The next day.
Zhu Changhe packed up the camp and led Zhu Ziyang into Tianhui Canyon.
Tianhui Canyon runs north to south and is very narrow and long.
They entered from the north, and Tianhui Canyon extends south all the way to Ironclad City, a total of over six hundred kilometers.
The father and son entered the canyon, and what met their eyes were jagged strange rocks, tall trees, dense weeds, and sparse white bones, a desolate and deathly silent scene.
"Yang Yang, stick close to me, absolutely do not wander off. It's very dangerous here, understand?" Zhu Changhe said with a serious expression, repeatedly cautioning him.
"I know," Zhu Ziyang also knew that now was not the time for him to show off, so he obediently agreed and followed closely behind Zhu Changhe.
They walked west along the mountain terrain. In the forest area about five kilometers west of the canyon's north exit, there were Blazing Light Mantis Spirit Beasts. This was Zhu Ziyang's first spirit ring's preferred Spirit Beast, so they naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity.
"Eh? What are those? White Bone Scythe Demons?" Zhu Ziyang suddenly stopped, because he noticed a group of strangely shaped Spirit Beasts not far ahead. They looked very much like kangaroos, but their forelimbs resembled huge scythes, their entire skeletons were very large, and they had little muscle, looking like a skeleton covered in a white-furred hide. They were the source of Zhu Changhe's first spirit ring, White Bone Scythe Demons, Spirit Beasts with incredibly hard bones whose forelimbs could easily split open huge rocks.
The group of White Bone Scythe Demons they encountered, about ten of them, were all under a hundred years of cultivation and were frantically running eastward.
"There's just the right one for you among this group of White Bone Scythe Demons. Dad's original favored Spirit Beast was them. How about it?" Zhu Changhe looked at Zhu Ziyang and said.
"How could that be! I'm very firm!" Zhu Ziyang decisively rejected his father's suggestion.
"Since that's the case, then let's continue," Zhu Changhe sighed, but he didn't mean to force him.
The father and son set off again, but before they had even walked two hundred meters, they successively encountered seven or eight groups of White Bone Scythe Demons. They were also in groups of about ten, all running outwards, their movements frantic and hurried, as if some terrifying entity was chasing them from behind.
Noticing this scene, the father and son, Zhu Ziyang and Zhu Changhe, immediately stopped. They exchanged glances, seeing vigilance in each other's eyes.
Zhu Changhe said, "Something's wrong. A powerful Spirit Beast might have appeared in that direction, otherwise these White Bone Scythe Demons wouldn't be running out in groups. Yang Yang, let's change direction!"
"Okay!" Zhu Ziyang agreed without hesitation. He valued his life greatly, and in the face of such an obviously dangerous unknown situation, the most prudent method was naturally to take a detour.
If Zhu Changhe were a Spirit Emperor or Spirit Saint, then Zhu Ziyang might still harbor thoughts of an adventure and continue forward, but Zhu Changhe was only a Spirit Grandmaster. If they encountered a Spirit Beast with over a thousand years of cultivation, they would be finished, so he couldn't possibly refuse.
The father and son reached a consensus and immediately turned around, walking back in the direction they came from. They decided to first observe from the exit, and then re-enter once they were sure there was nothing major happening inside the canyon.
However, before they had even walked a hundred meters, a casual glance back by Zhu Ziyang suddenly gave him an inspiration, and a bold idea formed in his mind.
"Dad, wait a moment!" He stopped, then called out to Zhu Changhe.
"What's wrong?" Zhu Changhe was startled and looked at Zhu Ziyang with some confusion, asking.
"I want that Spirit Beast behind us!" Zhu Ziyang turned and pointed to a Spirit Beast slowly approaching four or five hundred meters behind them, his gaze firm, as if he had been enchanted.
"Ah?" Zhu Changhe was a bit bewildered, but he still looked in the direction Zhu Ziyang was pointing. After seeing it, he was immediately stumped.
That was a hundred-year White Bone Scythe Demon. Although its appearance was slightly different from other White Bone Scythe Demons, its distinctive scythe-like forelimbs were unmistakable. He looked at Zhu Ziyang with an inquiring gaze and said, "Are you sure?"
"Mhm! Positive!" Zhu Ziyang nodded and said. He was sure that Zhu Changhe must have mistaken that Spirit Beast for a White Bone Scythe Demon, but this was good, it saved him from opposing his decision once he knew the truth.
"Alright! You wait here, I'll go catch it!" Zhu Changhe gave Zhu Ziyang a deep look and said.
Then, he rushed towards the Spirit Beast he believed to be a White Bone Scythe Demon. Without any hesitation, Zhu Changhe instantly summoned his Spirit, and two yellow spirit rings appeared behind him. The second spirit ring among them instantly lit up with Zhu Changhe's movement.
Obscure Scythe's Second Spirit Ability, Iron Blade Slash!
The fifty-centimeter-long blade of the Obscure Scythe was instantly imbued with a sharp aura, and it mercilessly slashed at the suspected White Bone Scythe Demon Spirit Beast, which was still in a dazed state.
A full-power strike from a Spirit Grandmaster instantly put this Spirit Beast, barely a hundred years in cultivation, into a near death state. In fact, if Zhu Changhe hadn't held back at the last moment, it might have already died.
Zhu Changhe, having successfully landed a blow, immediately grabbed the dying Spirit Beast and rushed back to Zhu Ziyang, saying with a slight gasp, "Yang Yang, hurry, let's talk after we're out of the canyon!"
"Mhm!" Seeing that the Spirit Beast was already in hand, Zhu Ziyang no longer hesitated and followed Zhu Changhe's footsteps, running out of the canyon.
During their run, his gaze couldn't help but fall upon the Spirit Beast in Zhu Changhe's hands.
This Spirit Beast, which looked very much like a White Bone Scythe Demon, was indeed related to White Bone Scythe Demons, and it was also the reason for the White Bone Scythe Demon group's sudden escape. It was a mutated form of the White Bone Scythe Demon, a Blazing Light Mantis.
Just by looking at the name, one might think it's no different from a White Bone Scythe Demon, but Zhu Ziyang was very clear that the Blazing Light Mantis was much more powerful than the White Bone Scythe Demon.
White Bone Scythe Demons are just ordinary Spirit Beasts, while Blazing Light Mantises are high-level Spirit Beasts with the Death Attribute. Although they are mutated White Bone Scythe Demons, they are two different species from White Bone Scythe Demons. If a White Bone Scythe Demon suffocates during childbirth, it might mutate into a Blazing Light Mantis. And Blazing Light Mantises, possessing the Death Attribute, will furiously slaughter White Bone Scythe Demons as if for revenge. Under normal circumstances, a hundred-year Blazing Light Mantis is comparable to a five-hundred-year White Bone Scythe Demon, not to mention that Blazing Light Mantises also possess the Death Attribute, which greatly counters White Bone Scythe Demons!
Therefore, the White Bone Scythe Demons were so afraid of the Blazing Light Mantis.
And it was because the Blazing Light Mantis possessed the Death Attribute that Zhu Ziyang suddenly changed his mind.
He suddenly wanted to know what his Radiant Scythe Spirit would be like if it possessed a true Death Attribute.
The Death Attribute of the Radiant Scythe is very sparse, completely incomparable to the Light Attribute. But if this sparse Death Attribute were to become a true Death Attribute, would the Radiant Scythe Spirit, simultaneously possessing the Light Attribute and Death Attribute, ascend to become a top-tier Spirit?
This thought, like a devil, repeatedly tempted Zhu Ziyang's mind, ultimately causing him to make such a decision.
And this decision would affect Zhu Ziyang's entire life.
The two quickly exited the canyon and arrived at the place where they had camped last night.
Zhu Changhe threw the dying Blazing Light Mantis onto the ground, then looked at Zhu Ziyang and asked again, "Ziyang, have you thought it through? This mutated White Bone Scythe Demon only has a hundred years of cultivation, and it's actually not suitable for you. If you really want a White Bone Scythe Demon, Dad can help you catch one with four hundred years of cultivation!"
"I've thought it through, it's this one!" Zhu Ziyang replied firmly. His gaze had never left the Blazing Light Mantis; that thought constantly swirled in his mind, as if repeatedly worried he would go back on his word.
"Alright!" Zhu Changhe sighed and said, "Although I don't understand why you're so insistent on this White Bone Scythe Demon, I still hope you don't force yourself because of me!"
"No need to say more, Dad! I have my own considerations for choosing it. You'll understand once I've absorbed its spirit ring," Zhu Ziyang finally looked up at Zhu Changhe.
Zhu Changhe saw determination in his eyes, and helplessly, he could only acquiesce to Zhu Ziyang's decision.
Zhu Ziyang suppressed his inner excitement and apprehension, summoned his Radiant Scythe Spirit, then aimed at the Blazing Light Mantis's head. With a "poof," the blade tip pierced through the Blazing Light Mantis's eye and into its brain. The Blazing Light Mantis's body twitched a few times, then completely fell still, and a pale yellow spirit ring floated out from its corpse.
A newly born Blazing Light Mantis had fallen before it even had a chance to show its prowess.
"Alright, absorb the spirit ring. I'll guard you," Zhu Changhe nodded with satisfaction, seeing Zhu Ziyang's decisive actions, and said.
Zhu Ziyang sat down directly, placed the Radiant Scythe on his lap, gazed at the yellow spirit ring, and mobilized the spirit power within his body, drawing it towards him.
He began to absorb his first spirit ring.