Chapter 36

"Be careful!"

Hearing the cry of the Lei Peng, Li Chen knew something was wrong. With a fierce roar, he abruptly turned around, drew two sharp green horns from behind, and lunged forward.

Swoosh!

In a flash, the speed of the green-spotted leopard was so fast that it instantly darted past Li Chen’s side, tearing several bloody gashes.

Whoosh!

Seeing Li Chen injured, the Lei Peng anxiously circled in the air, its eyes blazing as it stared at the slowly approaching green-spotted leopard.

In the previous attack, despite the advantage of flight, it had only managed to pluck a few leopard hairs, without even scratching the skin.

"Damn beast, I'll make you my first kill today!"

Li Chen’s eyes twitched as he spoke these harsh words to boost his own morale, then he lowered his stance and assumed a fighting posture.

Roar!

The green-spotted leopard gave him a contemptuous glance, bared its teeth, and with a sudden twist, transformed into a blur of green and pounced.

Whoosh!

Its speed was so great that only the Lei Peng could see it clearly. However, the gap between a first-stage and a second-stage demonic beast was too large, allowing the green-spotted leopard to easily dodge the sharp claws and attack Li Chen.

Rip!

Another light sound, and Li Chen felt a sharp pain in his waist. Without even looking, he knew the green-spotted leopard had torn him.

With such incredible speed, even with Li Chen’s current physical strength, the Wind Walking Step could not match it. All he could see was a flash of green before he was injured.

The green shadow flickered, and the green-spotted leopard appeared at the other end. In an instant, it vanished again, ready to attack from an unknown direction.

Whoosh!

The Lei Peng called out in the air, but it was too late. Li Chen was injured again by the leopard’s claws.

"Damn it!"

Li Chen was both shocked and angry. Suddenly, a bright idea flashed in his mind, and he smiled, slowly closing his eyes.

Thud!

He loosened his grip, and the two sharp green horns immediately sank into the ground.

Swish!

The green-spotted leopard’s invisible attack came again. A gust of wind swept past, and it lunged at the motionless Li Chen.

"Die!"

Just as the green-spotted leopard was about to kill Li Chen, he suddenly opened his eyes, two piercing rays of light shooting out. A powerful aura enveloped him, and he swung his fists diagonally.

Roar!

Faced with this sudden attack, the green-spotted leopard seemed to show a look of disbelief. It tried to retreat but found itself unable to move, as if frozen in place.

No, it wasn’t frozen; it was being suppressed by the mysterious aura emanating from Li Chen’s fists.

Bang!

The fist, enveloped in a greenish-gray aura, collided with the green-spotted leopard. A dull sound mixed with the crack of bones, and the leopard’s body, the size of a calf, was thrown several yards away, landing with a thud and raising a cloud of dust.

"Phew!"

Li Chen, who had delivered the punch, panted heavily, his face pale. If he hadn’t recalled the moment of practicing the Storm Fist in the hurricane, using the wind direction to detect the green-spotted leopard’s movements, he would have surely died today.

Looking at the green-spotted leopard, whose neck was twisted to one side and spitting blood, Li Chen approached with a lingering fear. He took out the spirit weapon, the Cold Spirit Dagger, and easily cut open its belly, retrieving a walnut-sized, slightly round green demonic core.

This second-stage demonic beast, which hadn’t even had time to use its innate abilities, died due to overconfidence under Li Chen’s fists.

If Li Chen hadn’t practiced the Storm Fist to perfection, and if it weren’t for the mysterious greenish-gray aura, he would have found it difficult to resist the green-spotted leopard.

Whoosh!

A sharp cry, filled with excitement, and a gust of wind. Li Chen felt his hand lighten as the demonic core disappeared. He quickly looked up and shouted, "Don’t eat it!"

But it was already too late. The Lei Peng raised its head and swallowed the core. Its body flashed with a green light, and it wobbled and fell.

Li Chen, helpless, picked it up. Only this well-born little creature could withstand the violent demonic energy in the second-stage core.

"It seems I need to find a place to stay for the night!"

Sighing, Li Chen, who had narrowly escaped danger, became even more cautious. He took a bite of a Cloud Pear fruit, put the Lei Peng in his backpack, used the Cold Spirit Dagger to skin the leopard, and cut off its hind legs. He then leaped through the forest and quickly left.

On the way, he encountered no further obstacles, clearly indicating that this was the green-spotted leopard’s territory, where few demonic beasts dared to cause trouble.

Finding a rocky forest, he took out a fire starter, built a fire, and began roasting the leopard meat.

Under the dim night sky, the flames licked the leopard meat, and the wood crackled. Li Chen fell into deep thought.

Having been away from the Xuan Yun Sect for so long, regardless of the reason, he had left the sect with He Kongming and three other inner sect genius disciples.

If he returned alone now, he would certainly be questioned by the sect. He couldn’t tell the truth, and if he couldn’t explain himself, he would surely be punished.

At this moment, it was time to consider whether to stay or leave.

After a while, Li Chen, having eaten and drunk his fill, lay down among the rocks, holding the Lei Peng and slowly closed his dry eyes.

After months of continuous travel through the ancient Cang Mountains, filled with fierce demonic beasts, even an iron man would have given up. His nerves were taut, and he felt they might snap at any moment.

Physical fatigue could be relieved, but the mental exhaustion from numerous dangerous encounters could not be easily dispelled. He felt as if he were sleeping with his eyes open.

Now, with the prospect of a long journey ahead, he finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.

Rustle!

Early the next morning, before dawn, a large group of birds and beasts suddenly emerged from the distant forest, creating a noisy commotion.

"What’s happening?"

Li Chen, who had been sleeping, suddenly sat up, threw the Lei Peng out of his arms, and looked up. Seeing only a flock of birds passing by, he relaxed.

Thump!

After a night of digestion, the Lei Peng, upon being thrown, let out a dissatisfied cry but immediately pounced on the charred meat in the extinguished fire.

Ignoring the Lei Peng, Li Chen climbed up an ancient tree and looked into the distance. "This smoke doesn’t look like it’s from a cooking fire!"

On the other side of the forest, several thick plumes of smoke rose, and nearby, birds were constantly being startled, which had woken him up.

But then, Li Chen’s pupils suddenly contracted. In the trembling treetops, he saw several small gray figures jumping around.

According to his calculations, this was the outermost part of the ancient Cang Mountains, inhabited by first-stage demonic beasts. It was likely the group of monkeys from the Monkey Valley he knew.

Without hesitation, he called the Lei Peng and dashed toward the source of the smoke.

With his powerful physique, the ninth-layer Inner Breath cultivation, and the top-tier human-level skill, the Wind Walking Step, Li Chen moved through the forest like a nimble cat.

But even with his current cultivation, it took him nearly half an hour to reach the source of the smoke.

He was immediately shocked by the scene before him.

The once lush Monkey Valley was now scorched, with large areas of trees burned and emitting thick smoke.

With Li Chen’s keen eyesight, he could clearly see countless skinned iron-armed monkeys, their red flesh scattered on the ground, and others charred and shriveled in the fire, a scene of utter carnage.