"Hiss hiss hiss..."
The hissing sound of wind breaking through the air echoed continuously. In the sky, a gigantic serpent was relentlessly pursuing a dark figure, like a leech clinging to a bone. Although the figure was running at full speed, frantically fleeing across the sky, the serpent still gave chase. The distance between the two had shrunk from a hundred feet to just a dozen feet. It was believed that in just a few more moments, the serpent would catch up with the figure, and what would happen to that figure then was anyone's guess.
"Bang!"
With a deafening roar, Xiao Yan's body was struck by the suddenly appearing snake tail. His emaciated body plummeted uncontrollably towards the lake below, like a falling star.
As columns of water shot into the sky, Xiao Yan's body slammed into the lake below. Waves surged and sprayed everywhere. Xiao Yan felt an immense pressure enveloping him, and his blood and qi churned within him. However, due to his current situation, Xiao Yan forcibly endured it.
Unexpectedly, the speed of this One-Horned Whale Serpent was far more terrifying than Xiao Yan had imagined.
Although this creature's speed in the void is not as fast as that of the Tian Ying, it is undoubtedly much faster than Xiao Yan's. Perhaps because it has been submerged underwater for many years, when it is exposed in the void, the constraints of heaven and earth on it seem to be much smaller, so that the speed it bursts out is even difficult for Xiao Yan to match. This is somewhat similar to Xiao Yan's state when he is carrying the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
"Haha, kid, you said you'd give me the pills!"
Just then, the massive body of the One-Horned Whale Serpent plunged into the lake, coiled around Xiao Yan Xiao Yan, and laughed loudly at him.
Hearing the latter's arrogant laughter, Xiao Yan felt not anger but joy. Although this guy's purpose was entirely for Xiao Yan's pills, wasn't Xiao Yan's purpose in coming here to make use of this big guy?
With a wave of his hand, a ball of light shot swiftly from the bottom of the lake towards the One-Horned Whale Serpent, which happily caught it carefully. At the same time, Xiao Yan moved and quickly rushed out of the lake.
Standing in the void, Xiao Yan's throat bobbed slightly, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. But in his pair of dark eyes, there was more of a fanatical glint.
Raising his hand, Xiao Yan pulled out the heavy ruler from his back, flipped his wrist, and stored it in his Storage Ring.
Since the Heavy Xuan Ruler was infused with the Flame-Fallen Black Iron, its weight has increased significantly. Therefore, even for Xiao Yan now, carrying it is quite a burden.
As Xiao Yan removed the Heavy Xuan Ruler, he immediately felt a sense of lightness throughout his body, and the speed of his internal Dou Qi circulation also increased significantly. This long-lost feeling warmed Xiao Yan heart.
"Puff"
However, at that moment, the One-Horned Whale Serpent suddenly burst out of the lake. As soon as it appeared, its eyes, each as large as three times the size of Xiao Yan Xiao Yan, instantly fixed on him. It roared angrily and shouted at Xiao Yan:
"Boy! How come there's only one? There's another one! You promised me two Emperor Grade Pill!"
"Hehe, I announce that the rules have been changed."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled faintly, his body slightly twisting, and a series of cracking sounds of bones colliding rang out.
"Hmph! Kid, you..."
"Don't get angry yet, let me finish..."
Before the One-Horned Whale Serpent could utter a word, Xiao Yan interrupted him with a slight smile and continued:
"From now on, every time you touch my body, I will give you a top-grade Emperor Grade Pill. There is no limit to the number of times you can do this."
As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, the massive body of the One-Horned Whale Serpent stiffened instantly. The moment it reacted, it couldn't help but let out an excited roar, its gaze shifting downwards to lock onto Xiao Yan, and it roared excitedly:
"Hey!! Kid, you said it yourself, don't try to renege on your promise later!"
"No sooner said than done!"
Xiao Yan grinned, his smile radiating a strong sense of passion.
"Laugh--"
The next moment, with a loud whooshing sound, the massive body of the One-Horned Whale Serpent suddenly twisted and rushed towards Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly, put his hands behind his back, and stood tall in the void. As the One-Horned Whale Serpent arrived, a glint of light flashed deep in his eyes. Xiao Yan changed his stance and instantly unleashed the Heavenly Severing Steps. Xiao Yan's figure flashed rapidly, and more than a dozen afterimages of Xiao Yan appeared in the vast sky.
Upon seeing Xiao Yan's sudden change, the One-Horned Whale Serpent in the sky couldn't help but feel a slight chill. However, it immediately accelerated its forward charge, rushing towards Xiao Yan like a black lightning bolt.
At this moment, both Xiao Yan and the One-Horned Whale Serpent were operating at full speed. One was like the wind, flashing and invisible, while the other was like lightning, with terrifying momentum.
They chased and fled, flashing endlessly across the vast sky.
Occasionally, brief collisions would be accompanied by bursts of loud laughter. Of course, the intervals between these brief encounters gradually lengthened over time, and the chase between the two continued for nearly half a month.
In half a month, Xiao Yan traveled all over the world, from the sky to the ground, from the water to the mountains. Of course, the One-Horned Whale Serpent, for the sake of the Emperor Grade Pill in Xiao Yan's hands, also followed closely behind without hesitation, personally destroying all the beautiful scenery that it had never experienced before with its huge body.
Of course, after half a month of chasing and the rapid development of the Heavenly Severing Steps, Xiao Yan's control over the Heavenly Severing Steps also improved rapidly, and his understanding of the Wind Movement Realm also greatly improved. However, while he had gained some understanding, breaking through to the Great Completion of the Wind Movement Realm seemed to be a long way off.
"Bang!"
The loud bang shook the ground within a hundred feet radius. But this time, it wasn't the One-Horned Whale Serpent attacking Xiao Yan. On the contrary, Xiao Yan, as he suddenly turned around, used the Yellow Springs Heavenly Wrath and the Yellow Springs Palm to block the One-Horned Whale Serpent's massive body. Of course, this action was not malicious; Xiao Yan simply didn't want to continue this boring affair any longer.
The Heavenly Severing Steps has truly reached its bottleneck. At this stage, no external force can be used. Apart from a lucky break or a natural progression, forcibly breaking through is not a good thing for cultivation.
"Hey! Kid, what are you trying to do now?"
"Hehe, thank you very much for these past two weeks."
Xiao Yan smiled slightly, cupped his hands in greeting to the One-Horned Whale Serpent in front of him, and said.
"Huh... what does that mean?"
"It's time to leave. Consider this pill my final promise to you."
After speaking, Xiao Yan tossed one of his last three Emperor Grade Pill to the One-Horned Whale Serpent. Xiao Yan was a man of his word, and although the snake was also acting out of self-interest, it had at least helped him.
"Hehe, kid, you're quite trustworthy."
Although the giant snake did not trust humans, it genuinely admired Xiao Yan's trustworthiness.
"Thank you very much for your help over the past two weeks."
Xiao Yan nodded and cupped his hands in greeting to the One-Horned Whale Serpent again. The snake laughed heartily upon hearing this but didn't say anything more. Although Xiao Yan didn't explicitly say it, it had already noticed that Xiao Yan's speed was becoming increasingly terrifying.
Five-Star Half-Emperor already possesses a speed that even Nine-Star Half-Emperor can only dream of. It's unimaginable how terrifying he will be when he reaches the level of Nine-Star Half-Emperor.
Xiao Yan said a few more words, and then took out the Heavy Xuan Ruler again and carried it on his back. It was only at this moment that the One-Horned Whale Serpent realized that Xiao Yan's speed had obviously increased since the strange giant ruler on his body disappeared last time.
Without hesitation, Xiao Yan cupped his hands in a third gesture of respect to the One-Horned Whale Serpent. This etiquette between powerful individuals allowed them to show mutual respect, ensuring they could address each other as friends upon their next meeting. Perhaps this was what they meant by "no fight, no friendship," even though they hadn't actually fought...
"Haha, not bad, kid. What's your name? If you ever need anything, just come find me. Next time, I definitely won't hold back my temper, hahaha!"
Watching Xiao Yan's receding figure, the One-Horned Whale Serpent burst into laughter. It had never had any friends in its life, but this human in black robes, exuding a strange aura, gave it a special feeling for the first time.
" Xiao Yan!"
As the sound reached the One-Horned Whale Serpent's One-Horned Whale Serpent, the long, cone-shaped horn on its head suddenly cracked open with cracks, the broken pieces falling into the forest below. The One-Horned Whale Serpent's jet-black horn also transformed into a long bone horn.
The bone horn was shaped like a lightning bolt, with mysterious patterns on it, the patterns being scarlet like blood, revealing an endless aura of killing intent.
At that moment, the One-Horned Whale Serpent's pair of light blue pupils turned crimson.