Chapter 125: Bitter Struggle

Whoosh!

An arrow tore through the air, streaking thousands of feet upward to instantly pierce the body of a tiger-headed eagle, which spanned over thirty yards. The eagle’s lightning speed only served to let the arrow pass straight through, spraying a mist of blood and leaving behind a gaping, millstone-sized wound.

"Roar!"

The eagle’s cry sounded like that of a beast. The arrow had pierced its body, causing it to reel and nearly plummet from the sky. However, it quickly regained its balance. The wound, while deep, had missed its vital organs. Compared to its massive thirty-yard frame, the injury was not immediately fatal, and the bleeding soon began to slow.

The tiger-headed eagle’s cyan eyes scanned the void, then fixed upon the ground below. It quickly spotted the culprit who had wounded it. With a beast-like roar and a beat of its wings, it dove toward the earth like a bolt of black lightning.

On the ground, Yi Tian watched the eagle he had struck charge toward them, brimming with murderous intent. He felt no panic. This was the first time he had successfully hit a tiger-headed eagle, drawing its attention and provoking a counterattack.

For the past few months, Yi Tian’s Samsara Battle Squad had been training their archery on these eagles. However, they had never managed to land a hit before; their arrows always whistled past, and by the time they reacted, the eagles—with their incredible speed—were already miles away. The eagles had paid little attention to these arrows, and as the humans were too small to be considered worthy prey, they had largely ignored the squad. This was why Yi Tian and his team had been able to use them for target practice without drawing aggression.

But this time, Yi Tian had finally wounded one, and the creature began its assault on the "little pests" that had dared to hurt it. The eagle moved with blinding speed, crashing down like a streak of black light.

"Good!"

Over these months of grueling practice, Yi Tian’s archery had reached an exceptionally high level of predictive accuracy, a feat made possible by the constant strengthening of his consciousness since acquiring his Star-Mud avatar. He was only one step away from the realm of Spiritual Perception, where the mind and spirit become one. Even without that total unity, his predictive skills were already formidable.

The eagle dove at a speed the average person could not track; even cultivators could only see the afterimages it left behind. Yi Tian drew his Void-Breaking Bow. The next moment, channeling thirty percent of the power of the Sun-Shooting Heavenly Art, a faint arrow manifested.

Whoosh!

The arrow was intangible and lacked physical weight; there was no thunderous crack, only the subtle sound of the wind being torn apart as it transformed into a stunning rainbow streak, homing in on the eagle.

*Splat...*

A spray of blood erupted from the diving eagle. Based on his predictions, Yi Tian could calculate the exact position the eagle would occupy within the blink of an eye—the time between his thought and the release of his attack. Had he mastered Spiritual Perception, he could have locked onto the creature’s aura, making it impossible for the eagle to evade his strike.

The eagle was hit again. Its rapid descent faltered, its speed slowing significantly. Yi Tian immediately unleashed a barrage of attacks. Arrow after arrow found their mark, tearing open blood-filled holes and eventually striking the eagle's vital points.

"Roar..."

The tiger-headed eagle, its life force nearly spent, tumbled from the sky, letting out one final, mournful cry that shook the air for miles.

At that moment, the other eagles circling thousands of feet above noticed the gruesome fate of their companion and began to shriek in unison. There were dozens, perhaps over a hundred, of them in the vicinity, and they all began to dive toward the scene.

"Not good!" Yi Tian and his team’s expressions darkened.

Tiger-headed eagles were mid-level fierce beasts; if dozens of them attacked at once, the squad would be unable to hold their ground. Yi Tian and his comrades immediately employed their Feather-Flight Technique, sprinting across the terrain in a desperate attempt to outrun the pursuit. Though their speed was astonishing, they were no match for the eagles in the sky. The distance between them closed rapidly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Facing nearly a hundred eagles, the squad began to fight back, launching arrows condensed from true essence into the sky.

*Thwack!*

One eagle was struck and nearly plummeted. The next moment, several more arrows followed, hitting other eagles in the flock. Over the past three months, Yi Feng, Yi Shan, Yi Li, and the others had also progressed rapidly. While hitting a full-speed eagle in flight was difficult, they didn't need to aim for the ones diving directly at them—every shot found its mark.

Of course, their archery caused little more than superficial damage. Only Yi Tian’s arrows posed a lethal threat to the eagles’ vital points; a single hit from him was enough to severely wound a bird and force it to retreat. Despite their efforts, there were simply too many eagles, and their counterattack had little effect. Within a few short breaths, the flock was directly above them.

A brutal battle was now inevitable.

"Head that way!" Yi Hong, sharp-eyed, suddenly shouted.

The team looked over to see a cave entrance, several yards wide, tucked beneath a mountain ridge a few miles away.

"Fight as we retreat!" Yi Tian commanded.

In an instant, the Samsara Battle Squad clashed with the diving eagles. Yi Tian unleashed the Great Sun Heavenly Art, his fists glowing like suns. His movements were filled with scorching, destructive power as he traded blows with the eagles. Each punch was earth-shattering, striking the birds’ iron-hook talons and sending sparks flying. His blows frequently tore through the eagles' bodies, leaving behind mangled flesh and scorched feathers.

Yet, there were too many of them. Yi Tian often found himself facing three or four eagles at once, his defenses constantly battered by their razor-sharp talons, which tore through his protective essence.

Yi Shan utilized the Wild Heavenly Art, engaging in a violent, savage collision with the beasts. Yi Feng, Yi Kuang, and the others unleashed the Tiger-Roar Heavenly Art, sending out waves of terrifying, sonic energy. This indiscriminate, area-of-effect attack caused the eagles to vomit blood, their veins rupturing and their feathers shattering, leaving them suffering from severe internal injuries and greatly diminished strength. Had their opponents been human-level cultivators instead of beasts with such immense life force, this technique alone would have shattered their protective essence and pulverized their bodies.

However, since they had started their journey, they had rarely encountered enemies of their own rank. Most of their foes were so much stronger that they had spent most of their time using the Sun-Shooting Heavenly Art, causing their secondary arts to be somewhat overlooked. As for Yi Li and Yi Hong, their Myriad-Forms Heavenly Art was steady and versatile, though they had yet to grasp its true essence; once they found their path, the art would evolve and become even more formidable.

The battle was intense. From time to time, an eagle would be severely wounded or killed by the squad. After all, these were only mid-level fierce beasts, with strength between the Essence-罡 (Yuan-Gang) and Essence-Law (Yuan-Fa) levels. Nevertheless, it was a grueling fight. The eagles possessed incredible vitality and could only be killed by destroying their skulls or hearts. Their bones and feathers were tough and supple, capable of deflecting most attacks; it took at least a dozen strikes to bring one down.

After a bitter struggle, leaving a trail of eagle carcasses in their wake, Yi Tian and his team finally retreated into the cave. The remaining eagles, having lost nearly half their numbers, circled for a long time, but unable to breach the cave, they finally shrieked and flew back into the sky.