At the critical moment, Xu Luo roared, "Roll over!"
The giant eagle subconsciously flipped its body. Only after turning over did it think, 'Is this human really that kind? He's actually going to block the arrow for me?'
In that instant, a wave of gratitude washed over the giant eagle's heart.
Xu Luo, wielding the black Seven Star Sword, instantly mobilized all the power in his body, concentrating it into his right arm.
The Shaking Light Star Soul and Kaiyang Star Soul in his Dantian erupted with an incomparably powerful energy at almost the same time, forming a corporeal barrier of True Essence Protection around Xu Luo's body!
CLANG!
The sound was earth-shattering, as if an enormous bell had been struck!
Xu Luo felt a vast power surge through the Seven Star Sword in his hand. His entire arm felt like it was about to go numb.
At that moment, the ink-black Seven Star Sword suddenly erupted with a dark radiance. This light was profound and deep, as if it could devour anything.
The long, Golden Arrow was directly swallowed by this mass of light, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
The light appeared and vanished in a flash. Xu Luo couldn't even see what had happened. He only felt as if his entire arm no longer belonged to him and roared, "What are you waiting for? Flee!"
When Xu Luo had just blocked that arrow, the immense force of the impact had given the giant eagle a minor internal injury, and its head was still spinning.
Hearing Xu Luo's roar, the giant eagle subconsciously flapped its wings with all its might and soared toward the high heavens.
It was thoroughly terrified. Although it knew that the old human was powerful, it had never expected him to possess such a technique.
If Xu Luo hadn't risked his life to block it, that arrow would have surely pierced right through its body...
The giant eagle didn't dare to dwell on the thought. It couldn't help but shudder as it flew away at top speed.
Xu Luo grimaced, withdrawing his Seven Star Sword and vigorously rubbing his numb right arm. He muttered, "That old bastard is terrifying. Looks like it's best to stay far away from him."
This time, the giant eagle didn't object. Instead, it nodded with lingering fear. Revenge was important, but senselessly throwing away its life was foolish. Besides, the white tiger didn't look like it would live much longer anyway.
Watching the giant eagle fly away again, the topknot elder's face turned ashen. But his triangular eyes revealed a pensive look. He frowned and murmured, "He could even block a Golden Arrow fired from my treasured bow... That damned little bastard is no simple character. Here in the Southern region, there doesn't seem to be any sect with such a prodigiously talented youth. Could it be... he's from an Ancient Race?"
As he spoke, the elder's expression grew solemn. He stroked the wisp of a goatee on his chin, his narrowed, triangular eyes glinting with suspicion and uncertainty. He glanced back at the white tiger with a look of pity and slowly walked towards it.
An animal's intuition is often superior to a human's. The white tiger opened its eyes, a look of confusion on its face as it gazed at its master.
"You're truly not going to make it," the topknot elder said. "Rather than die like this, why not give me your Inner Core to help me advance? In the future, I will surely avenge you!"
A Spirit Beast's Inner Core is extremely precious and very difficult to obtain, as Spirit Beasts will almost always dissolve their Inner Cores before death, refusing to leave them for others.
Sorrow filled the white tiger's eyes. It hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Master, you must promise me. You must avenge me!"
The topknot elder nodded. "Rest assured. As for that little brat, if I ever see him again, I will definitely not let him go!"
The white tiger nodded. It opened its mouth and spat out a blue orb the size of a baby's fist. The orb shimmered with a blue luster, like a beautiful azure pearl.
The white tiger instantly weakened, now on the verge of death.
The topknot elder was overjoyed. He took the blue orb and used his power to suspend it in front of him. Ignoring the white tiger, he sat down cross-legged on the ground and began to circulate his energy, intending to refine the Inner Core of this High-tier Spirit Beast.
The white tiger gasped for breath, feeling the strength in its body rapidly fading. It could already smell the scent of death.
At this point, the white tiger's heart was filled with regret. 'I'm a dignified High-tier Spirit Beast. Wouldn't it have been fine to just be the king of this mountain? Why did I have to go and eat that giant eagle's children?'
Watching its master circulate his energy to refine its Inner Core, the white tiger's heart filled with sorrow.
After a while, steam began to rise from the topknot elder's body, continuously billowing from the crown of his head.
Wisps of blue light, like spider silk, continuously streamed from the white tiger's Inner Core suspended before him, which the elder then swallowed.
The elder's eyes were shut tight, his sallow face filled with delight. He had been hovering at the peak of a Tier Four Sword King for a long time, and breaking through to Tier Five was incredibly difficult. Now that he had the white tiger's Inner Core, he was on the verge of breaking through from the peak of Tier Four and entering a whole new realm!
'In that case, this big cat's... death can be considered a worthy one!' the topknot elder thought to himself.
Just then, a yellow shadow, moving with unbelievable speed like a flash of lightning, shot in front of the topknot elder, snatched the blue orb hovering before his face, and instantly sped away, disappearing without a trace.
"ROAR—"
The white tiger could only watch as its Inner Core was stolen, letting out an earth-shattering roar. This... was also the final roar of its life.
Then, the white tiger's massive head slammed onto the ground. With its eyes wide open, it breathed its last and died!
"PFFT—"
The topknot elder spat out a mouthful of blood. Being disturbed at the critical moment of his advancement caused a massive backlash, leaving him severely injured!
"GAAAH! I'M SO PISSED!"
The topknot elder's eyes flew open, shooting out two terrifying beams of light. As if he had gone mad, he let out a world-shaking roar.
He swayed on his feet, nearly collapsing. His heart was filled with extreme regret and boundless fury.
It was his own fault for being too careless. He'd thought that the boy and the giant eagle had been scared away and definitely wouldn't dare to return. Moreover, this area could be considered his territory; practically no one dared to approach.
So, he had confidently decided to refine the white tiger's Inner Core on the spot, eager to advance from a Tier Four Sword King to Tier Five.
But he never expected that at the most critical moment, someone would steal the Inner Core. Most importantly, his advancement was interrupted, and the immense backlash left him severely injured. Even if he recovered, attempting to break through to a Tier Five Sword King again would likely be fraught with difficulties.
For a moment, the topknot elder was overcome with uncontrollable rage, nearly mad with hatred. He immediately gave chase in the direction the yellow shadow had fled.
"I don't care who you are, I'LL KILL YOU-A-A-A-A-A!"
The topknot elder's roar echoed throughout the entire forest.
"Huh? Could it be that this old man also saw 'a man and a woman-a-a-a-a-a'?" the yellow shadow wondered in surprise. "Awesome! This Master has finally met a kindred spirit! It's a pity Master Mao stole his stuff, otherwise I'd really want to befriend him-a-a-a-a-a-a!"
One has to wonder if the pursuing topknot elder would drop dead from sheer anger if he knew what Master Mao, the one who had just stolen his white tiger's Inner Core, was thinking right now.
In any case, Master Mao was feeling pretty great at the moment. He had gone out to find a few Spirit Beasts and ask for news. On his way back, he had sensed the elder's terrifying aura from afar and had also seen him shoot that arrow at the giant eagle in the sky. Master Mao had been scared stiff, hiding himself away and not daring to reveal the slightest hint of his presence.
Seeing Xu Luo flee on the giant eagle, Master Mao had been about to leave as well. But who would have thought he'd then see the elder casually sitting down to absorb and refine the white tiger's Inner Core!
'A High-tier Spirit Beast's Inner Core! This isn't one of those worthless Crystal Cores... this is the true origin of a Spirit Beast's being, the source of its intelligence and power! It's an absolutely priceless treasure you might only encounter once in a lifetime! I might never get a second chance to obtain something like this!'
At that time, Master Mao had been debating in his mind whether to risk it. Of course, he was also afraid that the topknot elder would fight him to the death. The aura coming from that elder was definitely something he couldn't afford to provoke in his current state.
So Master Mao hid in the shadows and observed carefully. When he discovered that the old human was actually about to break through, Master Mao knew: 'This is my chance!'
Thus, Master Mao acted decisively and succeeded in one fell swoop!
Transforming into a streak of yellow light, he zipped through the dense forest. Master Mao's heart was thumping with excitement, but when he discovered the old human manically chasing after him, he couldn't help but feel a little scared.
'That old geezer is seriously injured, but he's still very strong. I absolutely cannot let him catch up!'
Thinking this, Master Mao fled even more frantically.
The Heaven-Swallowing Fox was already incredibly fast, and it had a natural advantage in the forest. Although the topknot elder was extremely familiar with the terrain in this area, he was still helpless against a High-tier Spirit Beast that excelled at escaping.
In the end, the unlucky topknot elder had no choice but to stop. He had just suffered a backlash, and if he didn't get his internal injuries under control quickly, he might very well drop several realms in cultivation, perhaps even falling from the Sword King Realm back to the Sword Venerable Realm...
Even he could not bear such a consequence.
"AAAAAH, DAMN YOU! DON'T LET ME SEE YOU AGAIN, OR I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES!"
The topknot elder threw his head back and howled, his roars of fury shaking the heavens.
"Now, only the big cat's body is left. The meat of a High-tier Spirit Beast can at least help me recover a little. I'll just consider it salvaging what's left..." the topknot elder muttered, heading back the way he came.
But then, he saw that damn, persistent giant eagle, struggling to grip his big cat as it flapped its wings with all its might, flying up toward the high sky.
"AAAAAAAAH!"
"PFFT—"
The topknot elder was overwhelmed with grief and indignation. He spat out a mouthful of old blood, on the verge of going completely insane from rage.
That damned human boy and that damned giant eagle had actually dared to return once more and steal his big cat.
"If I don't avenge this, I am not human!" The topknot elder's eyes were practically splitting with rage as he roared at the small black dot in the sky. The sound waves rolled out, earth-shattering, causing all the beasts in the forest to tremble in fear.