In the depths of the Beast Mountain Range, Xing Jue, like a nimble monkey, sped through the jungle.
But at this moment, the usual calm smile on his delicate face was replaced by a cautious, serious expression. After all, his target this time was the Shen-rank beast, a powerful beast that even Xiaoqian would have difficulty defeating in a direct confrontation. So, Xing Jue had to be careful.
Actually, ever since he stepped into the deep part of the mountain range, Xing Jue had felt the presence of a vague life form within a specific area. But he was still unable to sense the number or strength of this life form. The only thing that could have this kind of power was the Shen-rank beast.
However, Xing Jue was still afraid of the terrifying power of the Shen-rank beast, so he hadn't dared to advance into this area. But now, to win first place in the hunting competition, Xing Jue was ready to take a gamble.
He sped through countless battle plans in his mind. But Xing Jue tossed them all away. He needed a battle plan that he was absolutely confident in. Otherwise, facing this terrifying Shen-rank beast, Xing Jue could die.
In the depths of the Beast Mountain Range, there was a particularly quiet jungle. Within a radius of a hundred miles of this forest, the beasts were unusually quiet. Even the sounds of growls never came.
In the center of the jungle stood a huge cave. At the entrance of the cave, there were actually two Zun-rank High-level Beasts, sprawled lazily like they were guarding something.
"Bang," suddenly, in the forest not far from the cave, there was a dull thud. Hearing the thud, the High-level Beast quickly got up and cautiously looked around.
"Zanpakuto!"
Just then, above the beast, a young man holding a dark black long sword suddenly appeared. When the beast discovered the young man, the dark black long sword was already slashing down at its head, trailing a phantom image.
"Puff!"
As the sword's phantom passed, blood spurted out from the beast. The beast fell weakly to the ground. The young man did an elegant somersault, landing on top of the beast. This was naturally Xing Jue.
"Roar!", seeing this, the other High-level Beast charged toward Xing Jue at high speed. But Xing Jue moved, rushing toward the beast.
At this moment, Xing Jue was a combination of Swift Wind Technique, Soul Explosion, and Zanpakuto, three powerful skills. He was at his most powerful in this state. However, this powerful state was short-lived, so he had to finish the battle as quickly as possible.
"Puff!" Another dull thud. The High-level Beast, like the previous one, spurted blood and fell weakly to the ground.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
After defeating the beast, Xing Jue's strength began to drop rapidly. Seeing this, he quickly popped a "Pain Relief Pill" into his mouth.
Solving two High-level Beasts in the blink of an eye. While this tactic was very powerful, the price Xing Jue paid was enormous. This was evident in how quickly his Soul Explosion state ended.
"Roar!"
Just then, from the dark cave, there was a roar like thunder. At the same time, a gust of wind furiously burst out of the cave.
Seeing this, Xing Jue quickly used the Swift Wind Technique to dodge. After the wind subsided, there was a pair of blood-red eyes like lanterns, which emerged from the darkness of the cave.
"You audacious human. How dare you invade my territory," a raspy voice suddenly sounded from the cave. This voice sent chills down anyone's spine. Although it was speaking human words, no one would believe that it came from a human being.
"This beast can actually talk," Xing Jue was startled when he heard the voice and exclaimed incredulously. Logically speaking, some Shen-rank beasts could speak, but they were extremely rare. This also reflected the strength of this beast from another dimension.
Just when Xing Jue was shocked by the beast's power, the Shen-rank beast slowly walked out of the cave. Its appearance finally appeared in Xing Jue's eyes.
It turned out to be a deep red fox, but this fox was dozens of times larger than an ordinary fox, with a length of about thirty feet. It had nine tails behind it, and as the tails swayed, they stirred up a whirlwind. This was the extremely rare "Nine-Tailed Fox" in the animal kingdom.
"Little brat, were you the one who killed my two underlings?" After stepping out of the cave, the Nine-Tailed Fox first looked Xing Jue up and down. Then it asked, somewhat questioningly.
"They were in the way. But my real target is you," Xing Jue smiled slightly, pursing his lips, with a touch of provocation in his words.
"Ignorant little brat. Relying on you? You must have used some special charm," Hearing Xing Jue's words, the Nine-Tailed Fox dismissively glanced at him. It didn't think that Xing Jue could kill the two High-level Beasts so quickly with his own strength.
"Hmph!"
"Devouring Wind Palm,"
Seeing this, Xing Jue didn't waste any words, he snorted coldly, two brilliant lights instantly condensed in his hands. He clapped at the Nine-Tailed Fox, and two brilliant palm prints shot out towards the Nine-Tailed Fox at high speed.
"Bang!" "Bang!"
But facing those two Devouring Wind Palms, the Nine-Tailed Fox opened its mouth and directly swallowed the two palm prints into its mouth. It then closed its mouth, and two muffled sounds came from its mouth. At the same time, a wisp of smoke slowly rose from the corner of its mouth.
"Such weak martial arts," The Nine-Tailed Fox smacked its lips, looking like it hadn't had enough.
Xing Jue was startled at this moment. Although his Devouring Wind Palm was indeed a bit weak for a Shen-rank beast, it shouldn't be swallowed by it so easily.
But Xing Jue didn't become discouraged. Instead, he spread his palms, and two flames rose in his hands. Then, his palms faced each other, condensing a rapidly rotating fireball.
Seeing the fireball in Xing Jue's hand, the Nine-Tailed Fox curled its lips into a mocking smirk, looking at Xing Jue as if he were a clown performing tricks.
"Flame Dragon Bullet!"
With a loud roar, the fireball in Xing Jue's hand turned into a thick flame dragon, rushing towards the Nine-Tailed Fox. As the flame dragon surged forward, beautiful sparks scattered in all directions. The spectacle was quite impressive.
"Boom, Boom, Boom!"
But what shocked Xing Jue most was that when the flame dragon hit the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Nine-Tailed Fox just lightly waved its paw, and the flame dragon instantly exploded. The powerful energy ripples spread out at high speed. But the Nine-Tailed Fox treated the ripples that were spreading around it as if they were a refreshing breeze, completely unaffected.
"Well…,"
Seeing this, Xing Jue almost choked on a mouthful of blood. This Nine-Tailed Fox was too powerful. It was only now that Xing Jue truly understood that the Nine-Tailed Fox before him was far more powerful than the Black Horned Wolf in the ancient mountain range.
"Fox Lord, you are truly powerful. Today, I am honored to have witnessed your might. But I have other things to take care of, so I will not disturb you, Fox Lord, Goodbye!" Just then, Xing Jue suddenly bowed to the Nine-Tailed Fox and said respectfully. After saying goodbye, he hurriedly turned and strode away, preparing to escape.
"Roar!"
Seeing that Xing Jue was about to run, the Nine-Tailed Fox opened its mouth, and powerful strength quickly condensed. It finally formed a constantly rotating black energy sphere in its mouth, and the aura emanating from the energy sphere was terrifying.
"Bang!" With a muffled sound, the energy sphere, like a meteor slashing through the sky, sped towards Xing Jue. Looking at the rapidly approaching energy sphere, Xing Jue could feel the formidable energy it contained.
But at this moment, Xing Jue slowly closed his eyes. At the same time, he extended his soul power to the limit. He opened his eyes abruptly only when he sensed that the black energy sphere was about to hit him.
"Boom, Boom, Boom!"
The energy sphere successfully hit Xing Jue's body. With a loud bang, the energy sphere rapidly expanded. Eventually, it spread out into a giant energy sphere. The terrifying energy in the sphere surged rapidly, finally gradually dissipating after a while.
When the energy completely dissipated, Xing Jue's body appeared. But at this moment, Xing Jue had no aura. He was clearly dead.
"Hmph, you self-righteous little brat," the Nine-Tailed Fox said with a raspy voice, mocking after seeing Xing Jue killed with one blow.
Then it began to walk slowly toward Xing Jue. When it reached Xing Jue, the Nine-Tailed Fox first sniffed Xing Jue's aura with its huge nose, then said, "It's been a long time since I tasted human flesh."
After savoring Xing Jue's aroma, the Nine-Tailed Fox opened its big mouth full of sharp teeth, ready to swallow Xing Jue into its belly.
But just then, Xing Jue suddenly opened his eyes. At the same time, a strong wind surged rapidly around his body. A dark black Zanpakuto sword quickly formed in his right hand. He stabbed out at the Nine-Tailed Fox, which was within arm's reach.
Actually, Xing Jue's previous actions were completely intentional. He deliberately pretended to be incompetent to make the Nine-Tailed Fox relax its guard. When it launched an attack, he used his "Soul Explosion" as an instant invincibility to defend against its attack, and he absorbed its attack's energy into his body at the moment its attack dissipated.
He then used his powerful soul to suppress his aura. This was to make the Nine-Tailed Fox think he was dead. Then, when the Nine-Tailed Fox was completely unguarded, he launched this attack.
After all, Xing Jue knew of the Shen-rank beast's strength. If he had fought it head on, he would have had no chance of winning. So, Xing Jue had to use a surprise tactic. This was the only way he could have a chance to defeat the Shen-rank beast.
Faced with Xing Jue's sudden attack, the Nine-Tailed Fox's face changed dramatically. But the Nine-Tailed Fox was definitely not an ordinary beast, even at such a close distance, the Nine-Tailed Fox still relied on its lightning-fast speed to dodge Xing Jue's attack.
"Hmph," Seeing that the Nine-Tailed Fox had dodged his attack, Xing Jue was not nervous, but snorted coldly. Martial energy began to pour into the Zanpakuto sword at high speed. Then he swung it toward the Nine-Tailed Fox.
A black sword energy, a foot long, rushed towards the Nine-Tailed Fox, leaving a phantom in its wake. At such a close distance, and with such a large-scale attack, Xing Jue didn't believe the Nine-Tailed Fox could avoid it.
Actually, Xing Jue was making a gamble. He was betting that the Nine-Tailed Fox could not dodge his attack. If he won, it would be a foregone conclusion, but if he lost, Xing Jue would lose his life.
"Boom, Boom, Boom!"
"Roar!"
As Xing Jue had guessed, the Nine-Tailed Fox couldn't avoid this attack. With a loud bang, the sword energy successfully hit the Nine-Tailed Fox. At the same time, a powerful dark black energy ripple rapidly spread out.
Xing Jue was blown backward by the strong energy ripple. After stopping, he looked with great uneasiness at the Nine-Tailed Fox, which was shrouded in black energy.
Because, normally, the Zanpakuto's sword energy is extremely sharp. Once it successfully hits the opponent, it should directly cut the opponent in half, giving off a clear, crisp thud.
The loud bang and the powerful energy ripple were the first time that Xing Jue had ever seen such a thing. But this also meant from another perspective that the invincible sword energy was defended against.
Sure enough, when the black energy gradually dissipated, the Nine-Tailed Fox was glaring at Xing Jue with bloodshot eyes. But at this moment, it was clearly seriously injured, as evident in the large amount of blood flowing from its body.
Looking at the Nine-Tailed Fox, which was furious, an intense fear began to well up in Xing Jue's heart. He knew that this time he was really in danger.
"Little brat, I'll tear you to shreds," Just then, the Nine-Tailed Fox's roar, like thunder, suddenly sounded, echoing continuously through the jungle.