Chapter 382: The Antlered Cloud Elk

Chapter 382: The Antlered Cloud Elk

The arrow transformed into a streak of light, its trajectory straight as an arrow, barely influenced by gravity or wind. As it flew, the arrow spun at high speed, evenly dividing into five sections, each tip sharp and aimed at the same target.

A distance of over five thousand meters was covered in an instant.

When Ji Xinghuo turned and revealed the Spirit String Song, the Dragon Lord's True Eye saw clearly, and his expression changed as he sensed the danger.

But Ji Xinghuo's arrow was too fast, so fast that he couldn't react further.

He could only manifest dragon scales outside his body.

The Bluefire Dragon, in hot pursuit, didn't even notice the arrow. Instinctively, it flapped its wings and climbed higher, trying to evade the arrow, following the Dragon Lord's warning.

However, the originally straight-flying arrow also adjusted its trajectory, shadowing the dragon's movements with precision and piercing its neck with unerring accuracy.

The layer of white flame surrounding the dragon was immediately penetrated, followed by its dragon scales. The scales, harder than steel, were torn like paper, exposing its flesh and injuring its bones.

In an instant, the five linked arrows struck the same spot.

Bang, bang...

Multiple explosions overlapped.

The dragon's neck was directly pierced, and the last arrow shot through the hole, aiming at the Dragon Lord on the dragon's back.

At first, the Dragon Lord thought that Ji Xinghuo was aiming for him. Then he realized that the target was his dragon, and he felt a slight relief. But he never expected that the ultimate target was still himself, and the twice-changed direction caught him off guard.

Bang!

The arrow struck the Dragon Lord, tearing through the white flame protection and hitting him in the forehead.

The Dragon Lord's entire body was protected by dragon scales, but the arrow exploded at his brow, causing an energy burst that sent a strong electric current into his body, paralyzing him.

Only then did the Bluefire Dragon let out a miserable roar and tumble downward from the sky.

It was an earthquake-level true dragon, massive in size.

Even though its neck was pierced, the injury was not fatal, and with its regenerative abilities, it would soon heal. However, the intense pain caused it to lose control temporarily, unable to continue the pursuit or even maintain flight.

The Dragon Lord was paralyzed for only a moment before he calmed the Bluefire Dragon through their mental link, soothing its pain.

A few seconds later, the Bluefire Dragon stabilized its posture.

With a face full of blood, the Dragon Lord wore an ugly expression. At this moment, Ji Xinghuo had already flown far away, increasing the distance between them. He did not shoot any more arrows.

"A Revelation Weapon," the Dragon Lord murmured as he touched his forehead and looked at the blood on his hand, feeling a sense of lingering fear.

Compared to the power of the Revelation Weapon, he was more wary of Ji Xinghuo's archery skills. With his True Eye, he hadn't been hit by an arrow in a long time. The evasive maneuver he had prepared in advance was useless.

Each turn had been beyond his expectations, and he had become a complete target.

If the other party had shot at the dragon's head just now, perhaps his true dragon would have been turned into a corpse.

He might have even been killed himself.

The reason Ji Xinghuo hadn't done so was obviously because he feared his identity and the power of the Bluefire family and the Dragon King standing behind him!

"Hmph..."

The Dragon Lord's face turned gloomy as he felt deeply insulted.

However, he did not pursue Ji Xinghuo further and could only watch as he flew away, becoming a small dot on the horizon and eventually disappearing.

"I, Canghuo Leming, will remember you," the Dragon Lord said, staring in the direction Ji Xinghuo had left, his eyes burning with intensity as if to imprint Ji Xinghuo's image deeply into his mind. "A lowly subhuman from nowhere dares to impersonate a True Dragon? You know nothing of life and death!"

"Descend," Canghuo Leming ordered his dragon to land. Seeing the bleeding hole in the Bluefire Dragon's neck, he grew even more annoyed.

The injury wasn't too serious, but the dragon would need at least two months to recuperate.

The dragon was the root of the Dragon Lord's power, and when the dragon was resting, he had to stay by its side and couldn't leave freely.

This was partly because his strength would decrease when separated from the dragon, and partly because he needed to soothe the dragon to prevent any discord from arising.

On the other side,

Ji Xinghuo had already flown dozens of kilometers away and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Dragon Lord wasn't pursuing him. Then he thought back to the linked arrows he had just shot, their killing power exceeding his expectations. It was indeed a Revelation Weapon.

If he had had murderous intentions just now, he would have had over eighty percent confidence in killing the Dragon Lord.

"It's not too late to turn back now," Ji Xinghuo thought, but ultimately shook his head.

He had no grudge against the Dragon Lord, so there was no need to go that far. Moreover, if he killed the small fry, the big fish would come. If he attracted the attention of the Bluefire Dragon King, he would be in deep trouble.

Impersonating a True Dragon was a minor matter, and the Bluefire Dragon King wouldn't care about that.

But if he killed the Dragon Marquis, the Bluefire Dragon King would definitely not let it go. Escaping the pursuit of the Holy Master of the Shepherd Star Sect (Mu Xing) would be extremely difficult.

However, that arrow gave Ji Xinghuo a lot of confidence.

He increased his speed, breaking through his usual pace, his invisibility fading as he flew faster and faster.

Without the "Sky-Riding Shoes," he couldn't quite reach sonic speed in the starry realm.

He raced through the skies for an hour.

Ji Xinghuo had traveled over two thousand kilometers away from Cangdu, and aside from that one Dragon Lord, no one had pursued him since.

Heading south, he flew out of the Qinglu Highlands where Cangdu was located.

Then he turned east.

High in the sky, Ji Xinghuo slowed down, the endless mountains stretching below him. Along the way, he deliberately avoided cities, settlements, and stargate cities, but he still encountered other flyers from time to time.

When they saw that he was a True Dragon person, they steered clear of him.

"Time to disguise myself," Ji Xinghuo thought.

He descended into the mountains.

Using electromagnetic induction to scan his surroundings and confirm that no one was around, he took off his True Dragon-style battle attire and put on a set of rugged armor in a valley. This armor was made of metal and beast hide, only providing Superpower One-star defense. The shoulder pads, belt, and chest plate all bore totem patterns, giving off a wild aura.

This was the armor of the "Wilders," which he had casually collected on the Bloody Highlands and stored in his dimensional pouch.

The Wilders were one of the most common human branches in the Starry Realm.

They were numerous, almost ubiquitous in every forest, mountain range, and wilderness of the Starry Realm, with most living primitive lives, subsisting on hunting and scavenging. A minority lived in tribes or strongholds, ruling over a small domain.

Although some Wilders had acquired power and technology, establishing their own nations, in the eyes of other races, Wilders were forever primitives, occupying the lowest rung of the civilized ladder.

The Wilders and the True Dragon people were like two extremes.

One was savage, weak, and backward, yet they thrived like weeds across the Starry Realm, tenaciously surviving as the backdrop and foundation of this world.

The other was civilized, powerful, and advanced, ruling from on high, dazzling and born to be the protagonists of this world.

However, the Wilders and the True Dragon people didn't differ greatly in appearance.

Both had limbs and features, walked upright, and had similar body proportions, so they looked quite similar at first glance.

But no one would mistake one for the other.

The most distinctive feature of the Wilders was their abundant body hair and coarse skin, unlike the smooth and delicate complexion of the True Dragon people. The Wilder features were also more rugged, with prominent brows and eyes, thick facial hair, and large hands and feet.

The first impression one got from a True Dragon person was perfection, while the first thought upon seeing a Wilder was "primitive."

This starkly different aura was the biggest distinction between them.

Ji Xinghuo donned the beast hide armor and then manipulated his body shape with his Level Six Myriad Spirit Limbs, adjusting his form within a small range in conjunction with the Saintly Dragon Scales' control over his skeletal structure.

Crack, crack, crack...

His body emitted a soft sound as his arms and legs thickened slightly, his palms widening, and his fingertips elongating.

His wingspan had always been much longer than that of a normal person, and he quickly adapted to the changes.

Next, his skin became coarser, his brows and eyes protruded slightly, and his cheekbones lifted a tad, immediately altering his facial features from handsome and dashing to wild and rugged. His pitch-black pupils exuded ferocity, as if he had transformed into a different person.

He stimulated his scalp cells with a rotating magnetic field, causing his hair to grow wildly, turning into a huge mass of tangled hair within minutes.

At the same time, thick whiskers sprouted on his cheeks and chin, which he trimmed slightly.

Ji Xinghuo walked to the water's edge and looked at his reflection.

"Not bad!"

He admired his new appearance, which was not only physically different but also exuded a completely dissimilar aura compared to before.

Even his family and friends might not recognize him at first glance.

Ji Xinghuo suppressed his aura and put on the Ferocious Vambraces that he hadn't used for a long time, causing his physique to swell another size. Then, he slung the "Icemelt War Axe" on his back, along with the Black Eternal Crystal War Bow and a quiver of arrows, completing his transformation into a typical Wilder.

"There's nothing wrong with being a Wilder," Ji Xinghuo muttered.

In the True Dragon Empire, impersonating a True Dragon person was a capital offense, but no one cared about impersonating a Wilder.

Who would bother to impersonate a lowly race?

Ji Xinghuo held no discriminatory views towards the Wilders and was, in fact, quite interested in them. Even before entering the Starry Realm, back when he was still in university, he had heard his teachers say that the Wilders were a very special race in the Starry Realm.

The Wilders were ancient, dating back to before the recorded history of the Starry Realm's civilizations, and they had intricate connections with countless human branches.

In the distant prehistoric era, at least tens of millions of years ago, the Wilders were said to be the rulers of the Starry Realm and the galaxy, establishing a vast nation. However, for unknown reasons, they fell from grace and dispersed across the Starry Realm and the Milky Way.

Now, all human branches, including the True Dragon people, are believed to have evolved from the Wilders.

In other words, the Wilders are the ancestors of humanity.

The True Dragon people, for instance, were originally a branch of the Wilders, but over generations of intermingling with true dragon bloodlines, they became the True Dragon people of today. The Dan people, the Highlanders, the Riverfolk, and others have also evolved from the Wilders due to various influences.

Naturally, this theory is not accepted by the different races, especially in the True Dragon Empire, where it is scoffed at.

Equating the Wilders with the True Dragon people is considered an insult by the True Dragon race.

It has even become a taboo topic.

On Earth, however, this speculation has sparked widespread discussion, with many scholars researching ancient artifacts, although the lack of sufficient data has hindered any significant progress.

Ji Xinghuo was inclined to believe that this theory held some truth.

Nevertheless, it had nothing to do with him.

He continued on his way, disguised as a Wilder, but instead of flying, he chose to run on the ground.

This was more in line with a Wilder's abilities and habits.

Even in the True Dragon Empire, individuals capable of flight were rare, so Ji Xinghuo's decision to run boldly on the road soon attracted attention, and he was often met with disdainful glances and insults whispered in his wake.

Ji Xinghuo paid no heed to these reactions, taking them as a sign that his disguise was effective, and no one suspected his true identity.

However, running on the ground was undoubtedly slower than flying.

By the time starlight filled the night sky, Ji Xinghuo had only covered a few hundred kilometers and decided to set up camp in a remote area of the wilderness.

Throughout the night, people flew overhead from time to time, including Canghuo Leming.

"They still haven't given up the pursuit," Ji Xinghuo frowned slightly within his tent, though he didn't give it much thought. Those who had spotted his campsite hadn't bothered to investigate further, evidently unaware that he was their quarry.

The next morning, Ji Xinghuo continued his journey, running relentlessly across the ground with his electromagnetic induction always active.

"Hmm?"

After running for over a thousand kilometers, Ji Xinghuo's senses picked up on a peculiar life form as he passed through a primeval forest.

It resembled a deer, standing nearly four meters tall, with a slender and agile build. It leaped gracefully through the rugged and intricate forest like a sprite, its movements light and swift, and it could even traverse the air for short distances.

The Starry Realm was home to countless strange life forms, so similar creatures weren't uncommon.

But this one was special.

Not only was it fast, but it also had the ability to conceal its presence. If not for Ji Xinghuo's electromagnetic induction, it would have been difficult to detect.

Ji Xinghuo immediately activated his invisibility and accelerated toward the creature.

Soon, he could clearly make out the creature's features and exclaimed softly, "So it's a Antlered Cloud Elk."

The giant elk had a pair of majestic antlers that resembled two large branches with numerous forks. Each tine pointed upward, and the branches bore lush green leaves and blooming flowers, indistinguishable from real plants.

Its bluish hide was adorned with beautiful patterns, and its body was long and slender. Its four hooves seemed to tread upon clouds as if it were strolling through the sky.

The Antlered Cloud Elk was a rare creature.

It was a hybrid of plant and animal, known for its gentle temperament, powerful healing abilities, incredible speed, and endurance. It could also run across the sky, making it one of the best mounts in the Starry Realm.

Moreover, the Antlered Cloud Elk possessed considerable combat strength.

There had been a hunting team that once captured an Antlered Cloud Elk, brought it back to Earth, and sold it for a staggering price of 300 million Asian dollars.

Even if one didn't intend to use it as a mount, killing an Antlered Cloud Elk could yield one or two ultra-limit exotic species.

Ji Xinghuo cautiously observed the elk.

This particular Antlered Cloud Elk was of Super Rare grade and possessed considerable strength. Normally, it wouldn't be of much help to him, but now he could capture it and use it as a mount for his journey.

He hovered in his invisible state, slowly approaching the Antlered Cloud Elk as it grazed.

The distance between them gradually closed.

When he was about two hundred meters away, the Antlered Cloud Elk suddenly lifted its head, a hint of confusion flashing in its eyes before it leaped up, intending to flee.

"Its senses are sharp, but it's of no use."

Ji Xinghuo appeared in a flash of lightning, quickly catching up to the elk. He released a thunderous roar from his fingertips, causing the elk to stumble momentarily from the shock, and he seized the opportunity to leap onto its back, grabbing hold of its branch-like antlers and pinning it to the ground.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end