Chapter 300: Human-Headed Owl

As they spoke, the surroundings suddenly darkened for everyone. The group of human-headed owls, shrieking fiercely, swooped directly at Ge Yuan. Clearly, Ge Yuan's theft of the spiritual medicine had enraged them.

One of them was slightly smaller in stature, but its speed far surpassed that of its peers. Its feathers were like individual strands of dark iron, incredibly hard.

With a flap of its wings, the human-headed owl transformed into a black streak, instantly appearing above Ge Yuan's head. Its speed was astonishing. Its sharp talons glinted coldly, reaching for Ge Yuan's head.

The aura that burst forth from this human-headed owl was terrifying, startling Qin Sang as well. It was actually a late-stage Demon Spirit!

Aside from it, the other human-headed owls were significantly weaker. Only one was in the early Demon Spirit stage, the rest were minor demons in the Mortal Demon stage.

No wonder Luo Xingnan and his group hadn't gained the upper hand. Facing a powerful demon in the late Demon Spirit stage, it was already incredibly difficult that they hadn't succumbed to the human-headed owl's talons.

And it seemed one person was missing.

Only Luo Xingnan, Yun Youzi, Shangguan Lifeng, and the White-Robed Scholar remained.

Elder Gong was gone!

Even more horrified was Ge Yuan himself.

This human-headed owl's power was utterly terrifying, two full cultivation realms higher than his own.

Even if he encountered it normally, it would be difficult for him to escape with his life from this human-headed owl, let alone now, having been struck by the jade fork thrown by Luo Xingnan. He was at his most vulnerable, with his aura unstable.

"Whoosh!"

The human-headed owl spread its wings, its demonic power carrying a fierce wind that firmly pinned Ge Yuan to the ground, easily shattering his attempts to escape.

Ge Yuan was greatly alarmed, seeing himself on the verge of death by the demon bird's talons.

Just at this critical moment, fortunately, Yun Youzi, with quick reflexes, suddenly threw a yellow bronze ring.

"Swish, swish..."

The bronze ring emitted a rich yellow light, then split into dozens of identical illusions in mid-air, all of them striking the human-headed owl without missing a single one.

To everyone's surprise, after being struck by the bronze rings, the human-headed owl stumbled, roaring in anger. The other human-headed owls seemed to know the power of the rings, screeching as they retreated.

Ge Yuan finally found an opportunity, rolled over and scrambled to his feet, transforming into a streak of escape light, and fled for his life without looking back.

Qin Sang focused his gaze, noticing that the formation of Yun Youzi and the other three had remained unbroken, and all of them were wielding the same yellow bronze rings.

This was a set of forbidden artifacts!

Qin Sang understood, realizing, "So that's how it is." No wonder they didn't seem too panicked when facing a powerful demon in the late Demon Spirit stage. It was precisely by relying on this set of forbidden artifacts that they had a fighting chance.

Otherwise, they would have likely met the same fate as Sheng Yuanzi long ago.

"What are you doing!"

Luo Xingnan glared fiercely at Yun Youzi, angry that he had interfered to save someone without permission.

Yun Youzi remained unperturbed. "Fellow Daoist Luo, the low period of the outer formation is almost over. We don't have much time left. One more person means one more source of strength. We need to suppress this fiend quickly and send people to gather the medicine. That's the real priority!"

At the same time, Yun Youzi's spiritual message also reached Qin Sang's ears, only then did he learn that Elder Gong had died.

Like Ge Yuan, he had triggered a restriction while gathering medicine, alerting the human-headed owls.

However, Elder Gong had bad luck. He was the human-headed owl's first target, and was killed by its talons piercing his skull, without any chance to retaliate.

Seeing this, the others were greatly alarmed and dared not fight individually. They hastily gathered together, jointly resisting the demon beasts' siege. Yun Youzi then took out this set of forbidden artifacts called the Golden Ring Formation, only then were they barely able to hold their ground and resist the human-headed owls' assault.

But even with the help of this Golden Ring Formation, killing the human-headed owl was almost impossible, and time did not allow for a prolonged struggle.

Their only option was to use the power of the forbidden artifacts, find a way to trap the human-headed owl, send people to retrieve the spiritual medicine, and then escape!

Luo Xingnan snorted coldly, apparently accepting Yun Youzi's explanation. He activated the bronze rings, manifesting countless illusions, and continued to attack the human-headed owl. At the same time, he swiped his palm over a bronze ring, splitting off two, throwing one each to Qin Sang and Ge Yuan, and stated unequivocally, "You two combine forces to block these demon birds. I'm going to gather the medicine!"

"Hold on!"

Yun Youzi spoke up to stop Luo Xingnan. "Fellow Daoist Luo, the demon beasts are too powerful. Without you holding the fort, it would be difficult to suppress them. In my opinion, for safety's sake, why not let Daoist Priest Qingfeng gather the medicine, and then we can divide the spiritual medicine equally on the spot?"

Luo Xingnan's expression stiffened, suddenly realizing something was amiss.

His gaze shifted between Qin Sang, Ge Yuan, and Yun Youzi. Luo Xingnan's expression grew increasingly furious, and he cursed aloud, "Old man, are they with you?"

"It's not about who belongs to whom; this old Daoist just happens to know these two fellow Daoists," Yun Youzi said calmly.

"Good! Very good!"

Luo Xingnan laughed in extreme anger, repeating "Good" twice. He said with an extremely grim tone, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it! I concede defeat today! Old man, you dare to plot against me, you have guts! Aren't you afraid I'll kill you!"

"Fellow Daoist Luo, you exaggerate!"

Yun Youzi completely ignored Luo Xingnan's murderous glare, looking at Shangguan Lifeng and the White-Robed Scholar. "Fellow Daoists, all of us risked entering this place for the treasures. Unlike Yu Kong, we don't have a deep-seated enmity with Fellow Daoist Luo. This old Daoist has never considered harming Fellow Daoist Luo, so how can you speak of plotting? From my observation, while most of the spiritual medicines in the mountain have been ruined by these beasts, seven stalks still remain. The protective restrictions on the spiritual medicines are powerful, preventing these beasts from forcing their way in. There are only six of us. One stalk per person is more than enough, and Fellow Daoist Luo's previous promise was also to that effect. Why then, is Fellow Daoist so angry when this old Daoist brings up the matter of equal division? Could it be... Fellow Daoist's earlier promise was merely empty words?"

Questioned directly by Yun Youzi, who hit him where it hurt, Luo Xingnan's expression suddenly stiffened, his eyes filled with shock and fury.

Without giving Luo Xingnan a chance to speak, Yun Youzi glanced past Shangguan Lifeng and addressed the White-Robed Scholar, "Fellow Daoist, what are your thoughts?"

The White-Robed Scholar looked at Luo Xingnan and Shangguan Lifeng. Under Luo Xingnan's intense gaze, he hesitated for a moment, then said, "I believe Fellow Daoist Yun Youzi's words make sense."

As he spoke, the White-Robed Scholar subconsciously moved closer to Yun Youzi.

However, Yun Youzi didn't want to push Luo Xingnan too hard, lest he lose his composure. He then added, "Breaking the restrictions will take some effort. Daoist Priest Qingfeng might find it difficult to complete alone, so perhaps Fellow Daoist Luo could designate another person, and with two working together, it should be no problem. Furthermore, our ability to reach this place is entirely thanks to Fellow Daoist Luo's strategic planning. Of the seven spiritual medicines, it is only right that Fellow Daoist Luo takes two. What do you all think?"

Elder Gong was dead, leaving Luo Xingnan with only Shangguan Lifeng as his ally. Yun Youzi had all but explicitly stated his intentions.

Except for Luo Xingnan, the others, even if greedy, had no right to object. They immediately nodded in agreement.