On the outskirts of the Purple Cloud Mountain Range, a cultivator clad in green robes slowly flew over a mountaintop, heading eastward, looking quite haggard.
This person was Lin Tianming, who had spent several days escaping from the ruins of the Cave Mansion, covered in grime and dirt.
Along the way, he had been involved in several life-and-death encounters. Had Lin Tianming not always been cautious, always adhering to the principle of "if you can't beat them, run," he might very well have perished in there.
Moreover, Lin Tianming had exhausted all of his means of fighting enemies. As he emerged from the Cave Mansion, he was obstructed once again by a group of Snow Spirit Fish in the water. More than twenty of them leaped to attack him, and it was only by timely deploying his last remaining First Order Superior Defense Talisman that he narrowly escaped.
As a result, he sustained not insignificant injuries.
Not only did he encounter the Snow Spirit Fish, but along the way, he inexplicably ran into a Second Order Late-Stage Demon Beast. He used an Attack Talisman to stall it for a moment, which allowed him to successfully escape with his life.
Now, he didn't have a single talisman left on him, truly penniless.
Half an hour later, Lin Tianming appeared before the Cave Mansion where he had stayed a night before entering the mountain range, pushing aside a large tree that blocked the entrance and walked inside after deploying a few Illusion Techniques and warning restrictions.
Sitting on the stone bed inside the secret chamber, he took out a Consolidating Essence Pill and swallowed it to recover from his injuries.
Having left Qingfeng Town Clan Territory just over a month ago, and not in a hurry, Lin Tianming planned to return to Qingfeng Town only after he had fully recovered.
Half a month swiftly passed by, and Lin Tianming opened his tightly shut eyes.
At this moment, Lin Tianming's aura had significantly increased, and he appeared to have reached the peak of the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, on the verge of breaking through to the Seventh Level at any moment.
Having been away for over a month and fully recovered from his injuries, it was time to return to Qingfeng Town, otherwise, he would have a hard time explaining himself to his family if anything were to happen.
Exiting the Cave Mansion, he removed the restrictions and used a large tree to cover the entrance once again.
Summoning the Qingfeng Sword, he turned into a streak of green light, shooting straight toward Qingfeng Town in the east.
Having disappeared for over a month, the patrol task had been delayed by half a month. Before going back, Lin Tianming planned to patrol the area within a hundred miles around Qingfeng Town.
In a large plain over fifty miles west of Qingfeng Town, numerous mortals were busy working in the fields, with men and women bustling about joyously.
Suddenly, a series of demonic winds blew through the sky, and several older adults and half-grown children could not withstand the fierce winds, with some being blown several dozen feet high.
Most of the mortals who had not yet been lifted by the wind ran together toward a row of large trees on the embankment, hoping to find a tree to take shelter from the wind.
In the midst of the chaos, someone suddenly shouted in terror, "There's a demon in the sky!"
Hearing this, a multitude of mortals uniformly looked up to the sky with expressions of excessive fear on their faces.
They could see the monster in the sky getting closer, a piercing scream rang out, causing several of them to bleed from their nostrils and mouths.
An experienced elder yelled in fright, "It's a Flying Monster Beast!"
A Purple Gold Eagle, several dozen feet in size, came into view, with a golden beak resembling a dagger, slightly curved. Its wide wings, when fully spread, spanned over a dozen feet, and it moved with incredible speed; in an instant, it was hovering just above the heads of the mortals.
The Purple Gold Eagle, a Flying Monster Beast, was said to contain a trace of the Gold-winged Roc's bloodline in its body. If the bloodline was pure enough and they could revert back to their ancestors successfully, they would evolve into Gold-winged Rocs, which were extremely powerful.
An adult Purple Gold Eagle was a Second Order Late Phase beast known for its lightning-fast speed, ranking near the top among Flying Monster Beasts. However, this Purple Gold Eagle was merely a First Order Medium Stage beast, still in its juvenile phase.
The Purple Gold Eagle seemed to appear within the range of the Purple Cloud Mountain Range by chance, likely having unintentionally flown out of the peripheral area. Given its speed, it could fly from the Purple Cloud Mountain Range to Qingfeng Town in merely fifteen minutes.
Upon seeing the multitude of mortals, the Purple Gold Eagle dove down and extended its sharp claws, snatching up several people before preparing to fly off with them.
Lin Tianming just happened to be patrolling the area and saw the beast causing harm to the people. Naturally, he had to take action to teach the beast a lesson and rescue the captured mortals.
Suddenly, a furious shout echoed through the sky!
"Monstrous beast, halt!"
Lin Tianming chased after it, riding on the Qingfeng Sword, his hands continuously forming seals, casting a Fireball Technique and hurling it towards the Purple Gold Eagle to intercept it for a moment.
The Purple Gold Eagle flapped its wings furiously, spitting out a fireball that collided with Lin Tianming's Fireball Technique.
The two flames violently collided in mid-air, and after a loud explosion, the fireballs burst apart, scattering hot air waves in all directions.
Numerous ordinary people were swept up by the blast and were knocked head over heels.
Many of the commoners, after their initial fright, regained their senses, their faces flushed with joy, and exclaimed with madness,
"It's a cultivator!"
Lin Tianming's face was grave as he prepared several Law Decrees with his hands, ready to summon the Divine Ability Fire Yuan Slash to directly slay the beast.
The Purple Gold Eagle released the humans in its claws, as a cultivator's flesh and blood were more than a hundred times better than that of an ordinary person. Diving down, it headed straight for Lin Tianming, intending to kill him on the spot.
Lin Tianming cast several spells to hold the falling ordinary people aloft and placed them on the mountain behind him.
With no worries behind him, he poured all his strength into the Fire Yuan Slash, transforming it into a huge sword enveloped by a blue and red escape light, and it collided with the beak of the Purple Gold Eagle.
Several metallic clangs reverberated through the heavens, and hurting from the impact, the Purple Gold Eagle realized it was no match, and beat its wings frantically to escape the area.
Seeing this, Lin Tianming swung another giant sword slash. The Purple Gold Eagle was unable to dodge in time, and the flame-enveloped great sword sliced right into its wing.
With a sizzle...
The several-zhang-long Purple Gold Eagle fell straight from the sky and smashed into the ground, creating a huge crater.
The Purple Gold Eagle now lay gasping, a half-zhang-long gash on its left wing bleeding profusely, bones and flesh clearly visible, and it still flickered its wings, attempting to take off and flee once more.
After struggling dozens of times, it still could not fly. As its vitality grew weaker, the Purple Gold Eagle lay there with wide eyes, viciously staring at Lin Tianming in front of it.
Lin Tianming did not continue to attack, but was pondering something else.
The Purple Gold Eagle was severely injured. Killing it would be easy, but if he could subdue it, it would be a great help during fights and journeys.
The Purple Gold Eagle was extremely fast in flight and could also be useful in combat, making it suitable for taming and cultivation.
Lin Tianming stood aside, deploying his Divine Sense to infiltrate the Purple Gold Eagle's sea of consciousness, attempting to leave his mark on the creature's soul.
The Purple Gold Eagle resisted fiercely, but to little effect; it could only struggle and show great resistance.
Half a quarter of an hour passed.
Lin Tianming successfully left his Divine Sense mark on the Purple Gold Eagle's soul, completely controlling its life. If the beast were to resist, he only needed a thought to detonate its soul and kill it.
This Purple Gold Eagle was only in its juvenile stage with low Spirit Wisdom. Although it was highly resistant, it had no choice; its fate was controlled by Lin Tianming, and it could not resist, only able to whine in pain, bowing its head and rubbing against the hem of Lin Tianming's clothes, expressing submission.
Since the Demonic Beast had sincerely submitted, Lin Tianming took out two Lingshen Pills and one Consolidating Essence Pill from his storage bag and tossed them to the Purple Gold Eagle, which opened its mouth and swallowed the elixirs before lying in the pit to recover from its injuries.
Although the elixirs used for cultivation and healing by cultivators were not as effective for Demonic Beasts as they were for humans, they were still significantly helpful. And since Lin Tianming did not have any elixirs suitable for healing Demonic Beasts, he had to make do with the Lingshen Pill and Consolidating Essence Pill for now.
Lin Tianming instructed the nearby ordinary people to leave while he stayed to watch over the Purple Gold Eagle, waiting for it to recover from its injuries.