Chapter 131: Appetizer
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Unlike the Qi-Gathering stage which was split into eleven stages, the Connate stage was categorized into just four levels: early Connate, middle Connate, late Connate, and penultimate Connate.
Early Connate adepts or demons could release their inner Qi a foot beyond their bodies. The presence of the Qi was so strong that it was like a metal slicing through mud. If an early Connate adept were to battle against an adept who had achieved Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering, even before the Qi-Gathering adept had reached the Connate adept, the Qi-Gathering adept would already be injured by the inner Qi of the Connate adept radiating out of their body.
The early Connate stage could only be considered the preliminary level within the Connate stage. As one progressed into the middle Connate stage, one’s Qi could be emitted outwards up to three feet away, putting the adept or demon at an even greater advantage when battling. In the late Connate stage, the Connate Qi would be able to be released ten feet from the body and would easily be able to injure or kill anyone within three meters. In the penultimate Connate stage, such adepts were the most powerful presence within all Connate adepts, and they could release their Qi thirty feet from the body, which was a whole ten meters’ distance. Nobody would be able to come within ten meters of the penultimate stage adept without being killed.
“Late Connate stage?!” Upon seeing the red goshawk extend its wings to reach a wingspan of over fifteen meters, both Little Gold and Big Gold were so shocked that their eyes narrowed, filled with utter disbelief.
Not long ago, the two of them had just said that the red goshawk could only have reached the middle Connate stage at most, and it was impossible for the red goshawk to have entered the late Connate stage… but now, the sheer size of the red goshawk showed that it was clearly in the late Connate stage!
“This time, since you are here, then don’t think of leaving!” The eyes of the red goshawk flashed coldly as it cried out at them. It spread it wings, turning into a brown streak of lightning as it rushed towards Big Gold and Little Gold. Its speed of attack was a far cry from the speed that Big Gold could achieve now.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As the red goshawk spread its wings, streaks of green Qi seemed to radiate from it to a distance of ten feet, shooting towards Big Gold and Little Gold like two-foot-long swords cutting through the air. Seeing this, even though both Big Gold and Little Gold had used the Qi-increasing elixir and had boosted their Qi, but they did not dare to fight against the streaks of Qi as they escaped.
At this point, their best chance of escape would be if they separated and flew in different directions. But, in order to ensure that their Young Master did not lose his chance, they retreated in a straight line.
Whoosh!
Since its appearance, the red goshawk had not discovered any trace of Zhou Donghuang. Seeing the two golden-crowned eagles retreat in a straight line, it did not suspect anything as it tried to go closer to the two of them.
Just then, wham!! The rare sound of a spear whistling resounded through the air, sounding like a banshee.
At the same time, a little spear radiating a cold glow flew through the air towards the red goshawk at a faster speed than even the red goshawk itself. It flew straight towards its target on the back of the red goshawk’s head. If the spear landed on its target, even if the red goshawk was a late Connate stage demon, it would definitely be killed by the spear.
“Oh no!” But just as the little spear was about the pierce through the back of the red goshawk’s head, it seemed to react in one lightning-fast motion as it tilted its head to the side.
Boom!!
However, the red goshawk’s reaction was still half a beat slow as the spear missed the back of its head, but still pierced through the side of its head, bringing with it a flow of rushing blood.
The blood splashed through the air, appearing especially radiant in the golden glow.
“Kill it!” As the spear passed through the side of the late Connate red goshawk’s head, it stumbled and tried to steady itself with its huge pair of wings. Zhou Donghuang called out to Big Gold and Little Gold hurriedly.
“A human?!” Then, the red goshawk tilted its injured head slightly, as it locked eyes with Zhou Donghuang, its eyes filled with disbelief. It could not imagine how a human could possibly understand demon speak. Neither could it comprehend how a human had just been hiding so close nearby to the cave, but it had not noticed his scent at all. The human scent could be easily picked up even by Qi-Gathering demons, so it would definitely have been noticed by a Connate demon like itself.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
With Zhou Donghuang’s orders, the two golden-crowned eagles flapped their wings, and stopped in midair at thunderous speed. They transformed into black streaks of lightning as they rushed towards the red goshawk one after the other.
Now, the red goshawk was seriously injured by the spear that had passed through the side of its head. The inner Qi that radiated from within its body seemed to appear intermittently, as if it could not fully materialize.
“Just the two of you… want to kill me?” Initially the red goshawk had though that a Great Consummate and a Petty Consummate golden-crowned eagle would not be able to kill it, even if they worked together. But at its current injured state, it would definitely not make it out alive, but it could surely bring the two golden-crowned eagles down together with itself.
But as the two golden-crowned eagles flew towards it, the red goshawk realized that not only was the larger Great Consummate eagle far stronger than any ordinary Great Consummate demon, but even the smaller Petty Consummate eagle was exhibiting more power than any typical Great Consummate flying demon.
After a brief scuffle, Big Gold and Little Gold managed to tear the red goshawk into two parts, risking serious injury to themselves. They finally killed the red goshawk!
As the two halves of the red goshawk dropped to the abyss below, Little Gold, which was covered with fresh blood, circled in the air close to the cave, its eyes incredulous. “I never would have thought… a late Connate demon would die in my hands.”
As the words left its mouth, Big Gold could not help but interrupt its little brother, “Don’t get too cocky. If Young Master had not injured it first and diminished its power to less than a tenth, based on our current strength, we would have died if we had faced it head-on.”
As it spoke, Big Gold turned to Zhou Donghuang, its eyes filled with shock. “Young Master, I originally thought that since it was a late Connate demon, you would not be guaranteed to be able to kill it even with the help of the spear sphere… I did not imagine that you would still manage to injure it severely, giving us the chance to attack it.”
“It was just luck,” said Zhou Donghuang as he took a deep breath. After he called Little Gold to send him to the door of the cave, he was still reeling from the shock. Just now, even for him, he was not confident of the attack.
“Didn’t you two say… the red goshawk could only be a middle Connate demon at best?” Thinking of the sheer fright from just now, Zhou Donghuang glared at Big Gold and Little Gold. “If you had told me the correct information, I would have made more preparations. Thankfully, our luck was good this time.”
Just now, as Zhou Donghuang struck with the spear sphere, he had used all of the inner Qi within his body, which had been enhanced by leaps and bounds by the Qi-increasing elixir. Without the qi-gathering elixir, even if he had exhausted all of his inner Qi and flung the spear, he would not have been able to injured the red goshawk as seriously as he did.
Hence, he had felt very lucky. Furthermore, Big Gold and Little Gold could only have destroyed the red goshawk so easily because they had taken the qi-increasing elixir too. Otherwise, with their current strength, even if the red goshawk was so seriously injured, they may not have been able to kill it.
“Young Master, we did not expect it as well.” Hearing Zhou Donghuang’s words, Big Gold laughed bitterly, as Little Gold followed suit. Both of them also had never expected that even the red goshawk, which was one of the most inferior species among the eagle demons, would be able to achieve the late Connate stage within such a short time at this place. Late Connate demons were vastly stronger than middle Connate demons; the difference between the two could be said to be like comparing Earth to the skies.
“Forget it, no matter what, we managed to get through this crisis.” Zhou Donghuang shook his head. When he looked at Big Gold and Little Gold again, his eyes turned strange. “Then again… the two of you, just let the body of the red goshawk drop all the way down like that? Although it had not achieved the primal core stage, or crystallized the inner core… but as a late Connate stage demon, every piece of flesh and bone on its body is filled with intense concentrated spirit energy. That is the product of the spirit energy that it had absorbed from the Earth and air during its practice. If you consumed its body, Big Gold would be another step closer to achieving the Connate stage, and Little Gold will definitely be able to achieve Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering within a few days.”
As his words left his mouth, Big Gold and Little Gold seemed to turn crazy as they flapped their wings desperately and sped downwards towards the carcass that was falling through the air.
“Those two dumb birds.” Shaking his head again at the two golden-crowned eagles, Zhou Donghuang turned his attention to the cave behind him. Standing there, he could still clearly feel that gentle energy that was cascading out from the cave behind him. Most importantly, he would hear Sanskrit chanting surrounding him.
Zhou Donghuang was not a Buddhist monk after all. This Sanskrit chanting would seem like the words of a higher God in the ears of a Buddhist monk, but to him, it sounded just the same as any other noise.
“Let’s take a look inside.” Zhou Donghuang pulled a torch out and lit it with fire, then ventured into the dark depths of the cave. Inside, he listened closely to confirm that there was no other living being within the cave. Typically, there would be no chance of any other living thing inside the cave… because the other living thing would definitely compete with the red goshawk for the benefits of the Buddhist essence, and the red goshawk would surely no tolerate that.
“Young Master, it’s so incredible.” Zhou Dongunag had just slowly walked into the cave, but within the period of ten breaths, Big Gold and Little Gold had returned. Looking at the blood stains on their mouths, it was easy to tell that they had already swallowed the red goshawk whole.
Little Gold walked behind Zhou Donghuang, looking towards Zhou Donghuang with eyes that were filled with respect. “If not for your reminder, I would never have thought… that red goshawk’s body would bring me so much benefits! Now, I feel that the last bottleneck of the Petty Consummation of Qi-Gathering has been loosened, and if I begin practicing now, I am confident of breaking through the frontier within a day and achieve Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering!” With that, Little Gold’s voice was extremely excited.
Although Big Gold was silent, its eyes were filled with unmistakable gratitude. It was clear that it felt as pumped as Little Gold was at that moment.
“The body of the red goshawk was just an appetizer…. the most valuable thing in this place is the Buddhist essence!” Zhou Donghuang did not even turn back to look at the two golden-crowned eagles as he walked straight into the depths of the cave, his footsteps increasing in speed.