Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 491 - 491 490 One Man Holds the Pass 6

491: Chapter 490: One Man Holds the Pass 6 491: Chapter 490: One Man Holds the Pass 6 Hou Niao was somewhat excited.

This was the very purpose of his trip here: to witness all sorts of strange and unusual methods within the Cultivation World—something he would never encounter if he stayed at home.

Phantom Beasts lie in a transitional stage between real demons and Primordial Soul Beasts.

Yu Kuohai is a Sea Beast—back on Crab Claw Island, the sea leeches he encountered were Primordial Soul Beasts.

Between them lie a type of existence that doesn’t stand on its Primordial Soul, but instead on its Dharma Form—it’s called a Phantom Beast.

The very creation of the Phantom Beast species was to cater to Tongtian Realm cultivators, making it easier for them to master, control, and cultivate; whereas Primordial Soul Beasts are the domain of cultivators above the Golden Core.

Bao Wen’s Phantom Birds fall into this category.

In fact, the difficulty of cultivating them is quite significant, since these Phantom Birds do not exist in the Jinxiu Continent.

Cultivators need to rely on the secret manuals of their sects to visualize them and extract the Phantom Beast Spirits from the special soul pools of their sects.

After much effort, a Phantom Bird can be achieved.

It’s a test of patience, determination, and innate talent for understanding the Phantom Beasts.

This kind of skill is beyond the grasp of common wanderers and Loose Cultivators because the conditions for achieving a Phantom Beast are too harsh to be transmitted outside of major sects.

On the Jinxiu Continent, only a limited number of sects possess a Phantom Beast soul pool, and even fewer have a systematic Daoist lineage for producing Phantom Beasts—a handful at best, with the Zhou Sect of the Southeast being one of them.

The Corpse Magpie, the Sky Lark, and the Beheaded Greenfinch—three headed Phantom Birds simultaneously pounced, with a clear sequence indicating they possessed certain intelligence, testing their coordination.

How could Hou Niao possibly stand still in front of these fierce Phantom Birds?

As soon as they appeared, he had already made a Vertical Escape, his Flying Sword agilely intercepting them.

Given their avian nature, their flying ability was extremely strong, which posed certain difficulties for the targeting of the Flying Sword.

After several twists and turns, the Flying Sword slashed each of the Corpse Magpie and the Sky Lark once, and Hou Niao also gained some understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of these creatures.

To strike them was not difficult, but to annihilate them was; the greatest characteristic of these creatures lay in their dual transformation: sinking and being reborn.

One form was external as Phantom Birds, the other retracted within the cultivator’s Purple Mansion.

As long as the corresponding position within the cultivator’s Purple Mansion wasn’t extinguished, the external Phantom Birds could never be slain.

Two strikes had been made, and the three-headed Phantom Birds had already taken their combat positions.

However, the first to attack was the Beheaded Greenfinch, which had appeared last,

This greenfinch eyed its opponent sharply, then suddenly its neck bent as if it had been broken by some force.

Simultaneously, Hou Niao felt a disruption in the connection between his consciousness and the mana in his meridians, which quickly repaired itself.

But in that moment, the Corpse Magpie and the Sky Lark had already rushed forward—one pecking fiercely with its beak, the other clawing sharply, coordinating silently with one another and sealing off the space around Hou Niao.

In just an instant, he was forced to counter using the Sword Holding State.

Of course, this was also him feigning weakness intentionally, wanting to fully understand the offensive and defensive capabilities of these Phantom Birds.

With the sword in hand, what fear was there within a mere few feet?

Twisting and turning, he executed a perfect mid-air sword dance.

At that moment, he took the essence of swordplay to its extreme.

As sword light burst forth, the two Phantom Birds dissipated and reconverged repeatedly while he gained a rough understanding of the secret behind the Phantom Birds’ formation through this direct encounter.

Sensing something, he leaped out with a move, escaping, while a Flying Sword shot towards the greenfinch, whose head had just straightened up again in the distance.

Throughout the whole process, the transition between the Flying Sword State and Sword Holding State was seamless and pleasing to the eye, as if this was exactly how the Sword was meant to be wielded.

He did not bother with Bao Wen, who had kept a considerable distance away.

In theory, the essence of victory in battle rested upon the cultivator himself.

But since Bao Wen stood far off and seemed quite extraordinary in his Vertical Escape as well, it wasn’t certain that Hou Niao could quickly capture him.

With his extensive experience in combat, Hou Niao knew that when a cultivator’s mode of battle was to remotely control the Phantom Birds to attack, it meant that the cultivator definitely possessed strong escape abilities and several methods to extricate themselves from dangerous situations.

Bao Wen must be waiting for him to charge blindly, and what he needed to do now was not to fall into his opponent’s trap.

In just a few breaths of time, one man and three birds were engaged in a life-and-death struggle that was full of peril, close enough to shave a hair.

And the other protagonist in the battle remained quite composed, merely drifting around the periphery, maintaining distance, appearing to be as light as a breeze, calm and unhurried.

Bao Wen observed with a cold detachment, feeling that the situation was not as smooth as it seemed from the outside.

The thief had already fought six battles, and what left the deepest impression was his extraordinary ability to perceive weaknesses.

Often he would not reveal his capabilities at the start, sometimes even appearing passive, but in fact, he was accumulating strength, seeking vulnerabilities.

Just when you thought you had the upper hand, he would suddenly change tactics, with each move aimed straight for lethal points.

So, the current smooth progress meant nothing at all.

His Seven Birds Battle Map consisted of seven phantom beasts, each one more formidable than the last, with the weakest being the Sang Chid and the yet-unmastered Yao Ji being the strongest.

The normal order of battle would, of course, start with the weakest phantom beast, progressively upping the ante based on the opponent’s strength.

But against this formidable enemy of a lifetime, conventional strategies could not apply.

Sang Chid, Xing Weng, Duan Tou Geng, Iron Wan, Tiger Si, Yin Yi, Yao Ji…

The current three-beast attack was his strongest formation in normal combat, with Sang Chid and Xing Weng mainly relying on physical assault, while Duan Tou Geng disrupted divine sense, creating opportunities for the other two beasts.

However, one thing to note was that Duan Tou Geng’s divine sense disruption had a tolerance.

The more frequently it was used, the more resistant the opponent would become, or if they employed certain methods against it, Duan Tou Geng’s disruption would become meaningless.

Realizing that the cooperative attack of these three phantom beasts was not enough to defeat the opponent, he made a swift decision, no longer blindly draining resources and hoping for a fluke.

Instead, he took the initiative to seek change.

Having watched for so long, these people had reached a consensus that one must fight at their own pace and never willingly cede the initiative.

Seizing the interval in battle, he gently tapped the Purple Mansion again, and the three bizarre birds vanished into thin air, replaced by two even more formidable phantom beasts, Iron Wan and Tiger Si.

Iron Wan’s body was tough as iron, unbreakable, with an even more formidable impact force; Tiger Si, with a tiger’s head and a bird’s body, could disrupt minds with its tiger roar.

The strength of his phantom beasts was actually determined by the amount of soul power in each one’s body.

If a phantom beast had more soul power and less primordial soul, it was weaker; if it had more primordial soul and less soul power, it was more formidable.

Ultimately, as the realm of cultivation improved, they would upgrade into Primordial Soul Beasts, but that was for the future.

The appearance of these two ferocious birds once again threw Hou Niao into a flurry, or at least it appeared that way.

He was already finding it very difficult to annihilate them and then witness their rebirth.

These immortal beings that relied on their phase for survival, if you cannot find their weak point, whether you swing swords or cast techniques, it’s very difficult to cause them substantial harm.

From start to finish, Hou Niao’s performance had been passive, not at all displaying the brilliance he had shown in previous massacres.

But even with such smooth progress, Bao Wen did not feel at ease.

There’s something sinister afoot when the situation deviates from the norm.

If the advantage does not translate into victory, then it all means nothing.

The thief was too slippery to catch, and with his unmatchable swordsmanship, he handled the siege of two ferocious birds with ease.

Bao Wen decided it was time to change tactics again.