"The flesh and blood of this two-legged beast king is the most savory; by no means can I let him slip away."
Squinting, it watched the two-legged beasts in the distance hurriedly clustering together and pointing those brightly gleaming fires in its direction, sneering coldly in its heart.
"Wear down their stamina first. Once those two-legged beasts scatter in panic, I can feast on that beast king."
It cautiously accelerated, darting through the snow-laden forest. Watching the two-legged beasts grow increasingly panicked and their formation fray into disorder, it felt immensely satisfied.
Ever since eating that injured white deer, its mind had grown clearer and clearer. Relying on this ever-sharpening wit, it had escaped several encirclements by the patterned two-legged beasts. In the end, it had abandoned its pack and stumbled all the way here in flight.
It had dealt with many of these two-legged beasts and knew well that their kings often spewed black mist and hurled dark-green bone swords; pressing them too hard would only leave it injured.
It had to press them gradually, lunging forward to attack from time to time and exhausting the two-legged beasts' tricks bit by bit before feasting on them.
"These two-legged beasts have no patterns on their bodies. I wonder what breed they are."
It casually leapt over a wooden staff swept at it, dipped its head to dodge an incoming arrow, and sank its teeth into the arm of one of the two-legged beasts, crushing it to splinters. Vicious thoughts raced through its mind:
"If not for that two-legged beast killing off all my younglings, why would I ever need to take action myself!"
Remembering how it had been chased across seven great mountains by that patterned two-legged beast, suffering injuries to its vital essence and dharmic powers that had not recovered even now, a few more shades of coldness crept into its emerald eyes.
These unpatterned two-legged beasts seemed far weaker. The golden rays they unleashed were not particularly powerful, yet they were relentless and truly irksome.
————
Winter nights in the mountain forest were exceptionally still. Heavy snow lay thick among the trees, rustling down in flurries whenever someone brushed past. Now and then, a snapping creak broke the silence as the weight of the snow broke a branch.
"Whoosh!"
Li Xiangping shot a glittering golden arrow. Watching the wolf duck to evade it and crush a village guard's arm, he drew his bow and nocked another arrow without blinking, driving back the giant wolf as it lunged toward the next man.
Watching the guard collapse to the ground in a spray of blood and agonized screams, painting a fiery flower of blood across the pristine snow, the village guards could not help shuddering, their staves flailing feebly. Beside them, Chen Erniu picked the man up with a grim face, hastily wrapped the wound with pieces of clothing, slung him over his shoulder, and hurried to catch up with the group.
"How far to Mount Lijing?!"
Li Xiangping growled under his breath, tramping through the deep, uneven snow as he called out loudly to Chen Erniu.
"A quarter of an hour more!"
Understanding immediately, Chen Erniu passed the wounded man to others, gazed into the distance, and shouted back.
Hearing that Mount Lijing was drawing near, the guards felt much more settled. Gritting their teeth, they glared at the monster, praying in their hearts that they would not be the next one dragged down.
"We only need to lure this monster into the mountain to ambush and slay it! If we fail to kill it today and let it return after slaughtering us, you, you, and you—the women and children in all your homes will become food for this monster's belly!"
Li Xiangping wiped the blood from his face. With very little dharmic power remaining in his dantian, he shouted grimly at the terrified village guards around him.
Hearing this, the villagers exchanged glances, their resolve hardening considerably. One after another, they raised their arms, heavy as lead, once more leveling torches and staves toward the beast.
"Awoooo—"
The monster licked the blood from its silver-gray claws. Looking at the torches and staves pointed at it, it seemed somewhat impatient. Stamping the ground, it accelerated its lunges, biting down on several villagers in rapid succession.
"Crack!"
A whip crack suddenly tore through the air. A glowing emerald vine whip lashed straight out. Taken off guard, the monster had the flesh torn open along its flank, leaving a bloody gash.
"Awoooo—"
The monster howled, retreating several steps in succession and glaring viciously at the man in fine brocade who held the long whip.
"Family Head!"
Seeing the vine whip, Wan Tiancang let out a long breath. A great weight lifted from his chest, and delight surfaced on his face.
Wan Xiaohua had landed his blow, but he did not pursue. His face went pale, and he stood in place regulating his breath for a few moments before color slowly returned to his cheeks.
Having received Wan Tiancang's missive, Wan Xiaohua had cast three Divine Movement Techniques in succession to rush from the Wan family estate to Lichuankou, then used that magical artifact to repel the monster. Even with cultivation at the pinnacle of the Yujing Wheel, he was winded, needing several breaths to steady himself.
"What a tough beast."
Gazing at the shallow wound on the monster's back, Wan Xiaohua sucked in a breath of cold air and spoke with a grim expression:
"Mortals, leave first."
His vine whip was originally a Qi Refinement magical artifact. Wielding it with his peak Yujing Wheel cultivation was a heavy drain, but it was powerful enough to split stone steles and shatter boulders. Yet it had merely left a bloody welt on the monster's back. Though struck in haste, it was enough to show the beast's formidable toughness.
Li Xiangping waved his hand, and Chen Erniu hurriedly rallied the village guards, carrying the wounded as they trod through the snow toward Lijing Village to the west.
Watching the man and beast confronting each other in the snow, Li Xiangping called out loudly:
"Family Head Wan, if you cannot best this beast, head southwest! Mount Lijing is shielded by an array formation—even if we cannot defeat it, you can still escape with your life!"
Wan Xiaohua cast a brief glance down at Li Xiangping and murmured:
"Understood."
With a flick of his wrist, the long whip whistled through the air, lashing toward the monster's waist.
"Awoo—"
The monster nimbly twisted its torso to evade the vine whip. In two bounds, it closed the distance with Wan Xiaohua and lunged right at him.
A foul wind rushed at him, yet Wan Xiaohua remained poised and composed. Forming an incantation hand seal, a small, white jade shield materialized out of thin air. Though it shattered under the monster's paw in a single blow, Wan Xiaohua used the opening to pull away.
With a light push off the ground, the monster sprang toward Wan Xiaohua once more. Wan Xiaohua's eyes lit up as he thought:
"A good chance!"
The vine whip in his hand burst with brilliant white light as he whipped it toward the wolf's waist. But the monster neither dodged nor retreated. A glint of cunning flickered in its eyes. Opening its wolfish maw, it exhaled a swelling gust of pitch-black breath straight at Wan Xiaohua's face.
"Damn it! What a crafty beast!"
Cursing under his breath, Wan Xiaohua had no choice but to let go of the vine whip and stumble backward in rapid retreat.
Taking the whip strike head-on, the monster also let out a low growl. It pawed at the vine whip on the ground and stepped on it, fixing its emerald eyes coldly upon Wan Xiaohua.
"Such a cunning monster..."
Wan Xiaohua looked at the giant silver-gray wolf, a bitter smile curling at the corners of his lips. The Wan family did not border Mount Dali and had little experience fighting monsters, let alone one at the Yujing Wheel level.
With a backward scrape of its hind paws, the monster buried the vine whip in the snow and charged straight toward Wan Xiaohua across the shallow snow. He hurriedly formed a hand seal to cast his spell, and the small white jade shield materialized before him once more.
Yet dark energy rose swirling beneath the monster's four paws. Soaring into the air, it smashed the small white jade shield to pieces in a single blow, its jaws snapping straight for Wan Xiaohua's neck.
Chapter 42