9: Chapter 9 Gibbons

Nie Ning carefully discerned the scents in the air, following them to a patch of overgrown bushes.

The scent of the fox was exceptionally clear here, but it was spread all around, making it impossible for Nie Ning to pinpoint the exact location of the Three-Colored Fox.

However, having learned from previous lessons, Nie Ning had prepared a few small items this time.

He took out a cloth bag hidden under his cloak, which contained several animal traps and a dead chicken.

Nie Ning hung the chicken on a tree, then set down the animal traps at positions about twenty meters away from the chicken.

The Three-Colored Fox was highly vigilant and would certainly be able to spot the trap he had set, but at the very least, it would come to this place to investigate first.

After placing the animal traps, Nie Ning tied a string to the chicken and then slit its throat.

As the chicken's blood slowly dripped onto the ground, Nie Ning retreated to a pre-selected hiding spot, lay on the ground, and pulled the string in his hand, creating the illusion that the chicken was still alive.

Opposite where Nie Ning was hiding was the location where the animal traps were placed.

Given the Three-Colored Fox's sense of smell, it wouldn't be stupid enough to walk right in front of him, so there was a high probability that the Three-Colored Fox would step into the trap.

Nie Ning lay patiently on the ground waiting, his amber eyes constantly scanning the surrounding environment; any movement would not escape his notice.

...

After waiting for half an hour, Nie Ning, who was on full alert, couldn't help but feel a little tired.

"What's going on? It's clearly nearby, why hasn't it appeared yet?"

Nie Ning looked around, feeling somewhat strange.

The fox scent in the surroundings had not dissipated, proving that the Three-Colored Fox was definitely nearby.

But after such a long time, even a blind person should have smelled the scent of blood, right?

"Wait a little longer. If it still doesn't appear, I'll have to try and kill the black bear I saw last time."

Time was limited, so Nie Ning did not intend to waste time here forever.

Anyway, he would likely come here for the next few days, and perhaps one day he would be lucky enough to catch that slippery fox.

With the price of a Three-Colored Fox, he wouldn't have to worry about cultivation pills for at least the short term.

...

"Woo~"

A few minutes later, a low, harsh cry was heard.

Nie Ning perked up, thinking the animal trap had caught the Three-Colored Fox, and hurriedly looked up towards the source of the sound.

But suddenly, a black shadow quickly swept over Nie Ning's head; it was a gray-blue Three-Colored Fox!

"Damn it, is it really that arrogant?!"

Nie Ning was stunned by the Three-Colored Fox's actions.

He had never imagined that this Three-Colored Fox would dare to run right over his head.

At this moment, Nie Ning was like an enraged wild cat with its fur standing on end.

Provocation!

A blatant provocation!

But just as Nie Ning was about to get up to catch the provocative Three-Colored Fox, another black shadow suddenly rushed towards the Three-Colored Fox from the left.

That black shadow looked humanoid and was extremely fast; in an instant, it reached the Three-Colored Fox, and with one punch from its long arm, sent the Three-Colored Fox flying.

Seeing this scene, Nie Ning knew exactly what was going on; clearly, the Three-Colored Fox had been running towards him because it was panicked and had no other choice.

Looking at the humanoid shadow, Nie Ning hesitated for a moment before covering his face with a black cloth.

The Three-Colored Fox was valuable, and since he had finally encountered it, he naturally could not let it go so easily.

At the very least, based on the strength the opponent had shown, even if he couldn't catch the Three-Colored Fox, he wouldn't starve, so he couldn't afford to miss this Three-Colored Fox.

Seeing the black shadow chasing the Three-Colored Fox, Nie Ning kicked a head-sized stone lying near his feet.

The stone flew very fast, hitting the humanoid shadow that had raised its arms and knocking it away.

Nie Ning followed closely behind, drew the knight sword from his waist, and charged towards the Three-Colored Fox.

Just as Nie Ning was about to get the dying Three-Colored Fox, the humanoid shadow suddenly raised its arms and lifted a huge stone.

At this moment, he also saw the opponent's appearance clearly.

It was not a human, but a Long-Armed Ape that was two meters tall, with long arms, colorful striped markings on its cheeks, and rust-colored fur all over its body.

Watching the large stone flying towards him, Nie Ning infused his knight sword with battle aura and slashed at the stone with the force of a mountain-splitting strike.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, the stone shattered and scattered.

But before Nie Ning could catch his breath, a fist the size of a sandpot struck directly at his face.

In his haste, Nie Ning could only block with his long sword in front of him.

But the moment it made contact with the fist, feeling the power coming from the bending blade, Nie Ning's expression couldn't help but change.

Immediately after, he was sent flying, only stopping when he hit a large tree.

"What strong power!"

Blood spilled from the corner of Nie Ning's mouth as he looked up at the Long-Armed Ape in disbelief.

Judging by the strength just now, it had probably reached the peak of an Elementary Knight; this was also the first time Nie Ning had faced a creature with such great strength.

Strange Beast!

An anomaly among beasts, far surpassing ordinary beasts in certain aspects.

Nie Ning wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the Long-Armed Ape with a vigilant expression.

A Strange Beast was not only very powerful but might also possess some ability that ordinary animals did not have.

At this moment, the Long-Armed Ape was dancing and beating its chest, as if demonstrating its power to Nie Ning.

Naturally, Nie Ning would not indulge this anomaly, and furthermore, he wanted to see what ability he would gain from eating this thing.

Infusing battle aura into the knight sword, Nie Ning moved nimbly and quickly approached the Long-Armed Ape.

The Long-Armed Ape was not to be outdone; it made a big leap to get above Nie Ning and smashed its huge fist towards him.

Nie Ning rolled to dodge the attack, and his knight sword slashed towards the Long-Armed Ape's chest at an extremely tricky angle.

With the enhancement of battle aura, the knight sword was extremely sharp and directly cut a gash into the Long-Armed Ape's chest, but this also completely aroused the Long-Armed Ape's ferocity.

The Long-Armed Ape had terrifying strength; its swinging fists whistled with wind, and many small trees were smashed to pieces wherever it passed.

Facing such an attack, Nie Ning had already deeply experienced it and dared not take the opponent's attacks head-on.

However, relying on his own agility, the Long-Armed Ape couldn't do much about Nie Ning for a while, and it was even injured by the knight sword in Nie Ning's hand from time to time.

But just as Nie Ning wanted to slowly grind the Long-Armed Ape to death, he felt as if something around him had been activated.

The Long-Armed Ape suddenly accelerated, and raging flames ignited on its fists, with the scorching fire fists slamming towards Nie Ning's chest.

Seeing this scene, Nie Ning's expression changed, and he hurriedly activated his Strange Beast Body.

"Bang!"

Under the attack of the giant fire fists, Nie Ning spat out a mouthful of blood and only stopped after crashing through three large trees.

But after this attack, the Long-Armed Ape's eyes also showed signs of fatigue; clearly, this strike had consumed a lot of its energy.

Nie Ning hurriedly forced himself to stand up, holding his long sword vertically in front of him.

The two sides just stared at each other, neither of them making a rash move.

However, the Long-Armed Ape soon lost the standoff.

Blood kept flowing from the wounds on its body, which was not a good thing for any animal, and it might even attract other predators.