Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race
Chapter 339 - 251 Twenty Years_1

Chapter 339: 251 Twenty Years_1

Time passed swiftly like a white steed flashing past a gap, and twenty years had gone by.

The Red Centipede Mountain Range, located in the southwestern part of the Southern Border Cultivation World, is made up of over one hundred thousand large and small peaks. It is shrouded in miasma all year round and is home to a vast number of poisonous insects and Monster Beasts, including a large number of Red Fire Centipedes, hence its name.

Deep within the mountain range, at the base of a steep peak, there was a huge cave from which a deafening explosion echoed. The ground shook slightly, and fragments of rock tumbled down from the summit.

A red Escape Light flew out of the cave at great speed.

Just as the red Escape Light didn’t get far, thick green vines burst from the ground. These vines quickly wove into a massive green hand that struck the red Escape Light with a dull thud.

The red Escape Light fell to the ground, and with the light receding, it revealed a giant red centipede. The centipede’s shell was adorned with flame-like patterns, and underneath it had a row of sickle-like red short legs. Its antennae were exceptionally long, and its eyes were also a crimson red, unmistakably a Red Fire Centipede.

Thick green vines, as thick as the arms of an adult man, emerged from the ground and entangled the Red Fire Centipede, but with a mere twist of its enormous body, the centipede easily broke the green vines.

At that moment, a silvery lightning bolt, about a dozen meters in diameter, tore through the sky and struck the Red Fire Centipede. The lightning engulfed the creature’s body with a tumultuous wave of energy.

Following a whizzing sound, a golden spear shot out, piercing into the midst of the lightning; the ground shook slightly again.

Before long, the lightning dissipated, and a huge, smoking crater appeared on the ground. The Red Fire Centipede lay in the hole with a golden spear piercing through its head, devoid of life.

A somewhat noisy chirping filled the air, and a two-headed Blue Giant Bird flew out. Both heads of the Blue Giant Bird had a blood-red comb atop them.

It flew above the corpse of the Red Fire Centipede, and one head emitted a blue luminescence, enveloping the centipede’s body. A miniature copy of the Red Fire Centipede emerged from the body and was swept into the mouth of the Blue Giant Bird by the blue luminescence.

Shen Long flew out of the cave; he was still at the Middle Stage of Core Formation.

In these twenty years, he had traveled around the Southern Border Cultivation World, visiting numerous places and meeting quite a few Core Formation Cultivators. He had participated in assemblies held by Nascent Soul Cultivators but could not resolve the bottleneck.

The Blue Giant Bird let out a joyous chirp as it flew back to Shen Long.

"Return to the Spirit Beast Bag! You are still very weak," Shen Long instructed.

The Blue Giant Bird was a Ghost Dove, currently at the Middle Stage of the second tier.

After advancing to the second tier, the purity of the Ghost Dove’s bloodline remained at three, but it grew an additional head, resulting in two heads.

Shen Long couldn’t determine whether it was because of the Five-Colored Ganoderma Fruit or if the Spirit Bird Egg was originally like that.

The Ghost Dove relished various Spirit Souls, with Ghost Creatures being its favorite.

Shen Long had spent a considerable amount of money to buy numerous low-tier Ghost Creatures to feed to the Ghost Dove. Besides that, when hunting Monster Beasts, he would also let the Ghost Dove devour their Spirit Souls.

The Ghost Dove flew back into a blue Spirit Beast Bag at Shen Long’s waist, and with that, Shen Long collected the corpse of the Red Fire Centipede. He turned into a red Escape Light and left the area.

After half a day, he stopped. Not far ahead was a massive valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. Outside the valley stood a golden stele over ten meters tall, with "Red Fire Valley" written in large red characters that glinted with Spiritual Light.

Shen Long strode into the valley. The streets were bustling with people, and the noise of carts and horses was deafening.

A quarter of an hour later, he arrived at a quiet street in a residential area with very few passersby.

He stood in front of a three-story red pavilion, on whose signboard were inscribed the words "Mysterious Fire Pavilion."

He sent a Sound Transmission Talisman, and soon enough, the door opened and a somewhat hoarse male voice said, "Taoist Friend Shen, come in and talk!"

Shen Long stepped inside, and the door closed behind him.

A tall, thin elder in a green robe was seated in the main seat of the room, with a square face and large eyes, radiating an unfathomable presence.

"Taoist Friend Wang, this is what you wanted."

Shen Long took out a blue Storage Bag and tossed it to the green-robed elder.

The green-robed elder caught the Storage Bag, scanned it with his Divine Sense, and exclaimed in surprise, "You collected all the things I wanted so quickly?"

"Is there a problem with being fast?"

Shen Long asked.

The green-robed elder was named Wang Xiao, a man who had captured quite a few Ghost Creatures and collected high-level poisonous insects and beast corpses.

"That’s not it. Here are the Ghost Creatures you wanted, over a thousand of them, most of them from the Qi Refinement Realm, with more than a hundred from the Foundation Establishment Stage."

Wang Xiao took out a black gourd and threw it to Shen Long.

Shen Long pulled out the gourd’s stopper, and the sounds of ghostly weeping and wolf howling emanated loudly. A chill wind blew, and the room’s temperature dropped sharply.

He scanned the gourd with his Divine Sense and confirmed that there were more than a hundred Ghost Creatures from the Foundation Establishment Stage inside. He nodded, then turned and left.

He arrived at the entrance of a two-story blue pavilion with the words "Qingzhu Pavilion" inscribed on the signboard. He took out a green medallion, flicked his wrist, and a ray of green light shot out from the medallion, entering the Qingzhu Pavilion. The door opened, and he walked in. The door closed behind him.

This was his residence, and Shen Long had stayed in Red Fire Valley for nearly half a year.

Shen Long walked into a practice room, entered the Spirt Control Tower, and appeared on the first floor.

He released the Ghost Dove, took out the black gourd, and cast a spell into it. The black gourd emitted a gust of chilling wind, and over three hundred Ghost Creatures flew out in various forms, with more than thirty from the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The two heads of the Ghost Dove each emitted a beam of blue light, enveloping the Ghost Creatures and drawing them into its mouths to swallow them.

A Foundation Establishment Stage Ghost Creature approached the Ghost Dove. The dove’s two heads flashed out, grabbing the creature’s body and tearing it in two before swallowing it down.

The blue light emitted by the Ghost Dove greatly restrained the Ghost Creatures, who lost their ability to resist once touched by the blue light and were meekly devoured by the Ghost Dove.

In less than half an hour, the Ghost Dove had consumed all three hundred-plus Ghost Creatures, leaving none behind.

The Ghost Dove made joyful bird calls and soared into the sky, circling high above.

"After eating so many Ghost Creatures, and with the Spirit Soul of an early Third Stage Red Fire Centipede, it should be enough for you to advance to the late Second Stage,"

Shen Long said while taking out two Spirit Feeding Pills and tossing them to the Ghost Dove.

The two heads of the Ghost Dove opened their mouths and gulped down the Spirit Feeding Pills.

A short while later, the Ghost Dove flew back to Shen Long’s side, making affectionate bird calls and rubbing its head against Shen Long’s body.

Under Shen Long’s meticulous training, the Ghost Dove grew rapidly.

Before advancing to the Third Stage, it couldn’t play much of a role.

Shen Long went to the third floor, whistled, and a piercing bird call came from the sky. A gust of wind blew, and the Gold-Winged Windroc appeared.

Its size had increased significantly. It was now in the late Third Stage.

The Gold-Winged Windroc made cheerful bird calls and flapped its wings gently.

"You’re not going to surpass me, are you?"

Shen Long petted its head affectionately and fed the Gold-Winged Windroc two high-grade Beast Nurturing Pills before jumping onto its back.

With a gentle flap of its wings, the Gold-Winged Windroc ascended into the sky and flew upwards at great speed.

The wind howled past, and Shen Long’s hair fluttered in the wind.