Chapter 739

Chapter 739: Delay

"Old Sword, you keep saying I’m the person with a destined fate, but you saw what’s happening outside. How am I supposed to defeat something as invincible as the Golden Winged Roc?" Ye Xiaoyao asked, his voice tinged with doubt.

Old Sword rolled his eyes at Ye Xiaoyao’s words. "You’re overestimating yourself. No one said you have to kill it. According to the Elder Council, that Golden Winged Roc is just an avatar. Even with all its power, it can only stay in this realm for a few hundred years. No matter how bad things get for the human race, just endure. It’ll pass."

"But a few hundred years? By then, the cultivation world will be overrun by the beast race," Ye Xiaoyao said, his anxiety creeping into his voice.

"You’re overthinking it. The human race isn’t as weak as you think. The Upper Zun from the Elder Council will definitely leave a backup plan before ascending. Your job is to find a safe place, go into seclusion, and cultivate for a few hundred years. When you come out, it’ll be your time to shine," Old Sword reassured him.

Ye Xiaoyao nodded, though he still seemed uneasy. "It’s just a shame I couldn’t get in touch with that artifact great master, no matter what I tried," he sighed.

"Don’t worry about it. A celestial tool Spiritual Sword isn’t everything. You’ll get your chance eventually," Old Sword said, trying to ease his worries.

Ye Xiaoyao stood up, deciding to head to the Affairs Hall at the Elder Council headquarters to pick up some tasks. After all his efforts, he was now considered a semi-core member of the Elder Council. He had the right to exchange Contribution Points for celestial tools, but the amount needed was staggering. It would take him thousands of years to accumulate enough at this rate.

Meanwhile, at Lin Sen Fairy City, near the entrance to the two realms, a massive blade formed from the Five Elements Spiritual Domain loomed in the sky. The blade was stained with streaks of beast blood. Spirit Cut stood there, holding the severed head of a giant lion, his eyes burning with killing intent as he stared at the entrance to the two realms.

"Your clan could’ve lived a little longer, but you brought this on yourselves. Don’t blame fate for your misfortune," Spirit Cut muttered coldly.

With a team of puppets at his side, Spirit Cut stepped into the two realms. Along the way, he unleashed a relentless wave of destruction. Eight beast kings had already fallen to his giant blade, and countless lower-ranked members of the beast race had been slaughtered. Every time he reached a holy city, he would unleash the East Wind Divine Technique, wiping out everything in its path with the power of the Five Elements Spiritual Domain. Only the strongest beast race members, those at the Core Formation stage or higher, could survive his onslaught—but to Spirit Cut, they were nothing more than scraps.

His face was a mask of fury as he charged forward, cutting down everything in his way. The bottleneck he had hit in his cultivation was shattered through sheer bloodshed.

Outside the holy city of the Holy Lion Clan, a vast sea of colorful spiritual energy began to form. The Five Elements of Spiritual Energy slowly condensed, and East Wind missiles started to take shape. Spirit Cut stood there, his eyes filled with killing intent as he gazed at the holy city.

"Revenge does have its charm," Spirit Cut said with a dark smile.

Just then, Grape’s voice rang out.

“Spirit Cut Elder, let’s not wipe out the Holy Lion Clan entirely. Leave a thousand for breeding.”

“My master once mentioned that the Holy Lion Clan has a striking appearance, making them ideal as mounts.”

“With two beast kings from the Holy Lion Clan subdued, the Hidden Spirit Sect could use a pair of guardian lions at its entrance.”

After hearing Grape’s words, Spirit Cut waved his hand, dispersing half of the East Wind missiles.

He paused, then decided to disperse another half.

“Since the Grand Elder has given the order, we’ll spare some of the Holy Lion Clan to ensure their survival.”

Spirit Cut formed seals with his hands, launching three East Wind missiles. They streaked through the sky, trailing long flames as they hurtled toward the holy city of the Holy Lion Clan.

“It’s a shame Xu Gang isn’t here. He would’ve loved to see this destruction.”

As three mushroom clouds rose in the distance over the Holy Lion Clan’s holy city, Spirit Cut grinned and led his puppets into the fray.

Outside the Elder Council headquarters, the Celestial Turtle reappeared alongside the Golden Winged Roc.

“I’ve thought it over. You’re all people of honor, so the least I can do is grant you a dignified death.”

The Golden Winged Roc revealed its true form, its massive claw seizing a higher-ranked elder.

It was Duanshan, the same elder who had been eager to sacrifice himself earlier.

“Ming Kong Elder, I’ll go ahead of you,” Duanshan said, his eyes filled with resolve.

With his final breath, he unleashed all his source power, summoning his most devastating divine ability.

A giant axe materialized in the sky, infused with all of Duanshan’s primal energy.

The blade shimmered with scriptures, and the character for “cut” glowed on its surface, as if it could cleave through any celestial mountain or peak.

The Golden Winged Roc, still clutching Duanshan, glanced up at the giant axe, sensing a faint trace of danger.

But it was nothing more than a flicker.

The axe descended with the force of the heavens, as if the Golden Winged Roc itself were the mountain destined to be split.

“Boom!!”

The Golden Winged Roc raised its wing to block the strike, but the axe only managed to sever a few feathers.

“Impressive. You’ve actually managed to wound me,” the Golden Winged Roc remarked coolly before tightening its grip.

Duanshan disintegrated into a cloud of blood mist.

“That’s enough for today. We’ll continue tomorrow,” the Golden Winged Roc said, transforming into human form and retreating to the palace.

It reveled in the expressions of the invincible respected elders of the Elder Council, savoring their despair.

When the Upper Zun was alive, the Golden Winged Roc had despised the smug confidence of the higher-ranked elders.

Now, it took pleasure in seeing their pride replaced with fear and hopelessness.

Ming Kong returned to the Elder Council headquarters with the others and the pureblood Qilin.

The atmosphere was grim. The human race was now at a severe disadvantage.

The top-tier invincible respected elders of the human race were under constant surveillance by the Golden Winged Roc.

Any attempt by the Elder Council to send reinforcements to the human race would provoke a full-scale assault on their headquarters by the beast race.

If not for Xu Fan’s intervention, the Elder Council would have been trapped in an impossible situation.

Were the fairy cities of the human race important? Absolutely.

But the Elder Council headquarters was even more critical, housing nearly half of the human race’s accumulated strength.

If it fell to the beast race, all hope would be lost.

“Tomorrow, we’ll deploy the sword formation puppet sent by the grandmaster. With its support, we might reduce casualties and buy more time,” Ming Kong said.

The others nodded in agreement, knowing they had no other options.

At that moment, they couldn’t help but think of the Upper Zun. In the past, they had only known him to be powerful and enigmatic, but the true extent of his strength had been unclear.

Now, after facing the Golden Winged Roc, their respect for the Upper Zun had grown immensely.

To hold the upper hand against such a formidable foe was truly remarkable.

A person’s strength is often reflected in the caliber of their opponents.

“We must protect that sword formation puppet at all costs. A full set of Nine Immortal Swords and thousands of Spiritual Swords—it’s an extraordinary investment,” one of the higher-ranked elders remarked, awed by the sheer scale of the puppet’s arsenal.

“Indeed. We’ll have the pureblood Qilin provide additional support,” Ming Kong added.

“Let’s hope this gives us the time we need,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, on Hidden Spirit Island, within the acceleration small world,

Xu Fan was deep in cultivation. Profound scriptures floated around him, and an endless stream of five elemental origins and celestial energy swirled in the air, fueling his progress.