Great Tail Venerable struck first, a faint Buddhist radiance glowing around his body, truly giving him a few traces of a Vajra's bearing.
The assembled monsters had been ready to flee at any moment, but this sight frightened them into stillness. They cried out one after another, "Big Tail Bro, the True Buddha!"
"Bullshit!" Nie Yannian spat, immediately drawing his saber. Gripping it one-handed, he sprinted forward. "Blossoming Spring Thunder!"
As his words fell, thunderous roars sounded both before and behind him, as though spring thunder had burst into bloom!
For a moment, as Nie Yannian raced forward, spring thunder erupted and moved with him, carrying the feeling of all things reviving and life flourishing in abundance.
The man and wolf were less than a hundred paces apart. The sound of spring thunder surged forward at incredible speed, and though Nie Yannian had moved later, he arrived first—his speed was actually greater than Great Tail Venerable's.
Seeing that fewer than ten paces remained between them, Nie Yannian suddenly sprang up, gripping the saber hilt with both hands as he chopped down at Great Tail Venerable.
A massive peal of thunder exploded, and the surrounding monsters turned pale with fright. The bold ones had already fled, while the timid ones pissed and shat themselves, unable to remain standing.
At that moment, Nie Yannian's long saber had collided with Great Tail Venerable's Buddhist Staff. Fine Buddhist light scattered out, while a mirage-like spectacle seemed to rise around Nie Yannian, revealing a faintly wondrous scene: mountains, rivers, and spring thunder.
With that single strike, Great Tail Venerable's Buddhist Staff snapped into two. He staggered back more than ten steps before stopping, as though whatever powers he had activated earlier had all ceased to work.
Whether it was because a seventh-rank Buddhist cultivator could not match a seventh-rank martial artist, or because Nie Yannian himself was simply highly skilled, Meng Yuan did not know. In any case, he watched with his heart racing. Especially when Nie Yannian's saber erupted like thunder, causing wondrous visions to appear around him—it truly was like spring thunder blossoming.
"Your Six Supernatural Powers are far from mastered. Why not go back and chant sutras for another two years?" Having scattered Great Tail Venerable's momentum with one move, Nie Yannian did not slow in the slightest. He pressed his advantage, and every slash of his saber came with rolling thunder, the peals growing increasingly dense.
The peach trees around them were swept by the saber wind and shattered one after another. Then, shaken by the spring thunder, broken branches and splintered wood flew everywhere.
Great Tail Venerable's Buddhist Staff had broken in two. He held one half in each hand, his eyes dark and grim. Gasping for breath as he desperately blocked the attacks, he shouted, "Amitabha! This target is tough! The wind is tight—let's pull out!"
A lofty Buddhist monk was actually spouting underworld cant from the greenwood. It was utterly neither fish nor fowl!
And he had been brimming with confidence just moments ago, only to lose his nerve after a single exchange. It was truly laughable.
Wolf One and Wolf Two had long realized something was wrong. Hearing Great Tail Venerable's words, they immediately fled left and right toward the depths of the peach grove.
"Don't let them get away!" Nie Yannian shouted.
Meng Yuan was already chasing after Wolf One. Ren Debiao reacted as well and hurried after Wolf Two.
Great Tail Venerable wanted to obstruct them, but Nie Yannian's Blossoming Spring Thunder kept him entangled, leaving him with nothing but the ability to defend himself!
"Do you think I have no divine powers?" Great Tail Venerable's beard and hair flared outward as he screeched in rage. Buddhist light rose from his bald, scabby head. Holding the broken halves of the Buddhist Staff in each hand, he bellowed madly, "Immovable Vajra Seal! Appear!"
In an instant, dense Buddhist radiance poured from his body. He truly looked like a wolf-headed Vajra.
Meng Yuan had no time to watch the battle between the two seventh-ranks. Saber in hand, he weaved through the peach grove, pursuing Wolf One at full speed.
The remaining monsters had also come to their senses. Seeing Meng Yuan charging in with his saber, they fled in terror even though they knew he was not after them. They all ended up running after Wolf One.
For a time, chickens flew and dogs leaped, and everything descended into chaos.
Wolf One was a wolf demon, swift and nimble on his feet. He plunged madly deeper into the peach grove, while Meng Yuan pursued relentlessly. After following him several hundred paces into the grove, Meng Yuan heard a crisp voice amid the tangled hubbub.
"What happened? What happened?"
"Why are you running? Auntie Cow, save me! It's thundering—I need to go home and bring in the laundry!"
"Auntie Pig, lend me a hand! I've picked lice off you before! Little Pig Sister, don't go! We played in the mud together!"
"Brother Chicken! Brother Chicken! We've known each other for over two years, you... Ow, what are you doing? Fly slower! You nearly pooped into my mouth!"
"Wolf One, Wolf One, I was wrong! Hurry and let me go home!"
The voice was extremely familiar. It sounded like Grandmother.
Meng Yuan rushed another hundred paces ahead and saw a weasel hanging from a peach branch.
The weasel had brown fur and a white belly. Its four short legs were tied together, leaving it dangling upside down from the peach tree and swaying back and forth. It was unmistakably Grandmother, except her little bundle was nowhere to be seen.
Whenever fleeing monsters passed by, the little weasel would shout a few times. But when disaster struck, each flew their separate way. No one paid her any heed.
Meng Yuan had no time to bother with her either and swept straight past.
"What ran past?" The little weasel looked dazed as she hung from the peach branch. Hearing peals of spring thunder in the distance and seeing that all the monsters had fled, she could not help raising her head to the sky in disappointment. She muttered, "Could some kindhearted person come save me?"
Meng Yuan exerted himself and sprinted ahead. Wolf One was slightly slower, but he knew the terrain well and repeatedly changed directions through the peach grove.
If the peach trees had not yet been covered in lush leaves this early in spring, Meng Yuan would have nearly lost him.
Mountain weather changed easily. The already gloomy sky began to sprinkle with fine rain, and watery mist rose through the peach grove, creating a hazy, mist-laden scene.
Meng Yuan gritted his teeth and tracked him for another li. Wolf One carelessly slipped on the wet ground and fell hard on his backside.
Meng Yuan seized the opportunity to close in, leaving only a little over ten paces between them.
"Chase, chase, chase! Are you going to chase me forever? Do you really think this Buddha eats only vegetables?" Wolf One scrambled to his feet and drew a long-handled Monk's Saber.
Meng Yuan held his long saber and panted, saying nothing.
Wolf One's body was enormous, nearly a zhang tall. He suddenly let out a fierce howl, raised his Monk's Saber, and chopped down. He truly carried a certain imposing force.
Meng Yuan neither dodged nor retreated, instead raising his saber horizontally to meet it.
The two sabers collided, and Meng Yuan immediately felt that Wolf One was stronger than him. Moreover, Wolf One's saber techniques were disciplined and methodical, far superior to Black Mian and White Mian.
Meng Yuan's arm went slightly numb from the impact, but he had no time to pause. He hurriedly turned his saber back and tangled with Wolf One in close combat.
The peach trees here grew thickly, and both fighters used long sabers. Whenever they swung, a moment of carelessness would send their weapons striking against peach branches and trunks.
Neither man nor wolf possessed Nie Yannian's power to chop down peach trees with every saber stroke. Whenever the trees obstructed them, their long sabers were knocked off course.
Moreover, spring rain pattered down and the ground was slick. One wolf and one man had first undergone a desperate chase, then fought with all their strength, exhausting vast amounts of stamina.
Meng Yuan calmed down and stopped seeking a swift victory. Instead, he devoted seventy percent to defense and thirty percent to offense, focusing on wearing down his opponent's strength.
After fighting for no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Wolf One's saber swings had slowed considerably.
Though Meng Yuan had taken a defensive stance, he was not faring well either. The frantic run followed by the grueling battle had consumed much of his True Qi, and he too had begun gasping heavily.
But Wolf One's decline was already apparent. Meng Yuan gritted his teeth and stepped forward, beginning his offensive.
For a moment, he unleashed the Gale Wind Saber Technique. Wolf One was forced into defense, but a slip of his foot earned him a slash across the shoulder.
The wound was small, but it still counted as a success. Meng Yuan hardened his heart and attacked like a violent gale and torrential rain.
"Who the fuck can't risk their life?" Wolf One howled, swinging his Monk's Saber sideways with all his strength to force Meng Yuan back. He followed with a vertical chop, driving Meng Yuan back step after step.
But Wolf One did not pursue. He turned and fled instead.
Wolf One had plainly lost all courage! Meng Yuan drew his bow and fired several arrows in succession, but only one struck Wolf One's rear shoulder.
Seeing that arrows inflicted too shallow a wound, Meng Yuan abandoned the bow and arrows and chased after him with his saber again.
After sprinting with his qi raised for a while, only several paces separated them. But Wolf One's will to escape and survive was fierce. Even though Meng Yuan risked his life, he could only barely keep up.
Meng Yuan knew he could not continue chasing. If he went too deep into the mountains, unforeseen changes would surely arise. He had to take Wolf One down quickly.
An idea flashed through his mind. Meng Yuan roared and hurled his long saber at Wolf One.
The strike missed, and Wolf One dodged aside. Seeing that his pursuer had lost his weapon, he turned back to look, only to find that the youth had not slowed in the slightest.
In the brief instant Wolf One paused, the youth had already reached him barehanded.
"Die!" Wolf One shouted, turning and slashing diagonally with all his might.
Meng Yuan had been waiting for this exact moment. As Wolf One raised his saber, Meng Yuan suddenly lunged forward, slipping into Wolf One's embrace. He seized the hand holding the Monk's Saber with both hands, twisted his body, and executed an over-the-shoulder throw, actually hurling the huge Wolf One to the ground.
That strike was not fatal, but it had already stripped Wolf One of his weapon.
Wolf One had no time to get up and crawled forward in an attempt to flee.
Meng Yuan gritted his teeth and pounced, immediately mounting Wolf One's waist.
A wolf's waist was its weak point. Meng Yuan pressed down with force, and Wolf One immediately collapsed flat on the ground.
Meng Yuan had gone ruthless. His mind went blank, and without care for anything else, he simply hammered Wolf One's head with punch after punch.
One punch, two punches, three punches...
He did not know how many punches he had thrown. Meng Yuan only felt the spring rain growing denser, while the stench of blood mixed with the scent of earth, becoming especially nauseating.
Looking again at Wolf One, he was already lifeless. His skull had shattered, red and white matter spilling out in great quantities, while both eyeballs had burst free.
Meng Yuan punched for a while longer. Only when he had little strength left did he finally stop.
Panting heavily, he raised his head and abruptly discovered more than a dozen gray wolves ahead, peering in their direction. They seemed to want to approach, yet did not dare.
These were the reinforcements Wolf One had summoned. They were not even monsters, merely ordinary mountain wolves.
Unfortunately, they had arrived one step too late.
"Get lost!" Meng Yuan rose, picked up his long saber from the ground, and angrily berated the wolf pack.
Sure enough, after hesitating briefly, the wolves slowly dispersed.
Meng Yuan planted his saber against the ground and panted heavily. Seeing his torn, filthy clothes and the blood that had already soaked through his inner garment, he angrily kicked Wolf One twice more.
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