Stop grinding, I'm really just a free spirit.

Chapter 77 A Chance Encounter

Chen Bai controlled the Ink-Scaled Water Anaconda, which followed behind the Iron-Backed Azure Bear.

They were neither too close nor too far, and every now and then, they would let out a screech or two in a provocative manner.

Then, following the pre-planned route, every hundred steps, a drop of honey was dropped among the grass and bushes along the way.

The fragrance of honey gradually spread in the mountain breeze.

Following the scent, the iron-backed bear was completely unaware that it was gradually veering away from its territory.

The process of luring him went even more smoothly than Chen Bai had anticipated.

The Ironbacked Bear's desire for the spiritual honey outweighed its wariness, especially since this spiritual honey was a refined, high-grade product.

Whenever a stronger, sweeter aroma wafts from ahead, it rushes forward eagerly.

The intermittent hissing of the black-scaled water python behind it prevented it from stopping.

At this moment, the iron-backed bear was as if it were caught between two forces, and could only keep moving forward.

On several occasions, it seemed to sense that something was wrong.

He suddenly stopped and looked back at the way he had come, his nostrils twitching rapidly, as if weighing the risks of continuing to follow.

But whenever this happens, the Ink-Scaled Water Python will suddenly accelerate and approach, unleashing the full force of a mid-stage Nascent Soul demon beast upon it, forcing it to turn around and face the enemy.

As soon as it turned around, that sweet fragrance wafted over from its side and front, shattering the fighting spirit it had just mustered.

They walked and stopped like this, and after a few incense sticks had burned, it was over.

Lured step by step, the Ironback Bear crossed two mountain ridges, passed through a dry stream, and finally entered the dead valley with only one exit.

Chen Bai lay prone behind a huge rock above the entrance to the valley, holding his breath and concentrating.

From here, the entire valley's topography can be seen in its entirety.

The stone walls on both sides are steep and sheer, the valley floor is gourd-shaped, the entrance is narrow, but the interior is quite open.

In front of the deepest cave in the valley, a pile of broken bones lay scattered on the scorched ground, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur mixed with burnt earth.

He placed the last half-jar of spirit honey steadily on a conspicuous flat stone at the bottom of the valley, then manipulated the black-scaled water python to retreat to the entrance of the valley, where it coiled behind a boulder, with only half of its tail showing.

The iron-backed bear followed the scent of the honey all the way to the bottom of the valley. When it saw the earthenware jar filled with honey on the flat rock, the last trace of wariness in its eyes was finally overwhelmed by greed.

"roar--"

It let out a low, joyful cry, shook its enormous head, and rushed toward the pottery jar, ignoring even the hissing of the black-scaled water python behind it.

Just then, Chen Bai had a sudden thought.

Lingya Xiaoliu transformed into a streak of blue firefly and flew out from a crevice in the rocks on the other side of the valley. It swept past the entrance of the cave at an extremely fast speed, its wingtips almost grazing the rock wall at the entrance.

At the same time, it sprayed a mouthful of condensed Six-Si Spirit Fire into the cave.

The flame was only the size of a fist, but it was extremely intense. When it landed on the rubble at the cave entrance, it made a crisp hissing sound and turned several stones red-hot.

The snoring in the cave suddenly stopped.

Immediately afterwards, a roar even deeper and more powerful than the roar of the Iron-Backed Bear exploded from the depths of the cave.

"sound of a crash--"

The roar, like muffled thunder, rolled through the canyon, causing boulders to fall from the stone walls on both sides.

The air at the cave entrance suddenly heated up, and a scorching wave of air gushed out of the cave, carrying the pungent smell of sulfur and burning metal.

With this roar, a behemoth no less large than an iron-backed bear charged out of the cave.

It was a rhinoceros that was entirely red, with a shoulder height of nearly ten feet, a body length of over twenty feet, and four legs as thick as stone pillars.

Its entire body was covered with a thick layer of copper-colored armor, and between the gaps in the armor, there was a faint flow of dark red firelight, as if magma was flowing under its skin.

Above the bridge of his nose grow two horns, one large and one small. The larger horn is in front, three feet long, dark red in color, with a rusty sheen at the tip; the smaller horn is behind, only half the length of the larger one, but much sharper.

A faint crimson glow swirled around both horns, flickering uncertainly in the night.

"Fiery Horned Rhinoceros".

Belonging to the elements of metal and fire, they are both mid-stage fetal breathing demon beasts.

After Xiao Liu spewed out that flame, it rapidly ascended, but the Copper Armored Rhinoceros reacted even faster than Chen Bai had anticipated.

The moment it burst out of the cave, it locked onto the rising blue light, and the large horn above its nose suddenly lit up.

"call out!"

A crimson flame, as thick as a thumb, shot out from the tip of the horn, as fast as thunder, and struck the crow's left wing.

"Ah—"

The little crow let out a weak cry, and its entire body was blasted into a ball of blue sparks in the flames before dissipating into the night wind.

"throat……"

On a cliff a mile away, Chen Bai groaned, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"I underestimated this monster."

He raised his hand to wipe away the bloodstains, his face slightly pale, but the light in his eyes shone even brighter.

Because of Xiao Liu's nature as a beast spirit, after being hit by the opponent, it did not truly dissipate, but was reborn in his dantian.

Although it caused some backlash to Chen Bai, it also successfully completed the mission, luring the Fiery Horned Rhinoceros outside the cave.

……

……

At this moment, the Fiery Horned Rhinoceros had already spotted its mortal enemy: the Ironbacked Gray Bear that was running towards it.

Eyes facing each other.

The entire valley seemed to freeze in that instant.

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing Fiery Horned Rhinoceros, the Ironbacked Bear braked sharply with its forelegs and came to a stop.

"roar!!"

It stood upright and let out a roar in protest.

He slammed his two forepaws together in the air, and a visible shockwave exploded from between his palms, scattering the surrounding gravel everywhere.

The fiery rhinoceros spewed two jets of scalding air from its nostrils, lowered its head, and pawed the ground with its four hooves.

He also let out a roar.

"Moo—"

The intense demonic energy contained in that roar made Chen Bai, who was lying in the distance, shudder.

This fire rhinoceros's cultivation level is probably even higher than what was recorded in the intelligence. Even among those at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, it would be among the top tier.

The Fiery Horned Rhinoceros aimed its long, bright red horn at the opponent's chest and abdomen.

Immediately afterwards, a crimson flame rapidly flowed along the horn's body.

The two demonic beasts met on a narrow path, and neither retreated.

Their territories were adjacent, and over the years countless frictions had occurred, accumulating deep-seated hatred in their hearts.

Now that one side has trespassed into the other's territory and been caught at the entrance to their lair, this is no longer something that can be resolved by probing or intimidation. The Ironback Bear took the initiative to attack.

With its limbs straining, it charged toward the bronze-armored rhinoceros with its massive body and speed disproportionate to its size.

The Fiery Rhinoceros was no pushover either; it lowered its head, raised its horns, and prepared to pounce.

With its four hooves trampling, it burned several charred marks on the ground, and in an instant, it charged forward like a burning chariot.