It was a monster covered from head to toe in crimson fur.
A bizarre aura rose and steamed across its entire form. Its silhouette resembled that of a human, yet its facial features were impossible to discern.
On its face, there was only a pair of blood-red eyes filled with chaos. The creature was utterly bizarre.
It crouched in midair, staring intently at Lu Yuan with what seemed like wary hesitation mixed with intense greed. It was the look of a beast gazing upon the most sumptuous feast imaginable.
Even though the red-furred monster had come out on the losing end of their previous clash, it showed no sign of giving up, appearing ready to strike again at any moment.
*It wants to eat me?* Lu Yuan couldn't help but smile faintly at the sight. It was the first time he had encountered such an entity. Anyone else in his shoes would surely have been terrified, but he was different. His eyes held only curiosity.
He recalled that in his past life, after the opening of the Immortal Cave realm on Mount Huang, heavy casualties had supposedly been inflicted upon the extraterrestrial beings, claiming many lives. Seeing this now, it had undoubtedly been caused by the red-furred beast before him.
He was eager to know what kind of creature this really was.
*Roar!*
Suddenly, the red-furred beast let out another piercing howl.
Waves of powerful aura surged from its frame, and crimson mist churned wildly around it. The commotion struck terror into the surviving extraterrestrial beings nearby.
Even though they were all in the Saint Realm, the scene unfolding before them was simply too eerie. Yu Heng, with only half his body remaining, was trembling all over.
The reason was simple: having faced the red-furred monster firsthand, he knew the creature's true horror. Hearing that howl once more filled his heart with utmost dread.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan paid the beast's intimidating display no heed. Knowing the red-furred monster intended to attack, he refused to wait. Taking a forward stride, he seized the initiative.
*Rumble!*
Golden vital energy surged as the Great Sun Smelting Furnace manifested.
Under that immense power, it seemed as if the dense red mist would be torn wide open. Sensation washed over the red-furred monster across from him, causing its fur to bristle instantly as plumes of black mist poured out from beneath its coat.
The next instant, the surrounding mist thickened further. Ceasing its hesitation at last, the beast transformed into a bolt of red lightning and charged straight at him.
Lu Yuan swung his fist, simultaneously channeling the Jade Emperor Orthodox Heavenly Thunder Art, and collided with it once more.
*Thud!*
The entire space trembled.
Facing him, the red-furred beast bellowed and unleashed its assault. It possessed no refined techniques, simply hurling punch after punch in rapid succession.
In a single instant, it unleashed hundreds, thousands of blows.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Space shook continuously, groaning under the immense force as though it might shatter at any moment.
Lu Yuan met every strike without fear, answering blow for blow, yet he was astonished to discover that the red-furred monster's physical strength and resilience had reached an unfathomable level.
Even with Lu Yuan fighting at full tilt, he failed to gain the slightest upper hand.
*Boom!*
Another collision rang out. Lu Yuan felt a colossal force slam into him through the red beast, jarring his internal organs and forcing him to step back.
He was genuinely shaken. In all his battles, this was the very first time his physical body had been shaken in such a manner.
Yet the monster, far from backing away, advanced instead, taking another step forward as its aura grew even denser. In the very next instant, it attacked again.
"You truly think you have the upper hand?"
A far greater surge of power erupted within Lu Yuan.
Ten grotto-heavens manifested—unlike before, this time they materialized with absolute solidity. Within each grotto-heaven sat a deity in meditation, identical in appearance to Lu Yuan himself.
In a flash, a tenfold boost in combat strength was granted.
Without a wasted motion, Lu Yuan unleashed the utmost power within him, intertwining it with the full vigor of his vital energy, and threw a punch.
*Boom!*
It sounded as if ten thousand thunderclaps had detonated at once. This time, the red beast was finally shaken, staggering backward.
Lu Yuan did not let up, pressing his advantage immediately. In the span of a breath, he hammered out several hundred punches.
*Thwack!*
This power was simply too overwhelming. Lu Yuan was already capable of battling above his cultivation realm, and now, augmented by tenfold combat strength, he was vastly more terrifying than before. The red-furred monster was formidable—virtually no Demi-Saint could match it—yet now, it was completely suppressed.
"It relies solely on physical brute force without employing any divine abilities, and its physical power is comparable to the Great Saint Realm?" Lu Yuan roughly gauged the monster's strength, and a smile surfaced in his eyes.
If that was the case, he had no reason to hold back any longer.
Another five grotto-heavens manifested around him.
Mighty power surged like an ocean, his golden vital energy bubbling like molten lava. Facing him, the red-furred monster sensed mortal danger in its crimson eyes and moved to retreat.
However, it was already too late. Lu Yuan stepped forward, entirely enveloped in divine golden radiance.
At this moment, Lu Yuan looked like a god descending to the mortal world. He threw another punch, but this was no ordinary blow; it was wrapped in layer upon layer of thunder and lightning.
Since he held the advantage, why not press it to the fullest?
*Boom!*
The void roared once more. Unable to hold out any longer, the red beast coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Its blood was not red, however, but thick and pitch-black. Reeling as if struck repeatedly by lightning, its body was knocked back continuously.
Though the surrounding extraterrestrial beings could not see through the fog, they could sense that someone was locked in an intense battle with the creature from the blood-red coffin, and they had already deduced it was the human, Lu Yuan.
Yet they had no way of knowing who held the upper hand.
*Rumble!*
Another thunderous blast reverberated through the cavern.
The blood-red mist around them began to thin.
"What's happening? Has a victor been decided?"
"What on earth happened in there?"
"Are we going to be in danger next?"
The surviving extraterrestrials babbled among themselves, consumed by terror.
As time ticked by, the blood-red mist grew fainter and fainter until it vanished completely. At last, their vision cleared.
Not far away, Yu Heng of the Eternal Clan lay with only half of his body left, his aura withered, his life force seemingly on the verge of fading away completely.
On the other side stood Lu Yuan, hovering alone in midair. Bathed in golden vital energy, he radiated an incomparably formidable presence.
More importantly, dangling in his hand was the monster covered from head to toe in crimson fur.
*So the entity inside the blood-red coffin was this thing?*
Realization instantly struck everyone. But right after, expressions of pure shock overtook their faces.
A terrifying monster that had driven them to sheer helplessness and nearly killed Yu Heng...
...had been suppressed so easily by the human, Lu Yuan?
Just how powerful was this man?
In that single instant, every extraterrestrial being present revised their estimate of Lu Yuan's strength upward by yet another tier!
Chapter 278