Hunting the Lizard Alone, Testing His Edge

The sky had only just begun to brighten, and Clear Spring Eye Valley was still shrouded in a quiet gray-blue haze. The campfire was nearly out, with only a few wisps of faint smoke remaining.

Lin Chen silently left the boulder where he had meditated all night. He did not disturb anyone; even his footsteps were as light as a breeze brushing over the ground.

He glanced back at the carriage parked in the center of the valley and the guards curled up or leaning back as they rested nearby. Su Lie was propped against a rock, seemingly dozing, his eyelids twitching faintly from time to time.

Without lingering, Lin Chen turned and headed in the opposite direction from which they had come—deeper into the canyon. He did not walk quickly, but every step was exceptionally steady, landing precisely on solid ground and avoiding loose stones that might make a sound.

Once he left the range of Clear Spring Eye, the canyon wind immediately grew fiercer. It carried a coarse texture as it swept over the bare rock walls, producing mournful howls. The air also became drier and colder.

The terrain here differed from that at the entrance. The cliffs on either side seemed steeper, their color a deep ocher. Their surfaces were covered in traces of wind erosion, twisted into strange shapes. Jagged rocks littered the ground, with scarcely a patch of level earth to be found. Walking through them required constantly adjusting one's footing.

Lin Chen fully released his senses, which spread like an invisible net over a radius of several hundred meters. The sound of the wind, the faint vibrations of stones, the flow of energy through the air... every piece of information was caught and filtered by him. The Myriad Dao Fusion Art was not merely a cultivation method for refining energy; it also greatly strengthened his five senses and six perceptions, granting him insight into his surroundings far beyond that of cultivators at the same level.

He was searching.

Searching for the second-rank demonic beasts Su Lie had mentioned, those entrenched in the middle reaches of the canyon.

Wind Splitter Eagles were too nimble and operated high in the sky, making them difficult to catch. Rockhide Lizards, on the other hand, were terrestrial demonic beasts. Though their defenses might be stronger, they were easier to track.

He advanced along the canyon's winding path, his sharp gaze sweeping over the ground and rock walls. He watched for every unusual trace—claw prints, signs of scraping, strange odors that did not belong to plants.

After walking for roughly half an hour, he had ventured seven or eight li into the canyon.

Lin Chen came to a halt before a relatively open field of scattered boulders.

The wind here seemed weaker than elsewhere, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of sand. Upon that sand were several rows of enormous, distinct claw prints.

The prints had three toes, each tipped with a broad, blunt end, and the impressions were extremely deep. Every one of them was as large as a sea bowl. Judging by their spacing and depth, the creature that had left them was massive and astonishingly heavy. The sand around the edges had been compressed, carrying a sense of crushing weight.

A Rockhide Lizard.

Lin Chen had reached his conclusion. The characteristics of these claw prints closely matched what he knew of Rockhide Lizards.

He crouched and carefully inspected the prints. They were very fresh; the sand at their edges had yet to be fully smoothed by the wind. They had likely been left not long ago. The trail pointed toward a shadowed area beneath a rock wall beyond the boulder field.

There also seemed to be a faint, distinctive odor lingering in the air, carrying the earthy tang of soil.

Lin Chen rose to his feet and turned his gaze toward that patch of shadow. His breathing became even softer as Furnace True Qi began circulating slowly within him, readying him for any sudden danger.

Rather than walk straight over, he took a small arc around the area, using the scattered boulders for cover as he silently drew closer.

Before long, he reached the edge of the boulder field and concealed himself behind a huge rock half a man tall. From there, he could clearly see the situation beneath the rock wall.

A gigantic creature lay sprawled across a relatively flat patch of sand beneath a recessed section of cliff.

The creature was over five meters long and nearly two meters tall at the shoulder, built as powerfully as a young calf. Its body was covered in a thick layer of scale armor with the texture of stone, a dull grayish-brown that nearly blended into the surrounding rocks. Its limbs were thick and powerful, its claws sunk deep into the sand. A long, heavy tail dragged behind it, ending in a bony protrusion. Its head was comparatively small, its eyes half-closed as though it were dozing.

It was indeed a Rockhide Lizard!

An adult second-rank demonic beast.

Lin Chen could sense that the energy fluctuations radiating from within this Rockhide Lizard were far stronger than those of the Scaled Earth Dragon Beast and Wind Viper Snake he had encountered before, carrying a dense, heavy presence. The stone scales covering its body gave off an even greater impression of being indestructible.

This was unquestionably a troublesome opponent.

Yet a barely perceptible flicker of excitement flashed through Lin Chen's eyes.

The more powerful the demonic beast, the more vast and pure the energy contained within its essence blood and demon core. The better they would nourish the Myriad Dao Furnace.

He did not rush to attack.

He observed in silence.

The Rockhide Lizard seemed entirely at ease with its surroundings. It lay there without moving, only its belly rising and falling faintly with each breath. Sunlight had begun to spill into the canyon, but the place where it rested remained in shadow. It appeared to prefer the cool shade.

Lin Chen's gaze swept across the Rockhide Lizard's body, searching for possible weaknesses.

Stone scales covered most of its body, granting it astonishing defense. But the scales around its belly, where its neck connected to its body, and around its eyes seemed comparatively thinner.

At the same time, he studied the terrain around them. Though the boulder field was open, the scattered rocks could offer limited cover. The Rockhide Lizard was enormous, and its movements might not be overly agile—especially in this environment of strewn boulders.

The opportunity lay in speed and precise strikes.

Lin Chen drew a deep breath and adjusted his condition. Furnace True Qi accelerated through his Meridians, filling every limb and bone with a sense of strength. The Glimmerstone in his robes seemed to sense the energy about to erupt from him, transmitting a faint thread of warmth.

Now!

Lin Chen shot out from behind the boulder like an arrow loosed from its bow!

He moved with shocking speed, his toes touching down and springing off the ground in several swift steps, kicking up a trail of dust as he charged straight at the still-dozing Rockhide Lizard!

Almost the instant he burst forth, the Rockhide Lizard snapped its eyes open! Alertness and brutality flashed through those earthy-yellow vertical pupils.

ROAR!

A deep roar surged from its throat, carrying an intimidating force. Its enormous body sprang upright with speed utterly mismatched to its size, and its thick foreclaws slammed viciously into the ground!

BANG!

The earth shuddered as a ripple of earthen-yellow energy spread outward from beneath its foreclaws! Sand and stones all around were jolted into the air!

This was one of the Rockhide Lizard's innate abilities: Ground Wave Tremor! It could disrupt an opponent's movements and even inflict damage.

Lin Chen had expected it. Before the energy reached him, he explosively pushed off the ground, forcefully lifting his body half a foot into the air. At the same time, he twisted deftly, narrowly evading the core area of the shockwave!

The instant he landed, he did not pause in the slightest. His right fist clenched tight, Furnace True Qi condensed to the extreme around his knuckles. With an unstoppable momentum, he smashed it fiercely toward the relatively vulnerable point where the Rockhide Lizard's neck joined its body!

The Rockhide Lizard clearly had not expected its opponent to be so fast, nor to evade its Ground Wave Tremor. In its haste, it twisted its neck, trying to avoid the vital point.

Sss!

Lin Chen's fist ultimately failed to strike the connection at the neck head-on. Instead, it grazed the edge and slammed heavily into the thick scales covering its shoulder and neck!

Thud!

A dull sound rang out, like a blow landing on solid rock!

Lin Chen felt a tremendous recoil travel back through his fist, leaving his arm slightly numb.

The struck Rockhide Lizard merely swayed its massive body. A faint white mark appeared on the scales at its shoulder and neck, but they had not been shattered!

Such strong defense! Lin Chen's heart tightened.

The hardness of those stone scales far exceeded his expectations. Even a punch infused with Furnace True Qi had done no more than leave a mark.

The Rockhide Lizard, pained by the blow, flew completely into a rage!

It violently swung its thick, long tail like an iron whip, sweeping toward Lin Chen with a howling gust! Several boulders half a man tall were smashed to pieces wherever its tail passed!

Lin Chen's pupils contracted slightly. He did not dare receive the blow head-on. He pushed off with his feet and retreated at high speed, constantly shifting his position and using the scattered rocks as cover to evade the Rockhide Lizard's savage attacks.

Seeing that its strike had missed, the Rockhide Lizard grew even angrier. It strode heavily after Lin Chen. Every step it took made the ground tremble faintly. Its enormous body barreled through the rocky shore, easily knocking aside or crushing every stone in its way.

For a time, shattered rocks flew everywhere and dust filled the air.

Lin Chen moved nimbly, weaving and dodging through the boulders like a phantom. He did not clash head-on with the Rockhide Lizard, instead continuously circling it in search of an opening.

His mind raced as he analyzed his opponent's attack patterns. The Rockhide Lizard's strength and defense were indeed astonishing, but it was relatively slow, and its turns were not agile enough.

An opportunity!

When the Rockhide Lizard's fierce pounce missed and its body stiffened for a brief instant, a sharp gleam flashed in Lin Chen's eyes!

Rather than retreating, he surged forward, aiming directly at the Rockhide Lizard's flank! The scales there seemed somewhat thinner than those on its back, shoulders, and neck!

This time, he did not use his fists. Instead, he held his fingers together like a blade, Furnace True Qi gathering at his fingertips and glimmering with a faint light!

Gale Finger!

This was a move he had developed from the Lin Family's basic martial techniques. Empowered by Furnace True Qi, its penetrating power was exceptionally strong!

Squelch!

His fingertips struck precisely into a gap between the scales on the Rockhide Lizard's flank!

A strand of True Qi condensed to the utmost limit erupted!

Aoo!

The Rockhide Lizard let out a pained hiss! Though the scales on its flank had not been fully pierced, the True Qi that invaded its body had clearly inflicted considerable damage!

Racked by intense pain, the Rockhide Lizard became even more frenzied! It abruptly opened its jaws, and an earthen-yellow glow gathered within its mouth!

Not good! Earth Element Impact!

Alarm bells blared in Lin Chen's mind! This was the Rockhide Lizard's most powerful ranged attack!

He did not dare delay. He fiercely kicked off the ground, his body shooting diagonally backward like a cannonball!

Almost at the exact moment he left his original position—

Boom!

A beam of earthen-yellow light as thick as the mouth of a bowl blasted from the Rockhide Lizard's mouth, violently striking the spot where Lin Chen had just stood!

The ground exploded into a huge crater, rocks spraying in every direction! Its power was terrifying!

Lin Chen landed more than ten meters away. Looking at the crater blasted into the ground, a trace of cold sweat seeped from his forehead. Had he been struck head-on, even with the strength of his current physique, he would likely have been severely injured.

Having missed its attack, the Rockhide Lizard seemed to have expended a considerable amount of energy as well, its movements slowing for an instant.

Lin Chen seized that opening!

He gave the Rockhide Lizard no chance to catch its breath! His figure shot forward again! This time, rather than attacking the scales head-on, he circled behind the Rockhide Lizard!

The Rockhide Lizard sensed movement behind it and hurriedly twisted its cumbersome body.

But Lin Chen was faster!

He leaped high into the air, both hands clenched into fists as Furnace True Qi poured into them without reserve!

His target: the Rockhide Lizard's back of the head!

Though that area was also covered in scales, compared with the top of its head and its back, it was one of its relatively weaker defensive spots!

"Break!"

Lin Chen shouted low, his fists crashing down like falling meteors!

Bang! Bang!

Two consecutive, muffled booms rang out!

This time, the scales on the back of the Rockhide Lizard's head could finally no longer withstand such concentrated heavy blows! Distinct cracks appeared across them!

Aoo!!!

The Rockhide Lizard let out a shrill, miserable howl. Its enormous body shuddered violently, and its movements descended into complete chaos.

Lin Chen landed and, without the slightest hesitation, charged forward again! His fists fell like raindrops, hammering relentlessly at the crack in the back of the Rockhide Lizard's head!

Crack! Crack!

The fissure widened without end!

Finally!

Splat!

As Lin Chen's final heavy punch came down, the scales at the back of the Rockhide Lizard's head shattered completely! Violent force penetrated within and smashed its skull to pieces!

The Rockhide Lizard's enormous body suddenly went rigid. The light vanished from its earth-yellow vertical pupils, and then it crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, kicking up clouds of dust.

The battle was over.

Lin Chen stood where he was, breathing slightly heavily.

Though the fight had not lasted long, it had drained him greatly. The final consecutive bursts in particular had nearly emptied half the Furnace True Qi within him.

Yet the Myriad Dao Furnace inside his body was now circulating on its own, rapidly absorbing the sparse ambient essence in the air. At the same time, the Glimmerstone in his robes sent out threads of cool energy, replenishing his expenditure. His recovery speed far surpassed that of ordinary people.

A moment later, his breathing had already steadied.

He walked to the Rockhide Lizard's massive corpse. Looking at the second-tier demon beast he had personally hunted, his eyes showed little emotion.

He extended a hand, circulating Furnace True Qi as he precisely split open the Rockhide Lizard's skull and chest cavity.

Very quickly, he extracted a fist-sized demon core glowing with an earth-yellow aura and brimming with energy. At the same time, he collected the most refined portion of blood essence from its heart, carefully storing it in the Jade Bottle he had brought.

Although the Rockhide Lizard's scales were hard, they were of little use to him, so he did not bother stripping them off.

Having finished all this, Lin Chen rose to his feet. Feeling the vast energy contained within the demon core and blood essence, he gave a slight nod inwardly.

This trip had not been in vain.

The harvest from this Rockhide Lizard would be enough to give his Myriad Dao Furnace a hearty feast.

He glanced at the sky. A little over two hours had passed since he left the Clear Spring Eye.

It was time to return.

He put away the demon core and blood essence, cast one final glance toward the dark, twisting path deeper within the gorge, then turned around and quickly headed back the way he had come.