The Great Battle

"Swoosh!"

A streak of azure light tore through the sky above the mountain forest with astonishing speed.

Before long, Lu Chuan spotted Huang Feihu and his men marching rapidly through the woods below, heading toward another mountain peak.

He merely glanced at them before continuing on his way.

"Roar!"

However, just as Lu Chuan crossed two peaks and was looking down to search for traces of the fierce beast, a furious roar suddenly erupted from the forest below.

The roar was like thunder, or perhaps a crashing tidal wave, forming visible sound ripples that swept rapidly in all directions; even the clouds in the sky were scattered by the force of that cry.

"Oh, damn it..."

A streak of light that happened to be passing by was caught in the intense shockwave, and, as luck would have it, the light vanished, leaving a human figure to tumble helplessly from the sky.

"What a terrifying roar!"

Lu Chuan's heart hammered against his ribs. The powerful roar had appeared too suddenly, and its force was far too monstrous.

This single shout had not only shattered his escape light, but the intense impact had also left him reeling, his vision blackening, his internal energy in turmoil, and his mind a chaotic mess.

The wind whistled in his ears!

Though he couldn't see clearly for the moment, Lu Chuan could hear and feel that he was falling rapidly and uncontrollably, caught in the grip of gravity.

This won't do. I have to find a way to manifest the escape light again, or I'm finished if I hit the ground like this.

Lu Chuan thought to himself. The consequences of falling from a height of over a thousand meters were all too easy to imagine.

But just as he gritted his teeth, summoned a sliver of focus, and prepared to channel his internal energy to execute the technique, he was stunned to discover that his energy had been completely scattered throughout his body by the sheer force of that roar.

"I'm done for..."

Only these two words remained in Lu Chuan's mind. He couldn't fly; his ability to traverse the skies relied entirely on the Five Elements Escape Technique.

Now that the technique was broken and his energy dispersed, it was impossible to take to the air again. He could only plummet toward the earth.

"Pity that I, Lu Chuan, have mastered the Daoist arts only to fall and perish like a shooting star before I could ever shine..."

Lu Chuan sighed with sorrow. The crux of the matter was that the roar had come so suddenly, leaving him without the slightest defense before he was blasted out of the sky.

He was only curious and concerned about one thing.

Which bastard had let out that roar?

What kind of creature could produce such a terrifying, monstrous sound, leaving him not only unable to fight back but without even a sliver of a chance to escape?

Was it a master of the Martial Way? Huang Feihu? Or... the very fierce beast he had been searching for?

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The wind roared in his ears, and his clothes flapped violently as he descended.

After a brief moment of blindness, his vision returned.

However, seeing his current predicament, he felt it would have been better to remain blind, for the situation was truly dire—truly a case of "out of sight, out of mind."

He was like those people who went skydiving, except they had parachutes on their backs.

As for him, he had jumped—

Only to realize he'd forgotten his parachute.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The ground was drawing closer, and his descent was accelerating. Lu Chuan tried desperately to gather a sliver of energy to use his escape technique, but he slumped in despair, realizing it was impossible to do so in mid-air.

"Roar!"

At that moment, another roar erupted, and a terrifying wave of sound rolled up from below. This time, Lu Chuan finally saw the one who had ambushed him—or rather, the monster.

A giant ape, standing at least ten meters tall, appeared in his field of vision.

Its entire body was covered in crimson fur, its thick arms were like two divine pillars, and its blood-red, ferocious eyes were deeply sunken into its sockets, though the hair on its head was stark white.

"A Vajra Ape?"

Lu Chuan was struck with horror, then paused in surprise, for the giant ape was currently locked in battle.

Its opponent was a Divine Bird of exquisite beauty.

It was a bird about a meter in size, its feathers primarily yellow and red, with purple feathers at the tips of its wings and a golden beak. A faint yellow light swirled around its entire body.

"Screech!"

The Divine Bird let out a clear, resonant cry, much like the call of a phoenix.

Though only a meter tall and appearing much smaller than the giant ape, the bird flapped its wings, circling in the air to engage the beast.

"A phoenix?"

Lu Chuan was stunned. The bird's cry lacked the ferocity and violence of the giant ape's roar; instead, it was clear and melodious.

Below, the two terrifying auras clashed. Even though he was still five or six hundred meters away, Lu Chuan felt an immense sense of oppression.

These two creatures were simply too terrifying.

Immediately, Lu Chuan thought of something else: "Could it be that its target wasn't me, and I just happened to be passing by and got caught in the crossfire?"

When he first saw the Giant Ape, he had assumed it was coming for him, but he realized his mistake almost instantly.

The Giant Ape was currently locked in battle with a Divine Bird, one that resembled the legendary phoenix; he must have been struck down by the shockwave of its roar just as he passed by.

Talk about rotten luck!

"ROAR!"

The Giant Ape bellowed, its voice violent and ferocious, like a thunderclap from the nine heavens. It shook the mountains and forests, causing the blood and qi within Lu Chuan to churn painfully.

However, the cries of the Divine Bird carried a mysterious power that neutralized the ape's roar, sparing Lu Chuan from any further impact.

BOOM!

The ground trembled as the red-glowing Giant Ape suddenly leaped into the air. The ground beneath its feet exploded, and it swung a thick, muscular arm, fist clenched, toward the Divine Bird in the sky.

BOOM!

The Divine Bird let out a long cry, and a blinding yellow divine light erupted from its body as it collided with the ferocious ape.

Red light clashed with yellow, triggering a terrifying shockwave that spiraled outward in a storm toward all directions.

"AH!"

Lu Chuan cried out; his luck was truly abysmal.

Just as he was about to hit the ground, the gale from the shockwave caught him, sending him flying in a graceful arc toward the distance.

"Master, save me!"

Lu Chuan screamed into the sky; at this moment, the only person he could rely on or think of was Shen Gongbao.

No sooner had he spoken than he felt a yellow blur flash before his eyes, and he was caught and lifted back into the air.

Lu Chuan looked up and saw yellow fur with black stripes, followed by a pair of wings, and the back of a tiger's head...

The Divine Tiger!

A winged Divine Tiger at that. Seeing this beast, Lu Chuan's spirits instantly lifted.

There was no doubt that the only one who could appear here with a winged Divine Tiger was Shen Gongbao.

The Divine Tiger flapped its wings, carrying him high into the sky and away from that mountain peak.

"I'm saved!"

The expression on Lu Chuan's face relaxed bit by bit; if not for the Divine Tiger, he would have been finished.

"ROAR!"

The roars below shook the earth, and the phoenix's cry pierced the clouds as the terrifying sound waves surged once more.

However, with the Divine Tiger present, Lu Chuan was no longer subjected to such intense impact.

The Divine Tiger turned its head to glance at him.

"Did Master send you?"

Lu Chuan knew he was asking a redundant question; if not for Shen Gongbao's orders, why would the Divine Tiger have come?

But he just wanted to strike up a conversation with the beast.

The Divine Tiger gave him a look of disdain and turned its head back to face forward.

Yes, disdain!

Lu Chuan definitely hadn't misread it; this tiger had actually looked at him with a human-like mockery.

In this world, animals could open their spiritual apertures, gain human-like intelligence, and slowly absorb the essence of the sun and moon to cultivate into sentient spirits, eventually taking on human form.

Once an animal had gained such spiritual wisdom, you could no longer treat it as a mere beast.

Undoubtedly, this Divine Tiger of Shen Gongbao's was already enlightened and possessed formidable intelligence.

"Hey!"

Lu Chuan was left between laughter and tears; who would have thought he would be looked down upon by a tiger today?

Shaking his head, Lu Chuan hurriedly said, "Brother Tiger, please help me find a place. My internal qi is out of control, and I need to regulate my breathing immediately."

The Divine Tiger turned to look at him again; it had witnessed everything that happened to Lu Chuan.

Come to think of it, Lu Chuan was truly unlucky this time. Of all the places to go, he had to pass by that mountain peak, only to be knocked down by the roar of that savage beast.

This time, it didn't mock him. Instead, it spread its wings and quickly landed in a patch of forest. It tilted its body, and Lu Chuan slid from the wing onto the ground.

"I trouble you to stand guard for me for a moment!"

Lu Chuan sat cross-legged and bowed politely to the Divine Tiger.

The Divine Tiger nodded.

Lu Chuan closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, controlling the rampaging qi within his body, while the Divine Tiger kept a solemn watch ahead.

Beast roars shook the heavens, and the phoenix's cry pierced the nine skies!

A hundred miles away, the mountain peak was crumbling, rocks flew through the air, and hundred-meter-tall ancient trees fell in swathes.

Amidst the swirling dust, the blinding red glow turned into eerie flames, continuing to collide with the mass of yellow light and sparking a fire that spread in all directions.

The terrifying battle between the Divine Bird and the savage beast raged on.