I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals

Chapter 288: The Peacock’s Wings Clipped

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“Five-Colored Peacock.”

The moment his senses captured it, Lan Changʼan couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the sheer splendor and vibrant beauty of the spirit beast—a Five-Colored Peacock.

But in the next instant, his expression darkened. He quickly realized that the Peacock Saintess was likely nearby.

Lan Changʼan activated an escape talisman, attempting to accelerate his speed and circle around the Five-Colored Peacock.

However, avian creatures were naturally gifted with extraordinary sensory abilities. The Five-Colored Peacock detected Lan Changʼan almost simultaneously, letting out a sharp screech.

Whoosh!

The peacock’s radiant plumage flared up, transforming into a dazzling cascade of multicolored light that shot toward Lan Changʼan with terrifying speed.

“Too fast!”

Glancing back, Lan Changʼan’s face turned grim. Even with the enhancement of his treasure talisman, which pushed his speed to that of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, the Five-Colored Peacock easily closed the gap.
Speed was the innate advantage of avian creatures.

What’s more, this Five-Colored Peacock possessed an incomparably rare heavenly bloodline!

According to ancient legends, the true Five-Colored Peacock was one of the Primordial True Spirits of the world. The one before him, while not a genuine True Spirit, bore traces of its diluted bloodline. Its five-colored feathers bore an uncanny resemblance to the legendary beast, though it was, in truth, a pseudo-Five-Colored Peacock.

As the gap between them narrowed, the spirit beast cubs Lan Changʼan carried with him began to tremble uncontrollably. They seemed to instinctively sense the oppressive might of the peacock’s noble bloodline.

Even the Profound Water Turtle and the Earth Burrowing Rat were not spared.

Some of the lower-level spirit beast cubs he had obtained from Huang Lang Immortal directly fainted from sheer terror.

Whizz!

A streak of multicolored light—vivid and piercing—shot toward Lan Changʼan from six or seven li away, locking onto him with unerring precision.

A long-range strike?

Sensing the dangerous aura approaching, Lan Changʼan immediately activated his protective shield and slapped a low-grade third-rank defensive talisman onto himself.

With two layers of defense in place, he summoned a silver-gray treasure ruler that expanded several zhang in length under the wind. Its dazzling radiance surged as it moved to intercept the multicolored beam head-on.

This treasure ruler was something Lan Changʼan had acquired from Tan Immortal during the ancient ruins exploration. After achieving third-rank artifact crafting, Lan Changʼan had further refined it, boosting its power and tweaking its appearance.

However, what happened next left him stunned.

Poof!

The immense treasure ruler, which radiated an aura of overwhelming power, dimmed and lost its luster the moment it came into contact with the multicolored beam. It shrank back to its miniature form and fell powerlessly from the sky.

“Not good!”

Lan Changʼan’s expression changed drastically. He had underestimated the Five-Colored Peacock’s innate divine ability.

Bang!

The protective light shield from his third-rank talisman shattered upon impact with the multicolored beam.

The Five-Colored Peacock’s divine light had a unique property—it could erase spiritual light and neutralize restrictions. Ordinary magical treasures and talismans were completely suppressed by it.

On top of that, the Five-Colored Peacock had reached the peak of mid-stage third rank, boasting a cultivation advantage that only further amplified the power of its abilities.

Buzz! Bang!

Lan Changʼan’s final layer of protection, a shield condensed from pure magical power, barely withstood the dissipating remnants of the divine light. Both the shield and the light disintegrated simultaneously in midair.

In just two breaths, the multicolored beam had shattered his treasure ruler, destroyed a third-rank talisman, and obliterated his protective shield.

How could this still be a fight?

Taking a deep breath, Lan Changʼan’s mind raced as he desperately searched for a way to break the deadlock.

In terms of speed, the Five-Colored Peacock far surpassed him.

Its attack range was similarly extraordinary.

Whizz! Whizz!

Two more multicolored beams shot toward him.

Lan Changʼan flicked his fingers, activating several earth-element talismans. They conjured a series of stone walls from the desert sands, creating a sturdy physical defense.

These solid barriers were slightly more effective at withstanding the multicolored beams compared to his spiritual light defenses.

He also summoned a bronze mirror treasure, which reflected the diminished power of the beams back onto the sandy ground, leaving behind a scorched crater several zhang in diameter.

Fortunately, Lan Changʼan had a diverse arsenal of magical treasures, which allowed him to adapt to various situations.

The bronze mirror, acquired from a Core Formation cultivator of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, had also been refined and modified by him.

“Too passive!”

On the battlefield, Lan Changʼan was completely suppressed, unable to strike back.

The Five-Colored Peacock’s superior speed and long attack range placed him at a constant disadvantage.

Among his many techniques, only the Barbed Arrow had a longer range than the peacock’s attacks and might pose a threat to it. However, he had no confidence in successfully taking down a heavenly-bloodline Five-Colored Peacock with that alone.

“The only way to truly hurt it is to engage in close combat. Flying beasts typically have weaker defenses…”

A thought flickered in Lan Changʼan’s mind.

However, the Five-Colored Peacock was no fool. It kept a safe distance, relying on its superior mobility to harass him with ranged attacks.

Lan Changʼan had no chance to close the gap and counterattack.

“Damn it! I’m being kited!”

He couldn’t even get close to launch a melee attack.

The Barbed Arrows, of which he only had three, were better suited for ambushes and surprise attacks. Their effectiveness in direct confrontations was significantly reduced.

He needed to save them for a critical moment, especially since the Peacock Saintess could arrive at any time.

“Am I really about to be forced by some fowl into using my fourth-life descent or revealing my secret technique to escape?”

Lan Changʼan felt an intense unwillingness in his heart.

It wasn’t that he was determined to tangle with the Five-Colored Peacock. The problem was that he couldn’t outrun it.

The Five-Colored Peacock’s mobility and detection capabilities exceeded those of a late-stage Core Formation Great Cultivator.

Once targeted by such a creature, there was no escaping unless he severely injured or killed it. Even a third-rank Minor Teleportation Talisman wouldn’t guarantee a clean getaway.

If he didn’t kill this beast now, once the Peacock Saintess arrived, his chances of evading pursuit would drop even further.

…

“Enough.”

After weighing his options, Lan Changʼan decided it wasn’t worth wasting his energy fighting a mere beast.

Forming a hand seal, he activated the Crimson Sun Blood-Escape Technique, causing his Golden Dan’s spiritual energy to boil and his lifespan to burn.

In an instant, Lan Changʼan’s body erupted with radiant golden and blood-colored light, as if he had transformed into a blazing crimson sun.

“Escape—!”

His speed skyrocketed several times over, turning him into a streak of red light as he streaked through the wind and sand of the desert. Within mere breaths, he had vanished from sight.

The Crimson Sun Blood-Escape Technique was an ancient escape method long passed down in the cultivation world. It wasn’t unique to the Flame Departing Palace.

This technique was divided into six levels, corresponding to cultivation realms from the early Core Formation stage to the late Nascent Soul stage.

The fourth-life Master Lihuo had once mastered the fourth level, which corresponded to the early Nascent Soul stage.

Although Lan Changʼan’s theoretical understanding had also reached the fourth level, his body and spiritual energy limitations meant he could normally only perform the second level, which matched the mid-Core Formation stage.

Even so, his current escape speed far exceeded that of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator.

The Five-Colored Peacock, left behind by over ten li, let out a sharp and furious screech.

Its radiant plumage shimmered with swirling, vibrant colors as its speed abruptly increased by 40–50%, surpassing that of ordinary late-stage Core Formation cultivators by quite a bit.

“This Five-Colored Peacock has actually been systematically trained and has learned a secret movement technique?”

Lan Changʼan’s expression grew grim.

Although he was still faster than the peacock, it would take time to completely shake it off.

However, time was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

The Crimson Sun Blood-Escape Technique burned lifespan as its price.

The Five-Colored Peacock’s movement technique, while not as extreme, consumed its vital energy and would leave it in a weakened state afterward.

Moments later, Lan Changʼan sensed a powerful spiritual sense sweeping across the area. It was significantly stronger than that of an average late-stage Core Formation cultivator and not much worse than his own spiritual sense when he merged with the second life.

“Lan Changʼan, I’ve finally found you!”

From the clouds to his side, a streak of colorful light sped toward him, coordinating with the Five-Colored Peacock to cut off his escape.

Soon, a woman dressed in vibrant rainbow-colored robes came into view.

“Peacock Saintess!”

The woman’s feathered attire fluttered elegantly, her eyes gleaming like moonlight. Her figure and appearance were unparalleled, exuding an air of nobility, aloofness, and breathtaking beauty.

Her bare, jade-like feet floated above the desert sands, untouched by wind or dirt. Around her crystalline ankles, golden and silver anklets shone faintly, clearly extraordinary magical treasures.

Even Lan Changʼan couldn’t help but feel a flicker of admiration at the sight of the Peacock Saintess.

But he was in no mood to appreciate it.

Without hesitation, he shifted direction and sped deeper into the desert, toward the Fengyuan Kingdom.

“Lan Changʼan, now that you’ve been caught by me, today you won’t escape your fate.”

The Peacock Saintess smiled faintly, a crystalline orb floating above her delicate hand. Inside the orb was blue-green blood, submerging a piece of tortoiseshell fragment.

Seeing this, Lan Changʼan’s heart sank.

The Peacock Saintess had been able to track him not only because she had hired a divination master.

As the Saintess of the Beast King Valley, she was undoubtedly a genius in the art of beast taming.

According to the intelligence Lan Changʼan had gathered, the Peacock Saintess was a Beast-Taming Grandmaster.

Beast-taming grandmasters often specialized in using all kinds of exotic creatures and insects for reconnaissance and pursuit.

What’s more, the Peacock Saintess was born with the innate Dao physique of Myriad Spirits, which granted her exceptional sensitivity to all spiritual beings in the world and unmatched talent in controlling and tracking them.

“Peacock Saintess, you and I have no grievances. Why must you press me so hard?”

Lan Changʼan noticed that the Peacock Saintess’s flying light technique was slightly slower than the Five-Colored Peacock’s. This realization gave him a sliver of relief.

“Grudges should be resolved, not deepened! Your speed cannot match mine. Why not retreat and call it a day?”

He attempted to reason with the Peacock Saintess, hoping to de-escalate the situation.

“Lan Changʼan, how long can you keep burning your blood essence and lifespan to maintain this escape technique?”

The Peacock Saintess’s voice was calm, her delicate fingers raised in a light gesture. She smiled with an enchanting mix of holiness and allure. Her beauty, enhanced by her faint smile, could topple kingdoms.

“Once your body is exhausted from overexertion, you’ll fall into weakness. Even if you widen the distance now, it will be child’s play for me to track and capture you later.”

The Peacock Saintess wasn’t in a rush.

Her final divination from Elder Shi had only pinpointed a general area.

From there, she had relied on her beast-taming techniques and tracking secret arts, dividing her efforts with the Five-Colored Peacock to comb the area.

As luck would have it, the Five-Colored Peacock had been the first to find and lock onto Lan Changʼan.

Now that she had located her target, the Peacock Saintess was confident Lan Changʼan wouldn’t escape.

Unless, of course, he could maintain his current speed indefinitely.

…

Half an hour later.

Lan Changʼan had successfully shaken off the Peacock Saintess, creating a distance of at least a thousand li between them.

At such a range, even a late-stage Core Formation cultivator would certainly lose track of him.

Even a Nascent Soul expert, unless skilled in tracking, might fail to keep up.

Huff!

Slightly weakened, Lan Changʼan sat cross-legged atop a sand dune.

The Crimson Sun Blood-Escape Technique he had maintained for the past half hour had cost him two and a half years of his lifespan.

Thanks to his third-rank body refinement technique, his physique was powerful and his vitality abundant, so the life burn didn’t leave him gravely injured or heavily drained.

A third-rank spiritual pill would be enough to replenish his vitality and blood.

Pausing now, however, was not just for recovery—it was to devise a way to turn the tide of the battle.

This included calculating the odds of victory if he were to fight the Peacock Saintess head-on.

The results were grim.

Without summoning his fourth life, his odds of winning were less than 0.5%.

The Five-Colored Peacock alone was already an enormous challenge.

Adding the Peacock Saintess, whose innate Dao physique and beast-taming abilities enhanced her spiritual sense far beyond that of a typical late-stage Core Formation cultivator, left his chances of success minuscule.

Even his Barbed Arrows posed limited threat to her.

Moreover, the Peacock Saintess likely possessed other spirit beasts aside from the Five-Colored Peacock.

As for using his fourth-life descent, while it would almost guarantee his escape, killing the Peacock Saintess to eliminate future trouble still carried significant risks.

Lan Changʼan speculated that she might have Nascent Soul-grade life-saving treasures on her.

“Luckily, I’ve learned divination! If I assumed my fourth-life descent made me invincible under the Nascent Soul stage and recklessly tried to take her down, I might have paid a heavy price.”

After a moment of contemplation, Lan Changʼan had a plan in mind.

...

Not long after, the Peacock Saintess and the Five-Colored Peacock reappeared within Lan Changʼan’s spiritual perception range.

On the sand dune, Lan Changʼan sat cross-legged, feigning recovery. His face was as pale as paper, and his aura had dropped to that of a Fake Dan cultivator.

In front of him stood a turtle puppet, several zhang in size, acting as his shield.

Seeing the Peacock Saintess approach, Lan Changʼan shrank back behind the turtle puppet with a frightened and feeble demeanor.

“Turtle Immortal, why aren’t you running anymore?”

The Peacock Saintess scanned him with her spiritual sense, her lips curling slightly into an amused smile.

Her swan-like neck rose gracefully as she looked down at Lan Changʼan from above, her posture haughty and majestic.

Despite being merely an early Core Formation cultivator, with an insignificant low-tier True Dan, he had used the Crimson Sun Blood-Escape Technique to put a thousand li between them.

The cost of that technique would leave even a mid-Core Formation cultivator severely weakened.

“Don’t come any closer—!”

To Lan Changʼan, the breathtakingly beautiful saintess appeared like a nightmare. With a mix of terror and anger, he roared, his voice trembling:

“If you come any closer, I’ll activate the spirit pet contract and force the Profound Water Turtle to perish! I’ll also kill myself, so you’ll never get the secrets you’re after…”

Lan Changʼan’s voice was fierce, but his tone betrayed his underlying fear.

The Peacock Saintess, just as her pure white feet were about to descend onto the ground, paused slightly in mid-air.

“Pfft.”

A soft laugh escaped her lips. Her dimples deepened, and the saintess’s holy and stunning face bloomed with countless charms as she spoke softly:

“This saintess doesn’t believe that a coward like Turtle Immortal has the courage to commit suicide.”

She glanced down at him, her tone teasing yet imperious.

“I’ll give you a chance—kneel and submit, become this saintess’s manservant!”

“Surrender the Profound Water Turtle and the secrets of its cultivation. In return, Beast King Valley will ensure your safety. You’ll no longer have to flee for your life in the future.”

Become her manservant?

Looking up at the high and mighty Peacock Saintess, Lan Changʼan found her words as sweet as the songs of celestial beings, making his heart waver.

Her noble and peerless face, every slight expression and movement, seemed to pull him into a trance.

A sudden, fanatical urge to worship her overwhelmed him. He wanted to kneel beneath her robes, bowing down to kiss her pristine jade-like feet.

Whoosh!

Seizing the opportunity, the Peacock Saintess moved closer. The silver anklet on one of her feet let out a faint cicada-like hum, releasing an imperceptible spiritual wave.

Buzz!

The silver anklet slipped off her foot, expanding into a ring over a zhang wide, and spun toward Lan Changʼan, who was sinking into her enchantment.

This was the Spirit-Taming Ring, one of the Peacock Saintess’s magical treasures. Not only could it enslave demonic beasts, but it also worked on human cultivators.

The Peacock Saintess was clearly intending to take advantage of Lan Changʼan’s weakened state and directly enslave him.

“An illusion technique? You vixen—!”

At the critical moment, Lan Changʼan’s eyes flashed with a cold light. With a sharp yell, he forcibly broke free from the enchanting spell.

“Impressive willpower, but unfortunately itʼs too late,” the Peacock Saintess said softly, her tone laced with both praise and disdain.

She floated down through the air, now less than three zhang away from Lan Changʼan.

The now-enlarged Spirit-Taming Ring glowed brilliantly and descended toward Lan Changʼan’s head, nearly encircling him.

Bang!

The hastily activated protective barrier around Lan Changʼan shattered instantly. The silver ring’s radiance dimmed only slightly.

Lan Changʼan, however, neither dodged nor fled. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his lips as his palm slapped down on the ground.

At the same time—

Ding!

The turtle puppet beside him sprang to life with startling agility, leaping up and colliding with the descending Spirit-Taming Ring, sending it flying into the sand.

“Not good!”

The Peacock Saintess’s expression changed as she immediately realized she had fallen into a trap.

It turned out Lan Changʼan had been feigning weakness the entire time and hadn’t truly succumbed to her illusion spell.

Otherwise, there was no way he could have reacted so quickly, directing the puppet to accurately knock her Spirit-Taming Ring away.

Buried in the sand, the Spirit-Taming Ring lost its connection to her.

Underneath the sand, a third-rank rodent demon swiftly scurried away, snatching the silver ring from her jade-like ankle and carrying it off.

Buzz!

Retrieving the turtle puppet, Lan Changʼan’s body flickered with an earthy yellow glow before he sank into the sand.

“Cheap tricks!”

The Peacock Saintess raised her flawless hand, summoning a golden, top-shaped treasure designed to counter earth burrowing techniques.

However, the moment Lan Changʼan disappeared, something unexpected occurred.

Boom!

A surge of immense spiritual energy erupted from beneath the sand like a volcano breaking through the earth. The ground split apart violently.

Eighteen luminous talismans of various colors rotated around the Peacock Saintess in a radius of dozens of zhang. Their light interwove, forming a sealed formation.

Clang!

Her spinning top-shaped treasure struck the ground but only produced a shower of sparks, as if hitting indestructible refined steel.

“This brat… he’s skilled in formation techniques?”

Realizing she had fallen into a carefully laid trap, the Peacock Saintess’s expression shifted between shock and fury, a blush spreading across her flawless cheeks.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

She unleashed her late-Core Formation cultivation, commanding her magical treasures to assault the formation. Splashes of multicolored light erupted like waves crashing on rocks.

Yet the talisman array held firm, immovable.

Each of the oversized talismans wasn’t ordinary; they contained spirituality, elevating the formation’s power to a whole new level.

“Treasure Talismans?”

The Peacock Saintess’s eyes widened slightly. With her vast experience, she recognized their origins immediately.

Eighteen treasure talismans, all third-rank mid-grade or higher, representing the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Among them were sealing talismans, restriction-breaking talismans, and illusion talismans.

The formation created was self-sustaining, combining offense and defense.

Spikes of earth, arcs of lightning, bursts of fire, icy mists, and illusory traps cycled endlessly within the formation.

…

Whoosh!

A hundred zhang away, Lan Changʼan emerged from beneath the sand, his gaze fixed on the Peacock Saintess trapped within the talisman formation.

Earlier, his feigned weakness and panicked cries of “Don’t come closer!” had been nothing but a psychological trick.

How could someone as proud and noble as the Peacock Saintess tolerate such defiance?

Lan Changʼan had counted on her pride. She had fallen right into his trap.

To ensure she wouldn’t detect his preparations, Lan Changʼan had instructed the Earth Burrowing Rat to manipulate the natural flow of the sand, concealing the treasure talismans while adding materials that absorbed spiritual sense probing.

The Peacock Saintess’s attention had remained focused on him, trying to determine whether he was genuinely weakened.

Thanks to his superior spiritual sense and the Hundred Illusions Mask, Lan Changʼan had successfully passed her scrutiny.

“Peacock Saintess, I’ll be taking my leave now!”

“One day, when my power has matured, I will definitely ʼpaybackʼ for todayʼs events and settle things properly with you!”

Lan Changʼan laughed heartily, activating his light technique and slapping a treasure talisman onto himself to accelerate as he sped toward the Fengyuan Kingdom.

While the Peacock Saintess was momentarily immobilized, Lan Changʼan’s strategy was to widen the distance further and hopefully escape her pursuit entirely.

“That damned Turtle Immortal is so cunning…”

The Peacock Saintess’s delicate features contorted in anger. She bit her silver teeth, her chest heaving as her face flushed alternating shades of green and red.

If word spread that she had been tricked into losing her Spirit-Taming Ring, an item she always carried, it would make her a laughingstock among her competitors in Beast King Valley.

More importantly, Lan Changʼan clearly possessed some secret opportunity or treasure. If he escaped, he would only grow stronger, becoming a dangerous enemy in the future.

“Peacock, go after him and hold him down!”

“He’s no longer using the Blood Escape technique, so his vitality must have been depleted. He’s definitely not at his peak!”

The Peacock Saintess temporarily gave up trying to break the talisman formation and instead issued a command to her Five-Colored Peacock.

The Five-Colored Peacock, which had been circling above to monitor Lan Changʼan’s movements, let out a shrill cry.

Its wings flared with radiant multicolored light as it dove toward Lan Changʼan at even greater speed.

In normal circumstances, the Five-Colored Peacock’s speed was slightly superior to the Peacock Saintess’s and clearly faster than Lan Changʼan’s.

...

Lan Changʼan had fled over a hundred li when he noticed the Five-Colored Peacock closing in again.

If he allowed the heavenly-bloodline spirit bird to delay him, the Peacock Saintess would eventually break free from the talisman array and catch up.

“Do you really think I’ve burned my essence to the point where I can’t use the Blood Escape technique anymore?”

Lan Changʼan’s expression remained calm, but his thoughts were already sharp and calculating.

The mocking words he had left for the Peacock Saintess earlier weren’t just taunts—they were a ploy to lure the Five-Colored Peacock with higher speed into a trap and deal with it for good to eliminate any future troubles.

As the Five-Colored Peacock closed the distance to six or seven li, preparing to launch another long-range attack, whoosh—

A piercing, soul-shaking whistle rang out.

From beneath the sand behind the Five-Colored Peacock, a Barbed Arrow shot forth with deadly precision, aiming straight for its abdomen.

Caught completely off guard, the Five-Colored Peacock hadn’t expected such a hidden and malicious ambush from the sand below.

The Barbed Arrow contained a spiritual soul attack, causing the peacock’s consciousness to throb with sharp pain. Its flight faltered, its speed plummeting as it failed to evade the incoming strike.

At the same moment, Lan Changʼan, glowing with golden blood light, turned abruptly and surged toward the peacock at terrifying speed, aiming to create a pincer attack.

Boom!

The injured Five-Colored Peacock flapped its radiant wings desperately, trying to deflect the Barbed Arrow with its five-colored divine light.

But it was too rushed.

Pffft!

The Barbed Arrow, infused with spiritual soul attack, pierced through the peacock’s feathers and embedded itself half a foot deep into its abdomen.

Caught completely off guard and suffering from a calculated assault, the Five-Colored Peacock let out a furious screech.

It attempted to ascend into the sky to escape, but its wings grew stiff. Its wound began to numb, and dark, poisonous blood dripped from the injury.

The Barbed Arrow had been coated with third-rank lethal poison.

“Excellent!”

Lan Changʼan couldn’t help but feel overjoyed.

As he approached with blood-colored light, he stopped the Crimson Sun Blood-Escape Technique, knowing its explosive speed was unsuitable during fights.

Now, with the Five-Colored Peacock injured and poisoned, its speed had dropped by 30–40%.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Lan Changʼan stabilized his blood and energy, rapidly activating six or seven third-rank treasure talismans. Each one unleashed attacks or control effects designed to slow and weaken the peacock further.

Simultaneously, he summoned a third-rank archer puppet, which released glowing arrows that rained down upon the peacock.

The Five-Colored Peacock, floundering as if trapped in quicksand, struggled to evade the barrage of attacks. Its five-colored light flickered unevenly as it flapped its wings with visible difficulty.

Just as it tried to retreat, a massive shadow emerged from the sand behind it.

The Earth Burrowing Rat burrowed up from below, kicking up a vast sandstorm that completely blocked the peacock’s escape route.

In the desert, the Earth Burrowing Rat’s earth-elemental spells gained a natural bonus, enhancing its combat strength significantly.

Both were mid-stage third-rank creatures, but with the peacock already injured and poisoned, the Earth Burrowing Rat was now a genuine threat in close combat.

Lan Changʼan unleashed even more pressure, using his bronze mirror magical treasure and silver-gray ruler to suppress the Five-Colored Peacock.

However, he refrained from using the Barbed Arrow again.

Having been ambushed once, the peacock would now be far more vigilant.

The peacock screeched in desperation as it was driven back into the sandstorm.

Lan Changʼan’s three primary puppets—the archer, the turtle, and the rat—joined forces to surround it.

Even the Profound Water Turtle, despite its weaker combat abilities, contributed by spitting out dense water pillars from the edges of the battlefield.

One versus six.

Wounded and poisoned, the Five-Colored Peacock wailed in pain as blood gushed from its wounds. It quickly fell into a critical state.

Slash!

The Earth Burrowing Rat finally closed in, its massive claw slicing through the peacock’s wing in a spray of vibrant red blood.

Screech!!!

The Five-Colored Peacock let out one last mournful cry as its severed wing fell to the ground, its majestic plumage stained with blood.

The injured peacock, eyes glowing blood-red, ignited a desperate five-colored flame around its body as it crashed into the sand below.

Lan Changʼan’s magical treasures sizzled and charred black upon contact with the flames. Even his treasure talismans and spells fizzled out before they could reach the bird.

Watching the scene, Lan Changʼan’s eyes narrowed.

“The peacock is burning its blood essence and life force to activate a powerful life-preserving secret technique… Below the Nascent Soul Realm, it’s nearly invincible now.”

Though it wouldn’t die anytime soon, the cost of this technique would permanently damage its future potential.

Nearby, the Earth Burrowing Rat picked up the severed wing, licking the noble heavenly blood with its tongue.

“Not bad. This will make excellent material for refining a talisman brush.”

Lan Changʼan waved his hand, pulling the wing into his storage pouch while the Earth Burrowing Rat reluctantly surrendered it.

Hesitating for a moment, it handed over a silver ring with a slightly residual aura to its master on its own accord this time.

“Well, this child is teachable. Today beheading the peacock, youʼve made a great achievement, youʼll be rewarded when you return.”

Lan Changʼan praised with satisfaction.

”Go!”

Suddenly, his spiritual senses tingled as he detected a terrifying aura approaching from the distance.

The Peacock Saintess had likely sensed her spirit beast’s mortal peril and had unleashed some terrifying method to break through the talisman formation.

Without hesitation, Lan Changʼan stowed away all his puppets and spirit beasts.

Activating his escape technique, he merged into the endless desert sands.