Chapter Twenty-Four: Battle of the Spirit Beasts

“Ding, alert: a spirit beast is attacking the mountain gate. Please use our site’s pinyin domain to access our book platform,” the Sect Master System sounded in Jiang Yan’s ear.

A spirit beast attacking the mountain gate—Jiang Yan frowned, leapt atop the Golden-Eyed Eagle, and with a thought, the eagle soared into the skies. He wanted to see for himself what spirit beast dared to assault the gate of Mount Hua.

“Senior Brother,” Yun Ying stood beside the Golden-Eyed Eagle, calling out crisply. Jiang Yan glanced at her helplessly, extended his hand, and a stream of spiritual energy enveloped Yun Ying, lifting her onto the eagle.

Yun Ying looked down at the two puppies on the ground and called, “Puppies!” The black and white pups transformed into streaks of light, leaping onto the eagle’s back and settling beside her.

As the Golden-Eyed Eagle flew overhead, Jiang Yan saw from afar that the mist around the mountain gate, once tranquil, now billowed and churned like boiling water, thick smoke rising and angry roars echoing from within.

With each furious beast’s roar, the dense mist abruptly thinned. Jiang Yan’s heart tightened—this spirit beast was no ordinary creature, able to breach the mountain-protecting formation that kept out cultivators below the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.

Though the formation only repelled those up to the fifth layer, it meant sixth-layer cultivators could freely enter and exit. To break the formation outright required at least the strength of a seventh-layer cultivator. For a spirit beast to shatter the formation—it must be at least a mid-tier Grade One spirit beast.

“Roar—!” With a final bellow, the mountain-protecting formation was breached. The mist dispersed, revealing a golden-furred canine spirit beast standing within the gate.

Jiang Yan stared in shock. He had seen this spirit beast on the road to Qingyang Town; back then, the Howling Heaven Dog unleashed its Soul Howl, nearly stunning the Golden-Eyed Eagle, and a dog-shaped spirit beast on the ground had been knocked out cold. That stunned spirit beast looked identical to the one before him now.

A low, threatening growl rumbled from the Howling Heaven Dog.

“Woof woof—!” The Soul Howl Dog barked at the distant spirit beast.

“Roar—!” The spirit beast inside the gate let out a deafening roar, shaking all of Mount Hua and startling Tang Wan and her companions as they practiced in the mid-mountain training field.

Tang Wan frowned, casting a worried glance at Nanmen Luo, who remained immersed in swirling white mist, undisturbed by the beast’s roar. Relieved, she spoke, “Junior Mu, guard Junior Nan as he refines the Bone-Easing Pill. I’ll go down the mountain to see what’s happening—such a tremendous beast’s roar can’t be ignored.” Tang Wan instructed Mu Yun to protect Nanmen Luo, then descended Six-Star Terrace and flew toward the mountain gate.

“Woof woof—!” The Howling Heaven Dog suddenly barked, leaping off the Golden-Eyed Eagle toward the canine spirit beast emerging from the gate.

“Woof woof—!” The Soul Howl Dog followed, jumping off the eagle’s back and charging at the spirit beast.

“Woof… woof…” As soon as the Howling Heaven Dog and the spirit beast met, it unleashed its exclusive skill—Soul Howl.

“Woof… woof…” The Soul Howl Dog followed, activating its exclusive skill—Soul Seize.

Jiang Yan watched as visible sound waves, centered on the two dogs, surged toward the spirit beast. Wherever the waves passed, trees and vegetation were swept away, exposed ground shattered into fragments, and the hard earth was gouged into deep trenches—a terrifying scene.

“Roar—!” The spirit beast retaliated, its angry, muffled roar blasting like a condensed sonic bomb, colliding with the dogs’ attack waves.

“Boom—!” Three waves crashed together with a deafening explosion, leaving a half-meter-deep crater where they met.

“Spurt—!” The direct impact stopped the dogs’ sound waves, but the sides continued forward, scraping the spirit beast and drawing blood.

“Roar—!” The spirit beast roared in fury; bright light flared from its body, blocking the attack waves from the dogs.

“Spirit Shield!” Jiang Yan’s eyes widened in disbelief at the spirit beast fighting his two pups at the gate.

The Spirit Shield marked a Grade Two spirit beast—its presence meant the beast could contend with Foundation Establishment masters. Below Foundation Establishment, a Grade Two spirit beast could sweep all before it; the one before him was such a beast.

Jiang Yan was stunned—a Grade Two spirit beast nearly equaled a Foundation Establishment cultivator, a being capable of overwhelming a Grade Two sect, let alone his own, which wasn’t even an unranked vassal sect.

His gaze returned to the battle: the Howling Heaven Dog and Soul Howl Dog were already locked in combat with the Grade Two beast, rolling across the ground, sometimes pinning each other, fighting fiercely. The Soul Howl Dog circled, occasionally unleashing Soul Seize to ambush the Grade Two beast.

That the Howling Heaven Dog could match a Grade Two beast surprised Jiang Yan; it was only a high-tier Grade One spirit beast, and the gulf between grades was vast.

Jiang Yan focused on the Grade Two beast fighting the Howling Heaven Dog. A transparent interface appeared:

Spirit Beast: Moon Mink, Unbound
Grade: Grade Two, Mid-Tier
Exclusive Skills: Soul Pursuit Slash (Grade Two, Low-Tier Attack), Spirit Shield (Grade Two, Low-Tier Defense)

The interface not only listed its skills—it showed the Grade Two Moon Mink was critically wounded, its health less than a third of total, and its spiritual power depleted, unable even to use its exclusive Soul Pursuit Slash.

A faint joy flickered in Jiang Yan’s heart; though the Howling Heaven Dog alone was no match for the Moon Mink, paired with the Soul Howl Dog’s mental attacks, the two pups could subdue the injured beast. Once they did, the Beast Gathering Mirror in the spirit beast garden could finally work its miracle.

“Roar—!” The Moon Mink finally pushed away the Howling Heaven Dog’s head, opening its jaws to bite the dog’s snowy neck.

“Woof woof—!” The Soul Howl Dog suddenly activated Soul Seize. The Moon Mink’s mind fogged, but with repeated exposure, it had developed some immunity—after a brief confusion, it recovered. By then, the Howling Heaven Dog had twisted its head away.

“Roar…” The Moon Mink growled in frustration but continued wrestling with the Howling Heaven Dog.

The Moon Mink was deeply vexed—nothing had gone right lately…

It originally lived atop a high mountain near Linqing Prefecture, not far from the only Grade Three sect in the region, the Golden Flame Sect. With few Foundation Establishment experts in Linqing, the Moon Mink clan acted boldly; Golden Flame disciples venturing into the mountains were often beaten and humiliated, but the sect, only suffering injuries, never retaliated. Had things remained thus, the Moon Mink’s days would have continued peacefully. But a single accidental killing provoked the wrath of Golden Flame.

Three days ago, the Moon Mink accidentally killed a Golden Flame disciple, drawing the sect’s fury. They dispatched two peak Qi Refinement experts to hunt it down. Yet against the Moon Mink’s Soul Pursuit Slash, the two failed to escape. After slaying several more, the sect’s true powerhouse was stirred.

Bai Mingyuan, a mid-Foundation Establishment master, personally pursued the Moon Mink. After a bloody battle, both sides were grievously wounded. Bai Mingyuan retreated to recover, and the Moon Mink fled its lair, desperate to get as far away as possible.

Wounded, the Moon Mink reached the foot of another mountain, only to suffer a sonic attack. Normally, it would ignore such Grade Two attacks, relying on its Spirit Shield for defense, but now, unable to muster the shield, it collapsed under the Howling Heaven Dog’s assault.

When it awoke, furious and intent on revenge, a Soul Seize echoed from the sky, muddling its mind and drawing its soul. Chasing after a giant eagle, it ran wildly…

Once the Moon Mink shook off the Soul Seize’s confusion, it found itself surrounded by white mist—the mountain-protecting formation of Mount Hua.

It wandered the mist for some time, unable to escape. Finally, in a fit of rage, it unleashed its Soul Pursuit Slash several times, breaking through the fog. Emerging, it saw the white pup that had stunned it days before.

Enemies met, and hatred flared. The Moon Mink charged, seeking vengeance, but its foe had gained an ally; before the fight even began, the black and white pups unleashed a barrage of sonic attacks.

Against their overwhelming assault, the Moon Mink had to resort to its last Soul Pursuit Slash to resist, then engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the white pup. The black pup, meanwhile, circled, occasionally launching a Soul Seize—though now ineffective, it was still a Grade One attack skill.

Under the relentless melee of the Howling Heaven Dog and the sporadic attacks of the Soul Howl Dog, the Moon Mink finally fell, clutching its enemy as it and the Soul Howl Dog collapsed together.

The Moon Mink, in a final burst of strength, brought down the Howling Heaven Dog, then the Soul Howl Dog—yet it too collapsed…

Jiang Yan landed the Golden-Eyed Eagle and cautiously approached the three spirit beasts. The Grade Two beast was finally down, along with his own two. At last, the beast had fallen.

He connected with his Sect Master’s ring, produced a porcelain bottle of spirit beast pills, flipped his wrist, and two pills appeared in his palm, their rich aroma filling the air. The Howling Heaven Dog, Soul Howl Dog, and Moon Mink all lifted their heads, eyes fixed intently on the pills in Jiang Yan’s hand.