Chapter 88: The Great Sage

"Roar!" Suddenly, the beast with a leopard-like appearance let out a low, deep roar. Its hind legs pushed off the ground with great force, leaving a shallow mark behind as its entire body transformed into a black shadow, hurtling towards the young man who was less than ten meters away. In mid-air, the black leopard opened its massive, blood-red mouth, revealing sharp, gleaming fangs that sent a chill down one's spine.

A hint of a cold smile appeared in the young man's eyes. The silver-white longsword in his hand suddenly emitted a hazy white sword aura. With a swift swing, a silver-white sword aura detached from the tip of the sword and shot towards the black leopard's gaping mouth.

The speed of the sword aura was incredibly fast, like a bolt of lightning. However, the black leopard's reaction was not slow. Just as the silver-white sword aura was about to reach its mouth, the black leopard's head tilted slightly, narrowly avoiding the oncoming sword aura. Despite this, the sword aura still grazed its head, leaving a clear blood trail on the black leopard's furry head. The black leopard's speed, however, did not decrease in the slightest, and it continued to charge towards the young man at the same speed.

The corners of the young man's mouth curled up slightly, as if in a mocking smile. The fierce killing intent in his eyes flashed, and the silver-white, slender longsword in his hand transformed into a bolt of lightning, stabbing towards the black leopard's throat.

The speed of this sword strike was incredibly fast, so fast that the black leopard had no time to react. Even before the black leopard could react, the silver-white longsword had already pierced its throat. Due to the inertia of the black leopard's forward momentum, the sword continued to penetrate deeper, stopping only when the hilt of the sword reached the black leopard's throat. The other end of the sword was already drenched in blood, piercing through the black leopard's neck and emerging from the back, dripping blood onto the black leopard's back.

The young man slowly pulled the sword out of the black leopard's body. The blood on the silver-white longsword strangely gathered at the tip and then dripped onto the ground, turning the originally blood-soaked sword into a pristine, silver-white blade in an instant. At the hilt of the sword, two clear characters were inscribed: "Light Wind."

This young man was none other than Jian Chen, who had been wandering alone in the Beast Mountain Range. Unbeknownst to him, he had already spent half a month in the Beast Mountain Range. During this half month, Jian Chen had stayed in the outer regions of the Beast Mountain Range, neither venturing deep into the mountains nor leaving.

During this half month, Jian Chen had been constantly on the move in the outer regions of the Beast Mountain Range during the day and practicing at night. During this time, he had been doing his utmost to enhance his strength, unlike in Changyang Manor, where he had slowed down his practice to avoid standing out. As a result, his strength had rapidly increased, and after half a month of practice, he had already broken through from the middle and advanced stages of the Sage realm to the Great Sage stage.

In just a short month, Jian Chen had advanced from a newly ascended Sage to a Great Sage. If this speed were to be known, it would certainly cause a stir. For ordinary people, it would take at least two to three years to advance from a newly ascended Sage to a Great Sage. Even for prodigies, it would take about a year. Jian Chen's terrifying cultivation speed was unprecedented in the Tianyuan Continent, and he had set a record without anyone knowing. However, this record was destined to be buried and never known to the outside world.

After reaching the Great Sage stage, Jian Chen's combat strength had also rapidly increased. At this point, hunting second-stage beasts was a very easy task for him, and he had set his sights on third-stage beasts.

With a light flick of the Light Wind sword, a round, blood-stained, and white-brain-matter-covered bead popped out of the black leopard's head and was caught by Jian Chen.

Ignoring the blood and brain matter on the bead, Jian Chen casually picked up a handful of grass from the ground and wiped the bead clean, revealing a crystal-clear, translucent bead.

Jian Chen's gaze lingered on the bead for a moment, and a smile appeared on his face. He murmured to himself, "My luck is really good today. This is already the twelfth second-stage magic core."

After putting away the magic core, Jian Chen did not pay any attention to the black leopard's corpse and left the area.

Jian Chen cautiously advanced in the Beast Mountain Range. Although his strength had reached the Great Sage stage, making him much stronger than before, he still did not dare to be careless. He was very clear that although he was in the outer regions of the Beast Mountain Range, he could still encounter powerful beasts from deeper within the mountains, which he could not handle at his current strength.

Jian Chen was extremely vigilant in the Beast Mountain Range, always paying attention to his surroundings, especially the hidden swamps on the ground. These swamps were often difficult to spot with the naked eye and looked like flat ground from a distance. However, if you stepped on them, you would be swallowed by the swamp. Once you were trapped in the swamp, it would be very difficult to escape without help.

At this moment, Jian Chen's ears twitched, and a look of joy appeared on his face. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Water, the sound of flowing water, there's actually water nearby." With that, Jian Chen hurried in the direction of the sound.

After walking a short distance, when Jian Chen passed through a patch of weeds, he finally encountered a flowing stream. The stream was about three meters wide and not very deep, with clear water that revealed the colorful stones at the bottom.

Seeing the stream, a look of happiness appeared on Jian Chen's face. This was the first time he had seen a water source since entering the Beast Mountain Range. After spending so much time in the Beast Forest, the water in his spatial belt was almost depleted. If he couldn't find a water source, he would have planned to leave the Beast Forest.

Jian Chen surveyed the surroundings and, after confirming that it was safe, took out several water flasks from his spatial belt and stood by the stream to fill them.

After filling the water flasks, Jian Chen took off his clothes and jumped into the stream to wash away the sweat that had accumulated on his body over the past few days.

However, just as he was halfway through washing, his expression suddenly changed. His relaxed body instantly tensed up, and he leaped out of the stream. In mid-air, a silver-white longsword appeared in his hand, and he stabbed straight down.