Kuimu Beast

"This is a fifth-tier Kuimu Beast!"

Yan Qingshan watched the wolf-bear-like magical beast from afar. Though it was only sleeping, it still gave him an immense sense of oppression.

The fifth-tier magical beast, the Kuimu Beast, was a rather rare wood-element magical beast. Most lived where peach groves flourished. Due to the peculiarities of their species, the peach groves they inhabited would gradually change, giving rise to Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures such as Peach Fruit and Peach Blossom Miasma.

Though the Kuimu Beast was a Wood Attribute magical beast, it was one of the rare few that possessed Beast Flame. Its Peach Blossom Flame was relatively mild, yet its destructive power was far from weak. This made the Kuimu Beast one of the more formidable fifth-tier Wood Attribute magical beasts.

The Peach Blossom Flame within a fifth-tier Kuimu Beast could also be separated into a Beast Flame Fire Seed. Due to its mild nature and respectable power, this Beast Flame was highly sought after by low- and mid-tier alchemists. It was an exceptionally popular, rare, and precious Beast Flame.

Yan Qingshan had come this time for the Kuimu Beast's Peach Blossom Flame. Of course, getting some Peach Fruit would be good as well. Now that the Kuimu Beast was asleep, this was quite a good opportunity.

"A fifth-tier Kuimu Beast. Even asleep, its vigilance won't be low, and... it isn't weak either. Although Crimson Serpent has the elemental advantage, the Kuimu Beast has Peach Blossom Flame and extremely high fire resistance. Its combat strength is probably even greater."

Yan Qingshan, Qingling, and Crimson Serpent concealed their presence and hid some distance away, secretly observing the fifth-tier Kuimu Beast. Though this powerful wolf-bear-like magical beast was still asleep, the Peach Blossom Flame over its body constantly flickered and contracted, occasionally surging skyward. It looked exceptionally hard to deal with.

Hiss...

Hiss...

Within the silent Ten-Li Peach Grove, rustling sounds suddenly arose, along with hissing cries like those of snakes, one after another. The sounds had not been loud at first, but when tens of thousands of snake beasts hissed together, they finally enraged the ruler of this hellish land.

"Awooo—"

A magical beast nearly four meters tall, resembling a humanoid bear, rose onto its hind legs and let out wolf-like roars. The pink flames covering its body instantly surged to their peak. With a spring of its bent legs, it rushed toward the area where the snake cries were loudest.

At the edge of the Ten-Li Peach Grove, countless snakes had gathered to hunt voraciously and even wreak havoc. Behind them, a Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake over ten meters long kept its gaze fixed in one direction.

"Roar—"

Suddenly, one of the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake's heads turned back. The scales over its body abruptly stood on end as it let out a somewhat shrill hiss that echoed rapidly through the woods. Qingling, hiding not far behind it, received the signal and immediately retreated farther away.

The previously silent peach grove was suddenly filled with rumbling sounds. As they drew closer, the ground also began to tremble from time to time.

A streak of flowing flame suddenly appeared within the pink peach grove, followed by increasingly distinct footsteps. With a booming crash, an upright figure leaped before the mass of snakes. Its hide was pale green, while pink flames blazed around its body.

"Awooo—"

The moment the Kuimu Beast saw the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake, the flames on its body surged once more as it released warning roars. The aura of this unfamiliar magical beast made it feel uneasy—and somewhat afraid.

Both the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake and the Kuimu Beast were fifth-tier. Wood Attribute was naturally restrained by Fire Attribute, but the Kuimu Beast possessed Peach Blossom Flame, a Beast Flame that gave it great resistance to fire.

However, the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake was the guardian beast of the Green Lotus Core Flame, and it had advanced to the fifth tier by relying on the Green Lotus Core Flame's energy. It naturally carried a trace of Heavenly Flame aura.

When a Heavenly Flame emerged, all flames submitted. Peach Blossom Flame was naturally affected as well. Unable to gauge that unfathomable Heavenly Flame aura, the Kuimu Beast naturally felt uneasy and fearful.

Within the Ten-Li Peach Grove, the snake and bear faced each other. Two powerful, majestic auras gradually rose, and under the pressure of those auras, the surrounding tide of snakes retreated while the drifting peach petals were shredded by the wind pressure and fell to the ground.

The Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake fully stretched out its body. Its snake form, over ten meters long, writhed rapidly forward as a pair of bewitching snake eyes stared fixedly at the Kuimu Beast below. As its forked tongue flickered, sparks of red mixed with green occasionally flashed.

Having been provoked again and again, how could the Kuimu Beast endure it any longer? It immediately struck first, letting out an angry roar as it stomped the ground. Its massive body shot straight at the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake like a cannonball.

Amid a sharp whistle through the air, the Kuimu Beast aimed at the front of the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake's abdomen, intending to strike at its heart, its vital point. Cold Light glinted from its sharp claws and fangs, wreathed in pink fire energy.

However, though the Kuimu Beast was exceedingly fast, the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake was even faster. Red radiance flared brilliantly as a huge tail, carrying dense crimson firelight, slammed down hard from above onto the Kuimu Beast's body.

Terrifying force erupted. The Kuimu Beast was smashed away like a stray projectile, crashing through countless peach trees. Ravines covered the forest floor, and the earth was left in utter ruin.

Having suffered such a heavy blow, the Kuimu Beast was naturally enraged. Its eyes turned completely bloodshot, Cold Light flickering between its claws as Peach Blossom Flame spread and gathered over its body. Just as it was preparing to launch a counterattack, the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake's next attack arrived.

The Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake had anticipated its counterattack. After gaining the upper hand with its first strike, it pressed forward without pause, swiftly rising and coiling around a massive peach tree that would take two people to embrace. Having seized the height advantage, it opened its Huge Mouth wide and blasted a stream of crimson molten flame toward the Kuimu Beast.

The scorching molten firestream carried traces of Heavenly Flame aura. How could the Kuimu Beast dare take it head-on? It sprang away with a flash, hurriedly evading it.

Just as it leaped aside, the Fire Spirit Snake's other mouth fired another stream of crimson flames. This time, it was in midair and could no longer evade.

With a thunderous explosion, a vast amount of peachwood fire erupted from the Kuimu Beast's body in an instant. The crimson flames collided with the peach fire, and the spreading peachwood fire ignited the peach grove. A vast pink sea of flames forced the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake to temporarily retreat.

The Kuimu Beast's aura surged within the sea of fire. It spread its claws and roared as it rapidly absorbed great amounts of Peach Blossom Flame back into its body. The burning peach trees all blackened, withered, and died, while the Kuimu Beast's aura swiftly skyrocketed after absorbing so much Peach Blossom Flame, faintly surpassing the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake in strength.

A magical beast's strength could greatly surpass its tier within a habitat favorable to it. Just as in a land of magma, a fourth-tier Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake could rival a fifth-tier magical beast.

Within this altered peach grove, every peach tree was fuel for Peach Blossom Flame. Once ignited by the Peach Blossom Flame, their refined energy would be rapidly extracted. After the Kuimu Beast absorbed it in great quantities, it could temporarily enhance its combat strength.

Naturally, this method consumed a great many peach trees. Planting peach trees suitable for transformation was no easy matter for the Kuimu Beast either, so it normally would not use this move lightly.

But this time, the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake had thoroughly enraged it, forcing it to use such a powerful technique. Waves of Peach Blossom Flame continuously swept toward the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake. Wherever they passed, peach branches, blossoms, and leaves were swiftly burned away and absorbed, while the Kuimu Beast's Peach Blossom Flame grew ever more powerful.

The Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake swiftly slithered and dodged, avoiding the Kuimu Beast's attacks time and again while occasionally returning fire with two mouthfuls of crimson molten flame. The two magical beasts did not engage in close combat, making this unlike an ordinary magical beast battle.

In most magical beast battles, both sides relied on the strength of their bodies to fight, with energy clashes occurring only rarely.

But these two were different. Having followed Yan Qingshan for so long, the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake had become clever. Snakes had no claws or limbs, making close combat inherently disadvantageous, and casually coiling around another magical beast was even more dangerous.

The Kuimu Beast looked incredibly sturdy, but it was not actually adept at close combat either. Wood Attribute magical beasts generally did not possess high elemental damage, and their methods against enemies mostly involved close-range grappling. Yet the Kuimu Beast was an oddity among Wood Attribute magical beasts.

Because of its Peach Blossom Flame, its energy abilities were extremely powerful, and it had developed another attack style that primarily used flames. Its claws and fangs were only for probing. When it had failed to get close earlier, it knew that trying to close in and fight was nothing but a dream, so it did not continue attempting it.

The battle between the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake and the Kuimu Beast resembled two mages moving about and trading spells. Crimson flames and peach fire continuously splashed outward in the aftermath. The Peach Blossom Flame was manageable, as the Kuimu Beast absorbed it back into its body, but the crimson flames spread without restraint, setting vast swathes of the peach grove ablaze.

Crimson flames filled the woods, and thick smoke gradually became stinging and choking. The Kuimu Beast grew even angrier. This was its home, yet it was being destroyed like this. Unforgivable!

"Crimson Serpent!"

A voice suddenly rang out from above and to one side. One head of the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake lifted, while wariness flashed through the Kuimu Beast's eyes before it abruptly looked up as well.

High in the sky, Yan Qingshan spread and beat a pair of purple Dou Qi Wings. Three spirit fruits glowing with peach fire had appeared in his hand—the three Peach Fruit that the Kuimu Beast had painstakingly cultivated.

These three Peach Fruit differed from ordinary Peach Fruit. Normal Peach Fruit were merely rations, and the Kuimu Beast did not care much about them.

But these three fruits had been carefully nurtured with the Kuimu Beast's own energy. They could contain, absorb, and store its Peach Blossom Flame, to be used later when breaking through to a higher level.

"Roar!!!"

The Kuimu Beast sprang upward on both feet, flames blazing as it charged straight toward Yan Qingshan in midair. Though it could not use Dou Qi Wings like a human, it possessed the ability to fly and glide briefly. By erupting with Peach Blossom Flame like a rocket thruster, it could fly for a short time.

"Heh..."

Yan Qingshan chuckled. He tossed two of the three Peach Fruit in opposite directions, then rapidly retreated with the final one, forcing the Kuimu Beast to choose one of three.

The Kuimu Beast swiftly flew toward the closest fruit, falling directly into Yan Qingshan's scheme. Yan Qingshan spread his wings and circled toward another fruit, while the already prepared Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake moved in perfect coordination.

The moment the Kuimu Beast caught its treasure, a stream of crimson molten flame struck the center of its body from below. Though the Peach Blossom Flame shielded it from severe burns, the impact still inflicted grave damage.

Bang...

The Kuimu Beast was blasted diagonally into the air. When it landed, its legs gave way and it collapsed powerlessly to the ground. Its trembling limbs could no longer support it in battle.