“Hoo-hoo~~” The bloody, furry claws sliced the air, generating gale-force winds that felt like blades, causing the surrounding atmosphere to vibrate. The sheer size difference between Teng Qingshan’s small fist and the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast’s claws, nearly ten feet (two and a half meters) long, was immense.
“Peng!”
The small fist met the sharp claws head-on!
The air exploded. The ground beneath them deeply concave, the turf instantly pulverized into dust, while the distant grass was scraped, shattered, and flung away by the raging winds! Both Teng Qingshan and the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast were forced backward by the recoil!
“Spitting cold air? Hmph!” Teng Qingshan stared at the behemoth before him, his confidence soaring. “The Innate Golden Core experts are wary, but I am not!”
In the span of a single blink, every minute detail of Teng Qingshan’s body trembled. Threads of Gang Jin pierced through his bones, meridians, and internal organs, completely purging the icy chill within him! Teng Qingshan’s state was instantly restored!
“Crack!” A black axe was sent tumbling by a fierce air current.
That axe was none other than the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe!
The wooden chest and wrapping that had hidden the axe were instantly frozen into powder by the black cold mist. Naturally, the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe fell free!
“Luckily, I used my Innate True Essence to protect my clothes, otherwise, I would have been…” Teng Qingshan immediately snatched up the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe with his left hand while gripping the Samsara Spear in his right.
“Roar~~” The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast let out a low growl, gazing deeply at Teng Qingshan. The strength of this human was far beyond its estimation. After its ultimate move—spitting cold air—proved ineffective, the beast’s near-human intelligence made it realize—
Killing this human would be difficult! Even if successful, it would demand an unimaginably high price, perhaps even its own demise.
Whoosh!
The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast abruptly turned its head, its four paws slamming into the grassland. Without hesitation, it vanished into an afterimage, fleeing toward the southeast!
Fleeing the battle!
“Trying to escape?” Teng Qingshan, wielding the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe in one hand and the Samsara Spear in the other, immediately accelerated, turning into a streak of shadow as he gave chase! In terms of top speed, Teng Qingshan was slightly faster than the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast.
The sky grew dim, and a bitter wind howled.
The tribespeople, who had watched the battle in dread, now exchanged glances—some shocked, some resentful, and some trembling with relief at surviving. Far in the distance, untouched by the fight between man and beast, campfires still burned.
That was their village!
Yet, the waves of pervasive blood stench filled many residents with grief and terror!
“My people!” The tribe leader roared. “This disaster was brought by the monstrous beast! But the Great Sky God has sent his emissary to deal with it. Now, those who have lost loved ones, come to me.”
Still, many people gazed toward the southeast. The dark heavens and the howling wind obscured the distance further.
They could see nothing of Teng Qingshan or the monster.
“The Sky God will surely kill that monster!” a girl wearing a red padded coat murmured, her voice low but firm.
Man and beast moved with astonishing speed!
When they burst from the village, they were separated by only a few dozen yards. Now, after running for more than ten miles, the gap had shrunk to mere yards. Teng Qingshan could smell the beast’s bloody scent, residue from trampling countless humans.
“Roar~~~” An enraged bellow erupted.
Whoosh!
Its thick, powerful tail whipped out like a lightning lash, slamming towards Teng Qingshan! The furry tail carried distorted, high-pressure air blades created by compression. The tail seemed to strike Teng Qingshan almost as soon as it moved.
“Vermin!”
Teng Qingshan’s left arm, its muscles coiled like steel cables, bulged fiercely. At this moment, Teng Qingshan was like a titan cleaving the heavens, swinging the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe down with tremendous force!
“Puff!”
The moment the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast’s tail struck the edge of the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe, the entire appendage vibrated, deflecting more than half of the impact. But even so—a great amount of fur was stripped from the long, steel-whip-like furry tail!
“You cannot escape!” Teng Qingshan snarled, his face flushed!
“Boom!”
The power in his legs erupted. With a single explosive step, the earth cracked open, leaving terrifying ravines as thick as water barrels. Teng Qingshan instantly closed the distance to the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast.
“Now is the time!” Teng Qingshan’s eyes were sharp. With a sudden burst, his body soared into the sky!
Among Teng Qingshan’s current attacks, ‘Poison Dragon Drill’ utilized pure physical strength. ‘Crimson Tiger’s Roar’ combined physical strength with Innate True Essence! However, Teng Qingshan’s internal Gang Jin and Innate True Essence could not coexist; he could not use them simultaneously!
Using Crimson Tiger’s Roar meant pure physical power plus Innate True Essence. Poison Dragon Drill meant pure physical power plus internal Gang Jin! Paradoxically, ‘Poison Dragon Drill’ was the stronger move! In truth, there was no absolute strongest spear technique among Teng Qingshan’s arsenal; if his comprehension of ‘Earth Movement’ was high, then ‘Primordial Unity’ offered the strongest defense.
“Die!”
Soaring above, Teng Qingshan’s gaze was like a honed blade. The power brewing in his right arm, holding the Samsara Spear, strained the sleeve until it threatened to tear. Teng Qingshan’s face suddenly flushed crimson. With a sharp cry, he commanded, “Go!” His Samsara Spear immediately carved a silver streak across the air!
A crack in the void! A flash of lightning!
Two flashes of lightning!
One was Teng Qingshan’s Samsara Spear; the other was the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast’s tail! As a beast possessing human intelligence, it dared not relax while Teng Qingshan pursued, especially when he suddenly exploded in power! It was extremely cautious!
The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast knew clearly!
If it could not kill or severely injure Teng Qingshan, given its speed, which was only slightly slower than his, it would not escape today.
So—
It would take a gamble!
The moment Teng Qingshan unleashed his ultimate move, his defenses would inevitably weaken.
A silver streak of lightning— “Puff!”
The tip of the Samsara Spear pierced toward the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast. It managed to penetrate the thick fur, injecting itself into the beast’s body with a twisting, external rotational force combined with the strange drilling impetus of the punch.
A white streak of lightning— “Peng!”
“So fast!” As Teng Qingshan executed ‘Poison Dragon Drill,’ he realized the tail was already sweeping towards him. He had only two choices: abandon the attack to defend with full power, or attack with full power while minimizing defense!
Peng!
The thick tail, while pinning down the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe, still struck Teng Qingshan’s waist. Teng Qingshan felt a searing pain in his midsection, and the impact sent him flying away at incredible speed—a force exceeding one million pounds struck his body weighing only a few hundred pounds.
The result was that Teng Qingshan was sent hurtling diagonally like a cannonball, slamming violently into the grassland.
“Rumble~~~” The earth shook violently, splitting into deep fissures, and the turf shattered and flew up.
A deep pit formed in the grass.
“Thank the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe!” Teng Qingshan felt waves of pain radiating from his waist. “My full strength, combined with internal Gang Jin, exceeds one million pounds. But my tolerance isn't that high! Attacking strength for strength is manageable. But enduring it head-on—without the Divine Axe, I would have lost my life!”
He dared to gamble before because he had the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe shielding his body.
“Howl-howl~~ Howl-howl~~”
Screams of agonizing pain, like the roar of the Thunder God, echoed across the surface of the earth.
“Hmph, I’m not feeling well, but you aren’t feeling great either, are you!” A faint, earthy-yellow light flickered around Teng Qingshan’s waist as his internal Gang Jin began its remarkable healing work. However, this injury was too severe this time. “Beast! Today is the day you die!”
Feeling his waist slightly better, Teng Qingshan gritted his teeth and rushed out immediately.
On the grassland.
The gigantic Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast was howling in agony. The silver Samsara Spear was embedded more than halfway into its body. Fortunately, due to its massive size and thick hide, most of the spear was lodged in the hide and muscle layers; only a small portion penetrated deep inside.
But even so, the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast was gravely wounded.
“Hoo!” Teng Qingshan leaped out of the ground.
The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast instantly spotted him; its blood-red pupils constricted—the human wasn’t dead yet!!! It had risked grave injury to strike with its tail, yet it hadn’t killed him? Even a fellow Innate Golden Core level beast would have been severely wounded by that blow.
It was not entirely surprising, though!
A body capable of unleashing over a million pounds of explosive force was surely more terrifying than one forged from profound iron! Moreover, it possessed both hardness and softness—not so easily slain.
“Roar~~~” The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast roared.
Damn it, if I can’t kill him, can’t I just run away?
The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast suppressed the searing pain in its hindquarters and fled rapidly toward the southeast. With every pounding stride, the Samsara Spear lodged in its flank delivered waves of excruciating agony.
“Trying to escape?” Teng Qingshan, enduring the pain in his waist, retracted his inner armor Gang Jin and began circulating the Heaven’s Horizon Journey technique.
Circulating Heaven’s Horizon Journey placed little strain on the body.
Swish!
Swish!
One ahead, one behind; both were moving significantly slower than before. Yet, the distance between them continued to shrink. Teng Qingshan kept his eyes locked on the beast; there was no way he would give up. After all—his Samsara Spear was still stuck in the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast!
“Ch-ch~~” The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast’s tail attempted repeatedly to coil around the Samsara Spear, trying to wrench it free from its body!
However, the angle at which the Samsara Spear was embedded was incredibly awkward. The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast’s tail had a limited range of motion. For the tail to wrap around the spear was akin to a human trying to lick their own nose—an extremely difficult feat!
“Hoo~~ Hoo~~~” Unable to coil around or pull out the Samsara Spear, the Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast ran while letting out furious roars.
It could only rely on the slow, muscular contractions of its body to gradually squeeze the spear outward! But this method was agonizingly slow and inflicted too much pain!
Man and beast chased until, in the span of ten breaths, they reached the foot of a snow-capped mountain.
“Whoo!” The Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast bounded onto the snowfield, treading on the icy surface with surprising ease and agility. Like a cat, it ran across the mountain; its speed showed no reduction compared to its pace on the grass.
Teng Qingshan’s expression changed.
“This is bad! This Red-Eyed Snow Lion Beast naturally thrives in icy regions. Running on snow, it is just as fast as on grass! On this snowfield, I won’t be able to catch it!” Teng Qingshan watched the gap widen between them, his Samsara Spear still lodged firmly in the beast’s flank.
His Samsara Spear would be carried away?
“Snow mountain, snow mountain…” A sudden flash of inspiration struck Teng Qingshan. He opened his mouth wide and inhaled deeply! The surrounding airflow surged into his body.
His chest swelled like a bellows!
Internal Gang Jin flickered across his skin. Teng Qingshan closed his mouth, gathered his strength, and then opened it again—
“ROAR~~~”
A roar, terrifying like heavenly thunder, echoed between heaven and earth. Under the intense vibration, the accumulated snow on the entire surface of the mountain began to shake, and then the snow atop the peak suddenly collapsed and tumbled downward.
In an instant, the mountain crumbled, as if the heavens and the earth were splitting apart!