Chapter 32 Hungry!

• "Feng Lingzi, you must not make a mistake this time, or both of us will meet our end here today," Tan Xuan said as he flew toward where the golden direwolf had been struck down, glancing back at Feng Lingzi. "Don’t worry, absolutely no mistakes. This Demigod Realm demon beast has been severely wounded by that black-robed youth and can’t hold on much longer," Feng Lingzi replied with certainty. Both moving at extreme speed, they reached the sky above the golden direwolf in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then landed 200 meters away from the beast. "Roar!" Seeing the two appear before it, the golden direwolf needed no guess to know they meant ill. Gritting through excruciating pain, it let out a growl from its throat, the threat self-evident. "Hmph, already at your last gasp, yet still trying to threaten us. How naive," Feng Lingzi sneered, eyes glowing green. "A Demigod Realm demon beast! Its two wolf claws can forge magic treasures, its blood can make talismans, and even its flesh can replenish qi and blood—truly a walking treasure trove!" Tan Xuan stared at the golden direwolf with a strange expression, for he felt... hungry. Since reaching Profound Dragon Realm, cultivators could subsist on heaven and earth spiritual qi, eliminating normal hunger. His habit of roasting meat was mere custom, but now—bizarrely—hunger resurfaced, triggered by the direwolf. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes had subtly turned blood-red. "Roar!" The direwolf, constantly watched by Tan Xuan, instinctively sensed a fatal crisis—as if eyed by a more ancient ferocious beast. It grew agitated, roaring at Tan Xuan. "Strange, I haven’t even attacked. Why are you going berserk?" Feng Lingzi wondered, following the direwolf’s gaze to Tan Xuan. "Gods above! Tan Xuan, why are your eyes blood-red? Change them back now!" Feng Lingzi yelped, feeling an ominous premonition—a stronger-than-ever sense that his fate rested in Tan Xuan’s hands. "Hmm? What’s wrong, Feng Lingzi?" Tan Xuan asked, puzzled by the old spirit’s reaction. "See for yourself," Feng Lingzi huffed, condensing a glowing mana mirror before Tan Xuan. Gazing at his fully blood-red eyes in the mirror, Tan Xuan paused. Countless thoughts flashed, and he dimly grasped the cause of his hunger. "Feng Lingzi, it’s fine. This is due to the power in my body. Let’s kill this golden direwolf first." Reassured that it was the "True Demon Blood," he calmed quickly. "Glad you’re okay. I’ll deal with this beast," Feng Lingzi said, dropping his guard. His gaze turned cold as he threw a punch, summoning a giant phantom fist to strike the direwolf’s wound. "Roar!" The direwolf fired a golden energy beam, ignoring the mysterious threat from Tan Xuan. Though mortally wounded and unable to move, its Demigod power remained fearsome. The beam distorted the void, carving a 10-meter-wide chasm and evaporating earth, threatening to reduce Tan Xuan and Feng Lingzi to ash. But they had anticipated this. The moment the direwolf opened its mouth, they soared into the air. The golden shockwave razed their former position to dust, fanning out to annihilate everything within 5,000 meters—forests and mountains vanished, making Tan Xuan’s eyelids twitch. "How many more attacks can you muster?" Feng Lingzi snorted. He thrust his hand into the void, unleashing countless cyan talismans that formed a blue cloud. The talismans shifted to create profound formations, nested and layered, absorbing spiritual qi until the cloud morphed into a giant cyan hand blotting out the sky. "Die!" As Feng Lingzi pressed downward, the sky-hand descended with overwhelming pressure, repelling air and creating tsunami-like airwaves. The direwolf let out a despairing howl before being smashed into the earth, its body embedded as a bloody relief. "Finally dead," Feng Lingzi panted, having exerted his full strength. "Hungry!" With the direwolf slain, Tan Xuan could no longer resist the inexplicable hunger. Dazed, he flew to the corpse. A blood-red vortex appeared over his heart, firing blood chains that pierced the direwolf’s head, dragging out a phantom wolf soul. "Tan Xuan, save some for me!" Feng Lingzi cried, rushing to slice off a third of the soul and swallow it—he’d hoped to heal via the soul. The vortex devoured the remaining two-thirds. Tan Xuan’s eyes cleared, but a terrible soul wave surged through him, pure soul power strengthening his soul and True Spirit. He sat to absorb the energy. Half an hour later, he opened his eyes, a faint aura emanating. "Godsdamn it! How can Tan Xuan refine and absorb soul power? Even I refine cautiously with special methods, absorbing less than one-thousandth. He’s only at True Spirit Realm and finished already? This is outrageous!" Feng Lingzi twitched, staring at Tan Xuan.