Shocked, Qin Feng initially thought the old man had transformed from a Demon Beast.
However, after careful consideration, he quickly dismissed the idea.
A Demon Beast was not the same as a magical beast. Even if its strength reached the level of an ordinary magical beast, it could not transform at this stage.
According to the description in books he saw in the Demon Realm, only rare and powerful races among high-level Demon Beasts, like the Giant Dragon and Phoenix, could transform. Most others, even if they reached the level of a Super Demon Beast, could not necessarily take on a human form.
This was not because they lacked strength, but rather because these Demon Beasts fundamentally differed from the Demon Clan.
There were two paths for the Demon Clan’s cultivation: one was to maintain their original form and follow the path of Wild Beasts; the other was to transform into human form for cultivation.
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It was said that this was because the Demon Clan originated from the Primordial Ancestor Realm, and in their bones was imprinted the image of the great deity who opened the heavens and split the earth. This pursuit of the human Taoist Body was more conducive to cultivation.
But the Demon Beasts of this star domain did not see the human form as ideal; rather, they considered it too frail and preferred to maintain their physical beast form. Deep down, they never entertained the concept of transforming into humans, let alone pursuing it. Over generations, the great majority of Demon Beasts formed the habit of maintaining their original forms.
After the old man turned into a Giant Bear, his aura was that of a level seven Demon Beast, which indeed falls under the category of high-level Demon Beasts. But a Demon Beast of that realm simply could not transform into a human form.
Thus, the only explanation was that the old man had taken the form of a Demon Beast.
But how could a person transform into a Demon Beast?
Moreover, the Giant Bear he had transformed into truly possessed the aura and magic of a Demon Beast, which made Qin Feng feel curious.
Driven by curiosity, Qin Feng urged the Spiritual Vulture to land in the forest a bit further away. After recalling the Spiritual Vulture to the Demon Refining Pot, Qin Feng merged with the Ruyi Golden Snake and quietly approached the old man using Shadow Transformation Divine Power, planning to take a good look at the old man’s situation.
As a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, seeing someone transform into a Demon Beast naturally piqued an immense interest and desire to explore.
Ahead, the old man who had transformed into a Giant Bear could not only use several Earth Element Magic spells but also had a physical strength that far exceeded that of the Knight he was fighting.
However, defeating or even killing the Knight was clearly no easy task.
The Knight appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with a face full of determination, skilled in Martial Skills, and possessing powerful Fighting Energy. In terms of combat power, he was definitely no less than a level seven Demon Beast. Moreover, with his extensive experience in battle, a typical level seven Demon Beast was no match for him.
Of course, the old man was also not comparable to the Demon Beasts with less agile minds.
He had lived for nearly a century and was no stranger to battle experience, having fought with Knights on numerous occasions. Coupled with his exquisitely cast spells like Earth Sinking Technique, Earth Wall Technique, and Earth Spike, he could always disrupt the Knight’s charge even with these lesser spells that did not seem very powerful by themselves.
The Knight’s mount, having been specially bred and battle-hardened, possessed speed and jumping force far beyond that of ordinary warhorses and was not afraid of the fierce aura of Demon Beasts. Thus, under the Knight’s control, it repeatedly dodged the Giant Bear’s magic attacks.
Once the Knight charged, his attacking power was formidable. The Cavalry Lance in his hand, combined with the man and horse, focused its strength into a single point. Even the old man, transformed into a Giant Bear, did not want to be pierced by it, for it would certainly result in being impaled.
At this moment, the Knights who had been thrown into chaos behind them stood up one after another. Aside from a few who stayed to take care of their wounded companions, the rest of the Knights calmed their horses and launched another charge.
Seeing this, the old man transformed into a Giant Bear let out a helpless sigh in his heart.
He was old now, and it was already a strain to hold off the Golden Knight before him. To face so many other Knights simultaneously would certainly be too much for him.
But at this point, he had no choice but to fight.
Otherwise, not only would he die, but the young man he was protecting behind him would also have no chance of survival.
Looking back at the young man, determination flashed in the Giant Bear’s eyes as he let out a fierce roar toward the approaching Knights once more.
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However, this time the effect was far less than before; aside from some ordinary knights’ battle horses being somewhat panicked, the majority of the knights were prepared and were no longer intimidated by his presence.
The Giant Bear suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a yellow Magic Bullet, repelling the middle-aged Knight Leader, before standing up again and repeatedly slapping down with its enormous bear paws.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of violent impacts resonated, and while the ground undulated continuously—although the knights were mentally prepared, maneuvering their warhorses to leap up, planning to avoid the undulations on the ground, or to jump away and charge again—
Before they could react differently, numerous Earth Spikes rose from the ground.
The Earth Spikes ranged in height from two to three feet for the shorter ones, to five to six feet for the taller ones, as thick as a thigh, with sharp tips—any that struck a warhorse would pierce directly through the stomach from below and through the spine, incidentally piercing the body of the knight on their back.
With just this one attack, three to four dozen warhorses were impaled, and even if some knights had the good fortune to escape disaster, they were pierced in the thigh or other body parts, each one howling in pain, a lamentable sight.
At the rear, Young Master Eddie, a noble youth who had been sitting on horseback waiting for his knights to earn merits for him, saw this scene and his complexion turned instantly somber, losing the confident expression he had before.
All these knights were his family’s private soldiers; ordinarily, the death of even one was a significant loss, and now a good thirty percent had been decimated in one fell swoop. In his heart, he loathed the old man to death.
Unlike common soldiers, training a qualified knight required a great deal of effort, wealth, and resources. The cost of their daily nourishment, training, and the necessary gear, armor, and warhorses were significant expenses.
And every well-trained knight possessed considerable combat prowess. Similarly, knights were also the foundation for nobles to gain military achievements and wealth. Now, with such losses, it would be difficult to explain when he returned to his family.
"Mage Carol, I ask that you take action and kill that old thing."
Young Master Eddie, with an ashen face, turned to the mage beside him: "We can’t let him continue like this. Otherwise, if too many knights from the Lombard Family are lost, it will be detrimental to our family in the future."
Beside him, the old mage Carol, also mounted on a warhorse, did not act immediately but turned to look at Eddie and said, "You should know his identity; he is a Druid priesthood.
Killing Locke wouldn’t be much, but killing a Druid could cause me a great deal of trouble, and moreover, I and Old Yida have been old friends for many years. Asking me to slay him puts me in a difficult position.
Therefore, Young Master Eddie, the price you offered previously is not enough to compel me to act against an old friend, you’ll need to increase it."
Upon hearing this, the noble youth Eddie’s face involuntarily twitched, cursing the greedy old man in his heart.
But glancing over at the Old Druid, who was still casting spells and slaughtering their family knights, he could only suppress his agony: "No problem, as long as you kill him and I gain the merits for this, I’ll add fifty percent to the price we agreed upon earlier."
"Double."
Mage Carol spoke.
Eddie looked at him, nodded, and said, "Fine, double it is then. I ask that you take action quickly, Mage Carol."
For him, spending more gold coins was painful, but not unacceptable. However, if too many of the family’s knights were lost, it could directly weaken the family’s strength and might invite the covetous gazes of other powers.
"No problem."
Mage Carol’s wrinkled old face broke into a satisfied smile.
The chance to earn a large sum of gold coins for purchasing magical materials for experiments was, of course, the best outcome.
As for his relationship with Old Yida, it was nothing more than having met in the past and discussed magic a few times, hardly constituting a friendship.
And what did it matter if it offended Druidism because of it?
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They were never part of the same faction to begin with; Druids are a sect that worships Divine beings, while these Mages are seekers of the true essence of Magic.
There is a fundamental difference between the two sides, as Mages do not worship Divine beings. They place more trust in their own eyes, in their own strength, and from the bottom of their hearts, they look down upon those who dedicate their whole being to the worship of the Divine.
So, after negotiating the price, Carol started chanting Spells and casting Magic.
He first sent out a series of Fireballs, each the size of a human head, disrupting the Giant Bear’s rhythm in casting Magic to attack the Knights, and then released various more powerful single-target attack Spells, forcing Old Eda to focus most of his energy on him, causing him to falter when facing the assault of the Knight Leader and several Silver Knights.
Although Old Eda, transformed into the Giant Bear, possessed the strength of a level seven Demon Beast, his Magic Power was ultimately limited. He could not keep casting Magic so wildly, and after the recent slaughter, his Magic Power was no longer at its peak.
Mage Carol’s strength in and of itself was no less than Old Eda’s, and after a barrage of Spells, he immediately inflicted numerous wounds on the Giant Bear.
Although a layer of earthy-yellow Magic Shield rose up around the Giant Bear, under the combined assault of Mage Carol and the Knight Leader, it could hardly hold up. Add to that his old age and declining vigor, he soon suffered no light injuries.
On the other side, the warrior named Cook, along with his men, launched a fierce attack, also pushing back the young noble Locke’s guards, causing heavy casualties. They only refrained from completely pressing the advantage out of concern for the Guard Commander’s combat power, for in his desperation, he could very likely have inflicted heavy losses upon them.
But seeing Old Eda, transformed into the Giant Bear, covered with wounds and apparently unable to hold out much longer, the guards also began to despair.
The pursuers chasing them were too strong. It seemed that today, they would not be able to escape.
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In secret, Qin Feng’s brows furrowed slightly.
He was indifferent to the life and death of the young noble Locke, as well as who would win or lose. However, he was very interested in the elderly man who had transformed into the Giant Bear.
"Druids?"
Having heard the conversation between Eddie and Mage Carol, Qin Feng’s eyes lit up when he learned of the old man’s identity.
He hadn’t expected Druids to exist in this world.
Good. Although he didn’t know if the Druids of this world had anything in common with the Druids in his memory, just the fact that they could transform into Giant Bears made them worth exploring.
As for the mission given to him by Grandmaster Kongkong, there was no rush to complete it. Since the Grandmaster had not set a deadline, there was no need for Qin Feng to hurriedly work on it.
He felt the most important thing for him now was to investigate how Druids cultivate and how they accomplish their transformation.
This time, the Sect had gone to great lengths to rally so many schools to form an alliance and expedition to the Red Flame Demon Realm, not only to acquire resources for the development of the Sect but also to allow the higher echelons of the Sect to borrow and reference cultivation methods from other worlds in an attempt to break through existing realms.
Qin Feng felt that although the Red Flame Demon Realm certainly possessed many veins of ore that could provide the Sect with a large amount of Cultivation Resources, it definitely didn’t have much in the way of Cultivating Techniques worthy of reference.
After all, he had also come into contact with those warriors and Mages from the Demon Clan and felt that apart from being able to learn a thing or two about techniques in Alchemy, crafting Magic potions, creating Magic scrolls, and setting up various Magic Arrays, there was little else worth referencing.
And while techniques like Alchemy were quite good, they could not possibly be stronger than the myriad of Cultivation arts in the Cultivation World. Any random Elixir Talisman Array taken out could easily outperform those Alchemists.
However, the Druids’ Transformation Techniques were different.
Qin Feng felt that the cultivation methods of the Druids definitely had something worth being borrowed by the Beast Taming Sect.
The only thing he was unsure of now was whether the Transformation Technique used by the Druids to become Demon Beasts was acquired through Cultivation or was a gift bestowed by the Divine beings they worshiped.
If it was through Cultivation, then he must get his hands on this method of Cultivation no matter what.
If it was bestowed by Divine powers, then there was nothing he could do.
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However, he could wait until he returned to report to the Sect and persuade Elder Kongkong and Gui Ling Ancestor to make a move, testing the Divine strength behind the Druids. If they could prevail, they would be able to capture and forcefully extract the Druid Cultivation Techniques.
Qin Feng’s eyes darted around as he watched the Giant Bear covered in wounds. He internally debated whether to capture the Old Druid and coerce him to reveal the Druid Technique.
This idea was indeed very tempting to him.
However, after careful consideration, he gave up the thought.
Because someone like Old Eda who had devoted his life to worshipping Divine powers was certainly stubborn to an extreme, and he might even be unafraid of death. Perhaps his steadfast faith led him to believe that his soul would go to the Divine Country of his revered Divinity upon death, thereby achieving liberation and a different kind of existence.
Moreover, he might report Qin Feng’s attempt to extract the Druid Cultivation Method to his deity, leading the Druid Sect to become extra vigilant, which would be counterproductive.
Given this, it might be better to attempt to infiltrate the Druid Sect first.
If he could openly learn their Cultivation Techniques from the Druid Sect, that would be ideal. If not, he could try slipping in secretly to steal their Cultivation Techniques.
If neither approach worked, then he would consider using force to extract the information. After all, there was no need to rush, as he had plenty of time. It was better to figure out the Druid Sect’s situation before deciding his next move.
After calculating these matters internally, he then remembered that he did not even know where the Druid Sect was located. In the end, he decided to rescue the Old Druid and have him lead the way.
Although he could find out about the Druid Sect’s existence through a bit more effort, it was much more comfortable to have someone guide him.
With this in mind and glancing once more at the precarious Giant Bear, he no longer hesitated. Employing the Shadow Transformation Divine Power, he moved forward and approached the Knight Leader.
In reality, using Earth Escape at this time would be best, for ambushing the knights’ horses from beneath would be extremely convenient. Unfortunately, after Old Eda turned into a Giant Bear, he often used Earth Element Magic and had a profound connection to the ground. If Qin Feng were to use Earth Escape, his traces would definitely be detected, thus he resorted to using the Shadow Transformation Divine Power.
The concealment of this Divine Skill was also extremely strong, allowing him to approach undetected as long as there were shadows.
Qin Feng slipped through the shadows of the trees to the shadow beneath the Knight Leader’s horse and discreetly condensed a slender Ruyi Golden Light in his hand, striking swiftly at the horse’s legs.
Although this warhorse had been specially tamed and its strength was almost on par with that of a level three or four Demon Beast, it was still just a horse and could not withstand Qin Feng’s Ruyi Golden Light. It immediately had its leg bones shattered by his strike, crumpling to the ground with unsteady limbs and a feeble neigh as it fell.
The Knight Leader reacted with lightning speed, flipping out of the saddle, but once he lost his mount, his combat strength significantly decreased. Even though he still had the capabilities of a Golden Knight, a knight accustomed to mounted combat was definitely at a disadvantage.
On the ground, not only could he not wield his Knight Spear properly, but the heavy armor on his body became a burden.
Left with no choice, the Knight Leader discarded his lance and drew his Knight Sword, ready to fight on foot.
Old Eda, seeing this, was overjoyed, and hope surged anew within him.
If he could kill the Knight Leader, perhaps he could withstand the assaults from Mage Carol and maybe even pave a way out for Locke amidst the encirclement.
What made him even more delighted was when the Knight Leader, seemingly unaccustomed to fighting on foot, stumbled while dodging an attack, almost falling to the ground.
Old Eda certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity. His massive paw glowed with a yellow light, furiously striking the Knight Leader over a dozen times, scattering the Golden Fighting Spirit protecting the Knight Leader and leaving him with broken bones and a bloodied, pulpy mess.
Even the sturdy Knight Armor nearly melded together from front to back, close to becoming a lump of iron.
Old Eda, having killed the Knight Leader, triumphantly rose and howled. He swung his bear paws, sending several Silver Knights flying and then spewed a Magic Bullet toward Young Master Eddie in the distance.
He smartly avoided targeting Mage Carol, as he knew his Magic Bullet couldn’t harm that old man.
With this in mind, he decided to try and kill Eddie.
If Eddie died, with no one to pay, it was uncertain if Carol would still oppose him.
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