With his feet firmly planted atop the mountain, Long Chen breathed in the pure, cold air, feeling it cleanse the frustration and shock of his previous death.
The view from there was spectacular; a vast mountain range stretched to the horizon, with jagged peaks piercing the clouds and deep valleys shrouded in mist. Below, nestled among the mountains, lay a huge lake, its waters a blue so deep they looked like a piece of sky fallen to the earth.
His gaze fixed on the lake, and a vivid, terrifying memory flashed through his mind: the serpentine body, the scales like armor, and the crocodile-like head rising from the depths to annihilate the Demon Boar. The queen of that lake.
"Definitely not," he thought with a slight shudder. "I've already learned lesson number one: never, ever be the first to test the water." His new caution, forged in the lava hell, was now a second skin. He would not make the same mistake twice.
With one last suspicious look at the calm but deadly waters, he turned and began his exploration, following the tree line that bordered the mountain slopes. He walked for a long time, maybe hours, absorbing the vastness and surprising calmness of the world. With each step, he felt his own Rank-Bronze Four-Star level slowly rising.
The energy in this world was much more concentrated. It was being absorbed by his body on its own, without him needing to be in a cultivation state.
ROOOOAR!
CLANG!
Then the sounds of battle reached his ears. Guttural roars and the sound of metal striking rock echoed through the valley. Intrigued, Long Chen used [Shadow Steps] to move silently through the trees, approaching the source of the noise.
In a devastated clearing, two demon beasts, approximately Rank-Silver or higher, were locked in mortal combat. One was a huge Armored Brown Bear, over three meters tall on its hind legs. Thick bony plates covered its back and shoulders like natural armor, and its claws were like obsidian daggers.
Its opponent was a swift Wind Blade Wolf, a sleek gray creature that moved with the speed of a hurricane. Sharp wind blades were launched from its paws and mouth with every move, cutting the air and leaving deep grooves in the trees and rocks around.
Aooooo!
The battle was a classic clash of brute strength against lethal agility. The wolf was faster, circling the bear and leaving bloody cuts on its flanks and legs with its wind blades. The bear, in turn, endured the blows with furious growls, each of its paw strikes making the ground tremble, but narrowly missing the agile adversary.
Both seemed extremely fierce with their attacks. As if they were fighting for something, or had a life-or-death rivalry. However, something suddenly changed.
Finally, the bear's patience ran out. Ignoring a wind blade that opened a deep cut on its shoulder, it let out a deafening roar and charged. The wolf, caught off guard by the sudden burst of speed, tried to leap back, but was not fast enough.
Crack! Brooom!
The bear's massive claws caught it, and with a horrible sound of breaking bones, the Wind Blade Wolf's body was crushed against the ground.
Roaaar!
The Armored Brown Bear stood over its enemy's corpse, panting, its body covered in wounds and blood dripping from a particularly nasty cut on its shoulder. It had won but was exhausted and injured.
For Long Chen, hidden in the shadows, this was exactly the perfect opportunity.
He emerged from the trees, not with the haste of a rookie, but with the calculated calm of someone who didn't want to die again by rushing at easy prey. The bear sensed him, turning with a threatening growl, but before it could even think of attacking, Long Chen's purple eyes glowed.
Wooosh!
The [Soul Paralysis Eye] struck the wounded beast directly. The bear's massive body stiffened, its eyes widening in confusion and terror as its mind was imprisoned.
Using [Shadow Steps], Long Chen disappeared, then reappeared beside the bear's head in an instant.
"Die!"
He raised the "Staff of Glory," now humming with the Soul Force he channeled, and struck with all his strength at the paralyzed beast's temple.
CRACK!
The sound was sharp and final. The bear's skull gave way, and the huge creature collapsed to the ground with a crash, raising stones and dust.
Long Chen took a deep breath, a satisfied smile on his face. Efficient. Clean. He approached the two bodies, with a tool he had brought for this world, and skillfully extracted the two demon cores.
The Armored Brown Bear's core was an Earth-Yellow crystal, shining with heavy, earthy energy. The Wind Blade Wolf's was light Blue, of common appearance, emitting a softer energy. Both were about the size of a fist, perhaps slightly stronger than the Three-Eyed Black Tiger's core.
"That's what I call lucky! Two perfect cores without much effort," he smiled.
He then focused his mind on the ring on his finger. With a thought, the two cores disappeared from his hand. He followed with his hand over the bear's corpse, and the massive body also vanished. He did the same with the wolf.
"Now this," he thought, feeling the space inside the ring. "Is much more convenient than leaving a mountain of treasures behind."
But why were they fighting so fiercely? Could there be some treasure nearby?
Just as he was about to continue his journey, his sharp gaze noticed something on the slope of a nearby mountain.
A dark spot standing out against the gray rock.
"That is… a cave?"
But it wasn't the cave that caught his attention most, but the area around it. There was a large amount of dried blood staining the ground and rocks, and clear signs of an intense battle.
Rocks were broken, nearby trees had been knocked down, and the mountain walls around the cave entrance were marked with deep claw marks and bloody stains.
"What happened here? Who was fighting before those two?"
Curiosity overcame his initial caution. He approached slowly, activating his purple eyes, every sense alert for any sign of danger. The quietness of the place was eerie. He expected an ambush at any moment, but to his surprise, he managed to enter the cave without problems.
"Strange. Could the beast that lived here have been killed and dragged away?" he wondered, continuing his walk deeper into the cave's darkness. The smell of blood and ozone still lingered in the air.
Suddenly, his eyes adjusted to the dimness and focused on something at the back of the cave. A ball of snow-white fur caught his attention.
It lay on the ground, motionless.
"Wait... that is."
As he approached, he was surprised to realize the snowball was a large white fox. There were horrible, bloody claw marks on its abdomen. Behind it, six long white tails extended, with vibrant orange tips. This was a Six-Tailed Demon Fox.
But that wasn't all. Nestled against its body, sleeping peacefully, were two tiny cubs, their breaths soft and even. The Great Fox, however, seemed to have little time left. Its breathing was weak and uneven.
The Great Fox also noticed him. It raised its head with immense effort. Long Chen prepared for a desperate attack, a last act of defiance. But instead, the fox's eyes met his, and in them there was no fury or fear, but something he could only describe as… mercy? Such a human plea, reflected in the eyes of a demon beast.
This was incredible.
Before he could react, it laid its head back on the ground gently, using the last of its strength to look at its sleeping cubs. A low sound, a soft groan of pain and love, escaped from its throat.
Long Chen froze, unsure what to do.