Chapter 1466: The Strength of the Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull Dog

"Little brat, where did you come from, daring to be so impudent in front of this Demon Venerable? It seems you're tired of living and have come here to find your grave. But I regret to inform you that by offending this Demon Venerable, you will not leave this world unscathed. Utter annihilation is your only fate."

The Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog, a Level Seven Demon Beast, according to the information provided by the "old driver," indicated that beasts in the Kunlun Abyss stronger than level four gain sentience, and those above level six are considered rare beasts, capable of calling themselves 'Demon Venerable'. It was no exaggeration to say that any beast above level six held significant status throughout the entire Kunlun Abyss. Naturally, such a being would not tolerate a mere human cultivator acting presumptuously in front of so many other humans.

Despite the Demon Venerable's arrogant posture, Long Kun showed him no respect whatsoever.

"To me, you're just a dog with a cow's head. Don't put on airs in front of me. I'm here today to slay you!" Long Kun's loud declaration, directly stating his intention and hitting where the beast was most sensitive, immediately enraged the Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog.

However, before the two sides could clash, dozens of top powerhouses from the two mercenary alliance groups, who had already spent the better part of a day fighting for this battle, simultaneously erupted in furious shouts from below.

"Who exactly are you? This Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog has been our chosen prey for a long time, and we've applied for it through the Mercenary Alliance's mission system. Theoretically, this beast is our war prize. How dare you interfere? Are you planning to make an enemy of the entire Jialan City Mercenary Alliance?"

The leader of the mercenary alliance below bellowed in anger, but Long Kun merely burst into laughter.

"You guys are truly pathetic. The phrase 'overestimating one's own abilities' was practically coined for you. Do you genuinely have no idea whether you can defeat this Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog? If I hadn't intervened in time, you would have been utterly helpless against the wave of heavenly fire it was about to unleash. Over eighty percent of your mercenaries would have perished on the spot, and the remaining few leaders would have left crippled, with no guarantee of even making it out of Kunlun Mountain alive. If I hadn't stepped in to stop this nightmare, all of you would have been annihilated right here."

No sooner had Long Kun finished speaking than the mercenary soldiers below, who were about to shout back in protest, saw their leader's eyes suddenly turn cold. A strange smile played on his lips as he raised a hand behind him, then instantly changed his expression and waved it towards Long Kun in the sky.

"Since you possess such grand ambition, sir, we shall cede this Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog to you. Consider it a gift from our alliance. Please, proceed."

Witnessing their mercenary leader's abrupt 180-degree change in attitude, these seasoned veteran mercenaries immediately understood his intentions: to let the two parties fight it out and then reap the benefits. Since this young man had foolishly offered himself as a scapegoat, why not use his strength to further weaken the Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog's combat ability? This would allow them to conserve their strength and gain more time to recover. Furthermore, if the young man truly had the power to fight the Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog to a mutual defeat, then the mercenary alliance could naturally wait in ambush, seizing an opportunity to eliminate the severely weakened Long Kun and claim even greater rewards.

Little did these mercenary soldiers know that while they were busy with their petty schemes, Xu Yang and his two companions were calmly observing their fanciful notions from not far outside the area.

"Heh, it's good that you little fellows are sensible. Now, let me show you the true extent of this Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog's power!" Long Kun said, but he didn't immediately move to slay the beast. Instead, he conjured a protective halo in his palm, simultaneously creating enough space for the Golden Bull-Dog to launch its attack.

With that, the Level Seven Demon Venerable, the Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog, let out a furious roar. Instantly, twenty holes on its body opened, and brilliant streams of heavenly fire descended with a rumble from beneath the cloud cauldron. Opening twenty out of a hundred holes already indicated the Golden Bull-Dog's extreme anger, as unleashing such heavenly fire was essentially a release of its inherent flame energy, and it would never open all its holes easily. Doing so would deplete too much of its life force. When facing the mercenary alliance of over fifty people earlier, the Golden Bull-Dog had only opened ten holes in a single attack, which was still enough to severely wound the "little fellows" below. However, now it could clearly sense that Long Kun's demeanor and aura were far stronger than those of the disorganized rabble below. Thus, the Golden Bull-Dog decisively opened twenty holes, unleashing twenty streams of heavenly fire, all directed at Long Kun alone.

"I will make you understand what it means to provoke a Level Seven Demon Venerable! You arrogant humans who dare to come to our Kunlun Abyss and behave so audaciously, this is your consequence!"

The twenty streams of heavenly fire converged, rapidly forming a colossal point of light hundreds of meters above. This light point quickly gathered an excessive amount of fire energy, expanding into an enormous sphere. The spherical fireball locked onto Long Kun's head and pressed down with immense force.

Its trajectory was inextricably bound to Long Kun's own aura, meaning that unless Long Kun employed fundamental laws, there was no way for him to evade the direct impact of this fiery orb.

Long Kun sneered, raising the protective halo he had conjured in his right palm. Like a giant umbrella of light, it instantly rose into the sky, enveloping the surface of the enormous fireball. A massive shockwave erupted between them, sending fragmented energy scattering down onto the mercenary soldiers below.

Even a single damaged fragment of heavenly fire was enough to easily incinerate some of the mercenaries' most powerful protective artifacts. It was only this single wave of attack that made the mercenaries below realize the Hundred-Eyed Golden Bull-Dog's true power far surpassed their own. If Long Kun had not intervened, death would have been their certain fate.

"My heavens, this young man's strength is truly eye-opening! If he hadn't intervened in time, we would surely have suffered heavy casualties by now." These mercenary soldiers were not fools; they were seasoned veterans who had undergone countless trials in this region. They naturally saw the disparity between the two sides in this battle, and Long Kun had not spoken idly. If he hadn't acted, nearly half of the mercenary soldiers would have been wiped out.

The battle raged on, while Xu Yang and his two companions watched from the sidelines, with no intention of interfering. After all, with Long Kun's strength, their leader Xu Yang had no need to worry about him. Ling Yao, however, had turned her gaze towards Xu Yang.