Chapter 44

Following closely behind, Tanggu finally found his opportunity after a quarter of an hour, when the silver-souled demonic sparrow went to devour a three-leafed strange herb shimmering with rosy light on the ground.

“Puff!”

A muffled sound echoed as a pitch-black long sword flew out of nowhere, piercing straight into the back of the silver-souled demonic sparrow. Blood spurted out instantly.

However, to Tanggu's surprise, even with such a severe injury, the silver-souled demonic sparrow did not die. It suddenly turned its head and spat a faint black flame toward Tanggu.

"Oh no."

Tanggu's eyes flickered, and he immediately rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. The black flame missed him but hit a large rock behind him.

In an instant, the massive green rock turned to dust and completely disappeared.

Tanggu's scalp tingled. He knew that second-stage demonic beasts were formidable, but he didn't expect them to be this strong. After all, he now had the strength of a mid-third-stage Qi Dao practitioner, yet he couldn't even deal with a mere second-stage demonic beast. This was the difference between demonic beasts and humans.

The silver-souled demonic sparrow let out a long, mournful cry, seemingly aware of its impending death. Its eyes filled with hatred as it charged directly at Tanggu, with a dark cloud iron sword still embedded in its body. It spat several more black flames from its mouth.

Tanggu, who had just stood up, immediately crouched down again and then suddenly turned to the left, dodging the black flames. He then leaned back and struck out with his palm.

“Puff!”

Between his ten fingers, he lightly held several light blue ice blocks. These ice blocks were shaped into long, cold, and bone-chilling blue ice blades, gleaming with a cold light. They instantly pierced the silver-souled demonic sparrow's abdomen.

In the next moment, blood spurted out again, and these ice blades immediately opened dozens of fine, dense wounds in its abdomen.

The silver-souled demonic sparrow's injuries worsened, and its once bright and spirited eyes gradually dimmed.

It became even more enraged, raising its claws and pouncing directly at Tanggu, one on the left and one on the right, aiming for his arms. At the same time, its sharp beak suddenly pecked at Tanggu's forehead.

A cornered beast is the most terrifying. The last attack before death was astonishing. The wind howled, and the grass and trees on the ground suddenly bent backward.

At this moment, Tanggu's left hand flicked again, and all the ice blades disappeared. He then gently retracted his hand, and a long blue ribbon suddenly appeared on his left middle finger.

Tanggu's fingers gently extended forward, and the long blue ribbon suddenly coiled and disappeared. In the next moment, a sharp-toothed blue python appeared on the heart of the large silver-souled demonic sparrow, wriggling violently.

Tanggu quickly retreated, and in the next moment, the body of the silver-souled demonic sparrow fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. The light in its eyes slowly faded and finally extinguished.

A small, colorful demonic sparrow soul slowly floated out from its body. Tanggu extended his left hand, activated the "Soul Technique," and gently beckoned.

Instantly, black rays of light emerged from his fingers, wrapping around the soul of the demonic sparrow. In the next moment, the colorful soul of the demonic sparrow slowly followed his arm and entered his dantian, settling there.

Tanggu closed his eyes and meditated, feeling that the battle, which lasted only a short time, had been a close call, especially since it was a sneak attack. This made him deeply realize the insufficiency of his strength.

Ordinary elders of the Du family generally had the strength of a fourth-stage Qi Dao practitioner, and the great elder Du Tianao had the strength of a mid-fifth-stage Qi Dao practitioner.

To fight such people, he needed to have at least the strength of a mid-fourth-stage Qi Dao practitioner. Otherwise, he would be no match for them and would only be waiting to die.

There was only less than three months left until the Inner Courtyard competition... So, he had to do everything possible to improve his strength in such a short time. The Soul Technique was part of it.

"Materials required for the second transformation of the Soul Technique: two noble orchids, three fire flowers, one dragon infant fruit, two inches of innate vine, and four leaves of heartless blood. One second-stage demonic soul."

"The noble orchids, fire flowers, and dragon infant fruit are easy to obtain, but the innate vine and heartless blood leaves are extremely rare, even among second-grade spirit medicines. It seems I will need to spend some time."

"However, the second-stage demonic soul is already in hand. All that remains is to wait."

Tanggu stood up, took the valuable materials from the body of the silver-souled demonic sparrow and the three-leafed strange herb, then pulled out his dark cloud iron sword and sheathed it. He turned and left again.

This time, he did not go outward but retraced his steps to return to the mysterious ice lake.

After a short while, Tanggu finally arrived at the ice lake.

The night gradually grew darker. The few second-stage demonic beasts that had been circling the ice lake slowly left, and the ice lake became quiet again.

Tanggu released the silver weasel and the panjiu to guard him, then quietly approached the ice lake.

As soon as he approached the ice lake, a bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped his entire body. Even with his mid-third-stage Qi Dao strength, he almost turned into an ice stick. His body shivered, and his eyebrows and hair turned frosty white.

The cold at this small mirror lake was so intense that Tanggu frowned in surprise and had to start using his techniques to dispel the cold.

It wasn't until half an hour later that he gradually recovered and adapted to the climate near the small mirror lake, allowing him to move.

Tanggu slowly approached the edge of the small mirror lake, his steps light and cautious. Although he had already confirmed that all the demonic beasts had left, the place was so strange that he couldn't be too careful.

However, nothing happened on the way, and Tanggu reached the lake. After a moment's hesitation, his eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light, and he aimed at a weak spot in the ice and struck it with his finger.

“Ding... Ding...” Two light sounds echoed, and the nearest ice surface instantly cracked, opening a large hole. Clear lake water continuously gushed out, emitting a misty, boiling steam.

Tanggu was surprised and reached down to touch the water. He found that the surface of the lake was abnormally cold, but the water inside was scalding hot, enough to boil an egg, with steam constantly rising.

He couldn't help but wonder how the fish could survive in such a strange environment of ice and fire.

How did this unique climate form?

A thought flashed through his mind, and he remembered that the second-stage demonic beasts always gathered in groups at this small lake to peck at the fish. Tanggu's heart stirred, and he had a vague suspicion that the fish in the lake were not ordinary.

However, from a distance, the silver-souled demonic sparrow had only pecked out some ordinary green fish and red carp, with nothing unusual about them.

It seemed that he would have to try them himself to find out. Besides, he was a bit hungry, and he had been eating demonic beast meat for over a month, which was getting a bit monotonous.

With this thought, Tanggu didn't delay. He leaped to the edge of a dense forest and lightly broke a branch.

“Puff!”

A light sound echoed, and a large, sharp branch was broken off. Tanggu pulled out his dark cloud iron sword, removed all the twigs and leaves, and used the sword to shape the tip of the branch into a spear.

He then returned to the lake with this makeshift "tree spear."

He knocked all the ice blocks near his feet, and instantly, he saw a rare and beautiful scene.

The lake was crystal clear, like a mirror or a large piece of green jade amber, gently flowing with shimmering waves. Blue thin ice floated on the surface.

In the lake, golden and green carp swam leisurely in large groups, full of vitality. There were quite a few of them.

These golden and green carp crowded together in the same patch of water, almost unable to turn around. A single net cast would likely catch a hundred or more.

No wonder the demonic eagles and sparrow could easily peck them out of the water. In such a scene, even the most inexperienced fisherman would find it hard to fail.

PS: Second update. Last week of the new book ranking, please give a recommendation vote!