Master of Nine Stars

Chapter 579: Chapter 351: Nightmare Snow Owl

What a big-mouthed monster!

It looked a lot like a polar bear, but its head and mouth were simply too large. The proportions were completely off, making it far uglier than a polar bear from the normal world.

The Snow Devourer was over three meters long. It was currently climbing a tree, frantically tearing at the branches, completely indifferent to the group’s arrival.

Its heavy body made one worry it would snap the trunk and fall from the tree.

Fu Tiance’s heart leaped with joy. ‘It really is a Snow Devourer! A strategically significant Snow Devourer!’

‘Brothers of the Third Wall, this is the best support the Twelfth Squad can offer you!’

Fu Tiance shouted, “Pig! Go!”

Rong Taotao: ???

Fu Tiance explained, “It’s most likely an elite-grade beast. It has a magical digestive system, which makes its body very delicate to us. The rest of us might hit too hard, so we can’t take any risks.

You go straight for Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon. Oh, and remember to go easy on it!”

Rong Taotao: “…”

‘You guys hit too hard? So you want me to do it?’

‘Just listen to that. Are those the words of a human being?’

As he spoke, Fu Tiance flipped up his mask, pressed two fingers to the tip of his tongue, and let out a loud, piercing whistle. “PHEW~!”

“Hrm?” The Snow Devourer, stuck in the tree, struggled to twist its body and turn its head. For a moment, the ugly Snow Devourer and the hideous warthog locked eyes…

Rong Taotao kept Fu Tiance’s order in mind—he had to go easy. He didn’t stay long in the world of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon. Of course, no matter how long he stayed, it was only a brief moment to any observer.

The next second, the Snow Devourer on the tree let out a miserable roar and fell.

“WHIMPER~~~”

Fu Tiance’s heart leaped with joy. Spurring his horse forward, he was about to catch the big-headed bear, afraid it would hurt itself from the fall. But who would have thought that at the very moment the Snow Devourer opened its mouth wide to scream, a bird would actually fly out of its cavernous maw…

Everyone: ???

The Snow Devourer wasn’t chewing on a tree, but on a bird?

Was that an owl? A snowy owl?

The completely white owl’s feathers were a total mess, speckled with spots of blood. It struggled to fly into the night sky, but its wings seemed to have been broken by the Snow Devourer’s massive jaws, making its flight extremely unsteady.

“A Nightmare Snow Owl!” Gao Lingwei’s eyes lit up, her voice tinged with a hint of excitement!

A Nightmare Snow Owl!

One Pearl, Two Skills! Eye Hypnosis, Head Nightmare!

This creature was just as rare, and even more so, it was something low-level Soul Martial Artists dreamed of obtaining!

This was because Nightmare Snow Owls were mostly elite- to master-grade in strength. Their Potential Value wasn’t considered too high, which meant that no matter how long it had grown, as long as your Soul Technique reached four stars, you could equip and use its Soul Pearl’s Soul Skill!

“Da Wei, oh Da Wei, this world really fucking needs you!”

If it weren’t for Gao Lingwei being in the squad, who could have possibly spotted a Snow Devourer eight hundred meters away on a pitch-black, snowy night like this?

People always say this Soul Beast is rare and that one is rare. But the problem is, the rare Soul Beast could be standing right at the edge of the forest, and you wouldn’t even see it. You could walk right past it without noticing a thing. Of course it would seem rare then…

And who would have thought that the Snow Devourer was holding an equally rare Nightmare Snow Owl in its mouth?

Rong Taotao let out a cry of amazement. He placed a hand on Gao Lingwei’s shoulder, nudged her aside, and leaned forward, his head taking the spot where hers had been.

In the night sky, the struggling, faltering Nightmare Snow Owl inevitably turned to look in the direction of Gao Lingwei’s shout, only to be instantly dragged into Rong Taotao’s world of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon.

“Coo… coo…” The Nightmare Snow Owl let out a cry, only to feel as if the surrounding snow-covered pines had come “alive.” Their branches extended infinitely, sealing the sky above and even enveloping its entire world.

Nightmare Snow Owl: ???

It frantically flapped its injured wings, its talons hooking onto the ceiling formed by layers of overlapping branches.

“Coo…” The Nightmare Snow Owl hung upside down, its claws desperately gripping the dense branches as if trying to tear open an escape route for itself.

Feathers scattered down. Although it looked rather pathetic at the moment, its snow-white plumage was still a mess of beauty…

It was at this moment that the Nightmare Snow Owl heard the sound of flapping wings.

It turned its head to the left and was shocked to see… another of its kind?

Beside it, a snow-white Nightmare Snow Owl was also hanging upside down from the branch-woven ceiling, turning its head to look at it. Its dark-golden eyes shone with a faint, eerie light that was both terrifying and bizarre.

The two owls didn’t exchange any sounds, but that didn’t stop the Nightmare Snow Owl from reading the other’s eyes.

Desire! Greed!

This suddenly appeared kinsman made no attempt to hide the greed in its eyes, as if it saw the owl as its prey…

The Nightmare Snow Owl was immediately displeased and couldn’t help but let out a soft cry, “Coo~”

The next moment, Rong Taotao felt his mind BUZZ!

In the world of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon, most Soul Skills could not harm Rong Taotao. The only thing that caused him to expend Spiritual Power was the duration of his Casting of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon.

However, there was one type of Soul Skill that was effective. While it couldn’t resist the world of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon itself, it could resist the Caster, Rong Taotao. And that was a Spiritual Soul Technique!

‘Bring it on! A spiritual clash!’

‘I’m a bird now, so what’s there to be scared of!?’

The Nightmare Snow Owl’s First Soul Skill was hypnosis. In the real world, it would only hypnotize a target without causing any Mental Damage.

Its Second Soul Skill was what caused Mental Damage, but it had a prerequisite: the target had to be asleep.

Clearly, the Nightmare Snow Owl was currently trying to hypnotize Rong Taotao.

This brings up a special situation. In the Spiritual World created by Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon, no matter what kind of Spiritual Soul Technique you used, it would result in a “spiritual clash” with Rong Taotao.

It was just that Soul Skills with different functions would have varying degrees of effectiveness.

But did Rong Taotao care about any of that?

Rong Taotao’s illusory Nightmare Snow Owl, hanging upside down from the dense branch ceiling, suddenly thrust its head forward!

‘Peck~’

“COO!” The Nightmare Snow Owl shrieked as Rong Taotao’s sharp beak pecked its beautiful golden eye, causing immense pain!

The Nightmare Snow Owl was completely dumbfounded!

‘Wha… wha… what kind of move is this?’

‘Damn it, why doesn’t this kinsman play by the rules?’

‘I’m over here trying to have a hypnosis battle with you, to see who’s the true nightmare, and you fucking peck me in the eye?’

‘How is this any different from kids stepping on each other’s toes during a fight?’

Rong Taotao flapped his wings, his talons gripping the screaming, pained Nightmare Snow Owl tightly, pinning it to the branch ceiling. His beak attacks rained down, frantically pecking at the Nightmare Snow Owl’s eyes.

The Nightmare Snow Owl shrieked wildly, its claws kicking and wings flapping frantically, but it was bound by the branches on the ceiling, its body held fast. Meanwhile, Rong Taotao’s beak continued its relentless pecking, and snow-white feathers fell in a flurry…

The Nightmare Snow Owl felt like it was trapped in a nightmare…

‘We are the noble Nightmare Snow Owls, possessors of Spiritual Soul Techniques! We are a noble race that can make people fall into slumber without even moving, projecting nightmares to terrify and injure them!’

‘So where the hell did this country bumpkin come from?’

‘Why is it getting into a physical brawl with me…?’

‘The problem is… a brawl should be mutual! Right now, the Nightmare Snow Owl was bound to the ceiling by branches, unable to move. It was being pecked one-sidedly.

Rong Taotao, however, was getting more and more into it. This was a brand-new version of the game he had never experienced before!

‘This wave, oh, this wave is called ‘frenzied pecking’!’

‘You thought I was a Nightmare Snow Owl? Wrong! I’m actually a Fiery Sparrow…’

‘Give me a little more time, and I’ll evolve into a Big-beaked Sparrow! If you have faith in me, I’ll one day evolve into a Phoenix King!’

…

I’d like to recommend a friend’s book, “Return to 1988,” by the Great God, Western Wind Beyond the Pass. Anyone interested can go check it out.

Also, a few readers have reported that they can’t see the later extra chapter, “Devil Master.” For those who have subscribed to all chapters, please open the table of contents, re-download all chapters, exit the app, and refresh. You should be able to see it then.