Chapter 70: Golden-Furred Blood Lion
Xu Min felt apprehensive. He knew that defeating this beast would bring great benefits to him. Even so, he still felt that the risk equaled the gain.
If one of the participants from the rankings arrived, they would likely attack him, and depending on their rank, they would likely succeed.
Xu Min was not even hundred percent sure he could deal with the Golden-furred Blood Lion. However, he was sure that he could at least injure it and wound it enough to grasp the items that were inside the cave behind it.
"Well, here goes nothing," Xu Min finally uttered as he rushed forward in a all or nothing attitude. The sword in his hand was glistening in the sunshine which managed to shine down through the leaves above; his body was taut, and he moved swiftly. He knew that he had to use the element of surprise to battle this beast. If he could injure it even the slightest, then Xu Min would have a much easier time.
The closer Xu Min came, the more rapid his heart was beating. He was excited as he finally reached the clearance in which the cave was located. He found a tree which was close to the beast as possible.
Looking down, he once more contemplated whether or not this was a smart choice, but with a smile, he shook his head. Of course, it was not a smart choice to attack such a strong Golden-Furred Blood Lion, especially not on its own territory. Nonetheless, Xu Min very much wanted the treasures the beast could have accumulated over time.
Once more, he spread his awareness all around. When he was satisfied that the only living creatures within range were demon beasts, all of them were relatively weak, did he attack.
Jumping from the tree, the Golden-Furred Lion's face instantly turned towards the sudden movement. A savage killing intent surged forward, making Xu Min feel like he was constantly being stabbed by icy cold knives.
"Who goes here?" he growled in the human’s language. His eyes were shining with anger and bloodthirst. Knowing that this beast knew human tongue, Xu Min was slightly started and cursed his own luck. The beast was clearly stronger and older than he had assumed since it had even had the time to learn another language.
Even so, it was now too late to regret his action, so he moved into the clearing. The beast could see him, and he could see the beast. Both of their eyes met, and sparks flew. Neither wanted to step down and both hungeredfor a bloody fight.
"To think a three-star Warrior could be this dangerous," the Lion mumbled to himself. He dared not take this young man lightly at all. For him to challenge such a strong lion as this one, he was definitely certain about his abilities.
"If I can make him drop his sword, then I will win," The Lion concluded, and his entire focus faced towards Xu Min’s sword. The Lion was actually wanting to fight; something had happened a few days prior which made battling troublesome for the beast. Nevertheless, if he was forced to battle, then he would do so. Looking at the sword, the lion was preparing for the battle he might not be able to avoid.
Seeing the reaction of the Golden-Furred Blood Lion, a cold shiver ran down Xu Min's spine as he knew what the beast was thinking. The Lion was correct. Xu Min needed to be extra careful when attacking. He could not afford to drop his sword if he wished to survive.
Xu Min, closing his eyes for a mere second, calmed himself down. Inside his body were a flame of rage and an unyielding killing intent. This desire to kill, Xu Min now drew forward. It was not only the Golden-Furred Blood Lion who contained a killing intent as frosty as the northern glaciers.
A slight hint of surprise could be seen in the eyes of the Lion once he recognized Xu Min’s fierce desire to destroy. The pressure emitted from the young three-star Warrior was so intense that the Lion could feel his breathing turn raggedy. When it came to the intensity of the killing intent, neither of them were superior to the other. Rather, both of them had turned out equal.
Noticing that he was not at an advantage, even when he was taking his high rank into consideration, the Lion looked at Xu Min with cold eyes, "Regardless of your intention with entering my clearance, if you get out instantly, I will let you live," The lion growled again. He hoped to intimidate the human in front of him. He was truly not willing to fight, but Xu Min just smiled. He did not even answer the lion in front of him. Instead, he shifted the sword from one hand to another. "Let's go furball," he said mockingly. The Lion which had tried to make Xu Min leave without a fight could not help but feel mocked as though someone had slapped his face with a wet trout.
Rushing forward a loud growl could be heard, a growl that shook the entire area., The ground trembled, and many animals started to escape the surroundings.
Xu Min swore as soon as he heard the loud roar. It was clear that this was now a life and death battle. As well, the loud roar reverberated through the forest and human practitioners from all over would start rushing here. Xu Min did not have a lot of time. He sneered at the Lion in front of him; he slashed with the sword in the hope of making at least a small cut on the lion's body.
The lion, as well as any other demonic beast, were external experts. It was not possible for beasts to do stances, so for Xu Min to access the Qi which flowed inside the beast he needed to cut through the skin of the beast. Unfortunately, the beast was swift, and it managed to escape the first swipe elegantly.
Retreating, the lion observed Xu Min. Having seen the slash he understood that he did have a slight advantage. But right now, the Lion was as eager to end the battle as soon as possible. Although it had retreated, it pounced forward a moment after.
Rushing forward the lion's claws came down from above, the claws causing the wind sounds to split. Xu Min had to react quickly; he lifted his sword and used it to block the claws. A loud gong sounded out as the two collided against each other.
The power behind the attack was outstanding. Xu Min was forced into taking a few steps back. His heart leapt from the strength behind the attack. Had it not been for him advancing to the third-star Warrior rank, he would have been dead already.
"Seems like I have to go all out," Xu Min decided. As he retreated, waves of formidable Qi gushed out from his body, laying itself as a blanket within the entire clearing and every single inch of the clearing was filled with shards. Millions of shards were shining as they all aimed at the Golden-Furred Blood Lion.
The Lion was shocked and filled with despair. The person in front of him turned out to not only be an external but also an internal expert. The attack he just unleashed was so frightening that the lion was stepping back even before Xu Min had unleashed it.
Even Xu Min was shocked! Previously, when he had used the Thousand Radiant Shower, it had rightfully made thousands of Qi shards; however, now it was in some millions.
He discovered from this battle that every single part of his body was filled with Qi. This one attack of his had taken up around seventy percentage of the liquid Qi he had within his body. He could only execute this attack once.
However, the Lion was not aware of this and fear was evident in it's eyes. However, it was too proud to admit its fear. With a growl it pounced at Xu Min, the sharp claws making the winds howl and the growl making the earth tremble. Xu Min Took a few steps backward;with a swipe of his hands, some of the shards started to descend towards the lion, so swift that they turned into a blur.
Suddenly a wounded cry sounded out. Xu Min stopped his attack. The beast was laying on the ground, but with a strong determination did the beast stand up once more. "Stop, take me as your demon beast instead," it said through gritted teeth. Xu Min was surprised that the beast already admitted defeat.
This was a very strong beast within the Immortal Valley. It was famous for its offense, but for one reason it had not been able to go all out against Xu Min. Contemplating for some time, Xu Min nodded his head as he went and shared blood with the beast. A link suddenly appeared between the two of them as they became beast and master.
"Take me to your treasures," Xu Min ordered, and the lion brought Xu Min into the cave where everything vanished into his storage treasure. Looking around, Xu Min spread the remainder of his Qi to see the distance. Unfortunately, at least four humans headed towards their battle place.
"Can you walk?" Xu Min asked the Lion. with a nod, the lion agreed that it could. Although it was capable of walking, the speed was incredibly slow. the two had not gotten far before the first person reached the battle ground.
Knowing that they had already reached the ground where the battle had commenced, Xu Min was worried whether or not they would be able to escape. with a reluctant sigh did he produce a medicinal pill from his storage treasure.
"Eat this," he ordered the lion which quickly swallowed it. Moments after the wounds on the body of the lion started closing. Though the medicine was strong, it was far from strong enough to heal all his wounds; still,it was enough for the two of them to speed up their escape.They managed to get quite far in almost no time.
Following the lion made it easier for them to hide. The Lion knew this area of the Immortal Valley by heart as its territory was located within these areas. After a few hours, they had lost all their followers.
Sitting underneath a large tree, Xu Min looked at the lion in front of him. "What is your name?" he asked first. The Lion looked at Xu Min curiously. "My mother named me Ye Ling." he said. "I am of the Ye family; the strongest Golden-Furred Blood Lion clan within the entire Immortal Valley." he said with pride in his voice.
"You were easy to defeat today, why was this? I fail to believe I have become much stronger than you," Xu Min continued. The lion shook its head in regret. "Two days prior, I had a battle with a Sabertooth Wolf, the king of a neighbouring territory to mine. I managed to obtain victory but only at a great cost. I am still suffering from internal injuries from this battle," the lion said unhappily.
It was not before now that Xu Min understood just how lucky he had been. Had the lion been in its peak condition, it would have been near impossible for Xu Min to survive. He understood this now when he was speaking with the lion. Producing another two medicinal pills, Xu Min handed them over to Ye Ling. "Take these," he said smilingly, "when you use these two pills you should be completely healed," Xu Min was excited. Having a five-star Beast on his side would prove to make everything a lot easier. Especially since there was a bounty on his head. Even more troublesome, many of the participants were traveling in groups.