Chapter 112 – Phoenix Rebirth Stone

Chapter 112 – Phoenix Rebirth Stone

Cheng Yang had already cast Ice Shield on himself at the start of the battle. As for the Priest’s Holy Protection skill, though he had also cast it, it wasn’t effective yet. He was just using it to help Liu Xiyue practice her skills.

Even so, Cheng Yang’s current defense had reached 15 points. For this white-headed eagle to deal such massive damage to him, its attack power must be at least 40 points.

This confirmed Cheng Yang’s earlier suspicion – this creature was definitely not just late-stage Tier 1, but had reached the peak of Tier 1.

Cheng Yang didn’t have time to think further. The moment he slipped away from the eagle’s claws, he immediately shot another ice ball. This time, the white-headed eagle wasn’t so lucky. The ice ball instantly drained its life force. Its massive beak, which had just risen to peck at Cheng Yang, closed weakly as its body collapsed to the ground, becoming a lifeless corpse.

Cheng Yang had killed peak Tier 1 demonic beasts before, but those were rat-type creatures that couldn’t compare to this white-headed eagle leader. This eagle leader truly represented what a peak Tier 1 demonic beast should be.

Without a doubt, Cheng Yang’s current strength was incredibly abnormal. Among apprentice-level combatants, who else could boast such a set of overpowered equipment?

In fact, at the beginning of the apocalypse, humans’ strengthening progress was similar to that of demonic beasts. Once combatants obtained equipment, killing same-tier demonic beasts became relatively easy. However, after reaching the Warrior level, humans no longer experienced doubled attributes with each tier advancement.

To bridge the gap with demonic beasts, humans could only rely on equipment, potions, and team coordination. As for skills, while combatants did possess powerful skills, demonic beasts at Tier 2 would also develop their own skill systems, potentially possessing even more overpowered skills than most combatants.

In other words, the current apocalypse wasn’t truly apocalyptic. It was merely giving humans a chance to adapt, to learn combat skills and gradually grow. The truly brutal battles would only begin after reaching the Warrior level.

Moreover, once demonic beasts reached Tier 2, they would develop basic intelligence. They could hide, relocate, ambush, and even launch proactive attacks. These behaviors weren’t just animal instincts but potentially part of a complete strategic system.

In the battle where Cheng Yang had died in his previous life, endless hordes of demonic beasts had attacked Luofeng Village. Before the battle was halfway through, a demonic bird had clawed through his skull. Cheng Yang was certain it had been a single claw strike, likely possessing a shattering effect.

Though Cheng Yang had now killed this peak Tier 1 white-headed eagle leader, he didn’t feel particularly excited. Compared to future battles, this was insignificant.

At this moment, though the eagle leader was dead, the battle wasn’t over. Countless white-headed eagles were still swooping down from the sky, determined to tear Cheng Yang and his companions to pieces.

The three of them didn’t hold back, launching organized counterattacks against the descending demonic beasts. Despite being only three, their combat power was immense. Both Cheng Yang and Liu Xiyue could instantly kill mid-Tier 1 creatures, while Yu Kai, though only capable of instantly killing early Tier 1 creatures, had an attack speed twice that of Liu Xiyue, making their combat power roughly equivalent.

With Cheng Yang at the front, he alone bore all the eagles’ attacks. Fortunately, his monstrous 15-point defense wasn’t something the eagles could break through. Even mid-Tier 1 leaders could only occasionally deal minimal damage to him.

Several minutes later, over two hundred white-headed eagles lay dead, their black-and-white feathers, once beautiful, now devoid of any aesthetic appeal.

“These guys weren’t that tough after all!” Yu Kai stepped out from the cliff and kicked a bird corpse.

Cheng Yang rolled his eyes. “Don’t forget your close call. Who was it that almost got carried off by an eagle earlier?”

Yu Kai chuckled awkwardly. “That was definitely an accident… Leader, should we go find that treasure now?”

Cheng Yang nodded. Though there were piles of eagle corpses, including a peak Tier 1 leader, wild monsters didn’t drop equipment, so there was nothing Cheng Yang could do about that.

As they climbed, they encountered the largest bird droppings they’d ever seen – piles the size of cow dung. This was undoubtedly the work of the eagle leader; the other eagles were smaller and couldn’t compare to cows.

Finally reaching the top, Yu Kai pointed to the tallest tree in the center. “Leader, the treasure is in that tree.”

Cheng Yang looked up. If he remembered correctly, the nest in that tree belonged to the eagle leader, so this must be the right place.

“I’ll go up first. Wait here,” Cheng Yang said, rolling up his magic robe and quickly scaling the tree.

The tree was thick enough to require three or four people to encircle it, with many sturdy bark protrusions that made climbing easy. In just a couple of minutes, Cheng Yang reached the nest.

Grabbing the branches that formed the nest, he swung himself up from the side. Fortunately, Cheng Yang’s current physical strength far exceeded his pre-apocalypse capabilities, or he wouldn’t have been able to perform such a feat.

Once inside the nest, Cheng Yang finally saw the treasure Yu Kai had mentioned.

It was something Cheng Yang had never seen before – a bright red light glowing under the sun, suspended above the nest like a dazzling ruby.

All the treasures Cheng Yang had seen or heard of before were physical objects, but this thing could float, completely beyond his imagination. Combined with the fact that it was guarded by a peak Tier 1 demonic bird, Cheng Yang had every reason to believe it was a rare treasure.

Standing at the edge of the nest, Cheng Yang leaped up and grabbed the ruby suspended over five meters high. The moment it touched his hand, he could feel the surging energy within.

Cheng Yang ignored the first half of the description, focusing only on the +2 hours cultivation time.

In his previous life, Cheng Yang had never heard of any treasure that could increase cultivation time. To anyone, increasing cultivation time was an incredibly powerful effect. Considering Cheng Yang’s current cultivation speed, adding two hours was equivalent to increasing his cultivation speed by four to five times. What would have taken him forty days to advance to Warrior level might now take less than thirty.

Of course, gaining two extra hours of cultivation time meant losing something – two fewer hours for hunting monsters to earn Spirit Energy, and his daily Spirit Energy consumption for cultivation would increase by half.

But compared to increasing cultivation speed, these were negligible. Cheng Yang wished the time increase could be even greater.

However, after seeing the upgrade requirements, Cheng Yang gave up on that idea. Not to mention what Phoenix Blood was, just the 1,000,000 Spirit Energy points were enough to deter him.

The stone’s power wasn’t just about giving Cheng Yang two extra hours of cultivation – it affected the entire residence. As Cheng Yang knew, whether it was a Level 3 or Level 1 residence, it could accommodate five cultivators.

If they could efficiently utilize this residence, allowing four groups of people to enjoy six hours of cultivation daily, the advantage would be significant.

However, the Level 3 residence was somewhat his private quarters. Having many people rotating through for cultivation would undoubtedly disrupt his life. Though he currently spent little time there, that would change in the future. If a leader didn’t have private space, wouldn’t that be laughable?

Cheng Yang’s initial plan was to build another Level 3 residence, place the Phoenix Rebirth Stone there, conduct his own cultivation there, and maximize the number of people who could cultivate.

The materials needed for a residence weren’t excessive, something Cheng Yang could easily afford.

Storing the Phoenix Rebirth Stone in his spatial ring, Cheng Yang climbed down from the tree. Though this item didn’t directly increase his combat power, its effects far surpassed any equipment.

“Leader, what kind of treasure is it?” Yu Kai asked with a smile.

Cheng Yang didn’t hide it, directly taking out the Phoenix Rebirth Stone and tossing it to Yu Kai.

After reading its properties, Yu Kai exclaimed excitedly, “This is amazing! I’m definitely not staying in Dongshan Village anymore. I’ll come back to Luofeng Village every day to cultivate!”

Cheng Yang chuckled. “That’s up to you. After we return, I plan to set up a dedicated residence for cultivation. There will be twenty slots daily – you all can figure it out.”

Yu Kai looked worried. “Twenty slots? That’s not many. You’ll take one, and I’m sure Miss Liu will take another. That leaves only eighteen. Leader, can you give our Fox Hunting Battalion some priority? After all, I was the one who found this Phoenix Rebirth Stone.”

Seeing Yu Kai’s ingratiating expression, Cheng Yang sighed. “We’ll discuss it after returning. Don’t worry, you’ll get your share. After we get back, we’ll finalize the contribution point system. This will count as part of your Fox Hunting Battalion’s merits.”

PS: Everyone, today’s six-chapter burst is complete. Though the results aren’t ideal, I’ll keep working hard. If we reach 30 monthly votes today, there will be an extra chapter tomorrow, updated at 7 AM, 1 PM, and 7 PM. Please continue your support… (To be continued)