CHAPTER 1609: CHAPTER 1609: GIANT SKELETON

The Red-Headed Eagle and the Dual-Tailed Scorpion launched a simultaneous attack on the Five Elements Origin Qi Cauldron from the sky and the ground, intending to break open this seemingly ancient and shabby giant cauldron and devour Fang Bai hiding within.

A dense swarm of Spirit Beasts poured wave after wave of storm-like attacks onto the cauldron.

However, the cauldron was as solid as a rock, utterly unscathed, and neither the claws of the Red-Headed Eagle nor the stingers of the Dual-Tailed Scorpion could shake it in the slightest.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the cauldron trembled incessantly, emitting countless rays of green light. A powerful spiritual energy shockwave forcibly dispersed tens of thousands of Spirit Beasts around.

The Spirit Beasts seemed to fear the green light emanating from the cauldron; they quickly retreated. In the blink of an eye, the desolate landscape filled with killing and bloodthirsty auras returned to its previous tranquility, with only occasional gusts of wind whistling by.

The Spirit Beasts came quickly and fled just as quickly. However, in that fleeting moment when the cauldron released its green radiance, it still managed to kill hundreds of Spirit Beasts.

After tens of thousands of Spirit Beasts had dispersed, Fang Bai leapt out from within the Five Elements Origin Qi Cauldron, swiftly collecting over a hundred Spirit Beast inner cores, then continued on his journey.

Over a hundred inner cores from Spirit Beasts at the Soul Severing Realm have high value and great utility for a martial artist, incomparable to Nascent Soul Realm Spirit Beast cores.

If Fang Bai were to reveal these over a hundred Soul Severing Realm Spirit Beast inner cores to others, it would undoubtedly cause a sensation, making countless martial artists envious.

However, Fang Bai also knew the principle of "bearing treasure invites calamity," and naturally, he would not easily show off such valuables.

Fang Bai put away the Five Elements Origin Qi Cauldron and continued forward, continuously collecting encountered Spirit Beasts and Spiritual Medicine along the way. The Five Elements Space Ring became increasingly filled with Royal Grade Spiritual Medicine and Soul Severing Realm Spirit Beast inner cores.

After a day and night, a murky, turbulent river stood before him.

The river surged violently, roaring eastward, and the thunderous sound of water was deafening.

The pressure above this river was several times greater than in other places. Fang Bai tried several times and found that he couldn’t fly over the river using a Spiritual Artifact, so he had to travel upstream along the river.

After walking a hundred miles along the river, an Iron Chain Bridge crossed the riverbank ahead.

Fang Bai stood at this end of the Iron Chain Bridge, thoughtfully gazing at the turbulent river below, then took a deep breath and swiftly skimmed across to the other side along one of the chains.

This river spanned ten miles in width, with swift currents and unfathomable depths. It was certain that the riverbed harbored extremely formidable Spirit Beasts.

As Fang Bai approached the center of the river, although there was no commotion in the water, he dared not relax for a moment.

Though the scenery of this eighth space was entirely different from during Fang Bai’s previous life training, he knew that this vast desert harboring a sudden appearance of such a river was definitely a trial for martial artists, ensuring they could not cross safely without conflict.

If there were no Spirit Beasts in the river, it would be fine; however, should any appear, they would surely be formidable adversaries.

Upon reaching above the river’s center, Fang Bai suddenly sensed something, peering down at the water. Suddenly, a massive vortex appeared on the river surface, followed by a large head emerging from the water.

This massive head belonged to a giant skeleton nearly ten stories tall, comparable to a high building.

Standing amidst the river, the water only reached its leg bones while its chest faced Fang Bai on the Iron Chain Bridge.

Feeling a dangerous aura, Fang Bai’s pupils contracted suddenly as he swiftly retreated.

"Whoosh!"

The wind sounded sharply, and the pressure followed. The skeleton wielded a bone axe, its blade grazing the Iron Chain Bridge, sweeping horizontally toward Fang Bai’s waist with such speed that Fang Bai could not dodge in time.

"A skeleton comparable to a human at Soul Severing Perfection!"

Fang Bai was startled as the Blood-Drinking Mad Blade appeared in his hand, blocking in front of him.

"Clang!"

The frantically slashing bone axe collided intensely with Fang Bai’s Blood-Drinking Mad Blade, producing a clear metallic clang as sparks flew like fireworks.

"Splash!"

A strong shockwave swept over like a mad storm, causing Fang Bai’s body to fly back and the Iron Chain Bridge to shake violently, sending giant waves crashing from the river.

"Such ferocious spiritual energy!"

Blasted back dozens of meters by the spiritual energy shockwave, Fang Bai barely regained his footing, feeling his blood and energy churning, surprised internally.

From a distance, Fang Bai looked like a tiny kitten facing an elephant as he stood on the Iron Chain Bridge, confronting the giant skeleton nearly ten stories tall.

The giant skeleton didn’t resemble human bones but appeared more like an ancient ape’s skeleton, refined into a lifeless yet powerfully aggressive entity similar to a Puppet Corpse.

The giant skeleton lurking in the riverbed was likely meant to test the human strong who attempted to cross the river.

Before Fang Bai could steady himself, the skeleton launched its second attack.

It swung the giant bone axe, carving a dazzling arc of white light toward Fang Bai’s head in mid-air.

Before the bone axe arrived, the pressure descended upon Fang Bai, enveloping tens of meters around him.

Fang Bai wanted to evade but found his movements significantly hindered, so he had to raise his blade to counter the axe that felt like a mountain crashing down.

"Boom!"

The bone axe slammed into Fang Bai’s Blood-Drinking Mad Blade. Unable to withstand the force surging from the bone axe, Fang Bai’s body plummeted like a meteor, crashing into the river and creating towering waves.

The skeleton looked down for Fang Bai, intending to launch another attack, but it found Fang Bai no longer resurfaced after entering the river.

Suddenly, the river churned, causing the skeleton’s body to tremble slightly. One of its submerged leg bones had been fiercely struck by Fang Bai, who was hidden in the river.

Yet, the skeleton merely shook slightly, nothing more.

"A skeleton as strong as a Soul Severing Perfection expert, truly remarkable!"

Seeing his continuous attacks with the three styles of the Mad Blade only resulted in a few shudders of the skeleton, Fang Bai couldn’t help but bitterly smile, realizing that the skeleton’s power was beyond what he could defeat at the moment.

However, rather than fearing, Fang Bai’s fighting spirit intensified, seeing it as a perfect opportunity to hone his combat abilities.

Though the skeleton’s attacks were fierce and its defense strong, its oversized body made it slightly slower. Fang Bai fully utilized the Wind Art, pushing his speed to the limit, repeatedly dodging the skeleton’s attacks without incident.

After a hundred breaths of fighting, Fang Bai was greatly exhausted, while the skeleton seemed tireless, its attacks endless.

After a hundred breaths, Fang Bai’s movement technique finally slowed, catching him off guard as the edge of the bone axe swept across his left arm, instantly tearing skin and flesh with blood gushing, and if not for his robust physique, unrivaled constitution, his arm might have been severed.

Grunting softly, Fang Bai realized that continuing the fight might truly endanger him, so his eyes gleamed brightly as he summoned the Five Elements Origin Qi Cauldron, hurling it against the bone axe coming down from the skeleton once again.