61: Chapter 61 Fifth-Order Ferocious Beast

Within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, an impenetrable gloom always hung over the land.

The trees here grew with a demonic intensity; thousand-year-old trees rose from the earth with trunks so thick they required several men to encircle. Their sky-blotting canopies layered upon one another, sealing the light of heaven firmly beyond the horizon, leaving only fragmented specks of light to fall upon the thick layer of decaying leaves. Even the light carried a damp, dismal chill.

The decaying leaves beneath his feet were half a foot thick. Years of fallen leaves, rotting wood, and animal bones fermented in the moisture and miasma. Stepping on them was soft and silent, yet they emitted a scent mixed with decay, earthy musk, and a faint, fishy smell of vegetation that made one's chest feel heavy.

Lin Qing's steps were steady as he trod upon the decaying leaves without making any unnecessary sound. His figure wove through the dense forest like a specter, avoiding protruding branches and gnarled roots.

He had been inside these Hundred Thousand Mountains for a full three months now.

During these three months, Lin Qing had been extremely cautious. He always detoured around deep valleys, deathly silent forests, and pitch-black deep pools, never venturing into them rashly. Even for daily tasks like getting water or bathing, he only dared to choose clear, shallow streams within the woods.

Suddenly, Lin Qing's steps came to a sharp halt, as if he were nailed to the spot. He retracted his aura with all his might, and even his breathing slowed down subconsciously.

Something was wrong.

An extremely subtle yet violent and bloodthirsty malevolence had quietly descended upon this space at some unknown moment.

If one often walks by the riverside, how can one's shoes not get wet? This time, he had likely encountered one of those high-level Vicious Beasts that roamed around hunting.

The malevolent aura in the air became increasingly dense. The already chilly air was stained even colder by this savagery, and the surroundings fell into a suffocating solemnity.

Lin Qing turned abruptly, his gaze fixed intently on a tall thicket of bushes ahead.

"Rustle—"

The dense bushes were pushed aside, and a massive creature stepped out slowly.

It was a Giant Lizard covered entirely in purple-black scales. Its body was astonishingly large, a full five zhang long. Its limbs were short, thick, and powerful, with claw tips glinting with a cold, dark light; every single claw was as sharp as a blade.

The purple-black scales covering its body were layered and as hard as fine iron, their surfaces reflecting a cold metallic luster. Between the gaps in the scales, dried dark-brown blood remained, emitting a nauseating stench.

Its head was enormous, its triangular eyes had vertical pupils as red as blood, and purple saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth. As it hit the ground, it instantly corroded small black holes into the decaying leaves, sizzling with white vapor.

A malevolent aura locked onto Lin Qing firmly, as if it were about to swallow him whole in the next moment.

Lin Qing stood where he was, his muscles tensed to the absolute limit. The Qi and blood surging through his body were like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, completely retracted and sinking into his limbs, bones, internal organs, and every inch of his flesh and skin.

At this moment, the Qi and blood within Lin Qing's body had been refined to the extreme, like a sleeping primordial beast hidden within his Physical Body. Every inch of skin, every bone, and every cell was filled with abundant, refined Qi and blood. His defense, explosive power, and reaction speed all climbed to their Peak at this moment.

This state was a completely new Realm he had reached on his own two months ago, while his Physical Body was being tempered day and night by the Innate Mysterious Fetus. He had never heard of such a state in the Great Xia Kingdom.

What Lin Qing did not know was that this state—let alone in the Great Xia Kingdom—was something that even outside the Hundred Thousand Mountains, only one-in-a-million peerless Prodigies could barely touch after decades of hard work and the assistance of supreme Heaven And Earth Treasures: Qi-Blood Returning to the Source.

The atmosphere grew increasingly heavy, and the air in the forest seemed to freeze.

Suddenly, the Giant Lizard seemed to lose its patience for the standoff.

Its crimson vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and its massive mouth suddenly opened. A water ball glowing with a deep purple light shot straight toward Lin Qing's face with an ear-piercing sound of breaking air!

Lin Qing's expression changed. Not daring to take it head-on, he exerted force with his feet, and his figure instantly shifted sideways, dodging the water ball.

"Thud."

The purple water ball struck a thousand-year-old tree behind Lin Qing, instantly piercing through the thick trunk and blasting a huge hole in the ancient tree. The edges of the hole turned black, withered, and rotted at a visible speed, making a sizzling sound.

It's poisonous!

Seeing its strike miss, a flash of violence crossed the Giant Lizard's crimson vertical pupils. It opened its mouth repeatedly, and purple water balls shot out one after another like a rainstorm.

Lin Qing did not dare to be careless. His figure flickered as he moved rapidly through the dense forest, and dozens of afterimages instantly appeared among the trees.

During these three months, he had already practiced all the martial arts he had previously collected to Perfection. The only regret was that he had only obtained two Earth Rank martial arts, and his current Physical Body control rating still remained at Profound Rank Advanced.

And at this moment, what he was utilizing was precisely one of the two Earth Rank martial arts—the "Phantom Dust-Leaving Step."

This Earth Rank Movement Technique used mysterious and unpredictable footwork trajectories combined with the circulation of Qi and blood to leave behind lifelike afterimages while moving at high speeds, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.

However, Lin Qing's heart soon sank. No matter how many afterimages he left behind, the Giant Lizard's attacks could always accurately lock onto his main body. The purple water balls constantly pursued his true self.

"It's Divine Thought!"

Lin Qing realized instantly.

Vicious Beasts above the Fifth Order had already awakened Divine Thought and were not interfered with by false afterimages at all.

Lin Qing immediately stopped performing useless actions and ceased using the Earth Rank Movement Technique. He relied solely on his own speed and reactions to dodge and maneuver amidst the dense water ball attacks.

His physical strength and reaction speed far exceeded those of Martial Artists of the same rank, but the Giant Lizard's attacks were too dense; he simply couldn't find an opportunity to get close.

If he could get close, he might be able to rely on his powerful Physical Body to slay the Giant Lizard. But now, he was suppressed firmly by the water balls, unable to even get within three zhang of the beast.

He couldn't delay any longer; he had to leave!

Lin Qing made up his mind. While dodging the water balls, he used the intervals between his movements to quietly and slowly retreat, gradually widening the distance between himself and the Giant Lizard.

After narrowly avoiding another three consecutive water balls, the distance between Lin Qing and the Giant Lizard had increased to nearly ten zhang.

"Go!"

Lin Qing did not hesitate. He turned and sprinted toward the distance. His feet stepped on the decaying leaves, and his figure was like an arrow released from a bowstring, maneuvering left and right through the forest, avoiding numerous obstacles as he pushed his speed to the limit.

Seeing its prey trying to escape, the Giant Lizard let out a violent roar. The sound shook the leaves in the forest, causing them to rustle and fall. Its limbs exerted force, and its massive body charged forward, smashing through countless trees along the way as it pursued Lin Qing.

One pursued and one fled, weaving rapidly through the dense forest of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The Giant Lizard followed closely behind, crashing through everything in its path. Its violent roars were incessant, but no matter how hard it tried, it could never close the distance with Lin Qing. It could only watch helplessly as Lin Qing's figure grew further and further away in the forest.

After running for several li, the Giant Lizard finally realized that its speed was simply no match for Lin Qing's, and continuing the chase would be futile.

It stopped its pace, let out an unwilling roar toward the direction Lin Qing had left, and finally turned slowly, retreating back into the depths of the dense forest.