Two months later, on the outskirts of the Xilin Mountain Range.
Carrying the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Xiao Yan flew swiftly through the mountains and forests. Each pause in mid-air left a solid afterimage. As several afterimages appeared in succession, the dense forest behind Xiao Yan was suddenly destroyed by a terrifying force. Immediately afterward, a gigantic demonic beast, filled with boundless killing intent, chased after Xiao Yan furiously, mercilessly tearing apart the afterimages along the way with its sharp horn.
"You little brat! Give me back my Jade Lingzhi!"
The colossal beast, as large as a small mountain, charged forward haphazardly, letting out mournful howls of anger.
Ever since this human stole his Ganoderma lucidum a week ago, this guy not only didn't leave, but instead used the Ganoderma lucidum as bait to deliberately provoke him into a rage, chasing Xiao Yan day and night. But in the end, because of Xiao Yan's Xiao Yan speed, he was always able to instantly widen the distance between them at the most crucial moment, and he could only retreat helplessly with a heart full of anger.
This incident, while enraging the monster, also brought a sense of tragedy. It truly didn't know what it had done in its past life to offend someone so despicable.
"Hehe, if you want your Jade Spirit Mushroom back, then come and chase me! If you can catch me, I'll not only return the Jade Spirit Mushroom to you, but I'll also give you a Emperor Grade Pill!"
As the giant beast spoke, Xiao Yan chuckled and instead used Emperor Grade Pill to tempt the demonic beast behind him once more.
In the great battle two months ago, Xiao Yan was naturally defeated by the combined forces of Tian Ying and his two companions, as expected. Severely injured, Xiao Yan's body uncontrollably plummeted towards the deep ravine below. In his last moments before losing consciousness, Xiao Yan thought he would really fall into the ravine, but unexpectedly, Gu You intervened in time. While Tian Ying and his companions focused their attention on the ravine above, Gu You swiftly controlled Xiao Yan's body and moved him away from there.
Since that incident, Xiao Yan has become clearly aware of his shortcomings.
Judging from Xiao Yan's current overall combat strength, he is already fully capable of fighting against Eight-Star Half-Emperor in a one-on-one situation, but as for Nine-Star Half-Emperor, that would be a bit difficult for Xiao Yan.
Of course, cultivation level can be gradually improved, but right now, Xiao Yan's Heavenly Severing Steps has become a major problem.
Originally, with Xiao Yan's confidence in the Heavenly Severing Steps, no one below the Dou Di should be able to catch up with him. However, after experiencing this incident, Xiao Yan truly realized that his Heavenly Severing Steps was far from reaching the level he truly needed.
Take Tian Ying for example. Even if Xiao Yan were to use his Heavenly Severing Steps at full speed, he would still be no match for Xiao Yan. If Xiao Yan were to fight him one-on-one without any external assistance, he would have absolutely no chance of winning.
Therefore, although Xiao Yan considers himself to be exceptionally strong, this only applies to Eight-Star Half-Emperor. As for facing Nine-Star Half-Emperor, or even more terrifying Dou Di powerhouses, Xiao Yan would be in real trouble.
This time, Xiao Yan hoped to use the power of the Heaven-Supporting Bull Magical Beast to win by speed without attacking. Of course, Xiao Yan thought it was easy, but things were indeed surprisingly easy.
The strength of this Heaven-Supporting Bull Magical Beast is only at the level of Eight-Star Half-Emperor. With Xiao Yan's current speed, even an ordinary Nine-Star Half-Emperor would have difficulty catching up, let alone this guy.
After a week of tedious repetition, Xiao Yan was extremely surprised to find that in this boring chase, not only had his speed not improved, but the Heaven-Supporting Bull Magical Beast behind him, driven by its anger, was actually increasing its speed rapidly.
This scene, completely contrary to what he had originally envisioned, left Xiao Yan Xiao Yan feeling helpless. He stopped and turned to look behind him, Heaven-Supporting Bull Magical Beast was charging at him again.
This time, seeing Xiao Yan stop again, the Heaven-Supporting Bull Demon's anger surged. As he charged forward, his massive body suddenly trembled, and he let out a roar like muffled thunder. At the same time, he charged towards Xiao Yan at top speed, which was nearly twice as fast as before.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan pursed his lips, slightly speechless. Then, he stepped into the void, twisted his neck, and heard a series of cracking sounds of bones colliding. With a thought, Xiao Yan's thin body transformed into a giant Vajra god as he turned around. With his feet firmly planted on the ground and his giant fists clenched, he slammed his fist down hard on the head of the charging bull.
"Bang!"
A terrifying force erupted as Xiao Yan's fist struck the bull's head, resounding like a thunderclap that echoed across the sky.
Under Xiao Yan's punch, the Heaven-Supporting Bull Demon's forward momentum was forcibly stopped, and his entire head was slammed into the ground by Xiao Yan's punch, the tremendous force pouring down the bull's head to the ground.
Instantly, the ground beneath them collapsed, and both Xiao Yan and the bull demon sank into it, bringing the chase between Xiao Yan and the Heaven-Supporting Bull Demon to an end.
As the golden light dissipated, Xiao Yan reverted to his original form, letting out a soft breath and shaking his slightly numb hands before looking at the Heaven-Supporting Bull Demon.
Xiao Yan casually tossed a wooden box to the latter and said loudly:
"Alright, here's your stuff back. I know you're fine, get up."
As Xiao Yan finished speaking, the Heaven-Supporting Bull Demon's body writhed and transformed into human form, bare-chested with a pair of slightly curved bull horns on his head. As the wooden box fell, he quickly caught it in his arms, glanced at the emerald spirit mushroom inside, and then glared at Xiao Yan, angrily saying:
"You brat! You neither refine pills nor buy medicine, yet you steal my treasures! You're treating me like a fool! And what about those Emperor Grade Pill? Hand them over! You said you'd give them to me if you caught up with me!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan pursed his lips noncommittally, raised his gaze to the latter, and chuckled:
"I've returned the item to you. As for what I said, ha, if I didn't stop, do you think you could catch up with me at your speed?"
"Tch, I don't care, I've already won you over, so you can't go back on your word!"
The bull spat lightly, putting on a shameless expression, and said to Xiao Yan.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled, saying:
"Alright, I can give you the pill, but you must answer my questions first."
The bull looked at Xiao Yan with suspicion, then, clutching the wooden box in his hands, hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying resentfully:
"Go ahead and ask."
"On the outskirts of the Xilin Mountain Range, there are magical beasts known for their speed, with strength around the Mid Eight-Star Half-Emperor. The faster the better."
Upon hearing this, the muscles at the corner of the bull's mouth twitched involuntarily, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly. So this guy actually wanted to use him to practice his movement techniques Dou Technique!
With an extremely reluctant expression, he pursed his lips, but the bull couldn't let go of that Emperor Grade Pill. He could only sigh inwardly, and after a moment, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. After considering it briefly, he said:
"Yes, and his speed is terrifying!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up with surprise, and he quickly asked:
Where?
"To the southwest, there is a lake; that is its territory."
As soon as the bull finished speaking, Xiao Yan quickly turned around, intending to fly swiftly in the direction the bull had indicated.
"Wait, Dan..."
"Whoosh--"
Before he finished speaking, a streak of light shot swiftly toward the Heaven-Supporting Bull Demon. The latter caught it in his palm, opened it, and saw that it was indeed a high-grade Emperor Grade Pill.
When the Heaven-Supporting Bull Demon looked up again, Xiao Yan had already disappeared from the sky. Seeing this, the Bull Demon King's eyes flashed, a mocking smile appeared on his lips, and as he turned around, he muttered:
"Haha, you ran so fast! I haven't even had a chance to tell you yet, that guy's strength is at the Nine-Star Half-Emperor!"