Chapter 39: Chapter 38: Fire-haired Brown Bear
RUSTLE RUSTLE!
The bushes rustled a few more times. Suddenly, a massive figure stood up from within them, five or six meters tall. A large brown bear, covered in fiery red fur, opened its mouth, its eyes locked dead on Wen Qingye.
’A Fire-haired Brown Bear.’ Wen Qingye recognized the bear before him in a single glance. A Fire-haired Brown Bear was a Demon Beast of the Refining Essence Second or Third Layer Heaven.
The Fire-haired Brown Bear also seemed to sense that Wen Qingye would be a difficult opponent, and it cautiously moved forward on all fours.
Watching the Fire-haired Brown Bear approach, Wen Qingye knew it was likely impossible to escape. Despite its massive size, a Fire-haired Brown Bear’s running speed was incredibly swift. It was very difficult for a person with a similar cultivation level to outrun one.
The Fire-haired Brown Bear suddenly erupted. It rose onto its hind legs, its thick paws moving with surprising speed. Riding a powerful gust of wind, a paw swiped directly at him.
Wen Qingye didn’t dare to take the blow head-on. He sidestepped, feeling a fierce wind blow past, stinging his face. The sword in his hand moved just as quickly, slashing down on the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s back and leaving a bloody gash.
The Fire-haired Brown Bear felt a sharp pain and swiped its paw again, even faster this time. Wen Qingye hadn’t anticipated it. In a moment of panic, his feet hastily slipped.
Wen Qingye moved like an agile, nimble butterfly, barely dodging the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s paw strike. With lingering fear, Wen Qingye glanced at the corner of his robes. The fabric was torn—the result of the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s rapid attack just now.
’Even if this Fire-haired Brown Bear isn’t at the Refining Essence Third Layer Heaven, it must be at the peak of the Refining Essence Second Layer Heaven,’ Wen Qingye estimated inwardly.
Seeing its attack miss, the Fire-haired Brown Bear let out a great roar and lunged at Wen Qingye again.
"Clear Wind Chasing Moon!"
Wen Qingye’s body blurred into afterimages, like wisps of clear wind under the moonlight—light and agile. The sword in his hand became like a crescent moon, its sharpness carrying a stern chill.
PFFT!
The Fire-haired Brown Bear’s reactions were astonishingly fast. Seeing Wen Qingye appear beside it in the blink of an eye, it knew dodging would be difficult and hastily blocked the sword strike with its paw.
Wen Qingye’s sword pierced the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s arm, but it felt like he had hit bone, unable to penetrate any deeper. He immediately kicked off the bear’s body and leaped away.
If not for the Fifth-grade Treasure Sword, the Cyan Mist Sword, that Ling Wei had given him, Wen Qingye knew his Primordial Qi would have only been able to scratch the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s hide.
ROAR!
The Fire-haired Brown Bear roared in pain, its eyes locked murderously on Wen Qingye.
"Bright Moon in the Sky!"
Wen Qingye’s arm moved in a continuous swing. Each motion seemed to hold a special mystery, and with every slash, a pale yellow stream of Sword Qi erupted.
In an instant, several streams of Sword Qi surged together, seemingly forming a bright moon that shot forward with incredible speed.
The Fire-haired Brown Bear roared angrily. Fiery red Primordial Qi enveloped its right paw, which it then ruthlessly slammed forward.
BANG!
Feeling the merciless force of the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s palm strike, Wen Qingye quickly retreated four or five steps before coming to a stop.
The Fire-haired Brown Bear’s paw was now covered in bloody wounds. Wen Qingye’s Moonfall Swordsmanship was of an extremely high grade. Coupled with Wen Qingye’s understanding of the sword, he had quickly grasped all its secrets. With the Cyan Mist Sword in hand, he was like a tiger that had grown wings.
Wen Qingye looked at the Fire-haired Brown Bear, knowing that to kill it, he would have to strike a vital point. Otherwise, there was no way to kill this thick-skinned Fire Demon Brown Bear.
Wen Qingye’s eyes carefully watched the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s movements, searching for an opening.
The Fire-haired Brown Bear paid that no mind. Seeing Wen Qingye hesitate to advance, it kicked off with its legs and charged, swiping its paw toward Wen Qingye’s head.
Wen Qingye’s eyes lit up. He clenched his fist, the veins on his arm bulging as Primordial Qi spread through it. He violently slapped his palm against the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s arm.
"Celestial Hand!"
A massive Hand Seal materialized in the air, radiating a tyrannical aura that rampaged outward.
BOOM!
Wen Qingye felt a sharp pain in his chest and abdomen. He bit his tongue, enduring the agony as the sword in his hand began to move rapidly. His footwork shifted, and he started to slowly pivot.
"Silver Moon Wushang!"
With every turn of his feet, Wen Qingye’s sword followed with a slash. The Sword Body, thin as a cicada’s wing, carried a cold glint and made a SWISH SWISH sound in the air.
The Sword Qi was faintly chilling, and slowly, it became tinged with a layer of blood.
In an instant, blood spurted from the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s arms, chest, abdomen, and finally, its throat.
The Fire-haired Brown Bear seemed to grow even more berserk, charging rapidly toward Wen Qingye. Wen Qingye knew this was its final struggle. He refused to get entangled with it, his steps light as he pivoted four or five times to evade the closing bear.
The Fire-haired Brown Bear bled more and more profusely, its movements growing sluggish. Wen Qingye’s sword swung repeatedly, kicking the bear while it was down.
THUD!
At last, the Fire-haired Brown Bear collapsed under its own weight. Wen Qingye let out a sigh of relief and sat down nearby. Not only was most of his Primordial Qi depleted, but his chest and abdomen also throbbed with pain.
To lure the Fire-haired Brown Bear in, Wen Qingye had just exchanged a blow head-on. The Fire-haired Brown Bear was, after all, a Demon Beast at the Refining Essence Second Layer Heaven, and a Demon Beast’s physical body was much stronger than a human’s. There was no way Wen Qingye could have endured that.
Wen Qingye sat down cross-legged and began to slowly recover his Primordial Qi and heal his injuries.
When he woke up, Wen Qingye chopped off the Fire-haired Brown Bear’s paws and roasted a delicious meal of bear paw.
’This Moonfall Swordsmanship really is much stronger than the Spiritual Snake Sword,’ Wen Qingye thought to himself.
Wen Qingye journeyed back in the direction he came from. In the blink of an eye, another four or five days passed.
Looking at the dense ancient trees and thickets all around, Wen Qingye finally began to relax. He had gradually left the core area, and the strength of the surrounding Demon Beasts had also started to decrease.
Suddenly, Wen Qingye felt that this place seemed familiar. He couldn’t help but look around. A few corpses in the distance caught his eye. Wen Qingye instantly remembered: this was where he had encountered the Brain-Eating Monkeys and obtained the Treasure Map.
