After stowing away the storage pouches, the four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" swung a thin, blade-like fleshy wing and lightly sliced at the Green Cloud Sparrow, which had already lost its essence blood.
In an instant, the massive body was cut in two.
Although the Green Cloud Sparrow had lost its essence blood, its body still contained a lot of blood, all of which had been continuously tempered by spiritual energy over many years.
This was a great tonic for any demonic beast.
The two halves of the body were enveloped by the four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat's" spirit power. Although blood surged like a river from the terrifying wounds, not a single drop was spilled.
The two halves were of different sizes. In the end, he kept only ten percent of the corpse in his hand and threw the remaining larger half towards the entrance of the tunnel.
"Distribute it according to the old rules. If anyone gets greedy, kill them!"
He knew in his heart that although this Green Cloud Sparrow's body was huge, if it were divided among the children he had brought, it would be a blessing for each demonic beast to get even a single bite.
But this at least eased the anger they felt from being forgotten after guarding this place for so long. It was more of a psychological comfort.
Of course, a cultivator's flesh and blood could indeed help their cultivation grow, but this amount was not even a drop in the bucket, so it could only be considered a satisfaction of their appetite.
"There are still seven cultivators left. You'll at least get to eat a little more today!"
The four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" said loudly.
Then, he tore off a large piece of the Green Cloud Sparrow's flesh with his mouth. Without much chewing, he swallowed it all—feathers, bones, and all.
Then, in two more bites, he ate the remaining corpse in his hand clean. At that moment, the sound of chewing, kaka, also came from the tunnel entrance.
This one four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" licked its lips, rolling up all the remaining bloodstains, a look of wanting more on its face.
Then, still hovering in the air, it gently beat its four wings. Its eyes suddenly took on a playful look as it spoke coldly to the tunnel entrance.
"Your Excellency has quite the skill, to be able to sneak all the way here without being blocked by my clansmen before!
"Fellow Daoist, since you're here, why bother hiding? You've watched the show long enough, haven't you!!"
After his shout, the swarm of two-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bats" at the tunnel entrance suddenly fell silent. Their pairs of eyes, glinting with an eerie green light, began to scan their surroundings.
Just then, not far behind them, an extremely faint shadow emerged.
The moment the shadow appeared, several of the closest black figures pounced like lightning. In a flash, they all passed through the shadow, which then dissipated.
In the next moment, the shadow slowly reappeared in another part of the tunnel, and then dozens more "Dark Spirit Demon Bats" swooped down on it.
But just then, the four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" deep in the tunnel let out a piercing shriek.
All the two-winged bats hovering at the tunnel entrance immediately stopped their pouncing motions, including the dozens that had already given chase, which now hovered in the air.
Each one looked ferociously at the shadow that had reappeared.
The shadow quickly solidified into an ordinary-looking youth. He was rubbing his nose with one hand, his pair of jet-black eyes glinting with a sharp light. It was precisely Li Yan.
"Fellow Daoist, your skill is high and your courage is great. How about coming in for a chat?"
The voice of the four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" came from the tunnel.
"Hehe, Your Excellency is also quite cunning. Why bother trying to trick me into going over? If I'm not mistaken, you want to eventually drive all the cultivators here into this kind of tunnel, don't you!"
Li Yan raised his head and chuckled lightly.
He had followed all the way here and had just sent his Divine Sense into the tunnel ahead.
He had discovered that after the Green Cloud Sparrow, which had revealed its true form, entered this kind of tunnel, it had quickly retreated.
And his own Divine Sense had been blocked by a barrier deep in the tunnel, a barrier that emanated a heart-pounding suction force.
At the same time, his Divine Sense had also been affected, as if someone was whispering to him, but Li Yan had no desire to listen and immediately withdrew his Divine Sense.
Now he guessed that it was likely at that moment that he had been discovered.
'There's something in this tunnel that even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator would fear. Is it a restriction? Or some other existence?'
Li Yan thought about the Green Cloud Sparrow's reaction.
"Oh, it seems Fellow Daoist has been following for some time!"
The four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" immediately tested the other's depth. He wanted to know just how much this person had seen.
He was indeed a master of stealth, he must have seen everything that had just happened.
Yet he himself had been completely unaware. If not for the fluctuation of Divine Sense in the tunnel, he still wouldn't have noticed he was being followed.
In that case, there was nothing more to be said.
The four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" let out another piercing shriek, and the two-winged bats not far from Li Yan immediately swarmed towards him.
And this one four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" also instantly moved out of the tunnel, its four wings spreading, its speed astonishingly fast.
But to his surprise, this youth who had been exposed did not immediately turn and run. Instead, a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
Then his figure once again stretched and faded. The first few two-winged bats to reach him only managed to disperse an afterimage.
And in the next moment, that person was right in front of him.
This time, the opponent was not using a stealth technique, but a movement skill that was fast to the extreme.
Even in this relatively long and narrow tunnel, filled with nearly a hundred two-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bats," Li Yan still used the gaps created by their pouncing to flash in front of the four-winged bat with a few twists of his body.
He raised his hand and stabbed his two fingers fiercely towards the bat's pair of green eyes.
The four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat," however, did not dodge Li Yan's attack. It opened its mouth wide, and a row of sharp, dense teeth bit down on the fingers.
Both sides were moving at extreme speed. In the dim tunnel, a brilliant light, a mix of black and green, suddenly erupted between the four-winged bat's teeth.
The light, centered on their clash, instantly spread outwards. Wherever it passed, the dim tunnel was illuminated by the two-colored light, making it blindingly bright.
Waves of qi slammed into the cave walls, creating a series of booming sounds.
The two-winged bats that were too slow to dodge were immediately caught by the shockwaves, exploding into showers of blood.
Li Yan, using the "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens" movement technique, was as fast as a ghost; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was a ghost.
The four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" had never expected the opponent to break through the heavy encirclement in an instant.
They had engaged in combat in a flash, so he hadn't had time to use extra magic power to eliminate the impact of their clash.
In just this one exchange, more than ten of the two-winged bats he had brought had died.
How could these Second-rank Demonic Beasts possibly withstand the shockwave from a clash between two Golden Core powerhouses at such close range?
At the center, Li Yan's forward momentum came to a halt. The "Dark Spirit Demon Bat's" four wings billowed like a great wind, arching high behind it.
The two were locked in a stalemate in the air for a breath, then Li Yan tapped his foot on the ground and floated backward rapidly.
At the same time, he quickly withdrew his two fingers, but the opponent's body followed closely behind.
This four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" was already equivalent to the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm. Li Yan, relying on his movement technique to launch a surprise attack, had not gained the slightest advantage.
On the contrary, two rows of fine teeth marks appeared on his fingers. Fortunately, they weren't broken, but the powerful compressive force made Li Yan's two fingers feel sore and swollen.
"Ancient Ferocious Beasts are truly something else!"
Li Yan believed that if he were to fight a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator head-on now, he would win more than he would lose.
The toughness of his physical body was comparable to most late-stage Golden Core cultivators.
With a sneak attack, even a Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator would suffer. Who would have thought the opponent would unexpectedly open its mouth to neutralize his attack in such a rush?
As he retreated, Li Yan flicked his arm twice. A faint silver light appeared on his fingers, and the two rows of fine teeth marks immediately disappeared.
"Human race, a Body Cultivator?"
Li Yan was shocked, but the four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" opposite him was even more surprised. The opponent was clearly only at the initial-stage Golden Core, his cultivation not even as good as the previous cultivator's.
But the force of his two fingers just now had shaken his teeth until they ached. He had actually failed to bite off the opponent's fingers.
As he spoke, he followed like a shadow, a sneer coming from his mouth.
Although such Body Cultivators had the ability to fight across realms, in ancient times, they were not considered particularly outstanding.
He had seen many such prodigies back then, so he didn't pay it much mind.
He opened his mouth and a sound wave attack shot out. And this time, what surprised him even more was that the opponent's face only changed slightly, and he did not show any signs of slowed movement or falling directly from the sky.
This was completely contrary to his expectations. This person's cultivation level was clearly only initial-stage Golden Core, and he was a Body Cultivator. How could he have such a strong Divine Sense defense?
After Li Yan's face changed slightly, he had already waved his hands continuously. The tunnel was instantly filled with a soaring cold qi, and a rain of ice spikes, radiating an extraordinary cold, shot towards the bat.
In an instant, they struck the four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat's" body, creating a series of dense "ding-dang" sounds.
"He also has a magical treasure that protects his Sea of Consciousness? And he's extremely proficient in techniques..."
For a moment, the four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" felt as if he was having a streak of bad luck today. His most reliable sound wave attack had failed again and again.
The previous Green Cloud Sparrow was one thing; not only was its cultivation at the late-stage Golden Core, but it also had a Soul-Protecting Magical Treasure.
But this human youth in front of him, whose cultivation level was clearly only at the initial-stage Golden Core, how was it that his own sound wave attack had also failed to be effective?
And he hadn't detected any abnormal phenomenon of a magical treasure being activated from the opponent, not even a single fluctuation.
This four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat" was so frustrated. At this moment, he hadn't realized that the opponent's Divine Sense was already almost as strong as his.
Li Yan, on the other hand, was even more shocked. Just now, a sound as fine and sharp as a needle had pierced directly into his Sea of Consciousness, nearly causing him to fall from the sky.
If he hadn't been on his guard, having witnessed the strangeness of these "Dark Spirit Demon Bats'" various sound wave attacks, and if his Divine Sense wasn't strong enough to rival a Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator, he might have fainted from that one attack alone.
"How are 'Ancient Ferocious Beasts' so difficult to deal with? Not only is its physical body so strong that I'm no match for it, but even a casual sound wave attack from it nearly made me lose consciousness."
Li Yan thought to himself. Although he had relied on cunning to win against "Elder Longjiao," he had fought life-and-death battles with many Golden Core cultivators over the past year to test his illusion poison.
Especially on three occasions, although he had still relied on pre-set traps, he had also fought face-to-face with those two Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivators.
Therefore, he had the confidence to face this peak third-rank, four-winged "Dark Spirit Demon Bat."
He felt that by relying on the bizarre "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens" movement technique to sneak attack this four-winged bat, he could retreat unscathed even if he failed.
But the opponent was unexpectedly so difficult to deal with; one attack had had no effect at all.
The "Dark Spirit Demon Bat's" movement technique was also incredibly fast. For a moment, he couldn't even shake off the opponent's pursuit.
This once again proved that there was no such thing as being truly invincible at the same level. The Forsaken Continent was teeming with powerhouses.