Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"No good, hurry to the scripture vault for defense."

"No, to the ancestral cave dwelling."

"It’s over, all is lost."

...

At this moment, at the mountain peak.

It was equally chaotic.

As the formation broke and Bai Niao descended, everyone’s body and mind were shaken, their faces showing despair.

Some began to run in all directions, some stood still in disbelief, while many others followed Sect Leader Xia Hongyi in a frantic retreat to the ancestral cave dwelling, and Chen Li’s phantom body moved with the main force.

Chen Li wanted to act low-key, but unfortunately, he could no longer keep a low profile.

He was surrounded by a crowd.

Up until now, no one had realized that it was just a phantom of Chen Li.

As for why he did not cast spells or control his magic artifact, and could easily keep up with the others just by instinctual flight, in such chaos, no one paid attention.

"Save me... Ah!" A shrill scream came from behind.

Chen Li looked back.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator was casually pecked by Bai Niao in midair, its neck tilting with ease as it picked up the cultivator like a worm, and swallowed the whole body into its belly.

This was a huge creature, with wings spanning nearly 25 to 26 meters wide.

Even the sharp, green beak was two to three meters long.

For a Second Order demon beast, such a size wasn’t considered big. In fact, it was relatively small. Excluding its wingspan, the size of many Second Order demon beasts could easily crush it.

However, combined with the mysterious glow around its body and the terrifying pressure of a Golden Core like a mountain, it made people feel as imposing as a mountain, like ants facing the top of the food chain, with no thoughts of resistance.

It then targeted another cultivator, spreading its wings and rapidly gliding through the low air.

The cultivator was running frantically, oblivious to the looming death. By the time they sensed the fierce wind behind them, it was too late. Aside from a cry of despair, they didn’t have a chance to struggle before being swallowed whole.

It circled gracefully in the low sky like a white Reaper inspecting its domain, hunting Foundation Establishment cultivators with efficiency and occasionally letting out a pleased cry.

Even faced with sporadic attacks, the demon bird remained unscathed, its feathers’ glow deflecting them without losing a single feather.

Chen Li watched, feeling a chill run through his body, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Don’t fly, run on the ground," Xia Hongyi shouted, his face etched with grief.

No sooner had he spoken than Bai Niao had already fixed its gaze on the main group of people here.

With a slight flutter of its wings, its huge body lunged at high speed.

"No good, run!"

Every person was terrified, their faces turning as pale as wax, and they quickly scattered in all directions. At this moment, not caring about landing, they wished they had been born with several more pairs of wings.

Zhao Qiankun, who had recently reached Foundation Establishment, was the first to encounter disaster.

With his low cultivation and slow reaction, by the time he came to his senses, Bai Niao was already upon him. Overwhelmed by the Golden Core’s oppressive might, he went limp and plunged from the sky, to be caught and swallowed by the approaching Bai Niao.

Next was Bai Yuqing.

She tried to use her golden bell magic artifact in a final struggle.

Unfortunately, like an ant trying to shake a tree, the magic artifact was sent flying by Bai Niao’s massive body, its whereabouts unknown.

The next moment, Bai Yuqing perished.

Everything happened too fast. From the breaking of the formation to now, barely twenty to thirty seconds had passed, and six to seven Foundation Establishment cultivators had already met their fate. It was nothing short of a massacre. At this rate, there would be very few Foundation Establishment cultivators who could escape.

Chen Li’s expression grew somber, with no time for sorrow, as he too had been targeted.

It was a terrifying feeling, as if his mind was tightly gripped, his life force locked on, and a crushing pressure washed over him. His thoughts wavered, and his phantom body showed signs of collapsing. He swiftly increased his speed and flew toward the ground.

Although it was just a phantom, losing it would not be a great loss.

But after all, it was part of his strength, and during times like these, more strength meant more hope for survival.

In midair, he formed seals and recited incantations, quickly casting a spell.

With the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment sixth level as a phantom body, plus being a body of mana, lightweight and insubstantial, even without any spells, his instinctual flight was much faster than the average mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator using Sword Flight.

"Earth Escape Skill!"

Before Bai Niao could get close, Chen Li had already landed, burrowed into the earth, all in one go.

After Bai Niao missed its target, it paid no heed and flew toward another.

Chen Li, having delved over a hundred meters underground, felt the danger had passed and resurfaced.

He happened to see Xia Hongyi struggling in his final moments. He raised a round shield-shaped defense magic artifact and used a flying sword to attack, but it was in vain. The rapidly swift sword, yet to harm Bai Niao, was simply pecked at casually by its beak, breaking into two pieces and losing all its spirit.

Then came the breaking of defenses and the demise of the man, entirely swallowed.

Chen Li watched in a daze.

A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator had just died like that.

Completely crushed.

He hardly performed any better than one at the initial stage of Foundation Establishment, without even a trace of struggle.

Chen Li looked around blankly. The Foundation Establishment cultivators who were flying in the sky were almost gone. It was unclear how many had escaped and how many had died.

"Boom!"

Just as he was preparing to find a hidden corner to continue watching Bai Niao, to find a slim chance of survival for his true self.

Suddenly, an object flew like a meteor, striking the circling Bai Niao squarely, accompanied by a dazzling light. Bai Niao let out a miserable scream, its colossal body tumbling through the air while countless feathers fell like rain.

"You beast, courting death!"

The ancestor who had been in seclusion was finally disturbed.

Chen Li first felt joy when he heard this, but upon seeing the ancestor’s figure clearly, he was taken aback.

He saw his complexion was pale as gold paper, completely devoid of color.

Even more serious was the fact that his face seemed to have aged by a decade or two, showing signs of old age, completely different from his previous middle-aged appearance.

This was a damage to his very foundation!

Bai Niao tumbled several times in mid-air before it stopped and hovered, its eyes shining with ferocity. Despite the loss of some feathers, there seemed to be no other damage to its body.

"Not good! The ancestor is probably no match for this bird demon," Chen Li’s heart sank.

"Scream!"

Clearly angered, Bai Niao let out a fierce cry. Accompanied by profound and vast mana fluctuations, the entire mountaintop was engulfed in fierce winds and shaking trees. The next moment, it flapped its wings and dove fiercely towards the ancestor.

"Now is the time, if not now, when?" He Zhao shouted, his beard and hair standing on end, his robe billowing without any wind.

He knew he could not escape and was preparing for a final fight, recalling the pride of just having moved here, and now the dead end they had reached.

He hated!

He hated the heavens for being unfair, he hated his disciples for being incompetent, and he hated his own greed for leading to this situation!

His skin seemed to crack, emitting streaks of dazzling spiritual light...

"Elder!"

"Don’t do it, elder!"

From afar, people were shouting mournfully.

Watching the tragic scene unfold before him, Chen Li’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.

...

Before long, at the mountainside, a spirit wood flying shuttle emerged from the mountain and headed towards the distance.

Inside the flying shuttle, no one spoke, the atmosphere oppressively terrifying.

’Hurry up, hurry faster.’

The sluggish speed made Chen Li anxious.

Sadly, his anxiety was in vain, and all he could do was forcefully suppress his heart.

He looked down at the ground!

It was a scene of chaos.

Everywhere there were people fleeing, cultivators flying, commoners running, some even with their families, cries and shouts were mixed together.

It was uncertain how many could escape.

As for Luoluo City, along with the Loose Cultivators at the foot of the mountain, it was already deserted, and it was unknown where Gu Mengqing and his family were scattered. They should still be alive.

His heart was in turmoil.

He glanced back from time to time.

Behind him was a chaos of sand and stone.

Mana fluctuations were getting more intense...

It had only been ten to twenty seconds of flight when a blinding white light suddenly lit up behind them.

"Boom!"

The flying shuttle was blown erratically by the strong shockwave, wobbling, but barely managed to hold on. Once the flying shuttle stabilized, Chen Li quickly looked back.

The dazzling light in the distance had not yet completely dissipated, and Chen Li had already heard the Bai Niao, sounding alarmed, calling out repeatedly in the high sky.

But in the last moment, it managed to escape the self-detonation of a Golden Core.

ps: Sorry, I’m late!