Evil Fire Snake Lion

Chapter Eight: Evil-Fire Serpent Lion

Bi Fan moved quickly, afraid the Magic Beast would get too far away.

Suddenly, he felt the little fellow in his arms stir. The Dragon Sable had woken up.

Compared with fighting the Magic Beast, Bi Fan was more worried about the little Dragon Sable.

Bi Fan took the Dragon Sable out and examined it carefully. It had barely changed in appearance; it was still just as tiny, though its white fur had grown even whiter and brighter, and its eyes were more lively and alert.

"Gluttonous Sable, you're hungry, aren't you? Here, eat these." Bi Fan took two spiritual medicines from the Heavenly Origin Ring.

The Dragon Sable snatched the spiritual medicines and gobbled them down in a few bites. After finishing, it gazed at Bi Fan pitifully, apparently still not full.

"Gluttonous Sable, I didn't expect you to get even greedier after evolving," Bi Fan said with a laugh.

The Dragon Sable ate two more spiritual medicines before finally letting out a satisfied burp.

"Gluttonous Sable, you eat so much that I'm afraid I won't be able to afford to raise you." Bi Fan patted his forehead.

"Squeak, squeak..." The Dragon Sable cried out in protest, as if saying, "I don't eat that much."

Looking at the Dragon Sable's adorable appearance, Bi Fan smiled warmly. "Gluttonous Sable, stay in my arms for now. I'm going to find a powerful Magic Beast to spar with."

Another enormous beast's roar rang out, and Bi Fan sped up.

A moment later, Bi Fan finally saw what the Magic Beast looked like.

It had fiery red fur and looked much like a male lion. It stood two zhang tall and stretched three zhang long. Most terrifying of all was its pitch-black snake tail, which was four zhang long.

"Evil Fire Snake Lion!" Bi Fan was utterly shocked.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion was an exceptionally powerful and wicked Magic Beast. Its body was formidable, and its snake tail was poisonous. Once it reached the Spiritual Power Realm, it could even unleash fire attacks.

Bi Fan sensed the aura of the Evil Fire Snake Lion before him. It was a Magic Beast in the Spiritual Wisdom Realm.

If the Evil Fire Snake Lion had reached the Great Strength Realm, its incredible combat prowess would have sent Bi Fan fleeing at once.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion had clearly come out to hunt. Its sharp foreclaws pinned down a rhinoceros weighing five or six hundred jin, which was already at death's door.

Bi Fan didn't act right away. He wanted to follow the Evil Fire Snake Lion and find out where its cave was.

Powerful Magic Beasts usually guarded treasures, such as spiritual medicines and crystal ores.

If he tracked down the Evil Fire Snake Lion's cave, he was sure to find something.

When the fight began, he would have the Dragon Sable take the chance to steal the treasures. Of course, they had to be small; if they were too big, there was nothing the Dragon Sable could do.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion carried the five- or six-hundred-jin rhinoceros in its mouth with ease, hurrying through the forest.

Bi Fan followed far behind, taking great care.

About an hour later, they reached a deep valley. The Evil Fire Snake Lion laid its prey on a broad, flat rock and began to enjoy its meal.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion was hungry, and its strength was diminished. This was the best time to challenge it.

As soon as the Dragon Sable reached the valley, it grew terribly excited. There were obviously good things hidden there.

Bi Fan gave the Dragon Sable some instructions, set it down, and strode forward.

"Roar!" The Evil Fire Snake Lion spotted Bi Fan, opened its bloody maw, and roared.

It was enjoying a delicious meal and hated being disturbed. Instantly, it flew into a rage, its eyes turning red.

Before Bi Fan could move, the Evil Fire Snake Lion's long tail swept toward him.

Its pitch-black tail was as thick as an arm, covered in scales and lined with barbed spikes.

If the barbs tore his skin, the poison would enter his body.

Although Bi Fan had taken a Bilo Pill, he didn't dare let the poisonous tail hit him. The Bilo Pill might not be able to neutralize the Evil Fire Snake Lion's venom.

Even without the poison, the force behind the Evil Fire Snake Lion's tail was immense. A blow from it would hurt terribly.

Bi Fan focused all his Spiritual Power. He used the basic footwork of the Misty Dance to dodge.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion's tail struck a round boulder about a meter in radius, shattering it into pieces that scattered across the ground.

Bi Fan clicked his tongue in secret and grew even more cautious, afraid of taking a blow.

At the same time, Bi Fan rushed toward the Evil Fire Snake Lion. Once he got close, its tail wouldn't be very useful.

"Whap! Whap!..." The Evil Fire Snake Lion lashed out wildly. Trees and rocks nearby suffered for it. Great trees were snapped in half, while huge rocks were smashed to pieces.

Bi Fan was fast, but each time he barely managed to dodge. He had to stay intensely alert.

A moment later, Bi Fan was only about two meters from the Evil Fire Snake Lion. He drew the Flowing Light Sword and unleashed the Qingyang Gentle Wind Sword Art.

Once a Magic Beast in the Spiritual Wisdom Realm used its inner breath to protect itself, its body would surely become incredibly tough.

The Flowing Light Sword was only a high-grade Magic Tool. If it struck the Evil Fire Snake Lion, it would at most knock off a few hairs.

Bi Fan didn't mind. He was only using the Evil Fire Snake Lion to hone his martial skills; he had never intended to kill it.

And so, a man and a Magic Beast fought in a fierce battle.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion couldn't use its tail to attack at close range, but it still had a huge mouth, sharp teeth, and claws. These were its most formidable weapons.

It clawed, bit, rammed, pounced...

It tried every trick in the book, using everything it had.

Bi Fan was nimble. At critical moments, he used the Carefree Immortal Finger to execute sword moves and save himself. Though he was in a sorry state, he was uninjured.

The Carefree Immortal Finger consumed too much inner breath, so Bi Fan rarely used it. He saved it for critical moments when he needed to deal with an immediate threat.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion had been thoroughly enraged by Bi Fan. It roared again and again, launching one ferocious attack after another as it tried to tear him apart.

Bi Fan attacked while retreating, deliberately leading the Evil Fire Snake Lion away from the valley to give the Dragon Sable a chance to act unseen.

Before long, Bi Fan had lured the Evil Fire Snake Lion away from the valley and into the forest.

In the forest, the Evil Fire Snake Lion's poisonous tail was restricted and could hardly show its might. Bi Fan felt much more at ease.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion was so huge that its agility in the forest suffered as well.

Bi Fan focused on practicing his martial skills, repeating all kinds of sword moves. Each time he practiced, he gained new insights.

Even with the same sword move, a slight difference in the angle or force of a thrust could change its power. He needed to explore these subtleties gradually.

And he needed an opponent to practice against. He couldn't work these things out on his own.

Only by testing his moves against a powerful opponent again and again could he discover the ideal force and angle for each strike. He might even develop entirely new moves.

Powerful opponents were hard to find. Magic Beasts had thick skin and tough flesh, making them the best sparring partners.

Apart from watching out for the Evil Fire Snake Lion's attacks, Bi Fan practiced his moves to his heart's content. He had already performed the Qingyang Gentle Wind Sword Art more than ten times.

He didn't limit himself to swordsmanship. He even fought the Evil Fire Snake Lion hand-to-hand, using both the Myriad Ancestor Fist and the Dragon Roaring Tiger Howling Fist. He gained just as much from that.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion had been getting thrashed by Bi Fan the whole time. Though it wasn't injured, his attacks had still roused its ferocity.

"Roar!" The Evil Fire Snake Lion flew into a rage and smashed every tree around it.

The towering trees crashed down with a tremendous racket, making Bi Fan dodge in a hurry.

"Squeak, squeak..." The Dragon Sable had returned. He didn't know whether it had found anything.

Bi Fan felt that his inner breath was nearly exhausted, so he withdrew.

When the Evil Fire Snake Lion was in a blind fury, it was best to avoid its sharp edge.

Bi Fan ran, and the Evil Fire Snake Lion pursued him relentlessly.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion was very fast, so Bi Fan had to zigzag through the forest, deliberately choosing places where the trees grew thickly.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion was too large. To pursue Bi Fan, it had to take detours or knock down the trees. Either way, it lost time.

Bi Fan finally managed to shake off the Evil Fire Snake Lion. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the Dragon Sable arrived.

In the forest, the Dragon Sable was the fastest of all. Bi Fan couldn't compare.

A black lotus dangled from the Dragon Sable's mouth. It was as large as a washbasin, and the Dragon Sable had carried it back by its stem.

The black lotus glimmered with a deep, dark sheen, like black flames rising into the air.

Bi Fan had once glimpsed one by chance and knew what kind of spiritual medicine it was—or rather, calling it a poison would be more accurate.

It was an Evil Fire Poison Lotus. It was highly poisonous, yet also held an abundance of spiritual energy. It was an exceptionally precious Mysterious Grade Spiritual Medicine, and surely the Evil Fire Snake Lion's favorite.

Spiritual medicines were divided into nine grades: Yellow, Mysterious, Earth, Heaven, King, Emperor, Sovereign, Venerable, and Legendary. Each grade was further divided by age into four ranks: low, middle, high, and supreme.

If the Evil Fire Snake Lion consumed the Evil Fire Poison Lotus, it would surely evolve.

"Gluttonous Sable, let me see it," Bi Fan said excitedly.

Bi Fan had rarely encountered Mysterious Grade Spiritual Medicines. The spiritual medicines he had cultivated before were all Yellow Grade. A lowly herb boy like him had never been entrusted with caring for Mysterious Grade medicines.

The Seven-Colored Fruit and the Thousand-Year Ginseng he had seen in the mysterious canyon last time were also Mysterious Grade Spiritual Medicines.

The Evil Fire Poison Lotus was extremely rare, far more precious than the Seven-Colored Fruit or the Thousand-Year Ginseng.

The Dragon Sable was very reluctant, but still handed over the Evil Fire Poison Lotus.

Bi Fan was very careful. He wrapped his clothes around the stem and picked it up.

He was about to examine it closely when countless strands of Black Silk suddenly emerged from inside his body and enveloped the Evil Fire Poison Lotus.

This was the first time Bi Fan had seen the Black Silk appear. His heart filled with fear.

The Dragon Sable was even more frightened by the Black Silk. It fled far away, crying out in terror.

The Evil Fire Poison Lotus gradually dissolved, until it vanished completely. Even its stem had turned to nothing.

The Black Silk seemed to shine even more brightly, then sank into his body and disappeared without a trace.

Bi Fan stood frozen, unable to speak for a long time.

How could the Black Silk have come out of his body? What exactly was it? Why had it devoured the Evil Fire Poison Lotus?...

Bi Fan's heart was full of confusion and fear.

"Squeak, squeak..." The Dragon Sable was furious. The Evil Fire Poison Lotus was its favorite food—not only was it rich in spiritual energy, it was also highly toxic.

Naturally, the Dragon Sable was angry that the Evil Fire Poison Lotus had disappeared.

However, the Dragon Sable was also terrified of the Black Silk inside Bi Fan and didn't dare go anywhere near him.

The Dragon Sable's cries startled Bi Fan. He felt over his body to see whether anything was wrong.

"Good, nothing seems to have gone wrong." Bi Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

"But what exactly is that Black Silk? How did it get inside my body?" Confusion weighed heavily on Bi Fan, and his head began to ache.

Bi Fan carefully examined his body. There was nothing abnormal, and he found nothing at all. He began to look within and check the state of his body.

The End.