"Dark cyan-brown feathers, a golden beak, blue-iris eagle eyes... if the feathers on top of its head were completely white, then it should be a subspecies of a third-rank demonic beast."

Zhou Wu made this inference about the specific breed of the demonic beast, then spoke toward Nie Yu's direction:

"Junior Brother Nie, if it truly is a third-rank demonic beast, then I don't have much confidence in defeating it either. Moreover, it's getting dark now. If we continue to stay in the Martial Immortal Mountain Range, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to fully look after all our junior brothers and sisters..."

"Senior Brother Zhou."

Before Zhou Wu could even finish his words, Nie Yu spoke coldly:

"Do you really take me for a fool? If the feathers on top of the head were completely white, then yes, it would undoubtedly be a subspecies of a third-rank demonic beast. But this man just made it very clear - there are only a few white feathers on the crown. So it absolutely cannot be a subspecies of a third-rank demonic beast, but rather a second-rank one."

"Even if it is a second-rank demonic beast, it's still quite troublesome."

Zhou Wu continued.

"I alone am more than enough."

Nie Yu said.

This heaven-chosen talent from the Moon-Embracing Sect possessed absolute confidence in himself.

The strength of a second-rank demonic beast could basically be considered roughly half a tier above that of an ordinary Qi Circulation Realm cultivator.

But Nie Yu was no ordinary Qi Circulation Realm cultivator.

At just fifteen years old, he had already reached the peak of the Qi Circulation Realm. With his natural aptitude and combat prowess, he could absolutely be called the number one Qi Circulation Realm cultivator within a radius of a hundred thousand li.

"You... you all want to go hunt that strange bird?"

Chen Yan deliberately put on a shocked expression, gazing at the several young cultivators dressed in dark cyan daoist robes before him. After hesitating briefly, he waved his hands repeatedly:

"It won't work, that absolutely won't work. That strange bird is far too powerful. In the past two months, several of the village's best beast hunters have already fallen to that strange bird. You all are no match for it!"

Seeing the flustered look of this mountain wild man before him, Gao Tai, standing off to the side, first revealed a contemptuous sneer, then picked up a thumb-sized stone from the ground and placed it in his palm:

"We're no match for that strange bird?"

As he spoke, Gao Tai clenched his fist around the stone. When he opened his palm again, the stone had been crushed into fine dust.

"Oh my..."

Chen Yan first displayed an utterly astonished expression, as if his entire worldview had been completely shaken. Then, as though he had pondered for a brief moment, he finally made up his mind:

"That strange bird has already harmed far too many people. If you all truly wish to hunt it, I can personally lead the way."

"..."

Zhou Wu clearly wanted to say something, but before he could even open his mouth, Nie Yu had already spoken up first:

"Then we'll be in your care, big brother."

As he spoke, Nie Yu walked toward the mountain wild man.

The other Moon-Embracing Sect disciples also followed one after another, leaving only Zhou Wu at the very back, staring at Nie Yu's retreating figure for a long time.

Having broken through to the Martial Spring Realm at the age of twenty-four, Zhou Wu naturally received considerable attention within the Moon-Embracing Sect, so he was no stranger to dealing with Nie Yu on a regular basis.

Yet the two of them were never truly familiar with each other, until Zhou Wu's poaching expedition into the Martial Immortal Mountain Range was discovered by Nie Yu.

But throughout this process, the relationship between Zhou Wu and Nie Yu seemed to deteriorate further and further.

He knew all too well just how much the sect valued Nie Yu - this genius who had cultivated to the peak of the Qi Circulation Realm at fifteen years old and would definitely break through to the Martial Spring Realm within a year.

One could even say that the burden of the Moon-Embracing Sect's next sect leader would inevitably fall upon Nie Yu's shoulders.

So what would his own prospects within the Moon-Embracing Sect look like then?

Nie Yu's talent far surpassed his own. Once Nie Yu broke through to the Martial Spring Realm, that would mean he would forever be trampled beneath Nie Yu's feet, with no hope of ever turning the tables.

So perhaps this was already the last chance.

Staring at Nie Yu's back, Zhou Wu steeled himself with a certain resolve.

......

Everything was completely within Chen Yan's spiritual sense.

Whether it was the wild boar or the trail of the blue-iris eagle, all of it had been detected by Chen Yan's spiritual sense.

The deeper they walked into the dense forest of the mountain range, the taller and thicker the trees became. Combined with the fact that sunset was approaching, the light had grown extremely dim. The dark cyan daoist robes worn by these Moon-Embracing Sect disciples had turned a deep blue under such poor lighting.

Further ahead lay a stretch of withered forest.

"It's right in that withered forest up ahead."

The mountain "wild man" dressed in coarse cloth garments lowered his voice, appearing extremely fearful as he said:

"It's... in its nest right now."

Everyone followed the direction the mountain "wild man" was pointing.

There, in the center of that withered forest, stood an extraordinarily thick ancient tree with gnarled, twisted branches towering majestically.

Though the crown bore no green leaves, it was covered in dried vines and patches of dark gray moss, resembling a rotting giant skeleton in the gloom.

At the very top of the canopy, faintly visible through the dim rays of the setting sun filtering through the forest, was the outline of a massive nest constructed from thick dead branches.

And within the nest, the faint silhouette of a giant bird could be seen preening its feathers.

The breathing of these young Moon-Embracing Sect disciples began to grow slightly rapid.

Even Gao Tai - the Moon-Embracing Sect disciple who had crushed a stone in his palm with such arrogance not long ago - was no exception.

Before laying eyes on the blue-iris eagle, these young Moon-Embracing Sect disciples had all been brimming with confidence; but after seeing it with their own eyes, they all began to have second thoughts.

It was just a mere demonic beast.

These inexperienced young cultivators were always incredibly self-assured, but when it actually came time for them to charge into battle personally, they all shrank back.

"How about... we forget it?"

After a moment, the female cultivator who had previously mocked Chen Yan's accent spoke up timidly:

"Why don't we just head back, Senior Brother Nie, Senior Brother Zhou?"

"Right, we've already been to the Martial Immortal Mountain Range anyway. There's no real need to hunt this demonic beast, is there?"

Everyone began urging Nie Yu to leave.

Nie Yu's expression turned somewhat gloomy. If it were only Zhou Wu holding the opposite opinion, that would be one thing. But with all these disciples getting cold feet, the situation was becoming rather delicate.

If this continued, he would have no choice but to turn back...

"Whoa!"

Just as Nie Yu was about to make his decision, the middle-aged man in coarse cloth garments suddenly slipped, crashing heavily to the ground while letting out an extremely loud shriek.

"Screech!"

A sharp, piercing cry rang out from the withered forest.

No way out now.

Nie Yu thought to himself.

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