After walking for a long time along the chosen path, the scenery around was still a snow-covered wasteland. There were no towns at all, not even a village. Ethan Lane began to wonder if he had chosen the wrong route, but he was heading south. He could still tell east, south, west, and north by the sun.
This wasteland was not only covered by thick snow, but the trees were also mostly coniferous, which showed that this place was very far north. If this world was similar to Earth, heading south was the only way out.
As for the corpse of the man he encountered at the beginning, he had a European appearance. From this, it could be inferred that he had transmigrated to a place similar to Siberia or Northern Europe on Earth. He just didn't know why the deceased would die alone there. After walking for a few more hours, the weather began to change. The cold wind began to howl; it was going to snow.
Ethan Lane began to circulate the Spiritual Qi in his body to resist the severe cold. He was not immune to the cold; it was just that a temperature of minus ten or twenty degrees wouldn't kill him. But once the temperature continued to drop, his body alone would not be able to withstand it.
The temperature in the blizzard-swept wasteland could be as low as minus forty or fifty degrees. At such a low temperature, if he didn't circulate his Spiritual Qi, he would freeze to death in minutes. He continued to move forward against the wind and snow, but soon he stopped because he realized he was lost.
The snowstorm blocked the sun, and his vision was severely restricted. Moreover, there was no Spiritual Qi in this world, so he couldn't use talismans, spells, or other methods to find the right direction. The Spiritual Qi converted now was most useful for enhancing his physical fitness.
Having no choice, Ethan Lane had to find a cave to temporarily take shelter from the wind and snow. The storm was too strong, and the extremely low temperature was causing his Spiritual Qi to be consumed at a rapid rate, much faster than he could replenish it.
After resting for a few hours, the sky gradually darkened, but the blizzard still hadn't stopped. Feeling a little hungry, he started to make a fire by drilling wood, then took out a dried fish and began to grill it.
The fish was cooked quickly. Just as he had taken a few bites, Ethan Lane suddenly stopped. He felt the concentration of purple qi in the air begin to increase, something he had never encountered before. The concentration of the Primordial Violet Qi was getting higher and higher, and a few beast-like roars suddenly came from outside the blizzard-swept cave.
Ethan Lane put down the fish in his hand, crept to the mouth of the cave, and carefully poked his head out to see what was roaring. Soon, he noticed several huge black shadows flying in the distance, completely ignoring the blizzard. Not only were they flying extremely fast, but they were also very agile, even taking off vertically.
His gaze was immediately drawn to these black shadows. He carefully walked out of the cave and stealthily approached them. Soon he was close enough to get a clear view of their true appearance.
When he saw what they were, he couldn't help but think, "Isn't that the dead unknown animal from before! But their flying style and appearance... why do they look so much like the Chariot-type Honkai Beasts from Honkai Impact 3rd?"
The several Honkai Beast-like animals in the distance were constantly circling, he didn't know what they were doing. Suddenly they stopped, and their gazes turned towards where Ethan Lane was hiding.
Ethan Lane's heart skipped a beat. Had he been discovered? The several Honkai Beast-like animals suddenly shrieked and flew rapidly towards the snowdrift where he was hiding. They were extremely fast, arriving near the snowdrift in the blink of an eye.
"I've been found! They're too fast, no time to shoot. I'll have to fight!" Ethan Lane tightened his grip on his dagger and charged out of the snowdrift, rushing straight towards them.
These animals flew extremely fast, and since Ethan Lane was also closing in on them, the distance between them closed in a flash. One of the flying animals quickly gained altitude and then dived down at an incredible speed.
Ethan Lane was startled. He couldn't take it head-on! So he did a clumsy roll to the side. The diving animal shot past where he had just been, like a fighter jet, and crashed into a large tree nearby, splitting it in two. Seeing this, Ethan Lane secretly rejoiced that he hadn't tried to block it, otherwise, the tree's fate would have been his.
The other animals, seeing their companion's attack fail, quickly flew towards him.
Just as he got up from the ground, Ethan Lane dodged to the side again. One of the flying animals extended a wing, like a boomerang, and grazed his shoulder. With a *rip*, his coat was torn, and his shoulder was cut.
Ethan Lane grunted, a hint of fear in his heart. "No, they're too fast. I can't even dodge in time. My body is too weak right now. If I can escape this time, I must train diligently. If I had known this would happen, I would have stayed in the small cabin."
But these flying animals didn't care what he was thinking. The other animals quickly charged at him. Ethan Lane took a deep breath and said, "Looks like I have to fight for my life. But I'm the chosen one, I can't just kick the bucket like this."
He began to circulate the Spiritual Qi in his body. He had too little of it right now and couldn't sustain a burst of power for long. He had to end this quickly. Ethan Lane gripped his dagger tightly. He didn't charge forward again but chose to wait and see, because he didn't know what kind of attacks these animals would use next.
Of the animals flying over, two chose to climb, and two chose to fly straight at him. It seemed they planned to use the same move. The climbing animals were the first to dive, their powerful momentum making Ethan Lane's breath catch in his throat.
But he wasn't afraid. He knew that if he showed fear, it would be his end. He began to circulate the Spiritual Qi in his body according to the method in the Dao Yan Record. When the Spiritual Qi reached his head, the movements of these animals suddenly seemed to be in slow motion.
In fact, their movements hadn't slowed down; it was Ethan Lane's senses that had been greatly enhanced by the Spiritual Qi. Ethan Lane took a deep breath, circulated all his Spiritual Qi, aimed at one of the flying animals, and quickly stabbed forward.
*Swish!* His stab was extremely fast, even creating an afterimage. The air seemed to be torn apart. The dagger swiftly approached the diving animal. He didn't dodge or evade. His eyes were fixed on this animal. It was either you die or I die!
Ethan Lane's hand shifted direction slightly, avoiding the animal's head. Soon, the dagger stabbed directly into the animal's chin. With a *ding*, the dagger broke through the animal's tough armor and pierced into its head.
Ethan Lane didn't stop. Using the momentum of its dive, he quickly pulled forward. With a loud tearing sound, the animal was disemboweled by Ethan Lane. It let out a few cries and soon stopped moving. But Ethan Lane didn't have time to check; he quickly pulled out the dagger and dodged to the side again.
*Plop!* The other diving animal plunged directly into the snowdrift. Ethan Lane quickly got up and jumped into the pit made by the animal. Before it could react, he frantically stabbed with his dagger. The animal shrieked a few times and soon fell silent.
Ethan Lane didn't linger. He jumped out of the snow pit, trying to dodge the attacks of the other two animals. But just as he jumped out, one of the animal's wings swept across his abdomen. Ethan Lane screamed and fell heavily to the ground.
He didn't have time to check his wound, nor could he care. The other animal was already charging at him. He gripped his dagger, only to find that only the hilt was left.
Ethan Lane gave a bitter smile, tossed the hilt aside, and clenched his fists. "Come on!" Ethan Lane quickly absorbed the surrounding purple qi, converted it all into Spiritual Qi, and continuously poured it into his hands. His arms swelled rapidly, and in an instant, his hands looked like those of a bodybuilder.
"Ah!!!" He punched at the incoming animal. The animal didn't dodge at all and was hit squarely by his fist. With a crack, the animal was sent flying. Without caring for his burning fist, Ethan Lane charged forward and violently smashed the animal that had been knocked away. After more than a dozen punches, he finally stopped. The animal was already beaten beyond recognition, deader than dead.
Ethan Lane's face suddenly changed. He heard the sound of flapping wings behind him. He wanted to raise his hands, but only then did he realize that his hands were like twisted dough, with skin split and flesh gaping, broken in countless places.
Ethan Lane gritted his teeth and roared, "Without hands, I still have my feet! I still have my teeth! Go to hell!" Ethan Lane drove the last of his Spiritual Qi to his legs, then kicked hard at the last animal.
*Crack!* His leg bent at a ninety-degree angle like a broken piece of wood, while the animal was sent flying a long way, twitching on the ground a few times before it stopped moving. Ethan Lane's face changed drastically, and he fell heavily into the snow. Having exhausted all his Spiritual Qi, the pain from all over his body made him pass out.
The blizzard suddenly stopped, and the moonlight appeared. The gentle moonlight shone through the coniferous forest onto his face. The surrounding purple qi was slowly being absorbed by him, and it seemed that a part of the moonlight was also being absorbed.
His wounds began to heal slowly. The process was so slow that when the sky brightened, he still hadn't woken up.