The lizard quickly uttered in its mind because it did not hit a person, but a spear.
It turned out that the young human employed a trick, where he used a spear as his disguise, and the lizard was foolishly tricked.
“Woosh…”
2 strange sounds of the wind were almost heard at the same time beside the lizard. With a determined look in its eyes, fearsome black stripes surfaced on its body.
Following that, its body began to twist unusually.
It was an indescribably bizarre movement, but the lizard somehow escaped from the lazy turtle and the big yellow dog easily because of it.
Forget about Big Yellow; it activated its White Silver Power, but its boundary was inferior to that of the lizard. However, the case was different for the lazy turtle because it was supported by many spiritual flowers and herbs, which were enough to make it a top-notch high-rank spirit beast.
Even so, the lizard dodged the turtle’s attack without effort.
The big lazy turtle looked up and was appalled.
It suddenly realized that it could not find the equal-ranked spirit beast’s weaknesses at all, and the lizard’s every move seemed to coincide with the natural law around them. If the lazy turtle forces an attack, it would only fail to achieve anything and might even be killed.
The lazy turtle recalled something when it stared at the queer black patterns on the lizard. It shouted fiercely, “Be careful, it’s a Venerable One’s consciousness!”
Chapter 656 - A Venerable One’s Consciousness
‘A Venerable One’s consciousness!?’
Whether it was Ou Yangming, who was hiding on the side to watch the fight, or Big Yellow, which was kept pouncing on the enemy, they shuddered with fear after they heard that.
Beings that were involved with the words “Venerable One” were almost considered the synonyms of mysterious and formidable.
As at this moment, the act of the high-rank lizard tackling a tricky problem with ease left everyone else in awe.
The lizard successfully evaded the sudden attacks from the lazy turtle and Big Yellow. It suddenly turned around and fixed its gaze on an empty ground.
Ou Yangming immediately had a ghastly look on his face. The ground that the lizard was staring at seemed empty, but it was exactly where he was hiding. He believed that nobody would notice him due to the Illusion Formation. Besides, the young fellow released many Skill Spells earlier in the air, and he managed to fool the high-rank lizard indeed.
Who knew, before he even got to attack, he was already locked on by his enemy.
The young fellow backed away without any hesitation. It was an instinctive reaction, where his body moved subconsciously before his brain could even process the situation, and it was a reflex action that he developed after countless life-or-death experiences.
“Pow…”
A deafening sound was heard as the lizard stuck out its slippery, long tongue and ruthlessly hit where Ou Yangming was standing just now.
Ou Yangming retreated to the side of the giant mountain rock at that crucial moment, by which he stuck his body close to the big lazy turtle. With this massive shield by his side, as long as there were no Venerable Ones, he would not be killed in one hit.
“What’s a Venerable One’s consciousness?” He asked in a hurry.
“This lizard was valued by Ghost-clawed Venerable One, which set up a secret technique on it. Once the lizard activates the technique, it’ll possess a Venerable One’s consciousness for a short time.” The big lazy turtle had a grave look on its face, and it smiled bitterly. “Its strength and boundary won’t be upgraded but since it’s assisted by a Venerable One’s consciousness… It’ll be difficult for us to be its match.”
Ou Yangming asked as he was struck with a thought, “Lazy turtle, do you have a similar trick?”
The big lazy turtle was stunned, and an unnatural look could be seen in its eyes. “Master Ou, every high-rank powerhouse with an inheritance has a life-saving trick.”
It stressed the word “life-saving”.
Ou Yangming instantly understood what the turtle meant. It had a similar trick up its sleeves too, but it was a life-saving trump card, which could only be used if it paid a huge price.
Since the lazy turtle was helping Ou Yangming at the moment, it would be great if they succeeded, but it would not really be affected if they failed. Therefore, it would not work itself to death for this.
The high-rank lizard was bright-eyed, and it seemed like it recognized the lazy turtle’s identity, hence instead of continuing to force an attack, it flinched and retreated bit by bit.
As the lizard was assisted by a Venerable One’s consciousness, the Illusion Formation that was set up by Ou Yangming through hard work no longer had any secrets to it.
“Woof…” Big Yellow barked beside the lizard.
The lizard turned to look indifferently at the big yellow dog with a fierce look in its eyes.
Big Yellow was taken aback, so it jumped to the side of the big lazy turtle too. At this point, the turtle no longer disguised itself. Apart from moving its legs, it also released its aura without any reservations.
When the high-rank spirit beast’s aura boiled, it was even more ferocious than the lizard.
The lizard looked fearful. It pondered for a while and slowly retreated as if it made its decision.
It seemed like it was afraid and wary of the lazy turtle.
Seeing as the high-rank lizard was backing off bit by bit, Ou Yangming’s face changed, and he uttered softly, “We mustn’t let it leave, or we’ll have to flee till the end of the world!”
The big lazy turtle was hesitant. After sneaking an attack to kill one of the high-rank lizards, there were drastic changes in the strengths of both parties. Ou Yangming and his companions joined hands again to capture the other high-rank lizard, but the outcome was out of their expectations.
Although the lazy turtle knew it should not let the lizard leave, it was undecided when it thought about the Venerable One’s consciousness.
Ou Yangming made up his mind when he saw the lizard leaving. He gritted his teeth and gave an order to the hidden poisonous pill’s spirit.
A peculiar yet faintly discernible poisonous gas spread right away.
Lizards were members of the Insects, where they had notable poison and the ability to resist poison. Under normal circumstances, one would not consider attacking insects with poison. Nonetheless, the poisonous pill’s spirit was different. It had absorbed numerous Plant Poisonous Pills in the secret realm, causing its toxicity to change substantially. In particular, it had a hidden ultimate weapon, which could be used against unprepared insects.
The lizard slowly backed away until it left the Illusion Formation.
It finally relaxed, and it had a savage look in its eyes again.
Even so, it did not notice that the instant its relaxed, invisible poisonous gas had entered its body to invade its organs as it inhaled.
The poisonous gas was not overbearing. Perhaps it was even more hidden due to the Plant Poisonous Pills, thus the lizard did not notice it at all.
Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows inside the Illusion Formation. He looked at the lizard in confusion and seemed to have understood something.
Even though the poisonous gas released by the poisonous pill’s spirit was extremely hidden, the fact that it could also stay out of the sight of a Venerable One’s consciousness… Ou Yangming did not think it could do it.
The lizard had a Venerable One’s consciousness, after all. If the poisonous gas could also hide from it, the consciousness was probably unworthy.
An electric light flickered in Ou Yangming’s mind, then he flashed and charged at the lizard.
The lazy turtle and Big Yellow were dumbfounded, and they were quickly frightened. Nevertheless, they reacted differently.
Big Yellow charged out without any hesitation. It was so fast that it caught up from behind and overtook Ou Yangming. On the other hand, the laz
y turtle was hesitant. It followed suit, but it was clear from its speed that it was half-hearted.
The lizard was surprised, but it opened its mouth and attacked with its tongue at once.
Ou Yangming slashed with his saber without dodging the attack at all. He swayed his body at the same time and seemed to have become one with nature.
The integration of Heaven and man, as well as the thoroughly meticulous.
At this time, his performance could be mentioned on equal terms with that of the lizard from before.
A Venerable One’s consciousness was remarkable indeed. One would almost merge with one’s environment if one possessed such consciousness, allowing one to grasp and utilize even the slightest weak points on one’s opponent.
However, according to Ou Yangming’s observation, a Venerable One’s consciousness was actually the extremity of the integration of Heaven and man, and the thoroughly meticulous; there were no essential differences between them.
“Pow…”
A slippery tongue filled with fearsome power almost hit Ou Yangming, but it brushed past him very closely as he made a turn in mid-air and landed behind the lizard without a sound.
The young fellow smirked and laughed out loud. “Where’s your Venerable One’s consciousness? Why is it gone?”
“It’s gone?” The big lazy turtle focused all of a sudden. If the lizard’s Venerable One’s consciousness was really gone, what else should it worry about? Despite that, the turtle could not figure out how Ou Yangming broke the consciousness; it was simply impossible.
The lizard’s body quivered, then it bounced off with its limbs and charged at Ou Yangming.
While Ou Yangming was potent, his body could not resist a real spirit beast, after all, so it wanted to fight its way out in his direction.
Having said that, as soon as it jumped, Big Yellow lunged at it mercilessly. As a result, they became entangled with each other.
Ou Yangming flashed. He and Big Yellow attacked alternately, where he kept releasing various obstructive Skill Runes. Consequently, the lizard was forced to waste half of its energy on dealing with the ever-changing runes.
The lizard stared at Ou Yangming in disbelief.
It had left the Illusion Formation, so whatever it was looking at was real. At this moment, it almost crumbled especially because of the endless Skill Runes released by Ou Yangming.
‘What creature is he? How could he master so many spells? Even a human caster shouldn’t be able to do something so absurd.’
The lizard tried its best to escape, but it kept being pestered by Ou Yangming and Big Yellow as they went all-out. Needless to say, this was also because the big lazy turtle was watching fiercely on the side. If not, it would have suffered several hits and still manage to get away. Since an even more terrifying equal-ranked powerhouse was keeping an eye on it, it dared not act rashly.
After a few breaths, the lizard halted out of the blue because the hidden poison inside its body began to come into effect.
Ou Yangming and Big Yellow had been waiting for this opportunity. They acted together, by which the latter used its sharp claws while the former used his weapon to stab the lizard’s enormous body.
‘Devour, initiate!’
An intense yet indescribable pain, which reached the lizard’s soul, quickly spread from its wound.
Ou Yangming and Big Yellow only initiated their Devouring attributes at this time. They had perfectly controlled the situation.
The lizard kept twisting its body to break free, but a gigantic shadow shrouded it.
On the other hand, the big lazy turtle had been watching on the side without making a move. It knew if it missed once, it would not have another chance to attack.
Now, when it widened its mouth to bite the lizard, the lizard could not dodge at all.
“Pow!”
The turtle’s humongous mouth, which was filled with sharp teeth, bit the lizard’s body. Given the situation, even if the lizard possessed a Venerable One’s consciousness again, it would not be able to flee.
Endless powers from the lizard’s flesh and blood entered the bodies of Ou Yangming and Big Yellow through their pieces of equipment. While their faces turned red, and they gritted their teeth to enjoy the invisible gift, the lizard lost its breath of life.
Chapter 657 - Big Yellow Advances
“Puff…”
The big lazy turtle opened its mouth again and dropped the lizard’s carcass, which had shrunken until it was out of shape.
After looking deeply at Ou Yangming and Big Yellow, the turtle suddenly turned its gigantic body around and hurried in another direction.
The Turtles were known for being slow, but it depended on who or what they were compared with. Since Ou Yangming’s Illusion Formation had not been removed yet, the middle-rank lizard, which was the pathfinder before this, was still trapped inside.
Although the lazy turtle did not say anything, Ou Yangming and Big Yellow understood what it meant.
‘Leave that lizard to me.’
Since it could kill a high-rank spirit lizard, a middle-rank one would not be much. On the other hand, Ou Yangming and Big Yellow did not withdraw their weapons as they no longer had a sense of urgency. Instead, they calmed down and allowed endless energies to enter their bodies.
Big Yellow’s face turned red, and the pores all over its body opened. Following that, steam gushed out as though water had just been boiled.
After a brief moment, the steam enveloped them and even masked their figures.
Ou Yangming’s body did not undergo such an exaggerated change, but there was an unusual phenomenon too.
His eyes became brighter, which looked like 2 small suns with unusual lights amidst the dense fog. If one that did not know what was happening looked at him, one would not believe that he was a human.
Sure enough, a high-rank spirit beast was unordinary. It was significantly different from low-rank spirit beasts that they devoured in the past.
Once a high-rank spirit beast’s flesh and blood turned into energies that flowed into their bodies, their bodies immediately made the most out of them.
Big Yellow was a low-rank spirit beast. After being excited by the foreign energies, its spiritual power kept accumulating, allowing it to rise to a higher peak.
As for Ou Yangming, he mainly cultivated mental power for the time being. As such, at least 70% of the energies that kept entering his body were converted into mental power, and they were stored bit by bit in his sea of consciousness. Moreover, due to the impact from those foreign powers, his sea of consciousness was vaguely showing signs of being expanded.
Even though the tendency would not cause Ou Yangming to become an Advanced Spiritualist, it allowed his strength to take a big leap forward.
When Ou Yangming and Big Yellow withdrew their weapons after an hour, the humongous high-rank lizard vanished.
Nonetheless, they did not recover right away. Instead, they sat on the ground and tempered their bodies quietly to slowly use their gains for their own.
“Puff, puff, woof, puff…”
Strange sounds were heard coming from Big Yellow. Its aura grew stronger and began to drift.
When Ou Yangming opened his eyes and looked at the big yellow dog, his face could not help but change.
The fellow became unstoppable after it absorbed the lizard’s flesh and blood, such that it started to break through to the middle-rank boundary.
Even so, this was not odd because Big Yellow was a low-rank spirit beast while the lizard was a high-rank spirit beast. Ou Yangming absorbed half of the energies from the lizard’s flesh and blood, and they were consumed when they converted into spiritual power, but what the big yellow dog absorbed was enough to support it to advance.
Ou Yangming’s eyes flickered. As he sensed Big Yellow’s drifting aura, he quickly retrieved from his interspatial bag the jade bottle that stored the concentrated immortal liquid.
He removed the stopper and poured the immortal li
quid into Big Yellow’s mouth.
The concentrated immortal liquid was a great item, and it was precious to them. Needless to say, even the best item had an upper limit for its usage. If Ou Yangming were to do this during a normal time, the boost would be too much that Big Yellow would be killed by it.
Nevertheless, the situation was different at this time; Big Yellow was showing signs of not being able to control its aura after it absorbed enormous energies. Most importantly, it was advancing to the middle-rank boundary.
Given the situation, it did not need to play safe. Instead, it had to do its best to gather spiritual power to succeed in one go.
Sure enough, Big Yellow’s drifting aura changed the instant it swallowed the concentrated immortal liquid. It was as if a pair of invisible hands were gathering its aura bit by bit again.
Big Yellow’s concentrated power was so forceful that it was unbelievable, where it kept boiling inside its body and lashed its meridians.
Having said that, while the gathered powers inside Big Yellow’s body slowly became powerful, its aura somehow became faint when the lashing began. It seemed like every lash would consume its life, causing its life force to weaken.
Ou Yangming was anxious, but his hands were tied.
He was a human cultivator while Big Yellow was a beast cultivator. They cultivated different techniques, hence the young fellow could not help even if wanted to.
All of a sudden, Ou Yangming was moved. He had a feeling that his fire might be able to give immediate effect.
The young fellow gritted his teeth because this was a much more difficult decision than when he summoned the poisonous pill’s spirit to attack the lizard earlier. Despite that, he could not watch the big yellow dog getting into danger.
With that, he shook his hand to release his scorching fire, which he sent to Big Yellow.
Next, something weird happened—Big Yellow trembled out of the blue and swallowed the fire.
Ou Yangming was dumbfounded because it was his first time seeing this. ‘Did Big Yellow just… Swallow my Military Fire?’
A peculiar fluctuation appeared in his sea of consciousness unexpectedly.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 387