* RAAAAWR! *
A huge roar out of nowhere star
tled the boys.
"What the heck was that!?" Terrified by the sudden roar, Yao Tian couldn't help but ask Song Shou.
"It came from the cliff nearby, wait here while I go and see what's going on." Not even waiting for Yao Tian's answer, Song Shou ran over near the cliff.
"Yao Bao! Take your bag and go back by carriage and wait for me there, okay? I'll be back as soon as possible." Though Yao Bao was terrified from the previous loud roar.
The young boy listened to his brother and hurriedly hopped on the carriage and hid under a blanket.
Knowing the general direction of the cliff, Yao Tian ran towards it and saw his friend peering down at something. "What are you doing!?"
Song Shou hastily made a silencing gesture and called him over.
"Shhhhhhh... Quiet down. Look down, there is a battle going on." He said in a whisper.
Yao Tian complied and slowly peaked down the cliff to see what was going on only to be shocked by the scene.
Two huge shadows clashing against each other with a ferocity and strength that far surpassed the wild beats he was familiar with.
Spirit Beasts!
The Jade Forest spanned across a large territory bordering many different towns. Even if one could fly at high speed, it could take days to reach one end of the forest to the other.
Despite its beautiful landscape, it was anything but safe.
Creatures of all kinds could be found roaming these woods. Some just regular wild beasts and even some small human tribes.
But there were also kings who ruled different regions of these lands, and they were the spirit beasts.
These spirit beasts were the most notorious and most dangerous entities anyone could ever encounter in the Jade Forest. They could stand against immortals and, in some cases, could even kill them.
It was said that if anyone ever had the misfortune to encounter a spirit beast, the only thing that a person could do was to pray for forgiveness to the gods for their past mistakes as they were practically guaranteed to perish.
With these facts in mind, it was quite a shocker when Yao Tian could finally see their appearance.
A giant black snake with red stripes that could measure the length of 15 meters could be seen battling against a six-legged green lizard of similar proportions.
'We must leave this place right now!' Yao Tian knew that they had to take the opportunity with the spirit beasts distracted with each other to load the carriage and travel as far as possible.
"Where are you going? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to get 2 beast cores at once! Do you realize how much of a boon that will be for us? I could finally have a breakthrough and reach the 'Inner Aura Manifestation Realm'." Greed could be seen slowly surfacing in Song Shou's eyes.
"The tiger snake is a well-known rank 1 beast that even a group of amateur practitioners could take one out while the lizard is basically similar in strength-wise."
"Are you freaking insane!? Those beasts will tear us into pieces before we could even get close to them! And what did you mean by 'us'? I can't fight!"
"Calm down, I will hide behind those big rocks while waiting for one to die and the other to be left severely injured. I am at the pinnacle of the 'Body Reinforcement Realm' and half-step in the 'Outer Aura Realm'. I am confident to deal with half-dead beasts. If luck is by my side, both will be dead." It was apparent that Song Shou was determined to put himself in danger.
Yao Tian couldn't believe his ears. Song Shou was not only putting himself but also his and his brother's life in grave danger!
These beasts were not to be messed with since even people like Song Shou were known to die fighting against them.
"Song Shou I am telling you this again but we. Will. Die if you go out there. You are taking unnecessary risks for just 2 measly beast cores that we could hunt for when we are prepared enough. Listen to me, let's just leave while we can. " He truly was a moment away from begging Song Shou.
But, unfortunately, his friend did not pay him any attention as he stealthily made his way down the cliff.
"THAT FUCKING MORON!" Cried out Yao Tian, who could just stay put and witness what could happen.
The fight between the two beats continued to intensify. Multiple lacerations and deep wounds could be seen on both of them.
The giant tiger snake who stood a distance away immediately pounced and lunged towards one of its foe's legs.
The latter didn't have time to dodge the attack and got on his limbs, gruesomely ripped away.
"RAAAAAAAAAAWWWR!!" The same roar that was heard before escaping the rock lizard's mouth.
The snake continued his assault and this time aimed his long fangs towards the lizard's neck and before it could fully pierce the skin, the rock lizard immediately spun around and used its tail to smack the snake away.
The tail attack was quite effective as half of the tiger snake's head was badly wounded, with it having lost one of its eyes.
After a moment, both creatures were again at a standstill, but this time one was missing one of its limbs while the other had a part of its face caved inwards. Only the sound of ragged breathing and the scent of blood could be felt in the forest.
The Rock Lizard ready to attach again came to a sudden halt.
Yao Tian, who was watching from a distance, could see the green liquid coming out of the lizard's neck where the snake had previously been attacked.
"Was it poisoned?"
No matter how small the wound made by the fangs was, if even a small bit of poison could enter anything's veins, it would likely kill it.
The lizard started to thrash around knocking a few trees away in the process. Not managing to stay standing, it fell on the ground.
It tried to get back up, but failed as strength continued to leak out from his being. In a few moments, it succumbed to the poison.
The snake slithered close to the dying lizard and stared at it in its eyes.
*HISSSS... *
For the first time, the snake let out a low hiss, almost as if to assert dominance. The lizard could respond before the snake opened its maw and crushed its head to bits before swallowing it.
The fight was short, but the damage caused was quite significant. The surrounding tree was completely destroyed, the air reeked of a sickeningly potent copper scent and green fumes could be seen slowly encompassing the area.
The Tiger Snake continued to survey the area before it decided to return to its nest to recover and heal. But before it could go far, a rustling noise came behind it.
* HISSSS! *
Already on high alert, the snake hurriedly turned around to see any incoming danger only to be met with a fist to its face.
* Baam! *
The punch knocked it a couple of yards away, making the already weak beast topple over to the ground. Normally, such a punch wouldn't even faze it in a normal situation, but its defence was barely standing with the previous fight.
"Hahaha! I was getting worried there that I would be discovered by one of you during the battle." After attacking the snake, Song Shou walked towards it and slowly unsheathed a sword from his hip. "Now, you die."
As he was about to strike with his sword, a low rumbling was produced by the snake with its scales lighting up in a blood-red colour.
Before Song Shou could even react in time, a huge pressure dropped on his shoulders, almost making him drop to his knees.
"Shit, it's having a breakthrough now!? It's evolving into a rank 2 beast!" It was already too late, despair came over Song Shou's being. He knew that he had no hope to escape from a rank 2 beast that was as strong as an 'Inner Aura Realm' expert.
"Bu-but how!? The tiger snake should have been weakened by now, so why is it having a breakthr-" As soon as he muttered those words, he recalled when the tiger snake swallowed the rock lizard's head... And that was where the core was located!
Yao Tian watching the scene from afar had to find a solution as soon as possible if he did not want to lose his friends and become the snake's next meal.
Yao Tian began to look around in hopes to find something, anything that even had the smallest chance to help him.
"Wait, there is a tree trunk over here... I could push it over the cliff...probably...maybe...am I even strong enough to do that?" it was a plausible solution.
He didn't know about the details of breakthroughs or if they could be interfered with, but he had no choice but to take the risk.
"Fuck it, it's now or never!"
Yes, he had to do it!
He could do it!
Or else...
""I don't want to die..."" The same thought passed through both of the boys.