The chaotic airflow surged through the rocky valley, sweeping loose stones and dust across Lin Yue's cheek. He watched Su Qingyan rush toward the Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma, a faint glow already gathering in his fingertips as Chaos Energy. His suggestion to "split it evenly" had left room for compromise, but his opponent hadn't hesitated for even a moment. Clearly, she hadn't taken his offer seriously.
"Since we can't come to an agreement, we'll just have to settle this by our own abilities." Lin Yue muttered under his breath, then pushed off hard and shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow. He didn't charge straight at the spirit herb. Instead, he circled around to Su Qingyan's rear flank. The chaotic airflow in his dantian suddenly accelerated, and a walnut-sized orb of light flew from his hand, whistling toward her waist.
Su Qingyan was reaching for the Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma when she caught sight of the incoming orb from the corner of her eye. Her expression darkened at once. She clearly hadn't expected Lin Yue to act so decisively. Hurriedly halting her movement and spinning around, she ignited the flame at her fingertips and turned it into a half-foot-long whip, lashing at the orb. With a muffled bang, the flame collided with the Chaos Energy, bursting into a wave of scorching heat that made the surrounding stones sizzle.
"You're asking for death!" Su Qingyan roared, forced back half a step by the blow. The spirit herb she'd nearly claimed was now just that much farther away. Flames flared around her, and a wave of heat swept outward, as if even the air had caught fire. "I never wanted to hurt you. You're the one trying to steal what doesn't belong to you!"
Using the heat wave as cover, Lin Yue had already rushed to within several feet of the Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma. He could clearly smell the rich vitality emanating from the spirit herb. Its fragrance flowed through his nostrils and into his body, making even the chaotic airflow circulating in his dantian grow more active. "We'll see whose it is after one of us takes it." He gave a cold laugh and pushed off with one foot, abruptly darting sideways. The flames Su Qingyan had gathered shot toward him like arrows, grazing his shoulder before striking the cliff behind him and exploding in a shower of sparks.
The two instantly fell into a fierce struggle, their figures darting back and forth through the rocky valley. Su Qingyan's flames were immensely powerful; every attack came with the force to scorch mountains and boil seas. They burned black furrows into the ground, and rocks melted into boiling lava at their touch. But her flames took time to gather. Before each attack, the light at her fingertips had to flicker several times before forming a strike.
Lin Yue took perfect advantage of that. He could conjure Chaos Little Light Orbs incredibly quickly—nearly as soon as the thought crossed his mind. Small and nimble, they flew along unpredictable paths, harrying Su Qingyan whenever she was gathering her flames. More importantly, he knew the terrain of the rocky valley. He weaved between the jagged rocks, sometimes hiding behind boulders, sometimes circling into Su Qingyan's blind spots, making her attacks miss again and again.
"You cowardly rat, all you do is skulk around!" Su Qingyan's fury mounted as Lin Yue's hit-and-run tactics wore her down. She drew a deep breath, and the flames around her abruptly contracted, converging in her palm to form a long sword wreathed in blazing fire. "Fire Spirit Sword Art!" With a sharp cry, she swept the sword across. A several-yard-long blade of flame tore through the air, slashing toward the boulder where Lin Yue was hiding.
"Not good!" Lin Yue's pupils contracted. He could feel the terrifying energy contained in the sword wave; it was far beyond her previous attacks. He didn't dare meet it head-on. Planting his toes firmly against the cliff, he sprang upward like a gecko and barely dodged the attack. Behind him, the boulder split apart with a crash, its severed face still burning with eerie blue flames.
Taking advantage of his leap, Lin Yue closed in on the Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma. He reached out, his fingertips only inches from the herb's leaves. He could even sense the gentle energy flowing through the three golden blades.
"Don't even think about it!" Seeing this, Su Qingyan didn't bother to recall her flaming sword. She flicked a finger, sending three sparks streaking toward Lin Yue's wrist like meteors. She had calculated that if he reached for the herb, he wouldn't be able to dodge an attack from so close.
Lin Yue really couldn't dodge. His thoughts raced, and he chose to press forward rather than retreat. He slammed his left hand onto the ground beside the Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma, using the rebound to tilt his body to the right, while his right hand shot forward. The sparks grazed the back of his hand, leaving three painful red marks, but his fingertips finally touched one of the golden leaves!
The instant his fingertips brushed the leaf, Lin Yue felt warmth surge through his dantian. The Dao Rhyme Fragment that had lain dormant for so long trembled faintly. An indescribable insight flowed through his meridians and spread across his body, as if some kind of barrier had suddenly been broken. His control over Chaos Energy became astonishingly precise. He could even clearly "see" the path of Su Qingyan's next attack.
"Hm?" Lin Yue's heart stirred, and he instinctively urged the Chaos Energy into motion. An orb of light, smaller than before but far more concentrated, shot from his fingertip. It no longer flew in a straight line, instead tracing a strange arc through the air. It skimmed past Su Qingyan's arm and struck a rock behind her with pinpoint accuracy.
Crack! The rock shattered, and flying stone fragments struck Su Qingyan's cheek, making her falter. In that brief instant, Lin Yue seized his chance and yanked hard—the leaf of the Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma tore free!
"How dare you!" Su Qingyan was shocked and furious. She hadn't expected Lin Yue to snatch the spirit herb right under her nose. Without even wiping the dust from her cheek, she swung her flaming sword again. This time, her target wasn't Lin Yue but the golden leaf in his hand.
Lin Yue had just put the leaf into his storage pouch when he saw the flames coming. He hurriedly leaped back to dodge. The two separated once more, both turning their eyes to the two golden leaves still left on the herb. The air was thick with tension.
"Now we each have one. Surely we can split what's left evenly?" Lin Yue said, panting. The burning pain in the back of his hand was still spreading, but a strange excitement welled in his heart at the Dao Rhyme Fragment's stirring. That moment of precise control had given him a whole new understanding of how to use Chaos Energy.
Su Qingyan only sneered, pointing her flaming sword at Lin Yue. "You think what you stole counts? This spirit herb should have been mine from the start. That leaf in your hand too—you'd better give it back!" With that, she charged him again, flames surging like a tide. She clearly had no intention of letting the matter go.
Lin Yue furrowed his brow. Knowing there was no point in negotiating, he could only gather another Chaos Light Orb to meet her attack. Just as their strikes were about to collide, a vast, murderous aura suddenly swept out from the depths of the rocky valley. A deafening roar followed, and the entire ground began to shake violently.
Both of them were startled. They stopped fighting and looked toward the sound, only to see a gigantic black bear emerge from the shadows. Its body was covered in black shaggy fur, and its eyes were red as blood. Each heavy step shattered the rocks beneath it. It was a high-tier Chaos Fierce Beast—the Chaos Giant Bear!
What made their hearts sink even further was that the Chaos Giant Bear was staring fixedly at the Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma on the ground. Clearly, the scent of vitality wafting from the spirit herb had drawn the beast here.
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