Chapter Nineteen: Challenging Across the Ranks

Su Li leapt to the ground, stretched her limbs, and couldn't help but feel a surge of delight. This fifth-grade supreme antidote pill not only dispelled the poison but also healed her wounds—truly a rare elixir. Perhaps Shen Luo could try his hand at alchemy?

With that thought, she glanced back at Shen Luo, then plunged headlong into the nearby peony bushes.

The Azure Bird followed closely behind.

The two beasts were up to their tricks again.

A trace of anxiety flickered between Shen Luo’s brows. After all, the adversary they faced this time was no ordinary cultivator.

He pressed his lips tightly together, not daring to speak out and stop them. If he disrupted the furball’s plan and put them all in danger, what then?

The elder in the Out-of-Body Realm hovered mid-air, his cold and fierce gaze sweeping downward. He discovered that the Golden Core cultivators he’d sent had all been slain, and, enraged, he flicked his sleeve.

A rolling wave of profound energy surged forth, crashing into them before they could mount any resistance, and the three were immediately thrown to the ground. Blood surged within their bodies under the impact, and, suffering greatly, they spat out mouthfuls of blood.

A gloomy and chilling voice rang out: “If you tell me where that Nascent Soul cultivator just now went, I might grant you a swift death.”

Evidently, the elder had mistaken the force of the Tiger Soul’s eruption for the presence of a Nascent Soul cultivator nearby.

Shen Luo and Shen Fan looked simultaneously toward Shangguan Yuefang, worried she might give them away.

Shangguan Yuefang bit her lip in secret. Was she really that untrustworthy?

“So you refuse to speak?” the Out-of-Body elder suddenly laughed, raising his hand to strike, “Then die!”

His hand had barely lifted when a tongue of flame surged toward him.

The Out-of-Body elder hurriedly waved his hand to defend himself, but the divine fire of the Vermilion Bird wrapped around his arm as if alive, climbing up toward his face.

He quickly channeled his profound energy to resist.

A second flame, a third… ten tongues of fire swept in even faster.

The sudden assault threw the elder into chaos. Before he could catch his breath, a barrage of fierce and concentrated blades of profound force smashed into his knees. Staggering, he tumbled from the sky, landing squarely on the ground. With both hands, he cast a complex spiritual array over his chest, instantly raising a protective shield around his body.

Fifth-grade Illusion Array: Celestial Gang Defensive Barrier!

The Out-of-Body elder was, it turned out, an illusion array master.

Illusion arrays, fueled by burning profound energy, could create illusions or, in combat, form small defensive arrays—shields, in essence.

At that moment, Su Li soared nimbly into the air, darting directly before the elder.

Shen Luo’s heart leapt into his throat.

“Overestimating yourself,” the elder scoffed, sensing that his opponent was merely a small beast in the Bone Refining stage, and dismissed her entirely.

Su Li narrowed her eyes, gathered her strength, and swiped her claw. The totem on her forehead came alive, and, with ease, she tore a gash in the supposedly impregnable illusion array shield.

The elder’s mocking expression instantly shifted to astonishment; the white beast was now dangerously close to his face. As her sharp claws slashed toward him, he spun away, but his left cheek was still sliced by a blade of profound energy from her claws.

Su Li landed lightly and slipped back into the surrounding flowers.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The Out-of-Body elder’s eyes were bloodshot as he unleashed three palm strikes in succession, each turning everything in its path to powder.

It all happened in an instant; those present were stunned, their hair standing on end.

Shen Fan and Shangguan Yuefang exchanged glances, recalling the image of the white beast’s claw sealing a throat—quick, clean, and utterly unlike any ordinary animal.

High-level beasts weren’t terrifying in themselves; what truly chilled the blood was encountering a beast with fearsome power and extraordinary intelligence.

Shen Luo was shocked as well, yet pride swelled within him. He’d always known the furball was an exceptional beast.

Perhaps only the bird and tiger remained calm among all present.

The Tiger Soul cast a cold glance at the ignorant human cultivators. Illusion arrays, after all, were merely permutations of rules—playing with “rules” before that one was laughable.

“Sister Tuan, you’re amazing.” The Azure Bird sidled up, its tone a mix of joy and wistfulness. “When will I ever be as powerful as you?”

Su Li scratched its head, encouraging, “If you train diligently, once you take human form, you'll easily wipe out trash of this level.”

Though she said so, Su Li’s gaze darkened as she recalled the elder’s earlier surge of profound wind.

Her power was still too weak.

As one advanced further in cultivation, the gap between major realms only widened. She must work harder to grow stronger.

“Tiger Soul, what’s the situation?” Su Li inquired.

“To the north, there are indeed two Golden Core cultivators lurking and watching us. They seem afraid of being noticed by the Out-of-Body elder and are hiding quite far away. They’re no real threat.”

Just as she’d guessed!

Su Li spoke coldly, “Make it quick.”

As for those few people, Su Li curled her lips—since they’d come knocking, there was no reason to let them leave alive. She whispered a few words to the Azure Bird, and the two beasts sped off toward the north.

Realizing he’d been toyed with by a beast, the elder let out a furious roar, gathering a formidable ball of profound energy in his hands and hurling it at the three.

With a resounding bang, two surges of immense profound energy collided, and the resulting explosion sent shockwaves racing outward.

Behind the blinding light, a massive creature, pure white from head to toe, emerged faintly.

The Out-of-Body elder froze, his expression changing abruptly as he felt his scalp tingle. “A Nascent Soul beast?” he muttered.

No, this terrifying and powerful aura… it was clearly above the Nascent Soul Realm!

The Tiger Soul lifted its chin with disdain, its tone arrogant, “Let’s see if you can give me a decent workout.”

With a roar, it charged forward.

The battle was utterly one-sided.

The Out-of-Body cultivator was helpless before it, battered at will. In the blink of an eye, Tiger Soul slammed the elder to the ground, its sharp claws instantly piercing his body.

Silence fell across the field.

Tiger Soul, still unsatisfied, turned with a thought and raced northward.

When the two beasts arrived, they found Tiger Soul with a paw pressed firmly on a cultivator. Upon seeing them, it flashed its big white tiger teeth in a smug, provoking grin.

Azure Bird: …

Su Li: …

Heh.

Suddenly, her claws felt itchy.

Soon, the three beasts returned.

Su Li leapt from the tiger’s back, plunging into Shen Luo’s arms, finding a comfortable spot to settle.

The ground was spattered with blood, but the youth’s embrace was clean and warm.

Shen Luo stroked the fur on her back, smiling as he asked, “Did you discover something?”

Su Li signaled Tiger Soul, who promptly tossed two severely wounded cultivators from its paw.

Bathed in the faint moonlight, Shangguan Yuefang immediately recognized them. Her eyes widened in horror and she cried out, “Fourth Uncle? Fifth Uncle?”

Su Li’s lips curled slightly, her gaze dropping to hide the ridicule in her eyes.

The Shangguan patriarch was truly shameless. The family clearly possessed power, yet refused to step forward and rescue their kin. Were they still hoping to play the mantis stalking the cicada, the oriole lurking behind, to reap the fisherman’s benefit? Who knew how the Shangguan clan would bear the fury of the crowd when all was said and done?