Red Fox, Ink Cloud Blood Leopard

Relying on the Forest Penetrating Deer Movement Technique, Lu Chuan continually darted through the jungle, moving along the edges of Python Mountain.

His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, taking in everything around him.

He gripped his bow and arrow tightly, ready to loose a killing shot at any moment.

About half an hour later.

As Lu Chuan passed through a thorny thicket, his eyes suddenly narrowed. The arrow in his hand shot out like flowing light, straight towards a patch of weeds a hundred meters away.

Whoosh, whoosh...

A low whistle tore through the air, and the hundred-meter distance vanished in an instant.

But just then, a crimson figure suddenly sprang out of the meter-high weeds.

It nimbly evaded Lu Chuan's arrow and fled into the distant woods at high speed, vanishing after a few flashes.

"That was a Red Fox..."

Lu Chuan's eyes lit up, and even his breathing quickened.

Red Foxes were First-Rank Fierce Beasts. Their attack power was low, but they were incredibly fast.

More importantly, their fur was naturally cold-resistant and greatly favored by the noblewomen and young ladies of the Inner City. A single Red Fox pelt started at one hundred thousand, perhaps even more for a better one.

Its pair of eyes were naturally crimson, more dazzling than any ruby.

They were likewise beloved by the wealthy.

The value of those two eyes was no less than that of its fur.

"At least two hundred thousand!"

Lu Chuan's eyes turned somewhat red, his heart pounding faster.

Chase!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Chuan immediately erupted with his maximum speed, pushing the Forest Penetrating Deer Movement Technique to its limit as he chased straight towards where the Red Fox had vanished.

He had never imagined that on his very first trip into Python Mountain, he would encounter a Red Fox.

Hunting this brute would be worth more than hunting twenty Fierce Beasts.

As long as I kill this brute, I can pay off Father's loan. There'll even be money left over to improve things at home. Mother and Younger Sister won't have anything to worry about, and only then can I cultivate with peace of mind.

As Lu Chuan thought to himself, his speed increased by several degrees.

As he pursued it all the way, Lu Chuan grew faster and faster.

He did not notice at all that the information on the System Panel within his Sea of Consciousness was constantly refreshing.

[Five Elements Stance Training +1]

[Five Elements Stance Training +3]

[Five Elements Stance Training +2]

...

Line after line flashed past, and the proficiency of the already perfected Five Elements Stance Training was increasing at an astonishing rate.

This was because Lu Chuan had been continuously using the Forest Penetrating Deer Movement Technique while pursuing the Red Fox.

In essence, this was also a form of cultivation.

It was even more effective than Lu Chuan's arduous training in his room.

As the proficiency of the Five Elements Stance Training continued to rise, Lu Chuan did not realize at all that the speed beneath his feet was also growing faster and faster.

It was as though divine inspiration had descended upon him. After suddenly using the Forest Penetrating Deer Movement Technique, it became far more natural and effortless.

He weaved through the forest with incomparable ease and composure.

It was as if he had been born to belong to this forest—passing through ten thousand trees without a single leaf touching him.

A moment later.

Lu Chuan actually saw the Red Fox again. It emerged from a thicket, completely unaware that Lu Chuan had caught up.

"Five hundred meters. That's enough..."

Lu Chuan's eyes narrowed. His bow was drawn full like the moon, his arrow like flowing light.

Whoosh, whoosh...

Accompanied by a low blast of wind, the sharp arrow tore across the sky, instantly crossing five hundred meters as it shot fiercely at the Red Fox, which was likewise racing forward.

This arrow was fast and urgent.

Yet the Red Fox seemed even faster. When the arrow was less than a meter away, the brute abruptly accelerated, evading Lu Chuan's shot once more.

But all of this was within Lu Chuan's calculations.

Thus, after shooting that first arrow, Lu Chuan did not pause in the slightest and fired three more arrows at the same time.

The three sharp arrows shot out in a triangular formation.

They shot respectively towards the Red Fox's front and roughly two meters to either side.

Whoosh, whoosh... Bang...

The next instant, accompanied by a dull thud.

The arrow that had originally been fired in front of the Red Fox suddenly pierced through the brute's body.

That was only because, in order to evade Lu Chuan's first arrow, the brute had lunged forward. Though it avoided the first arrow, it crashed straight into the one behind it.

"Screech..."

At once, accompanied by a shrill cry, the powerful impact of the arrow carried the Red Fox's body more than ten meters before nailing it viciously to a towering ancient tree.

For a moment, blood flowed everywhere.

The arrow had pierced through its entire body. Even with a Fierce Beast's tenacious Vitality, it could not withstand such an injury.

After struggling a few times, it completely lost its Life Force.

"Hahaha... Two hundred thousand is mine..."

Lu Chuan could not help laughing. With a fierce leap, he immediately rushed towards the Red Fox.

The several hundred meters vanished in an instant.

Lu Chuan pulled the arrow from the Red Fox's corpse and casually tossed it into his Arrow Quiver. He was just about to take out his dagger and cut away the Red Fox's fur and dig out its eyes.

Just then, a sudden change arose.

A dense, fierce Bloody Aura rushed into his nostrils.

Every hair on Lu Chuan's body stood on end. Instinctively, he tossed the Red Fox's corpse into his backpack and turned sideways to look towards a patch of forest on his left.

There, he saw a leopard whose entire body was blood-red, while its four paws were black as ink-clouds, suddenly burst out of the forest and pounce straight at Lu Chuan.

"A First-Order Peak Fierce Beast, an Ink Cloud Blood Leopard. Fuck... Run..."

Every hair on Lu Chuan's body exploded in an instant. He instinctively shot an arrow at the leopard Fierce Beast, then immediately turned and fled at full speed.

A First-Order Peak Fierce Beast possessed strength comparable to a Martial Artist at the peak of the Ninth Rank Skin Refining Realm.

Its Combat Power was even more ferocious.

How could he possibly provoke such an existence right now?

Run!

Run, now!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Chuan fled for his life. Wherever the forest was densest, he sprinted in that direction.

At that moment, he pushed the Forest Penetrating Deer Movement Technique to its absolute limit.

Roar, roar...

Behind him, the Ink Cloud Blood Leopard, standing three or four meters tall, pursued without letting up. It let out low roars, its eyes crimson, exuding a foul, bloody stench.

With a single leap, it covered nearly a hundred meters.

Lu Chuan could clearly feel the fierce, bloody aura behind him constantly drawing closer. He knew the Ink Cloud Blood Leopard was catching up.

But he did not dare look back, afraid that one glance would cost him precious time.

At that moment, he had only one thought: run for his life. He only wished Mother had given birth to him with one more leg.

Boom... Bang...

More than a minute later, Lu Chuan suddenly felt a chill run down his back as an icy gale swept towards him.

Almost on instinct, he performed a lazy donkey roll on the spot, tumbling into the weeds beside him. At that very moment, the Ink Cloud Blood Leopard lunged down viciously, smashing into the spot where Lu Chuan had just been.

The ground was shaken apart, cracks spreading in all directions like a spiderweb.

In an instant, they covered an area more than ten meters around them.

The force of that strike had likely exceeded ten thousand jin.

If it had landed squarely on him, Lu Chuan suspected he would have been flattened into a meat pancake.

Roar!

A low, furious roar came from the Ink Cloud Blood Leopard. Its copper-bell-sized eyes stared fixedly at Lu Chuan, while foul saliva continually dripped from its mouth.

The sight made Lu Chuan's scalp tingle and sent a chill through his entire body.

"I can't escape. Since that's the case, I'll risk it all!"

Lu Chuan gritted his teeth, pulled a dagger from his boot, and prepared to fight for his life.

In close combat, bow and arrow were of little use. They were better to than the dagger in his hand.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Chuan instead calmed down at that moment. A savage gleam flashed in his eyes, and his killing intent was laid bare.

"Kill..."

The next moment, he actually moved first.

With a low growl, he moved like a fierce tiger and charged straight at the Ink Cloud Blood Leopard.