262: Chapter 262 Beast Owl! Dragon Imprisonment Seal!

A sharp light flickered in Lu Qiu's eyes; his mind was set on subjugation.

He quickly weighed the pros and cons.

Although the Beast Owl was fierce, its potential was limitless, and it had not yet fully matured, making this the perfect time to exert control.

If he waited for it to naturally grow into its complete form, trying to subjugate it then would likely be harder than reaching the heavens, leaving destruction as the only option.

Risks certainly existed, but such an Opportunity was rare even in a thousand years; it was worth the gamble!

However, before he could take further action, the immature Beast Owl ahead—which had just "woken up" and was suspended amidst skeletons and Yin Qi dust—seemed to have its already chaotic mind completely clouded by a towering rage from its gestation being forcibly interrupted and a near-insane, instinctive craving for the flesh and blood of living creatures.

The majestic, sun-like pure Yang Qi and life aura on Lu Qiu's body acted like the most tempting lighthouse in the darkness to its perception, which was saturated with resentment and Yin Qi, emitting an irresistible attraction.

"Aow—!"

With another ear-piercing shriek that mixed the death wails of countless Yao Beasts, the Beast Owl's eyeless "sockets," which were left with only dark red holes, seemed to instantly lock onto Lu Qiu.

Its thin, bony body, covered in tattered fleshy wings, suddenly shook, and the billowing pitch-black Corpse Qi around it exploded like a blooming flower of death!

In the next moment, it turned into a blurred gray-black afterimage, moving so fast it left a string of phantoms in Lu Qiu's vision, pouncing straight toward him with a foul-smelling, bone-chilling hurricane of Yin cold!

Those sharp, hook-like claws, flashing with a ghostly black cold light, tore through the air, bringing five mournful black beams that seemed capable of slicing the Divine Soul, aiming straight for Lu Qiu's head!

This pounce was simple, direct, and violent, yet it condensed all the resentment and killing instinct it had accumulated since its birth.

"Good timing! I was just about to test your mettle!"

Lu Qiu gave a low shout, his Battle Intent rising. He did not dodge or retreat; his footsteps shifted slightly, already prepared for the strike.

He raised his right hand, pointing his fingers like a sword. The scarlet gold Three-Colored Chixiao True Fire within his body moved with his will, instantly compressing and condensing at his fingertips into a solid scarlet gold fire sword over ten feet long, its edges dancing with fine golden lightning fire. The sword hummed, emitting a supreme Yang heat that could burn the eight desolations and a magnificent righteous Qi that purified evil, as it slashed fiercely toward the Beast Owl's reaching claws!

He intended to use the purest Yang fire, which most countered the dark and evil, to head-on crush this creature's arrogance!

"Chi—la—!"

The scarlet gold fire sword and the pitch-black claw beams collided violently without any trickery!

The blazingly violent True Fire and the bone-chilling Corpse Qi, like natural enemies, instantly engaged in intense mutual consumption and annihilation, exploding into a rolling mist of intertwined red and black light. It made a piercing sound like boiling oil being poured on snow, interspersed with faint shrieks that sounded like resentful Souls being burned to nothingness.

The Beast Owl's claws were not actually destroyed by the True Fire; only the thick Corpse Qi covering them was burned away, revealing the strange, glossy black bones beneath that shimmered with a cold metallic luster and were faintly entwined with dark red blood vessels. They clashed hard against the scarlet gold fire sword, producing a tooth-aching "qiang" sound of clashing metal as sparks flew in all directions!

Both sides were repelled by the massive force; the light of the scarlet gold fire sword dimmed slightly, and the Beast Owl's claws were also swung aside, with the tips even being burned slightly red.

"What hard bones! What condensed Corpse Fiend!"

Lu Qiu felt a chill in his heart. This Beast Owl's Physical Body strength indeed far exceeded Yao Beasts of the same level; its bones, tempered by Yin Qi and resentment, were no longer ordinary metal and were comparable to top-tier Artifact Refining Materials. Furthermore, its strength and speed far surpassed ordinary Core Formation Peak Yao Beasts, no wonder the records described the Beast Owl as so troublesome.

Failing to achieve anything with one strike and instead being burned by the True Fire, the Beast Owl's ferocity grew even more intense, leaving only the desire for destruction in its chaotic will.

Its body twisted strangely, as if it had no bones, and its other claw struck out from a tricky angle, viciously aiming for Lu Qiu's seemingly weak waist and abdomen!

At the same time, the closed vertical pupil on its forehead suddenly trembled violently, the surrounding distorted blood vessels bulging instantly. A strange ray of light, fine as a hair yet pitch-black as the deepest night and emitting an aura of extreme cold, silence, and misfortune, shot out silently and lightning-fast from the slit of the vertical pupil, piercing straight toward Lu Qiu's brow!

This light was not only fast but also contained a type of Yin Ming Death Qi that struck directly at the Soul, making Lu Qiu feel a chill at his brow and causing his Divine Soul to sway slightly.

"Vertical Pupil Evil Light?!" Lu Qiu reacted extremely quickly, his thoughts turning rapidly.

The "Black Tortoise Spirit Armor Shield" hovering above his head didn't even need to be prompted; sensing the threat, it hummed spontaneously, and the dark gold light curtain it cast down suddenly thickened several times, becoming as solid as a real tortoise shell.

With a soft "puf," the pitch-black light hit the outermost light curtain and actually acted like strong acid, instantly corroding a small hole. The pitch-black Death Qi continued to seep inward, causing the entire light curtain's spiritual light to flicker violently and even making the shield emit an overburdened "creak" sound. It took a full ten percent of the extra mana Lu Qiu injected to barely wear down and disperse that Yin Ming Death Qi completely.

Meanwhile, he made a grasping motion with his left hand, and a longsword that was deep blue all over, with a blade that seemed to have the River of the Underworld flowing through it and emitted a grim ghostly Qi and sharp Sword Intent—the "yinming sword"—appeared in his hand. Although this sword also belonged to the Yin attribute, it was peerlessly sharp and possessed an inherent evil-breaking property.

With a shake of the blade, it instantly transformed into over a dozen cold blue stars, weaving into a sword net with unerring precision. Amidst a rapid series of clashing sounds like rain hitting plantain leaves, it blocked all the variations of the claw aimed at his waist. As the sword and claws met, clear white marks were left on the Beast Owl's bone claws, causing its attack to stall.

The Beast Owl seemed tireless and unafraid of pain. After being repelled, it immediately roared and pounced again, its attacks coming like a violent storm without pause.

Claws tearing, fleshy wings flapping, fangs biting—even the dense Corpse Qi and resentment swirling around it transformed into poisonous black ropes or ghostly faces, coiling and biting at Lu Qiu from all directions.

Even more troublesome was that the burn marks Lu Qiu left on it with the Chixiao True Fire, or the wounds sliced open by the yinming sword, were actually writhing and healing at a visible rate under the nourishment of the dense, fog-like Yin Qi rushing in from the surroundings!

Although this would clearly consume its Corpse Qi reserves and cause its aura to drop slightly, this terrifying recovery ability was perverse, almost like an undying body!

Unless its core was completely destroyed in one hit or it was continuously worn down until its Yin Qi was exhausted, it would be extremely difficult to kill.

"Truly troublesome! Physical Body, speed, recovery, strange attacks... almost no obvious weakness. No wonder it caused a catastrophe every time it appeared in history."

Lu Qiu thought to himself that this Beast Owl's comprehensive combat power had already far exceeded an ordinary Core Formation Peak and could even rival a weaker Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator.

If a Cultivator of the same level encountered it, they would likely have been in a panic long ago, unable to cope and perhaps even dying on the spot.

But he, Lu Qiu, was a true Nascent Soul Cultivator!

How could his cultivation, Magic Treasures, secret techniques, and control over the rhythm of battle be compared to those at the Core Formation level?

He no longer held back, nor was he in a hurry to attack forcefully. His figure became elusive, like a willow catkin in the wind, weaving freely through the Beast Owl's violent and continuous waves of attacks, utilizing his exquisite movement techniques to their limit and avoiding fatal attacks at the last possible moment.

At the same time, his powerful Divine Sense was highly concentrated, like the coolest observer. While multitasking to control the Chixiao True Fire and yinming sword for precise offense and defense, he carefully observed the Beast Owl's attack patterns, energy trajectories, and especially the intervals and signs of that vertical pupil on its brow firing the death light.

He was looking for a flaw, a chance for a decisive victory, or at least an Opportunity to effectively restrict its movements.

"Roar!"

Unable to land a hit for a long time and having added several more sword wounds and burns to its body, the Beast Owl became increasingly anxious and enraged, the desire for destruction in its chaotic will almost breaking through its restraints.

It suddenly retreated, its chest heaving violently, and the closed vertical pupil on its brow trembled madly again, the surrounding blood vessels nearly bursting. It was clearly brewing a stronger burst of Yin Ming Death Qi.

"Now!"

A cold light flashed in Lu Qiu's eyes. Another ancient treasure he had been holding in his left hand was already prepared!

It was a strange rope, golden all over and fine as a hair, yet shimmering with a warm and resilient light—the High Grade ancient treasure, the "Dragon Binding Rope"!

This rope was something he had obtained in his early years, made with the dragon sinew of an ancient variant flood dragon as the main material, mixed with dozens of rare flexible Materials like "Sky Silkworm Silk" and "Soft Gold Stone," and meticulously crafted by an Artifact Refining Grandmaster. Not only was it incredibly flexible and difficult to break, but it also had an additional spiritual power suppression and binding effect on non-human creatures like Yao Beasts and ghosts.

"Bind!"

Lu Qiu gave a low shout, and the Dragon Binding Rope flew from his hand like a golden spirit snake with a life of its own, tracing an indescribably profound trajectory through the air. With a flash of golden light, taking advantage of the perfect moment when the Beast Owl was brewing its death light and its entire Qi was focused on its brow, causing its body to experience a very brief moment of stagnation, it instantly coiled around it!

The golden rope was not tied randomly; it was like the most masterful binding technique, precisely locking onto the Beast Owl's neck vitals, the joints at the base of its wings, and the points where its waist and abdomen generated power. It was like putting a custom-made golden shackle on it, instantly disabling more than half of its ability to pounce, fly, and perform large movements!

"Aow!!"

The Beast Owl struggled madly, letting out ear-splitting roars. The Corpse Qi around its body surged out like a volcanic eruption, trying to corrode and break the golden rope, while its claws desperately tore at the rope that was cutting into its flesh.

However, the Dragon Binding Rope radiated intense golden light, and the dragon phantom faintly visible upon it moved about. No matter how it struggled, the rope only bit deeper into its flesh and even its bones, making a tooth-aching "creak" sound without showing any sign of breaking or loosening. Instead, under the drive of Lu Qiu's mana, it tightened further, restricting its mobility to an extremely low level.

"Now is the moment! Spirit Shocking Thorn!"

The perfect Opportunity Lu Qiu had been waiting for finally arrived! Silver light erupted from his brow as four highly condensed Spirit Shocking Thorns, which had long been prepared, shot out.

He intentionally controlled his strength, using about thirty percent of their power. He needed to deal a heavy blow to its Divine Soul and dismantle its will to resist, but he could not completely kill it or cause its Divine Soul to dissipate, otherwise subjugation would be impossible.

Like four invisible yet incredibly sharp silver bolts of lightning, they ignored the billowing Corpse Qi on the Beast Owl's surface and that layer of fragile Soul protection, instantly sinking into the Sea of Consciousness within its distorted head, which was filled with chaotic resentment, Yin Fiend, and primitive destructive desires!

"Wuaow—!!!"

The Beast Owl's massive and ugly body suddenly stiffened as if struck by heavenly thunder, letting out an indescribably shrill and painful Soul shriek, as if ten thousand resentful Souls were being torn apart at once!

Its madly struggling movements instantly ceased, and the Corpse Qi and resentment wildly surging around it also became violently disordered and began to dissipate.

From those eyeless holes, a dark red viscous liquid poured out like a fountain, and the closed vertical pupil on its brow trembled violently to its limit. Beneath the eyelid, a terrifying black light seemed to be struggling, yet it was unable to open; instead, two lines of ink-black blood tears, emitting a dense Death Qi, flowed down!

The direct lethality of the Spirit Shocking Thorn to the Divine Soul seemed particularly effective against a monster like this, which was forcibly aggregated from countless broken resentful thoughts, striking directly at its most fundamental, chaotic, and fragile core!

Strike while it's down!

No, it was about taking advantage of the moment when its Divine Soul had suffered a heavy blow, its consciousness was in the most chaotic pain, and its will to resist was at its weakest to perform a slavery secret technique and forcibly brand its Soul core!

Lu Qiu's figure flashed, and he appeared before the Beast Owl, which was firmly bound by the Dragon Binding Rope and could only twitch instinctively after temporarily losing most of its ability to resist due to the Soul pain.

With a solemn expression, his hands rapidly formed complex and profound hand seals at his chest that carried an ancient and primitive aura, while his mouth chanted the low and majestic incantation of the "Dragon Imprisonment Seal."

This time, he went all out, not only pushing the power of the "Dragon Imprisonment Seal" to the limit he could currently achieve but also releasing his own vast and powerful Divine Sense, which rivaled the Late Nascent Soul Stage, like a bursting flood, ruthlessly pressing down on the Beast Owl's currently chaotic and fragile Sea of Consciousness and Divine Soul Origin!

"Imprison the Heavens and Lock the Earth, the Dragon Seal Suppresses the Soul! All Spirits bow their heads, Awe!"

Lu Qiu shouted thunderously, his voice echoing in the deathly silent space.

Golden light erupted from his brow, and a golden three-dimensional runic seal phantom—more solid, complex, and clear than any before, emitting a supreme majesty that suppressed all the world's evil and commanded all fierce beast spirits—suddenly emerged. It rotated slowly and, with an unquestionable will, stamped down fiercely toward the bleeding and incessantly trembling vertical pupil on the Beast Owl's forehead!

The golden runic seal sank into the Beast Owl's brow like a branding iron into ice and snow.

...

"Boom—!"

Lu Qiu felt as if his Divine Sense had crashed into a viscous ocean that was violent, chaotic, dark, and filled with endless resentment, pain, madness, and destructive desire!

Those were the fragments of resentment left behind by countless Yao Beasts who had died in pain in this place over the long years. Mixed with Essence Blood ferocity and the Yin Fiend of corpses, and having undergone the confinement of the ancient array and the nourishment of the Yin Vein, they had devoured, distorted, and fused with each other to finally form this terrifying spiritual Domain.

Countless fragmented and blurred beast roars, death cries of pain, deep-seated hatred for living beings, and the most primitive desires to kill and devour came stabbing madly from all directions like billions of poisoned steel needles, trying to pierce, pollute, assimilate, and tear apart his Divine Sense, dragging him into this eternal abyss of madness and pain.

The Beast Owl's remaining bit of chaotic instinctive consciousness was putting up a final, hysterical, and mad resistance at this moment of life and death!

It was unwilling!

It was born from death and hatred, craving destruction and slaughter; how could it submit to a living being?!

"Hmph! Stubborn! Mere masterless resentment and scattered remnant Souls dare to resist my will?! Suppress!"

Lu Qiu gave a muffled groan, guarding his mind. His Divine Sense core remained as steady as an eternal rock, unshakeable.

The "Crimson Sky Burning Heaven Technique" operated within his body at an unprecedented speed. The scarlet gold pure Yang mana radiated brilliant light within his Sea of Consciousness, like a rising, scorching sun emitting infinite light and heat. Combined with the supreme sealing and commanding power contained in the "Dragon Imprisonment Seal," it acted like a scorching hellfire, violently burning that dark and viscous ocean of resentment.

It also acted like an invisible yet incredibly tough heavenly net, forcibly gathering, suppressing, organizing, and purifying those chaotic and violent Divine Soul fragments and negative emotions.