Free Web NovelChapter 2067: Chapter 2065: A Steady Stream
Lu Ye felt a slight pain in his chest, and shockingly, several of the Defense Spirit Runes had shattered.
In the next moment, an incredibly terrifying force came from his hand, making it difficult for him to grasp the star beast’s arm, and it broke free after a few struggles!
Meanwhile, the long saber slashed down!
A strange screech came from beneath the magma, and the fierce aura quickly retreated.
Lu Ye stabilized his stance and, in the midst of many tasks, looked at his chest. He saw blood seeping through his clothes, clearly indicating he was injured in the earlier sneak attack. However, he could feel that it was just a flesh wound, as the Defense Spirit Runes had blocked the fatal strike for him.
He then looked at the Boulder Mountain Saber and saw a trace of fresh red blood on its blade.
With a cold snort and without a moment’s hesitation, he plunged himself into the magma.
Let’s see where you’ll run this time!
He steeled himself inwardly, determined that no matter what, he had to eliminate the threat today. Otherwise, how could he be at peace while nurturing the uncanny fire if this creature kept haunting him?
Two figures, one in pursuit and one fleeing, moved swiftly deeper into the Giant Red Planet.
Although the Sun Blaze star beast was anxious, it wasn’t panicked because some days ago, Lu Ye had similarly pursued it, but it had shaken him off easily.
It thought it would be the same this time.
However, unexpectedly, no matter how hard it tried, the danger behind it clung like a shadow and could not be shaken off.
This chase and escape lasted for several days. Neither the human nor the beast knew how deep they had ventured into the Giant Red Planet, and the surrounding temperature was frighteningly high, far beyond the planet’s surface. Even if the Peak Sun Blaze arrived, it would likely melt instantly.
The star beast could endure because of its exceptional innate talent. This peculiar star beast inherently chased after heat, able to survive even in the Giant Red Planet, let alone this Sun Blaze star beast.
Its ability to withstand terrifyingly high temperatures was unmatched compared to other species.
Lu Ye could endure because of the protection from his Talent Tree.
Invisible roots spread throughout his body, making him feel no heat at all.
At some point, Lu Ye suddenly felt a sense of fullness, a feeling he had never experienced before, which made him pause. Upon careful investigation, he discovered that his Talent Tree’s fuel reserve had reached its limit.
He couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Since the Talent Tree’s third transformation, its fuel reserve had never reached its limit. He hadn’t expected that this time he would gain an unexpected reward; this special environment greatly suited the increase of the Talent Tree’s fuel reserve.
But he had obviously come to hunt down this Sun Blaze star beast to eliminate future troubles.
Consider it an unexpected delight for now.
And after several days of waiting, the time now seemed about right.
At this moment, the aura of the fleeing star beast ahead was noticeably weaker than before, not because of the exhaustion from being chased, but because the wound from the saber was continuously worsening.
This type of star beast had a powerful physique, and ordinary injuries were nothing. The interior of the Giant Red Planet was its best place for healing, but the wound made by the Boulder Mountain Saber was different. Entwined with the barghest’s power, the wound couldn’t heal and continued to be torn apart, greatly depleting the star beast’s energy and stamina.
Lu Ye relied on the guidance of the barghest’s power to pursue relentlessly; otherwise, he would have long lost its trace.
With a raise of his hand, the Boulder Mountain Saber pointed forward and gave a slight tremor.
An invisible wave surged forth, causing the fleeing Sun Blaze star beast to stagger, its wound suddenly tearing open with blood spurting, and it emitted a rapid squealing sound.
Seizing the opportunity, Lu Ye quickly closed in, swiftly arriving near the star beast with a few strides.
The star beast evidently sensed the dire situation, realizing it couldn’t escape, and immediately turned around, lunging towards Lu Ye with a ferocious expression, as if intending to take him down even in death.
Lu Ye’s expression remained calm. After entangling with it for so long, he was already well aware of the star beast’s abilities: strong physique, great strength, and stealthy movements leveraging the Giant Red Planet’s special environment. However, in a direct confrontation, it could not possibly be his match.
If they weren’t in this place, he could fully suppress it with Psyche Force, as the star beast’s greatest weakness was its lack of Soul Power. Except for a few special star beasts, most had this vulnerability.
But the environment here was unfavorable, with the temperature being too high. If Lu Ye’s Mental Consciousness left his body recklessly, it would surely suffer the pain of scorching.
The saber’s light fell, and a huge lotus flower suddenly bloomed, with countless petals flying and cutting in all directions.
The squealing sound grew more urgent, and just this one execution of Lotus Sun left the star beast further injured and dazed.
Lu Ye struck again, and faint roars of a beast reverberated, as if a ferocious beast’s head suddenly emerged, baring its fangs to bite the star beast.
The surrounding magma instantly receded!
After advancing to Sun Blaze, each of Lu Ye’s moves contained terrifying power, the improvement in strength compared to Moon Jade was incomparable.
The Sun Blaze star beast was knocked back with a cry, its chest caved in a large area, looking utterly miserable.
Lu Ye stepped forward, lunging straight with the Boulder Mountain Saber, intent on eliminating the threat completely!
Facing this strike, the severely wounded star beast no longer had the strength to resist.
However, this saber strike from Lu Ye ultimately didn’t go through, stopping just an inch away from the creature’s head.
Surrounded by the fiery glow, Lu Ye could clearly see the terror in the star beast’s eyes. It was covered in blood, yet it opened its mouth and spit out a beam of red light as thick as a finger.
With a slight sense, Lu Ye was surprised to find that this red light contained extremely pure fire-type energy, resembling the Scorching Sun Essence he once acquired on the All Phenomena Ocean, but with significantly higher quality and purity.
This kind of fire-type resource, the Scorching Sun Essence, is something cultivators refine through special methods and techniques in environments like the Giant Red Planet, and then sell to acquire the cultivation resources they need.
Lu Ye did not expect that this star beast in front of him actually had the ability to do this, and it seemed to be an innate talent.
Looking more closely, besides terror, the star beast’s eyes held a plea for mercy.
It was evidently scared, knowing it wasn’t a match for Lu Ye and unable to escape, thus using this method to beg for mercy.
As for why it spat out a Scorching Sun Essence, it’s not hard to understand. Cultivators who come to Giant Red Planet usually use their methods to refine Scorching Sun Essence, either to sell it or to refine and absorb it themselves.
But Lu Ye, whether it’s the Talent Tree storing fuel or the fire gourd nurturing the uncanny fire, didn’t need this process.
This star beast likely saw other cultivators refining this item, hence it spat out this thing.
From this perspective, this star beast has a certain degree of spiritual intelligence, knowing when to submit and what to present to entice Lu Ye.
It undoubtedly succeeded; if it had acted any slower just now, Lu Ye would be extracting its Crystal Core by now.
Lu Ye lifted his hand to capture the Scorching Sun Essence, then took out the fire gourd, and with a shake of the gourd mouth, directly swallowed the Scorching Sun Essence, allowing the uncanny fire inside to grow.
"Got any more?" Lu Ye asked through audio transmission, his Mental Consciousness surging.
The star beast didn’t respond, clearly not understanding.
Lu Ye made a motion with the fire gourd, and the star beast finally responded, reluctantly opening its mouth to spit out another Scorching Sun Essence.
Lu Ye’s eyes lit up, there was indeed more!
He used the fire gourd to swallow it down and then looked back at the creature.
The star beast anxiously scratched its ears, while Lu Ye’s expression turned stern as he gestured toward it with the Boulder Mountain Saber, the threat obvious.
In great fear, the star beast reluctantly opened its mouth, spitting out the Scorching Sun Essence for the third time.
But after this time, Lu Ye obviously noticed that its spirit became extremely lethargic, and the quality of the Scorching Sun Essence it spat out was not as good as the first two.
Could it be at its limit?
Thinking so, Lu Ye realized he needed to verify. After using the fire gourd to collect the Scorching Sun Essence, he directly placed the Boulder Mountain Saber against the creature’s neck.
The star beast’s expression was one of utter despair...
Seeing this, Lu Ye could roughly confirm that this indeed was its limit.
If that’s the case... this star beast could be very useful.
It can refine things like Scorching Sun Essence, undoubtedly speeding up the nurturing of uncanny fire. Simply killing it, though Sun Blaze-level Crystal Core effects are nice, is akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. It’s better to keep it, allowing for a steady flow.
Though this creature doesn’t have much spiritual intelligence, making communication somewhat difficult, and it’s unclear how efficient it is at refining Scorching Sun Essence—this needs good verification.
Just as Lu Ye was pondering how to communicate with it properly, the star beast suddenly seemed to remember something, urgently squeaked at Lu Ye, then looked with awe at the saber at its neck.
Lu Ye understood, putting away the saber but not forgetting to threaten, "Don’t even think about escaping; try and you’ll die!"
The star beast didn’t understand a word he said, and with a sway, it headed in a certain direction at a slow pace, mainly because it was too weak at the moment.
Lu Ye honestly feared it might just die like this, and immediately urged the Boulder Mountain Saber to dispel a large portion of the barghest’s power from its body.
One man and one beast returned along their path, and with the reduction of the barghest’s power’s torment, the star beast’s spirit seemed to improve slowly. It uttered strange sounds as it traveled.
Lu Ye wasn’t sure what it was up to.
Not until quite a while later, when another star beast approached, did Lu Ye realize this guy was summoning its companion!
The one that came was a Moon Jade star beast, quickly joining it. Upon seeing Lu Ye, the Moon Jade star beast was evidently startled, baring its teeth at Lu Ye.
The Sun Blaze star beast promptly punched it on the head, leaving the Moon Jade star beast dizzy and finally compliant.
Then the two star beasts gathered together, exchanging in some mysterious way. The Moon Jade star beast opened its mouth and spat out a Scorching Sun Essence.
Lu Ye’s eyes lit with delight, and he couldn’t help but smile, "Good, good, very good!"
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect this Sun Blaze star beast would bring him such a surprise!
He no longer wished to kill it; after all, in his view, this Sun Blaze star beast was like a hen that laid eggs.
But if it could summon its companions to provide Scorching Sun Essence, then it wasn’t just one hen anymore—it was a flock of hens...
