yang’s claws had been firmly hooked onto Nie Shiyun’s shoulder—black, tiny, and barely over a foot long. Now, aside from the pitch-black color, that physique was the unmistakable form of a Divine Beast Phoenix.
Snapping back to his senses, Shen Yan thought for a moment and simply put away his Soul-Summoning Banner. He took out several simple formation flags, looking for an opportunity to assist Xuan Yang. Phoenix fire was extremely yang; if he sent his resentful souls forward, they would likely be blown to smithereens by his teammate before they even touched the Calamity Beasts.
Two against six was not easy. However, firstly, Xuan Yang had the racial bonus after transforming into his original form, and secondly, the Calamity Beasts had a fatal weakness—they had no way to recover and could only rely on their own physical stamina to hold out. Meanwhile, although Xuan Yang was in his beast state, he didn't hesitate at all to pop Spirit Recovery Pills. The ones he had taken from Nie Shiyun’s cave dwelling were all high-grade pills refined by Zhai Bairong; their restorative power was predictable.
When the number of Calamity Beasts was reduced to only two, they finally realized the situation had reversed and hurriedly burrowed into the ground to escape. However, the Phoenix Essence Fire soon scorched the earth directly in front of them. The beasts howled as they burst out of the ground and were soon killed as well.
Sensing no more of the Calamity Beasts' kind nearby, Xuan Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief from the battle of attrition and landed from mid-air.
"So tired..."
Xuan Yang plopped down on the ground. This was his first time facing so many opponents of the same Golden Core stage. If he hadn't transformed into his original form, it would have been much more difficult. But it was fine; although he had quite a few abrasions, they were all superficial. Such a result at least didn't lose face for that fellow Nie Shiyun!
"Xuan Yang!" Seeing Xuan Yang slumped on the ground exhausted, Shen Yan was finally able to approach through the sea of fire. He looked around; fortunately, there were indeed no others. But with such a big commotion, cultivators would surely arrive soon.
"How did you catch up? I clearly took a turn halfway..." Xuan Yang hadn't communicated with Shen Yan in his urgency, only seeing the other’s figure appear in his peripheral vision. Now he finally had a chance to speak.
Shen Yan didn't wait for him to finish, interrupting urgently, "Quick, change back to human form!"
"Eh? Ah, right." Xuan Yang lifted his arm—only to realize he had lifted a wing. Only then did he remember he was still in his beast form. He hadn't been able to show his original form and fly to his heart's content for a long time, and it had stifled him; today was finally a chance to let loose.
With a flash of white light, Xuan Yang turned back into the appearance of a teenage boy—looking a bit silly, without a trace of the overbearing aura of the Divine Beast from moments ago.
Shen Yan breathed a sigh of relief. "You must not show this form in front of anyone but me, do you hear me?"
Xuan Yang let out an "Eh?" and his face immediately turned beet red.
W-what an overbearing statement!
"Let's go collect the Calamity Beasts' corpses and find another place to talk slowly." Shen Yan was terrified that a cultivator arriving later would see this logic-defying scene—a teenage boy taking down seven Calamity Beasts? That was too exaggerated. He hurriedly went to toss the corpses into his storage space. The beasts were massive, and they quickly filled his bracelets and bags.
"Let's go... why are you still standing there in a daze?"
Shen Yan turned to see Xuan Yang still in the same spot, standing like a wooden post. He then thought that after fighting for so long, it was normal for his stamina to be depleted. He softened his tone slightly. "Are the Spirit Recovery Pills enough? Do you want to ride on my flying sword?"
"They're enough, they're enough. Ah, no..." Xuan Yang instinctively answered truthfully, but then immediately regretted it. Shen Yan had just expressed himself so passionately and was now hinting at sharing a sword; he should have given him the chance!
Xuan Yang almost bit his own tongue.
"Ugh... it hurts..."
Xuan Yang and Shen Yan were startled and both turned to find the source of the sound. There was still someone alive here!
"Where are you? Are you still conscious?"
Xuan Yang called out, but the voice didn't appear again; the person had likely fainted again. Xuan Yang was worried to death. There was actually a surviving demon! He thought of the bird demon whose body had shattered before him earlier, and a wave of bitterness hit his heart.
"The sound seemed to come from over here. Let's go look."
"Okay!" Seeing Shen Yan proactively suggest looking for the demon, Xuan Yang beamed. He had thought that given Shen Yan’s personality, he would definitely be too lazy to care about others' business.
Shen Yan narrowed his eyes. He hadn't detected the aura of any other cultivators just now. If Xuan Yang’s Phoenix form had been seen, then that person could not be allowed to live.
Beneath a pile of ruins, the two finally sensed a faint life force. Flipping over rubble and bricks, they found a young demon covered in blood and filth. Whether it was lucky or unlucky, it had been buried under the ruins when the house was destroyed, and its kin hadn't been able to take it with them when they fled.
But after being injured and losing consciousness, it couldn't maintain its human form and had reverted to its original bird form. Its small size had allowed it to fall into a gap in the ruins, preventing it from suffering secondary harm from the Calamity Beasts later.
"It's still breathing! Uh, what do we do? It won't open its mouth!" Xuan Yang anxiously cradled the bird in one hand while trying to feed it a pill with the other.
Shen Yan glanced at the dying bird. Considering it had been buried under the airtight ruins, it likely hadn't seen anything.
"Take it with you. Regardless, let's change locations first. This isn't a place for healing."
Shen Yan pulled Xuan Yang up. The latter agreed and nodded, and the two hurriedly left the area before any cultivators who had heard the news could arrive.
***
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Transmigrated into a Total Shou Novel as a Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up 1v1-ing the Male Lead | Chapter 139 | The Black Phoenix's Radiance | Novela.app | Novela.app
