Ambush

"This is bad!" Wang Yan's heart tightened at the sound. That really was the Fang Bear Beast's roar. It had clearly returned. Could the commotion from my fight with this burly cultivator have drawn it back?

But!

"Aah!" The burly cultivator screamed. His entire lower body was charred black, most of the flesh on both thighs blasted away. Blood seeped from countless wounds. His injuries were clearly devastating.

Wang Yan had deliberately provoked the burly cultivator into chasing him. He knew the man's cultivation far surpassed his own, and the man was wearing defensive leather armor besides. His only means of fighting back were those two Immortal Cards. After exchanging blows, Wang Yan also knew the burly cultivator's combat experience far exceeded his. With this place being far from safe, he naturally had to end the fight quickly.

Wang Yan only had those two Immortal Cards at his disposal. Although he believed the Water-Fire Blast Card would certainly kill the burly cultivator, his current cultivation did not allow him to use two Immortal Cards at once.

According to the Card Fairy, powerful as the Immortal Card Artifact was, it still required cultivation and magical power to drive it. At Wang Yan's current level, he could only activate one Immortal Card. To activate the Water-Fire Blast Card, he would first have to remove the Fireball Spell Card currently possessing him.

But in the heat of battle, where would he find time to switch Immortal Cards?

That could be considered one of the Immortal Cards' greater weaknesses.

Still.

As Wang Yan's cultivation continued to improve, he would naturally be able to use more and more Immortal Cards at once.

Of course, that was a matter for the future. For cultivators, advancing through even a single minor realm was an arduous process. There was naturally no chance of Wang Yan's cultivation soaring overnight.

After exchanging blows with the burly cultivator, however, Wang Yan knew that with his cultivation, the Fireball Spell Immortal Card's divine ability could not possibly overpower the man head-on.

So he had deliberately fled and enraged the burly cultivator. At the critical moment, he pretended to stumble and fall, luring the man close enough to attack him before instantly unleashing four Fireball Spells at his lower limbs.

The burly cultivator's defensive leather armor looked formidable. Anything that could withstand a blow from the Fang Bear Beast was naturally powerful. But his lower body had no armor to protect it, and Wang Yan had seized that fleeting opening.

All four Fireball Spells struck the burly man's lower body directly.

Wang Yan had relied on the Fireball Spell Immortal Card's ability to cast instantly. Although the burly cultivator had reacted, at such close range, he had no way to dodge.

That was how Wang Yan had landed the attack.

But the burly cultivator was not dead yet. He kept screaming...

Just then.

"Roar!" The Fang Bear Beast's furious roar drew ever closer, its heavy footsteps racing toward them at terrifying speed...

"This is bad! You little brat, you can't handle a Core Condensation Realm demon beast right now! Run!" the Card Fairy shouted to Wang Yan.

"Tch!" Wang Yan clicked his tongue. Casting the Fireball Spells at such close range had caught him in a good deal of the backlash, leaving him badly injured as well. Indeed, with his cultivation and divine abilities, he had little chance of dealing with a Core Condensation Realm demon beast. But the burly cultivator and the female cultivator surely carried plenty of good things, and he was desperately short of cultivation treasures, pills, and the like. In particular, that bow and that Longblade Magic Artifact were worth no small sum.

Just then!

"Heh heh! You... you're dead...!" The burly cultivator was clearly beginning to lose consciousness. His eyes widened as he stared at Wang Yan, his voice barely a thread of breath, as though laying a curse on him. His expression said that if he could not live, neither would Wang Yan...

"Hm?" An idea suddenly stirred in Wang Yan's mind. He snatched up the Bone Blade beside him and hurled it at the burly cultivator, saying coldly, "If anyone's dying, you'll die first!"

Squelch! The Bone Blade plunged unerringly into the burly cultivator's throat. His eyes flew wide, and after a few spasms, he breathed his last.

Then.

Whoosh! Wang Yan dashed toward the burly cultivator's corpse at astonishing speed. Red light flashed around his hand as he grabbed the Bone Blade and the corpse, then sprinted away.

"Hey! You little brat! Why are you taking that corpse? That fellow reeks of blood! The Fang Bear Beast will track you down!" the Card Fairy shouted inside Wang Yan's mind...

"That's exactly what I want it to do!" Wang Yan said grimly.

"Have you gone mad? You're no match for a Core Condensation Realm demon beast!" the Card Fairy scolded...

"I'm no match for it, but what about this?" Wang Yan replied in a low voice. Spiritual light flashed in his hand, and the Water-Fire Blast Card appeared...

Like a hurricane, Wang Yan swiftly plunged into the woods.

Barely had Wang Yan's figure vanished into the distance when a series of thunderously heavy footsteps came surging over...

Crash! A bloody aura swept in as the Fang Bear Beast smashed through several trees as thick as the mouth of a bowl and appeared in the clearing, where the stench of blood was overwhelming...

Huff, huff! The Fang Bear Beast twitched its enormous nose a few times, then lunged toward the female cultivator's corpse. Its massive claw snatched up the body, and it cast a vicious glance in the direction Wang Yan had fled...

Suddenly!

"Roar!" An earth-shaking bellow erupted from the Fang Bear Beast's great maw. Countless leaves flew in every direction from the shock, and it suddenly raced off at astonishing speed in the direction Wang Yan had taken with the burly cultivator's corpse.

Clearly, the Fang Bear Beast had no intention of letting these damned human cultivators go.

Thump, thump! Thump! Its heavy footsteps pounded away in that direction...

It had only run a few hundred zhang.

Suddenly, the Fang Bear Beast stopped. As though it had discovered something, it sharply raised its head and looked up.

There!

Drip, drip, drip! A sound like dripping water came from a great tree. On a tree so thick that several people would have had to join hands to encircle it, the burly cultivator's corpse had been pinned to the trunk with a Bone Blade. Scarlet blood slid down the tree and dripped to the ground... It was a horrifying sight.

But the Fang Bear Beast was not afraid of such things. It stared at the corpse hanging on the tree, a trace of wariness entering its eyes...

Then!

Huff, huff! The Fang Bear Beast sniffed with its enormous nose, apparently searching for something. Clearly, this Core Condensation Realm demon beast was far from unintelligent. It suspected an ambush or something of the sort.

Yet after looking around, a flicker of confusion passed through the Fang Bear Beast's eyes. It seemed to have found nothing amiss.

Huff! Huff! Heavy breaths burst from the Fang Bear Beast's mouth. Seeming somewhat tired, it plopped down on the ground and tossed the female cultivator's corpse onto the earth...

Then!

An utterly horrifying scene unfolded!

The Fang Bear Beast opened its great, blood-filled maw and tore off one of the female cultivator's thighs. It stuffed the limb straight into its mouth and began chewing. The sight was bloody and terrifying beyond measure...

Demon beasts loved eating human flesh, especially cultivators! Devouring cultivators not only let them savor a delicious meal, but also allowed them to consume the spiritual energy those cultivators had cultivated. The higher the cultivation of those they ate, the faster their own cultivation would advance...

Besides, the Fang Bear Beast had fought the three Ma Family cultivators all night, expending a great deal of stamina and magical power. Devouring this corpse would naturally restore some of its magical power. Demon beasts had no scruples about such things...

In just a few bites, the Fang Bear Beast ate the female cultivator's corpse clean. As it ate, it spat out bottles, jars, daggers, and other such items...

Yet it seemed to pay no attention to the burly man's corpse up in the tree...

Amid the dense leaves, Wang Yan's entire body was blood-red as he pressed himself motionlessly against the tree trunk. Watching that horrifying scene, he remained utterly still, not letting even a trace of his presence escape. His scalp was already numb with terror. This is a world that devours people...!

"Roar!" The Fang Bear Beast suddenly released an earth-shaking bellow. Leaves within dozens of zhang shuddered violently and rustled as though a gale had swept through them, leaving Wang Yan's ears ringing terribly...

"Roar... roar...!" After bellowing like that, the Fang Bear Beast glanced around with naked ferocity in its eyes. Then it suddenly turned and left, completely ignoring the burly cultivator's corpse.

"Hey! You little brat, looks like your plan failed...!" the Card Fairy's voice rang in Wang Yan's ears.

Before Wang Yan could answer.

Suddenly!

Thump, thump, thump! Amid a series of savage tremors, the Fang Bear Beast suddenly returned, charging out at astonishing speed. In fewer than three breaths, it reached the foot of the great tree. Its enormous body leaped into the air, and it swiped straight at the burly cultivator's corpse...

With a startling, muffled blast, a large section of the tree trunk was gouged away, sending splinters flying. The Fang Bear Beast's enormous claw tore the entire corpse down, and then it began dropping toward the ground...

At that very instant.

Whoosh! A startling rush of air rang out as three or four bamboo tubes hurtled straight toward the Fang Bear Beast's head...

Crack, crack! The tubes burst apart, blood splashing everywhere and spraying the Fang Bear Beast across the face. In an instant, it could no longer see.

"Roar!" The Fang Bear Beast bellowed furiously. Brilliant red light blazed around its enormous claw as it lashed out in front of itself. Flames erupted at once... With an ear-splitting boom, the Fang Bear Beast's swipe blasted the entire tree trunk in two...

Suddenly!

"Die!" A figure shot out from the tree trunk with a furious shout...